#one of those violent stick figures. literally what is it

[nowendil]

i really dont get what my problem is!!

[pastorpresent]

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."

[howtofightwrite]

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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[sykeboy]

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 😢

[spacehippieface]

A monstrous tripod, higher than many houses, striding over the young pine trees, and smashing them aside in its career; a walking engine of glittering metal, striding now across the heather; articulate ropes of steel dangling from it, and the clattering tumult of its passage mingling with the riot of the thunder. A flash, and it came out vividly, heeling over one way with two feet in the air, to vanish and reappear almost instantly as it seemed, with the next flash, a hundred yards nearer. Can you imagine a milking stool tilted and bowled violently along the ground? That was the impression those instant flashes gave. But instead of a milking stool imagine it a great body of machinery on a tripod stand. [...]

Seen nearer, the Thing was incredibly strange, for it was no mere insensate machine driving on its way. Machine it was, with a ringing metallic pace, and long, flexible, glittering tentacles (one of which gripped a young pine tree) swinging and rattling about its strange body. It picked its road as it went striding along, and the brazen hood that surmounted it moved to and fro with the inevitable suggestion of a head looking about. Behind the main body was a huge mass of white metal like a gigantic fisherman’s basket, and puffs of green smoke squirted out from the joints of the limbs as the monster swept by me.

Let's talk tripods! Every artist and fiilmmaker has different interpretations of the fighting machines. It's not hard to picture a towering three-legged alien death machine, of course, Wells gives us a good picture of what they look like, but I want to go over a few depictions of them and compare them to his written description, in no particular order, because I think it's interesting, and I think WOTW might actually be a special interest:

Wells drew this one himself. It's a stick figure, of course, but this was how he pictured them. I especially like the little guy going "oo-er!" at the sight of it, almost in polite terror.

The BBC version. To me, this one owes a bit more to Transformers design-wise, and moves like the Cloverfield monster, like the MUTO, like a lot of giant monsters we've seen in recent years, terrestrial or otherwise. But they are still menacing, and they actually make a clear "aloo!" noise when calling to each other. I've got to give them that, even though the BBC screwed up the Martians, the cylinder, they kept going on about Russia, the whole "you can't marry her, you're already married to your cousin" bit. It was a mess.

The Edward Gorey illustrations. O is for Ogilvy, burned like the flag. P's for the Parson, oh, what a drag. Sorry. This is basically a flying saucer with legs. Bit silly,but the tentacles are there, and the legs aren't the stiff kind Wells hated. Which brings us to...

Warwick Goble's illustrations from the original publication of WOTW in Pearson's Magazine. Wells famously hated these so much that when WOTW was published as a book, he wrote a segment into the story ragging on these stiff-legged water tower tripods. I think Goble took the milking stool description too literally, his tripods are always drawn tilted.

The 2005 Spielberg tripod. Great. Massive. Scary. Everything is there. The tentacles, the Heat Ray arm (two even), the suggestion of a head, even the basket. Say what you want about this movie with its excessive amount of Tom Cruise and young Dakota Fanning screaming, but the tripods are fantastic. Damn near perfect even. I think Wells would be very pleased.

The 1953 design. I am very fond of these, they're a great classic sci-fi ship, but they're more akin to the flying machines than the tripods. The filmmakers try to loophole their way out by talking about invisible electrostatic legs (which you can see when the machines initially appear) but I'm pretty sure they went this route because the film was getting more and more expensive and the budget wouldn't extend to stop-motion for the legs. Still, a wonderful creation, the goose neck/cobra head design for the Heat Ray is a good touch and my god, the hissing, ticking noises these things made. Love them.

The Jeff Wayne musical design. My favourite. My beloved. My nightmare fuel. Totally iconic. I'm sure when most people think WOTW, their first thought is the legendary album cover featuring one of these monsters melting the Thunder Child's valiant heart. Doesn't make them book-accurate though. The Heat Ray is built into the chassis, it's all one unit rather than a separate head on a body, the basket was given to the handling machines, and they are stiff-legged in stills. But they're scary in motion, and their howls still give me the jibblies. OH GOD, THOSE HOWLS. Opening Horsell Common And The Heat Ray on the Highlights album with that scream isn't fair!

Henrique Alvim-Corrêa's illustrations for the Belgian publication, and Wells' favourites. The effects of the Heat Ray are chilling, and they're definitely sinister when there's a lot of them just standing there or coldly blasting humans. But I'm just not sold on those googly eyes, they make them goofier. Although when these designs were used for the War of the Worlds 1913 indie game (which I still need to play) the eyes were just blank. Redemption!

[krasytoonz]

Speech Examples!

King Wally

“What’s a Peasant like YOU doing here! Goodness, you STINK!”

“No, I don’t like this. I don’t like this one either. You are supposed to READ my MIND! Can’t you already figure out what I like and don’t like?”

“I was a bit rude. I know that. But I will not apologize for it. Because I am King.”

“AHHH!! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?! GUARDS! SOMEONE! SAVE ME!!! THIS FOUL LOOKING THING IS TRYING TO KILL ME!!”

Jester Barnaby

“What do you call Tea that doesn’t have (T)ea?… Just Ea.”

“Hey, don’t go about and hang your head down like that! You did great, buddy. What matters is the effort you put in!”

“I know a place where we can go and relax. Maybe daydream or take a nap! Doesn’t that sound nice?”

“I actually got some tricks up my sleeves!… Well, I don’t got any sleeves. But you get it!”

Castle’s Greatest Knight

“Do you think that maybe he might like me back?”

“Being a Knight doesn’t mean you have to just ‘be’. You’ve got to act and look like one too!”

“Stand STRAIGHT! What are you even worthy of if you can’t even do one simple thing!!”

“I may be merciful, but do not take me for a Fool. So do not treat me like one.”

The Advisor

“That is so funny, because the last time I remember you was… Never. I don’t think you are even good enough to be in the storage of my memories.”

“You see, because ‘pie’ is a consumable good, but ‘pi’ is a maths symbolism that equals to 3.14, it is the reason why you are DUMB. Those are NOT THE SAME THINGS.”

“This is NOT how ECONOMY WORKS, Your Majesty. The people are starving and YOU KNOW THAT!”

“For the love of God I will literally burn you ALIVE if you say one more thing out of that stupid mouth of yours!”

Castle’s Maid

“GAWK!! THE voices.. The noises.. Oh, they’re SPEAKING to me again!”

“No, no no, it isn’t the Castle this time, I know it! Please, believe me! There are things wrong with this Kingdom — HORRIBLY WRONG!”

“It’s a CURSE!! I knew that because I went to this Fortune-Teller and she told me that THIS WILL HAPPEN! GAWK!!”

“Breathe in.. Breathe out.. No, this wouldn’t work! This is silly! Let’s get out of here and run away elsewhere while we still can!”

The Anarchist

“Boasting will do you no good. I don’t like ‘mysteries’ or ‘surprises’ either. Show it to me and I’ll believe you.”

“Somebody who only talks big, but not ‘walk the talk’, is not to be respected. I hope you understand what that means.”

“WHAT IN THE- Julie! SALLY! STOP POKING THAT THING! IT’S GOING TO CRUMBLE DOWN!! GODDAMMIT YOU TWO!”

“Don’t you know it’s dangerous to walk alone in the Alleyway?! Are you out of your mind?!! Stick beside me, I know a shortcut.”

Julie Joyful (in Disguise Name: King-Queen-Royal Julien the III)

“Wow, that was.. SUPER DUPER AWESOMESAUCESNESS!! CAN WE DO IT AGAIN?!”

“AAHHHH!! I AM SO SO SO EXCITED! Let’s go and look for more Mushrooms. Did you KNOW that Sally can cook really good Mushroom soup?”

“Uhhh… Uhhhhheeeerrrrmmmm… I forgot. I’m sorry, but, I’ll try my best to remember. I promise! PINKIE PROMISE!”

“If you want a hug, just know that I am always here. Don’t you waste your tears, my Friend!”

Bounty Hunter Sally

“So we got Buggy and Pinkie on the team. You in or you out?”

“HA! No one can EVER come between ME and Pinkie! You can try all you want but you CAN’T ever separate the two of us!”

“Determination is my greatest Skill! Test me if you like but I WON’T back down from a good ramble! Bring it on! Wahhahaa!!”

“These monsters aren’t actually monsters, but they are just sensitive to Fire and Light and all that stuff. Best you put it away.”

Royal Courtier Sunny

“Yes, very very informative…! Uh, so, when is the festival again?”

“Oooh! That looks DASHING on you! Totally cute and fashionable! Wear it!”

“Morals are very important! You see, without them, people will become violent!”

“Do not fear! I will sacrifice myself if needed! You can rely on me!”

Castle (speaks in onomatopoeia)

“CREEK! THUMP! CRRRRAAAACKKK!” (Fuck u and ur dad and ur mom and ur siblings)

“Thump. Thump. THUMP.” (Thump thump thump.)

“Creek!” (Flowers! I love flowers!)

[ramonag-if]

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? 👀

[horseshoegirl]

Damn Those Dog Tags - Part 4: Long Cool Woman In a Black Dress

AN: I won my battle with writer's block! (Thank you, @tinytotontheoversizedpony!)

It's a little self-fulling to use this song as a fic title, but hey, it fits the vibe.

I think you're going to like this one 👀💛

______________________________________________________________

❗️18+, strong language, alcohol mentions, sexual themes, godmother reader/original female character, Original child character.

#4.7K Words

Part 3 | Masterlist | Part 5

Fridays seemed to be the worst day of the week. That was your current mood as you smoothed down the corners of your dress and straightened your leather jacket, making your way up the steps of the Child Protective Services building. 

They told you they wanted to meet to review some information, whatever the hell that meant. With the paperwork, or there was a stipulation in Ridley’s Will or worse, someone wanted to take her away from you. The nerves in the pit of your stomach were on fire with the idea something was wrong.  

And you received the request on one of the few days you could actually pick Sadie up from school. The minute you hung up your phone and pressed the edge of it to your forehead, you thumped lightly against your skin, thinking it would will away the uneasiness settling in your stomach. 

“Ah, pity, I was hoping Bradley was picking Sadie up today.” 

‘Oh, please tell me you didn’t, Bradley, ’ you thought upon hearing that voice. Forcing a smile, which you were sure looked more like a grimace, you turned to face what you believed to be the Regina George of all elementary school moms. 

“Hello, Courtney.” 

Courtney Slack, the one mom in the school who made it her business to know everyone’s business. A blonde bombshell always dressed to the nines, who always had a comment, a thing or a statement to say about everyone and everything thing. The leader of the PTA association and the mom of the girl who bullied Sadie on her first day of school. 

You’d be having words with Bradley the next time you saw him. 

“Still single, I see?” she snarked. “Shame Sadie doesn’t have a strong father figure to look up to.” 

Oh, you’d already be thrashing her into the pavement if you were a violent person. You were about to make a remark about Sadie’s numerous Uncles who literally risked their lives to make sure someone like her could live out her days being a bitch, before someone came up beside you. 

“Still sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, Courtney?” Alyssa suddenly pipped up next to you. Alyssa, a single mother of a boy named Will around Sadie’s age, was one of the first people to introduce herself when Sadie first arrived at the school. Sadie instantly took a liking to Will, and you liked Alyssa the second you met her. 

She was uncaring of what people thought of her, pulling up in punky Doc Martins and patched-up jean jackets to student-teacher conferences and school events. She saved you from what you both liked to call Courtney’s group, the “Vanderpump Vulture Moms,” on your first school bake sale, Bob and Nat helping you stay up late one night to frost the hell out of a few dozen cupcakes. 

“Can’t I take an interest in who my children go to school with?” 

“Well, it looks like you need to go collect your spawn,” She coughed, “I mean, child from the playground. I believe he’s interested in shoving a stone up a kid’s nose.” 

Failing miserably to hold in your snickers at the look on Courtney’s face, you watched as she turned frantically to find her son before calling his name and running off in hysterics. Alyssa gave in first, barely hanging on to her resolve and toppling over in laughter. You couldn’t help but join her, lulling your nerves for a moment with being able to laugh. 

After a few seconds, she touched your shoulder, “I heard your phone call. I’m sure it’s nothing, maybe a follow-up to ensure everything is okay.” 

You shook your head, looking at the kids exiting the recess doors. 

“I just got her. It could be anything from a check-in to a notice of whatever they want to do with her. Rarely do they care about the kids.” 

You spied Sadie’s lime green backpack amongst the crowd. Will was not far behind as they searched for the pair of you. They liked to race each other out the door to see who could get to you first. When she did reach you, she almost always knocked you flat onto the pavement, hugging you. You eagerly returned her hug but frowned when she kept burying her head into your stomach when you went to pull back.

“What’s wrong, Bug?” 

“We have a surprise project due on Monday,” Will sighed next to you. Sadie pulled back, nodding at him, clearly upset at the thought she might have to do homework over a weekend. 

“We’re going to miss our last hike, Aunt Liz,” She pouted. 

This weekend was your last chance for a hike until the Spring. While Miramar didn’t really see snow, the weather had started turning slightly cooler. Soon enough, the bugs wouldn’t be out for Sadie to find. With the unexpected visit to CPS, she would no doubt have to miss it. 

“And my hockey game,” Will echoed, dropping his head with a frown.  

Alyssa ruffled Will’s hair, smiling down at Sadie. “Why don’t you come over tomorrow after school? You can set up at the dining table and do your project with pizza.” 

You gave Alyssa a grateful look, mouthing ‘Thank you’ as Sadie and Will excitedly started planning how they would tackle their assignment so they could do their respective activities. 

Alyssa shrugged, waving her hand. “Go figure out what they want, and don’t worry about her. We’ll ensure that assignment gets done for your hike and Will’s Hockey Game.”

So, while Sadie worked over at Will and Alyssa’s to finish her project, you tried to calm your nerves as you waited at the reception desk to check in for the appointment. 

They made you wait for what you thought was hours, but it couldn’t have been more than 15 minutes. You did everything from bouncing your leg to circling your thumbs to scrolling aimlessly on your phone until they finally called your name.

You were ushered into a stuffy office room, papers hazardously placed in manila file folders strung across the room. An older woman, Mrs. Kirkland, from her nameplate, had several precariously stacked on top of one another on her desk. She reminded you of your old high school librarian, peering at you over the top rim of her glasses when you coughed under your breath to get her attention. 

“Ms. Beck,” she gestured to the fold-out chair in front of her. You quickly removed your jacket, hooking it on the back of the chair before sitting down.  

She smiled at you before glancing at her laptop, asking, “How’s Sadie doing?” 

“Better. She’s adjusting well to her new school and seems to love science.” 

“That’s wonderful,” She didn’t bother looking up as she spoke, typing something away at her computer. You watched her type, suddenly meeting her eyes as she peered up at you, looking up and down your body before inquiring, “And yourself?” 

“It’s been hard without my sister, but my friends have supported me.” 

“Hmm,” she replied. “No man in your life?” 

Ugh, why did every older woman you meet like to comment on the fact that you were still single? 

“Just the two of us, I’m afraid,” you smiled politely. “What is it you wanted to speak about?” 

“Right,” she said, reaching down into her file cabinet to pull out a small folder. “A request was made to look into Sadie’s file.” 

The ball forming in your throat for the past twenty-four hours dropped into your stomach. “What does that mean?” 

“Well, our review process covers everything from the legitimacy of her birth mother’s Will to the handover of her guardianship. We have no complaints against you as her guardian, and we have on record you cared for Sadie greatly while you lived with your sister.” 

You swallowed hard. “Yes, that’s correct.” 

“So, this is just to ensure everything is in order and nothing was missed. Generally, the process takes a few weeks, but upon looking at this, I suspect our auditors won’t find anything out of place.” 

“Why would someone request this? Is it something internal you guys do?” 

Ms. Kirkland shuffled a few papers in her hand, reading what was on the page before replying, “I’m afraid this was external. Your sister was very thorough with her paperwork, so we did not need to do an internal review.” 

Everything about this was odd. You had no family left. What was the point of making sure her paperwork was in order? Ridley always wanted Sadie with you and nobody at the time, and after her death, wanted to challenge it. 

“I’m assuming you cannot tell me who requested you look into her file?”

“I’m afraid I cannot say who, only that the request came in two weeks ago.” 

Ridley’s townhouse sold two weeks ago, you thought. This was screaming more was going on than just a simple review. 

“As we have no more concerns, you are free to go. We just needed to inform you of the request.” 

Resisting the urge to roll your eyes, you dug your nails into your legs instead, reaching to grab your bag off the floor. “And you couldn’t have explained this over a phone call?” 

“I’m afraid it’s our policy to do these things in person to avoid miscommunication.” 

You sighed, standing up and grabbing your jacket from the back of your chair. “Can you let me know when this is resolved?” 

“Of course.” 

You resisted the urge to slam the door as you exited the office and the building. While you knew deep down they wouldn’t find anything wrong with the paperwork or Ridley’s Will, you were still worried about who exactly put in the request.

Even with the anxiety racing through your veins as you raced back down the front steps to your car, eager to escape the miserable place, you couldn’t help but grumble out, “Policy, my ass.”

_______

Seeing you at the Hard Deck outside of work, unless you were with one of the Daggers, was unusual. But your nerves were on fire, you were dying for a drink, and you desperately wanted to confide in Penny. 

It wasn’t as busy as it should have been for a Friday after four, but the music playing from the Jukebox did wonders for the atmosphere.  You spied Jake and Coyote at the back by the dartboard in their service khakis as soon as you walked in, Coyote attempting to throw a few darts while Jake was off to the side chatting with a brunette in just too tight of a light blue dress.

You couldn’t fault her for the blush staining her cheeks as she peered up at him. Jake used his looks to his advantage to get what he wanted. Arms flexed, cocky smirk, getting up and close into her personal space. She was buying it, given how close she angled herself toward him. 

Women really did fall into the palm of his hand, you thought.  

She embodied everything you figured you weren’t. The type to have it all figured out, not juggling school events, sports games, and pick-up times. She didn’t have long nights closing at the bar or trying to find someone to watch Sadie every week. Not that you would trade it for anything in the world. 

She was the type you’d imagine someone like Jake would finally end up with. Even if he was chatting her up to be the next name on his bedpost, you struggled to force out the idea that they looked good standing next to each other. Hot people went out with hot people, right?

You didn’t know whether you wanted to roll your eyes or pay attention to the ache in your chest. 

Penny smiled as you sat down but frowned upon seeing your face. 

“Can I get a glass of Whiskey, Penny? Neat, please.” 

She eyed you concerned, reaching down to grab a bottle of Jack Daniels and a glass. “You're not one to pop by for a drink?” 

“Somebody requested Sadie’s file to be looked into at CPS.” You threaded your fingers through your hair, locking them behind your head as you rest your elbows on the bar. 

Penny widened her eyes, placing the glass down in front of you. “Please tell me she’s staying with you?” 

You looked up and nodded. “I’m fine. They needed to notify me it happened.” 

“Can they tell you who?” 

“Nope,” you replied curtly before reaching for the glass and bringing it to your lips. The liquid burned, and you resisted the urge to cough. 

“I bet it's the school. Or one of the parents at the school.” 

Courtney’s face briefly popped into your head at Penny’s words, but you quickly shot it down. While she might be horrible, she wasn’t capable or invested in causing trouble. You shrugged. 

“Or Sadie’s bio Dad?” 

You frowned. Ridley always admitted getting involved with Tyler was a terrible idea, save for gifting her Sadie. He was, for all pretense, a dick. You had yet to meet someone who was his equal. From the stories you heard about how he was before they became a permanent team, not even Jake could top this guy’s attitude on a bad day. Tyler was pure malice. 

He wanted nothing to do with Sadie the moment Ridley found out. She had ensured you were listed as Sadie’s guardian the moment she was born, Tyler and his family written out of any responsibility or entitlements. You wouldn’t be surprised to learn if they tried to buy her off to save Tyler’s chances of making a career in Football, not that he really had any. 

“He wanted nothing to do with her when Ridley was pregnant, and I doubt Cathy and Dean want to be caring grandparents this late in the game.” 

They were some of the worst people in the world. You could gratefully count the number of times you had to deal with them on one hand. Sadie would never have to, not if you had your way. 

“Either way, I don’t think he’d get anywhere near Sadie if he wanted to.” 

Penny smiled fondly. “Bradley would be first in line to throw a punch.” 

You shook your head. “Don’t forget about Nat.” 

“I think Pete might try to get one in too.” 

You giggled with Penny at the thought. Mav would go to bat for Sadie in a heartbeat. 

“Lizzie!” 

You turned around on your bar stool to see Coyote waving you over, the leggy brunette gone, and Jake taking Javy’s place throwing darts. 

“Be careful with those two,” Penny said with a smirk, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. 

Resisting the urge to frown, you simply picked up your drink while standing up, throwing over your shoulder, “You know I can take care of myself.”

________

“Yo, there’s Lizzie,” Coyote said, tapping Jake’s arm while watching you enter the Hard Deck and walk towards an empty stool. Jake turned his head in the middle of his conversation at the mention of your name, catching the side of your face as you greeted Penny.

The two of you had finished the dishes discussing your shared taste in music that night. You credited Ridley as the one who got you into 80s music - telling him the Jean Jacket had been hers, sharing how the three of you got lost coming home from a hike while she was visiting with Sadie, stumbling into that thrift store hoping for directions. He could recall you laughing when you told him she freaked out so hard in the store the owner practically gave it to her for free. 

While he’d never get the chance to, he wished he could thank Ridley for finding that Jacket. You didn’t judge him for his call-sign story as he suspected you would. Instead, you listened. You emphasized. You gave him credit for trying. And as everyone went to leave, you didn’t protest hugging him goodbye like everyone else. 

Deep down, a part of him was grateful you gave him a clean state. 

When the woman he had been talking to realized his attention had been drawn elsewhere, she scoffed and quickly returned to her friends after he didn't continue the conversation. He didn’t seem to care, wandering over to where Javy had resumed his stance.  

“What’s she doing here on her day off?” Coyote placed the darts into Jake’s hand, not removing his eyes from you. 

“She doesn’t normally come here on a day off?” Jake asked, starting to line up a shot. 

“Not unless she’s with one of us. Maybe she has a date.” 

Coyote took a swig of his beer, missing the way Jake dropped his hand and spun his head, eyes tracking the bar to see if anyone was joining you. But you were bowing your head, on the verge of pulling out your hair, staring at the top of the bar before replying to whatever Penny asked.

“What did you guys talk about that night?” 

Jake turned back to Coyote, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head while he raised his hand again. “Nothing I haven’t told you before.” 

Jake let the dart go, watching as it landed just above the center mark. “She thanked me for the flowers, for helping Sadie, and then we did the dishes.” 

“Just like that?” Javy questioned. “So you didn’t pull any of your insensitive shit around her?” 

“I wasn’t going to make her call me out twice. Not since you left me to deal with Phoneix and Rooster chewing out my ass.” He threw another dart, this one striking just above the last one. 

Coyote ignored the dig, watching him throw two more before asking, “So the flowers were..” 

“An apology, nothing more.” 

Javy eyed Jake skeptically, “And why do you suddenly care about saying sorry to someone you hardly know?” 

“Hey, I happen to like Sadie and Liz. And if the Daggers are spending Saturday nights over there, I’d like to improve my chances of being invited back.” 

Javy went to collect the darts from the board before turning around to stand in front of Jake, proceeding to square him up. 

“Be careful with her, Jake,” he said, placing the darts into his hand. “I’m not like the others, but you cannot fuck with Lizzie. She might put on a big show, but she’s more fragile than she looks. And Sadie’s a part of the equation too.” 

Jake regarded him briefly, thinking about the note Sadie gave him that he tucked into his wallet, before finally answering, “She told me she wasn’t interested in that.”

“Interested in a tumble in the sheets or being your friend?” 

“Shut up. I just want to be there for her and Sadie.” 

“Oh, so you wouldn’t mind if I called her over here to join us then?” 

“Javy!” Jake reached for Coyote’s arm, failing to stop him from lifting his hand. 

“Lizzie!” 

Jake grimaced as Coyote waved at you, quickly reaching up to throw another dart, this time half in frustration. It landed next to the metal circle encasing the center dot. 

You called out to greet them, and Jake couldn’t help but take note of how your dress lightly swayed as you maneuvered yourself between pulled-out chairs to get to them, leather jacket zipper straps swinging as you walked, and a pair of brown aviators dangling from where you had hooked them between your breasts.

He caught a glimpse of Penny’s glaring stare from behind you, and his conversation with her the week before meeting you played in his head. 

“She’s off limits, Hangman.” She had said as she thumped his beer bottle onto the bar. “You don’t go anywhere near this one, and I don’t care how many people you’ve helped throw out of this bar. I’ll never welcome you back, so help me. Not her.” 

The second it appeared you would look back up, he turned to throw another dart, this time Coyote holding up his hand to block his view. You watched Jake land the dart directly in the middle, slightly impressed. 

“So, this is your party trick?” you announced with a grin.

Coyote wolf-whistled as he approached you, holding out his hand to spin you in a circle, your dress swirling as you laughed. “You clean up nice, Lizzie. You meeting some special?”

Jake’s hand wobbled as he threw another dart, this time hitting the outer rim. 

“What? Oh no, I had a meeting with CPS.” 

Jake’s ears picked up at the statement, dropping his hand heavily to face you. “Is she okay? Are they threatening to take her away from you?” 

You shook your head, warmth spreading in your chest at his concern.  “It was harmless. They just wanted to pass along some information.” 

Jake turned to Coyote as you suddenly stepped towards the dartboard, seemingly interested in his score and leaving no room to continue the conversation.  Coyote looked at you with concern before glancing back at Jake, shaking his head. 

“You know how to throw?” Jake asked, not taking his eyes off Javy and tilting his head toward Penny. Javy nodded, quickly approaching the bar to see if Penny knew anything. 

“Oh, believe me, sharp objects and I do not mix,” you remarked, looking at his score before passing him as he went to collect the darts. You lent against the nearby pillar, pressing your glass to your chest. 

“You can’t be that bad,” he glanced over his shoulder, pulling the last dart from the board. 

“You’ve clearly never seen me on a good day. I’m a natural klutz,” you said, sipping your drink. Jake moved away from the board only to stop in front of you, holding out the darts in his hand.

 “Prove it.” 

You looked down, apprehensive of grabbing them. You accidentally drew blood the last time you threw a dart in Penny’s bar. You still felt horrible thinking about it, managing to skim an Admiral’s forehead. To this day, you swore you’d never touch the things again. 

But then you took in Jake’s face, amused and assured, as if you were just being modest about being a bad shot. He clearly wasn’t going to let it go, shoving his hand out again to emphasize he was dead serious.

“I warned you,” you offered, placing your glass next to his bottle on a side table, shedding your jacket and glasses before grabbing a dart from his hand. 

You attempted to line yourself up with the center of the dartboard. At first, you stood sideways, cocking your arm back several times in an attempt to let the dart go. The angle felt too awkward, and your hand started to cramp from how long you took. Then you completely turned to face it, fiddling with your grip while trying to fix your eyes between either the dart or the board. 

You managed to fake out three throws before deciding to give up.

Sighing, you dropped your hand, “Jake, I’m going to hurt someone if I throw this damn thing.” 

Jake tried to hold in his laughter, watching you struggle while leaning against the same pillar. He pushed himself off, uncrossing his arms before gently reaching for your wrist.

You looked at him, unsure, taking a step back,  “What are you doing?” 

Jake shook his head, reaching out again for your wrist. “Just trust me.”

You let Jake bring your hand up. His whole hand, warm and rough, engulfed yours as he positioned it where he wanted. You sucked in a breath through your teeth when you felt his fingers, barely grasping at your hip bone, pull you closer to him.

“Loosen your hand,” he squeezed, forcing you to attempt to calm the tension in your wrist. It was hard when you could only concentrate on the feeling of his chest lightly bumping your back. With each touch, you could feel yourself resisting the urge to lurch forward with a shiver racing up your spine. 

“Relax your shoulders.” He spoke, before tapping the heel of your boot with the top of his, making you take a step forward a bit. You gulped when you heard him say, “Widen your legs.” 

You breathed in through your mouth, forcing the exhale to drag your shoulders down. It was a few seconds before he murmured, “Close your eyes.” 

“Jake,” you warned. 

“There’s nobody around. I won’t let you hurt someone.” 

You sighed, closing your eyes and dropping your head slightly. Jake moved your hand again, softly squeezing once more. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up as you felt the heat of his breath travelling towards the left side of your jaw. 

“Throw it,’ he rasped into your ear. 

Jake loosened his hold on your wrist, feeling his calloused fingers trailing down your arm before lifting them off. The second his hand left your skin, you flicked your wrist forward as if his touch burned you. You refused to open your eyes, scared you might have hit someone or something old and well past its years on the wall. 

“Look.” 

You sharply breathed through your nose before opening your eyes to glance at the board. 

The dart had managed to hit the center. You couldn’t help but smile. 

“How’s that?” he squeezed your hip. “Not as bad as you thought.” 

“No blood is a first,” you said, proud of yourself. 

Turning around to thank him, the words died on your lips as you felt his breath warm your face. Jake had yet to let you go, his hand still clutching your waist and his nose a few inches from grazing yours. 

The decision you made, standing in your front yard last Saturday while face to face with Jake, about never putting yourself in a position where he could break your heart, was far from your mind. You took in everything about him. His sandy hair, his jawline, his eyes which then met yours. 

Jake’s stare brought you back to standing with him in your kitchen, washing dishes, and seeing his soft smile for the first time. Facing off in your backyard to guess music, him twirling one of Sadie’s pencils in his hand while helping her with homework, handing her the yellow tulip in your hallway. 

Jake could no longer hear the chants of Penny and the rest of the Daggers saying to leave you alone in his head. They were being replaced with the pump of his heart, a feeling he only experienced while pulling Gs. And then your eyes, wide and bright, drew him in. 

They were kind and soft. The type to have experienced laughter and the type of smiles that would make someone’s face hurt. You were looking at him like he was more than the metal wings pinned to his shirt. More than the good-looking pilot from Texas. More than just Hangman. 

His eyes dropped to your lips, feeling your warm breath on his and noticing the subtle scent of the Whiskey you had slipped prior. Could he still taste it, he thought, if he just tilted his head a little further down? 

And then the barbell rang. 

Three times. 

Jake immediately stepped back, head turning towards the bar with the healthy fear Penny had rung the bell for getting too close to you. But she and Coyote were standing off with some unlucky guy whose face had turned beat red at the bar. He had no cell phone, so either he disrespected the Navy or a lady and was not pleased about buying a round. 

He squeezed your waist, winking at you with a grin, before letting go to join Coyote at the bar. You bit your lip, watching him pat the man on his shoulder before hooking his arm under his, easily carrying him off to the side door with Javy. 

“You okay, Liz?” Penny called out, your eyes snapping to her as she raised an eyebrow.

Despite not knowing what the frick just happened, you called back, “Yeah, I think so,” while gripping the corner of the pillar with one hand. 

If she asked you why your legs were wobbling, you'd blame the whiskey.

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@fulla02 @blckgrl-sunflower

Please let me know if I missed you or if you want to be added!

Might be a little bit before Part 5, as I suddenly got swarmed with work stuff before my work conference at the end of March, but I will try my best!

Wickett ;)

[thecreaturecodex]

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.

[silverview]

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 :/

[oh-hell-help-me]

Day 21: Lightning

Due to the Koopa Kingdom’s unique climate, their weather patterns ranged from firestorms to clear skies to-

CRASH!

Excessively violent thunderstorms.

A normal occurrence, really, but one which Bowser has detested since Junior was born.

He hates seeing his son be scared awake every nightly storm, and utterly despises the fact that he's unable to sleep for the rest of those nights.

Since he can’t exactly declare war on the weather, he does the next best thing:

Sitting in Junior’s room, letting his son burrow in his arms as the lighting continues to crash outside.

He has tried his best to calm him with humming, but being able to carry a tune means shit in the face of literal earth-shaking electric bolts.

So there he was, waiting the storm out with his son when there’s a quiet knock on the door.

The fact that a soldier hadn’t barged in, or that Kamek usually arrives in a poof of smoke, he instantly knew who was behind the door.

“Come in.”

The door opens, and Bowser tries to not squint for a figure as a monochrome head pops inside.

“Are-are you okay? Um-“ Luigi’s eyes are luminous in contrast to the darkened room, and it’s ridiculous easy to see them dart down to Junior in concern.

Bowser waves him over. “Just some flash frights.”

No matter what Luigi says about those eyes, he still thinks they are the prettiest things to see purely from his empathy shining through.

Even when he winces.

“Those aren’t fun.” The human(?) quickly enters and shuts the door, making his way to the makeshift blanket-nest before stopping at the edge of it. "I-" Luigi starts to look hesitant, "I can- probably help?"

Junior pokes his head out briefly, giving him a dubious look. "H-how can you-" A distant rumble is heard, and it takes a second for the kid to poke his head out again. "help?"

Luigi doesn't say anything, other than stretch out a hesitant hand to the ground.

Bowser... doesn't know what he's doing, but gives an encouraging nod anyway. Can't be worse than-

-his.... efforts?

Spreading from Luigi's hand, a solid shadow stretches out and around the Koopas, gradually pulsing up into a solid, silent dome that reaches a few feet above his head.

"What the fu-"

"Bowser! Language!"

Said Koopa couldn't hold back a wheeze at Luigi's indignation. Never mind how Junior might have heard worse before, it's a relief to hear Luigi shout like that again.

Speaking of Junior-

Nearly a minute after the dome was made, he pokes his head out and immediately let out a gasp. "How'd you do that?!" Junior excitedly wiggles out of his arms, wasting no time trying to poke at the 'walls' that Luigi made. Wait-

"How did you do that?"

"I-" Luigi scuffs the floor shyly, shoulders nearly up to his ears in embarrassment. "Remember that time I overslept? At the meeting?"

"Yeah?"

"Um," even though he couldn't blush anymore (Bowser checked), Luigi's level of bashfulness could probably be seen by a blind Koopa. "I sorta- blocked the light in my windows on accident? And though I set my clock for nighttime..?"

It doesn't take long for Bowser to put the pieces together.

"BWAHAHAHA! So you went back to sleep?!"

"I was tired! An I didn't know I could do that!"

He holds back his snickering, just a little-

Behind them, Junior pipes up. "Can you do that to Kamek? So I don't have to go to his morning lesson?"

-and promptly bursts out laughing again.

Even Luigi lets out a snort, although he's quick to reply. "N-no, piccolo! I don't think he'd appreciate it! AND-" He gives a gentle, but reproachful look. "You should still try to learn as much as you can!"

"Spoilsport."

The human has the gall to stick his tongue at him! "It's called self-preservation."

Meanwhile, Bowser watches them (especially Luigi) in interest. He doesn't get to watch his kids interact with Luigi as much as he would want, but even the new recruits have heard of the instances his favorite human took the time to bond with them.

A large part of him purrs at the thought of being one step closer to-

Junior looks between them curiously, but whatever that glint in his eyes means (nothing good, in terms of mischief), he doesn't do more than climb back into the nest.

...

Eventually, they all settled into the nest, figuring that the dome could vanish without Luigi there. It meant that Bowser was used as a bed for the other two occupants.

It also meant that, while Junior was dozing off, the adults were suddenly very aware of their proximity.

Bowser tries his best to not focus on it too much.

"How'd you know where to look anyway?" Last time he checked, Luigi was horrible with navigating the castle.

"Um," He looks away, and Bowser could feel him literally shrink in his arms. "I, can sort of- feel you two?"

"Feel?" He can feel Junior start to twitch- in a way that meant he was finally, deeply asleep.

"It's- it's been a while, but I thought it was just- just a side effect, you know?" Luigi looks up at him, and Bowser could feel his heart skip a beat at those soft eyes. "And after-" he does a vague gesture, but Bowser understands. "I- wanted to at least explore- maybe understand myself a bit. To- to make it... easier."

"Luigi..."

"Bowser." The air seems to hum around them. "Did you mean it?"

He didn't need to clarify. "I did. I do."

"Then-" Luigi's voice cracks, and Bowser is captivated by the sudden boldness in his gaze, the surety and fear and utter longing that he never knew he craved to see directed at him- "I'd like to stay, after- after the final treaties."

Bowser doesn't hesitate to use a free hand to cup Luigi's head, nor bring their noses brushing against each other.

"Yes!" There isn't a snowflake's chance in a volcano for him to say otherwise. "Of course!"

[sketchfanda]

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…

[bubbl3zdaseaotter37]

Whumptober 2024

No. 7: ONLY FOR EMERGENCIES

Unconventional Weapon | Magic with a Cost | "It's us or them."

A/N: For this one at first I was like, “magic with a cost?” In Half-life? “It’s us or them,” I could see a little better, but then it dawned on me.  Gordon Freeman is literally the KING of unconventional weapons.  Crowbar?  Check.  Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator (gravity gun) you can use to violently CHUCK THINGS at people?  Check.  Even magic with a cost I eventually figured could fit the vorts.  SO.  Here we are.  Ready to cause some mayhem!  And I decided that, yes, this takes place shortly after my fic, “Aliens and Adrenaline.”  Not a prereq for understanding this one, but a fun way to add in a little extra whump ;)

See you on the other side! (If you stick around that long.) ((Please do!))

“Dammit, Keller, I told you before. It’s us or them.”

Gordon Freeman crept to a stop at the corner, listening to the heated argument of the two marines in the adjacent corridor.  In one hand, he held a crowbar, encrusted with blood both human and otherwise.  The other was clamped securely to the gash in his side, a lovely parting gift from one of the three-armed, green energy-ball slinging aliens that were spontaneously materializing around Black Mesa Research Facility.

“I know, I know,” the second Marine, Keller, replied defensively.  “It just feels… wrong.  They’re unarmed.  I thought we were being sent into this hellhole as reinforcements, not to slaughter innocent civilians.”

Cautiously, Gordon peeked around the corner.  Neither of them faced directly towards him, but he didn’t dare come out any further, lest they spot the movement in the corner of their eyes.  Although he had found himself able to overpower one or two Marines at a time, he knew that this would be too much.  Even with the newest dose of morphine lingering in his system, he could feel cold and lethargy slowly creeping into his limbs, as blood slowly oozed out from between his fingers.

But the Marines weren’t what he was really interested in.  Even after watching what they had done to some of his coworkers, he was loathe to kill them mercilessly.  Weren’t they fighting for the same end, to stop the end of human life as they know it?  It was the medical kit mounted on the wall behind them that he was interested in, along with what appeared to be several crates of ammunition and a radio.

“Innocent?” The first soldier said indignantly, “Those eggheads are the reason we’re here in the first place.  Can’t leave well enough alone. And that Freeman guy—”

A pang of… Something struck Gordon’s chest.  In the time since the resonance cascade, he hadn’t had the time – nor the energy – to think about all of that.  He had been too busy trying to survive.  And stop a rip in the fabric of the Earth from destroying life as they knew it, of course.  That was a given.  Was all this his fault, though?  He could have refused to go through with the experiment.  He certainly had the grounds to, after all.  The danger had been obvious long before they went through with it.  If not him, though, then who?  And at what cost?

Gordon pressed his left hand tighter against the tender injury in his side, using the pain that flared, despite the morphine, as a distraction.  Surprisingly enough, the quiet, analytical thinker had learned that the one thing you didn’t do was think.  It was stopping to think that got you killed.

In the middle of their argument, the Marines turned their backs on the hall behind them as a staticky voice crackled through the radio.

“Target reported in sector Alpha, oh-five-niner.”

Silent as a cat, Gordon crept around the corner towards the two unsuspecting Marines, hefting his crowbar in his free hand.  Despite his calm exterior demeanor, his pulse thundered in his ears.  He forced his breaths to flow quiet and steady.

“Freeman is armed and dangerous—”

A familiar, warping, flanging sound directly behind him easily forfeited all need to stay quiet.  The Marines turned.  Instinctively, he dropped to the ground, grunting at the violent tug on his injured side.  A green, humming ball of pure, concentrated electricity whizzed over Gordon’s prone form.  It slammed into the two Marines, who went crashing into the crates behind them. 

Almost as quickly as he dropped, Gordon was back on his feet again.  His chest heaved, and his vision spun dangerously for several seconds; his pulse throbbed in tandem with the pain in his side.  Ignoring the trembling in all of his limbs, he raised his crowbar high—

Only to see the three-armed alien already collapsed on the floor.  It was alive, that was for certain.  It was also breathing heavily, clawed fingers twitching, the large, single eye in the middle of its leathery-skinned face rolled back, half shut. 

Gordon took a shaky step back – more of a stumble than a purposeful movement, and leaned back against the crates at his back, staring at the incapacitated alien in front of him.  As far as he could tell, it had no obvious external injuries.  No vibrant green blood pooled on the floor, no obvious discoloration of its tough, leathery hide.  It almost looked to be… exhausted.

With a wince, Gordon let his raised arm drop to his side.  There was no morality in killing a debilitated opponent.  He knew that, even if it was from the cheesy action movies with their righteous heroes that his younger self had watched with his dad on the weekends in their garage in Seattle.

For a long moment, both man and alien recovered in silence.  The radio crackled back to life.

“Repeat, Freeman is armed and dangerous. Kill on sight.”

A/N: so, I know this one is out a day late, and I still haven't finished prompts no. 2 and no. 6, BUT. Here it is. A (semi) sequel to Aliens and Adrenaline. Yay!

[mediocre-noodle]

mwhahehehhaheha okay. this one is the lore/plot outline. have fun!!

TWs are added so i can keep track in notes and in case i share it,, like rn!! boy, im so smart!

tropes: walled-in city, corrupt gov leader, abusive parent + dead parent combo, dead main character, resistance/revolution, non-human, dystopian setting, floriography (flower language/meaning), royal main character, royalty, coming of age, ascension after death, death of a friend, gods/deities (always a work in progress)

TWs: [major+minor] death, main character death, temporary character deathS (canon. not mentioned in this lore timeline though), revolution/war setting, blood & injury, dystopian setting, abusive parent, child abuse, manipulation, gaslighting, suicidal thought/behaviors, gunshot wounds, implied character death(s), off-screen deaths (NPCs) (always a work in progress)

birth —> realization: royalty arc (aka people-pleaser arc)

dallas lived in a city ruled by evil king who kept them stuck in the city w large, heavily guarded walls. HAHAH evil ruler is HIS FATHER. abusive. think c!schlatt (was inspired by c!schlatt. literally not even a developed character. no name, no appearance—nothin’)

basically, dallas is the prince of the kingdom. hes not seen very well, often befriended/used for power by nobles, manipulated, gaslit, belittled, etc— doormat, people-pleaser, yes-man. yadda yadda.

when turns 13, he starts to realize that the way others are treating him is kinda… weird. begins to research about stuff and learns more. also develops sass + snark (however anxiety is still at peak bc puberty and stuff) and finds inner anger issues. doesnt show true self until he joins the resistance and starts trusting them. (also realized he was trans as used the name Krow as a placeholder bc he couldn’t decide on a name) (to clarify, he uses masculine terms and is transmasc)

age 15: walls arc

the age dallas officially joined resistance. did hang out with kids from resistance (alibi, juno, asmo) when age 13-14, but theres a policy of not joining resistance until 15– even if you werent going into a combative job.

soon seen as a high authority figure after he got peoples trust. how he got their trust? shot a royal officer at a riot. in the timeline, this was months after he joined. (king and army doesnt know bc resistance is undercover using fake names— if wanted, more detail can be provided about the fake names.) this was also when he earned his name Striker, which he then used as his name instead Krow. it was more of a title and not a true name, but there was more pressing things to worry about. (he grew attached.)

resistance communicates via floriography hung up outside the flower shop they turned into a meeting house— dont worry, its not too small because theres a secret base under it.

many members of the resistance also follow The Eyes, a different religion/spirituality from the royalites. it’s not like a godly religion ig,, idk how to explain. its more about acknowledging The Eyes and also appreciating nature. will be explained more in the worldbuilding section.

age 16: wilds arc

government started doing some Fucked Up Shit (tm) and riots n protests n revolts started popping up more n more often. however bc of the guards, they turned violent more often than not! (WHY? WHAT PUSHED THEM TO FINALKY PUSH BACK??) <- haha look plotholes point n laugh

ALIBI dies during a revolt— bleeds out in dallas’ arms.

citizens and resistance group started evacuating the city through underground tunnels— which leads to a few years in the wilderness and the apocalypse setting (WHY? WHAT PUSHED THEM TO FINALLY START EVACUATING? WHAT DID THE KING DO? fix.) <- haha look plotholes point n laugh

while escaping, theyre found out by guards. SKIP gives himself up as bait to lead the guards away from the group.

outside the walls, it’s basically like the mob or gangs. but less dying/fights and more survival— like those packs of humans in an apocalypse sticking together to survive. and the environment isn’t very good either- weather can differ easily. not many forests and its VERY hot bc global warming. however it gets freezing at night. but this doesn’t mean there aren’t forests, you will find some if you go far enough from the Walls.

the main group is the one that dallas leads— called the Copperheads. each member wears a compass as a necklace (like the tommy tubbo necklace compass headcanons- and like the one i have)

they traveled until they found an abandoned city. lived there and eventually rebuilt it. later named kismadoré.

-> more on this (ON TOPIC OF CULTURE): a good amount of people just escaped a walled-in city and are in the wilderness so theyre all homeless and considered nomads now. years later, they make a city and the cultural dances they did while on the run stuck w them. many seperate cultures irl have inspired it like the 1920s flappers, flamenco, street dancing, country swing, line-dancing, and soemthing like the tangled kingdom dance scene. its a lot of cultures bc of the different people mixing while on the run. but especially the 'embrace nature' thing they took on with some form of animism similar to indigenous cultures. (which the nature thing was integrated into the worship of The Eyes. feels weird to call it worship. they really do jist be like “okay cool you guys watch us and guide us thanks!” its connected but not?? it makes sense in my head)

age 18: rebellion arc

came back to the kingdom and the walls later to overthrow gov. yeahhh dallas was getting paranoid at kismadoré and waiting for the other shoe to drop. finally said “ykw? imma drop the other shoe myself” … also to free the citizens and tear down the walls

stayed underground and out if sight. many, many riots and revolts. tensions high in the kingdom, along with casualties.

dallas died when leading a coup d’état against evil dictator (from multiple gunshot wounds to fhe torso by a childhood friend indoctrinated into an enemy)

the only survivors of the cast (aka not NPCs) are asmodae and juno. they hold each other very closely.

after-death & godhood or whatever-the-fuck: death and onwards

bc he died a meaningful death, was taken by a god-species and now protects others like them

(and travels the multiverse but thats not important :3) <- MORE ON THIS LATER. IT IS ACTUALLY IMPORTANT.

and just because he’s dead, doesnt mean his story is over ehe *taps where i had written his age previously*

xi i hope u know that i am utterly obsessed with this story and would consume a 10 book long series about it. by the way

[archivalofsins]

Okay, it's Mugram time. It took a while but I'm a much better writer than a reader. This is sarcasm I've had this in the back of my mind for a while and I've just gotten enough free time to really catch up on everything I was interested in. Sadly my attention is rather up and down with a lot of things. So, I'll be going over my first responses to the information provided so far and highlighting things that stick out to me.

Welcome to Gunsli and once again Star's notes on Mugram!

The Files

Es

Gunsli: In Mugram Es goes by He/They and is identified as a Demiboy. I just find this interesting in general. I also like how it's noted that Es believes without a shadow of doubt that all the prisoners within Mugram are guilty. Yet, is choosing to adhere to J's words and look into the prisoners and their circumstances further.

This is a good way to highlight that Es has a bias that's leans more unfavorably in regards to the prisoners from the jump. This stated bias also leads me to wonder about the last part of their file.

"Es plans on finding out the truth behind these prisoners so he can finally give them the verdicts they deserve."

Because it just screams of confirmation bias a little bit. So I wonder how he'll end up interpreting the audiences verdicts.

Es even has to catch themselves from saying murders in their first voice drama lines and instead state crimes. As though they themselves already firmly believes the prisoners are all murderers. This plays on the fandoms and my own particular habit of taking milgram very literally in contrast to those within the fandom who will take things more figuratively.

There are a lot of people within the fandom who like to stretch the meaning of the word murder. To be fair, this is something that is easier for people to wind up doing. Especially when they themselves have not experienced the loss of a loved one due to something of that nature. A persons comfort with discussing violent crimes more hypothetically is incredibly dependent on their proximity to the concept of violent crime or how likely they believe it is for these things to happen to them.

Someone worried about being shot isn't going to really care about comparing anything less than what causes an immediate end to their life or physical harm a violent crime. While people protected by the individuals who do the shooting aren't really going to consider what those people are doing murder but self-defense.

So, having Es course correct from murder to crimes broadens the idea of what the prisoners can be in Mugram for. Crime is a broader term that gives the audience more space to assume and doesn't necessarily have to involve someone dying. Unlike the original term murderers that can be taken in incredibly subjective ways depending on ones proximity and experiences with murder.

"Hello, prisoners. I am your Warden, Es. I want to know about the mur– crimes you have committed. I am here to decide on your crimes, whether to decide that you are FORGIVABLE OR UNFORGIVABLE. I am... Es... I am the Warden of MUGRAM."

Finishing up with,

"...Well, no matter, I’ll figure it out in the end and judge them according to the law–"

Making it clear that Es' primary concern is judging the prisoners within Mugram in ways that align with the legal system.

Star: Hi! First of all, I think this is the tallest Es I've seen- in an ocgram and in any of the canon works. Though the age range does fit. However, the way that both their description and quote is written leaves me to believe they will be more inclined to vote unforgiven regardless of what he finds out. Furthermore, it shows a stubborn nature- someone who tends to stick to their beliefs regardless of any information shown. Whether that be in the present or future.

It also comes off as Es being the type of person to look for loopholes within the rules they have to follow to get to his intended outcome. (I need to specify that I don't think this is a bad trait by any means- it makes him feel as though he's more willing to act on his own discretion. Which is something I think would be very fun to play with.)

I also like the aesthetic of using files to show character profiles! The brief glimpses I've seen of Mugram before seem to portray it in a very court of law fashion so it's a nice attention to detail.

J

Gunsli: In contrast, J (the Jackalope of Mugram) is young naïve and can't even imagine the prisoners committing murder. Even referencing the three years old age for J that was speculated to be Jackalopes canon age earlier in the fandom. Since many ran with the assumption that Jackalope within the web series only began to exist when Milgram started.

Yes, even though in Es' first voice drama Jackalope makes consecutive references to his age and alludes that he is, in fact, older than Es. By teasing them and wondering if they're too young to actually handle the themes that Milgram will be covering.

I think it's a nice dichotomy to have here while being a kind of subtle nod to that idea. Though I don't know how much we should listen to either of them.

Since they both have clear biases.

Star: I like J's fur pattern- it's cute! And I appreciate having a birthday for him. Though the fact that he wants to forgive everyone seems as though he's overly invested. Emotionally speaking, that is. I could say that there's also the possibility that he's negligent/unaware of the prisoners past a first impression? Since his quote-

"I mean, in my opinion, I'd just FORGIVE all of them. Some of them don't seem like they'd ever commit murder. But, it's really up to you, Es."

-comes off as rather flippant. However, if we refer back to Es' profile, it's implied with this-

He believes there is no doubt the prisoners are guilty, but they'll listen to J's words and try to learn about their lives.

-that Jackalope specifically asked them to enquire about their circumstances. So it's more likely that he's either too attached emotionally or that he is gunning for reformation instead, for lack of a better word.

The Beginning of the Choices

Gunsli: It's kind of weird that J says they're murderers then that some of them seem like they could never kill anyone. It's like, buddy, do you even know why they're in here? If they don't seem like they could commit murder don't call them murderers so definitively.

It seems like J is more so going off a script of sorts than information they actually have. Since he contradicts himself a lot.

Plus it kind of sticks to Milgram proper with the explanation and heavily highlights the forgiven or unforgiven title. It emphasizes it a lot. Yet when it comes to people dying I feel like the only people who can really choose whether to forgive that or not are the ones tied to those people.

Mugram focuses on the legal system. So, legally they could be pardoned or convicted/sentenced. To keep it unforgiven or forgiven makes it seem like what they did has no real legal basis. At least that's the impression it's giving off.

Star: It's... hard to put a pin in J's behaviour. Because, as Gunsli has said above, it could come off as reading a script. But then immediately contradicting it with personal opinions and not actually being that informed. However, it could also come off as... almost goading Es into doing due diligence. Though that might be extending the benefit of the doubt too much. It is a bit disconcerting when compared to his and Es' character profiles though.

Justice

Gunsli: Well, that at least confirms the growing suspicions I had about J. It seems he's kept here in the Milgram with even a room of his own. So he's really no different than the prisoners in that regard.

Es: What’s opposite my room?

Jackalope: My room! You can’t enter without my permission, though.

Es: Eh, I don’t plan on it. Plus, there’s no door big enough for a human anyway.

There wasn't a room for Jackalope in the original was there?

Star: I find it interesting that, in contrast to Milgram proper, J claims to not know much about the prisoners because it's restricted information. As opposed to Jackalope, who says he's just not invested enough. I wonder if this is intentional as a way to show that J isn't as high up on the scale as one would be lead to believe? But it does seem like he is pushing for Es to do their job, despite their clear lack of interest in acting outside of the confines of the law.

Es also comes off as fairly dismissive in this, which leans into my point about him coming across as stubborn. And less likely to take in information that contradicts their worldview.

Gunsli: This line highlights again how naive J is in contrast to Jackalope of the web series.

Jackalope: Well, first impressions reveal a lot about a person, so…

In Es' voice drama in the milgram web series around this time Jackalope says,

"A human's first impressions reveal about ninety percent. If I had the right I'd vote guilty without hesitation."

J just says that first impressions reveal a lot about a person. Jackalope is more specific about the amount of information it reveals stating it tells you ninety percent about the person. You can get a good grasp of them but Jackalope as he's prone to do leaves what information it gives up to interpretation. A first impression usually involves learning a persons name seeing how they look/present themselves. Yet it doesn't tell you how they think, feel, or ended up in front of you. That's the ten percent you find out over the course of getting to know someone.

J is a bit too immature to really hone in on what first impressions tell you and what they leave to be desired. So they just say they tell you a lot. Because he was probably told they're meant to tell you a lot by someone else.

J shows his ineptitude when it comes to how Milgram functioned here,

Es: Well, no matter, I’ll figure it out in the end and judge them according to the law–

Jackalope: Eh? According to the law? Well, if we just judged them according to the law, then there’s no point in you being here. [Es makes an annoyed noise] You should make decisions based on your own standards. Even if it's based on sex or love, I have no problem with it.

Es: …Let’s just move on.

When he dissuades Es from making judgments based on their preferences. Saying if we were judging them by the law then there would be no reason for Es to be here. This is something said in the webseries but it is swiftly brought up after that using the law as a reason for a verdict is actually still allowed. Because any bias is allowed and none are excluded.

Yet, for some reason, J tries to exclude the law as a basis. This could be because the prisoners here are already unforgivable in the eyes of the law. So, J has a vested interest in keeping the legal system out of it.

Or due to general naivety.

Since this is Mugram maybe the law is exempt from being considered proper criteria to cast a judgment through.

Judge, Jury, Executioner - Scene Transcript

Gunsli: It's interesting I'm not too concerned about Es yet though. I don't know enough about them and he seems like a bit of a hard ass. I don't really like rigid characters too much. I tend to like people who are more flexible.

Star: Reading this, Es moreso feels like they are trying to cling to some form of control/identity markers, despite him recognising that those roles don't fit. It also makes the continued insistence about voting the prisoners unforgiven seem as though it's an extension of those issues. That combined with the mental image they seem to have of the law and those who work within it. That being said, they know at least one thing about himself- he likes sweet tea! It's something small, but it is something :- D

However, they don't seem as confrontational as they initially come off. Since when J asks if they like the tea, he says yes- despite immediately thinking it's bitter. But also can't wait to see Es fall into dissociative patterns lmao

001: Mayumi Kubo

Gunsli: Weird that's she's arguing for everyone else's innocence but not her own. People tend to do that when they have something they feel guilty about or are trying to make up for. It's also kind of stupid she says that not everyone here can be a murderer. It's a prison of ten they sure as hell could all be murderers statistically speaking.

It's just not as unlikely as she's making it sound.

This might be their glitches voice line,

“You can’t be serious… They can’t be…” or “You can’t be serious… They can’t do…”

Star: Mayumi... doesn't seem as logical as she's trying to come off. Her logic would make sense if this was a normal 'setting'. But it's a very small group that have specifically been picked. So unless she knows any other connecting factors, she can't just presume that anyone isn't a murderer. Though her hidden quote is pretty ambiguous, since it could apply to both a court case or the discovery that someone has died.

Gunsli: They changed the autopsy report on her.

Star: -_- <- look of disappointment.

Thoughts on Voice Drama and Song

Gunsli: Mayumi isn't good at her job. Like she's a comedically bad lawyer. No wonder she couldn't as much as she says she could sway the court. I mean she fails to have any notable deductive reasoning skills and she isn't that charismatic. It doesn't seem as though she's that good with debate when talking within her voice drama either and she backs off too easily.

She just seems bad at this. Before even going into her music video.

I guess if it was a crime to be bad at your profession, then she deserves to be here. If those are Mugram's standards. Yet, failing to get your client off the hook and that client then being killed in jail isn't really a failing of the person defending that individual but the prison system. I don't consider things like that murder and never will. By that logic, the jury should be here as well. Because they're just as responsible, if not more so than this woman. Ya, know; since they decided to put that person there.

But let's talk about this real quick,

"So, don't even worry. I have the command and the proof in my hand. I'll make sure that these things will only sway in my favor."

Me when I lie. Mu Kusunoki core when she said,

"Hey, what if If I am a bad girl Don’t hate me. Don’t even try to proof from “After Pain”."

As though there was no fucking evidence to be found there except there was an abundance of evidence.

This is the opposite of that. She's saying she has evidence when her best argument is did you see my client do it. As though the witness' eyesight has any bearing on any other evidence the prosecution may have outside of that witness. This doesn't even discredit that witness whom she admits was across the street so wouldn't have been able to get a clear look at the situation anyway.

“I have to ask.” Mayumi stands. “Witness, did you see my client actually go over to the store, rob it, and leave minutes after?" "Well, I didn't see her rob it, but the alarm–" The witness starts. "You didn't see her do it." Mayumi points out. "Yes, but–" The witness rubs their neck. "You were across the street from the store; how would you know it was her?" Mayumi stares at the witness, who now is uncomfortably shifting before they finally breathe. "If you don't have any answer, then I guess my line of questioning is over."

No wonder her client had to serve time.

Like I recognize that she may be trying to establish reasonable doubt while the witness is basically going,

"Why did your client run then?"

But the witness is right. Why did your client run? Why was their leave conveniently timed with when the alarm went off? It doesn't look good to leave as soon as the alarm goes off. The fact that her client did that is more concrete than her debate of,

"Well, did you catch her in 4k?"

No I fucking didn't because I don't have cameras for eyes what the fuck type of question. In fact even with just having her perspective on this case. I'd still come out of this thinking she's gullible and her client is lying. Because her client has every motivation to steal. Her client is just running the old question of is stealing okay if it's for a good reason. Such as is it okay to steal food, diapers, or medicine for your family.

And the answer to me is yes, as long as you don't get caught. Once you get caught, it's up to the system to decide if you get leniency or not. However, since her client is vehemently refusing to admit they stole anything, she can't even make the argument they were doing it for a good reason. An argument that might have afforded them more leniency. Because they clearly did it like that's not up for debate.

On top of that, what her client stole is conveniently omitted. Again, this is a display of her being bad at her job. Because that should have been a focus of discussion.

"Your Honor, this is an outrage.” Mayumi stands up. “Surely you can find some leeway–" “It’s clear to me that after all this back and forth what my stance will be.” The judge bangs a gavel and Mayumi swallows with a frown. Don’t condemn anything I say Because I swear I’ll make them pay “...is GUILTY of the charge of theft.” The judge announces.

Her client winding up guilty is the only reasonable outcome here. Since the judge can't give leeway if no additional context on the offenders' circumstances are given. Her entire defense was attempting to disprove the person you were defending did not do something you at a point suspect they did yourself.

What did you think the outcome would be here?

“But, she was clearly innocent!”

Mayumi denial isn't good.

Because if she was innocent, you are just a trash lawyer. I don't even have all the details of that case, and I think your client was guilty because they had the motivation to do it.

Something they do not hide from you,

"Okay, I need you to tell me. Be honest." Mayumi exhales. "Did you steal from the store?" "What?" The client shakes her head vigorously. "No, no! I wouldn't do that. I went there to grab some snacks and medication for my sister. I wouldn't rob the store! I have a job and I'm the only source of income for them and I can't leave them because then–"

What the fuck did she steal to go to prison?

Like where are they where theft is this severe of a charge? Alright, Larceny is punishable with jail time. It's not a long sentence like a max three months to a year. At least where I'm from, but that's still dependent on the price of goods stolen and how often one has been caught stealing.

Source: CriminalDefenseLawyer

However from how it's consistently described as theft and stated to have occurred in a store. What her client did is instead shoplifting or where I'm from retail fraud. Which to be honest has much more severe of a punishment depending on the degree which is again determined by the price of the items stolen,

Source: Law Office of John Freeman

So, pardon me for asking but what the fuck did her "very innocent" client "allegedly" in her opinion steal? Like I hate to sound like I'm on the side of the prosecution here but I kind of am. Because Mayumi's entire defense is,

"My client didn't do this trust. Your honor my clients vibes are immaculate."

Which isn't good enough.

Still not guilty because I judge murders not oh there's this thing I feel bad about. If anything- the judge should be in here, not her, but still... This entire case is weird. Also, if Mayumi viewed this individual as innocent and I can poke an egregious amount of holes into why that may clearly not be the case it certainly doesn't make me trust her words on the other prisoners. Because she's a comedically bad judge of character.

Star: She comes off as very naïve. Both in terms of how much faith she seemed to have in her client and how she claimed she was going to get said client no jail time, without even bringing up motivation as a potential way to get leeway. She also didn't bring up the idea of a plea deal at any point, which didn't help her client's case. Though this isn't too surprising, given her attitude concerning the prisoners in Mugram. Assuming no one here could possibly be a murderer is a very heavy assumption to make. Doubly so when you decide to act as the advocate to get everyone out based on said assumption.

002: Masaru Iwai

Gunsli: I dare him to incriminate himself. I double-dog dare him to admit what he did on the mic. Only a chicken wouldn't do it. I bet he's too much of a coward to follow through. A real man takes any dare. But his file is right he's all bark, no bite- All kid, no man.

Possible glitchesd voiceline,

“SHIT! FUCK! This wasn’t supposed to happen! We should have left when we saw them – DAMN IT!”

Ha-ha loser did a dare and killed someone. Ha, ha point and laugh at the guy who makes poor life choices at the age of- NINETEEN. Ha that's ridiculous. That actually makes it so much funnier that's exactly what someone like that would be doing at that age.

Star: He's fun! I like him :- D. Should probably work on how headstrong he is though, that's gonna keep getting him in trouble.

Thoughts on Voice Drama and Song

Gunsli: Oh the restraint thing is interesting also the way he's describing this bet thing reminds me of the movie Nerve. That was a pretty fun movie I might watch that again.

Oh wait yeah back to this guy.

Star: It is interesting that mugram has a an in canon reason as to why the prisoners don't leave the interrogation.

Gunsli: I'm going to say this before I even read the song thing- If he's a bad gambler this is going to be hilarious. Mugram is just incarcerating people for being bad at their chosen occupations. Huh it's not good to cheat in card games.

These games are already incredibly predatory without this guy counting cards and bringing spares on him to up his chances. He's a shitty person. The casino already does what he's doing. So maybe he justifies his actions with that. Yet, that only works when he's betting in those areas. He seems to be betting with friends repeatedly and taking their money to the point of financially ruining them.

It doesn't shy away from that either, and it's not even like he's playing fair. Is it really a gamble when you always have an ace up your sleeve? But it doesn't seem like people are too bothered by his consistent winning.

Since two player call him on his bluff,

"The final two players call and Masaru smiles."

Call means to match a players raise. So it's not like they folded, which would have been pulling out entirely. This is usually why people raise to make the more risk-averse pull out.

This is also the reason Masaru states he raised,

"Was it a good idea to raise the betting amount? He wasn't entirely sure, but it would at least weed out the ones who didn't want to be here.  It was a little of a bluff, anyways. Glancing at his cards one final time, he exhales and stares across the table at someone."

To know for sure what he's doing here we'd need to figure out what he's playing. Which is impossible to discern because it's going by both blackjack and poker rules. Where Masaru seems to be playing poker and the other person with a five and ace is playing blackjack. Because there's no case in which one person in a poker game has only two cards.

So, what's more than likely happened is him and his friends were rigging casino games for quick cash.

They all played at different tables. They did this to save up money and may have probably split it amongst themselves. That or something went egregiously wrong when it came to describing these card games, but barring that being the solution-

There's evidence that Masaru and his friends are just running a casino scam.

Sorry, got distracted playing poker and blackjack with my father. But yeah him and his friends seem to be cheating at the casino.

He brings extra decks to add cards to the game if he's lagging behind,

"He looks around the room and walks back to his desk. He slides some boxes into his bag quickly and walks out of the door, shutting the door as he leaves."

This exchange implies his friends are in on it as well,

“Yeah, yeah. We know. You’ve told us many times.” One of the people who paid Masaru groans. “Seriously, I’m going to go bankrupt on this shit.” “Seriously? You should’ve just said. We’ll do a couple with you next time, dude.”

It's also highlighted that he grabs a box of cards from his bag during one of the games and he's shown doing card tricks. Him and his friends seem to frequent this place and could have ordered duplicate decks online or picked them up from somewhere else.

"Masaru instinctively ruffles through his bag to find what he had slid inside it earlier. A box of cards."

Masaru is implied to be better at this than his friends. Knowing when to toe the line and not draw too much attention to himself.

This can be seen here,

"He lays his cards out. Just a pair of normal cards, nothing special. Some show a similar hand, which isn’t too bad. There are a two people who both have a straight, which makes Masaru huff. Splitting the plot."

Only giving himself a good enough hand to stay in the game and split the pot. He's slowly building up to bigger wins as the game progresses. He does say in his voice drama that this is how he frequently makes his money and gambling isn't something that's consistently reliable unless someone is cheating.

His friends don't seem to be as good at it as he is though.

Since one of his friends says they're losing money and on the verge of going bankrupt- Which would have been a perfect time to go just don't play then it's luck based and if you're not winning you just aren't winning. Instead, they say they'll do a couple with them next time as though that could change the outcome. I mean, if they cheated successfully, then it could have changed his friends financial situation a good deal.

But it didn't work out that way; did it?

Instead, what seems to have happened was Masaru's associate was caught and pulled away from the table. Which could have led to all of them getting caught, his friend being arrested, or killed depending on the establishment and how it functions.

Still not direct murder. So, it's none of my personal concern how he decides to make his money and endanger his peers. They're all adults play stupid games win stupid prizes.

Star: Definitely cheating , though that isn't really surprising. With how confident he was making that bet in the interrogation.

003: Keisuke Izumi

“You should have known that wasn’t good for them. You should have known this wasn’t good for them. They’ve died because of you.”

Gunsli: Not to be that person but this guy kind of has the sort of personality I dislike. He seems like the sort to entrust things to others and then get mad when they don't turn out how he wanted. Sure he's trusting and cooperative but honestly it kind of comes off like he's only being that way so he can't be held accountable later.

The sort to say something like,

"I left it all to you! I trusted you to do this right-"

Or in this case you should have known. Nothing can ever really be his fault if he never commits to it himself.

Star: He kind of gives Muu vibes. At least in terms of how he seems to give leniency with the expectation that it will be returned to him. Idk if that makes sense though. Also it's interesting to note that whoever is writing these profiles up is unsure of Keisuke's gender- implying they are going off of an impression rather than any concrete data. This also implies it is J who is collating this information.

Thoughts on Voice Drama and Song

Gunsli: Oh, finally, someone who seems to actually have committed murder. Even then, it's kind of up in the air. Seems my first impression was right. He's someone who kind of just hocks things he could very well do himself on other people without putting much regard into the scope of what he's asking for.

If no one is speaking up about an incident then there's not much an authority figure can do about it. They're not all powerful and omnipotent. They can't punish students for things. They haven't witnessed themselves or based on hearsay from other students who weren't involved with the incident and refuse to get directly involved. This teachers hands are literally tied. So, unless he's doing something completely irresponsible like having the person doing the bullying look into it because maybe they don't know it's them doing it I don't see how the teacher is to blame.

Saying I thought you'd do something about this is as good as the teacher telling him,

"Hey if you really care about your friend I'd think you'd do something about it."

However, the teacher has to be a professional and just say,

"None of the students are discussing things with me honestly. So, until they do there's very little I can personally do about the situation."

Which frankly is something this guy could have done himself. Since he's witnessed these altercations he should know the names of the parties involved by this point. So why didn't he do anything else before escalating the issue to further violence. There are so many things one can do before attacking someone else.

Plus it's not like what he did was self-defense. It just seems like he decided to attack someone to the point of killing them simply to stick to his word. It's like okay you kept your promises. That's not always a noble thing and there were probably other ways for him to keep that promise without harming another person. Now this is under the speculation that he did kill someone and not just harm them because that is the implication. However, I need to make it abundantly clear I don't feel bad for him nor do I like his attitude.

He decided to mindlessly obey and rely on authority figures to solve issues for him and wound up being complacent in what was going on within his school. Honestly, he's more responsible than his teacher. The teacher at least did what they said they would. This dude can't get mad because he knows the teacher is telling the truth.

Because he's accepted that his friend is lying and dragging out the situation longer than it needs to be. Tgis exchange implies he's accepted that this is his friends decision so who's really being shady and to blame,

He glances up after a couple of pages and spots someone walking over to him. “Hey!” The person immediately looks up before frowning. “Hey, Keisuke.” “You wanna talk? I saw what was happening earlier and–” Keisuke hops off the brick wall and walks over to the person. I'll trust you just for a little longer "I'm sorry." "Huh?" “I don’t want to talk about it. I know what you saw and I know you wanted me to talk about it, but–” “Look, I get it.” Keisuke sighs. “Don’t worry, okay?” “Got it.” 

Also it's not like at any point he intervened either despite having opportunities too,

Keisuke begins to move away as the pitch darkness turns into the hallway of the school again.  He glances over at the classroom door and stares at something. Someone inside notices him.  "Hey, is your friend coming to save you?" Someone sneers. "W-wait, leave him out of this–" The person at the desk cries out. "Only if you do everything we say for the next day." "Fine.".

So, he just comes off as complacent.

He's just over here like,

"T3

"Teacher why aren't you doing anything?! You're supposed to be better than me because authorities are meant to protect people. Not other people there's nothing- I a person with no authority can do. So, I'm wiping my hands of any part in this. Plus, if I do a bad thing, it's not bad because I'm just keeping a promise. A promise you should have kept as an educational professional."

Likw okay brat. He really could have helped but,

"He's a kid, he's just a high schooler!"

I'm sorry I was in very anti-bullying schools, not because of the teachers but the students. Change starts with you sometimes. It just simply does. I got bullied because people told other people I was bullying them at points. Can you imagine someone coming up to you and bullying you like we don't tolerate your kind here- Bullies! And now you're just kind of here like getting bullied but also like wait a fucking second I'm not a bully- I'd bully me too if I thought that!

He could've thrown hands.

Other students didn't want to speak about the conflict get personally involved in the conflict then speak about it yourself. Fuck it, we can all go down together. Make it egregiously loud, get your parents involved be a problem that can't be ignored. Do it in the classroom if necessary. What the fuck is the teacher going to do to stop you? They can't even stop the other bullying. Be a disturbance. Make this teachers day hell until something is done.

This isn't the teacher's fault but this would give them something to work with and look into at least. Like if you give the teacher something to work with they're going to work with it. It's certainly more reasonable than murder!

Then being out here like,

"Oh teacher you aren't paying attention to this issue because every party involved is telling you there is no issue and that I'm a lying piece of shit. Something I know my friend is complicit in. Well I guess i just have to respect their choice."

This guy just seems like he doesn't want to get his hands dirty or in trouble unless he can get something out of it. Like in a I'll keep my word so you keep yours way. So, I don't feel bad for him or his circumstances because that's an asshole way to be.

Star: He seems like he's just trying to help for self satisfaction. And even then, only doing things that can be done passively. Granted, I might be biased because I already wasn't fond of this guy. Also, as Gunsli pointed out, he could have done more instead of relying on others.

004: Tomoko Shiratori

Gunsli: She seems nosey.

Star: I don't have much of a opinion on her.

Gunsli: Fair, not sure if this is right but-

This seems to be her glitched voiceline,

"How. How unaffected."

Thoughts on Voice Drama and Song

Gunsli: You know when you give people dirt on others it gets on you too. If she was so concerned about what her clients would do with the information she gave them then she should have been more careful. Saying I was just telling them the facts after can only get her so far. If she feels guilty about it then maybe don't work in trading and discovering other people's secrets.

She chose this occupation I don't feel bad for her.

This kind of just comes with the territory. So if it's just a case of her telling a wife her husband is cheating on her and that wife killing said husband. Yeah, it's not her problem and it's not murder. So, I don't care.

I just really don't care for indirect murders they bore me. It's like you could hail a taxi for someone or get them an uber thrn their driver could be a murderer. The driver could just decide that's what they want to do today. Does that suddenly make you responsible for how that person chooses to live their lives?

No.

Chances are she would have just hired another private investigator if Tomoko didn't do it. So I just don't care. This is a risk that can occur in her line of work if she doesn't like the risks and direct consequences of the profession she choose to go into get a different job.

That or actually do due diligence. If she believes a client of hers may wind up attacking the person they hired her to look into over the information you give them then just don't give them that information or alert the proper authorities of that risk. She didn't have to take such a sketchy job.

Again this is why i don't think of Milgram proper through an indirect lens it simply isn't murder. If someone didn't have the intent to kill another person and their actions didn't directly cause that persons death- I mean directly not in a domino effect or a butterfly flapped it's wings and a tornado formed way then that's not murder. That person is just living their normal life. The only participation awards for murder are accessories and abettors. Both of which are still more actively involved than this.

Star: Whether it counts as murder or not, she did not do due diligence. Furthermore, if she was really as suspicious of the job she was doing (as implied) she could have refused it, or put in any safeguarding measures.

005: Shun Minami

Gunsli: Not that concerned about her despite the warning. J is writing these and he's like three not the best judge of character a three year old rabbit or person. It's just like they seem to be hiding something I think you should vote everyone innocent they don't seem like they could do anything wrong. Alright buddy pick a lane.

Star: She kinda reminds me of that one Vocaloid song Super Hero

Ummm...I think it's this,

"Yes, it’s been done. Good we even now."

Thoughts on Voice Drama and Song

Gunsli: I didn't vote on them or any of the characters before Daiki- who I just voted guilty for no reason. But it's not his turn yet I thought it was but no this is someone else. Ahn they killed someone and it was for money but uh you're the jobs you choose. She doesn't particularly say they have to do this. I guess they could be lying because it starts on a stage with gun imagery but ends with her using a knife but uh that's none of my business really.

Again this just seems like one of those cases where enough isn't really known. So, I guess they deserved that 50/50.

Star: ... huh. Was she asked to kill the guy in the previous case?

Gunsli: Well there was a knife stabbing at the end of that so maybe. Damn the private investigators negligence really had a domino effect huh?

There's a quiet laugh and a stabbing noise.

Huh being shit at your job just does that I guess. Maybe next time investigate your clients. Because she didn't even know if that person was actually the others wife or not. So she could have just been hired to stalk someone for somebody else.

Star: It does seem like they dithered on whether they should kill him or not. Though I am curious what they'd need the money for.

Gunsli: I mean not to sound unsympathetic but a crime is crime regardless of one's personal motivations. No one really thinks about crimes objectively just in terms of what they find relatable or morally just themselves. It's kind of why so many cases of similar caliber have such varying verdicts. Put a criminal on a stand that a jury can't project upon and the more likely they are to actually wind up Guilty.

Even Es is only being nice to Shun because they were nice to him. That's the only reason he thinks they couldn't have done that. That's just how fickle the judgments of people are.

Star: Definitely, yeah. Though, to be fair, I'm just curious about it because this seems like a lot of effort to go through to get money. But that contrasts with the seeming delay of the killing.

Gunsli: I mean she went through a lot of effort to not get a real job and instead make money off of ending the lives of others. Furthermore she said she's only killed one person but in the song extraction the person says they took longer on this job implying they've done more.

So she just seems dishonest.

"Hey, you spent a long time getting this contract complete. Why?" The man asks, placing his head on his hand, his smirk still on his face.

I mean I'm curious about why she would need the money as well. But- again everyone here choose the ways they wanted to make money and live their lives for better or worse.

I just can't bring myself to feel that bad for them.

Star: Yeah, I agree with that. Which is why I'm just curious, not particularly sympathetic.

Gunsli: Ah, fair I thought I was being a bit too harsh on them but this is one of those not my business scenarios. So, I'm glad I didn't vote on it. Like I don't particularly feel like it's really good or really bad.

The situation is just there.

Star: Yeah. It's not really something to judge, especially at this point. Like they were hired. If she didn't do it, someone else would have. Which may be cynical, but it is what it is.

Gunsli: Hey it's just business at that point, baby. Either you're getting that bag or someone else is. So, I feel you there Star. His death certificate was pretty much signed and sealed the last thing it needed to be was delivered.

The saying is don't shot the messenger not the messenger can't shot you bang, bang.

006: Daiki Kawaguchi

Gunsli: Oh hey a dude to bully. I voted this guy guilty I had no reason to. I just heard everyone was innocent so far and that's pretty boring. It doesn't really matter he seems to be innocent anyway.

Star: He seems pretty defensive. Partially because he mentions that he's an office worker then immediately backpedals-

"I work in an office, but I really don't know if you care too much about that."

-and because he literally tells the listener to not say he's in the wrong.

Now onto the glitched voice line,

"I need to get her/him back, damn it!"

List of unnecessary/unlikely variations~

I need to get her/him back, fuck it! I need to get her/him back, need it! I need to get her/him back, kill it! I need to get her/him back, mash it! I need to get her/him back, cook it! I need to get her/him back, burn it! I need to get her/him back, tear it! I need to get her/him back, slap it! I need to get her/him back, hurt it! I need to get her/him back, roll it! I need to get her/him back, boop it! I need to get her/him back, will it! I need to get her/him back, wish it! I need to get her/him back, free it! I need to get her/him back, read it! I need to get her/him back, turn it! I need to get her/him back, tell it!

Gunsli: And that’s what Daiki did that day in exactly that order. It was fucked up what he did and those people will never be the same. The witnesses will need a lifetime of therapy. There’s nothing that can make them unsee what they just saw.

This man should not be allowed to cook.

Star: We think it's the first one, but we ended up doing all the rest of them because of the lack of known letters on that word.

Thoughts on Voice Drama and Song

Gunsli: I voted this person Guilty his thing hasn't ended yet I think. Which is probably good because I was just being a bitch if I'm being honest. I didn't even know who he was or what he did yet. I was just doing it for chaos reasons. But ya know I'll argue anything so let me just hope they suck real quick.

Damn I'm glad he sucks.

He is his own worst advocate. Like got damn I picked a good person to vote guilty. Oh cool fuck cops. Good enough reason I didn't need more but like I said with Kazui ACAB is a state of mind. It overwrites everything fuck this guy. I mean maybe he isn't a cop. He stole information from the police station and dishonorable discharge can be related to the military.

So maybe it's that but like he still sucks.

Like I know his sister is missing and maybe one of the kids here killed her can't say who. But ya know throw a dart a board I'd wager maybe Mia because people keep highlighting she's harmless and Izumi seems to have killed a guy.

Plus this dude keeps highlighting there are kids here and that may be because they're around his sisters age.

Or maybe Es is right and he did kill his sister and just doesn't remember doing it.

Star: Yeah, definitely defensive. Also, would be fucked up if Tomoko was the person who got the extra info he found-he feels very sketch though, even if we know he's trying to find someone.

007: Isamu Takao

Gunsli: On principle I distrust people who are super adamant about not meaning to be somewhere. Because if you really weren't meant to be here you wouldn't be.

This isn't like real life where false imprisonments happen. Maybe that is something that can happen in Mugram but that would be a structural issue at that point. Especial if they really did nothing.

But it seems like he did something to me.

Star: He's... interesting. They feel a bit suspicious, but that might be because his mannerisms feel reminiscent of how Mikoto tends to try and blow off stuff to avoid any potential wrong he's done.

Glitched line seems to be this,

"Ah-No, no, this wasn’t supposed to happen-" or "It– No, no, this wasn’t supposed to happen–"

Gunsli: Not the words of the most uninvolved party in the world.

008: Mia Fukuda

Gunsli: You ever not trust someone solely based on how they carry themselves and the color they're wearing. This is one of those cases.

I haven't read a thing yet and I just don't like her. That probably says something about me. Like I don't like the nervous quiet character trope. Which I don't. That's one of the reasons I'm still not that fond of Haruka.

So, the characterization is characterizing I just hate this personality type.

I literally typed this before reading her description saying she's nervous. So again the characterization is characterizing. Damn life is testing me she's a Pisces...

Unfortunate we share a sign...

Star: I don't really know what to think of her. So I'll just wait till I see more of how they interact with people in general before coming to a full decision.

This is her glitched voice line,

"I’m sorry."

Gunsli: Ahn... this is going to be one of those situations where I have to abstain simply because I just don't like her.

Those come up from time to time. Maybe I'll change my mind when I find out more about her but for now... Mmm nah.

No, I think I'm good.

009: Ryuu Seki

Gunsli: Bitch that's not how patient-doctor confidentiality works. You are in jail the existence of that does not stop your from being interrogated if a crime has taken place in which your or your patients are incriminated.

What type of bullshit? He just came here and lied. Well we at least know you killed a patient now.

Like the fact that he said this is more incriminating. We could have assumed it didn't even involve his job. But, he just made it abundantly clear it does in one statement.

So at this point he was either assisting his patients with suicide which in some places is against the law or killing his patience then claiming it was assisted suicide. However since he brings up patient-doctor confidentiality there's an implied sense of agreement or discussion between patient and doctor.

He could just be a liar though.

I don't trust him much at all since he started off on an untrustworthy note by lying about how patient-doctor confidentiality works.

Star: I don't trust him as far as I could throw him. And I greatly dislike him to boot. His whole quote about being a doctor and how that makes it easier to make hard decisions is. Incredibly suspicious. Not to mention an egregious leap of logic to begin with. It ends up coming off as though he's saying all this to gain a position of power/authority. Also, as Gunsli brought up, that isn't really how doctor-patient confidentiality works. It's also a common misconception that it is that people don't really look into. All of that makes it feel like he's lying about being a doctor in general.

010: Sora Mochizuki

Gunsli: Seems like an average engineer. From what she said she may be pretty well known outside of Mugram.

At least this comment implies that,

"Oh, funny thing. I didn’t know no one knew who I was."

Star: Can't really think of anything to say about her. She doesn't say anything noteworthy.

"It... It’s good." or "Ah...It's good."

[waywardsalt]

Can you please tell more about your redeemed Bellum that hangs around with the main cast in post-canon? Or, like, your hum!Bellum ideas in general?

Ooooh, I have a lot I could say about Bellum. I'll go a bit off this ask and just talk about him in the context of post-ph and some other aus, since he's fun and because most of them share the common thread of him being in human form often. This will probably be messy, but I'll divide it into sections to force myself to stick to one topic at once to keep this from devolving into what might as well be a transcript of a discord dms infodump.

(there should be a keep reading just under here- there are a few thousand words under the cut- if it's lower than it should be then idk, even while drafting this i had issues with it moving further down than i put it)

Human Bellum Basics (mostly design stuff)

It's less of a human Bellum au sort of thing, and more like a design for what if Bellum had a human form that he could change into. Kind of like Oshus having his human form while actually being a whale, it's the idea that Bellum can switch between his human form and his demon form at will, and I have spent... way, way too long trying to figure out this design.

I can't quite remember why I decided to give Bellum a human form (could've been anything from doing it for the hell of it to for shipping purposes) and it took AGES to decide on his final design.

Describing it would take a few paragraphs, so there's art! Commission pieces by @roskii specifically, he's great, he did great, check him out. (i dont know how to make these smaller :)))))) enjoy)

Half of it is directly taken from his demon design, he keeps the tentacles (not always present, he manifests them at will and tend to have much less reach when he's human), his eye, his teeth, his hair color (kind of), and half of it is more... brought in by ideas related to Bellum in general, with some vague references to that demon design; specifically him being scarred all over is a mixture of the idea of him as a violent and almost warlike creature, while also vaguely referencing the markings on his demon body (in the earliest drawing I ever did of a human Bellum design, he did just straight-up have those markings. That picture no longer exists, I'm sure).

As a basic reference, I suppose, in the second image, the character to the right of Bellum (Damien Fletcher) is an oc of mine, and therefore a character I designed (totally worth mentioning tho that with both Damien and Bellum while I did technically design them and gave roskii my notes for how they look, he also took some small liberties with their designs and... ugh theyre great im keeping them), so those two could provide some insight to my character design sensibilities, even if they're just a small fraction of the (mental) character designs I have.

Bellum is made up of pieces of his canonical design, pieces that I think make sense considering what we know about him, and just pieces of other character designs. He has more or less the same haircut as Joker/the protagonist from Persona 5. His hair has been like that for a while, but seeing Joker's hair helped me figure out specifically what I wanted.

It's been... hard, trying to give him a humanoid design, I've seen a bunch of other human Bellum designs, looked at other Zelda characters with both human and inhuman forms, took inspiration for what I could do and how and what parts could be carried over. His hair is easy to explain, it literally is meant to look like he does as a demon. Easy. It is absolutely directly inspired by that bitch from Tokyo Ghoul. I'm not looking up the character name I don't care about Tokyo Ghoul.

I keep him having sharp teeth, I've transposed those markings on his bodies as being scars (which I'll elaborate a little more on later), kept his eye and that he only has one main eye (there is nothing under the eyepatch. It's just smooth. If you've seen The Goonies, it's like what's going on with One-Eyed Willy. That's probably where I got it from tbh), the yellow and black color scheme is further kept with a yellow tank top-esque shirt and black pants and boots, and while they're not constantly present he still has access to his tentacles.

He's not human, just pretending to be.

Leading me to some other little details, such as his lack of ears. And nails. And. Other things not visible that he didn't bother with. He pretends to be human, but doesn't care enough to look truly human- though he can pass as human. When he does bother to actually look human, he does have nails and ears, and changes his eye to a human one, with a color of choice. He goes by 'Warren' when actually pretending to be human. It doesn't mean anything in particular it's just a play on how 'bellum' is latin for 'war'. But, most of the time, he's not really trying. A sense of lack of real care is something I try to communicate with his humanoid design, hence him having generally baggy and plain clothes.

The 'war' thing about his character I think is decently expressed in game with him having an army of sorts with the phantoms and him just coming off as sort of violent but strategic. He also seems very scrappy, mostly attacks with direct contact including just straight up running into Link, and seems to put a lot of stock into sheer force and just fucking killing you at any cost after a certain point, but seems genuinely wary and cornered once someone is shown to be capable of actually posing an actual threat. I like the idea of human Bellum being a bit of a brawler in a sense, fighting with his bare hands and just being incredibly violent when he fights like a human, really only breaking out his more supernatural abilities when he just wants to get shit over with.

Part of the fun with Bellum is that there isn't much to him, so I'm taking a lot of liberties with him. His loose clothes are something that won't really get in the way of him fighting and do the bare minimum, and the boots he wears have metal toes for just a bit of extra ways to hurt people. He's built but still soft in places, not intended to be a muscular as Damien, he's intentionally designed his own human form to be a bit unassuming, so I've kept that he's made of a lot of circular shapes, his face is meant to be a bit of a round shape, his hair gives a round shape, and though he's fairly tall (he and Damien are 6 feet tall btw Linebeck throws off every post-ph cast height comparison) I think of him being a bit... small? If that makes sense? His clothes help with that, they're slightly oversized, and his posture isn't great; He's a bit like a delinquent, starting fights intentionally for the sake of violence and putting little effort into his appearance.

His scars are technically cosmetic. They aren't results of injuries; technically nothing but the Phantom Sword and things like it can hurt him. His scars are references to the markings on his demon body, and just further reflection of him being a creature all about violence and conflict. They aren't totally consistent between the times he uses his human form, but some of the bigger ones are, most notably the scar across his face.

I'll be honest. My earliest human Bellum designs were some Tumblr sexyman shit and I've been trying to ditch that SO BAD ever since. I think I've done well. The scar across his face is a big one. An added imperfection, a massive facial blemish that isn't really conventionally great to look at. His nose specifically has been though some development stages, at first I kept switching between different full nose shapes, then brought in the facial scar and decided that he'd be missing a chunk of that nose, then, decided, fuck it! I can't decide on a nose shape, so he gets no nose at all. I think it works pretty well and I like it.

I really tried to get in a lot of his personality to the design, and I don't want to go into all of it in this section, so just keep in mind that a lot of his design has been influenced by the way I've decided to write him, and some stuff I've already mentioned might be made a little clearer when I get into that. As a quick aside, he's pale partially because I've intentionally made him look halfway similar to Link, and partially because I figure he does not get a lot of sun; you literally meet him in what is effectively a basement, and from the way he operates, probably hasn't made himself seen in a while by the time the events of the game happen. He can't get sunburns, but, as he cannot change a lot of extremely major things about his human form, he can't manually change his skin tone in a major way, and it's likely that when he was considerably younger and newer and spent time in the sun, his skin tone would be closer to Oshus's, so a bit more tan.

In the Context of Phantom Hourglass and Post-PH

Moving swiftly on, as there is pretty much no real info about Bellum's background, I have taken matters into my own hands and decided a lot of it for myself in headcanon; Bellum is technically Oshus's son. Not in the traditional sense, but he was created by Oshus and can very much be considered his child, and to an extent, Ciela, Leaf, and Neri are all also Oshus's kids due to them being created by him (yea even considering Ciela calling him 'grandpa', in her and my defense she lost her memories and he is old as a human), therefore making (in some terms) Bellum to be Oshus's son and the brother of the three spirits. I think it's an interesting dynamic, to have Oshus be the one responsible for Bellum's existence, and for the three spirits you travel with and help you defeat Bellum to be closely related to him.

Oshus himself (when you get the hourglass in ph) says that the sand of hours is made of force gems of the ocean king (whatever... that wording means)- which then suggests that at the end of the day, all sands of hours are derived from the power of the ocean king, and Bellum dissolves into that sand at the end of the game, and I am standing in front of a wild-looking conspiracy cork board trying to piece this all together. I find it interesting if Oshus was the one who created Bellum before he created the three spirits.

(This is a topic for another post/fic but Leaf and Neri were neglected so bad in ph and it would be interesting to see more of how they feel abt Ciela before she gets her memories back and how they feel abt... anything else ig. I think they're neat, too, and I like tying the spirits together with Bellum in this way)

In Phantom Hourglass, it's strongly suggested (mostly through dialogue) that it's been a decent amount of time since Bellum defeated Oshus and took over the Temple of the Ocean King and created the Ghost Ship (though I suppose it could be possible that the Ghost Ship's existence precedes Bellum taking over that temple and defeating Oshus), but things across that sea are relatively calm, despite the new influx of monsters and the Ghost Ship making most people too afraid to sail. No one knows it's Bellum, though, and people do know about the Ocean King, so I wonder if Bellum is known about at all by the general public, or is a being that's more or less completely unknown? My personal theory is that he's vaguely known in some sense, as an obscure deity, and that he was behind the collapse of the Cobble Kingdom, since they were aligned with the Ocean King and Bellum appears to be his direct enemy and would likely then target the allies of his enemy.

Bellum seems to do a lot of behind the scenes stuff, never been seen until the end of the game and not even being mentioned until halfway through. As I think I've said before, he's practically won by the time he comes across Link and Tetra, the Ghost Ship going out and collecting people for him while he sits at the bottom of the temple and drains anyone who might be heading directly for him. He doesn't even seem to concerned about hunting Oshus down for good, and I suspect he likely doesn't even know about Ciela being split apart, so (asides from my idea that gods/spirits/stuff like that only being able to be sealed away, only properly killed under certain circumstances) I bet there's a level of confidence that he's got things under tight enough wraps that he's good to do whatever he wants.

Aaaand then he panics when he realizes how much of a wrench in his plans Link is, throwing two sea monsters at him and causing earthquakes, he's a procrastinator, I think. That, or he underestimated this kid. Both are very possible. Either way, it's interesting to look at what he's done and caused, hiding away the spirits and beating back the Ocean King, taking over his temple, creating the Ghost Ship to roam indefinitely, screwing with the Yook and wiping out pretty much all of the Isle of Ember, and likely being the reason behind the increased number of monsters. If you really look into it, while most characters don't really seem to realize, things are kind of fucked at the start of Phantom Hourglass, and it's interesting how Oshus himself seems powerless and even dissuades Link from giving it a shot, even if he secretly wants him to go and handle things.

With my idea of Bellum being a sort of technical relative to Oshus and the spirits, it opens up a handful of new avenues for motivation beyond just being after securing control and a steady stream of prey, I enjoy the idea of it being a matter of him becoming more and more ambitious, far beyond the station he was created for; going off of his name and ability to create phantoms, I imagine Oshus created him specifically to be warlike, perhaps initially with the intention of having him as a more violent protector of the realm, maybe to keep monsters in check or maybe just as a secondary deity for the world of the ocean king; I'll admit, I'm still a little foggy on what Bellum would've been initially created for, the spirits are easy to figure out, but I do figure it was something not as passive as just representing something, I imagine it as a deliberate opposite to Oshus himself to account for his weaknesses. Either way, I figure a part of Bellum's motivation involves him wanting more than he was given access to by Oshus, and deciding to fully wage war against him in a sense. The short and silly version is that Bellum is Oshus' shitty disowned son. Oshus isn't entirely innocent in whatever I decide caused Bellum to turn on him and the spirits, but Bellum does suck: that is important. The Cobble Kingdom looks like it's been destroyed for a while, I figure that was Bellum's first major target when he started outwardly going after Oshus and hunting the humans of the realm.

In Post-PH, he's the group's pet evil squid on a very very very short leash until he starts behaving himself and having a character arc.

Effectively, Bellum doesn't die at the end of Phantom Hourglass, instead being broken down into the sand of hours he's made of and being sealed inside the Phantom Sword- after all, after the final boss, the sand Bellum turns into goes into the Phantom Sword. I imagine that the Phantom Sword, after breaking and restoring Oshus, turns into the hourglass for Link to keep, while Oshus and the spirits keep the remaining sands, therefore keeping a hold of Bellum. (A bit like Oshus just being left alone after Bellum defeating him, they can't really kill Bellum so they just keep an eye on him while he's in a weakened state) They kind of just keep him prisoner at the bottom of the Temple for a bit, and Oshus finally decides to send him to Link's world as a punishment, since he's at his weakest and Oshus wants to get him to learn some lesson, it's a work in progress. Bellum is grounded in Post-PH.

It's basically that 'the villain when you unlock him as a playable character' bit, where he's quite a bit weaker than he is in Phantom Hourglass, though mostly for the sake of keeping things balanced, so Bellum can't break everything for everyone. He's still powerful, he still accesses his demon form, can't be conventionally killed or injured, and move through walls and turn people to stone, the whole deal, it's just that his demon form's size is impacted (i hc that the size of his demon form can be manipulated at will, but the largest size is dependent of how much power/stored life force he has. he's small at the start of post-ph, but his human form isnt impacted at all. i imagine that for beings like oshus and bellum, their human form is a like a 'low power mode' kinda thing) So Bellum is the Post-PH crew's fourth member, the swabbie on the ship and pet sea monster when they need it and when he has the energy for it.

Bellum is kept mostly in line by a vague fear of Link and his general fear, respect, and curiosity about Linebeck. Linebeck is usually the one holding onto Bellum's leash. Bellum is decently civil with the group from the start, since he's weak and unable to return home until Oshus permits it or he gathers enough power to make that trip, and works mostly as a fighter- when he wants to. The earliest limitation I came up for him, since he's the member with the highest chance of breaking things, is that he will just straight-up choose not to help. He decides he's busy, decides it's not his problem, or other limitations, such as his involvement likely to cause more problems that they solve, since he's rather destructive when fighting.

He's the least sociable most of the time, for obvious reasons, but can pretend, and has the least... casual skills to offer to the group, hence why he gets stuck as swabbie (also general disrespect/as a punishment for the ph thing) and it takes a while for him to properly warm up to the rest of the group. He and Linebeck start off on decent terms and get closer through them just initially trusting each other, he and Link take the longest to get used to each other for... obvious reasons, it takes a lot of fighting together and seeing that they can rely on each other and they learn to be decent with each other just by existing in the same space, and things with Damien start off half decent, Damien was not present during Phantom Hourglass (obviously) and doesn't have the full context of how much he sucks, but it starts decent, gets worse when he learns what happened, and then gets good again because Damien's kind of amiable in general and sees that Linebeck thinks he's fine.

SO! To actually address your question about him being 'redeemed'- he does have a bit of an arc that I'm still mentally workshopping. He isn't entirely redeemed, as the group's general morality is a big off-kilter when Link isn't looking or is willing to get a little gray with things, and there's not really a whooooole lot of atonement Bellum can do in terms of the volume of bullshit he pulled in the past. It's less him atoning or w/e for the bullshit he's done, that's not entirely feasible, it's more him just. being forced to Be Decent and learn some actual kindness and think about more than just his own survival, he's essentially forced to actually appreciate life and the world, it's more him actually... experiencing the world for a reason other than consumption and war and conflict and doing what he's been told, he's effectively just on this long voyage with Linebeck, Link, and Damien, going with them from island to island and seeing what's up. I'm going to try and keep empathy out of it, so he's not really relating on a visceral level, more just choosing to be kind and take gentler paths to solving problems and interacting with others. He's also the group gremlin.

The way I write Bellum is definitionally inspired by other characters, Power from Chainsaw Man comes to mind in how he has a kind of shitty brat attitude at times, he'd fling vegetables across the room because he's a piece of shit who likes live meat. He's got his shitty messy delinquent loser side, where he causes problems and acts like some asshole teenager, and he's got his more serious, calm, almost professional seeming side that reminds the group that he's a few centuries old at the least and practically a god in his own right; generally outside of Post-PH I would pick one of these two sides to focus on for aus, but in Post-PH I need to figure out how the two of them work with how Bellum generally operates.

He's interested in Linebeck and initially decides to go along because he wants to figure him out, but grows to enjoy the rest of the group and that curiosity expands to involve the world as a whole; he experiences things like art and music, where he can't just brute-force his way into a satisfactory outcome and has to learn and find his own style, he reads books and listens to stories and sees the different ways humans live on the seas and I want his arc to, in some part, be about him just finding meaning in the world beyond what he does to secure survival, and the other members of the group introduce him to those other facets of life that he has access to, has had access to. The other part is the group getting Bellum to see most living things as more than just prey for him to hunt and consume, but that generally goes hand in hand with the prior point, as he actually enjoys life and figures out what he likes beyond the basic things he was created for.

He can't fall back on just smashing through everything or creating phantoms, since he's far too weak to do either effectively at the start, and I intend to just force Bellum into basically just being a human character with some unusually powerful magic at his fingertips, first just wanting to build himself back up to what he was in Phantom Hourglass, then just getting to see things in a new light. I'm not sure how to explain it or even what I'll want to do when I get to it, but that's the general gist of his arc, I think.

Other than that, he's just the fourth members of the crew with a serious knowledge of... a lot of things as a centuries-old demon and the hardest hitter in the group who can't and won't cook for shit and kind of just learns to actually live without constantly gunning for those bare necessities long after he's gotten them. I don't want it to be 'he learns to be human' because he... isn't human, but just him appreciating life and seeing some value in it, especially as something with as much power as Bellum, it's a bit messy and I'm still figuring it out, but I've got the general direction figured out.

Bellum is effectively the ship's best defender, and ends up fitting into the group as a friend and with his own specific role with the other individual members of the group. Linebeck kind of kickstarts his arc for him and connects with him the most and Bellum generally stays the closest with him, but Damien and Link help him see other little corners of life, as well as other characters he has to interact with, and I think I want Bellum's side of the story to have the most outstanding mundane-ity to it- there's absolutely meant to be a slice-of-life aspect to Post-PH, but I want the biggest points of Bellum's arc to be comparably the most mundane. It's the little things with him. The others have little things, too, but... I'm not sure how to express the difference, but I promise there is a difference.

Outside of Post-PH, though, when Bellum is present in a big way, his arc either tackles a similar idea in a different way, is just about something entirely different, or he doesn't have an arc at all, either due to not being a big enough part of the story or just straight up not being present.

In the Context of AUs

Bellum is only present in a handful of aus, either fully present as a character, halfway present, or just being referenced. When he is present in an au, he's usually some kind of major character, and he's notable in the crimson king au, the space au, the murder mystery au, and the horror au and one of my 'ruined hyrule' aus. (the horror and ruined hyrule au will be put together for this bc bellum's role in both are very similar) (for reference, here's my au explanation post)

In the horror au and ruined hyrule au, Bellum serves juuuust about the same role, just with different capabilities, contexts, all of that, but it's more or less the same thing. He's frequently present, but usually not acknowledged, and is very close to Linebeck in both, and the two of them pretty much rely on each other to live due to circumstances out of their control; they didn't really go into this whole thing liking each other, but have been more or less forced to become each other's friends due to proximity and just. Needing the others' presence in order to survive. In both, Bellum usually is a character who knows more than the others, but doesn't bother sharing that information since it's either not totally relevant or he just doesn't want to, and he tends to be protective of Linebeck, half because he needs him in order to live, half just because he's ended up liking him. (there is. more to say. but since i may actually write one of these aus [likely ruined hyrule bc the horror one has to be visual and it is VERY plotless rn] i'm not gonna go into much more depth since it would require spoilers lol)

Can't say a whole lot about the space au, either, since the story of that one is still a work in progress, and Bellum isn't particularly a major character, though he is important to some B-plot stuff. Without digging up too much world building and background and general story stuff and important plot bits, he's got a fairly close relationship to Linebeck in this au, as a general beneficiary and friend, and he actually tends to mind his own business and just wants to hold his own position; he's not really antagonistic or anything, but definitionally morally dubious even if he doesn't really directly do a whole lot.

In the Crimson King au, though, Bellum is one of the main characters, and a bit different than in ph-related stuff. He spends a lot of time in his human form, only switching to his little demon form a handful of times, and usually just for fun. He plays the role of Linebeck's closest friend and beneficiary, practically being the reason why Linebeck is able to do any of the things he does in the story, helping him from behind the scenes at times and balancing that business with Linebeck with his more outward appearance as a mostly normal guy working for the person who runs his section of the city... who also happens to be him. The vague politics in this au would take a bit to explain in full, but Bellum in this au spends a lot of time keeping his actual identity under wraps, the basic premise being that he's decided to integrate himself into current mortal society like a normal person to see what trouble he can cause, how he could sustain himself while keeping things stable, and to see just how far he can go- essentially, the only danger he faces is if others figure out what he is, but even then, he knows he could very easily cut his losses and go back to what he's done best.

He's not very active in the main plot, mostly giving Linebeck assignments and pulling strings behind the scenes in order to help and keep him safe, but Bellum does occasionally meddle directly in Linebeck's situation whenever it relates to him, when he needs something extra done, or, later in the story, when he gets a bit worried about Linebeck. His general arc is essentially him owning up to the fact that he does, in fact, care about Linebeck's well-being. Crimson King Bellum is fun, because he can't really just be 'violent demon', and I just like the supporting role I've got him in. He's Linebeck's rich friend who hires him to kill people for him. It's fun.

How I Like to Write Him With Linebeck

Of course, Bellum is going to have stuff with Linebeck, both in aus and in post-ph. Bellum has interactions and relationships with other characters, but the dynamic(s) with Linebeck tend to be the most diverse and important.

With aus: There’s usually a general sense that Bellum is above Linebeck, both in the power sense and in the sense that he’s typically his boss or in charge of him, but in a handful they are on equal footing (specifically, the modern school one, where they’re just classmates.)- the most common dynamic is usually along the lines of Bellum hiring Linebeck to kill people for him. Bellum is typically someone that provides Linebeck with things like payment or equipment or safety- in the Crimson King au, he gives Linebeck a fair amount of money, and supplies his equipment and gives him a place to live when he does jobs for him.

I like to imagine there's a level of... recognition? Not empathy, trying to keep that to a minimum... He's almost gentle with Linebeck, and is uncharacteristically merciful towards him. In post-ph, Linebeck survives being possessed and this marks him as notable to Bellum, since most people he possess die very soon after being released, so he's initially motivated by curiosity and a desire to observe Linebeck when he acts less violently- that curiosity is the biggest reason why he's cordial with Linebeck across my aus as well.

With Phantom Hourglass-centric stuff (which is what I'll mostly just talk about here, since it's kind of the 'base' for all other Bellum and Linebeck stuff I do), Linebeck and Bellum start on halfway decent terms, I'm planning a Bellumbeck fic sometime in the future, which is a bit less focused on that actual fight and more on whatever's going on between Linebeck and Bellum. I'm still trying to pin down exactly what I want with Linebeck and Bellum's dynamic.

I’ve fallen back into shipping them, (Still iffy on ship name lmfao, Bellumbeck is taken by the game and ‘Linebellum’ is lame imo, so I’ve been sticking with just ‘bellum x linebeck’) but it’s not really typically romantic/sexual, though there are some aspects of both, it’s still kind of abstract and easier to define with example stuff rather than just trying to explain it in a concise paragraph.

They both go out of their way to effectively research each other before properly meeting, starting as just trying to find advantageous information, but eventually just doing research out of curiosity, especially on Linebeck’s end, hunting down any material that so much as alludes to Bellum while Oshus refuses to say anything extra on the topic. They have a mutual interest and curiosity about each other.

With Bellum, its a similar curiosity with how Linebeck survives being possessed, and a general interest in him as a person, as Bellum doesn't really care much about the world beyond how it can serve him, but felt the need to look into Linebeck. A lot of the time, Bellum starts with the intention of exploiting Linebeck in some way, then ends up actually caring about him, he usually goes through variations of the same arc regarding Linebeck. It works with Linebeck for me since I tend to read and write him as fairly morally gray, so he's more willing to reciprocate Bellum.

(There's also the whole bit with Linebeck being kind of a monsterfucker and having a thing for being tied up and just a handful of like. sexual stuff on Linebeck's end, but we're talking about Bellum's perspective here we can't be focusing on Linebeck)

Bellum primarily operates with survival on the mind, and at odds with anything that might get in his way, and secondarily treats mortal creatures as something to study. When his attempt to use Linebeck fails, he shifts to that studying, and therefore has some respect for him due to his survival. They both focus quite a lot on survival, and don't have the most interest in making connections, seeing most relationships as transactional. They understand each other; Bellum sees Linebeck's mind when possessing him, and therefore knows a great deal about him.

There are similarities between them; not-great relationships with their fathers, a strong desire for survival at any cost, generally low empathy and a habit of mostly viewing others for how they can be used, curiosity about anatomy, a higher tolerance for things like blood, gore, things that would likely make others squeamish, they both hate Ciela...

(As an aside to that last one, an idea I've decided to integrate into my ph stuff and may touch on in a future fic is that Linebeck calling Ciela 'sparkles' gives her a strong sense of deja-vu before she gets all of her memories back; it's something Bellum would call her, when he was more cordial with the other spirits)

Bellum hangs around on the ship, and he hangs around Linebeck the most, to the point of being annoying, but learns what boundaries are and ends up respecting them decently. I lean more into... things just working out, Bellum more or less being put in a situation where he chooses to change things up and be a bit kinder, starting with the guy he's decided was the catalyst for all of this.

He gets along well enough with Damien (damien ends up in that shipping, too, considering that he's already dating linebeck by the time bellum sorts his own feelings out, so in post-ph, bellum ends up being a sort of on-and-off polycule member), he is eventually friendly with Link, often because Linebeck likes him as well. It takes a very long time for he and Link to warm up to each other, so they'll likely end up in situations where they must rely on each other at the start of things.

Bellum is… very not used to social stuff or acting human, and isn’t even very used to his human form at the start, so he does spend that time with Linebeck while he figures things out, as well. Linebeck's not the best role model for decent social interaction, especially since he works on dismantling his own mask and figuring himself out for a bit at the start of post-ph, but he's the only person Bellum tolerates and respects at that start.

Bellum eventually gets roped into helping Linebeck cook, follows him around for ship maintenance, watches him patch up wounds, and just ends up as a crew member that can kind of fill any basic role, but he’s not making it much further than swabbie.

I haven’t actually written a ton of interaction between them yet, but what I have written always comes off as casual, almost humorous, they joke around with each other and Bellum is detached and unserious at times, but very capable of switching to dead seriousness. A lot of the time, Linebeck tends to take things more seriously at face value, but Bellum is more prone to joking around due to the fact that very few consequences mean anything to him.

He and Linebeck are typically close in one sense or another in most things where they're included, and I generally consider all dynamics between them to fall under the ship umbrella, because I don't consider it strictly romantic (though it usually ends up being vaguely like that), just more that there's some kind of intimacy between them at some point. It's a relationship whose dynamic I think is interesting given the... lack of actual interaction between them, but with just enough interesting conclusions that can be drawn.

I guess it's similar to the general stuff I have about Bellum, kind of just scraping ideas together from canon and then following whatever threads can be connected to them, while trying to make sure it still has roots in that canon. It's similar to my personal 'design philosophy' or whatever for my aus.

I've also considered making their relationship parasitic in someway, as a sort of homage/callback/reference to their canonical relationship, but it's not entirely a direction I really want to go in, and I feel like some aus get decently close.

Final Points

I think Bellum's really neat, so considering the general lack of information or depth to him, I've been playing with expanded ideas and building up my own ideas for him, specific within the context of Phantom Hourglass and a post-ph setting, while many of my other ideas with him tend to then derive from that.

His (human) design is one I've spent a very long time figuring out, trying to mix his demon design in with more human traits, trying to keep him distinctive without getting too complicated, and trying to have that design represent him decently with a fair bit of reasoning behind a lot of that design. It's something Bellum himself controls to a certain degree, so it's in a bit of a crossroads between portraying him based on his character, and being something he uses to come off as generally innocuous.

I've got a decent idea of what Bellum's whole deal is in Phantom Hourglass and afterwards, and I use him in a fair number of aus, often in tangent with Linebeck, whom I often give him some kind of intimate relationship, be it romantic or some other form of closeness, based off of ideas for ways they would interact and why.

Bellum's fun! He's fun as he is, and he's fun to build off of and develop further than what we see in the game. And giving him the ability to shift into a humanoid shape gives even more room to play around in. I don't know when I first came up with the idea, but I've had ideas for a human form Bellum for quite some time now, I've just only recently really started solidifying a lot of it. Even between the time when I got the ask and finished it, I came up with new ideas.

But for now, these are the broad strokes! Not just about post-ph humanoid Bellum, just about my ideas for him in general, though it all really relates back to that one in particular, honestly.

He's surprisingly fun to speculate about! I didn't really expect Bellum to end up as one of my favorite LoZ characters, but I guess any character can end up as your favorite if you spend enough time thinking about him. At the end of the day I think he's funky, and he's fun to use in a post-ph setting.