#if someone asks I'll elaborate

[eric-the-bmo]

Now I’m curious to hear about your VtM character! Impulse Embraces are always really fun (and I’m noticing very Malk-like)

[barrels into the room] MAN OH MAN I HOPE YOU'RE READY TO HEAR ABOUT LEO WEST, THE NUMBER ONE MALKAVIAN OF MY HEART

[tiny pixel leo was made by @ slimejunior btw]

(It's so cool you wanna hear about him- this is my first time in a vtm chronicle, and while i'm not the best at roleplaying, i've been having a blast with the story. I'm sorry btw, this turned into a very long post- I jumped at the chance to ramble about almost everything I can about him- however, since my fellow players follow me here, I'm keeping quiet about certain parts of his character and past.)

Anyway! Leo West is an amnesiac(?) conspiracy theorist and Anarch Malkavian, and is for an on-going chronicle taking place in San Jose- us players have decided to name it Blood and Silicon (there's actually a blog dedicated to it that's run by one of the players).

Leo's a quiet and inquisitive man who's earnest and stubborn, and refuses to talk to the coterie about his issues (but really, none of the other members do that either). He knows very little about vampire society, as his sire refused to tell him anything before sending him away, and has been repeatedly described as a blank slate and full of potential- mostly due to his "newness" to Kindred unlife. He's probably being manipulated by at least 2 people at this point.

He's got Auspex and Obfuscate, and is (unintentionally) built as a stealth character. He also has the Sandman predator type- it's how his sire hunts, and he would prefer victims who wouldn't struggle, anyway.

With his occasional visions, it seems he's got connections to the Cobweb- additionally, since no one's explained to him what the Beast is (and his takes on the guise of his sire's voice), Leo is currently convinced his Beast is actually his sire just talking to him.

While I described him as an amnesiac earlier, he hasn't completely forgotten everything.

However, my main form of communication is infodumping (/hj), so allow me to ramble below, even though I can't fit everything about him in here:

Leo was a hopeless romantic born on May 26, 1994, raised in Chicago and brought up as a Christian. He stopped believing in that faith sometime in high school; something Definitely happened during that time in his life, since it was also when he broke his nose and started smoking (but hey, if I don't know what happened, then he doesn't either /lh). He did eventually quit cigarettes in college, where he graduated and was a librarian for a while; he helped run the DnD sessions the library would hold every month :-)

In 2019, he met a man named Jeremiah: his future sire. J is a man I could make an entire post about- but tbh this isn't about him, so I'll give only the bare amount of information needed.

Jeremiah is a bartender who moved to Chicago from San Jose, and at some point in the first year of knowing Leo, he ended up blood-bonding him for reasons unknown. Leo, who was completely unaware that he was now Jeremiah's ghoul, experienced the symptoms of the bond and assumed he was in love- which surely was a whole thing for him, because at this point in Leo's life he had just come to the conclusion he would never fall in love, since he's never had the best luck in that part of his life. The two of them entered a relationship (or at least it seemed that way to Leo), and of course given the dynamic/power imbalance here- as well as Jeremiah in general- it wasn't a very good one.

(Amy, Leo's sister, kinda picked up some bad vibes from her brother's partner, and very much dislikes him.)

During their almost-three years together while Leo served as his ghoul, Jeremiah used Dominate a lot on him, erasing his memories of anything that could be seen as Masquerade-breaching- meaning that Leo has no idea what he did for him.

Mr. West noticed his gaps in memory, of course, and with the help(?) of one of his more common library patrons, Chris, he fell down into a bit of a conspiracy rabbit hole to try and figure out what was happening to him. Sometime around this point he picked up his smoking habit again.

[As a result of J's actions, Leo no longer trusts his memory and carries around a notebook; It's also one of the reasons he avoids eye contact a lot, since that's necessary for Dominate.]

Eventually he must've figured things out, or perhaps his curiosity got the better of him- but somehow, on September 16, 2021, Leo stumbled upon something that resulted in his untimely death at 27 years old.

Jeremiah Embraced him that night, although it's unknown whether he did it because he still needed Leo's servitude, or if he genuinely cared about his ghoul (and I am unsure which one is worse).

The rest of the events of his Embrace are a bit tricky to talk about- I can't go into much detail without giving much away- but with all the stress and trauma of what happened, his clan bane manifested as Dissociation; in tandem/addition to this, Leo's brain blocked off parts of itself, resulting in even more memory loss.

In fact, after Sept 16, there's about an entire month and a half of missing time for Leo, and he doesn't remember any of it (this was originally due to a misunderstanding of the game's timeline, but is now a part of the Lore).

Anyway, even though I can't go into specifics of what happened to Leo during this moment of his unlife, I can offer you this sort-of-meme about it:

[At some point during this time J informed him of blood bonds, which was kind of a jerk move, considering his childe was having a bad mental moment already.]

It's been stated by Leo that Jeremiah sent him away to San Jose, and the fledgling currently has his coat- which implies J gave it to him as a gift, or at least let him take it with. His relationship with his sire right now is... complicated.

Anyway, Leo spent about a week in San Jose before meeting [aka getting kidnapped by] a Kindred named Harrison, who introduced him to the rest of the coterie. Currently, they're all a bit secretive, and Leo occasionally leads them into trouble (like lowkey breaching the Masquerade, and almost getting caught by a gang).

Throughout Blood and Silicon, Leo's been learning about Kindred unlife, and has additionally requested an informant to look into Jeremiah. (He's got a bit of a fixation on his sire- in his eyes, his investigation to figure out what's going has not ended, and it seems Jeremiah has many secrets..)

In the most recent session, the coterie has been gifted territory as a reward for doing a quest for Harrison. Meanwhile, something's going on with Leo, because vampires can't get headaches, can they?

I'm very excited to see where this leads...

[thank you for asking, this was fun to ramble about him <3]

[goodluckclove]

Petition to add an antithesis to whump called "nap". Some hurt or exhaustion, but almost entirely comfort.

There are nappers, who are characters who get to rest. And maybe the elements that play a role in their healing and rejuvenation are like blankets or pillows or something. I don't know. Cozy things.

Like I've experienced a degree of trauma and abuse that has fallen into the comical. My mom might've given me cancer. If reading fanfic about your favorite character getting brutalized helps then I'm glad you have that, but there should be an alternative where they have a nice meal and loving conversation. And don't call it fluff because I've mainly known that to mean little to no plot, and I can't think of a more important plot than recovering.

[charismatic-fear]

Liminal spaces and the original Herobrine are the same type of horror in this essay I will

[kyouka-supremacy]

Hey! I recently read your post on, ahem, 'Female Characters in BSD And Their Portrayals' (to paraphrase)

I thought it was really interesting actually!! Thank you for writing that!

Another point is how Yosano's quirk had gotten sexualized in the anime, whilst in the manga, it's much more eery? That was weird.

I had a question: How Is Dazai Sexist?

Not in a 'pRoVE iT to ME!!' manner, but a, 'i can genuinely see that and I'm curious about your perspective' manner!

I read No Longer Human about, two months ago? And Dazai Osamu, the author, had a niche perspective on women, I suppose. He humanized them, but also dismissed them, but also heavily related to them? Of course, with historical context it's probably the average view of the time.

But I'm genuinely curious!!

My “Female Characters in BSD And Their Portrayals”

Thank you for giving the post a read! I was low-key nervous when I posted it, I don't really like being the killjoy, so I found people's positive responses to it very reassuring (╥﹏╥)

About Yosano's ability being sexualized in the anime. I know right,,,, it's part of the bigger picture issue, it's nearly impossible to find anime without fanservice. The difference in female portrayal between the bsd manga and anime is actually something very interesting to ponder on, because they're actually quite different: the manga is sexist, but it never visually sexualizes its female character (the Gaiden manga being an exception). The anime is more low-key in the blatant sexism, but there's female fanservice that the manga lacks that... Idk feels almost a given at this point, like animation studios just CAN'T not do it (I don't even know what to say? Something something *through gritted tits* 57th prime minister of Japan Shinzo Abe). On a different note, this ask came as some sort of epiphany for me because it made me realize that the reason there's so many people missing on the sexism in bsd which leaves me so often baffled is because people probably reason fanservice = sexism → lack of fanservice = lack of sexism, but it really doesn't have to work that way? Of course fanservice is for the vast majority sexist because more often than not it comes with the objectification of female body, but I wouldn't say there's a direct correlation between the two things: I hope I was exhaustive enough on why bsd is sexist although it never sexualizes its female characters, and I think same can be said for the other way round? Kill la Kill is my favorite anime of them all and the most female empowering anime (and overall media??? Idk I love klk with everything I've got) I've ever seen, but it'd definitely be a wide stretch to say it lacks fanservice.

On why I said Dazai is sexist: for one, I trust Chuuya's word

This is a joke, but funny enough, that's exactly the panel I was thinking about when writing the post– I was negatively surprised by how a main character could reportedly be called womanizer, and that is just kind of there, like being sexist was just another weird little characteristic of bandage man, nothing strange there. You see the problem here?

I remember when I watched the bsd anime for the first time, I used to think Dazai was sexist a lot– but in retrospect, I don't have that much a strong opinion on the matter anymore. When I watched it, it would bother me how Dazai would objectify women a lot, using them as mindless pawns even more of how he already does with every character he encounters; it would bother me how he's so fixated on committing a double suicide with a beautiful woman, like... You do realize that is wishing for another person, and that person needing to be a woman specifically, to die, right? Not to mention the “beautiful” part only adds to the objectification if you ask me. But all taken into account, I don't feel for it as strongly as I used to– don't get me wrong, it's still disturbing, but I don't think it's an issue of Dazai specifically as much of the work in its entirety having a fucked up view of women. It hit me today rewatching the bit at the end of episode 5, Dazai explaining Ranpo's deductions to Atsushi: “she wasn't dressed for work, she had no make-up on”. Now, if you say anything like this to me irl, I WILL punch you in the face. But can you sense how it doesn't really come from Dazai in particular and is more expression of an overall worldview of women that necessary transpires through the characters, an underlying pattern I couldn't really perceive on my first time watching the anime? So, I feel like it's less of a case of “Dazai being sexist” than it is of “Dazai is a character with a lot of lines in a fundamentally sexist franchise”. The point isn't about Dazai's being sexist, because ALL the characters are in a way or the other, but about the author writing them as such; that's what I meant by saying “Dazai is openly sexist and it’s just kind of there never to be addressed”– he's reportedly sexist IN CANON, the thing is it's never portrayed as something strange or worth to be addressed.

[monty-glasses-roxy]

I also realised something about the Storyteller...

All the behaviours Mimic is giving them are from Edwin and not the kid. Except maybe Chica, but I'm gonna check that in a sec.

[geddy-leesbian]

oh boy I found the picture of the inside of my uterus that's epic

[bluberimufim]

🎶 For the ask game!

🎶 Share a happy moment. ANY happy moment. You must have ONE.

Ok so, here's the thing. My writing tends to stick to more serene moments when there isn't anything horrifying happening, so a lot of the happiness is kind of "quiet" and peaceful, you could say. I looked very hard bc I wanted this to be a snippet of loud euphoric happiness, and this WIP is 400 pages big and I don't remember every single scene, but I think this one is the closest to what I wanted.

There was a grace to the scarf's movements as it sliced through the air, dragging its orange flames behind it like ripped flags on the wind. Alphonse spun, creating fiery circles and spirals that filled the tent with an air of magic none had ever seen before. It was as if he belonged there, silently dancing around with his flaming scarf. Finally, Alphonse stopped and let the fabric drop, holding onto it with the tips of his fingers. He couldn't hide his smile, which made his eyes twinkle like stars. Nearly bouncing with excitement, he looked at his father with a face full of pride. "That was amazing!" Diedrich exclaimed, making his way down to the stage. "It was, wasn't it? I think it has so much potential! And the fire!" He raised the scarf up to his chest. "It's cold!" "Yes, you're right. If you'll allow me..." With a flick of his wrist, the magician made the flames disappear. The fabric remained intact, without a single hole or charred end. "How do you do these things?" "A magician never reveals his secrets." "Dad, we've been working together for years-" "And you think I'll tell you all my secrets just because you're my son?" he laughed. "But how?" Diedrich shrugged and showed him a smile. "I don't know. It just happens."

...yeah that's the happiest I could think of. I guess it's happy enough, but I feel like it's not that happy in context because the story goes angst -> this -> angst again, and the angst is related to Alphonse's murder so. Yeah.

[galaxseacreature]

Weird fucking end of the day, y'all!

I've got a progress pride flag pin and a little round ace pride flag pin on my backpack. The progress pin has been there long term but even the ace pin has been on there for probably a year now. I've gotten exactly one chill "hey me too!" in that whole time (nice!)

So ofc it's the day I'm drop dead tired, I'm talking brain absolutely fried, need to get home asap, lay on the floor, and recalibrate type of bone tired. Ofc THIS is the day a coworker I'm walking out of the building with decides to ask what the ace pin is

[erabundus]

scaramouche turning himself into electro for fun jumpscare shenanigans was 100% based on my brainrot theory that he would have an alt sprint and i'm too attached to let it go.

[daxite]

🔥homestuck ?

WEW LAD i have fucking mountains of those LMFAO

anyway i'll give a couple of what would probably be currently regarded as my most "controversial" opinions (excluding the obvious "i do not like act 6" one lmao);

i fucking hate the june egbert headcanon, and i hate davekat lol

[misty-wisp]

oh I've been in a public discord server before too. absolute hell I didn't last long <3. I mean yeah I could've handled it better but christ. the people there... well anyways! have a little guy

little guy!!! i shall take good care of him. he can chill with dream hero in the attic :)

[finemeal]

Ahh I see your notes (however many days later) and I have come with an explanation for why I chose which Poké's for Jason's team! (I get INTO IT so I'll put all this under a Keep reading for everyone's sanity. Also, in order of how I picked them originally :D). I'll explain Staraptor, Gengar, and Houndoom right now but meds are kicking in so I'll explain 'rest later (do feel free to bug me if I don't within 24 hours or something, I'll prolly forget)

Staraptor: I first got the idea to put Staraptor on his team when I saw other people had done so, but that wasn't the only reason I chose this wonderful Poké!

Let's start with the obvious: Staraptor is a bird Poke that also has a bit of red on his head! Perfect pick for an ex-Robin/current Red Hood! And while look/theme-wise that does help explain, that's just the beginning of my thought process here.

Staraptor is also known as the "Predator Pokémon" and is very strong (even though some people might not think so since he's a normal/flying type). Staraptor typically have the Intimidate ability (i.e. lowers attacks of Poke's battling). This fits Jason's vibes very well I think because Jason is a big and scary dude when he enters his Red Hood era.

But sometimes, Staraptor's have the Reckless ability (i.e. the more damage they do, the higher recoil they'll take later one). This reminded me of Jason's (sometimes) proclivity to do dumb shit without always thinking about it, ya know? He's a smart guy for sure but sometimes he'll throw himself recklessly into danger. Comes with being a vigilante/crime lord I'm sure.

But let's not forget the fact that Staraptor's have in their Pokédex that they will fight foes MUCH bigger than them without thought, dive headfirst into danger, and are strong. Also? In "HeartGold/SoulSilver" they talk about how when they evolve from Staravia they head out on their own which very much fits Jason spreading out his wings to be his own guy separate from Batman.

Plus? The fact that it won't stop attacking even when injured but will fuss over the shape of its cone is very funny to me. Idk, feels like something Jason would vibe with as a Poké!

But really, I think that Jason would've run into Starly in an early route, see this bird that is small and weak when alone but strong in numbers and just resonate with it. Starly's are just as fierce as Staraptor's, let's not forget, they just know they are small and need to form groups to stay strong.

Jason who was small most likely due to malnutrition and is just starting to get strong after being given a chance by Chairman Bruce Wayne would see this small bird who may not be able to be strong enough yet but will be I just ... I think Jason would immediately get attached, ya know? (can you understand why a lot of fans associate this Poké with Jason XD)

Gengar: This one was INSTINCTUAL. At first, I wasn't sure why Gengar was such an automatic choice for me, but it just felt right. I knew Jason would have at least one ghost Poké since he, ya know, died. But let's get into more of why Gengar is such a great choice for my main man Jason.

Gengar is the "Shadow Pokémon" which feels like a great fit for a guy who, as big as Jason, is still incredibly light on his feet. I forgot Gengar was BIG so he may look small in this image, but he's actually 4'11" (1.5m). A big Pokémon who can melt into the shadows? Seems like he fits our favorite crime lord perfectly don't you agree?

And let's not forget the hidden ability! "Cursed Body" (i.e. disable a move used on said Pokémon). I don't know, that just feels perfect for Jason. Like ... Batman never liked gun's being used, had a strict no-killing-rule and then Jason died. When he came back, he broke a lot of the rules Bruce put in place. It seems like a fitting parallel, ya know?

Now let's take a gander into the Pokédex entries and see what about this dude fits Jason even better. A lot of the entries talk about how you can't see the Gengar but can feel its presence. Stealing a person or the spaces heat to cool the area. Like previously stated, Jason's BIG but sneaky. I feel like his presence would be similar. You don't see him but you can feel the danger lurking. That's terrifying.

Let's not forget, Gengar is a ghost type but is also poison. That combination of being dead and poisoned by your death has stuck with me something fierce. I know the fandom exaggerates Jason's pit rage, but he still has been affected by the pit before. The thing that fully brought him back poisoned him, and that feels like it fits Jason so much.

But, I do think Jason would've evolved Gengar from a Haunter after being gifted Haunter (aka: the evo requirement). "But who would've gifted Jason Haunter?" you ask. Great question, and I'm happy to answer it!

I think Dick would've gifted Jason Haunter. As a ... a way to make peace with his brother who has been absent for so long? An olive branch that Bruce struggles so hard to extend.

Dick has had this Gastly for so long, trains it up to a Haunter (not part of his main crew though, just a Poké he was training). I think Dick would've gotten Gastly after Jason dies, wanting so desperately to be close to his long-dead brother. Trains it up to Haunter, watching it get stronger and grow in the way his younger brother never will.

Then? Suddenly? Jason's here! He's alive! He's back. He's not the same, but I think Dick would want to give Jason a Poké he knew would protect him in the way (Dick thinks) he failed to.

Houndoom: Houndoom also felt like a correct choice for Jason. Pure instinct. It's a dark/fire type that is also a dog with horns and that just ... it just feels like a Poké Jason would have on his team, ya know? Plus! This is his like ... champion team, so it's more balanced than a gym team he'll get later on.

Houndoom is known as the "Dark Pokémon" which ... I mean, look at 'im? He's a dark Pokémon that's for sure! He's got skeleton motif with the collar, the skull, the back bits/horns, etc. Have you seen Jason? Yeah maybe not necessarily skeleton motif but he's got a vibe that he'll make you into a skeleton. Houndoom's give me the same vibe and I think that helps make 'em feel like the perfect fit for Jason.

These Poké's also have multiple abilities which is fun! "Early Bird" aka light sleepers. You're telling me after all the Bat-training, growing up in Crime Alley, and coming back from the dead Jason wouldn't be a light sleeper? Hell nah, fam. He totes would be! Also, can you imagine Jason wakes up from a nightmare and Houndoom wakes up too and goes to comfort Jason? You can't tell me that idea doesn't make you all soft, it makes me soft.

Then? "Flash Fire" (i.e. when hit with fire move doesn't do damage but makes Poké stronger). Jason has turned SO MUCH of the shit he's gone through and turned it around on its head. He shouldn't have to be so strong, but he is! He's fucking died and that didn't stop him. I imagine that a crowbar being used against him would make him angrier in a fight rather than scare him. And lord help his opponent.

"Unnerve" (i.e. makes foes so nervous can't eat) is a hidden ability. We've already touched on how Jason is such a physically imposing and downright terrifying dude. Therefore, I don't think I need to ramble more on that point here.

Now, the Pokédex has a LOT of juicy things we can look at and compare to Jason. Like, how if it shoots flames from its mouth and you get burned? Pain never goes away. Look at Jason, look at that entry, look at Jason, and look at me. You're telling me Jason who will spit words of venom at Bruce, who has emotionally and physically harmed so many people does not metaphorically shoot flames from his mouth? Sure, the pain will most likely go away for most, but I think the words he shoots at Bruce never fully go away. They're apart of Bruce now, just as much as Jason's death is a part of him.

Then? About how hearing this Poké is downright terrifying. Remember, Jason's physically imposing and sneaky. I'm sure if you heard Red Hood you'd also get the shivers.

Following that, we have the Houndoom's that are the leaders of the packs. Sharp horns towards their backs. Jason is a leader, it comes naturally to the children of the Bat. But Houndoom choose their leader's by fighting amongst themselves. If you think Jason hasn't fought for his place, fought to be a crime lord until he proved himself. Fought to be the leader of his Outlaws then ... I don't know what to tell ya.

And the last bit I'll focus on is the fact that some people thought that the Houndoom's howls were the sound of the grim reaper. You're kidding me, right? Jason who, remember, has DIED and COME BACK. Jason who has met death and come out on the other side. Jason who, in my mind, will whistle like the wolf from "Puss in Boots: Last Wish" right before he kills someone. Jason is a grim reaper, don't forget it.

I do think Jason would've evolved Houndoom from Houndour. A creature he finds on one of the path's, and pauses. Maybe this specific Houndour was away from the pack, and Jason saw a Poké who needed his help. Who was only as strong as those it surrounded itself with.

Or maybe the Houndour was being fiercely protected by a Houndoom. Maybe Jason saw a pup who was being protected by those stronger, and knew that Poké was the one for him. The instinctual need to be a part of something, to be protected by those it loves and later protect others.

Houndour is small, but it is mighty. You just have to give it a chance. And Jason would bond so much with the Poké over needing to be protected while it's growing to be so strong.

And ... that's where I'll end for the night. My brain is filled with cotton balls, my illness is all consuming, but I will explain the thought process behind the other 3 Poké's on Jason's team. I love them all too much not to :D <3

Title: Champion

I'm gonna post these separately because I know people who like DC don't necessarily like DPxDC SO! This is my DC Pokémon AU piece I did for a game in the @haunting-heroes-creative-games server! Hosted by @artdecielle, we played Guess the Artist: Through the Screen. I had so much fun drawing Jason with all these poke's, and it took me a total of 9 hours and 37 minutes.

The Pokémon shown on the left from bottom to top:

Houndoom

Feraligatr

Staraptor

The Pokémon shown on the right from bottom to top:

Gengar

Haxorus

Gliscor

I imagine Jason is a Pokémon trainer who has become Champion at this point. Trained by the Chairman of their region: Bruce Wayne (who has trained many Pokémon Champions). Eventually, Jason will become a Gym Leader when the next protégé becomes Champion, but right now he's holding it!

Tried to add the Red Hood symbol on his shirt and make him feel very Jason. I excluded his white tuft cuz I felt it would give me away in the game, but I do generally imagine him with it! I'm just so proud of this piece and had so much fun making it <3

[powerpayback]

sometimes i am so tempted to make long lengthy lore posts but then i feel like. no one will want them. but idk i always have ideas 👀

[phat-bat68]

Anyone else headcanon Kirby as a triple-A battery?

No, I won't elaborate

[karmaphone]

I have this Problem where I start growing my hair out and I'm struck with The Urge To Get A Funky Short Hairstyle but every time I do that I'm like fuckkkkk I miss my long hair

[skrillien]

equinox update: 9/11 is canon, and plot relevant. thanks, load-bearing gerald!