#it's a perfect storm really

[kero-verdade]

I must now admit that Guwon's dork ass is my exact taste in men

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Bare skin, bare feelings.

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[ranticore]

the venerable and esteemed monster hunter/tamer Sir Ambrose Thomas with his helpers. Ambrose promises no less than the best results for any villages or farmers who hire him to deal with their crawling beast infestation. His lovely helpers enjoy the job as well, look how happy they are :)

[nat1nonsense]

“First Day of My Life” - Bright Eyes (2005) // Critical Role - Bell’s Hells, episode 111 “The Nein Hells” (2024)

[marisatomay]

Been listening to books about the Salem witch trials and it’s so weird to me that there’s this prevailing narrative where people think of Salem as “oh they were deluded primitive folk who believed in witchcraft lol” when there are contemporary documents where prominent people said the accusers and the court (which hadn’t followed standard legal procedures even for that time) were committing crimes so grievous it would forever be a stain on New England

[imagitory]

Dress Up Time Princess's Shadows of London: Chapter 2 definitely had a few plot turns I didn't love -- and perhaps I'll write about them another day...but these new artworks? These might be some of my favorites in the DUTP catalogue.

[skyhawkstragedy]

I think the reason why AI Arena was so well received was because it was well paced and had the cast to back it up. In the same way that a bad cast can ruin an otherwise good twist (like the concept of Camp Comeback sounded good in a vacuum but with a horrid cast like bb21 it was always gonna fail), a bad twist could derail an otherwise good season (like Zombie week). Not only did it keep the houseguests engaged in the game, it never overstayed its welcome, it never felt tacked in or pointless, and most importantly, the cast made the most of it. The Cedric blindside and the last two weeks are prime examples of this. It also helped that the comps were equitable.

I don’t think this type of twist would have succeeded without a cast as engaged and unproblematic as this one. It felt like Big Brother finally got something right, but the stars definitely had to align for it to happen. But a win is a win I guess

[bonefall]

So, your Clear Sky post is absolutely horrifying, but it was very needed, so thank you. What are your general thoughts on tackling his abuse for the AU? Like you've said, pretending he's a good guy is not the way to go, but are you planning on toning down *some* of the situations, just to give some of the cats a break? Clear Sky is a very realistic depiction of abusers, but that seems to come across even without victim number 25, yknow? I'm very curious about how you'd like to go about this.

My most recent big change was bringing Slash back into the fold, because I realized that it was actually a disservice to not address where DOTC's themes dip into Colonialism. It's a hard topic, and I'm still trying to work out the details, but I realized it was important.

With how BB!DOTC is such a MASSIVE overhaul, to properly address abuse and the ways it impacts you, ableism and its violence, and xenophobia broadly, a huge reworking of Slash belonged here too. He's one of the greatest examples of how badly WC demonizes non-Clanborn cats. I shouldn't dance around it.

That's what I need to do with Skystar.

MANY of his victims have happier endings than canon, though. Bumble is one of the most famous, bumped up into a major character and directly responsible for the formation of ThunderClan. Bright Storm is taking most of Gray Wing's roles. Birch and Alder are getting examined, with either a father who wants his kids back or Milkweed as the mate of Misty.

A lot of people will die because of him, even more will be hurt, but I see BB!DOTC as a story about victims and survivors.

Others might grab POVs here and there, but as a response to canon which I feel is Clear Sky's story told in many parts, I center this rewrite around Thunder Storm. The path of kindness he marches down, with love and with anger, and the people he helps.

So BB!Star Flower...

Previously I was playing her as ENTIRELY just manipulating Clear Sky. She was loyal to One Eye and trying to get at Skystar to bleed him dry for 8 lives to sacrifice; but connected to Thunderstar over recognizing him as a victim who deserves her idea of justice. So, she offers Thunderstar the final kill, so her father will be grateful to him and he'll get power AND the death of his abuser.

(When Thunderstar looks upon Skystar, pathetic and neutralized down to one life, he thinks about the collateral damage that will descend upon the forest if he accepts the deal. He decides that he has found the line between Justice and Justification. Of course he wants the power to make his enemies cower, protect his people, and eliminate Clear Sky so he never threatens them again; that's not the problem.

He can still do these things. He wouldn't NEED the power of a war god to do so.

But if One Eye returns, he will be endlessly hungry, ruthlessly dedicated to revenge, and set out to devour the whole forest. Everything would get worse, and even more people he loves would die. It's where his desire to destroy a monster would lead to him BECOMING one.)

Even on its face, it was previously missing an element. There's a step between "Starf decides to bring One Eye back" and "Starf offers Thunderstar the final kill" that was bare. This is the piece that was missing-- That she, herself, is trying to reach out to the only person who's ever really understood her.

But more importantly... I do feel this topic belongs here, in BB!DOTC. Abuse is a MAJOR theme. SKYSTAR is a monster already. He's harmed two wives in BB (Bright Storm and Falling Cry) and played toxic games with all three kits (Thunder Storm, Pale Sky, Tiger Sky).

And I'd avoid Star Flower being abused... why? Because it's uncomfortable to confront the pattern that Clear Sky displays? That in-canon, he tries to cut all his victims into the same ideal shape, from Storm to Thunder to Star Flower? ...it should be uncomfortable. Everything that I described in Clear Sky Is A Monster is rooted in the same desire for control, power, and punishment most abusive people share, he just happens to be a severe example.

Yes. That includes how he treats his child and romantic partners. The parallels that are drawn between Starf and Thunder are there because he wants power in the form of obedience. Starf replaces the son as a narrative award for his "growth" of not killing random people anymore for a while.

A cookie cutter is an effective tool because IT ONLY MAKES ONE SHAPE.

You know what's more uncomfortable? Reading canon!DOTC and seeing someone who hurt you reflected almost perfectly in the character the writers think did nothing wrong. Because of "good intentions" that were not there.

I will say though, just to be clear; I don't see a purpose in being more than PG-13 about serious topics for this project. I promise none of my intentions have changed. Nothing will be more graphic or gorey than canon WC-- just more intentional.

I'm keeping the sacrifice because it's dope. No one is taking this from me. Girl Moment: Killed her awful husband 8 times to count as 8 sacrifices and offered the last life to her buddy as a show of good will. How else do you make friends outside of high school

But I know now that Star Flower NEEDS to keep the canon fact she has very little agency, UNTIL that moment she snaps.

She's sacrificing one abuser to try and bring back a bigger, badder one, because in spite of everything, her father One Eye always made her feel safe. Even though he promised her off to Skystar, and expected her to be willing to die for him. She's followed every command, every order, past the death of his mortal vessel.

The first, and only, selfish choice she's ever made was in reaching out to Thunderstar to offer him the power of her father.

Thunderstar's Justice is a story about a Thunder Storm at the pinnacle of his arc, how the survivors of his Clan are settling into the new normal after the carnage of The First Battle, how Skystar's arrogance brings a violent god to the Forest... and the connection Thunderstar makes with the daughter of a monster.

[brionysea]

tagged by @zannolin in a get to know me game!

last song: eat your young by hozier

favourite colour: rainbows (this means nothing) (<- lying)

last book: technically I'm reading 3 different books at all times but percy jackson & the sea of monsters is the most recent

last movie: elf

last show: arcane s1 as well

sweet/spicy/savoury: sweet? my first thought was tangy like sour sweets (candy, for the confused americans) (sour patch kids to be precise) for some reason

relationship status: no thank you :)

last thing i googled: an up and coming video game studio's website called republicgames. it's founded by the co-writer on detroit: become human who WASN'T david cage and all the people who actually made that game good are jumping ship which is very funny to me

current obsession: the small arcane s2 fix-it fic I'm writing where jinx actually acts jinxy. I love her so much she's like 'wow sevika this whole revolution thing of yours is so lame they never do anything. I was doing more when I was seven. believe in yourself losers <3' and everyone's like 'wow... the scary girl says to believe in ourselves... we should set something on fire' her power is unmatched. on second thought my answer might just be 'jinx' but this is more fun

looking forward to: ummmmm ? ???? ?? continuing my arcane s1 rewatch I guess? OH and finishing my s1 jinx photoset, it's like 99% done and I'm just messing around with the text positioning at this point but ugh it's so good. I love it. I love jinx and being creative about jinx it's what she deserves

tagging: @evergreen-lyricist @blueskiesandstarrynights @crashed-wing @agrebel18

[tennessoui]

silly soulmate au where everyone has the first words their soulmate said to them on their body somewhere and anakin’s are “excuse me sir, your shoelaces are untied” so he walks around with his shoes untied as a way of trying to bait life into giving him his soulmate

But one day he’s like super done with it and cranky after a bad day and someone taps his shoulder while he’s waiting at a crosswalk and says “excuse me sir your shoelaces are untied” and anakin snaps “your shoelaces are untied”

and obi-wan “afraid to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known enough to be loved” kenobi says “I’m not wearing shoelaces” kinda flabbergasted because he’s spent like 30 years wearing untieable shoes so no one can ever tell him “your shoelaces are untied” only to be thwarted by a beautiful, aggressive soulmate of a stranger

[februerik]

[mistborn book 2 spoilers]

I DON'T KNOW HOW HE CAN WRITE INTIMACY WITH ZERO NAKED BODIES SO WELL BUT AHHHHHHHH

SAZED AND TINDWYL I LOVE YOU SO MUCH

[maxgicalgirl]

It’s been ages since an anime has sunk its teeth into me and shook me like dog with a chew toy but Dan Da Dan is pretty much all I can think about lately………..

[eyesoftxmorrow]

i'm not rly the type for mcyt stuff, but i think i finally managed to articulate why qsmp in particular just feels so incredibly special to me.

it's the way that the language proficiency of literally everyone involved is slowly evolving the longer they play together. the way that the english speaking players are making an effort to talk to one another in spanish and vice versa. when this thing started i remember hearing from multiple eng povs that they had to lean a lot on the google translate tab (and thats ok!), but something that really excites me is when i see those same eng ccs express how much they want to learn more about speaking spanish bc it's a way that thet can genuinely connect with their fellow players.

it's not even the fact that it's a minecraft smp; that just Happens to be the medium through which we get to watch this unfold. it's the first time, at least to my knowledge, that we're able to watch both the spanish and english-speaking communities bond over a game they love at a level as involved as this. both sides of the community are equally prominent, and more importantly, they're united in a way that i've never really observed in an online space until now. genuinely ive never seen anything like this before and its just really fascinating to see how all the players take on the challenge of building that bridge over something that once was a communication barrier for them. i love language i love cooperative gaming i love humans having fun learning new things from one another

[applestorms]

much love to the (multiple) mutuals i’ve seen agony posting on this fine new year’s day my heart is with you all in spirit 🎉🎉 the pain is incredible but this too will change

[sweetened-condensed-rage]

Rewatching Doctor Who and I could go on for so long about why I love Eccleston as the doctor.

[killlerfang1]

Pacing really is the make or break of tv shows because X-Men 97 could have EASILY been a 10/10 for me if it weren’t for the fact the plot and relationships were going at 1000 mph