#mostly if the fight is triggered by attacking them. which can mean that:

[racke7]

Me vs Divinity 2

Sooo... about that Divinity 2 playthrough.

I found a really fun little mod that lets me "set difficulty" in fights, by artificially boosting the enemies' levels. Cool, right?

It makes some fights a bit harder, but they give you more EXP, so it balances out in a really neat way, and makes the world a bit more open (since they all scale with "the highest level in the fight", you can fight someone again much later and still get the good EXP for it).

Originally, I was struggling with a +1, because everything was very lethal and I had no armor or any skills worth anything. And that's when I realized that I can just... keep switching back and forth. All the time.

Which meant that I could theoretically push someone up to like... level 20 and then (if I could manage it by cheesing the impossible-fight that this would give me at level 5) I could just powerlevel my way through everything.

Obviously I'd never do this. Because I'm so very dedicated to the "real experience". And also I totally don't have a delayed explosion-spell that I can stack infinitely on an enemy (as long as they're in a conversation), or a teleportation-spell that I can use to shove them into a group of their friends to trigger the fight. Which would then result in them immediately exploding all of their friends.

I would totally never use this.

I haven't made it out of the fort in Fort Joy. I'm level 13.

[yanderes-galore]

Could you make Yandere Meowth(Kanto or Alola) vs Yandere Persian(Pet-like)?

I can try! These are Kanto! Meowth and Persian. Sorry it took so long and is short... I can only do so much with Overprotective Pokémon :(

Overprotective! Meowth vs Persian

Short Concept/HCs

Pairing: Platonic - Rivalry

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Possessive behavior, Overprotective behavior, Jealousy, This is just cats fighting each other, Violence, Blood, Dubious companionship.

Meowth are known to roam the streets at night and adore shiny objects like spare change.

Persian are known for being fickle but regal pets with an attitude.

Honestly, an idea I have for this is something along the lines of this;

You originally have a Persian, a pet who is only ever docile around you.

Persian are usually moody and will randomly attack.

Yours doesn't attack you though... often purring happily in your lap as you work or scroll your phone.

However... the rivalry would start once you adopt a stray Meowth.

Which causes your Persian to become territorial.

That's how I feel a rivalry between these two Pokémon would work.

Since these are overprotective Pokemon, I can imagine it as anything more than two territorial cats.

Your Persian is immediately harsh on your new Meowth.

The poor stray is relentlessly bullied and hissed at by your Persian.

However... such behavior backfires as you begin to tend to your Meowth more, which makes the stray attached and proud.

The only thing I can think of is like... cartoon nonsense between them.

You're oblivious the the rivalry between your two house pets.

Or at least... the full extent of it.

It's known Persian can be mean.

Although... the rivalry these two have is mutual.

Your Meowth catches on quick and knows how to manipulate you into their favor.

So while their rivalry is intense...

All you hear are Pokémon cries as they chase each other around your home.

It's funny when you think of it this way.

However, while this is mostly comedic, they can put each other into danger.

They aren't just cats, they're still Pokémon.

You jump when you hear a Power Gem go off or the squeals of Pokemon as someone scratches the other.

There's times you have to pull them away from one another, blood seeping from wounds as you run them both to a PokéCenter.

Neither Pokémon go easy with each other.

You could have your Meowth on your lap, only for your Persian to pick them up by the scruff and toss them aside to sit on your lap.

That or your Meowth frames your Persian for something.

The scariest part is you're scared they'll kill each other.

Your Persian might... your Meowth just wants to kick your Persian out of the house and take their place.

While it may seem like it's just two Pokémon being territorial with one another...

Turns out it's much more than that... turns out they both want to be your only Pokémon...

But such a thing means getting rid of the surrounding rivals... no matter the cost.

[itsmoonpeaches]

On Greek Mythology and its darker topics and how modern audiences view them, an essay for some reason.

For further context on my thoughts on a similar topic, please see my post, "ATLA fandom and other fandom spaces have been ruined by purity culture, an essay."

First, for those of you who are new here, let's define what I mean by purity culture.

Purity culture in my own terms can be defined as an extreme obsession with purity, particularly in Western (but mostly American) audiences which is a culture that seeks to make everything positive, pure, and acceptable. Not to be confused with how some religions view purity culture as abstinence.

Please note that before you attack me, I am a person who encourages and champions progressiveness and openness in media. This is not an essay to chase away notions of continuing to represent difficult topics respectfully in modern pieces. Simply, it is to point out something that troubles me, especially in communities that tend to consume modern retellings and the more ancient stories centered around Greek Mythology and other mythologies.

Purity culture and modern Greek Mythology retellings

To put it simply, there is no purity culture in most modern Greek Mythology retellings. There are modern storytelling structures, maybe more kid-friendly ways to put things into perspective, but generally speaking, I have not seen much of a culture in which authors, playwrights, and other kinds of writers have watered down myths into something wholly unrecognizable in which none of the darker topics exist. Instead, they are either retold in a way that fits the target audience, reframed into something that fits the context of the story, implied or not covered because maybe the audience is too young, or outright said because the audience is old enough.

This is not to say that inaccuracies are not a problem. Disney's Hercules exists. (I wouldn't be the first to say that the film is a fun time though.) But completely covering up dark topics is not something modern retellings seek to do.

The Broadway musical, Hadestown, does not shy away from the true ending of Orpheus and Euridicye's story. Jorge Rivera-Herrans' Epic: The Musical does not brush over the atrocities war and desperation bring. Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians, while written as a book series aimed at children, does not hide the consequences children have to face when forced to fight for the gods, including what it's like to grow up under neglectful parents especially. Netflix's Kaos, a show I haven't even watched yet, is aimed at adults, and from the clips I have seen it does not back away from telling the mortals just how messed up the gods are.

So, with all this in mind, it begs the question: Why are audiences so fixated on watering down what Greek Myths and their retellings are?

Purity culture and how modern mythology fans view retellings

This is definitely a controversial opinion, but I don't think that it's beneficial to anyone to have too much discourse over the darker topics present in ancient myths. The fact is that ancient myths were not written for us, they were written for ancient people to explain the unexplainable.

Audiences now tend to view certain aspects of myths as problematic. And yes, they are. I'm not disagreeing with those of you who will argue this point. The problem is that many are viewing these aspects through a purity culture lens through which they don't want to see these topics portrayed at all. (Remember, these myths were not written for you.)

[Trigger warning ahead for mentions of assault.]

The most common mythological characters I've seen argued about are Medusa and Calypso. The common theme between these two characters? Their stories revolve around sexual assault.

Ovid's version of Medusa has her assaulted by Poseidon, while the original Greek version has Medusa already born with her curse. Calypso in The Oddessy is an immortal nymph cursed to live alone on the island of Ogygia because of her association with the titans, namely her being the daughter of Atlas. However, she fell in love with Odysseus (or should I say, potentially obsessed with him), and forced him to remain on the island with her and sleep with her.

In fan spaces, I see these stories argued about a lot. For example, whether they should be talked about at all, whether these women are problematic or not (or if the gods are etc.). And while the point is often made that there were victims in their stories, it's almost as if when audiences find out the truth of their ancient origins, they are in denial.

This Tumblr post in particular comes to mind:

Link to original here.

While the original poster does realize in the tags that this was a topic that had to be reframed because of Riordan's target audience, it reminded me that there are others who find this truth all too jarring.

People forget or fail to realize that Greek Mythology and other mythologies are not pleasant stories. So, it's only to be expected that modern versions of them or stories that use their characters have written disturbing things too.

In Calypso's case, I often see her character canceled in a way only fictional characters can be I suppose. She's not a great person. She forced people to stay with her. Yet, she was cursed to do just that.

It's also interesting that sometimes Calypso is called out because she's centuries old and Percy was 15 if we're going from the retelling perspective of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Yet, Odysseus was also a lot younger than her. Not to mention many of the gods had affairs with mortals an X amount of years younger than them in myths. I don't have to remind you of Zeus' many trysts. The hyperfixation on age difference is something born out of purity culture as well, even if sometimes that difference is only a few years. The gods and immortal beings, however, do not and should not work out the way humans do, but I digress.

Calypso's story is a whole cycle and it is disturbing. There is no use in denying that this is her character, however. Just how it would be the same as denying that fairytales had dark origins. (Remember how Cinderella's stepmother sawed off parts of her biological daughters' feet just so they could fit into the glass slipper? Or how birds picked out their eyes?) The modern Disney-fied versions of fairytales is a whole other topic, but it stems from similar beliefs under purity culture. It's just that there isn't the same kind of audience for fairytales as there is for Greek Mythology, is there?

Purity culture and themes in Greek Mythology, or TLDR

There are common themes in Greek Mythology including betrayal, death, consequences of actions, hubris, loyalty, and overwhelming greed. Gray morality above all, fits into the puzzle that is mythology. Nothing is black and white.

Purity culture has colored the way even themes in Greek Mythology are viewed. Purity culture makes things black and white. In reality, the world is not so. Themes in myths are now too abhorrent to talk about, or too nasty to reproduce. Especially in fandom circles, topics can't be talked about because they are too taboo. People get angry. There is discourse. Suddenly, everything in a myth can be fixed if everyone just had access to therapy.

But, these myths are ancient. These dark topics are common. While many topics are triggering for people, perhaps it would be more beneficial to the art of storytelling itself to simply not engage. Or, better yet, to never try to change the narrative to fit your own personal beliefs.

Ancient people still had the same problems as we do. Watering down what is the truth serves to cover up what looks ugly.

It should not be a surprise that with Greek Mythology comes darkness, and darkness in fiction or in myths should not make anyone angry.

Perhaps if you cannot accept that there are and will always be dark, disturbing topics in stories inspired by mythologies, you should not be part of an audience that consumes them.

[silverynight]

The omega's call

It's one of those days; sometimes it happens to the other slayers who are alphas too, after a very stressful mission, in some cases, the presence of other alphas nearby triggers them too.

Their inner alpha takes control of them. The kakushi are also prepared for this; they have omegas trained to deal with those kind of situations. With the slayers, it takes any omega to calm them down; it's not easy though since only perfect matches and destined mates are the ones who have complete control over the wild alphas, but at least it's enough to convince them to drink something in order to make them drop or just sleep.

However, it's a completely different case when it comes to the Pillars. They don't usually go into alpha state because they've trained to control those impulses so they don't affect them during a fight against a demon, but even they're vulnerable sometimes.

And that's when the real problem begins. Mostly because normal medicine doesn't work on them.

It's even worse when they all are together.

Of course, that's what happens right before a hashira meeting; they come after finishing a couple of exhausting missions and even Ubuyashiki asks them if they want to reschedule, but most of the time, the Pillars are proud and overly confident so they assure him they're fine.

Which is not exactly a lie, but not a complete truth either as the kakushi in the butterfly estate find out later.

The Pillars don't usually go to that place unless Tanjirou is there. All the kakushi know the hashira are very fond of that omega and like to pay him a visit whenever they can.

The ones who have seen them interact together believe the nine alphas are in love with him, but to others that's a little bit weird; perhaps just a rumor to make their friendship more interesting.

All the doubts dissipate that day.

As soon as the nine hashira arrive, they ask about the omega; Aoi rolls her eyes at them as the three butterfly girls that everyone sees as pups, tell them Tanjirou is currently resting.

"Can we still see him?" The flame hashira asks, not even trying to hide the desperation in his voice.

"We'll be careful and quiet!" Kanroji swears, pouting a bit when Aoi pinches the bridge of her nose.

"One at a time."

That's when the real problem starts; the wind hashira is already snarling at Iguro because they both want to see Tanjirou first.

First, their scents change; they grow tense as the others join the discussion because none of them want to give in.

Then, their sharp teeth start showing, a couple of omega kakushi step closer because everyone can feel what's about to happen.

Aoi pushes the butterfly girls behind herself, although they're not probably at risk at all; powerful alphas are territorial, which means they'll attack the strongest alphas in order to assert dominance.

The omegas try to distract them with their scents, but it doesn't work; Uzui should be the only one not affected by it since he's already mated, but the others should be more relaxed now. But they're not, it's like the omega kakushi around don't exist at all.

It's rather concerning.

The first one to snap is Tokito; they all watch as his eyes go completely white before losing his ability to speak. He growls.

The others follow right after. The stone hashira fights his instincts a bit, but he eventually loses the internal battle against himself because the others look like they're about to jump at each other's throats.

Stepping a bit closer, the omegas try again, but Tomioka bares his teeth at them as a warning.

What can they do if omega's scent doesn't work on them?

"You!" Aoi locks eyes with one of the kakushi, a beta. "Go call Tanjirou!"

The girl gets startled for a moment; she knows calling another omega won't help at all because the Pillars seem to be immune to them. She wants to tell Aoi that, but the other girl looks even more irritated after noticing the hesitation in her eyes.

"Now!"

The kakushi girl runs towards the recovery rooms until she finds the omega with red hair and a scar on his forehead. Fortunately, she doesn't have to wake him up. He's already out of bed, wearing his uniform and haori.

He closes his eyes and his cute nose moves like a little bunny's would.

He's a very beautiful omega. Not only that, his scent smells amazing; it's like the best parts of spring combined. The kakushi girl swears it's so delicious it's like he has little flowers floating around him all the time.

"All the hashira have snapped, haven't they?"

The kakushi girl nods, glad she has her mask on and the omega can't see her blushing.

Tanjirou looks calm and even smiles at her.

"Yes. They're in alpha mode."

"Are there not omegas around?" He asks then, like he's trying to assess the situation.

"There are, but the alphas have rejected them."

Tanjirou frowns, already rushing towards the backyard.

"That's weird. They always react positively towards me."

Always? The kakushi girl finds it hard to believe. Also, this has happened before and the redhead has somehow been able to handle it successfully?

What's going on?

Fortunately, by the time they reach their destination, the Pillars haven't attacked each other yet, but they're still ready to fight at any moment.

"My alphas!" Tanjirou calls out to them as soon as he steps outside and the effect is immediate; the nine hashira turn their heads towards him.

The kakushi girl narrows her eyes in confusion as she realizes Tanjirou is using an omega's call. Which is weird because even though it's powerful, it only works on mated couples, and judging by the redhead's scent, he's not mated to any of them.

"I've missed you so much," he tells them gently as his scent becomes stronger. "Why don't you come to me?"

Like they have been commanded, the nine alphas do as the pretty omega tells them to; it's like they're so focused on doing what their omega asked them to that they have forgotten they were growling at each other seconds ago.

However, the wind hashira's shoulder bumps into Rengoku's accidentally, and the white haired alpha bares his teeth at the other for a moment.

"Sanemi-san!" Tanjirou scolds. "If you do that again, I won't cuddle with you!"

It's effective. Shinazugawa stops what he's doing and even makes a distressed sound like a kicked puppy.

"It's alright," the omega assures him. "If you behave, I'll scent you."

The whole butterfly estate goes absolutely silent as the hashira stop right in front of Tanjirou; the omega looks absolutely relaxed, like none of them are being controlled by their basic instincts.

He's either really brave or trusts them completely.

Maybe it's a bit of both.

"Great! You're very good alphas!" Tanjirou praises them, prompting them to purr in delight. "Now, can you kneel for me?"

The kakushi girl closest to Tanjirou gasps and notices that her other fellow kakushi and the slayers are as shocked as her.

There's no way they will submit–

But then, they all kneel in front of the omega without a second thought.

It's like he has complete control over them.

"You're the best alphas I could've ever asked for!" Tanjirou beams, getting closer to each one. "Now let's see if you're hurt."

They only seem to have a couple of scratches on them, but Tanjirou calls a couple of kakushi to bring him something to clean and patch them up.

"It's okay! They won't hurt you!" The omega assures them.

"Seriously, it's fine," Aoi confirms, looking around at the ones who look scared. "As long as Tanjirou's here, they won't hurt you. Actually, they won't even pay attention to you at all."

She's right. Their head are turned towards the omega, following him around as he moves among them to patch them up. It's like no one else exists at the moment.

"However, if you're an alpha, don't come near Tanjirou. The Pillars are possessive." Aoi says after reconsidering.

"I don't think–"

"Trust me on this," she insists, cutting Tanjirou off.

Only betas and omegas approach him and even they are careful not to touch Tanjirou.

The redhead is the first one to notice Ubuyashiki's crow watching everything from the roof.

"Oh!" He smiles as he finishes patching Kocho up and nuzzling against her hair before turning towards the bird. "Could you please tell Oyakata-sama that they'll be there, just a little bit later than expected?"

"It's okay, Tanjirou," the crow says with his deep, beautiful voice. "Take all the time you need."

"Are they your alphas then?" A brave, omega kakushi asks him as he hands Tanjirou a wet cloth so the redhead can clean a cut on Uzui's arm.

Tanjirou shakes his head as he blushes to the tip of his ears.

"No!" He laughs nervously. "They're just my friends!"

Everyone goes quiet, but they keep staring at Tanjirou in disbelief.

"I swear!" The blush spreads down his neck and he looks so adorable, no one blames the Pillars for their obvious devotion. "But when they're like this, they think I am their omega for some reason."

That kind of devotion doesn't appear just because of someone's instincts; they obviously have strong feelings for the omega already to act like that in their alpha state.

But Tanjirou doesn't see it.

Suddenly, they start making needy sounds. It's weird to see such powerful swordsmen acting like that. But fun at the same time.

Aoi rolls her eyes at them.

"You're so impatient!" Tanjirou chuckles. "Alright, since everyone's okay now, I'll scent you."

He starts with the love hashira, who immediately purrs and whines until Tanjirou allows her to scent him back.

Even though the next ones can smell the others on him they don't get upset; their scents combined with Tanjirou's make him smell even better than before.

As he nuzzles against Iguro's cheek, he makes sure to pat Kaburamaru's little head.

Even kneeling, Himejima looks taller than Tanjirou.

"Gyomei-san!" Tanjirou chuckles as he falls into the alphas laps because he's really strong and got too excited when he pulled Tanjirou closer.

The flame hashira gets really happy when Tanjirou rubs their noses together, he lets out a loud alpha purr in response.

Tomioka runs his fingers through Tanjirou's hair when it's his turn.

Uzui nuzzles against the omega with enthusiasm, so lost in his scent that he leans closer when Tanjirou tries to move to the next one.

It's almost a shock to everyone around to watch as Shinazugawa exposes his neck first, allowing Tanjirou to scent him as much as he wants.

Kocho buries her face against his chest, breathing in his scent deeply.

The mist hashira wraps his arms around Tanjirou, smiling like it's the best day of his life.

When he's done with them, he asks them to stand, which they do immediately.

"Now, Giyuu-san, why don't you bring me some tea? I want something to eat too! Can you take care of that, Mitsuri-san?"

He asks the others to help Aoi with her chores and supervise the slayers that are training alone for a while.

When he notices that everyone is staring at him, Tanjirou blushes again as he rubs the back of his neck.

"I don't like bossing them around, but I found out doing things for me helps them relax and makes them go back to normal quicker than they would under different circumstances." He explains, looking shy suddenly.

They all watch as the Pillars act like lovesick puppies and do anything Tanjirou asks them to do until they start "waking up".

They look a bit confused and disoriented at first, but Tanjirou is there, holding their hands, patting their arms and explaining to them what happened.

"Did we hurt you?" Tomioka asks, like the mere thought of it is tearing him apart.

"Of course not!" Tanjirou reassures them and they all let a collective, relieved breath out. "You're very good alphas!"

They all purr at the praise, prompting Tanjirou to blush immediately since he realizes that they are completely out of the alpha state and yet they're still acting like they did before.

All of the people around can see it; the adoring stares, the way they approach the omega and gather around him protectively, the way their demeanor softens and their scents change.

Tanjirou could ask them for anything and they'd do it without a second thought.

They're completely conscious, and yet nothing has changed; they still act like Tanjirou is their omega.

"Do you need anything?" The serpent hashira asks in a way that makes him look almost eager to hear Tanjirou's response.

They all want him to ask them to do something for him.

"You have a meeting to attend to," the omega reminds them with a smile. "Don't leave Oyakata-sama waiting."

They take it as an order. They nod, kneel before him one more time, prompting him to blush again.

"We'll be back, my boy!" Rengoku says, as his eyes glimmer with unrestrained devotion.

"Alright, I'll be waiting for you."

When they're gone, everyone relaxes completely and approach Tanjirou shyly. By the way he speaks about the Pillars it seems he hasn't quite gotten that they're in love with him.

The kakushi girl hopes he realizes it soon, before something like that happens again.

***

Patreon

[foldedchip]

OCD attacks

In the past few years, I’ve seen a wide spread of information about panic attacks and how to handle them and help someone who is suffering from one. I am incredibly happy and grateful for this, yet I also want more people to know about a similar kind of situation that I have gone through countless times.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical expert by any means, I am just a person who has struggled with OCD throughout their life. These are things that would be helpful for more people to know about OCD attacks and that hopefully help them understand it a bit better.

What is an OCD attack?

An OCD attack is similar to a panic attack, except it is brought on due to the obsessive fears of obsessive-compulsive disorder. It can often seem confusing or irrational to a bystander, but you always have to understand that you are not in the afflicted person’s mind, and you don’t know the thoughts that led up to the attack.

An OCD attack may be a combination of knee-jerk reflexes, built-up stress, and genuine fear about a situation. The person might be truly mentally distressed, or it could be mostly a bodily reaction that they can’t control. It is always a terrifying, even debilitating thing to go through.

An example of an OCD attack:

Amy suffers from OCD. For months, she has had an obsessive fear of causing a car accident, and it has been getting worse and worse. She started driving longer routes to avoid passing by other cars in order to avoid an accident, and eventually she stopped driving altogether. But even that didn’t end her obsession. Amy is now afraid of anything related to cars, even anything that reminds her of cars.

One day, Amy is talking to her friend Matt, and the two of them overhear a conversation about a car. Even though it is irrational, Amy’s obsession is so strong that she becomes afraid that just hearing that conversation will cause Matt to crash his car. Terrified, she asks Matt not to drive home, imagining that he’ll get into a car accident if he does. She knows that this doesn’t make sense, which distresses her even more. Matt knows that Amy has OCD, but he doesn’t understand why she’s so afraid of him crashing his car just because she heard a conversation about a car.

Things to remember if you witness someone having an OCD attack:

Their incoming thoughts are not rational, and may even be very illogical, but they probably already know this. Telling them that they aren’t thinking clearly or aren’t making sense is not a surprise to them, and can make them feel like you don’t understand what’s happening or make them feel even more afraid.

Engaging in someone’s compulsions for them might temporarily lessen their panic, but it will cause them more anxiety and panic later. OCD is a vicious cycle. It’s best to just assist the person by being there for them while they calm their body down, instead of trying to perform their compulsions to satisfy their OCD. In order to make progress to recover from OCD, that person has to choose not to engage in their compulsions.

The human body has a very powerful response system to both real and imagined threats. Once it has been triggered, it usually takes five to twenty minutes to calm down, and it can have lasting effects afterward. When someone is in a fight-or-flight (or freeze) response like this, their body will prioritize their strength, speed, and reflexes over their clear thinking. Even if the person is trying their best to calm down and think clearly, it will probably take time.

The slow, deep intake of oxygen has been proven time and time again to encourage the body to go back into its usual calm state. Oxygen flow to the brain also allows for clearer thinking, and slow, deep breathing is an instinct that is easy for a distressed person to focus on.

If you do accidentally something that freaks them out, know that it is not your fault. You probably couldn’t have known that what you did would trigger that person’s OCD, and it is a mistake that could happen to anyone.

Whatever inconvenience the OCD attack is causing YOU as a bystander is probably a lot less inconvenience than it is causing the person. No one in the world would want or choose for this to happen to themselves. Not only is an OCD attack interruptive, it is stressful, exhausting, and can feel embarrassing. Furthermore, their whole day can be thrown off because of the attack, which makes all kinds of inconveniences for them. This should be an unspoken rule, but unfortunately some people don’t forget it: do not make someone feel like they are burdening you because they are suffering, because that is unnecessary and can even make it worse for them.

Things that can help someone who is having an OCD attack:

Telling them that you’re there for them and offering to stay with them for as long as they need.

Telling them that you have faith in them, you know that they will feel better soon,

Asking if there are any therapy strategies that they are supposed to use for an OCD attack, and offering to help them with it.

Telling them that there’s no rush, that they can have all the time they need to feel better. Sometimes, in a state of panic, it can be extremely overwhelming to think that you are stealing someone’s time or ruining your own schedule. Hearing that there isn’t a rush can be a huge relief in and of itself.

Offering to listen if they want to talk about what’s happening to them.

If the person is afraid to do something (eat, touch an object, leave the house…), you can offer to do it together.

Offering to hold their hand, give them a hug, or whatever their preference is.

Offering to help with anything they need after the attack, such as taking them home or handling responsibilities for them. Sometimes a person can feel extremely overwhelmed not just because of the trigger, but because they don’t know how they will keep going after they’ve calmed down. Offering to take some things off their shoulders and help them can also be a huge relief in and of itself.

Providing a distraction like an interesting conversation, a simple task, or a change of scenery. Even if the person doesn’t directly engage in it, it can still be helpful for them to just watch or listen to you.

Taking deep breaths, even if they don’t do it themselves.

Getting them a glass of water.

Getting them a sensory object like an ice cube or ice pack, a fidget toy, a mint or piece of gum, or any other safe substance that can help to reconnect them with the outside world via their senses.

Getting them a grounding tool that they already use for OCD attacks, like a fidget toy or noise blockers. Some people keep items like this in a backpack or purse. There are even apps you can get on your phone that they might already have.

Giving them privacy or helping them go somewhere with more privacy. It can be even more overwhelming to feel embarrassed or stared at when you’re already distressed.

Thank you immensely for reading this post. I hope it is helpful. If you want to suggest any changes or additions, please comment or reblog! Like I said, I am not an expert, but this has information has come from many, many days going through this stuff. And if you need someone to talk to about it, or you have questions, I’ll do my very best to help you.

[quigonswife8]

Fluff alphabet: Namor

A/N: Not fully proof-read.

Template creds: @snk-warriors || gif creds: @unicornspwnall

----

Activities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

As ruler Namor doesn't have as much free time as he would hope.

When you do spend time together: He just likes talking to you and often delves more into his history. He has already told you alot about his history but everytime he tells you more, it's that more fascinating.

He also likes taking you to this really nice, secretive place, up on the surface, even though he prefers the water. He had come across it years ago and had thought it would be perfect to show it to you.

Beauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

He admires everything about you, but mainly your kindness. How you’re just so kind to everyone. He still remembers how kind you were to him when you met, how you smiled at him, and treated him like a person, rather than being scared.

You admire a lot about K'uk'ulkan: his leadership, his loyalty, how headstrong he is. How caring he is, is what you admire most, though. You admire how much he cares for people, how much he cares for you. To know he cares with everything he has, how he is always checking up on people and making sure they're alright, is so sweet.

Comfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

Namor can tell when you're feeling down pretty quickly. He is very observant- will notice the change in your body language or the look on your face. He feels terrible that you feel down, but will think of something to cheer you up. He'll suggest something you like doing when you're usually down, and will also give you his own ideas

He doesn't touch you during a panic attack because he knows touch may trigger your attack to get worse. Instead he stays nearby and says reassuring words: while you're not fully focused on anything else his words do help a little.

Dreams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

A future with you in general is enough. A future with you on the throne with him is perfect, too. He just wants you to be by his side while his rules because that's where he believes you belong. Truly.

If he becomes a father Namor will be an amazing one. He'll protect your kids just as much as he has protected you.

Equal - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

Mostly dominant but he'll step back and let you do what you need to if you feel like you can handle yourself. Loves seeing you take control, and when you especially question him then he'll simply smirk.

Fight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

He can forgive pretty easily...but when you end up breaking his trust enough, he grows cold. He doesn't yell at you but he does make it known how hurt he is. Will focus on his duties mostly trying to get his mind- his heart- off the hurt.

-

Namor is a skilled fighter. He not only uses the water to his advantage but he uses the wings on his ankles. It gives him the extra advantage as he can get where he needs to within seconds and take down whatever he needs to.

This means if you've been injured and you have no way to defend yourself he'll use the wings to get to you.

Gratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

He is grateful for you being in his life- of your presence. He is grateful for everything that you do for him, which he tells you constantly. You deserve to know.

When you do things for him he'll feel lucky to have you in his life. For you to take time out of your day to do something for him like check in on him, or bring him something he may have forgotten, etc, he'll only find himself loving you even more.

Honesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Namor will only hide secrets from you if it's serious and keeping it secret is safer. Or if he wants to do something for you, like surprise you.

Besides that he's pretty open because he believes that you deserve to know everything.

Inspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

Namor means 'the boy without love.' and he had accepted this name. He had accepted that he didn't deserve love, that he would forever be viewed as a 'monster.'

You had made him see that he does deserve love, that he's so much more than some name given to him by some stranger.

You are there for him, through everything. If he's ever feeling down or feels like crying you'll be there for him, like he is for you.

Jealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

Jealous? Not really. Only if someone is getting a bit too touchy, and even then he'll be more protective than jealous.

Kiss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

You would think he's a very passionate and fast kisser, but he's not. K'uk'ulkan' will kiss you softly, slowly, because he wants to take in the kiss rather than be done with it straightaway.

Love Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

When you had nearly died in his arms he had confessed his love for you. He was in shambles and kept repeating how much he loved you and how he couldn't lose you.

It was not the way he was intending to confess his love for you, but to have you nearly die, had made him want to finally admit it.

Marriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

Proposes to you on your 1 year anniversary. He had made you the ring himself. He’d proposed to you in the mural room while he was pretending to show you something he had added to the mural: there wasn't anything added, of course, but he had taken it as the perfect chance to propose.

He is the perfect husband. Namor always checks in on you. He puts your needs before his, and treats you perfectly. He is an amazing listener, too, always makes sure you know that you're heard.

Nicknames - What do they call their s/o?

He only calls you a few things: In Yakunaj, which means my love, and he loves calling you sweetheart and love, too.

On Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

He is smitten with you, even though you’ve bern married for many years. Completely smitten. He doesn't hide how he feels for you because he wants it to be known how much he loves you, but he doesn’t go over-the-top wanting to tell anyone.

PDA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

He just, like I said, makes it known that he loves you and is happy to be with you but doesn't make it extremely obvious. He doesn't really brag about you, just speaks about you with appreciation and love. Though when someone is hitting on you then he'll make it known that you're with him and to back of.

Quirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

He has the ability to give great massages: he knows how to work his hands to unknot the tenseness.

Romance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

He's very romantic. From his flirting, to his lingering kisses, to gifting you items, he is very romantic. He knows what to say to make you melt, and he knows what to do to make you weak in the knees. You're surprised he didn't have a partner before you, you're sure so many people would want to get with him.

Support - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

Supports you through everything. He'll be there for you, giving you a kind nudge and supportive words will be said. Namor loves seeing you doing what you like, he'll be super supportive if you try out new things, or if you ask him for help.

He just believes in you and let's you know this, especially if you don't believe it yourself.

Thrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

Unless you want to, not really.

Understanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

He knows you very well, so much so that he even remembers small things about you. From your favorite colour to something you had told him years ago. This means he's also trustworthy so you can trust him with anything, really, and you can always count on him.

K'uk'ulkan is very empathetic: he'll be ruled by his heart more than his head sometimes, and that can be bad, but he can't help it.

Value - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

It’s everything to him- you’re everything to him. You are the most important person in his life. You're the love of his life, his everything and he'll fight for you, forever, if he has to.

Wild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon.

Namor likes to sing to you if you are having trouble falling asleep.

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

He's very affectionate.

You'll be doing something and he'll appear and kiss you on the cheek. Namor loves holding you in his arms and he loves tracing lines on your skin.

If you don't like being touched, however, he shows his affection in other ways such as through his words, or by doing things for you. Though he'll still do this, either way.

Yearning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

Namor isn't the type to complain, but he also feels a sadness when you're not together. He'll miss you a lot and those around him will see that.

It's never the same when you're apart:

Zeal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

He would do anything for you, so far as to sacrificing his life for you. You mean everything to him and Namor loves you dearly. If he had to kill someone to protect you he would do just that, that's how much he loves you.

[rottendeadpan]

Nobody has asked about her but I wanna talk about her anyway

This is Antonia; she’s the middle-triplet to the Emile-Antonia-Faure trio

she’s twisted off of Marie, and in battle class, she’d be the DPS, despite being the shortest, smallest, and most ���innocent’ looking.

She’s a little clumsy, and finds herself in several Situations that honestly, most people really should not have found themselves in. She’s a white cat, but there’s a running joke that she’s secretly a black cat of bad luck but specifically her own bad luck.

She doesn’t go to any canon school to hone her magic; it’s a fanmade school.

She takes after her mother AGGRESSIVELY in appearances, to the degree you can barely tell there was another donor to her genepool-- beyond the personality, that is. Whereas Eva (Mom) is fairly calm and very flowing with her movements, words, and how easily she can take a hit (metaphorical or literal) and keep going, Antonia is a little jarring. She never Starts fights, but boy will she finish them. She’s the sweetheart next door one second, the idol you wish you could catch, and then the next second she’s knee deep in mud shoving one of her brother’s under a log cause they pulled her ear too hard. She’s a hair trigger AND a damsel; able to defend herself without question and wanting protection from someone who will dote on her hand and foot. She is a perfect princess; the rising star of amateur opera. She dreams of getting her throat insured one day--

and she’ll bite you so hard and fast you won’t know what’s happening.

(Or so, that’s how her brothers tell it)

if you ask Faure, she’s a little demon who always has to get her way, but he’d kill and hide a body for her, no questions asked. The two bicker and ‘fight’ constantly, if they had to guess it’s a 1:10 for how many times Emile fights with anyone compared to how many times Antonia and Faure end up pulling tails.  (he loves her deeply, though, and will drop his boy-next-door persona the moment she falls to real harm in order to save or protect her.)

Antonia is a fashionista and a makeup fan, trying to keep up with all the trends and actively posting and browsing around on Magicam. She doesn’t have the kind of pull that people like, say, Vil does-- but she tries her hardest. In year2, after Faure and Deuce start dating, she learns that Deuce used to go to school with Vil (keyword on Used To, as Vil was a 4th year-pushing-graduation and knee deep in workstudy), and nearly lost her mind that she lost her ONE CHANCE of ever connecting with the man.  she is a Princess and she’s going to make sure you treat her as one.

one of Antonia’s side projects is run promo material on her personal hype page, but this means she has to actually Test hte products first-- which is where her brothers come in. If she can’t risk a breakout, she’s slapping the weird facemask on one of the boys and judging the results accordingly before she posts it anywhere. She’ll also practice makeup on either boy which has lead to Faure sprawled across her floor with his face beat in full glitter and lashes, waiting for the sign that he can bail and wash all the nonsense off (cause she can kick his butt, and he knows it.)

Antonia’s magic is decently high in the Attack potential, but she lacks in defense or support. Luckily her triplets fill in those gaps very well.  her UM is still being hashed out, but it’s ‘banshee scream’ themed-- right now I’m sort of swatting around an idea it’s a Disarm. Maybe she can get her voice to such a level that Almost All attackers will drop their weapon, and she can swoop in to deliver a full disarming blow. 

** forgot to say so i’m throwing it into the end her hair is naturally mostly straight, she spends minimum An Hour daily to make her hair do the full ringlet curl. Her ‘show performance’ hairstyle takes nearly 2h cause she refuses to let a single curl droop while she’s on stage under all those lights.

[the-tmnt-ficfinder]

Ficfinder finds: The Lemonade Leak

Chapter 15: The Bearer

Chapter 15 Summary: No summary

The Bearer: Appraisal and Ratings

(Don't know what fanfic "Appraisal and Ratings" means? Check out my explanation on my Main Masterpost! Looking for a different fanfic to read? Head on over to my Fanfic List Masterpost!)

Disclaimer: This fanfic is only available to those who have an Ao3 profile. This fanfic is written by @turtleinsoup, so go show them some love and support!!

The fanfic ratings are not based on quality, favoritism, or how good I think it is, but rather, how intense a subject may be. Like a movie review, or the tags on Ao3, letting the readers know what to expect.

Plot: 💛💛💛🖤🖤

"Plot is three out of five!! This chapter is basically the calm before the storm. The preparation time before everything goes down."

Suspense/Mystery: 💛💛💛🖤🖤

"Suspense/Mystery is three out of five!! The main part of the suspense in this chapter, is waiting to see what's going to happen in the next chapter."

Angst/Hurt: 💛💛🖤🖤🖤

"Angst/Hurt is two out of five!! This chapter has a smaller amount of angst in it. All the angsts that does happen, is verbal and emotional. All the physical angst, is saved for the next chapter."

Fluff/Comfort: 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

"Fluff/Comfort is zero out of five! No comfort to be found in this chapter!!"

Emotions Conveyed: 💛💛💛🖤🖤

"Emotions Conveyed is three out of five!! This chapter felt like the calm before the storm. But not a good kind of calm, but rather the kind of calm that's cold and stagnant."

Drama/Tension Level: 💛💛💛💛🖤

"Drama/Tension Level is four out of five!! Oh man, despite this chapter being the calm before the storm, the conversations between Leo and Draxum are completely FILLED with drama and tension!"

Triggers: 💛🖤🖤🖤🖤

"Triggers for this chapter are one out of five. Minimal triggers for this chapter. Mostly talk of a difficult childhood, and of course a planned attack on a sibling."

Legibility (Reading): 💛💛💛💛💛

"Legibility (Reading) is five out of five!! I enjoyed seeing how Leo and Draxum communicated. Its a different writing style than say Leo and Raph, or Leo and Mikey. It was interesting and fun to pick up!"

Legibility (Audio): 💛💛💛💛💛

"Legibility (Audio) is five out of five! The writing style just translates so well into audio book form!!"

Length: 💛💛🖤🖤🖤

"Length is three out of five!! Chapter 15 of The Lemonade Leak takes about 13-14 minutes to listen to!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next Chapter ->

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The Lemonade Leak: Story Ratings and Chapter List

Personal thoughts on chapter below cut (Contains Spoilers)

Leo rested his arm on the bone of his knee. “Nah,” he said. “Honestly, I’d fill a room with anesthetic gas and teleport it in there. But Donnie can hold his breath for over three hours. And that’s too long.” If you want any chance against something with Donnie’s mind, don’t ever let it think.

Spiny softshell turtles can hold their breath for an hour, so I’m assuming that Donnie’s ability to hold his breath for longer came from his super soldier abilities. Since their status as a mutant makes them insanely strong, I’m assuming that carries over to more than just muscle strength. 

“I was gonna,” Leo said. “Methane is allergic to impact heat and chem reactions. Meaning here, it can’t use most of Donnie’s mystic artillery without blowing itself up. The problem is, Donnie’s a genius. He never had to fight in a place exactly like this.” Under scorching summer heat, in a pit of gas and goo. “But I’d give his mind some twenty seconds until it invents artillery that’s not operating on fire hazards. And as Donnie would say, Ifso facto-“ “I’m relatively certain Three would pronounce it correctly.” “Ifso facto,” Leo said firmly, “We have to be fast. Five seconds max.”

The phrase Leo is referring to, is Ipso Facto which means “by that very fact or act." the enemy of one's enemy may be ipso facto a friend. 

 “Adopted,” Draxum snarled. “One and Three had to sleep in the- All of you slept in the cold! While your immune system was still developing! Of course it stunted your growth. Do you have any idea of how…” Draxum’s eyes darted over him. “You need warmth to reach maturity!”

I love how Draxum keeps warring between being upset that the boys as children were mistreated, versus that his ‘weapons’ didn’t reach full potential. Basically, he’s saying all of them were stunted. That despite being insanely strong right now. The boys could have been stronger. 

Leo crossed his arms. “Cause my dad loves us,” he said. “All of us. Even m- y dummy twin.” “He stole you!” Draxum’s voice deepened, cracking its own vowels under the force. “I could’ve provided you with food and clothes and just imagine where ‘your twin’ could be now if he had gotten an education! If I had given you a true objective! I could’ve given you everything- I could’ve- I…” Draxum fell silent. He cleared his throat.

I find it interesting how Draxum follows along with Leo’s logic, and instead reverts the conversation to Donnie’s wellbeing. Leo doesn’t care how he was raised, as long as it made Donnie happy. So the idea of Donnie having a poor childhood, really plays on his emotions, and on the triggers and itches in his head. 

Something sharp twisted in his guts. Donnie would’ve been forced to follow you. You could’ve done whatever you wanted with him – all of them. Leo scratched at his scarred neck and meant every word as he said. “Yeah, no offense, but I would’ve had to orphan us.”

Draxum’s words are clearly affecting Leo. Once upon a time, his words would have triggered the follower response in Leo. However, as Leo has built a leader identity for himself, he was able to fight against Draxum, arguing with him, leader to leader. 

[vaxxman]

Do you actually use the vacc all the time? Stock is better for taking out sentries, or no? (genuinely asking)

Please don't learn from my wannabe strategies, they are really not good and very beginner-ish. Actually good medic mains would probably cry at some things that I do. In short, no. It's the same for any other medic weapon, really.

(Really) long answer, which is based on an unreliable "2 months of playing medic nearly every day" is below.

All mediguns are situational, but I follow some personal rule of thumb that goes:

If on attacking team: Stock Medigun If on defending team: Kritzkrieg

(Depicted is the ideal situation shortly before your Kritzkrieg reaches 100%)

I'm not an asshole who denies a good team potential killstreaks with a Kritzkrieg. A good team deserves a good uber. But if that medigun set up doesn't seem to work out with my team (eg. my team is only Demoknights and Market Gardeners / the enemy team has a god-like sniper and is killing everyone at the same spawn door) and the flanking classes are more fit to actually do the objective, I will switch to a different set up.

If on attacking team: Vaccinator If on defending team: Quickfix

(Depicted is what Vaxx encounters 70% of matches on payload maps)

My reason for this is that both of these mediguns focus more on survival, rather than making sudden pushes for ground; ground that the entire team might not be able to keep. I strongly follow the credo of "Don't pocket", so these two fast charging mediguns are perfect for switching around patients during building and uber pop to make sure many people as possible profit from them. They are also much more hectic to play, so most of the time I will switch from Crossbow to Overdose, and from ubersaw to solemn vow, because I am much more vulnerable to spies and flanks from hyper focusing on everyone's healthbars and jumping across the map, trying to keep the team together. Vaccing scouts is incredibly fun, you couldn't imagine until you tried ("Hello Doc, this is Jeremy, your Uber driver to pick you up").

On payload, when my team is pushing, I generally use Vacc and am part of the cart pushing team, unless I see that the team work and positioning is good enough. Upon death I'll respawn with stock to help the power classes who are pushing at the frontline instead, because the cart heals, too, and I trust my team to not die. Sometimes, all it takes for your team to successfully move out and gain ground is some popped bullet resistances on the first person who is leaving spawn to make sure the snipers don't delete them before you even get to the cart.

When I say "play more aggressive as medic" I really just mean being able to stand in the crossfire more often and actively encouraging your patients to go into situations, because they can trust that your 75% resistance will let them survive it (also you just pop the bubble and stress them into GOING IN BEFORE THE EFFECT WEARS OFF). If you run into a sniper sightline and manage to get him to snipe at you while a bullet resistance bubble is popped, the rest of your team can follow you until the sniper has reloaded, and that alone may already have caused enough pressure for the sniper to leave his position. I like to think of Vacc and Stock as the fight-or-flight-reflex triggering mediguns, with Vacc being the medigun that seemingly locks people into battle with you, as people attempt to take you down with focus fire, while Stock causes everyone to flee. Dying with Vacc isn't too bad for your uber charge, and no healing for some seconds is a risk I am willing to take sometimes, if it means I'm drawing the enemies' attention away from my other team mates and wasting their ammo for the last push.

So tldr: Since I'm playing casual mostly, eventually I will use Vaccinator a lot because my alternative is to gamble that one or two players are competent enough to perform extremely well during an 8 second long uber. Yes Stock uber is the best for taking out sentries, but sometimes your team might not be the best for the job.

Whatever people say about medic gameplay being boring, I don't see it, it's super engaging, and extremely strategy heavy to me.

(Depicted are reasons why normal and sane medic mains use Stock vs why Vaxx uses Vaccinator)

[tohwitchesduels]

LOSERS BRACKET OF WITCHES DUELS - Battle 18: Bria vs Gus Porter

Disclaimer: This is not a popularity contest or which character you prefer, in this tournament, you decide who is stronger/better/smarter/etc. opponent.

information for both opponents under the cut to those who don't know what they can do in their battle:

Bria:

Bria specializes in construction magic without any signs of being interested in other tracks, especially considering she considers them "inferior".

Bria is an absolutely skilled witch who prefers brute strength and talent over anything. She isn't however easy to fool or intimidate. She's daring and adventurous along with being ambitious. She can also be two-faced and deceitful by appearing nice and fair only to drop the facade the moment she has high ground or no interest in playing nice. She may however struggle from PTSD caused by Gus, so while she's not easy to intimidate, she could potentially end up being triggered by events considered "supernatural" or near Gus, or if she feels like losing her powers.

Since she's battling Gus, she is visibly shaken but tries to play it off cool. Guess this is a rematch without Palismen involved.

Bria's tool in this tournament, independent of whether or not other competitors also possess it is her sword. She can utilise it in combat or to cut through things standing in her way like bushes.

Bria may or may not have galder stones with her to enhance her magic.

Rock Spike - Bria is capable of creating a rock spike that can be used for offensive purposes. It is also proven to be quite destructive as seen in TTLGR.

Rock Pillar - Bria is capable of creating rock pillars of various lengths and sizes. She's also capable of creating pillars within the pillars she created. Said ability could be used if Bria needs a high ground, for defensive purposes to block attacks, potential transport, or even offensive purposes.

Earth Capture - Bria is capable of encasing her opponents on Earth as she demonstrated in TTLGR when she restrained a Slitherbeast. The move could be considered a finishing blow unless Bria's opponent has enough brute force (and by that, I mean a lot, stronger than Slitherbeast) to burst through her trap. She would usually utilise said ability if she assumes her opponent can't fight back, however.

link to more of Bria's capabilities here

Gus Porter:

Gus Porter is a prodigy when it comes to illusion magic. Prodigious enough to skip a few grades and even defeat the coven head of illusions with his sheer raw power. Gus displays insane potential and a big imagination when it comes to his magic. Now his powers are still limited by his own imagination and creativity meaning his illusions for the most part can be used mostly for deception and distraction, but during this tournament, Gus finally revised his own skill to find even offensive capabilities of his powers. While Gus did display the willingness to study other tracks, he ultimately never did due to his reassurance in being a master illusionist how easy it comes to him, and how much he can do with illusions alone.

One must know how intelligent Gus is during his battles. He can easily fool and toy with his opponents thanks to his illusions and Gus is also not afraid to either mock or straight-up torture his enemies during his battle just to get the results he needs, and has more than enough raw power to pull his schemes to their fullest. It's worth noting that when Gus feels extreme emotions, his magic only gets amplified, however, the side effects could be that Gus actually loses control over his own powers and gets to be the victim of them too, though thankfully to the magical amplifier from Graye, the risk of that is lesser.

During this battle Palismen are not allowed but it doesn't stop Gus from trying to put Bria in her place again.

One of the artifacts I allow Gus to have independently regarding whether or not his opponent also has any supportive gear is the looking glass earring he got after he defeated Adrian. The magical amplifier allows Gus to further concentrate his raw power into specific abilities he has a hard time pulling on his own and even enhancing them in the process, growing more powerful.

Light Spell - as proven in UW, Gus is capable of utilising light spells. Gus can use it to either illuminate the terrain or blind his opponents with it. He can produce multiple blinding orbs at once with his power and will usually use it in tandem with absolute darkness to make the light orbs all the more effective. He can also create quite large orbs of light.

Telekinesis - Gus displayed the capacity to move multiple objects with his mind. Usually, the objects are rather small and it appears Gus can't use telekinesis on a person, but he can utilise this ability offensively to throw projectiles at his opponent or to potentially deflect incoming attacks if they're little projectiles too.

Glamour - Unlike other examples of battle-royal glamour, Gus can use his glamour in 1v1 scenarios thanks to his ability to create clones and entities of any kind. This means Gus can easily disguise himself among the crowd as he can create a crowd himself. Gus is capable of taking the form of anyone he desires or merely amplifying the form he already has (like putting on additional clothes or features like devil's legs).

Mini Clones - Gus is capable of creating mini clones of himself (usually up to 3) that can be used to nag his opponents as seen in TTLGR.

Illusion Clones - Gus is capable of creating huge numbers of clones. The clones can take either the shape of himself or even other people. The clones usually don't display the capacity of the people they were cloned from but can develop a personality of their own. They still remain obedient to Gus and can be used as a great distraction, This ability also allows Gus to use his Glamour ability. The close will disappear upon impact.

Strength Enhancement - Gus is capable of enhancing the strength of his illusions, himself, or even others and the magic of others as proven in the First Day when Gus created buff arms for Willow's plant monster. The enhancement is still illusionary in nature.

Camouflage - as proven throughout the series, Gus can disguise himself and remove himself from the sight of his opponents. He can also do it to large chunks of areas or other people. As seen in KT he can also make his disappearance cover in flying birds. He could also potentially create bushes to camouflage as shown in Hooty's Moving Hassle.

Illusion Teleport - whether it's camouflage hiding his movement or true teleport, Gus can reappear wherever he pleases with a puff of smoke. The range of it doesn't seem big though. It was demonstrated during Covention.

Light Construct - Gus is capable of creating constructs of poor light. Usually unlike the illusions, they don't necessarily look like real objects but energy taken shape of objects, but can be used as effectively by creating tools Gus needs during the battle.

Illusion Construct - a stronger version of light construct, Gus is capable of creating constructs that seem like real objects. Gus showcased it throughout the series.

Illusion Beast - a stronger version of his illusion clones, where Gus is capable of creating living beings that are illusions. Said beings can take any form, be it mirror and gender-inverted versions of their opponents, or completely unrelated beings. Usually, however, the said beings don't necessarily have the true power of their own and are nothing but a mirage, though Gus potentially could create the illusion of damage they cause thanks to his strength-enhancing ability.

Absolute Darkness - Gus is capable of covering the entire battlefield in absolute darkness that can camouflage him and disorient his opponents. The darkness can be dispelled with enough force, though it's usually more durable than most of Gus's illusions. Gus can utilise this ability to hide his true intentions and sneak attack.

Illusion Terrain - Gus is capable of changing the terrain with his illusion magic however he pleases, taking the shape of anything from Gus's memory. Be it his room, the carnival, the graveyard, whatever. Said technique can be used to confuse and disorient his opponents. Gus is also capable of making the terrain switch from one imaginary to another. Sometimes the terrain can actually perfectly match the terrain that is beneath the illusion. It is also very difficult to cancel.

Illusion-Shifting Terrain - amplified version of the previous attack, in this case, the terrain is constantly shifting and moving, completely covering the battlefield that can disorient and confuse the opponent. Also, so many details at once constantly changing could give people some serious headaches with sensory overload.

Magic Cancel - not real magic cancel but with the help of Illusion Terrain, Gus is capable of making people believe their magic circles have no effect.

Sensory Confusion - as proven in TTLGR, Gus managed to somewhat successfully convince Bria that her hands were missing.

Traumatic Re-memory - Gus is capable of using his magic to get inside the heads of his opponents to make them re-live their worst memories. Gus can use this ability to learn the weaknesses of his opponents or render them completely useless as they are stuck in their own heads. The only person that is known to be able to resist this ability is Hunter as in some cases could stick for a long time depending on how strong-willed Gus's opponents are. This is Gus's most painful attack.

Trauma Bubble - a technique of traumatic re-memory. Rather than focusing his magic to invade the mind of someone, Gus creates a bubble of pure magical energy that anyone who touches it would begin to re-live their worst memories. The side effect of this shield is that Gus could also potentially be stuck inside the bubble for some time before managing to dispel it.

Mind Illusion - a variation of traumatic re-memory that isn't necessarily harmful but is the ultimate culmination of Gus's illusionary prowess by making his opponents be stuck in the maze of illusion that is solely inside their heads. Demonstrated by Hunter who was completely disoriented by Gus's illusion not being capable of seeing where Gus truly is and wandering from place to place that did not even exist. The illusions could be Gus's memories, his opponents' memories, or just illusionary images.

Link to more of Gus's capabilities here

Return to Masterpost

[whinlatter]

author's note: chapter 10: reared & chapter 11: hatched 🐣🎇

thank you for reading chapters 10 and 11 of beasts (and especially for being patient with the bumper doubled up author's note). this time, ginny has a bad new year's eve (attends the world's most triggering party, slops booze down her old love rival, loses to her boyfriend at butterbeer pong) and then an even worse new year's day, featuring boggarts, the hangover from hell, the inevitable consequences of her own actions, and cormac mclaggen. nightmare. if you slog through all this you'll get a sneak peek of chapter 12 so that's my ploy to try and get you to endure my takes on liberal subjecthood and girlhood again. shameless! alright - let's do this.

✨ spoilers for this chapter below the cut  ✨

writing notes and headcanons:

parties: i almost called chapter ten party animals. you can be glad that i didn’t. but wow writing parties is hard! you have to keep track on like 30 different attendees! it ends up like choreographing a musical number. and then i had to come up with costumes for all of them AND fun drinks names. nightmare. never again. i only did it to make all the memes

haunted house: ‘they have a house party then ginny gets trapped in the house with both her ex boyfriends, her boyfriend’s ex and also cormac mclaggen’ was a chapter concept i mentally wrote back in february lol. it’s too delicious. i wanted the teenageness of it - the sloppy lazy hangover vibe the day after a house party, but added all these layers of fear and the waiting game with all the left-behind characters. the garden as relief was important, but also the wild overgrownness of it, unmanageable untamed. i have lived in flats in the kinds of london townhouses grimmauld is based on and they very often have these big scooped out brick walled gardens below street level that are just so atmospheric and oasis like but also usually kind of a mess and overgrown. so count this as a love letter to a london garden

ginny and sirius: in these two chapters, the flashbacks are entirely ginny’s memories of sirius black - specifically, of teenage ginny’s attempts to connect with this veteran, someone she canonically cares for and admires, who i think would be something of a god in her eyes, partly because he’s hot/cool/can turn into a dog (slay) but mostly for his enormous self-sacrifice and martyrdom for his friends and for the cause, even before his actual death. i’ve talked about the canon parallels between these two characters in the first of a two part meta here, which lays out my thinking behind sirius and ginny’s relationship as rendered here (ie. sirius would quite like ginny, perhaps see shades of james in her - hence the snitch - but she would always care more about him, and about impressing him, than he ever would about her). one of the most important lines of sirius’ in canon for me is the one he yells at the weasley children the night their father is attacked: they (understandably) just want to go and see their dad, but sirius, as kindly but as firmly as he can, tells them that this is both naive and also counter to what the order of the phoenix exists to do: a resistance organisation that is all about self-sacrifice for the greater good (“This is how it is — this is why you’re not in the Order — you don’t understand — there are things worth dying for!”) through sirius, we learn, ginny began to form a set of ideas about some very important things for her: about how to survive, how to preserve a mind, and about what it means to fight, especially when being held back and deliberately kept out of the fight. all pretty formative in ginny weasley’s book, i’d say. i wanted ginny’s memories of sirius to be very triggered by place, trapped back in this very claustrophobic, very sensorily dense and evocative house. i knew i wanted moments where we have ginny actively drift off into reminiscences in the present timeline (getting caught drifting off fleabag style by ron before the party) or seek out spaces to remember (going into walburga’s bedroom). where previously the flashbacks have been less active and less visible acts of ginny remembering, more standalone cutaways than examples of a character actively going into a memory, it was important to me to start to show memories becoming much more like intrusive thoughts ginny can’t push away as her defensive coping mechanisms come under increasing assault.

animagi: one of the big things ginny first badgers sirius about is how to become an animagus. ginny’s interest in becoming an animagus does, at first, come from a place of childlike awe (especially from an animal lover). but, as ginny eventually hints to sirius, it’s also a reflection of young ginny becoming very interested in possible survival strategies to get out of facing awful memories she’d rather not think about every time a dementor comes to town. she sees sirius becoming the dog as an escape both from literal prison and from the prison of the mind. sirius suggests it’s not quite as simple as that. we’ll be returning to these ruminations in due course…. 

traitors: as @ashesandhackles’ gift of a question suggests, one of the big themes at work in these chapters, particularly chapter 11, is betrayal and - particularly - the figure of the traitor. as ashes points out, we see a whole lot of traitors mentioned to varying extents (from canon: pettigrew, percy, regulus, sirius himself, marietta, mundungus, kreacher, xenophilius, snape, andromeda…). in c.10 these themes are more dormant, little passing asides (the banality of evil, lol, and geri halliwell betraying the spice girls aka the worst act of treachery in 90s britain). but in c.11, we see the memory of past traitors and the prospect of future ones come to bear: the DA’s interrogation and fear that dean might not be all that he seems, and then rabastan lestrange getting killed by his own brother for, as harry suggests in his analysis of rabastan’s murder, betraying a set of ideas and a worldview that pre-existed voldemort and now survives him. so far in the fic, we’ve seen ginny reflect on questions of the soul as an inherently moral entity, its existence imbuing all who have a soul with the capacity for good, if not compelling them to always do it. here, i wanted to start introducing questions of where the choice to do bad comes from, the big nature vs. nurture, question, because i think this question would not just interest ginny given her own set of experiences (and you can speculate what those might be, because we will be returning to them!), but also because it speaks to a broader set of themes and questions that beasts is trying to expand upon that thread through canon. i don’t want to spoil too much for a future plot point, but needless to say this is a fic that tries to ask questions about selfhood, people’s nature, about motivation, intent, and choices, about childhoods and why people grow up to be who they are and make the choices they make – and also about wizards’ claim of superiority over all other magical beings because they have a monopoly on morality, on conscience, on justice, and therefore, as the most rational, civilised, self-governing political subjects, have the right to make and enforce law over other magical species. the existence of the traitor, for these characters who made moral choices to resist during a war fought over right and wrong, is a fascinating litmus test for any society grappling with the enforcement of justice, what it means to try to do good, and the circumstances under which people choose not to do good - as kingsley’s speech at the end of c.11 suggests, what it is in a person’s development that might lead them in one moral direction or another. “is this who we are?” kingsley asks, and the answer really might be: yes, actually.

the girls’ getting dressed: a) it’s literally always the best bit of any party and b) yes it’s important that hermione granger not just looked hot but wanted to, and that her and ginny had the first meaningful conversation they’ve had with each other while they’re pulling on hoe fits and doing sleakeazy treatments. female friendship arc engaged. also nymphadora tonks just definitely had hot cool 90s clubbing fits don’t know what to tell you (recs below)

the DA: what was fun about writing the party, though, was getting to try and show ginny among her fellow soldiers, and, especially, harry getting to see it. we know that canon ginny is popular and well liked by her classmates pre the war, but the experience of the DA under the carrows (as future flashbacks will show…) would be an intense bonding experience for many, and, i think, of the three leaders (neville, luna, ginny), it would be ginny that would become perhaps the most important emotionally to her fellow soldiers on the basis of her personality, compassion and empathy. in these chapters, you see those who *were* at hogwarts during the war have their guard up, exercise stiff safety procedures, and those that *weren’t* - especially harry - start to clock how much the war changed the DA from duelling fight club to a resistance organisation with military capabilities and procedures. what this means for hinny, of course, is harry, knowing that ginny is keeping things from him, starting to put together that that persecution and torture neville spoke breezily about in the hog’s head tunnel that time might actually have been, er, real, and that ginny might have had her own direct experiences of it that she hasn’t shared with him…

the slytherins: @titaniasthings sent me this ask ages ago about slytherins and i very rudely banked the ask to talk about another day. and i'm not even going to answer it now! i am hugely sorry about that, but i will answer it in due course, so this is me publicly apologising and basically promising to get back to this question, because i think it’s both very interesting and also one of the weakest points of canon that fanfiction can help right in really interesting and productive ways. for now, let me just say theo nott and daphne greengrass’ presence at the party is me flagging that i DO think there are ways that slytherins would have engaged with the DA and with resistance during the war, for lots of different motivations, and look forward to developing this further as this lovely little inquiry gets underway…

deamus: is this deamus or is it dean/rio ferdinand (unrequited)? who’s to say

cormac mclaggen: yes everyone is under attack from a renegade bunch of vigilante wannabe death eaters but you should never let that stop you from going to pound town

cho and ginny: me, posting a sneak peek that looked like it was ginny dialogue but it was actually from cho… 😈

i’ve talked a bit about my thoughts on cho and ginny’s relationship elsewhere, and had this scene written for ages, because i a) think it’s funny when surprising characters call the protagonist out on their shit and impart the most useful wisdom (michael and cho have both played this part so far lol) and b) i wanted ginny’s insecurities about cho, which are understandable but come from a place of teenage rivalry and are quite juvenile, to have to give way to something more mature between them, as part of a coming of age growing up arc. in c 10 we get their petty interactions, judging each other for their outfits, clearly frosty, but in c 11, we see ginny and cho accidentally have probably the most important conversation ginny's had with anyone in ages. ginny has to face up to the fact that since 1995, cho chang has grieved and lived with a reality that ginny fears enormously - the death of the boy she loves - and also all the repercussions that came with it, including the impact of it on her own quidditch ambitions. the cho we see has done a lot of work on her own grief and now has a remarkably healthy reflection on what it is to grow up and to both forgive yourself and release yourself from dreams you had as a child, while also recognising it’s ok to mourn the future you hoped you’d have when life gets in the way. for hinny purposes, i also wanted the memory of cho’s distress and harry’s inability to handle it to resurface before the hinny fight, because i think cho’s weepiness and attempt to ask harry for emotional support would be pretty influential on ginny’s decision to try to avoid doing that at all costs. (ashes also pulled out my agenda behind the cho changing in front of ginny moment: “the difference of Cho's comfort with changing in front of people i.e women vs Ginny - it shows how differently each have built friendships and at what stage in their lives”. cho chang had close female friends before ginny or hermione really ever did and it shows!

rodolphus lestrange: ‘a huge day for rodolphus nation’ - aka just @saintsenara. i have never bought the idea that rodolphus is pure flop and bellatrix is the instigator in their marriage for them joining the death eaters - my personal take is that the lestranges are the gateway for the black sisters being drawn into the orbit of death eaterdom, and am especially a fan of a big age gap between bellatrix and rodolphus, meaning that rodolphus was in the first wave of death eaters/voldemort’s school gang or at the very least an early follower, and that that’s how bellatrix gets drawn from low key pureblood supremacist politics of the black family into the paramilitary activities of the death eaters. i *like* the idea of death eaters who aren’t just thugs for hire but have a real political worldview and a programme that they will continue to pursue after voldemort’s death, and am excited to explore that in the fic (and what it means for plans for postwar reform and societal rebuilding). slay from roddy, basically

ginny’s boggart: thank you to this lovely anon both for the regulus-ginny parallels note and also for asking about ginny's boggart! i am however going to be an arsehole and stay zipped lip on this one for now (we will find out i swear), but just for now to say: i wanted the boggart to both add atmosphere and a lovely sense of oppressive dread (hiding in a broken clock, a forever waiting game), but also ginny’s inability to bring herself to draw it out and face it to be a sign of her struggling to force herself to process dark memories that are proving stubbornly haunting…

the hinny fight: you all have had the patience of saints waiting for this scene fr. pls know this fight took me absolutely bloody ages to write lmao. fights are hard when you want people to be flawed but neither person really be in the wrong! here we have ginny, finally letting out seven years of resentment at being left out, patronised, and over-protected: harry, calling her on the fact that she’s clearly trying to protect him from things that really bothering her, letting her know how hurt he is that she’s excluded him from her ongoing ordeal - but also, in getting her to finally tell the truth, having to face up to the thing he hasn’t wanted to face up to, the possibility of ginny’s enormous sufferings during the war that he literally broke up with her, naively, to try to avoid. it’s a long scene – 4k words lol - but i really wanted the fight to have distinct stages, a crescendo, a cooling off period, building ultimately to a quiet moment of confession from both characters. harry finally says out loud what ginny has become to him, his fears about what happened to sirius happening to her, how lost he feels in a world where he is no longer the chosen one, and the hopes he has for him and ginny as a little family around which he wants to build a future amid uncertainty about literally everything else. ginny finally admits what it is in her past that has shaped how much she is prepared to trust and confess to another person about her fears. and so we leave them having finally aired out things that needed to be said, but lacking direction about how to resolve them. they’ve got work to do, baby (and i’m super excited to share how they’re going to do it). will be posting part 2 of the sirius and ginny meta v soon, which discusses in more depth how the memory of sirius, and especially of his death, influences harry’s ideas about familial love and especially his overprotectiveness when it comes to ginny. stay tuned for that. it’ll be real sad, sorry!

harry left holding all of his eggcups once ginny’s gone back to school: 

songs from the playlist for these chapters:

i would personally like to take this opportunity to call out ginny weasley for having such a sad adolescence that i had to write about it and listen to phoebe bridgers the entire time and therefore fuck up my spotify wrapped. that is all

the songs for chapter ten (party party party) are wall to wall bangers. two tribes, with siren, right before the auror alarms go off! yesssss. also slow show is the most romantic song ever written about a party and a person’s dick (‘standing at the punch table swallowing punch’, ‘you know i dreamed about you/i missed you for 29 years/before i saw you): 

playing around before the party starts by childish gambino | i predict a riot by the kaiser chiefs | paint it black by the rolling stones | two tribes - we don’t want to die version by frankie goes to hollywood | slow show by the national

the songs for chapter eleven are much more subdued, quiet (hangover-proof), songs for a waiting game. the mitski song is this chapter's manifesto and also is the harry-sirius-ginny arc anthem, i will not be persuaded otherwise (you're an angel, i'm a dog/or you're a dog and i'm your man/you believe me like a god/i'll destroy you like I am). i wanted duets, too, especially men and women duetting together, to echo the conversations that happen across both of these chapters (between sirius and ginny, dean and ginny, and then harry and ginny). and had to have auld lang syne cos it’s bloody new year for GOD’s sake: 

i’m your man by mitski | no doom for doubt by lianne la havas and willy mason | house of the rising sun by alt-j | birch by big red machine and taylor swift | waiting room by phoebe bridgers | new auburn by big red machine and anaïs mitchell | auld lang syne by mairi campbell and david francis

ps. the new beyonce song could easily be harry to the DA at the end of chapter 11. get the fuck out of my house!!!

reading list: 

on tonks being a hot girl with party streak and a wardrobe that is major:

Leather by @saintsenara/asenora  (self-rec! embarrassing!) dead ends by whinlatter

on dean and his mum: 

Lifelike by @evesaintyves

on sirius and grimmauld place:

Toys in the Attic by @ashesandhackles and thecat_iswriting Lux Aurumque by @saintsenara/asenora

on peter pettigrew: 

All I ever wanted was a life in your shape by saptashati 

on cho chang: 

overemotional: in defense of cho chang by dirgewithoutmusic

plus the smallest of sneak peeks of chapter 12, coming in january...

They're different, his letters. She knew they would be, though it doesn't make it hurt any less.

[nomsfaultau]

Daily ask №22

Sickness edition!

1. Can each one of them even get sick in the first place? I mean, Phil is a god, the Blade is a.. furry?? And Wilbur is a.. void person. And Tubbo is bees.

2. Assuming they do get sick, how do they handle it?

3. How do they handle other people getting sick and having to care for them?

4. There's this myth in my culture that, I kid you not, breathing above boiled potatoes helps with a cold. Rank how likely it is that I would be able to convince them to breathe above boiled potatoes.

5. How is Phil theoretically very knowledgeable in science and stuff but also still believes in blood-letting??

1.All of them can get sick, which is an overhanging threat in part 2 given the survivalist genre. Like literally Tommy gets a power up that’s just hand sanitizer and it’s a game changer. That said, they’re a little…odd about it.

Phil is trying to be a person, warts and all, and that includes getting ill. Now, does it work like a normal person? Not in the slightest. He gets sick when he thinks he’s supposed to, which included inaccurate theories people have had over the years such as displeasing the gods or being cold and wet. In the little more than a century since germ theory has been proposed he mostly gets sick in a normal way now. Phil is absolutely ecstatic about vaccines, though in all fairness home remedies with no scientific basis also work on him. He is observed using fire to burn out void sepsis in Tommy and Wilbur, though unclear if that worked because void or bacteria. And if we dig into that we’re back to germ theory with Tommy and questioning what an individual even is. 

The Blade gets animal diseases, and pigs and humans share a decent chunk of illnesses. 

Tubbo deals with bee illnesses, mites, fungal problems, all manner of things. Dysentery according to Wiki? They do have the advantage of having the awareness to guaranteed symptomatic bees to limit contagions tho. 

Wilbur can’t get food borne illnesses since it devours All, and also I speculate that it doesn’t have normal organs ? Fault never says either way. External diseases from mouth, nose, dermis, etc work perfectly fine tho even if Wilbur can get away with eating rotten food.

Tommy might be the least likely to get sick of any of them thanks to Red acting as a germ killer. 

2.Tommy complains and demands pampering. Philza takes a self care day but it isn’t very relaxing bc mentally he’s like I can’t take care of my kids oh gods- Wilbur ignores it if he can. If not is like welp guess I’m dying since if it’s bad enough he can’t get food or medicine or fight and so it was a near death sentence as a kid. Tubbo depends on where they are in their arc. Normally they’d be very normal drink tea maybe try some home remedies. During their spiral they’d just ignore or dissociate through it like they did with their injuries. And The Blade is NOT sick. Nope. Nah ah. Perfectly fine. Buuut every time he sneezes it triggers The Blood God since he thinks it’s an attack. 

3.Phil grins and offers to balance their humors if it’s not serious. Other than that is very accommodating and spoiling and totally not thinking about his countless loved ones lost to illness. He can gauge what is/isn’t fatal very well, but though the spark of terror is buried deep it’s still there. Rhodes fully comes out of Tubbo, do you have enough pillows here have another cookie that’s quite the fever kiddo.  Lots of home remedies, often involving honey cause well good for sore throats and antibacterial/good for infections. Tommy dithers since he really wants to be useful but Red contamination and so he mostly sits beside them and tells a bunch of stupid jokes to lift the mood. Wilbur is also going to take massive care of anyone who’s sick since that’s something it never got. More distant though, more like going on supply runs for lots of extra food and medicine, but is cautious so it doesn’t get sick too. Only The Blade is fully like like nah. I’m not catching a cold thanks. Good luck bro. He also dealt with the no medicine or support thing Wilbur went through, though wasn’t worried about losing fights and can eat pretty much whatever and actually get nutrition from it unlike Wilbur. Plus he isn’t keen on the chance of it giving The Blood God better access to control. 

4. Philza: has heard it before, has tried it, and it probably works for him. Stupid metaphorical man. If asked how he thinks it works he’d probably shrug and reply something about vitamins. 

Tubbo: they don’t believe it. But they also don’t not believe it. This is less that they aren’t a little superstitious about home remedies, and more that they haven’t heard about it and they know ALL the home remedies so it clearly can’t work or else they’d’ve already used it. But they would still use it. Again this is pure Rhodes, because he wants to take care of his kiddos and Tubbo heavily associates sick days with him staying home to look after them. I can too write a healthy paternal figure! (We’re ignoring chapter 13 it can’t hurt us if we don’t acknowledge it).

Tommy: I mean he’s a lil dumb, maybe. He’d definitely poke fun while trying it just in case he’s getting pranked. 

Wilbur: doesn’t believe it for a second. It’s more a mixture of trust issues than the fact it understands how medicine works. Actually wait. How does Wilbur think that works. Because a lot of it is eaten/swallowed. Like Wil tends to be the unofficial healer of the group alongside Phil, but his experience is purely ‘birthed from the crucible of need that forces experience whether one is read for it or not’ or however that one line goes. Cause it’s gotta be a mix of reading the back of pill bottles and Foundation stuff and void trivia so I gotta imagine that man has no idea why what it’s doing works. 

The Blade: has already eaten the potatoes before you even get around to explaining.

5.Phil’s knowledge of science is filled with a LOT of misinformation and it’s hard for him to keep track. Plus if utterly convinced something would heal him it genuinely will, and confirmation bias is a hell of a drug. I also believe he suggests blood-letting 100% to mess with people. There’s a deleted scene where he almost convinces Tubbo he can’t write in English because he ‘didn’t think it would be important’ and ‘clay tablets are going to come back any day now’. I think (aside from the murder) Phil often gets pigeon holed as the well adjusted mentor figure. Sort of a Kermit the Frog thing where the crazy cast of colorful characters kinda drowns out the fact that he’s the crazy nut job who decided to hire them all, and subtly thrives on chaos. 

[yanderes-galore]

Yandere hybrid twins? Would they be conjoined since their both part Zippleback. . . But them x reader :>

Httyd

I suppose this AU didn't have enough body horror, huh? Sorry for the long wait... here's some HCs. It's mostly just me playing around with the idea.

Yandere! Zippleback Hybrid! Twins Concept

(Ruffnut and Tuffnut)

Pairing: Romantic/Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Body horror, Manipulation, Possessive/Protective behavior, Stalking, Violence, Murder implied (On accident), Kidnapping, Mentions of hermaphroditism, Dubious companionship/relationship.

Honestly, no matter how I look at this, they would have to be conjoined, wouldn’t they?

Both of them share a body due to being a Zippleback hybrid.

I don't really have an official design in mind... but it's probably disturbing.

They no doubt have the abilities of a normal Zippleback.

They have the sparking ability, they have the gas ability, and they're volatile in ability and emotions.

Like normal Zipplebacks they often fight with one another.

I also imagine taming them would be similar to the original dragon, too.

Perhaps like the Hiccup hybrid fic... you save them from being hunted?

Which you know what that means... life debt.

Until they can return the favor... they'd both be obsessive about you, even as a hybrid.

They'd be loyal towards you.

Even more so if you provide them with attention and/or they view you as a mate.

I imagine the twins are an interesting case.

Their heads retain their genders.

So I imagine they as a hybrid are... what's the word... a hermaphrodite?

Do with that info as you will.

They are probably the oddest hybrid I can think of in this AU.

Well... any Zippleback hybrid would be, actually....

You probably came across them injured, the two bickering bitterly with one another as they try to fly again.

When you reveal yourself, a normal human... they panic.

Are you going to hunt them!?

They can easily nuke this area, don't come any closer!

Yet... you don't harm them.

Instead you offer food and try to get close enough to offer supplies.

Well... after that the two can't seem to leave their new human alone.

Honestly... conversation is a bit weird at first, but you begin to see them as an ally of some sort.

You learn the female head is named Ruffnut and the male head is named Tuffnut.

They are a unique Zippleback hybrid with mischievous tendencies.

They see you as a friend since you helped them.

In fact, it's in their nature to be loyal towards you... all due to what you've done for them.

Despite them being classified as "intersex", they can still see you as a mate if you want.

I find it funny if both head have two different opinions of you.

Maybe one views you as a friend while the other wants to court you?

Awkward, isn't it?

Even funnier if only one of them wags their tail.

I imagine they'd be fiercely protective and possessive of you, often squabbling with one another on what to do for you to show they care.

You're given fish as a gift... often.

That and they stare down other hybrids, humans, and dragons....

They're like (sometimes stupid) bodyguards.

You can never have a,conversation with one head, the other is always there.

For example, maybe one of them is courting you... and the other just likes to sabotage them.

It's... all a chaotic mess, really.

Since they hate leaving your side, even if you ordered it, they'd stalk you.

They're big too, so it isn't like they're going to hide very well.

The two may kidnap you... but it's very dysfunctional.

Eventually they may trap you in a cave, alone from others, but they're still bickering.

It's luck they even succeeded.

They fight over your attention but can sometimes work with one another.

The whole hybrid is a chaotic mess... just like them normally.

In terms of would they kill? They could.

Their abilities are explosive... set them off and someone's in trouble.

They'd attack to protect you... but may accidentally cause someone's demise in the process.

Overall, these Ruffnut and Tuffnut would bicker but be as loyal as any other Zippleback...

Which soon proves to be problematic to you and your freedom.

[qs63]

Roy's and Knox's partnership

Trigger warning this is not a happy headcanon, it has mentions of burning and human experimentation.

Okay some context, the Manga outright tells us Amestris was performing experiments on the effects of burns and pain on the human body, and this was what Knox was working on during the late stage of the war.

It's heavily implied by Knox that Roy was involved in these experiments somehow, but his exact role isn't made clear. All Knox said is that Roy burned Ishvalans and he dissected them.

Were they picking up the corpses and survivors of Roy's attacks and giving them to Knox?

Did they take Roy into a building and had him burn Ishvalans in there?

We don't know, and — considering how Arakawa likes leaving stuff open — we will probably never know the exact answer.

I personally subscribe to the former.

Some important points before I explain why.

We know that Roy didn't have good control of his Flame Alchemy at first. He admits this himself in the Wednesday 4 panel omake. We also see the soldiers warning each other that Roy is coming so they can run away and not get caught up by his flames.

But towards the end of the war we see him being quite precise when attacking, and working closer with his team. He also tells Riza (when she asks him to burn her back) that he's gotten good at burning people. So Roy's control over his alchemy definitely grew exponentially during the war.

He also tells Breda that he's not an expert in human anatomy. And yet we see in his fight with Envy that he is very knowledgeable about how to burn people for minimum damage and maximum pain.

Roy definitely has some medical knowledge when it comes to burning people, which is not related or necessary for his alchemy to work.

Now, my headcanon is that Roy's medical knowledge and his improved control with his flame is mostly thanks to Knox.

I find it hard to imagine Roy actively burning people outside of the battlefield. I think he would have ended up more fucked up in the head if that had been the case (hello suicidal '03 Roy). But with so little control at the beginning of the war, not only would other soldiers get hurt in friendly fire. He was probably not killing the Ishvalans very efficiently. Roy's early victims were probably suffering horrendously as they died, all because he lacked control and medical knowledge.

I imagine Knox meeting Roy at some point, and in a very Knox fashion, being harsh with him. He would let Roy know just how cruel he was for letting his victims suffer so much. But Roy is not Kimblee, and Knox would notice that. So he probably ended up teaching Roy more about anatomy and sharing his findings about the dissected corpses, all so Roy could learn how NOT to use his fire in order to give the Ishvalans as quick and painless death as possible.

So Roy would go put his new knowledge into practice, go back to Knox to see if what he was doing had worked. Rinse and repeat until he had mastered how to control his flame and the best way to kill without causing unnecessary pain. In the meantime the military gets a lot of data from this exercise.

Of course knowing what not to do to cause pain means you also know what to do in order to maximize pain, as we saw Roy do with Envy.

I don't mean to make Roy and Knox sound noble. They are not. It's still human experimentation. It's still genocide. It's still cruel. Both Roy and Knox believe and admit to the horrors of what they did. But I think this kind of misguided good intentions fits the characters. It also makes the Envy fight more interesting as it is not just an abuse of the power Riza gave him, but also of the knowledge Roy gained from Ishvalan suffering.

[xbeezchaos]

BPD Scara! X reader pt.5

How he handles his jealousy/someone else gets in his way

The bitches have spoke. And by bitches I mean the lovely little audience I’ve acquired that loves my scara bpd series. I’ve got some shit in the works but this gives me the perfect space to write. Keep in mind. All this is based off my unmedicated internal thoughts along with external actions. Don’t self diagnose and if you relate to this. You’re not a psychopath don’t romanticize having a bpd partner cause not everyone’s like me.

Anyways. Let’s continue!!

He’s liked you for so long that if anything he’d break if you rejected him. So he’s mostly kept his feelings bottled up and been very particular about expressing them.

He has a fear that if he goes too far in expressing his emotions to you. That you’ll leave.

Has written you love letters confessing his undying love for you and the things he’d do for you

Makes playlists with songs you like and that remind him of you so he can daydream about you when you’re away from him

The moment you give him a taste of affection he’s asking for more like a touch starved little pup.

He’s clingy and defensive with you in public. He will fight a bitch that looks at you for too long

Has almost been arrested but somehow convinced the officers he beat the crap out of the dude in self defense and got let off easy

Has a photo album of you filled with many pictures of the both of you to stalker like photos of you

Learns your whole schedule so he knows when to text, when to call and go over.

You’re definitely his favorite person. But a romantic favorite person which means you’re his whole world

If anyone ever tried flirting with him and it’s not you. Trust he’d make that person cry, or pour hot coffee on them if they tried touching him

He hates physically contact if it isn’t coming from you. When he’s in his “don’t touch me” mood. It rarely ever applies to you cause he’s seeking you out for comfort

Can’t compliment you or be fully soft and romantic with you without adding in a form of insult to it.

“I love you, stupid bitch.” You would’ve thought he was joking but the way he avoids eye contact and tries to hide the both on his face tells you he’s serious

He loves to cuddle. And wants to kiss and squish your cute face in his hands anytime he gets the chance. But you’d probably never leave his arms if that were to happen.

Rarely gets mad at you. You’d have to do something super fucked up to make him pissed at you and stay pissed at you. But for this. Let’s crack into how he’d act if you upset him.

If you were his romantic FP and you had a partner. He’d hate your partner with his whole being. Treat them like shit. Talk down on them. Just straight up bully the poor thing until they didn’t like him and you had to reprimand him.

If you reprimand him he’ll still not see a problem with his behaviors. In his mind he’s right and the other persons wrong for stealing you away. How dare they take what’s his? Fuck them!

Even tho he really gets mad at you. His paranoia will sometimes trigger him into a silent episode where he’ll ignore you because he’s convinced you hate him and talking to you will prove it (you literally don’t hate him but he hasn’t come to a rational mind yet)

If you’re a platonic FP— you’ve got it somewhat easier. But it’s just the lacking romance part. He’s still going to be a black cat sitting at your feet, attacking people that try to come near you.

Platonic fps for him are like. His best friends. You’ll be his best friend and anyone who passes a threat to that relationship is clearly asking for him to just tease them apart mentally.

You’ve witnessed him target a persons every physical and mental insecurity and issues like they were big red targets on their bodies for him to shoot at. He’s relentless and careless when he’s tearing someone down. You’ve never heard such hurtful or creative insults flow like poetry from someone before.

Has a secret addiction to confrontation. The adrenaline rush is like a drug for him especially when he knows he’ll be the victor of the situation

[simon-newman]

Spirit Ashes

So. Getting into Elden Ring now I do look for content around the Internet.

What did get my attention is a lot of hatred for Spirit Ashes mechanic which is apparently new thing for Fromsoftware games.

To put is simply - Spirit Ashes are a summoning mechanic where you can call upon a specific AI controlled Spirit to be your ally in the fight.

Some Soulslike veterans insist that this is Fromsoft's method of giving casual players an "easy mode" in an otherwise difficult (or not*) game.

* - The other thing is that there isn't even a consensus if the game is easy or not - some claim it's unbalanced and Fromsoft jumped the shark/used cheap gimmicks to up the difficulty while others claim it's the easiest one and made for casuals even without Spirit Ashes.

Anyway.

Yeah - I have been using Spirit Ashes since I got a set of 3 puppies from Ranni. Then I switched to some stronger ones like Jellyfish and finally Banished Knight Oleg. Are they helpful? Well. Yes? They do provide another target for the boss to focus on. They also deal some damage on their own.

Are they an "easy mode"? Are they breaking the game? Do they win on their own?

Short answer. No - they are not.

First I need to make a disclaimer. The summons can't be used everywhere - only in specific locations. Additionally they can't be re-summoned. They can be upgraded up to +10 but nothing above that - meaning they'll continue to lose in value as the monsters get stronger. Especially when I tackle the NG+ which scales the enemies up 7 times up to NG7+.

Now as to how useful are they playing the game for the first time?

It depends on the boss really.

Beastman of Farum Azula in Limgrave? Yeah - the wolves helped me tear him apart.

I've tackled the Tree Sentinel at lvl 17 and they didn't survive long enough to get his hp down by 1/3.

Pictured above - both me and the wolves are dead already.

Margit? The wolves were lucky if 1 survived till phase 2 (50% hp). Calling them in phase 2 alone was useless as they'd get annihilated with about 2 hammer strikes.

I will say that I did feel kinda bad for some bosses once I switched to Oleg.

Admittedly - this guy is a lot tankier and deadlier than the pups and did save my skin several times.

But he's not an almighty "I win button".

Magma Wyrm just melted him in it's AoE. Same with double gargoyle fight. Even at +7 in a lot of fights he's only enough of a distraction to get in a few initial attacks.

In my ~10 attempts he has NEVER survived long enough to take down one of the gargoyles and I had to fight 2 vs 1 in every single iteration of that fight.

Even without AoE this is often the case against bosses that are an actual challenge.

This is way after Oleg got annihilated by the Crucible Knights. Mostly in 1v1 fight. He wouldn't last long enough for me to get one of them to 50%.

This means that I had to do 75% of the fight solo anyway.

And there are worse examples.

Astel the Naturalborn of the Void? Oleg was pretty much useless and would die almost instantly due to AoE gravity attacks that he also helped trigger more often.

Falligstar beast is outright easier to deal with if it focuses it's attacks on you because most of them is blockable and can be punished.

His contribution against Lansseax was next to none.

Malenia is known for healing from hitting enemies - meaning the summon whose AI is just going to tank blows might end up doing more harm than good.

And that's not mentioning bosses that you can't even use summons against.

In general if a summon is strong enough to make a major contribution to the fight the boss is usually weak enough to die in around 10 hits from me alone anyway.

Ultimately Spirit Ashes are just a mechanic to be used as you see fit. There are people who play without armor or even without leveling. It's their choice and a testament to their skills.

I am just wondering how many soulslike elitists who keep saying that "Spirit Ashes are for unskilled casuals" themselves followed precise meta build guides from the Internet to make sure their Tarnished is the most optimized boss killing machine possible so that they wouldn't struggle.