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theressaicon · 1 month ago

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m!Harpy x gn!Reader part 1

Contains: kidnapping, yandere harpy, dead animals, m!Harpy in love, grumpy gn!reader

It's quite windy outside. It doesn't blow that much in the valley where you live. But it's different in the mountains. The weather changes here pretty often. It often rains, but often the sun shines so brightly that the rocks around are as hot as if from a furnace.

Rocky mountains lean around rivers, leading to the open sea where the tides alternate. Even though the sea and beautiful countryside were right behind your village, you never got to see all that beauty.

Until now.

However you didn't have time to admire your surroundings, no... you were too busy with your heavy breathing. You woke up exhausted in a huge nest made out of sticks, feathers, moss and other materials.

The sun didn't shine on you, the nest was hidden in a crack in one of the highest rocky mountains. The angle of the crack prevented the strong wind from reaching you.

Your clothing wasn't built for temperatures like here in the high mountains. As your anxiety subsided and you calmed down from the shock, you hugged your knees to your chest and tried to remember how you got here in the first place.

'Of course... I was harvesting potatoes from the field.' It was before noon. You had cooked lunch from the previous day and most of the work was in your small field, where you grew mostly vegetables to make a living.

Sometimes you sold leftover carrots or radishes, otherwise you managed to not let anything go to waste. Now you're afraid you'll never see your potatoes again.

'Think... Come on, think! What happened after??' you rubbed your temples, frustrated. A shadow. That's what your eyes saw.

It was as if a black cloud had appeared above you, ready to take you away. And it did. You remember kicking your feet violently and screaming while you were in the air.

When you looked up, you saw a black creature staring deep into your soul. You must have fainted, because the next thing you know is waking up in the place where you are now.

„Those men weren't crazy after all." you sighed heavily. From time to time someone would come back from the mountains and talk about flying creatures with human faces and bird bodies.

They were called harpies and parents would scare small children if they wandered too far from the village.

Now here you are, sitting in the big nest with fear in your chest, mentally preparing yourself to be eaten. 'Goodbye my potatoes. Farewell my neglected house. I will miss you, my little field..."

Of course, you could have mourned the people of your village, but probably no one even noticed that you were literally carried away by a demon.

„I'm so young, I haven't even had time to get married..." You were complaining loudly, as if someone could to hear you.

After a few minutes of drowning in your own thoughts, you heard a scream. It resembled a bird's cry, similar to a raven's. If there are birds flying around, it might be safe here right now, right?

The croaking grew louder. It was different from an ordinary bird. Not a good sign. You only realized what was really happening when you heard the flapping of wings. Big wings, slow yet powerful movements.

You jumped to the farthest corner of the nest, trying to hide from the creature that had landed in the crack. The sun cast its dark silhouette, hairs on the back if your neck stood up.

It made clicking noises; unpleasant sounds to your ears. The terrifying creature tilted it's head to the side, observing you from where it stood.

You were terrified when it jumped into the nest with a quick movement. You screamed at the top of your lungs and shut your eyes tightly, thinking it was about to throw itself on you.

When you opened your eyes, it was gone. Was it a dream? No, it wasn't... It's figure peeked out from around the corner of the crack.

Surrounded by black hair and feathers, orange eyes stared in your direction. The sparkle in those eyes was subtle and strangely tender, compared to... the rest.

After a moment of hesitation, it sat back down in the crack without taking its eyes off you. You had time to properly look at it.

Grayish skin, from which feathers grew... And of course huge wings. They were black all over and because it was sitting outside the nest, the wind was ruffling the feathers in all directions.

Where the wings bent, there was a long claw on each one. Like a bat's. They must have served as "fingers," because it had no hands. Instead of human feet, it had huge bird claws, a little lighter than the rest of its body.

You saw fur in one of them. The creature noticed where you had focused your attention and attempted to enter the circular nest a second time.

He left only one claw in the nest and waited for your reaction. You flinched a little, but didn't scream this time. Success.

It finally crouched in the nest and began to make quiet clicking sounds like before. It didn't look you straight in the eye, but it still watched every slightest movement of yours.

You continued to inspect the body that was now crouching before you. Behind its feathered body you saw a black tail. It was very disheveled. You looked back at the face and stared at the crooked nose.

There went the clicking again. Frustration grew in your stomach. „Are you going to eat me?" you sounded almost annoyed. It's clicking stopped.

You figured it would be a male, his features were closer to masculine ones. Next you discovered that the fur he was holding in his claws was a hare when he moved it closer to you.

„...Are you offering that to me?" You asked with low voice. No answer received. The harpy just kept on waiting. „No thanks."

All that could be heard was the strong wind hitting the rocky mountain. „I don't want it." Those orange eyes inspected the dead animal, then pulled it to it's nose, sniffing it.

The harpy's point of view:

'What could possibly be wrong with it!?' Screamed his inner voice. He might have looked serious on the outside, but the truth was... he was panicking.

'It's fresh... Wait. Maybe it's too small?' He poked into it with his claw sticking out of his right wing. 'They are not impressed. They must think I am a TERRIBLE hunter!'

He lowered his head, covered in long black hair. 'I didn't even have a chance to preen myself, I look like a turkey.' Silent chirps could be heard, if only you knew how upset he was with himself.

'No, I will NOT give up! I am going to keep trying!' Then he just backed out of the nest and flew away.

All you could think off was „I AM STILL ALIVE?!".

⊆⊰∹≓≫⊆⊰⋔⋪∡∹≓≫⊆⊰⋔⋪∡∹≓≫⊆⊰⋔⋪∡∹≓

You've been trying to figure out how to escape from that nest for half an hour. So far, all you've figured out is that you're too high above the ground and there's an incredibly cold wind blowing that always makes you crawl back in the warmth of the nest.

And a dead hare is lying next to you. Wonderful, truly. You backed into the farthest corner again when the harpy arrived.

First, he threw a young dead doe into the nest. You swore that it was looking at you reproachfully, that it was because of you that it was now in the harpy's nest.

Swallowing your saliva, you glared at the harpy. He had the audacity to SMILE! Maybe he didn't plan on eating you. Yet he was still a potential threat to your life.

The foul smell from both animals reached your nose, and you started to grimace. The smile of his faded as he rested his head on one of the sides of the crack.

'I KNEW THEY'D WANT THE PREY ALIVE! I AM SO STUPID!' His inner voice yelled. However, the flock was already far away and it would take him at least two hours to get another one.

After a moment of clicking, he flew away for another while. You mustered up the courage to throw those dead animals out of the nest. 'How much strength must he have to lift that weight in flight?' was your question. 'How much strength must he have to lift ME!?'

The only thing left behind were traces of blood where they lay. The smell was still there, but not that intense. His third arrival came.

The bruised rock goat scared the shit out of you. The animal was kicking its hooves in all directions and you were protecting your head from possible injuries.

The harpy dug his wing claw it the back of the animal to stop it from moving, making it scream in pain. He looked confused. And he was.

'I could swear there was a hare with a doe before...' You felt sorry for the suffering animal. „ Please, let off the goat!" Your voice got his attention. „Stop hurting it." you pleaded again.

The orange color of is irises shone into yours, you both were looking for hope in each of your eyes. 'He doesn't understand what I'm saying, is he...'

You protected your face with one hand and gently placed the other on the harpy's stuck claw inside the screaming goat's body. The animal kept violently twitching in pain and jabbing at you with its horns.

He was looking at you as intensely as you were looking at him. Without any further words, you shook your head; slowly but sternly.

'Woah hold up- they are touching meeee!?- UGH their little featherless claws are so cute.. But...' he looked in your eyes for the second time. 'They're frowning. And the head movement...'

Slowly, the harpy's claw stuck out of the animal's back. Blood was dripping down on dry branches the nest was made out of. You moved yourself back again.

The animal was exhausted, but alive. The harpy understood. 'They don't want an alive pray after all.' Shock took over you as he grabbed the rock goat and flew away with it.

You leaned out of the nest and watched where he flew. Next thing you see is him setting the animal down on the ground near a river and starting to return.

It looked like he was going to land in the crack again, but he flew higher than the nest was placed. It wasn't long before the Harpy returned. 'What did he bring this time?'

You were already watching his claws, expecting to see another victim. Instead, he was holding a large branch with leaves and... ripe apples!

'They're gaze is different now! Could this be the right thing?' He carefully climbed into the nest as if it didn't belong to him and moved the branch with the apples towards you.

You didn't hesitate and plucked one of the apples from the branch that was as long as you. You hadn't even had lunch, your stomach was rumbling, so of course you couldn't resist the sweet red apple.

Feathers danced all over his body with happiness. Your hunger was so big you ate other two apples till you felt full.

While you were eating, the harpy looked at you intently and made those clicking sounds again. It was his way of communicating, but you didn't understand him. He figured it out too. Nevertheless he continued.

'It doesn't seem like he's planning on letting me go anytime soon.' You've started to come to terms with reality. 'Might as well give him a name.'

As you finished eating your third apple, you looked at him and thought about what name would suit him. Naming him "Black" was too simple... "Orange eyes" seemed too long. Something short would be nice... Something that represented him. A unique thing of his..,

„Click." He stopped his noises opon hearing your voice. „That suits you." You announced as he tilted his head. „Click." As you repeated, he actually clicked is tongue like before. „Hahah, yes... Click."

His first thought was that you were trying to communicate with him. However, he soon realized that you were not imitating him, but he was imitating you.

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It was getting dark. The wind was still blowing just as hard, but the temperature had dropped slightly. However, the crack in the rock served as a thermal insulation point, keeping some of the warmth in.

In the time before it got dark, Click managed to replace the bloody sticks and leaves from his preys with new ones and cover them with soft moss.

It was clear that he was taking good care of the nest and was constantly replacing the materials with new ones. He even used the branch he brought you earlier and skillfully intertwined it with others. He was skilled even though he had no fingers.

You watched the sunset through the crack as he was just preening his feathers. He used his wing claws, moving them in all directions freely, as well as his lower claws, which he had instead of feet.

He included his mouth in the self cleaning too, you observed his strong jaw with white teeth. They weren't exactly long and pointy, more like firm and sharp.

'Alrighty, this should be enough...' Click judged his preening work. Then he looked you up and down a few times and clicked a few times as usual. You watched him stand up and swallowing hard.

He alternately raised his claws and stomped on the moss beneath him. In addition to that he repeatedly leaned forward and straightened up. When his head was down, the feathers on his wings fluffed up. And of course, he didn't forget to add THE clicking.

„Ain't no way." you said under your breath. You figured out Click was trying to preform a court dance for you. He was wagging his tail up and down while chirping and squawking.

Despite all his efforts to gain your admiration, he only received laughter. You found it comical how he tried to show off... yet- just maybe... adorable.

Fortunately, he took your laughter as an attempt to communicate, instead of being embarrassed, it gave him a little bit of confidence.

He continued for a while and finally bowed deeply and fell to his knees to show submission. He looked up at you with his big orange eyes, reminiscent of a sunrise.

You didn't know how to properly react, so you just smiled politely and clapped your hands lightly. The expression of your reaction was unknown to Click, but from your smile he could tell that he was doing at least half well.

'They're the one... others would already be plucking my feathers out.' Half-sadly he recalled his old attempts to find a mate. After several years of trying, he realized that his only chance would be to find a featherless harpy. According to the ancient legend, those were the harpies who were destined to never see the ground from above. Those were the harpies, who couldn't find a mate in their past life.

He had no chance of competing with the other males. Different colors, shapes and sounds, only he was black with constantly ruffled feathers.

Once he managed to attract a potential mate to his nest, he then suffered a painful rejection. Whatever nest he built was never as good as the others. But you were still here. You sat in the nest he built. You.

He looked dreamily into your eyes and made the sweetest noises, meaning: “I will provide you with food and water, keep you warm and comfortable, keep the nest looking new, and treat you like a noble."

Click carefully moved closer to your ankle, not having the nerve to even touch you... and clicked his tongue briefly, telling:

„I love you."

a/n: Just a feather boy who looks like a demon, yet tries to be an angel. Will you accept his curt dance? (´ε｀ )

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pastorpresent · 11 months ago

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part 2 to this, but it's not necessary reading to understand this:) tw for panic attacks

Logan is going to find every motherfucking TVA agent and rip them methodically into a hundred little chunks, which he's then going to serve to dogpool for her lunch.

He's just got to find Wade and get out of this stupid fucking warehouse first - and seriously, dingy old warehouse for an evil fucking lair? Get creative for once, jesus christ.

The thing was, this mission was supposed to be the definition of easy. The TVA just wanted them to catch some stupid deadpool variant, slap their cuffs on him and be done with it. Hell, Wade had even been looking up nearby lunch spots because they were so convinced they'd be done for then.

They weren't. The variant thing was a trap - which somehow completely went over the TVA's heads - and the place was actually an experimentation warehouse for mutants. They were baited there like fish to a hook, and Wade had been grabbed before either of them could fully grasp what was happening.

Wade was grabbed - and Logan was loosing his god damn mind, because he'd seen the uncharacteristic flicker of fear over the mercs face when they realised what this place was, watched Wade thumb through the paperwork with a tight expression, unsettlingly silent.

He understood. He'd been there, quite literally, but he had the small mercy of not remembering it so completely. His time spent chained to an experimentation table was mercifully shorter than Wades, and he only recalled brief flashes of it.

Wade had told him one night after a few too many drinks that he remembered his weeks in that warehouse vividly. Every second of it was etched into his brain like a branding, and if Logan had known that this mission would take them anywhere even slightly resembling that trauma he would've told the TVA to stick their mission so far up their ass they start choking on it.

He didn't, though, and now he was stuck hiding outside trying to figure out a way to get in there and grab Wade without getting caught himself. He needed back up, realistically.

It stung to call the X-Men. He hated doing it, because seeing them in this universe... it just reminded him of what he'd failed to protect. Of the team he'd essentially killed.

He'd gladly suck all of that up and toss his baggage aside if it meant helping Wade, though.

Even with their help (and their insistence on cuffing instead of murder) It still took a good half hour for them to clear the place.

Logan was growing antsy. He'd seen the sideways looks from Storm and Rogue as his murders grew more brash and violent, prioritising wiping the bastards out as rapidly as possible over doing so in a way which was... more composed and less bloody.

He'd killed about thirty. The team had cuffed and sedated the other lucky twenty, and had taken the... test subjects somewhere safe. Most of them were mutilated beyond looking like recognisable people, half alive, and honestly Logan thought they'd be better off just being put down and freed from their agony, but he didn't voice that. He didn't have time for a morals debate, not when the bastards have had Wade for almost a fucking hour.

"Wade!"

He was dipping in and out of every curtain, trying to find the idiot. His booming voice was echoing through the entire place, and so wherever he was he mustn't be conscious, or verbally able to respond.

Finally he pulled back a curtain and found him.

He was in a glass cylinder, strapped down with thick leather bindings, and was gasping for breath periodically as his skin burned.

An oxygen deprivation machine. The same type that gave Wade his mutation in the first place.

Those fucking sick bastards. He hoped that the team had gotten those men they cuffed the fuck out of here or Logan was going to chop off their fingers and make them eat them, then beat them to the point they were begging for death, and then he'd beat them some more and let them die from blunt force trauma, slowly and in agony on a dirty warehouse floor.

He surged forward, using his claws to bust holes in the machine, allowing immediate air flow while he figured out how to get the damn thing open.

He figured it out, the lid lifting, but something was wrong.

Wade was still gasping for air, his now free hands scratching at his neck desperately.

"Wade, breathe," Logan ordered a little harshly, grabbing the younger man's shoulders.

Big mistake apparently.

Wade was up in an instant, grabbing a nearby scalpel and driving it harshly into Logan's shoulder, his teeth bared and the air missing his usual cry of 'baby knife'.

"Wade, what the fuck are you-"

He was cut off by the medical scissors being thrown at his face, embedding deep into his cheek just below his eye, and fuck that hurt.

"Wade-" he grabbed him, trying to stop him from reaching for any more makeshift weapons, but Wade punched him hard in the face, driving the scissors deeper, and then proceeded to kick him in the balls.

Logan grunted at the impact, barely staying upright and releasing his grip in the momentary recovery.

Wade grabbed a gun from the side and started shooting recklessly, and Logan was painfully aware that some of the X-Men currently standing just a few flimsy curtains away were not as bullet proof as what he was.

He dove atop of Wade, tackling him to the floor, hissing with every bullet that the merc emptied into his torso.

"Wade, stop!"

"Get the fuck off me! Let me go!" Wade screamed, actually screamed at the top of his lungs, his breathing rapid and eyes hard but full of suffocating fear as he thrashed and struggled.

Logan felt horrible. He felt like the shittiest person on the planet, because Wade clearly had no idea what was happening in his panic, didn't recognise Logan or remember the circumstances, and he was terrified. Terrified of continued torture that was sure to come in his mind if Logan 'caught him', and he had no clue what to do.

"Wade it's me, alright? It's Logan. I'm trying to help you."

"I don't- get the fuck off me! Please! Just let me go!"

Wade was sobbing and begging, and from the grip Logan had of his lithe body he could feel his breathing growing shallower.

"I will, bub. I will, but I need you to put the gun down, alright?" Logan said carefully.

He wasn't going to let Wade come out of this having killed somebody he cared about accidently. He wasn't letting him be burdened by that guilt.

"I- I don't- please," Wade sobbed, and Logan swallowed thickly.

"Gun down, Wade," he repeated firmly, and this time he felt the barrel leave his torso and clatter onto the ground.

He continued to pin Wade down with just one arm as he grabbed the gun and tucked it into the back of his jeans.

"Good boy. That's good, thank you. I'm gonna let you up now, bub. Think you can stop trying to kill me for a second so we can talk?"

Wade whimpered softly, and nodded once in response.

Logan eased up on him gradually, rising to his feet and offering out a hand to help Wade do the same.

The younger man didn't take it, scrambling up by himself on shaky legs, taking a few stumbling steps backwards away from Logan.

That stung a little, but he understood. Wade clearly still didn't grasp who he was, and it was probably a very natural reaction to want distance between yourself and your conceived captor who had you pinned to the ground moments ago.

"Look at me, ok? You know me, bub. You know I'm not here to hurt you."

"I- I just want you to let me go. I just want to go home to Vanessa, please."

And maybe that one stung... a lot, more so than any of the sharp objects lodged into his body right now. He often worried about what his existence in this universe meant for Wade. He worried him being here, some sort of unnatural and inconvenient prescence, made it so Wade felt he couldn't truly go after what he wanted. A life with the girl, a few kids, a decent home.

Instead he got stuck with Logan, an alcoholic mess who could barely tolerate basic human interaction most days, and he knew Wade would argue that it was actually vice versa - that Logan was the one stuck with him - but it just wasn't true. Not when Wade was the one with a life he imposed on.

That day with Vanessa, when he'd just almost killed Wade from his own stupidity, rang clear in his head.

('You almost killed him, Logan! He could be dead right now because of you!' Vanessa screamed, voice thick with emotion.

Logan couldn't even bring himself to disagree, or defend himself.

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. You know I didn't mean it,' he stressed, staring at Wade's limp body on the couch, his torso wrapped with blood stained bandages.

She looked at him too, and for a painful few moments, there was just heavy silence. It felt like a boot hovering over them, waiting to drop.

'You know, ever since you... appeared here, bad shit has happened. Wade's not himself, because he spends so much of his time on you. He's always in danger trying to drag your sorry ass to safety. It's not fair.'

The boot dropped, and squished him whole.)

"We can. I'll take you to her, but you need to settle down first, bub. Look at me?" Logan said, taking the tiniest of steps closer.

Wade didn't move back, which he took as a win, and he did finally stop his rapid searching to look at him.

"Good. Good job, think you can try match my breathing?"

Another step forward, this one intentionally impossible to avoid noticing, just to gauge Wade's response.

He looked uneasy still but didn't move, and nodded minutely.

Logan breathed in and out slowly, intentionally exaggerated and verbally guiding Wade through it.

It took several minutes, but eventually after calming down considerably, the confusion seemed to evaporate alongside the panic.

"Good boy, again, ok? 1...2...3...4.... exhale-"

"Logan?"

He could've just about collapsed with fucking relief. For a minute or two, he was growing worried that the temporary confusion and amnesia was from more than just the panic attack and the torture chamber. That those bastards had done something to erase his memories just like Stryker had done to him.

"Yeah, it's me, bub," he sighed, shoulders deflating.

"What- what happened?! They hurt you?" Wade hissed, marching into his space and pulling out the scalpel. He reached for the scissors but Logan grabbed his wrist to stop him, opting to ease those out himself.

"Well, you could say that," Logan shrugged, and Wade's brows knotted together, until it seemed the events of the last ten minutes hit him and he gasped, stumbling back and away from him.

Logan didn't know exactly what came over him. Maybe he just couldn't stand the idea of Wade slipping away from him again so soon, even on the most basic physical level.

He filled the space between them, grabbing Wade by his shirt and yanking him forward into a tight hug.

"I hurt you, I fucking shot you-"

"Isn't the first time, won't be the last. Don't you fucking apologise to me, you idiot - you can shove your apologies into that smart ass mouth of yours and swallow 'em," Logan warned, and Wade laughed, but it quickly dissolved into a muffled sob, his hands coming up to fist the back of Logan's shirt desperately.

"They- they-"

"Are gone. It's done. You're safe, unlike those fuckers at the TVA the next time I see them," he growled, and Wade let out another watery laugh, hiding his face away in Logan's neck.

"Take me home?"

"Glady, bub."

#i love writing them so much #deadclaws #poolverine #deadpool #wolverine #logan howlett #wade wilson #wade wilson angst #the wolverine #deadclaws fic #poolverine fic #mywriting

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up-the-anti · 4 months ago

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the 4 oddly specific potential rasey dynamics i am praying for mm2:

1. casey is starstruck by raph the hero:

to casey, raphael ninja turtle is (for now) a distant superhuman figure that can actually fight!!! with real life weapons!!! and jump across buildings!!!!! and flipped a car once!!!! so obviously he HAS to get to know him and get acquainted with these mysterious ridiculously intriguing 4 brothers especially the most violent and intimidating one because his life has been tooooo boring thus far

when they first meet casey will probably be “just another fan”, and in a very 2012 way raph will grow lowkey irritated by this weird ass hockey player that he cannot seem to escape because he insists on following the gang everywhere and oh shit is that an ambush/fight scene where casey proves his capability as a proficient fighter and/or rescues raph in a moment of need and damn maybe you are not so annoying after all i’ll let you stick around.

this characterizes casey as an almost april-like figure in the sense that he is already an “exclude” that sees himself in the turtles (the core reasoning behind why he resonates with and latches on to their group), so this would be a solid continuation of the “ragtag outcasts banding together” solidarity theme that was prevalent in the 1st movie

2. raph is starstruck by casey the star player:

raph views casey as a beacon of exemplary normalcy– top of his team and stellar athlete that knows how to have fun in this picturesque nyc high school setting, THIS is who he needs to spend time with in order to get as far away from ostracization as he can because hes already a literal turtle, oh what he wouldn’t give to feel like he belongs (not to brush his brothers aside he understands he has his place with them but yk its just different)

this casey then would likely lean towards the “golden boy that is definitely hiding something” trope because one cannot be the charismatic eastman hockey center with 1 billion friends that everyone loves without a few issues, tragic past™, or skeletons in his closet (and if chosen to read as romantic, then yeahhh that closet). he’d be more hesitant to be too close with raph, not necessarily because he doesn’t like him but because god forbid he drop his guard and slip up even once especially now that a world famous mutant hero is in his inner circle.

they meet, they bond, friendship montage idk but whoa whoa whoa plot twist in a dramatic emotional moment its revealed that casey is nottt the ideal symbol raph perceives him to be!! KABOOM they work through it and come to terms with their desire to fit in in their own respective ways be it the sphere of eastman high or human society as a whole because everyone is more alike than they think and yes we are all different and weird regardless of what we show to the world (freeze frame end credits roll)

this is a pretty different take on casey’s character from others but i see it working especially in this coming-of-age-identity-focused iteration

3. both are starstruck by each other

particularly cute and less complex combo of the first two!!

caseys like oh my god YOU’RE the crazy strong powerhouse mutant look at your sick ass red mask and shiny weapons i cant believe you’re going to my school wdym u wanna be MY friend and raph is like who doesnt wanna be your friend you are the best player of one of the most aggressive sports this school offers!!!! i taste the mundanity of ordinary life and it is sweet!!!!!!

because all their interactions will be exaggerated fan behavior HIGH potential to make mm2 contain the funniest rasey dynamic of all time where each fight scene is just spliced with them gushing over the other do you see the vision

makes for a very lighthearted sequel that does not go very in depth of their relationship?? not that those 2 attributes are inherently linked but u know what im saying

4. neither are starstruck. frankly, they are very unimpressed by the other, which kicks off an insane rivalry arc

idk how casey would be acquainted with the turtles, maybe mr social butterfly mikey hits it up with him and is like “i know this one guy who you would really be friends with” and when he is introduced to raph all hell breaks loose, they look at each other and r like “THIS is [eastman’s star hockey player that everyone talks about]/[the guy that saved new york]? you are not all that lmaoooo”

they both have the issues and insecurities i opted for in the previous dynamics i mentioned, and they can so easily see through the other how similar they are in character (headstrong, aggressive, community/family oriented, NOT stable) but you best believe you’ll never catch them admitting this (not till the Big Dramatic Emotional scene where shit gets resolved anyway)

their interactions eventually evolve into a genuine, relaxed bond where they just get each other more than anyone else, they don’t feel pressured by any expectations and begin to view the other as a place where they can just be raph and casey instead of mutant hero or eastman’s #1 which i think would be neat

also this is the peak smug casey/petty raph dynamic i long for especially in that early rivalry stage where they just make snarky digs at the other and argue while beating up a horde of bad guys and not realizing how well they fight together blah blah bla

#mutant mayhem #tmnt mm #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tottmnt #tmnt 2023 #tales of the tmnt #tmnt mutant mayhem #rasey #maybe i draw this later but i wrote this in like half an hour and wanted something to post #notably i fw the rare traitor/foot clan casey aus so i was gonna rant ab that but idk where that would fit in

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melorambles · 7 months ago

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i've been trying to figure out how to reconcile the antivan crow lore from origins with what we're seeing from veilguard and i think i've got some ideas:

the crows aren't a united organization with a training manual, there are base requirements and tests to pass, maybe a more universal initiation rite (probably getting put on the rack for torture resistance training like zevran talked about) in order to become a crow, but the specifics are decided by each house

and each talon is responsible for a handful of houses. maybe they've each got areas of control too, so they're getting into territory scuffles with each other, maybe stealing contracts and promising recruits from each other.

house arainai is under the sixth talon, and their methods are some sort of survival-of-the-fittest meets quantity-over-quality meets monkeys-with-typewriters. They don't care how many potential recruits they lose, because the ones who survive have the (grit? will to live? whatever it is people like that justify themselves with) and eventually something brilliant will happen. (and zevran happened.) They're more brutal, and much more prone to violent internal coups. Maybe they're also less discerning about what contracts they take and for whom. Everyone is functionally out for themselves, and take whatever contracts might give them an advantage over their competitors.

house dellamorte is obviously under the first talon, given the name we'll even go so far as to say house dellamorte is one of, if not the oldest, crow house. they've got a sort of elitism to them, maybe some snobbery. they're professionals, they have standards. They're not common cut-throats and bounty hunters. they have contract negotiators and they aren't getting out of bed for anything less than the annual income of a ferelden village.

house dellamorte are also much more discerning about recruits, but more careful and less wasteful in their training. If a recruit isn't going to make the cut, they always need more people to mix the poisons, make the weapons, repair the armor, spy for information, etc. This increases the loyalty to the house and lets them look down on 'more wasteful' houses. not that their methods are much better. all the crows are training and abusing child soldiers, its just that some are getting fed better than others and some are at more immediate risk of death all the time. but it gives members of the house more ego-based in-fighting, rather than survival based. they're not scrabbling for power to get to the top of the pile, they think they're the best already and why shouldn't the best be in charge. (just a generalizing of the different reasons for political infighting, individual characters would have individual reasons)

each house/talon-ship(? someone come up with a better word for that or its going to stick) polices it's own. its supremely embarrassing to have another house step in and clean up your mess. so, of course everybody is always looking for weaknesses in everybody else. houses and talon-ships may ally with each other, but the strength of those alliances varies. We're talking assassin politics here, make it complicated, bloody, and messy.

so in origins, we're learning about the crows through zevran, who came up from the bottom of one of the harshest houses. zevran was literally bought by the crows, tortured by them, feels no true loyalty to them, and was literally ready to escape via death. and in veilguard we're seeing the crows through lucanis, who is essentially the ivy league gentry. lucanis was raised in the family business, with the personal attention of the family matriach who had impossibly high expectations (and he could explain away her treatment of him with the death of their family and her wanting him to survive, which does not justify how he was treated) he was more worried about not living up to than anything else. If rook is played as a crow, they're coming from a house closely allied with house dellamorte, so they presumably have similar standards.

#antivan crows #dragon age #dragon age the veilguard #dragon age origins #zevran arainai #i dont even go here #story ideas #headcanon #someone write this #so i don't have to

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cupidsdescendant · 5 months ago

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Hii!! I saw your requests were open. May I request the mercs with a teen reader who was hired as a mercenary who ends up getting hurt in battle? Please and thank you!

Hurt! Teen Reader X Mercs (Platonic)

hi anon! Sure I'd love to ^w^ i think that's incredibly adorable. I decided to make it a platonic situation for obvious reasons but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Scout:

-acts like a big brother, because you're still a teenager he has that kind of cool kid energy that radiates off him whenever you fight in battle together -always picks you back up, physically and mentally. He loves it because it feels like one of those motivational sports movies (specifically the training montages) -"C'mon Y/N we still got a minute on da clock!" He says as he reaches over to give you a hand. He always helps supports you when you have a limp leg also.

-if you're healing yourself or Medic is trying to patch you up he's always on the lookout and makes sure no one is in the way to interrupt

-Despite him hogging all the health kits he'll share them with you :)

-Giving shitty motivational speeches while you're bleeding on the floor he thinks those would work -"It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get back up, Y/N..." he says staring into the sunset, holding his hand to his chest

Soldier:

-kind of like Scout but acts more like a general to an apprentice

-also gives motivational speeches but his are a little more violent... -"You think that's a loss? I've CRAPPED bigger losses than THAT!!!!!!" (BTW IF YOU KNOW WHICH SFM THAT QUOTE IS I LOVE YOU)

-“cmon we don’t got all day comrade! we must stay focused, we must stay together!” He says as he grabs you, running around the map

-“don’t let a scratch stop ya, Y/N” (your bones are literally sticking out)

-he stops whatever he's doing to patch you up

Sniper

-Snipes is the type of guy to only look out for himself. He's not willing to be helpful in the public eye.

-key word, public eye.

-He knows your hiding spots, so incase of emergencies he'll leave you a health kit.

-You never see him during battle, but after the match he'll pat you on the back for your fighting skills.

-"Good job out there."

"Nice shot on that field." He scatters compliments throughout your battles

-If you did happen to find him he'll wave at you from afar with a soft smile.

-Always looking out for you by sniping anyone near you

-Keeps you safe when you're injured <3

Heavy

-Heavy loses it when you're hurt in battle.

-In fact, he'll take you immediately out of the match and rest you somewhere safe.

-"you vill be okay, leetle one." He says with confidence. There's no way to argue with the man, you're just gonna have to deal with his helicopter mom tendencies.

-Hunts down whoever hurt you and continuously kills them

-"Are eyour hungry?" Two sandviches in his hands and a bright smile on his face. "you must eat up!"

-Screams at Medic to hurry up and help you

Medic

-He's used to injuries and deaths, so he can't help but feel default when you're injured.

-But he loves you, he's concerned about their health, them being his apprentice after all. So he has a little more sympathy than others

-Yes, he has a heart, but its not a very big one...he's dedicated more to figuring out what went wrong instead of your safety.

-"Ja, Y/N. Again!? Jou must be more careful- ooh hoo! your femur is sticking out!" cackling to himself as he takes out his saw.

-Pokes at your joints and bones, kinda plays around while you're in pain lol

-But once he patches you up fully, he'll pat you on your back. "Vell at least we know you're fighting-ha ha!" He'll hand you a medikit and let you be on your way.

-If he hears his named yelled by you he runs immediately!

Demoman

-"What did yer do to yerself this time?!" He spurs out.

-He always finds you with bruises and cuts, even broken bones. It freaks Demo out and he's not the type to sit down and help

-But he will run you over to Medic, carrying you in the bridal position and make sure you don't get hurt.

-"Yer really did it this time, Y/N. I beta not see you busted up again!"

-He lets you take swigs from his alcohol, though. "Thise'll help with tha pain."

-He's always on guard while Medic patches you up and looks out.

-"Yer good? GOOD!" A loud roar comes out of him and he grabs you, jumping back into the action.

Engineer

-Always helpful and worried for your safety ;w;

-When you ask for help he's always the first one to show up and support you

-"Now you stay still, Y/N. I can't have it get infected..." while Medic is busy he plays doctor with you, bandaging and cleaning your wounds.

-He sets up turrets that shoot anyone near you.

-After the battles he'll spend time taking care of you at the base

-"I made ya somethang..." His hands hold a tiny teacup with small tea biscuits on the corner. The rest of the night you both laugh and play games

-Engi is always there no matter what, and he insists on staying with you until you reach full recovery.

-Gives you additional advice on how to dodge bullets and weapons and trains you for the next few days.

Spy

-He thinks you're stupid for getting hurt lol.

-"Must you slow me down?!" He yells in a fit of rage, his face ircked. He stops being invisible and carries you over to Medic.

-He's not very helpful in battle, but after he'll talk to you more about training and practice.

-Thinks he's smug when he leaves a "How to Fight" book on your bed. "I thought ze'd like it!"

-"Now I know zou have a bigger brain than your competition, so don't let me down."

-He'll go invisible and watch you closely, making sure that you really are putting practice to the test.

-Even when you get hurt, he'll watch until you get up. If you don't, he'll sigh, reveal himself and rinse and repeat.

-He's still proud of you nonetheless :3

Pyro

-A real helpful pal! He kills everyone in site if they touch you :D

-Pyro is protective as well, but he's unhinged. Instead of killing, he'll brutally dismember his enemies and leave them half alive.

-He's always there for you no matter what!!!

-You both are a tag team, and if one person gets hurt, the other helps out.

-"mrrph murh murrp uhr!!!" (Thanks for the help, Y/N!!!"

-When you're hurt in battle, he comes and does his own DIY surgery with bandaids, sewing needles, and other miscellaneous items in his pockets

-you run to medic immediately to use real surgery tools because there's an 95% what Pyro used will infect and kill you

-Even though his help is...limited...he's gonna help despite it!

wow. i'm kinda stunned lol. this has been in my drafts for officially 2 years ;____; I'm glad I finished it, though. I hope you all love it. Sorry anon for legit being late!!! kissies and love xoxo

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bonewaryreblogs · 5 months ago

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Ghosts 101

I wrote this as if Danny was giving a crash course powerpoint presentation to the Batclan or something, even if it has info he wouldn't actually have by this point in the story; I skipped the descriptions, reactions, questions, and "he said, she said" stuff because it was unimportant to my goal of putting all of the info I had about ghosts in a presentable format.

So yeah, have fun, I know I did :)

In almost any form they take, ghosts can be described as beings of emotion. Obviously, their fully living counterparts also have emotions but ghost emotions are generally more intense, always dialed up to 11, and drive the ghost to fulfill their obsession. A ghost obsession is the main reason that ghost sticks around on the living plane rather than moving on to the afterlife; for some, it’s because they had “unfinished business” like their murder was never solved or if they died in a particularly gruesome way; maybe they had an intense desire to protect their loved ones from whatever killed them or just generally wanted people to stay away from it; maybe they did move on but something disturbed their rest and they came back to rectify the situation so they could rest again. Each ghost is different and each situation is unique in its own way, even if there are common threads.

No matter what brought them here, ghosts feel intensely about their obsession and literally can’t not fulfill it; if they are prevented or have enough conscious thought to stop themselves, their already intense emotions go absolutely nuts and most will become violent until they can fulfill it again. The majority of ghosts will only have one obsession but it’s not impossible for them to have more or very nuanced obsessions.

A few examples:

My school had a lunch lady that worked there pretty much her whole life, like over 50 years, and that whole time the menu never changed, or at least not significantly. During my early days as Phantom, the school decided to add vegan/vegetarian options and this upset her so much that she came back to haunt the school; she just went by the name Lunch Lady, most likely because she’d been dead long enough to have forgotten her own name. Her obsession was to continue doing what she’d always done in life, serve kids lunch, and the change to the menu disrupted that.

Mine is a bit more broad and involves protecting people; if I see something wrong, something potentially harmful to others, it’s like an itch I can’t scratch if I don’t do something about it. It’s all I can think about and not helping drives me insane. Think of it like someone with really bad OCD that literally cannot help themselves; my sister is really into psychology and said the symptoms I described match. The most obvious scratch for that itch is stopping the bad guys in a dramatic fight to protect the innocent, but it’s hardly the only way; even working at, say, an animal shelter would do, though I would eventually grow restless knowing I could do more.

Which brings me to another point; fighting is not only common in ghost culture but it’s the best way to regulate our emotions since we don’t have a physical form anymore to keep those emotions in check. I’ve helped several ghost move on to the afterlife, and I have tried other methods, but the best I’ve found is confronting the ghost, figure out what’s keeping them here, fight them for a bit to release their built up tension so they can think a bit more clearly, then provide a solution to whatever their problem was.

Another example:

A couple decades ago, there was a kid at my school who was bullied horribly in life and the way they were able to pass on was to stand up to a bully and fight back like they always wanted to but never could. I played the part of the bully and one of my friends volunteered to play the victim for the ghost to stand up for, because no one did for them. Fulfilling that dream allowed them to rest, even if it was staged. Sorry, they were the first ghost I ever helped rest so the story is still kind of emotional for me.

Ahem, uh, let’s see, what’s next? We still have to cover haunts and types of ghosts. We’ll do haunts first, ghost types can get complicated.

A ghost’s haunt is the physical thing that ties them to the mortal realm; this could be an area that meant a lot to them when they were alive, like the school for the Lunch Lady and the bully victim, or maybe the house they lived in or the place they died; or it could be a specific person they had a strong emotional connection to, be it a loved one or several loved ones that they wish to protect or someone who hurt them that they want revenge on. Stronger ghosts have larger haunts and removing a ghost from their natural haunt is difficult at best, and even if they are able to claim a new haunt, they’ll still yearn for their original place. My haunt is pretty much all of Amity Park, whether I like it or not; I’ve been trying to accept Gotham, or at least Wayne Manor, but it’s been hard and I’ve been incredibly homesick since leaving. It’ll probably be easier once I’m allowed in the field and can fulfill my obsession to protect, but until then I’m just going to have to endure. Getting to know you guys and accept you as part of my haunt has helped, though, and talking to Sam, Tucker, and Jazz helps too, since they are very much part of my haunt. It helps me feel grounded, for lack of a better term.

Anyways, ghost types. I’ve been called a protector spirit but that’s not so much a type as a title, like everyone knows what you mean when you say “fish” but taxonomically it’s hard to actually define a fish without including or excluding things that logically should or shouldn’t belong in that category. There’s also a decent amount of overlap between types too, so it’s more like a sliding scale than anything concrete. Or the intersection of a couple sliding scales. Or something. Anyways.

What we would normally clump together as “ghosts” are usually the soul of a dead human that hasn’t passed on to the afterlife. They have varying levels of consciousness, memory of their past life, and control over their emotional impulses, from none at all to basically the same as a living person but dead. There are a few subcategories based on, for example, their level of malevolence, like poltergeist ranging between mischievous pranksters and downright evil sadists, and some subcategories can be split into further subcategories, like banshees are a poltergeist that are specifically feminine ghosts who wail and scream, but they all still fit within the broad category of “ghost”.

I could go into more detail, but then we’d be here all day and I don’t really wanna do that.

Amity Park had a higher concentration of people turning into ghosts than most towns, living up to its title of “most haunted town in the mid-west”, and many fall under the poltergeist category, but not all. Amity also has a lot of shades or shadow people, which is more of a psychic imprint of a traumatic event on ambient ectoplasm, but only if the victim doesn’t actually die; if they died, they would absorb the ambient ecto to become a more powerful ghost. Shades aren’t really alive, not in the sense of having a soul of their own, and generally just replay the traumatic event over and over until it runs out of energy. Will-o’-the-wisps, or just wisps, are also common, as a sort of pre-ghost entity; they don’t quite have enough soul power or emotional energy to become a full ghost but they try to stick around anyways, usually only a few days before they fizzle out and move on to the afterlife. They could potentially become a full ghost if given enough outside energy; from ambient ecto or magic to siphoning energy from the living to someone consciously giving them energy for the express purpose of making them into a full ghost.

As for me, I... call myself a ghost but that’s not entirely accurate since I do have a physical body. As far as I can tell, I fall under the category of “lich” which is closer to a zombie than a ghost. I don’t like thinking about what that means. The point is, I died in my parents lab, which was highly saturated with ecto, coupled with the ecto I’d been contaminated with my entire life, and ecto from the Ghost Zone as the portal opened up on top of me, with the bow on top of being traumatically electrocuted to death. I sucked up all that ecto at the exact moment I died, which brought me back to life and gave me a lot of power. I’m not super sure, and I don’t know if there’s any way to confirm this, but I think the power was too much for my body to contain, so it somehow stored the power in an alternate form. I still have access to some of my powers while in human form, but most of it I can only access in my ghost form.

Speaking of the Ghost Zone, it's inhabited by souls taken from Limbo and infused with extra ecto. They didn't have any reason to stay on Earth, which is why they were in Limbo in the first place, but after being supercharged they developed obsessions based on their emotions and what they remember of their past lives. Ghosts that are more powerful than average are called wights and are more on the same level as a lich if we equate an average ghost to, say, a revenant. A revenant is someone who was dead and brought back to life and still has a soul; if they didn't have a soul, they'd be categorized as a zombie, just a reanimated corpse. The difference between a revenant and a lich is the amount of power they have; revenants didn't have any connection to magic before but after being brought back they could potentially learn some, while a lich already had magic and it was usually increased by being brought back. They also didn't necessarily have to die first, so there's that.

Specific Types of Undead

Lich: a powerful magic user who becomes undead through any means. They still have a soul and access to their magic which, depending on the process, may have been enhanced. One avenue is a living mortal being exposed to the Fountain of Life or substances related to it, like Lazarus Pits or the ectoplasm of the Ghost Zone, though this may cause side effects.

Ra’s al Ghul - Ra’s has been around since at least the 1200s and already knew magic before entering the Lazarus Pit, which enhanced his powers. He will generally bath in a Lazarus Pit every few years/decades and has been doing so for centuries, getting close to a millennia. He has plenty of power himself but prefers manipulation, orchestrating elaborate plans from the background rather than getting his own hands dirty.

Vlad Masters - Vlad was exposed to Lazarus Water/ectoplasm once, for a short amount of time (a few seconds at most). Due to his preconceptions about ghosts and (mis)understanding of what happened to him, most of his abilities developed into what he expected of a ghost. After his initial exposure and recovery, he experimented with ectoplasm more and increased his exposure, though never again to actual Lazarus Water. His powers are comparatively weak but he has honed them to the point of still being a formidable opponent.

Danny Phantom - Danny had constant, but low level, exposure to ectoplasm for pretty much his entire life; he likely would have developed some kind of magic powers naturally, but the lab accident flooded his body with ectoplasm at the exact moment he was electrocuted to death, jumpstarting his powers. Due to his predisposition towards ghosts, most of Danny’s abilities are considered “ghostly”.

Pariah - As the first resident of the Ghost Zone, Pariah was exposed to the Waters of the Fountain of Life until it was corrupted into ectoplasm and has had constant exposure to ectoplasm for a long time, which flows differently in the Zone than on Earth or other pocket dimensions. He had no natural magic but had been touched with power from both Monitor and the Great Darkness, which influenced his power’s development.

Revenant: a non-magic user who becomes undead through any means. They still have a soul and have the potential to learn magic if it was used to restore them, even if they had absolutely no potential for it before. Exposure to the Fountain of Life or substances related to it, like Lazarus Pits or the ectoplasm of the Ghost Zone, is one way to bring a dead person back to life, but they can only become a revenant if their soul is also restored, otherwise they’ll become a zombie or ghoul. There will be side effects depending on the method, but dying is a traumatic experience on its own. A draugr is a type of revenant with the body of a giant. A Scandinavian term for basically the same thing is genganger. A kukudh is basically an Albanian revenant. A langsuyar is specifically a female revenant of Indo-Australia.

Jason Todd - Jason had been dead for a few months before Talia al Ghul managed to secure his body and submerge him in a Lazarus Pit, however Jason was angry and stubborn so his soul was still hanging onto his body by a thread and that was just barely enough. He was more zombie-like at first, but thanks to Talia’s magic and some less than gentle coaxing, Jason regained his mind. His trauma from dying in the first place was compounded by how slowly his mind was restored and the training of the League of Assassins of both his body and mind, once it returned enough to be trained.

Ghoul: an undead being with no soul connected to the restored body, and therefore no mind to direct them, regardless of method. They are easily susceptible to mind control but otherwise run on instincts and emotions, though they may or may not have memories from their time being alive. They are generally very violent and will attack pretty much anything that moves. The Turkish name for such a creature is orek.

Zombie: a reanimated corpse, possessing little-to-no free will or memories of their former life. If left alone, they just kind of stand around, maybe shamble a little, until given some kind of directive. Tibetans called them ro-langs and ancient Greece called them vrykolakas, somewhat crossing over with the old concepts of vampires.

Vetala: a ghost possessing a reanimated corpse; the ghost and body are usually unrelated.

Ghost: the disembodied soul of a once living creature (usually human but not always) that cannot or will not cross over to the afterlife. There are many subcategories and sub-subcategories based on a number of factors, like level of consciousness and malevolence. Ghosts have many names in other cultures that are basically synonymous with the general idea of a ghost, including bhoot, hortdan, hupia, shiryo, and yurei. They generally don’t have a physical form of their own but can possess humans, animals, plants, or objects to interact with the physical world.

Poltergeist: a catch-all term for ghost that range from mischievous pranksters to pure evil sadists, sometimes called a Vengeful Ghost. Poltergeists with vampire-like abilities or attributes are called strigoi.

Wight: a powerful ghost, usually fully cognizant even if they don’t remember their past life. Most of the souls pulled into the Ghost Zone became this when exposed to ectoplasm.

Will-o’-the-Wisp: a sort of pre-ghost entity that wants to stay in the living realm but doesn’t quite have enough strength to stay for long, usually lasting only a few days after the person’s death. Often shortened to just wisps. They can “graduate” to full ghosts if given enough energy from an outside source (even if that source is ambient magic/ectoplasm). Other commons names are jack-o'-lantern, friar's lantern, or hinkypunk, and are generally called hitodama in the East.

Shadow Person/Shade: they appear to be roughly humanoid masses of black material or literal shadows without a body to cast it. They are not a soul, they are the psychic imprint of a traumatic event that didn’t cause an actual death. The shade would basically play out the scene over and over again until the residual energy ran out.

Undead entities common enough in folklore to have a particular name

Ayakashi: a ghost that appears above the surface of a body of water. Why they’re there and what they do varies from luring sailors to join them in death to helping them avoid the hazard that killed the ghost. It may or may not fall under the “poltergeist” label.

Funayurei: an ayakashi specifically of the ocean.

Banshee: a generally feminine poltergeist associated with screaming and wailing.

Chang: the trapped spirit of a person who was killed by a powerful magic being, like a demon or vampire, and must “serve” the being by luring someone else to be killed and take their place, at which point they are released to the afterlife.

Dybbuk: while sometimes confused for the rare possession by a sex demon, a dybbuk is a human ghost that possesses a living human in order to have sex, either possessing the desired person or possessing someone else to have sex with the desired person. La Sayona is a specifically female version of this, potentially overlapping with a Virgin Ghost and Mavka. Hone-onna is a dead wife that appears to her still living husband, who looks like a skeleton to anyone but her husband.

Goryo/Onryo: the ghost of a noble or otherwise accomplished person who lost a power struggle shortly before death, or were killed so someone else could take their position. They are often resentful and angry at whoever succeeded them and generally fall under the “poltergeist” label, focused on whoever has the position they lost. A specifically female version is sometimes called a Kuchisake-onna. A similar concept was used in Harry Potter, where no one could teach Defense Against the Dark Arts for longer than a year after Voldemort was denied the position.

Virgin Ghost: a person who died before they could have a family of their own, generally young women but not always. They usually fall under the “poltergeist” label, targeting their still-living family members or those that fall into the same social category they were in when they died, which usually means young women.

Lemures: ghosts who are restless specifically because (they felt) they didn’t receive a proper burial, especially if specific funeral rites were important to their culture’s customs. They are sometimes called lietuvēns or lietonis, which are said to have been killed before their time and forced to wander until their allotted time would have been otherwise run out. They are sometimes called myling if they are just trying to convince someone to bury them properly, usually by leading someone to their body, which may be counterintuitive if their body is somewhere dangerous; they may act malevolently in order to gain attention but they generally don’t want to actually hurt anyone, they’ve just been stuck like this for a while and are frustrated because nothing else has worked.

Mononoke: a ghost that specifically causes their target to become weak or ill.

Drekavac: a catch-all term used in “South Slavic” areas that could refer to any number of undead-adjacent entities, including ghosts and zombies.

Some ghosts have specific forms that usually relate to how they died but are consistent enough to have been named in folklore. While their form is consistent, their temperament varies just as much as any other ghost. These include:

The self-explanatory Headless Horseman.

The Kuntilanak, Pontianak, or Yakshi of a pregnant woman who died in childbirth, sometimes called ubume.

Mavka or Nyavka appear as beautiful women to lure men to their deaths.

Noppera-bō are faceless humanoids that may or may not have others forms as well.

Pocong look like humans wrapped in funeral cloth; mummies are specifically ancient Egyptian variants. They are also different from zombies because they don't have a physical body like a zombie does.

Some ghosts possess animal as a host body for an extended period of time, like the Inugami that specifically uses a canine host body.

Yuki-onna are generally attractive female ghosts associated with snow and ice.

Non-undead entities often mistaken for them

Vampire: a demonic being that feeds on the life force of mortals. They may have been human at some point but that is not always the case. A similar creature is the jiāngshī in china, a lugat in Albania, a wurdulac in Slavic folklore, and an upiór in ancient Eurasian areas.

Wendigo: a (technically still living) human either possessed or cursed with a demon-like body that grows in proportion to what they eat, leaving them perpetually starving. This may or may not have anything to do with cannibalism, like folklore suggests, but this was often a punishment for being selfish and greedy. Slightly more humanoid versions are the jikiniki, the bal-bal, and preta.

Batkaak: demons that hunt hunters, or other warrior-like humans.

Dullahan: a demonic fairy that fits the description of the Headless Horseman.

Succubus/Incubus: sometimes confused with a dybbuk if the sex demon possesses a human.

Ikiryo: another name for the spirit of a still living person sent to “haunt” a target person or area, often via astral projection and generally leaves the body in a coma until the spirit returns.

Moroi: vampires with ghost-like abilities rather than typical vampire abilities.

Pricolici: vampires with werewolf-like attributes and abilities rather than typical vampire abilities.

Shikigami: demon-adjacent entities used by “onmyōji” (basically someone who does eastern astrology for a living) or witches/other magic users to carry out blessings and curses; another name might be anichimayen. They may or may not be related to Familiars, which includes a wide variety of creatures.

Sluagh: a group of fairies that “kidnap” humans, often appearing like a classic ghost to scare people.

Chupacabra: a demon that drinks the blood of animals, usually livestock, but specifically named after draining goats of their blood. They may or may not be related to vampires.

Deildegast: a demon-adjacent entity associated with boundary stones.

Dhampir: the offspring of a human and a vampire, sometimes called a demi-vampire.

Gashadokuro: a demonic entity that takes the form of a giant skeleton.

Nachzehrer: a demon often confused for a revenant. They generally try to drag the living to the afterlife before their time, sometimes claiming to be a loved one of the victim who just wants to be close to them again.

Qutrub: a demon that prefers to feed on human corpses.

Rusalka: mermaid-like entities from Slavic folklore.

#danny phantom #dpxdc #phandom #phantom bat #non undertale #ghosts 101 #ghost lore #ghost culture #ghost types #info dump

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howtofightwrite · 2 years ago

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Clothes Followup

Hi there. Professional sportswear outfitter and part-time athelete here just chiming in on how these choices are perfectly believable, in my humble opinion: #1 SHOES "sneakers" is a loose definition. but, if the character is wearing casual/lifestyle "sneakers" like jordan lows, vans, etc., these type of shoes are FLAT (not narrow running shoes). Flat soled sneakers are often preferred training shoes for mixed arts or lifting at the gym. You could wear boots, but you're sacrificing agility. As a female, I can say that a female character likely would not inflict such a handicap as BOOTS on herself. Feet are very resilient and resistant to pain and injury. Being able to move on your feet matters a lot more than protecting them does. PASS #2 PANTS. you are not punching someone's pants while boxing. and have you watched fight club? they mostly wear jeans. they're durable, wick moisture (although it feels unpleasant), and if they're fitted properly, they're not going to get in the way of your agility. Jeans are light armor if you're speaking in tabletop rpg terms. PASS #3 SHIRT. a good tshirt of a decent quality will wick moisture, will not be bulky or baggy, and will move with its wearer. tshirts are not expensive and are the best option outside a sleeveless top or topless for martial arts. Especially if you have boobs. Boxing in only a racerback sports bra is also viable, but a tshirt will provide light protection to the skin, which is a good idea in amateur boxing. If they're WEARING GLOVES, nobody is grappling anyone's shirt so there is no risk of clothes-grabbing violations happening there. If this ring is literally underground, it's probably cold. Clothes can be shed between matches, but it's often more important to be clothed appropriately so as to prevent both overheating and chills. Becoming chilled between fights is a greater danger to performance than getting sweaty is. PASS I also have questions as to the type of boxing gloves being used. Are they full padded gloves? Light knuckle pads? Do the boxers wear headgear? Mouthguards? What areas are allowed to be hit or is it a free-for-all? Maybe you think these details are mistakes, but I disagree. Half my job is punching boxes all day. Hot, sweaty, fully clothed, wearing comfortable shoes. Lots of moving around. If I am going to punch boxes (or faces) for hours, that's exactly how I'd dress. The rest of my job? Literally outfitting people with boxing equipment. Literally selling people clothing for athletics. I am also a footwear specialist. Thank you for taking the time to read this. :) -lilkittay

So, apologies in advance, lilkittay, but you're about to get dragged. This might come as a shock, but I actually have a copy of the novel Fight Club. I just found it wedged between a copy of Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson, and the Demolished Man by Alfred Bester. I'm not going to try to figure out what lead to that sorting peculiarity. The book is exceptionally good, and if you've never read it, it's an easy (if somewhat unpalatable) recommendation. Stick it up there with books like Native Son, or Ivan Denisovich, in that it covers some really ugly subject matter, but discusses a problem exceptionally well. And, in the 27 years since the novel was originally published, it has proved itself fairly prescient. It's not about the violence, it is an excellent discussion on the underlying psychology of toxic masculinity.

Now, the last time I mentioned Fight Club, someone immediately piped up with, “you've lost all credibility.” That's their problem, but I didn't actually define it, and it is a term that gets thrown around without being defined. Toxic masculinity refers specifically to an individual who cannot engage with their own emotions, particularly painful ones, in a healthy way, because they view those behaviors as effeminate. As a result, they respond aggressively and, or, violently. That's the toxic part. You get dumped. Your pet dies. You get passed over for a promotion at work. And, instead of dealing with that in a healthy way. In any healthy way. You go out into the world and try to make someone else suffer. That is toxic.

Unfortunately, Fight Club is not the grown up version of Calvin and Hobbes, though that is an amusing fan theory, and something that holds together better in the film thanks to Brad Pitt's costuming decisions.

I'm saying all of this to point out, the characters in Fight Club have no idea how to fight.

More than that, jeans are not light armor. Motorcycle leathers? Sure, those would be light armor. In fact, I'm pretty sure they're described as light armor in D20 modern. But, the only place I'd expect to see denim categorized as light armor is a game that used, “light armor,” for mage gear, “medium armor,” as rogue's leather and chain, and, “heavy armor,” as warrior gear. Which is to say, yeah, that's not how that works at all.

The problem with jeans as armor is, they're really bad at it. Someone with a crowbar? Yeah, jeans aren't going to do anything about that. Someone with an axe? I've heard about the aftermath, it was not pretty. Against a sword? Nope. Against a knife? Personal experience says the knife will win without issue. In an underground fighting arena against someone driving a shin kick into your knee? Yeah, your jeans may look fine after the fact, but you're probably not using that leg again anytime soon.

But, that RPG comment made something click together a little, so back to footwear for a second.

Why would someone wear boots? Now, personally, I wear motorcycle boots in my day to day life. Not because I'm a rider, but because I find them more comfortable and convenient than normal dress shoes, and so long as I keep them buffed out, they pass for men's dress shoes at a glance. The interesting thing about this is that my heel has a wide, flat, block of wood under it at all times. If it was a matter of life and death, I could probably grind off a significant chunk of my heel bringing a bike to a stop without suffering any injury. Now, I bring this up, because driving 200-300lbs of force behind a sharply edged wooden mallet into your unarmored instep will not improve your agility.

In the real world, armor doesn't work like D&D. There's no equivalent exchange between mobility and being able to soak a hit. (And if you think there's an irony in substituting a term from one RPG for another... well, yeah. You're not wrong.) If you think someone's going to stomp on your foot, bring steel toed boots. What you lose in agility today, you make up for in your ability to walk without a cane tomorrow.

The paradox of humans is that we are both stupidly resilient, and horrifically fragile, at the same time. Now, at this point, I do want to say something genuinely nice to you, even if it sounds a tiny bit condescending. You've never looked at another person as 150-250lbs of ambulatory meat and considered the best way to take them apart with your hands. And you know what? That is a good thing. Embrace that, and don't let go, because never finding yourself in that kind of a place is a credit to you, and the world you've been able to live in.

All of that said, fighting another human being is not a workout. It's engineering. You're looking at an organic machine with roughly the same parts and pieces you have, and your goal is to make that machine stop thrashing around, screaming, and leaking on everything, before it does the same to you. It's not better. It's not worse. It's different, and it comes with different considerations. You don't dress to look good or stay comfortable, you dress to avoid life altering injuries if at all possible.

Competitive fighting does land at a meeting point of these two considerations however. The fighter wants to come out intact, the sponsors want good show, one that will draw an audience. This leads to things like fighting in a sports bra. Yes, it may be the most, “agile,” option, but if you're going to be in a fist fight, a heavy leather jacket, preferably one with fiberglass plates may not breathe, but it will take far more abuse than your body can. (Actually, I think sometimes the inserts are made out of memory foam these days, which should also take a hit pretty effectively, especially against an unarmed foe.)

This isn't a major issue, but it is something to consider, when thinking about the temperature of the arena, it's important to remember that human body heat in a crowded space is somewhat cumulative. So, a room that starts out at around 60 degrees, could easily warm up to a comfortable temperature once the spectators are present. There's actually consistent math for calculating what you should set the thermostat for in an amphitheater when it's unoccupied so that the temperature is comfortable when the seats are filled, but I can't remember the numbers, and can't find it on short notice.

You do bring up a good point, the original Anon did not specify what kind of gloves were used. I assumed those were nominally regulation boxing gloves, but those could be something like the UFC gloves from a couple decades back, that left the fingers exposed while armoring the knuckles. The armor on those gloves allowed the wearer to inflict all kinds of horrific injuries on one's foes. In an event Michi is quite happy to recount, her younger brother almost lost an eye to a skull fracture from one of those during a poorly supervised sparring bout. It's fairly credible to suggest that an illegal fight club might use those simply to excite the crowds with actual bloodshed.

Now, as someone who has worked in shipping, I know full well that sometimes boxes do hit back. However, they are the exception rather than the rule. There's nothing wrong with practicing on punching bags, but boxes aren't trying to break you. At worst, they may just want to take a nap on the floor without regard to whether you're in the way or not. Live opponents? They're looking at you as however many pounds of meat machinery, and trying to end you. Looking good doesn't make their job harder, but armoring up does.

Anyway, like I said to the original Anon, nothing in their explanation was outright wrong. A lot of it was non-optimal, but not to such a degree as to shatter belief. The mistake you're making, and I really do say this with respect, is that you're looking at it like any other physical activity. As I said, combat is not a work out. Combat as a hazardous environment beyond the reach of OSHA. You wear protective gear (if you can) because that protection may be the difference between walking out alive and (basically) unharmed, or never walking again. You wouldn't (or at least, really shouldn't) take a bike out on the freeway at 60mph in jeans and a tees, you really don't want to get in a fight wearing them either.

-Starke

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#writing reference #writing advice #writing tips #starke answers #how to fight write #martial arts

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sykeboy · 8 months ago

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It's time to talk about the moms

With last week's and today's episode we got a good look at the different ways in which the moms reacted to the news that their daughters are in love w each other so lets take a peek shall we

I will start with this picture of our lovely lady Uang

On patriarcal societies the women are in charge of the reproductive labor which not only means giving birth but also to educate children on how to fall in line with the satus quo, women serve the patriarchy by teaching their children to follow it's rules. We are social engineers, we take care of the social events, the family gatherings, home related issues, etc.

We can see this throughout the series, the women are preparing the food, the ceremonies, they're taking care of their children, their husbands and each other. AND they're making sure the men's wishes are fullfilled: mostly we've seen this in terms of preparing their daughters to be married off to whomever their fathers or another man (Kuea for example) wishes

This is alienating for women because we reproduct a social order that causes us direct harm so in a way we are taught to hate ourselves

Now on to the moms

Patt reacts in an a very violent way, she lashes out at Pin for not abstaining herself from her dessires cause a woman is not suppossed to act on her own wishes according to Patt and to society

Aunt Patt has a lot of internalized shame and she thinks Pin should too. This is related to 3 factors: class, gender and sexuality

The one that seem to be closer to the surface for her is the one related to class. Patt is also adopted, she is the og Loyal Pin, she feels overly indebted to the royal family. She is also literally their servant, she serves them with her reproductive labor (as I explained it before), she is the beacon of womanhood, and she has taught Pin to be the same as her

So when Pin falls out of line this triggers her own unresolved issues. Patt must have been really troubled by her feelings towards Im, they go against all she believes in. She has learned that she is inferior, that she should be grateful for what she has and not to wish for more

Patt believes -as Pin does cause she thaught her- that sacrifice is the way in which a woman can gain some sense of control in a society that takes away our right to choose. This is a self fullfilling prophecy, one gives up on one's destiny and that gives you a false sense of control

Alissa on the other hand is not so present on Anin's life (and her father doesn't seem to be either), I would argue that this is one of the reasons why Anin is not so lady like, cause she's been said to be raised by her brother so she didn't have such a prevalent feminine role model

Anyways, this might have actually given her a little advantage in the sense that she had more freedom to figure her own identity out

Alissa is very surprised and afraid when Anin comes out, she is adamant on sticking to thai customs and rules. And she reminds Anin that her marrying another woman simply has no place in their context AND she reminds her that se must marry someone OF HER OWN RANK, just like Patt reminded Pin

Alissa isn't rude to Anin, she seems to tackle the issue in a very matter of factly manner, she even goes to keep her company every night after Anin moves back to the palace

Alissa also seems to be particularly worried about mantaining the monarchy intact and therefore, the social and cultural structure. She even tells Anin what worries her most is her potentially giving up her title

Once again, the moms roles in all of this are mainly related to those dictated by the reproductive labor that they must perform for the patriarchy, and today's episode is a constant reminder of that, not just for the moms but for all of our girls 😢

#I didn't think it would be this long #could be longer tho #the loyal pin #aninpin #anilpin #freenbecky #freen sarocha #becky armstrong

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bigmoon-is-bigwife · 5 months ago

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I made a TR!Ros playlist!

I apologize it is a youtube playlist and not a spotify playlist because my spotify account name is a play on my IRL name and people don't need to know it I'll go into more detail about why I chose the songs below the cut. There are 21 of them so it'll get kind of long. Also shoutout to @magnecalliope and @femboyclownpierce for giving me some song suggestions for this!

Empty Page by The Crane Wives Ros tends to be very insecure about her lack of skills and knowledge compared to others. She tends to put herself in a supporting role and is desperate to learn and better herself Wisdom by Mother Mother Once again playing into Ros trying to improve and learn from others but also acknowledging she doesn't always make the smartest choices

Wrecking Ball by Mother Mother Ros is impulsive and loves violence and destruction for no reason other than she likes it Serpent Tongues by Mother Falcon Ros's desire to give all of herself to people has only grown in the face of violence and hardship

I Can't Handle Change by Roar

Ros is extremely insecure and is often times resistant to change. She has a way she thinks things should be and struggles when that is challenged We Will Commit Wolf Murder by Of Montreal This was a suggestion from @femboyclownpierce and a very good one! I think it's such a fitting song for the way Ros being targeted and attacked really affected her and lead her to become angrier and more violent as well as just hurt and conflicted. I don't know of any other song that could capture that, it's such a good song for her The Joker by Lady Gaga This was a suggestion from @magnecalliope and another very fitting one! It literally plays into the whole kingdom vibe! It also really represents that Ros resents being seen as the weak one and how she can get really vicious trying to prove herself

Brave as a Noun by AJJ She did in fact go off the deep end and kill her best friend. Also for all her anger she is still incredibly nervous and self conscious Kiss With A Fist by Florence + The Machine

I think it's a very good song for escalating rage but also her and Pili's back and fourth aggression going so far it doesn't even matter how it started anymore

Thick Skull by Paramore Ros has one of the highest kill counts on the server and it doesn't seem to mean anything to her and it only causes her trouble. A lot of her problems stem from those kills and yet she still thinks maybe if she can just kill more people it'll solve everything and help her figure herself out. I um...do not think it will French Exit by The Antlers A lot of Ros's relationships are either aggressive or suffocating. She is tired of being underestimated and coddled

Mad Dog by The Crane Wives Ros gets easily tunnel visioned and is desperate for purpose. She wears herself thin and she doesn't even know what she's chasing Caught In The Middle by Paramore Ros doesn't know what she wants or really who she even is. She is extremely self destructive though!

Doubt by Radical Face Once again, Ros is filled with uncertainty and doubt and it's all getting to her. People keep asking her what she wants or who she can trust and it just makes it harder for her. She's still persisting and sticking with her people though Predator by The Crane Wives Ros keeps putting her trust in people and getting hurt. She's starting to learn to stand up for herself though The Hit by Orla Gartland

I felt like I had to include this as an aimros song. They're two self destructive people without regard for their own safety and they keep hurting each other. "You get the punch and I feel the hit" I think is a good way of describing how Aimsey's death has affected Ros. They died but Ros has to live with it. Wherever Is Your Heart by Brandi Carlile Ros at her core revolves around other people. No matter where they are or how far away they are, everything she does is always for the people she cares about. Her home was never really the castle or the kingdom, it was always the people who lived there

Sanctuary by Mother Falcon I feel this fits Ros's relationship with The Kingdom. She'll happily carry all these burdens for them. They are where she finds sanctuary I Told You I Was Afraid by The Beths Ros has a lot of anxiety and once again The Doubts are getting to her Hard Times by Paramore The horrors persist but so does Ros! Free by Florence + The Machine I felt I had to end this on a more positive and whimsical note because despite everything Ros remains stubbornly optimistic. She has her doubts and fears she refuses to let them get to her. "To exist in the face of suffering and death and somehow still keep singing"

#ill probably think of more songs eventually but Im happy with this at the moment. I think I got a good range #paramore and crane wives carried this which like I did try to incorporate more variety but those songs simply did just fit well #roscumber #the realm smp #coyote howls

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ramonag-if · 1 year ago

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So this is slightly spoilery for chapter 9, but were Ahlf's letters and the lack of response from MC really the driving force for Salyra never going back for MC? Or was she really far more willing to leave that part of her life and what MC represents in all of it (namely, her failure) behind than she's willing to admit even to herself?

Because it's absolutely WILD to me that she's basically telling MC "Well, after I abruptly left you with your father who didn't actually want you to be born, already abandoned us once before, and didn't actually agree to take you in until I went literal God Mode on him, in a country that is violently discriminatory towards our people and ruled by a man with a personal grudge against me and your father, I sent letters to him and he said everything was okay and that you didn't want to talk to me, so I figured you were fine! I can't believe that wasn't the case and I'm so sorry you had to deal with that, can you play house with my new family now that you're here?" and expecting MC to be like "Understandable lets be family again :)"

Like at NO POINT did she suspect that Ahlf might be lying about MC wanting nothing to do with her? Never considered that in hindsight, the guy who her parents, brother, and bff-turned-second-husband all recognized as emotionally unavailable might not be capable of being a loving parent to an already-traumatized child he never wanted in the first place? Didn't think it was odd that her child that she intentionally made look visibly blessed by the Ancient Ones had no trouble growing up in rural Cyre? No alarm bells at all??

The driving force was Erlan. Erlan had more respect for Ahlf than he did for Salyra. If the MC was with Salyra, he'd likely have killed them both. Salyra did believe Ahlf's letters - why would he have reason to lie to her? Why do you think Ahlf didn't want the MC to be born? 👀 They used to be in love not too long before the MC was dropped off with him. He had been visiting the MC in Ishari for a while and he did in fact send letters to Salyra before she showed up.

It's only the MC's eyes that showed part of their divinity but don't get caught up on that - people would have hated the MC in Salt Bay even if they never left the cottage. Not everyone in the game picks up on the MC's divinity because you need to know what you're looking for. It's picked up by those who are aware of the divine blessings which isn't anyone in Cyre (except our merchant selling Ancient One idols).

Up until Rana is born, Salyra was still actively going against the Blood Guard. It's easier to do that without a child than one who Erlan may or may not would have wanted to kill. I mean, even after Rana is old enough to stay with Danzor, Salyra gets back to fighting the Blood Guard and even gets arrested. So yes, she didn't really think much of the MC remaining with Ahlf 😆

Honestly, I'd have chosen to stick with Ahlf too, if given a choice 😅 Who knows what would have happened if the MC returned to Ishari? 👀

#crown of exile #answered asks #salyra #ahlf

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thecreaturecodex · 1 year ago

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got any advice for new DMs? I've been playing as a PC for quite a while but I am nervous about running my first campaign

First order of business: don't panic.

Being a GM can be stressful. But at the end of the day, everyone around the table is there for the same reason; to have a good time playing pretend with their buddies.

I started GMing in a completely different age. Literally 25 years ago this year. So I imagine that some of the stresses and expectations that are on GMs now are different than they when I started. Like, I started running the Dungeons and Dragons in the 3.0 era for power hungry teenagers, who were often trying to see what mechanical tricks they could get away with to deal 500 damage in a round by level 10. Nowadays, for running D&D at least, one of the biggest worries I see from novice DMs is that their game won't live up to the expectations set by Let's Play series like The Adventure Zone, Dimension 20 and Critical Role.

Your game is not Critical Role. And that's okay. The high profile Let's Plays are scripted series made by entertainment professionals to appeal to a wide audience. Your game just has to make the 4-7 people around your table happy, including you.

So my first piece of concrete advice? Manage your expectations. My second piece of advice? Stick to 6 players max.

My third piece of advice is to figure out what you want from your game. Figure out what the overall tone of your game is, and what you want to accomplish with it. Do you want your game to be combat heavy? RP heavy? Lots of exploration and puzzles? A story with specific narrative beats? A more casual hang-out vibe sort of game? Should the characters come to the table with goals and backstories, or is this the sort of game where "Carric the Cleric; they heal people" is enough?

And then let your players know. One of my least pleasant recent GMing experiences was for a Pathfinder game where none of the players really knew what they were getting into. It was Ironfang Invasion, and the players voted to go for it, when I told them that it was going to be combat heavy, exploration medium, RP light. And then they proceeded to be unhappy with how much combat there was compared to RP. I tried to rebalance things, to some success, but that game fell apart anyway. In large part due to a player who refused to learn the Pathfinder 1e rules and resented that they weren't those of their preferred gaming system.

Some people just like to complain. So try to screen for those folks ahead of time. Personally, I prefer to be friends with someone first before running a game for them, because the vast majority of the player/GM conflicts I have had have occurred with people who I only sort of knew.

Also, on a related note, check for specific triggers, especially if you're running a published Pathfinder AP, because those tend to be Hard R content. One of the players in that Ironfang game I had been playing with for like two years at that point, he loved violent combat... but had a very specific trigger about skinning that I didn't know about. Running a module where the main villain's gimmick is that he skins his enemies. Whoops.

My last piece of advice is don't go into every game expecting it to be a long running story, especially if you're a brand new GM. Start with a one or two shot. If the players like it, figure out what they especially liked and lean into it. If they didn't, pivot.

GMing is absolutely a skill that develops with practice. So don't be afraid to practice! Have fun, and good luck.

#pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #d&d #tabletop rpgs #gming #advice

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silverview · 11 months ago

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alright i’m shifting back into tlw mode. i'm finally writing a fic from chas's POV and it's sticking a little bit. i know i can never actually do justice to him but the attempt is being made and i have a lot of thoughts, i'm just going to throw them all down in one place

chas might be my all-time favourite in9 character. reece has described the performance as being basically the same as he gives in sardines, which is a fair comparison honestly – the difference isn’t really in the performance or the character as much as in the circumstances. as in, stuart doesn’t do much relatively speaking and he never really has to shift gears onscreen. whereas chas is what you’d get if that character went through literally the full spectrum of human emotion onscreen in the space of half an hour, including an extended closeup on him experiencing the most extreme betrayal and mortal terror it’s possible to imagine, while covered in gunk and immobilised from the neck down. it's an extreme exercise in humanising/complicating a stock character, and it's an extraordinary performance. chas’s vulnerability and humour and courage carry the entire episode. and his little dancey dance. i love him for his defence mechanisms and the pain and heart that's underneath when he lets them drop. i love him for losing his dream, and coping with it terribly, and being forced to rebuild his life and his sense of self. i love him for being a bad person and a good person

and YES i love him for being camp!!!! i watched the original boys in the band recently and recognised so much of chas in some of those characters, especially emory, both as written + performed. crucially the humanising/complicating of a comedy stock character for pathos. tlw is only two seasons out from how do you plead and i think that contributed to some negative reactions about reece's camp performances being too exaggerated and/or too frequent. i don't think many people really noticed that urban explicitly, intentionally speaks & acts that way as part of his job. he is a man who is explicitly playing a character for most of his screentime. why exactly he does it in that particular way is not clear to me. i am desperate to understand that episode & character better, partly because i feel like unlocking it would also provide a key to better understanding their overall handling of gay characters & themes

i've talked before about chas and simon being linked by the experience of death by parasocial rejection. lately i've been thinking about how this strand of rejection (in a less fatal but still tragic form) also runs through reece's characters in merrily merrily and plodding on. "i never responded in kind" = *suffocates you with a pillow* = "move on" = "i don't even know if we are friends anymore." why is he always the one who loves too much, discovering that his feelings are not reciprocated? and why is this tendency punished so much more violently in episodes where it's figured as explicitly gay, hmm? if you read the end of plodding on as resolving the rift in that episode, then it's also resolving this long-running meta arc; if you read it as unresolved then it is also leaving the meta arc unresolved

anyway here's my tlw timeline. i have joe & chas being born in 1965 + 1975 respectively. that puts chas in his early 20s in the late 90s when atlantic 5 was active, 30 when olivia attempted suicide, 39 when he met joe, and 48 when he died. if you listen to the audio described version it literally does differentiate them as being "the younger one" / "the older one," even though that's not explicit in the episode. they do need a bit of an age gap to make the backstory work. idk, i know they have a small age gap irl – it's just funny to me that they managed to turn that into a more noticeable/significant age gap through sheer looks and vibes

and here is my tlw playlist and here is my dedicated chas playlist, which has some overlap and is still evolving and is a mix of songs about him + pure vibes. i get really emo thinking about him listening to eternal flame as a sad teenager and dreaming of finding love someday :/

#in9 #inside no 9 #the last weekend

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sketchfanda · 1 year ago

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A Little Moxxie Love:Better Addictions

Now for those not in the know of course, the infernal pit we know as Hell is like an onion, and before anyone comes up with the wise ass remarks? That means that it had layers to it, especially when it comes to what the living world knows of it and what those who live in Hell so here for your education are some basic facts. There is the outer layer most mortals know of approximately as the realm of fire and brimstone, where the most vile and damned face eternal torment and suffering for their sins, from the child molesters to the bigots and the sociopaths who committed heinous atrocities and crimes against humanity. And then there is the inner layers, the 9 circles of which 7 are overseen by the High Demon Lords of sin; Pride, Envy, Greed, Gluttony, Wrath, Lust and Sloth.

Next of course we have the denizens of Hell themselves, the sinners and the hellborn, the former being damned souls who in life had done enough harm to others and or themselves to warrant eternity, at least according to the unknown laws of the afterlife. The latter are the devils themselves, demons such as Imps and Hellhounds who were born and raised within this land of chaos and mayhem throughout its 9 circles. Now one notable detail of course is that Sinners are confined within the circle of Pride, hence why you often find them around locations like Pentagram Town and Imp City but not anywhere in the other circles. The Hellborn meanwhile were free to move about and travel between any of the Circles so yes even Hell had a hierarchy in place, as much as a clusterfuck I could be where murder was as casual as a handshake.

For one of Hell’s Overlords however, this particular rule was an absolute pain in the ass, but ask anyone who at least knew of him well enough? They’d say what else was new with Valentino, one third of the Youngblood Overlords known as the Vees, yes even Velvet and Vox and they were all too familiar and acquainted with the moth pimp and his violent temper. What never seemed to set him off on was a list as short as his temper and those unfortunate enough to get caught in the vicinity had the bruises to prove it. But for Valentino, the pimp and porn magnate felt like he was missing out on business opportunities being confined to just the Pride Circle.

After all, why stick to making and distributing his movies with the scum and whores he could work with in Pentagram when Lust city was a goldmine he could tap more than ass on a daily basis. But the gold toothed moth felt maybe the best way to get his greasy fingers in that pie was to establish a partnership with the a boss of Lust itself, Asmodeus and the scumbag moth figured he just the way to get in touch with ol’ Ozzie himself. All he had to do was send his Hoes Dia and Summer out to take care of the task at hand and the pimp woild soon find himself going up in the underworld, literally and figuratively. Well that’s what he figured was going to happen but you know, best laid plans of mice and men…..

Now the idea you see was for the sweet little feline sinner and her succubus friend(and possibly more) was go find and work their charms on their designated target, one it took Valentino quite a while to settle on. Going for Fizzaroli was a no go, given Ozzie wouldn’t want anyone making moves on his Imp clown and going for that weird Imp who seemed to know Fizzie personally wasn’t worth it either. Apparently the guy was a real pain in the ass to be around within just five minutes of his company so instead their pimp had a different imp in mind, some little dude by the name of Moxxie. Their orders were simple, use their natural charms to get in nis pants and persuade him to b Valentino’s inside guy to get some sway and pull with Ozzie.

So there Dia and Summer found themselves at the local Imp City branch of the Consent club, keeping an eye out for their designated target. Their pimp, boss, it was all the same either way, had gotten word the little dude would be coming around here and lo and behold, there he was in a cozy corner booth with quite an entourage for company. For a plain looking runt even by imp standards, he had women all over him like he was a sweet piece of Candy or a puppy to shower with affection. They had to say, he was more than easy in the eyes especially compared to the clients Valentino has had them entertain or the Johns they’ve had to work with on sets.

It was just a matter of time before the little dude made himself available for their attention, which came when he made his way to the bar to no doubt replenish his party with some drinks. Catching his eye as they seemingly casually sat on either side of him, making him the monkey/piggy in the middle and started to pour on the charm. It was just adorable how flustered he was getting, given the company he had with him which included a few succubi yet somehow the attention of a pair like Dia and Summer made him as awkward as a school boy dealing with puberty and hormones. It was clear the sense of being overwhelmed made him easy to convince him to come with them to on of Consent’s private sex rooms, where of course they aimed to really bring out their A game, which definitely became the case soon as he looked back to his group at the booth, blushing as many of them shot him winks, smiles and thumbs up on getting so lucky, were they used to this kind of thing happening to him?

But far be it for the cat girl and succubus to look a gift horse in the mouth as they lead the blushing, stammering little imp to one of the nearest available private rooms. It was rather adorable really, any other chump or John that Valentino would set them on would be busy trying to act like they were big time players who were studs in bed. Like this one shark chump, Spaz or Chad or what the fuck ever, who wasn’t all as good as he thought, christ on a stick the guy didn’t even have a penny to his name. But that was then and this is now as they lead Moxxie towards the couch, sitting on either side of them as they started play up and pour on their charm.

it all seemed to be going about as well as expected as they planted kisses here and there, making out with the little possum as they slowly undressed him. Starting off with his shirt and coat as they tossed aside his cute little bow tie and made him feel, like he was the lucky little dude about to be in the middle of a lesbian make-out sandwich. Yet at some point in the midst of their sensual assault, it seemed like the tables had been turned on them as they went from being the predators on the prowl playing with their food to finding themselves the prey. Moxxie showing he gave as good as they were giving, perhaps even better as it was clear he was no stranger to threesomes.

But there just seemed to be something about his actions, the way he was treating them that they found different to the Johns they serviced or worked scenes with. He was no shy, inexperienced virgin cherry boy but not some pretentious conceited blowhard Casanova who could lay and get bitches easily with a wink and a smile, oh no, this was something else entirely. It was if for him, his own pleasure was secondary in terms of priority compared to their own as his attention was focused on making them feel…dare they say it, like women, not simple hoes or sluts to be used and treated as done with once the deed was done. It was so a foreign sensation, so very new to them to feel loved and be showered with affection on a sensual level.

When he’d kiss them, oh sure there was plenty of tongue but it wasn’t like he was trying to force and assert dominance on them, it was more as if he was kissing them like they were each the most important woman in the room. When he stripped them naked, it wasn’t by ripping off their clothes as if they were getting in the way but like he was unwrapping a present or opening a treasure box and admiring their nude forks like they were besitiful works of art. It was surreal for Dia and Summmer to be the centre of attention like this and yet it turned them on so much, to say nothing of his level of skill and experience. Every caress and sweet kiss making them all tingly in the right places, so much unlike every other prior John who’d just whip out their Dick and get right to plowing them.

But oooh how they sang and moaned melodically as he started to eating them, deep pants and gasps escaping their sensual lips as Moxxie’s tongue licked and plunged away into their snatches. It made them feel like they were drowning in ecstasy and only made them want to try harder at accomplishing the task in hand as they soon managed to sandwich the sweet little imp between them and get his pants off. Soon as they got removed the article of clothing, boxers included, their jaws dropped and their eyes widened as they beheld his length and girth in all its stiff, erect glory. If they weren’t feeling so wet and turned on before, the sight of such a cock setting off switches in their brain as they had one thought…..

“TO HELL WITH VALENTINO!!!” Rang thriugh their near telepathic link as they were soon showering that alpha male level dick with lusty devotion. Performing a tandem fellatio as they licked and sucked on thst imp cock, drowning in their saliva while kissing his nalls for good measure. The imp’s pants and groans music to their ears as they too turns deepthroating him, glowing hearts as their compact Casanova too, some initiative in grasping their heads as he pumped his hips. But the only experience even greater for them than this facefucking was the moment they each finally found that cock inside them.

The cat girl and succubus were no stranger to taking their share of dicks, especially tentacles, dildoes or strap-ones but Moxxie was putting plenty of their prior Johns to shame once again. Inches of long, thick and veiny womb hammering, snatch filled slab of fuckmeat heaven not just merely hitting their G spots but the whole entire alphabet. Yet all the while the imp seemed less focused in getting himself off and more about giving attention to their pleasure, how ironic that they had the task of having to seduce his sweet possum but he’d turned the tables on them without even trying. And to be honest, they were loving every god-fuck-damn second of it!!

If Dia and Summer had ever thought they could feel and find themselves falling in love with each other all over again, they’d have never imagined it’d be seeing one another in the throes of passion and ecstasy with another man fucking them. Yet that was indeed the case whether it was Dia watching her feline lover yeowling sensually as a Moxxie plowed her in a mating press while she played with herself or Summer groping her furry form as she looked on at her succubus girlfriend pinned uo against the wall as their newfound sex god hammered away. But oh to say nothing of when they’d enjoy him together, be it taking doggy style or missionary as they ate the other out or making out as he hammered their pussies in turn, hell they even found themselves glsdly taking it anally and they usually didn’t enjoy taking it uo the ass! That’s just how good the guy was!!

If anything Diamand Summer not only found themselves forgetting about their mission or whatever loyalty they had to Valentino, they found themselves wanting this sweetheart of an imp to claim them like the alpha male he was. “Get pregnant!!” Running through their heads like a primal mantra as they wanted to outright mate and breed with the romantic thespian. Losing track of time as minutes passed into hours before the intense passion finally caught up to them after one last round of climactic orgasms together. Sweet peaceful smiles of content on their faces as the afterglow warmth overcame them, snuggling up to their newfound alpha male like their own personal plush toy.

After that little encounter, it wasn’t long before Millie had the pair up and move into hers and Moxxie’s apartment as their new live-in maids. A role they gladly accepted as much as they had with considering Moxxie the only man in their life they’d ever need to love, having sent their resignations to Valentino in the meantime. In the form of a picture of them hugging a lipstick kiss marked Moxxie being hugged by the duo as they flipped the bird, attached with a note simply stating “WE QUIT!!”. To say he’d been livid was an understatement but the fuck was he going to do about it.

To say Moxxie was going to have get used to having maids as well as another set of kinky girls to satisfy was another understatement of course but by this point he knew to roll with the punches. All the while unaware that Millie had Loona send a copy of the picture along with a video of their alpha male in action with cat girl/succubus pair to the e-mail inbox o the head of Skull-Fuck Productions, the premiere porn studio and publisher outside of those owned under Ozzie. A singular office lit only by the glow of a computer screen and flames coming off of a smartly dressed skull-headed man who saw the latest notification of his inbox. An invisible grin forming as he saw who it was from and have it a read-over, ideas forming in his brain…

#sketchfan #sketchfanda #sketchfan85 #helluva boss #hazbin hotel #moxxie #helluva boss moxxie #moxxie knolastname #helluva boss millie #helluva moxxie #helluva millie #dia and summer #Dia Hazbin hotel #Summer Hazbin hotel

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laurarolla · 3 months ago

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Huh. Youtube's AI video idea suggestion program seems to have actually figured out what kind of videos I make. Well, I suppose that makes it even more appropriate to have just played through one of my favorite "Hideo Kojima warns you about the future" games. Honestly, Jacob Geller already made an incredible video on MGRR that explains most of what it does right and why it keeps sticking around, so I wanted to talk about how I feel it could be easy to misinterpret the game and its message. Maybe. Honestly this post kinda turns into a bit of a rant or something reaching to a feeling about one specific thing that bothers me when I feel like it probably shouldn't.

Much of Metal Gear Rising is about the idea of what freedom means in a modern society, and whether things like Free Will even exist. There's also quite a bit in the story about Raiden's motivations and the nature and responsibility involved in taking a life to try and save others. Characters all focus on the idea of choice and will, from Monsoon's nihilism and obsession with memes (like, you know, as a cultural inherited idea, not the funny cat pictures) to Blade Wolf's slow growth to discovering what it means to make your own decisions when you felt trapped before to Raiden's decision to wield The Ripper within him as a tool to prevent other children from being turned into new killing machines. Mistral only began believing in choosing her own purpose because of Armstrong, while Sundowner revels in violence through an appeal to the idea of a violent "human nature." Khamsin (from the Blade Wolf DLC) is a former Marine who seemed less interested in the "freedom" part of "fighting for freedom" than in the "fighting" part, while Dolzaev acts to free his people from Russian interests by destroying a refinery he sees as nothing more than chains on Abkhazia. Sam seems to be similar in many ways to Raiden, but sees his crusade as straight-forward revenge, and falls pray to Armstrong's Social Darwinist bullshit at his lowest point. It all comes to a head with one of the strangest and most brilliant final bosses in video games.

Senator Stephen Armstrong is, as I stated, a Social Darwinist. He's also a man who had no significant financial struggles, saw no active combat while in the Navy, and has no problem turning those who don't have the means to fight back into his tools. He's a monster through and through, and of all the people he wowed with his power and apparent charisma, Raiden saw through his bullshit because Raiden has seen the results of his ideology. And yet, in the post credit scene, Raiden quotes something Armstrong says to him before beginning a fight with some cyborgs in an alley somewhere. The final song of the game seems to be a warning and a call to not be swayed by the system you're born into, but to follow your own path. This means the game's final word is about the idea of individual responsibility and motivation. I think the real criticisms of individualism as a sociocultural perspective and motivation can get lost in the whole "strike out and make your own way" thing. I suppose that comes more from my belief in the value of community and collective action. Communities shape individuals and individuals shape communities, so it is important for individuals to care. In the end though, we're not an island.

I don't know, maybe it just bugs me more than anything else that the music, which is incredible, ends up often painting a troubling picture when you start paying attention to the lyrics at various points. It's usually set up as character motivation, with Blade Wolf, Mistral, Monsoon, Sundowner, and Sam getting songs that speak to their own perspectives, and "Rules of Nature" being used in battles against AI killing machines that literally cannot think beyond basic instinct. Khamsin and the MG Excelsis both have songs illustrating toxic elements of the military and nationalism/capitalism, and the credits music, while it does have a bit of a "wake up sheeple" thing going on, is still pretty beautiful and acknowledges that everyone is a person with their own struggles. The worst song narratively is also the one that keeps showing up in memes about the game. "It has to be this way" plays during the final battle and is a song that basically involves the singer, whoever that represents narratively, embracing Social Darwinism and saying that the fight is just the natural outcome. If the song represents Sam's feelings, which I do actually think it does personally, then that makes sense as he did end up falling into that ideology in the end before questioning it before his duel with Raiden. If the song represents Raiden, however... well, that's pretty fucked up.

Okay, this has largely been a rant and I don't know if the feelings I'm expressing here are even worthwhile. Overall, I think the game is really fun to play, and has a really great story that gets you to think about it. I worry about some mixed messages near the end, but overall it's an experience worth having.

#backlog resolution #video games #metal gear rising #metal gear rising revengeance #mgr #mgrr #pc games #metal gear #metal gear solid

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