#probably too niche to even care

[vladlen4i]

[milolovesbmc]

The Dream (The Angel's Kiss)

Based on the sculpture by Auguste Rodin (1905)

(Censored just in case even though it's nothing explicit, uncensored under the cut)

"I remember you, something about you... coming to me, and sinking into me, and giving me breath again. . ."

[gay-artificer]

I've seen people be like downpour ruined how people see five pebbles and im gonna be honest if you were here for any number of years pre-downpour the fandom was always god-awful with the nuance in his character. thats not a downpour thing thats a fandom thing

[nostalgia-tblr]

Reminding myself that I resolved not to delete any fics that have a bookmark on them😭

[usfp-the-blog]

Orion started working out in year 8. He did this as a way to gain some confidence in himself -- and it worked, to a certain extent! Not well enough to allow him to shed his toxic friends and find new ones, but it still worked! It was more of a "good enough" thing for a while, but after the psychotic break -- when his mental health was at an all-time low and his self-hatred at an all-time high -- it really helped. He called it quits on the constant improvement cycle around the time he moved back to the village (considering the local "gym" was just a bunch of 20-somethings in an abandoned oregano packaging warehouse with a few dumbbells and some ping-pong tables), but he picked it up again after some of the boys their age in the village started stealing from the cafe.

[sugarsnappeases]

the unabating urge to write an incredibly niche but incredibly gay marauders point break au with lily evans as keanu reeves and pandora rosier as patrick swayze

[dreamsteddie]

Steve and Eddie are the kind of couple that never does couples Halloween costumes.

Eddie cares far too much about Halloween and spends most of the year planning and haunting thrift stores around town waiting for the perfect piece of that year's costume to appear. He's going to be bloody and spooky and probably incredibly niche and nothing, not even his incredibly hot boyfriend, is going to change his Halloween rituals.

Steve on the other hand has never put too much thought in his costumes. For him, Halloween has always been more about the parties and while the dressing up is fun he usually just throws something together from his closet at the last minute. It isn't until Robin comes along that things change. She starts making him do yearly couples costumes with her, but they're always either the silly, cheap ones from Spirit Halloween or niche in the opposite direction of Eddie's choices.

After their first Halloween together they decide to do a costume reveal every year like a bride/groom reveal. They go about their Halloween traditions as usual but try to keep any shopping or conversations about the topic a secret. Both of them try and figure out what the other had planned but they're both very dedicated to the bit and hide their shit well. Robin, of course, is also in on it since she's conceiving most of Steve's costumes and tries to come up with something either extremely slutty or extremely goofy to fuck with Eddie.

Whatever gross make-out session she has to witness is worth it for the picture she gets of bloody Edward Scissor Hands stealing a sip out of Sparkly Slutty Ketchup Steve's solo cup at the end of the night.

[cup-o-stars]

Relativity Falls Lore Concept- The Oracle and Bill

The Oracle:

I was initially inspired by the Twitter user @SUwu159's depiction of the Oracle in their take on Relativity Falls, and made my own adaptation as I learned about her in canon.

(Assume she can change colors because I couldn't pick what I liked most)

This version of The Oracle isn't malicious per se, and does not desire the same conquest or chaos sought out by Bill. But she likes universes to be organized and quaint (or answers to another high power that demands it), and finds fulfillment in achieving these goals through any means necessary.

The Oracle and Dipper:

(Sorry if this dialogue tastes like a corndog in your mouth. I just needed to write a semi-resolution to Dipper's side of the relationship, ha.)

Getting into the real struggle with the Pines family. Dipper and Mabel don't fight and hold grudges like the Stans (that we've seen of), so my opinion is that they drifted apart in their late teens and twenties, both feeling pressured to be less attached at the hip. My current belief (though I'm very willing to rewrite this section) is that Mabel and Dipper both poured a lot of energy into pretty niche fields, and being very busy meant very short and rare windows to reach out. Both assumed the other was doing bigger and better things and felt self conscious / childish for wanting eachother's company.

I'm still considering Mabel's backstory, since I think she probably hit lower points than Dipper. You know. Starving artist, lol. But Dipper entered into paranormal investigation, pest control, etc. before his ghost + monster catching went far enough for his name to gain some notoriety. Hell, maybe Pacifica's family reached out to him to take care of "rats" that were actually ghosts, cementing his interest in Gravity Falls and giving him a window inter supernatural work.

Dipper was taken on as something of an apprentice to the Oracle 30ish years before canon as word of his good and dangerous deeds spread. However, what was at first a personal dream come true (saving lives with nerd magic) soon became a personal hell as the Oracle began to overwhelm Dipper with knowledge of various futures and universes where everything he cared about could be destroyed. He's always been over prepared and incredibly paranoid, and became obsessed with protecting the world by acting as a partner to the Oracle.

He ends up doing- or not doing- a lot of morally ambiguous things and gaining a lot of enemies. He is too ashamed to face his family- especially Mabel- with what he's done and burden them, giving the Oracle more to use against him to keep him working for her. Basically "you've already done all this and risked it all, there's nowhere to go if you stop now." Eventually this ends in her seeing him fit for her work and convincing him to hide out in and save other universes, which he gets trapped doing for the next three decades.

Little throw away idea: Pacifica could have been an investor or partner, but left as they uncovered secrets about the Northwest family. Maybe she wanted to undo something (debating making any of the Oracle's powers time related just because I hate time travel) or stop a current show of corruption, but Dipper had to stop her for the "greater good."

In the main universe, Mabel goes to Gravity Falls upon news of her brother's disappearance, searching for any loose end to trace back to him.

I love that in canon, Dipper is willing to do anything for Mabel, and Mabel gives it back. Dipper here spends all of his life keeping as many versions of her as safe as he can, and she spends all her life trying go seek him out- maybe even dropping a larger opportunity outside of Gravity Falls for her art and settling on business at the shack. Dipper wants Mabel alive, Mabel wants them both happy. I like the idea that it's Dipper and Mable vs. The Future but the future is a demon, alien thing.

Which leads me to...

Bill Cipher:

I'm actually gonna cover a couple versions of Bill I think are fitting for this AU, because I initially wasn't sure if I wanted him here at all.

Child Bill:

Pretty straight forward. Bill as a baby, child thing is tempting and this is the au where he'd exist. Personally though, I think Ford's friendship with Fidds would be more enriching to his growth, and Bill's personality is so close to Stan's they would likely be competing to fill very similiar roles. (If Bill behaves differenty as kid, I don't know about it.) Honestly, Bill is super similiar to Ford and Stan, and works better as a kind of foil or antagonist because of that (imo). I do find the mental image of Ford carrying Bill around funny. I do not enjoy human bill like, conceptually, so I'm probably never gonna design one as an adult or child, lol.

It would be cool to see a world where Bill didn't accidentally kill his parents though.

Bill - Reincarnated Original

Technically I guess they could all be reincarneted (especially baby Bill), but this version of Bill experienced and holds memories of the original canon events in GF. Beings like Bill and the Oracle can remember recent/soon approaching lives, and catch glimpses of more distant cycles as well.

What I like about Bill's recent role as an antagonist to Ford and Stan is that he constantly describes them in the terms of their worst traits, and sees them through the lens of the roles the world placed on them. In this AU, Bill is the epitome of the past (in this case a past life) coming back to bite the twins. He rattles their progress in communication as well as their sense of inner peace by bringing old Glass Shard Beach issues into Gravity Falls.

(Depicted here-> moments after Ford summons Bill using the same ritual as Gideon.)

The drawback to this is that it feels a lot like covering old ground.

Simply Bill:

This is pretty much just regular old Bill with the same fresh perspective as everyone else, and also the one I'm going with. He tried and failed to get Dipper's trust in the past and had to lay low at the arrival of the Oracle. Once they left, Bill targeted Mabel. I think it could be very interesting for Mabel and Bill to either have a fresh relationship wherein Bill is actively taking advantage of her desperation to find Dipper, or for Bill to be an old betrayal (not romantic, but not dissimilar to the opportunistic exes Stan and Ford have to be wary of and beat back under the rug regardless).

Either he shows himself to Mable early on, or decides that Gravity Falls is both Oracle-free and worth the time after either Ford or Mable summon him. Afterall, 30 years isn't much to him.

Maybe he exists in the background like he's always done, or the kids (being snoopy and disrespectful of Mabel's secrets) discover what Mabel's doing and run into him on their own.

Whether Bill is aware of the original series or not, I think he could be neat to stick in between Stan and Ford again for conflict. My favorite aspect about Relativity Falls is the prospects of the Stans having a larger support system and better tools to help themselves with. Beating Bill faster and better would be the ultimate testament to Mabel and Dipper's skills as functioning role models, even if Mabel is currently blinded by her focus on Dipper.

Stan and Ford will fight and they will make up, but this time maybe they can overcome it on their own.

I also think a good idea is having Ford and Stan's issues be completely Bill free (outside of like an episode or two's worth of relevance, unless he put them into a particularly stinging situation). It would feel fresher and also streamline the plot, lol.

Overview:

- Dipper is stuck travelling the multiverse with the Oracle and keeps himself sane by thinking of Mabel and protecting various versions of her.

- Mabel is investigating his disappearance in Gravity Falls and is working on a portal/portal equivalent with Bill to bring him back.

- The kids may or may not be aware of this.

Looking at the main series of events, I think it'd be neat go back to the apprenticeship conflict, where Ford could be approached by the Oracle (or something else that makes sense) with the promise of being a "hero," but knows better now because of Dipper and his experiences with Bill. It's kind of a more convoluted version of Ford's proposal to Dipper in canon, and they basically learn the same thing, lol. You can hang out with ghosts if you want, but demons are gonna get you. Maybe being a child with siblings is all you need.

(Stan could also be offered this, given the Oracle already knew he- or at least someone with his face- would beat Bill, but I think it's well established he isn't very interested in doing anything without family.)

All in all, things might be a bit crowded with two antagonists. But I do like the concept of Bill's arrival and subsequent chaos triggering Dipper and the Oracle's return to Mabel's dimension. I also love the idea of Bill, the Oracle, and some secret third thing all trying to pull the Pines family apart, and it's like a Man vs. God turned into a Family vs. Destiny thing, idk. Just trying to make it feel bigger.

Thank you for reading all this. It was a lot to draw. Next time I do anything for Relativity Falls, I'm gonna go back to the smaller things like Mabel bonding with the kids and stuff like that.

[astrogre]

Astro observations 3

Disclaimer: I would like to confirm that my observations are the niche ways in which a placement may manifest, it is the way I’ve noticed it in others, the people around me, celebrities, myself and in my studies. It is not the doctrine wide broad way the placement occurs for everyone.

Leo MC always are seen as icons by the public, they’re simply just iconic. Everything they do has an artistic value so they’re just seen as icons

When doing chart analysis I’ve noticed that even if an asteroid isn’t inputted to the chart, the themes surrounding it are still shown simply from planets. Asteroids don’t tell you anything new that isn’t already there, it more so highlights the “how”. The planets themselves already suggest the themes of what’s going on, asteroids are there to perhaps confirm it and further dissect.

E.g a person has Jupiter in 7th house, coincidentally Biblialexa and Sokrates asteroids may also be there too. This suggests more exact detail in how that Jupiter manifests and the natives relationships are filled with wisdom and intellectually charged but even if we removed the two asteroids from the picture, Jupiter already falls under those themes so the asteroids are just confirming that and showing us further how it’s done.

Taurus MC like to work hard so that they can live a wealthy, care free life. That’s what motivates them. It kind of reminds me of Denji from chainsaw man. The motivation to why he works so hard is to have delicious food and a warm bed to sleep in at night. They’re hard working but people can tell they work for the leisure that comes with it.

Planet conjunctions to a house make the planet that’s conjuncting the house work seamlessly with the theme of the house. It makes the qualities of that planet become heightened with the house, regardless of if the planet is inside it or not. In a way the house-planet conjunct is stronger influence than the planets INSIDE the house because they are not directly communicating with the house itself but are instead a part of it.

The planets in the house cusp obey and follow the nature of the house but when a planet is conjunct to the house it means they are both on par with each other. Like the head of administration speaking to the head of technology whereas all the planets in the house work as the team employees and essentially under the houses orders

let’s say someone has a 6H Venus conjunct Pisces 7th house, and mercury, Saturn, Neptune are in the 7H. The planets IN the house would be the book-keeper, auditor, fundraiser. And if the planet is conjunct to the house it’s in(Venus), that makes it have a stronger influence than the other employees because it’s directly writing with the boss rather than only under him. Venus would have more power and control in that house despite it not being inside

What they say about moon in 7th housers not being able to be single, and needing to constantly be in a relationship is so true. If they are happy single they are most probably living vicariously through a romance Tv series or literature. Some form of medium that lets them indulge in love as a comfort place.

If you have Pluto in a Scorpio ruled house, it makes you able to conquer your deepest fears. if you haven’t overcome them yet, you will eventually. This is because Scorpio shows what we are afraid of and Pluto exerts dominance and control, with this placement your fears become afraid of you, the tables turn and you have control and power over the things that you were once afraid of. However this usually happens after traumatic experience that makes you change your life.

e.g Scorpio 12th house with sag Pluto inside would be able to conquer their nightmares and dark thoughts. They may learn how to lucid dream or align the subconscious with the conscious mind communicating with it via the nightmares to understand the self, they could exert fear and control for an example, making the people in their nightmares do what they want, they can attain a good amount of control on their thoughts.

Usually to figure out if an outcome is likely from a chart you should see strong indicators shown 3+ times in their natal chart. If something is prominent in your life it will be shown on your natal chart and it certainly won’t appear just once.

E.g if you want to know if someone will be wealthy you should look for several strong indicators like Jupiter in 2H, money asteroids conjunct to personal planets 2H ruler in the money houses, Jupiter-Pluto aspects, just constant signs of wealth, they probably have some form of accumulated wealth in this lifetime as all of such are repeating signs of being financially blessed. If something is prominent in your life it will be shown on your natal chart and it certainly won’t appear just once.

Venus 1st housers are so well regarded by women. E.g Aubrey Hepburn, George Clooney, Selena Gomez, Queen Elizabeth. They’re like the staple of being respected by women because of their well presented nature. What you may call “written by a woman”.

I’ve noticed Capricorn risings with outer planet 1st house influence start from being the underdog, looked down upon, ignored and disrespected all for one by one their passion builds up together to form a whirlwind of success, reputation and competence.

E.g Kylie Jenner-being seen as Kendall’s shadow, Ariana Grande- only seen as the Nickelodeon side character and being constantly degraded for looking like a little girl

Chiron conjunct MC can make your work a living hell because it touches on deep traumas and you can feel exposed. But your career also heals you, you may even be seen as someone who heals others. This actually makes me think of Justin Beiber who has this placement. He was degraded online for decades bc of his substance abuse, had his nudes leaked and constantly harassed and now people want to apologize and see why he keeps wanting to “protect” billie and young artists from the predators in the industry. He is literally living the “wounded healer” reputation. Despite his own scars he’s attempting to treat others and he’s publicly known for it, even in the music he releases like his song Yummy that went viral for hinting at child exploitation.

Pluto 2nd house can either be the first one to break familial poverty then be the richest and elevate their status from what they have -going from middle class to upper OR they straight up destroy decades of resources and efforts given to them in the worst way possible due to their own self destructive behavior e.g bankruptcy, gambling, drugs or just spending it whenever they feel like it because they’re seeking power from the things they own so they’ll spend it to assert dominance.

I found that Leo risings LOVE it when people give them attention and make them feel like the centre of the room, even when they’re doing nothing, they kind of expect to be the main attraction. They gleefully jump for joy when you mention their appearance and compliment them. For an example if they’re at a karaoke bar and the group record the session the Leo rising might just stand in the middle and occupy the view of the camera doing nothing while the others are singing. Just because they feel attracted to that limelight.

They can appear “attention seeking” to some but they actually shine beautifully when they have something to contribute like their talents.

Strange observation but I’ve noticed that Venus 11th house in Juno Persona chart at its worst has a partner that cheated on them with a mutual friend. Eg. Will smith. Looking at what Venus is aspecting is also important.

Degrees are like the seasoning for your food, like salt, cinnamon, spices -each sign representing a different kind of added seasoning to the planet. Your planet is the main dish, the house placements show how it’s presented and the aspects are what else it’s eaten with. All parts of the chart must be taken into consideration, all parts are important to get an accurate image of what goes on. So don’t leave out degrees or retrogrades just because they’re not as prominent.

Pluto-Jupiter aspects specifically conjunct is THE well known wealth indicator in astrology. So many billionaires have it: Rupert Murdoch, Warren Buffet, George Soros, Bill Gates, JP Morgan, Charles Koch, Nelson Rockefeller

Planets in the 10th house can show your attitude towards performing for other people, stellium here can make someone feel like they need to meet peoples standards because of pressures or expectations of what and who they’re are “supposed” to be, this expectation can come from authority figures like parents too

10H also shows the parts of you that are easily criticised because they’re seen clearly

[phas3d]

Can you do slytherin boys head canons with ravenclaw reader who info dumps randomly

You're Smart || Slytherin Boys

type :: fluff

tw/cw :: none

contains :: draco, tom, mattheo, theodore, lorenzo

summary :: you have a habit of saying fun facts and explaining everything in great detail while they listen - it's not super ravenclaw based but u can imagine it :) THANK U FOR REQUESTINGG RAAAHHHH - 🐍 :: masterlist!

DRACO MALFOY

Hated it at first since it felt like you were trying to on up him

Would start to research more topics on his own to make sure you can't one up him on it

Turns this into a competition that's completely one sided for no reason LMAO

Stays up all night up just to learn the most niche and useless information of all time

But somehow, you always know more than him and beat him

Gets so frustrated by this because he can't stand not being the smartest know-it-all in the room

So he decides to try and make YOU seem stupid

Asks you super hard questions that no one could possibly know

But for some reason, you know it

This drives him even crazier cause he can't win LOL

But overtime, he grows to find it really useful and cute at times

He likes to see how passionate you are on different things

And he does like smart girls, so he starts to see it as a pro

TOM RIDDLE

Super annoyed by the fun facts and random info at the start

Mainly because he probably already knows it or he doesn't care for it

Because if he was interested, he would have searched it up already

So in his eyes, it seems like you're call him too lazy and dumb to want to search something up

So he tells you to shut up right away when he knows you're going to info dump

But sometimes, he genuinely doesn't know and he hates admitting that

He's super bad at social interactions, online culture, etc, so he does need help with those

But he's too egotistical to admit that

So he starts to just "ignore you" when you info dump

You'll explain the deep and complicated lore of Trisha Paytas and once you're done he'll say, "Huh? Oh I was spacing out."

But in reality, he was listening in depth and taking mental notes

So he starts to use this to his advantage since you do describe every very well

He starts to silently train you in a way

For example, he'll place a group of items in front of you, like a blue shirt next to a Slytherin hoodie

This will then remind you of Alvin and the Chipmunks so you dive into the deep lore of each actor

MATTHEO RIDDLE

Doesn't really care much at first since he's always been a bit dumber than other kids

He assumed everything you were saying was common knowledge and that he was just dumb

But when others start to mention how smart you are, he's surprised

He has a smart s/o :O

Well, he always knew that but to find out that you were smarter than a majority of people gave him a confidence boost

Starts to rely on you for every single question he has possible

Even if he knows the answer, he just wants to see if he's right

He likes it when you info dump to him

Surprisingly, he's a really good listener when it comes to you

Loves listening to you talk for hours on end

THEODORE NOTT

He's not much of a talker, so having you there to info dump on him is really amusing

You're like a walking podcast for him to listen to

Likes to ask you questions too so you can switch topics

He's super proud of seeing how smart you are

Theo is pretty smart, the smartest out of the Slytherin boy group at least (Which isn't that hard) (Tom doesn't count LOL)

So it's nice for him to finally talk to someone that doesn't ask dumb ass questions every 5 minutes

It's like switching his brain off so he can just listen to you talk and explain

It makes him feel safer with you to know that you're so smart and into so many things

He also loves it because it makes it so easy to buy you a gift since he knows exactly what you like :)

LORENZO BERKSHIRE

You're both kinda in the same boat which is amazing and bad

He's also into info dumping and telling you about the niche history he found out

But so are you, so you two end up clashing and having different ideas

Like for example, you were both info dumping about the brand new live actions Avatar the Last Air Bender and you both had drastically different thoughts

Lorenzo thought a lot of it was inaccurate but you were defending it with your life

But in the end, you both just shut up because you accidentally switch topics mid way

He loves asking you questions about niche topics so he doesn't have to research them himself

Likes listening to you talk while he eats

Sometimes he'll facetime you while he has dinner so he can listen to you talk

And sometimes he even calls you before bed so you can talk him to sleep :)

thank you for reading ! 🐍 :: masterlist!

[c-tepx]

I think out of everyone in the party chilchuck and laios would be the most miserable out of dungeon.

laios is obvious. he didn't have any solid dreams in life or a career path. he doesn't like interacting with overs and he loves monsters.

it's easy for him to fantasize about falin's future life but he doesn't talk about himself at all

look how young he was when he left home! and of all things to do he picked army - a no brainer decision, clear choice without the need to think for yourself

before being reunited with falin laios was truly miserable. because the only goal in his mind was "get more money". But when he started traveling with his sister not only it helped his mental state but also he found his niche.

and laios is a good party leader! finally, something for him. like falin and her magic, he has the dungeon. it's both the thing that laios like and something that pays money too - the whole "find a job you'll like and you'll never work" nonsense.

chilchuck on the outside seems.. not that interested. and he'll probably will find something to occupy himself with - maybe the union thing or opening a shop. but. lockpicking IS his hobby.

yeah, I bet chilchuck is meticulous about it because the whole party quite literally can die if he's not careful enough. but it's clear that he enjoys it too.

and the thing is... i bet it's miserable to be surrounded by people with all of his heightened senses. sure dungeon has it's monsters but still it's not as loud as a city full of tall men

I'm sure both of them would be fine, at least at this point in life - they have family and friends and well, you can always pick another hobby and a new interest.

but

it's like they were cherry picked for their roles and they fit it's so so perfect it's hard to even imagine them in different scenarios

[radioactive-mouse]

I get how tempting it is to just label flower husbands as “toxic” and move on, but god they can be SO much more nuanced than that, it makes me insane.

I think something that goes largely unexplored by the fanbase is c!scott’s obsession with composure. he’s clearly very proud of his ability to stay calm under pressure and be two steps ahead of everyone else— not that he’s afraid to rely on people, him and cleo very clearly have that unshakable trust between them, but i think that sometimes he gets so wrapped up in being steady, reliable scott, never hot-headed, never spiteful, or clumsy, or nervous.

and jimmy is a very real threat to that composure, more often than not.

and i think the way their relationship functions in 3rd life, while steady at the time, definitely set them up for complications down the road. scott, for as fiercely dedicated to his allies as he is, kind of tends to handle jimmy with kid gloves for the earlier parts of their relationship. he’s not very good at the death game, but that’s fine, he doesn’t need to be, scott will take care of it— he’ll get them set up with armor and potions and walls and jimmy can do… whatever it is he does when scott’s not around. mostly getting swindled, if he had to guess. but it’s fine, because scott can be steady, level headed, clever—

i do think most of scott’s ribbing about how he doesn’t know why he lets jimmy do anything when all he does is get scammed half the time is genuinely all in good fun, (jimmy is more than happy to play the fool most of the time, if only to bring a little bit of levity to things) it is super symptomatic of the way scott actually thinks about him. i don’t believe he thinks jimmy is actually stupid or anything, but i do think scott doesn’t quite trust him to get anything done. scott would never in a million years let himself lean on jimmy for any kind of support, because in scott’s mind jimmy’s job is to be bright and brash and only listen to that heart of his that’s too big for his body, too big for this game.

and i think too often we forget just how much losing jimmy destroyed scott in 3rd life. you ever think about how wrecked he must’ve been to place 10th despite being a consistent finalist in every other season? do you think about how all he has left is the burning, white-hot urge for revenge from the second jimmy’s body hit the ground?

i don’t think scott ever wants to feel like that again. i don’t think scott wants anyone to see him like that again. i think scott tries very hard to love jimmy from a safe distance where no one gets hurt. and i think that distance fucking kills jimmy, metaphorically speaking.

(also, tangentially related, i think there’s something to be said for how instantly tango goes “we only have a short time together, your curse will probably get us killed, and that’s fine.” and how jealous scott gets of that sentiment. as far as scott is concerned, tango and jimmy are of the same niche— they feel everything, loudly, even if it causes problems and even if it gets messy. and god that just makes his blood boil.)

i’m just so… entranced with the way scott carries himself with so much confidence and it’s not like he’s insecure, he really believes that, he’s a strong player and he knows that, but also revealing any emotion he deems to be “ugly” or “messy” makes him start to completely unravel. the driving force behind him is always love and loyalty and protectiveness over the people he cares about, but he’s juggling that with being dead set on never getting so close that losing them will completely ruin him.

anyway, this is getting away from me, but i think a lot of jimmy’s frustration with scott comes from the fact that he refuses to let their relationship go both ways, and i think by the time of the infamous “say i love you back” scene in limlife he’s just exhausted with throwing himself repeatedly against scott’s brick wall of perfectionism. that, and the whole Situation between them in double life, which i could honestly make it’s own post but good god i need to STOP typing or this will go on forever. forgive my completely disorganized ramblings i just have been trying to get all this down on paper FOREVER

[antigonick]

I love when format fits story and I love how narratively resonant HtN's incredible narration devices are—the second person, first appearing to be an imperative anchor to the world while Harrow is unmoored, a forceful narrator that becomes a necessity voice-wise to "guide" Harrow through her own narrative arc—often hinted and suddenly revealed to be Gideon; and when Gideon swings back to the first person, her chapters become love letters to Harrow—confessions of care, protection, anger, heat and longing; and all of this just serves to highlight and embody not only the distance that separates them and Harrow's absence, but the motif of extreme asceticism and self-flagellation FOR the sake of her love (for Gideon, not for the Body—the Body is erotic projection, Gideon is real love) that Harrow has already put in place from the start of GtN. Keep Gideon on the sidelines to protect her: don't communicate, don't unveil yourself. Keep Gideon in a niche in your own brain and begin "the work": don't communicate, and literally (echoing Gideon's narration) write yourself letters you're disciplined enough to not ever open. Hear Gideon is in your body—leave your body for her, and don't join her there lest the symbiosis devours you both. Keep your eyes averted—don't even touch the words of love. The fear of realness, of touch, of grasping the beloved at last and make it real in a world where death is more familiar than life is much more intense than the fear of obliteration as sacrifice for the other. "You were so afraid someone might touch you", from a girl who unspools her bones from her own body without blinking, lampshades all of Harrow's efforts to never reach for or be reached by Gideon while standing tall as a barrier to Gideon's death (potentially because she thinks of herself as an embodiment of death, too). After all, her only clear, expressive moment of joyful, unashamed connection with Gideon is that scene in Canaan House's atrium: "Did you behold me, Griddle?", as she has just become the literal and successful wall protecting Gideon from imminent death, and the literal death of Cytherea's construct: fulfilling what she is unafraid to be (untouched but connecting), and incidentally subverting and conflating the roles of necromancer to her cavalier—putting herself at risk in the middle of battle, ensuring her cavalier's survival, deconstructing their assigned roles to attain perfect resonance.

(And yeah there's probably a "little death" joke in there we could have made but FOCUS Gideon)

[thevoidstaredback]

How To Balance Your Daytime and Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have

Danny didn't know how he was doing it, but all the acting classes he never took were really paying off!

'Fake 'til you make it and hope you don't get caught' is a great motto to live by and he is prepared to defend this hill with what's left of his living life.

By some miracle, Alfred hadn't kicked him from the haunt, instead giving him all the same permissions Dick, Barbra, and Tim have! He was warned about going to the Bat Cave for any reason, though. Not like Danny had any plans to enter Bruce Wayne's haunt. No thank you.

Speaking of Mister Wayne, Danny was so ready to be away from him. Just knowing they're in the same building was setting him off!

Bruce Wayne, on TV and in the eye of the public, was a man grieving his lost son. He's a playboy and a philanthropist who couldn't tell you left from right, but he's also Gotham's White Knight; her prince. A family man who's lost yet another of his family and doing his best to move past it.

In private, at least as far as Danny could tell, Bruce Wayne is a pessimist and a narcissist. He's a man desperate for a family, but unwilling to let anyone close, pushing everyone away and keeping them no closer than arm's length. He's stuck in the past, unable to move past mourning his parents and now his son. He is much more Batman than Bruce Wayne and it's only a matter of time before the two worlds collide disastrously.

Danny wouldn't know, but he can make a pretty educated guess on the matter.

Throughout the entire dinner, Danny had been observing everyone. He analyzed how they interacted, how they held themselves, how they ate, and how they reacted to his and Mister Wayne's conversation.

His main focus is Dick. Dick will always be his top priority, but Tim had quickly been added to the list. Barbra wasn't nearly as high on his list of people to take care of, but he was going to offer his help should she ever need it.

Especially because she snuck a nervous glance at Miaster Wayne when he mentioned Oracle.

He hadn't intended to stay the night in Gotham, but he wasn't going to turn away the opportunity, especially because Alfred was very insistent that Danny and Dick stay. And Tim and Barbra asking them on patrol? They both had pretty good puppy eyes, but Danny wasn't the one who made the mistake of looking at them.

Regardless, Nightwing being in Gotham for the night presented the Bludhaven Goons the perfect opportunity to commit crimes unpunished for the night. It wouldn't take long for the news to get out. Danny had fully planned on Phantom being there, flying over to work in Bludhaven before returning at his normal time, but Tim and Barbra convincing him to be on comms presented a bit of a hiccup in his plans.

Dick finding out about Phantom was inevitable. In fact, he didn't plan on hiding Phantom, but the times where Dick or Nightwing were awake never matched up when Phantom was out.

Okay, so maybe he was hiding a little bit.

Tim and Barbra finding out, on the other hand, was a bit of a problem.

Phantom was a hero in Amity Park, Illinois for only a little while before disappearing. He wasn't hugely known outside of the town or ghost hunters, not doing anything to warrant attention from the Big Leagues. (Nothing they knew of, anyway) It was unlikely that anyone outside of the niche group even knew his name, let alone what he looked like or how he worked.

Still. Tim figured out Nightwing's and Batman's identities, probably Batgirl's, too. And Batman is notoriously known for his paranoia and for somehow knowing everything and having a way to counteract it.

Mister Wayne is already looking into Danny, likely having already stumbled across the Missing Person report that wouldn't have gone through, ending up at a dead end. He'd easily put Danny and Phantom together as related somehow, if not being the same person.

Tim, similar to Mister Wayne, needs to know everything. The difference is that Tim's need to know is obviously a trauma response. Something that Danny would like to help him with, but that's beside the current point. It'll take maybe five minutes for Tim to find out everything he can about Phantom and Danny, especially now that he knows that Danny used to be a vigilante.

Sure, Danny could try and hide Phantom from them, but being on comms with them for the night would alert them to even the smallest fight. He's not a loud person, much preferring espionage and stealth over physical altercations, no matter how much his track record disagreed.

So, he's now presented with a choice. Introduce them to Phantom despite telling them that he was done being a hero, or leave Bludhaven to the mercy of her underworld for the night.

He was never quite able to leave stuff alone.

Sam had called him a tutelar.

Whatever that means.

Why couldn't these decisions be easier? Can't he ever have a Cinderella option? Why can't he ever just not decide?

Part 14 Part 16

[kromato]

Hey what's up it's me with a special interest in weapons and I wanted to share my thoughts about Nikto's machete (no that's not an innuendo for once)

Had a bit of a solo-mandela effect going on because for the longest time I thought it had a modified 'billhook'-like feature on the back of it for whatever reason (but smaller than what would be considered a traditional billhook, more like a hoof pick blade).

I kind of enjoy still HCing that it does have it because a) it looks kind of cool and b) a terrifying thought to think this man whips this giant intimidating blade out, flips it deftly in his hand to the hook side, just to sink it into flesh and yank people back in when they try to run. Also it allows me to think about a scenario where, resident karambit knife enthusiast Sebastian Krueger, can teach proper blade hooking techniques to our beloved plural man. Anyway back to the knife - It's like a cross between a coup coup and a bola? But has a cool flare like a Tapanga for his newer mwiii model. Also like a vintage Senegalese french machete, which were known for their high quality (might technically be the same thing as the coup coup, just with the locale specified I think, both entrenchment machetes). That curve also kind of reminds me of parangs but it's not particularly drop-pointed.

I HC Nikto as a very brutally pragmatic but particular man, so it doesn't feel too far off to think that he went out of his way to acquire something niche like that. Some kind of custom-made machete that fits his needs just right. The length of it, as well as the curved, ergonomic grip makes me think he's gotten it to do some serious chopping, so it's also probably heavy and weighted forward to make that easier when swinging. I don't see him as a flashy fighter personally, and though maybe it was a stylistic choice for the game devs/artists, I think it's a neat feature that speaks to his character. I do think it's made of hefty steel; weight is important in chopping knives, and though steel rusts, it's sturdy compared to a lot of other metals. Not to mention - I feel like oiling and caring for his weapons, machete included, would be a ritual source of peace for his sometimes loud and chaotic mind. Grounding when he can feel the weight and texture where his nerves aren't completely damaged, smell the oil, have tangible proof that it's reality when he sees the maintained blade even after he becomes unmoored.

Now this is just me WAY reading too much into it, but it gives me a little giggle - The hole at the end of the handle is for a wrist lanyard, so you can loop a piece of paracord rope to secure it around your hand. It's an important safety feature just in case the machete goes flying out of your hand while chopping, lest it hit people in your vicinity (accidentally...?). In his 19 model, he doesn't have the paracord rope attached; Nikto says "Fuck your safety" but also huge ego of "I would never accidentally fling my knife!!"

Could also be because it gets caught on stuff if it dangles off his hip though - he's got one on his newer model where he wears the blade on his shoulder, which looks like a place where it's less likely to snag on things. Could also be because he's been increasingly featured in larger factions, so he works with more people and was asked to have one on hand maybe?? I don't know. In either case the knot in the middle of the rope makes it too small for his wrist which could also be read as a passive-aggressive "Here's the fucking safety rope it's on there ALRIGHT" and yet he's also made it nonfunctional for its intended purpose lmao Okay that's all byeeee

[spitdrunken]

THIS IS INCREDIBLY SELF-INDULGENT BUT. MY BLOG!

notes: power imbalance, sexual harrassment, murder mentions.

rotating a thought in my head where 'you' are an increasingly popular erotica writer from the pride ring. with writing, you've hit a bit of a niche, as a lot of the big porn producers (VoxTech's subsidiaries) are not exactly known for their riveting dialogue or personalities. no one's there for anything more than that, but there are demons who do want a bit more 'meat', so to say, with nowhere else turn. that is where you come in!

it's not enough to make a steady living off of, not even when you start taking incredibly specific commissions, but it's never been more of a hobby anyway. you are completely anonymous online, keeping care to use throwaway emails and accounts for everything. still, voxtech's products are utterly inescapable: it's either using them, or using nothing at all. (and those rumours about their boss vox having complete control over his technology, even after selling, has to be a rumour... you hope.)

meanwhile, as your penname continues to grow more and more recognizable, it falls in the vees' meeting room. valentino's immediate suggestion is just to kill you. people in the comments keep comparing his dialogue to yours. what the fuck is that about? who the hell watches porn for the DIALOGUE in the first place?

velvette, while shrugging her shoulders, only adds that their new releases tend to go trending, prior to release. fucking far from the top of that list, but still. trending is trending.

vox, sighing internally, plasters a smile on his face. there's really no need to kill new up and coming talent, val. we should suggest them to work for us instead. and if they don't... we can simply prevent them from working. they'll make up their mind, then.

you return to your laptop to an utterly inescapable pop-up describing the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to work at voxtech! it's a whole wall of text, describing your pay (higher than you would have expected), where you will be living (in one of the appartment buildings owned by voxtech), and when to head to their main office. there is no word on denying the contract, an utter impossibility, it seems. not that you'd dare. vox's and the radio demon's showdown was the talk of the ring for days, and apparantly, all that rancour was the source of alastor denying a contract of his own. that really is more shit than you can handle in your undead life now. so, you take the job.

as your stories are starting to get heavily promoted, velvette absolutely insists that you add in at least a couple of looong clothing descriptions, based on her tastes. she's such an overwhelming, pushy presence, that it's hard for you to say no. she goes on about how, if it gets popular enough, people might be interested in somewhat similar outfits. probably not, though, let's be honest with ourselves. she makes you model them, all the while telling you that you really wouldn't be allowed to breathe in the direction of her studio otherwise. when you ask her why you absolutely have the one modelling, she just rolls her eyes. you based large parts of their appearances after you, didn't you? might as well make you look the part.

valentino is one of the worst parts of the job. compared to everyone else, he hardly pesters you, but he's still a terrifying presence. he'll give you 'suggestions' and make you steer your work in certain directions, getting too close and blowing smoke into your face. he gives a graphic description of how he jacked off to one of your stories, just to see your response. (this is a lie: why would he jack off if he can just call some stupid whore over to do it for him? also, he doesn't read.)

if a part of one of your stories ever gets a 'porno adaptation', he's having you play the part of the director, and has you sit in during the entirety of the viewing. you can tell he takes great pleasure out of any of your discomfort, or any of your fumbling- until it's too sloppy, and then he gets mad, of course, and you end up leaving the room with shaky legs.

vox seems to be the nicest one out of the three of them. really, he's only ever been courteous to you. but you've seen him flip his lid during the aforementioned 'radio demon fiasco', which you have been wise enough to never mention, so you still walk on eggshells around him. he can also get pretty pushy about deadlines, so you're not taking any chances.

he insists on having semi-regular meetings with you about the sales figures of your most recent works, wherein you also have to describe your process on other projects and pitch new ideas. frankly, you wish these meetings could be an email! but even when you tried to broach the subject, telling him that, surely, the company leader's time is much more important than this?

he simply brushed you off, telling you that he can decide for himself who and what to spend his time on, thank you very much. now, please continue. he'll inform you of the latest kinks and dynamics that have been most popular, though with some peculiar additions as well. you swear that, sometimes, the main character really does seem to resemble yourself in those suggestions, and the love interest a member of the vees...? you're certain you're just imagining it.