#technically they're Care Cousins but you get the idea

[yo-snap]

Who loves flowers in the sun? Hello Kitty and friends, as Care Bears!

Who would like cute keychains of them?

Find them on my Etsy!

[melled42]

Idk if this is a huge request or not, but could you explain more about Bell? (The shitten in your au)

I would be thankful, take care.

Yeah, ive done like... 3 pieces of her max but she gets SO many asks lol. the story isn't really ready for her yet, and i'd like to finish what im working on before i do more with her, but i'll give the basic rundown.

she LITTERALY started as a joke baby post but she got so much interaction i said i'd expand on her design and now she seems to just have a following of simps (oops, like lamb like daughter)

most of the old ideas for ewen and nari with her are out of date now on the art, but heres a bunch of plot and some unposted sketches under cut

Nari and Ewen are married and leading the cult still. all the siblings have kids, grandkids and even great grandkids (excluding shamura). Its only after they decide having a child is someone for them to love and raise, not someone who they're forcing the cycle of trauma on that they have Bell. And they adore her. While growing up, one by one, the former bishops, all her aunts, uncles, and shamura decided it was time to peacefully end their long lives. So she sees death as a good thing, the satisfying end to a long life story. So when Ewen and Narinder are ready to die together, even though they say she doesn't have to, she takes on the crown and ends if for them with a last "i love you" between them. She runs the cult now which is more themed around their shared neck wound "rings" and their relationship than just the lamb. She's called "the black sheep" by her followers (or queen if they're kinky, princess when shes younger). she wields the crown as a pair of horns and a sythe, sine the cult of the black rings also referenced Ewen's large black horns and she keeps up the theme.

Baal and Aym are her "brothers" (more of her body guards and technically her cousins but she refuses to call them anything else) and her body guards, staying after their master's death. They've known her since she was a baby and still treat her as one sometimes. She's VERY protective over them, but also will bully them sometimes, like kicking their asses when training and saying they're just going easy on her like when she was a kid, knowing full well she's overpowered by the crown.

Because shes such an oddity, the mystic seller assigned one of their followers to keep an eye on her and, much like her "ba ba" she found the overpowered demigod shes now obsessed with. With some help from Ewen before they passed, they were able to translate their glyphs. Now that helper follows her around disguised as a poor imitation of a regular mortal to better understand her and the mortal realm. Or at least thats what she convinced them to do since she wants them around <3 probably not to their masters liking lol. I haven't decided on a name yet. Bell eventually give them the purple crown (they/it)

Before they left, Narinder was trying to reawaken the crowns, whether for the memory of his siblings, or that the cult was growing too large to be centered on the red crown. They're not very powerful right now and Bell is the leader of the others, more like a babysitter.

The blue crown is with Kalliope (kalli for short) (she/her), a distant relative of Kallamar's who had to fight, both physically and socially, with all her other of age relatives to get the chance, since Kallamar's polycule made a LOT of kids and grand kids. She's kind of bitchy about it and whines about everyone not respecting her or how hard she worked. shes a flamboyant cuttlefish and trans femme. also the crown is worn like an earring. Bell has little tolerance for her and they have a lot of bitchy girl fights.

The green crown is with isop (a kinda combo of isopod and aesop) (he/him) who is a rubber ducky isopod. he's Leshy's great great grandkid, and really only god the crown because no one else on the peaceful forest farm leshy put together in his later years really wanted it and figured it meant free babysitting. he's pretty young and small with a fascination for chaos and violence that only little kids without developed social perception can have, though he more watches at this point. The others tend to carry him or he rolls around in a little ball. The crown is worn like glasses.

The orange crown is with Mycelia (lia for short) (they/them plural) who is a homunculus mushroomo made through experimentation by Heket and Sozo before they died. they're the only one who is actually older than Bell. They're undying because they're a hive mind of all the mushroomo, who have been progressively growing. They can see everything the others see, can spout new bodies when needed and even feed on their own dead bodies. Bell sometimes just kills them when they're frustrated with them or other things. They'd be a threat but they're very monotone and emotionless about pretty much everything and don't care. They've worked with the red crown just because death is a natural boon to fungus and keeps them alive. The orange crown is worn as a necklace.

Heres some sketches since I haven't been able to get the designs to my liking but people keep asking so :T

[teecupangel]

Ok so I have had an idea. This is a bit of reference to the ratatouille au continuation of Desmond being able to hear us in the animus servers. So picture this, after a while of us talking to Desmond checking up on him and the others. Someone the group chat somehow makes a mod that gives the players (us) avatars to pilot in the servers for a short amount of time, but instead of the bodies being human they're just random animals from mise to crows to hawks and eagles. So here kinda how I think this would go. So all the ancestors are asleep or resting in the servers, meanwhile the person who made the mod adds it into the server and there's a bit of commotion as the person tells everyone else, and so the players get to work making the avatars. Then morning comes around, Desmond and the others wake up and see this excessive about of rodents just gathered around everyone. After a moment of panic and shock for our dear assassins and templars they come to find out that now the voices "inside" Desmond's head are now here ready to try And cause some havack.

Oh don't forget to drink water and eat something l. I hope you have a great day/night

Thank you, nonny! I hope you're having a great day/night too! (And yeah, I'll be eating my dinner after this hahahaha) The Ratatouille AU where the ancestors can hear Desmond while ‘playing’, its more unhinged cousin, the Ratatouille AU where Desmond can hear us and the outside POV of Al Mualim thinking the Apple broke Altaïr and the sidestory of Altaïr accidentally connecting with Ezio while looking for Desmond

Here’s the horror-esque version of this AU for this interested in that kind of setup.

.

Alright, confession time. When I was writing for the voices, my brain immediately to the ‘chat windows’ that popped up in Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint and in The Perks Of Being An S Class Heroine.

Then I thought, you know what would be funny? If it was like an actual chatbox with our preferred avatar kinda like this:

To make this stranger, all the avatar are like stock photos of animals and plants. This way, when their avatar finally comes to form, Desmond will be surrounded by various animals.

What happens to the ones who chose plant avatars?

My initial idea was that they would be floating plants like a leaf or a flower just floating in the air.

But then I realized…

We’re crazy enough to band together and create a ‘strange’ unique flower crown to put on Desmond’s head.

The ones that transformed into animals would go “That’s not fair! Why do you guys get to be that close to Desmond?!”

“Plant ftw, bitches!!!” A dandelion of all things would shout out, accidentally blowing itself up and floating away from Desmond, “Fuck!”

A second passed and the dandelion glitches out of existence.

Only to glitch back into the (technically floating) flower crown on Desmond’s head.

“Hey, guys, did you know it cost 1000 Helix to respawn? Fucking Ubi████.”

For those who don’t care about Ubisoft’s monetization scams (as you should), 1000 Helix is more or less $10 and they don’t sell 1000 Helix, they sell the small pack for $9.99 and it gives 1050 Helix. For reference, AC Valhalla’s complete sets (full armor + 2 weapons + mount and raven skin) usually cost around 1500 Helix.

So yeah… even though the ‘players’ have spawned in Desmond’s world, they are still haunted by monetization. (This does mean Desmond has gotten himself an immortal army of plants and animals)

[bookwyrminspiration]

Thoughts on Sophie’s love interests/their relation to her?

Okay I'm gonna try and cover a breadth, but let me know if I missed one! (this got long)

Sokeefe: Spoke about it more here, general idea is I think Keefe's become stagnant and is constantly inhibiting the plot/Sophie to an aggravating degree. He's unhealthily obsessed with her + praises her, yet is constantly meddling/steamrolling in a way I don't enjoy. I think he needs a life outside her and to actually experience consequences--Sophie should hate him for a while. As a treat. Sokeefe's execution was too quick for my tastes, but is still salvageable.

Sophitz: I'm biased; I love Fitz. He's shown remorse and growth, he spent his childhood looking for her while she spent hers wishing for someone like her. Sophie, without knowing or trying, completely annihilated all the pedestals Fitz stood on. Manifested younger, transmits farther, blocks better, etc. She's unwillingly everything he wanted to be. There's this tension, an undertone of subconscious jealousy to it all. Then the matchmaking makes it painfully clear what different worlds they come from, but it's gloriously frustrating because it didn't have to end like that, yet it was always going to, you know? They could've talked, they could've waited--but they were giddy and rushed in too soon (they never would've waited) and now they're further apart than ever. Really really hoping to see them re-find each other and establish something true and strong, non-romantically

Sodex: Sophie feels weird about it because they're technically cousins, so we're not starting strong (if Sophie didn't care, neither would I, but that's a separate thing). Furthermore, Dex fell hard for the first person in the world to not be a bigoted ass to him. Very low bar, very sweet and innocent, but entirely doomed to fail from day one. The crush was one-sided and built on nothing, the friendship forming later based on actual interactions and getting to know each other, which I think is a more compelling and sensible direction for the two of them. Dex is quick, stubborn, petty, and loyal. Big fan of what they've got now.

Sophiana: The pettiness of the first book, the push and shove. The nudge from Alden, the betrayal. Sophie consumed Biana's family's existence before she could walk, Biana always left out wanting until suddenly she was There. This thing she'd been excluded from made flesh to hate. A ratty, weird antithesis to Biana's princess reputation. The bridging of that gap and the sincerity they develop is beautiful. The ways Sophie opens Biana's eyes and Biana fights in turn to be there for her. Hoping we get more from them in-depth in the future

Solinh: Linh's resilient, caring, has spent a lifetime being an unwanted danger afraid of herself and hasn't had the time to find herself outside of survival. Sophie revolutionized Linh's world, enabled her to find the space she needed to grow and breathe easier. She's scary powerful, determined, and joyful--all of which Sophie would benefit from in turn. They could go on a journey of self-discovery and building confidence together, though right now their one-on-one scenes are a little lacking

Sopharella: Lot of layers to these two. One of her first friends, but despite that was one of the last Sophie actually got to know. Marella wanted to join and blamed Sophie for leaving her, decided it wasn't for her, then was dragged into it all anyway. They've never been super close, but are still tied together in ways they don't understand (Caprise's relationship to the Neverseen). Neither of them want to be in the situation they're in, and yet. They're in a sort of truce, but it doesn't seem either of them are doing anything to move beyond that

Hekster: Ah, rivals to lovers. Stina's unstable superiority, distancing herself from them in hopes no one remembers hey, weren't your parents...? The immaturity of "you laughed at me. you didn't even know me but you took his side" (paraphrased, Lodestar). The "We good, Foster?" Lot of hostility, but a lot of growth on Stina's part in this one (said because like 90% of Sophie's hostility is in reaction). Solid up until Stellarlune. However, I find the imbalance of that hostility to detract from the rivalry's appeal; if it was genuinely mutual instead of Stina being a bully and Sophie defending herself, I'd be more into it.

Sotam: Adore Tam. The defiance, the stubbornness, the way he'd rather fuck off and yet he's become part of this group almost against his will. The quiet burden he's given himself his whole life, the fear and responsibility. The way he'd choose Linh over the world. He's indebted to Sophie for saving Linh, for getting them out and getting her to an environment where she could connect and build her confidence. He's saved her in turn. They've got a sort of silently orbiting each other thing going on. I personally find their backgrounds (as Others), defiance, and humor to best serve a strong platonic bond.

Lopster: I don't even need to explain myself 100/10 no notes

[quitealotofsodapop]

I can imagine in slow boiled stone egg AU Jiuweihuli is more upset with Macaque than she is with Wukong because 1) she expected him to be more professional 2) he could have injured the baby/induced a miscarriage on Wukong and 3) he's technically wedlocked Wukong

referencing my idea for Jiuweihuli/The Nine-Tailed Vixen in the LMK verses.

Oh yesss

Even though the vixen doesn't care for Wukong on a good day (he did break her kit's heart and bonked her on the head with the staff), her attitude flips immediately when she hears about the Egg.

Since she sees a lot of herself in Macaque (a creative demon flung from their place in the Heavens), she immediately goes Beast Mode on him when the news gets to her about the Stone Egg (most likely recounted by the twins). For her perspective, her understudy is inacting betrayals on Wukong that she felt many centuries ago.

*(Macaque, trying to set up for "Shadow Play" when he meets the theatre owner)* Macaque: "Wait... Madam?" Jiuweihuli: "Oh Mihou! My darling! It's so good to see you!!" *(embraces Macaque in a big mom-hug before violently whacking him with her ornamental fan)* Jiuweihuli, speaking in-between hits: "YOU! IDIOT! CUB! Have I not taught you better? You left that poor boy pregnant and alone for how long?!" Macaque, trying to hide from her wrath + also has no idea whats going on: "Eh!? So he is pregnant??" Jiuweihuli, chasing Mac around the lobby like he's a cat: "Everyone knows it!! Sun Wukong himself confirmed it when he was captured by the Spider Queen! My twins were In. The. Room!!" Macaque, trying to defuse the situation: "Jin and Yin? How are the little rascals?" The Twins, blocking off the exits: "Just as mad as our Mum!" "Yeah!" Macaque: "shit."

Jiuweihuli is super insistent that Mac makes it up to Wukong, or at the very least be present in the Egg's life. To her, Mac abandoning his former mate in this state is tantamount to throwing him to the wolves. And she def tosses in a few extra whacks for fighting Wukong while he's in this state, even if Mac didn't know at the time.

Wukong is the most confused, cus he hasn't recieved a kind word from the Vixen in the entire time he's known her. Of course once he realises that the wider demon public assume his Stone egg is of Mac's doing (which SWK figures kinda is), he torments Mac by visiting "Grandmama" at the theatre with all the baby shower stuff PIF has already planned out. Jiuweihuli literally showers the expectant monkey with gifts and supplies for the baby, and has even more she gives to Mac to pass on to Wukong and/or MK (who the vixen suspects is another secret grand-kit of hers).

Macaque secretly keeps a pair of baby shoes the vixen gave him to pass on to Wukong throughout S2 and S3. They're coloured auburn and white like the feet of a baby fox.

It's not just the possible connection to her understudy that makes Jiuweihuli soften to the Monkey King. She remembers when she had the twins; Single, very limited support system, and going through a high-risk pregnancy with the father nowhere in sight. Even when she learns that the Stone Egg was essentially "spawned" by Wukong singularily, she'd still consider herself an honourary grandparent/aunt to the infant.

Also in the au timeline, she deliberately sends the twins + the accountant cousin to follow Macaque during S3 to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. They end up catching up to the Monkie Kid gang to warn them that Mac's very soul/the safety of the Egg is on the line after the twins witness the shadow monkey being tormented by LBD.

[happyk44]

What powers would you give to a child of Thanatos?

I've actually thought about this a lot! Naturally there's some overlap between Thanatos and Hades, but I like to expand it out a little bit to include some extras - such as Hypnos and Thanatos being twins, so some like dream travel would be neat because you just know Hypnos accidentally made Than pass out a lot in their childhood, and Thanatos being Erebus's son so I love the idea of them being granted some shadows/darkness powers as well.

Death touch: being able to kill someone with just a touch

Shadow-travel: bonus from grandpa and grandma

Being able to manipulate darkness/blend into darkness: another bonus from grandpa and grandma, as well as the fact that repears are invisible to the living

Seeing/touching ghosts: obvious, lol, shared with Hermes' kids as a pyschopomp thing

Seeing/sensing morality, aka how close someone is to death, as well as when death occurs

Being able to travel through dreams (albeit with some limitations and struggle)

WINGS!

Look

Maybe not all of them have wings, but some of them do because I would like some of them to be little angels of death like their dad, like maybe it's not a physical limb and it's more of a darkness, shadow thing, but look.

Wings

I would like them to have wings, please, thank you

Remove pain from a person dying - as part of Thanatos oft being considered a personification of peaceful death (compared to the Keres, who represent violent death)

Invoking a fear of death onto other people

Being able to know how or when you will die - as part of Thanatos being loosely associated with Atropos, the member of the Fates who cuts the threads of people's lives: this would be limited in people who are not close to death, as there's always a possiblity that things will change over time, your death will shift, etc, etc, etc

And then ofc there's stuff that, regarding the relationship to death and death-related powers, separates them from children of Hades. Than's kids cannot or have a hard time committing necromancy (bringing people back from the dead, as in skeletons from the ground or summoning ghosts from the underworld) - death is death, bringing things back from the dead, even if those things are still technically dead, doesn't really align. If they can do it, I imagine Hades' kids usually have to teach them how to, which is cute because I like to imagine Hades taught Thanatos similar things.

They cannot see living souls, and cannot manipulate any kind of soul, living or dead (eg. they can't force a ghost who is being a dick to stop being a dick, lol)

While I like to HC both kids as being aware and selfless regarding their own mortality, I think Than's kids have a harder time with the sense of caring for their own mortality because death is something they lowkey crave, in the same way many kids seek out their parents element, and what better way to achieve it then to die.

It's not suicidal, it's just a general passivity to life in general. Again, something Hades' kids and their various cousins help them work through, it usually improves as they grow older and gain more connections to life through other people, experiences, but ages three to seven are very iffy and Thanatos checks in often to make sure they know to not just stand there when a monster is charging at them, or to make one of Hades' kids babysit his little angel and teach them the meaning of "please for the love of all that is holy and unholy, don't stand in the middle of a busy road" and other such important things.

Similarly, it's harder for them to stop an impending death - say, if someone is being attacked and they could, theorectically, stop it from happening while remaining safe themselves, it requires far more mental effort to get into action. It's less that they don't care about the other person, and more that, like their father, they feel beholden to the timing of death. For this, they're not well liked by other demigods, something that Hades' kids intervene on frequently to take on that dislike/disapproval when they can so that their little underlings remain safe from other people's harm/judgment.

There's probably a lot of other potential as well, but I am. Stalling mentally lol, so here we are. I think a big importance, for me anyway, when thinking about Thanatos vs Hades and the related powers between their kids is to consider Thanatos' standing as a personification of death vs a god of death, as well as Hades being the king of the underworld and god of the dead. Hades's kids, theorectically, should have more power/capabilities related to the dead and afterlife, whereas Than's kids should be limited to death. Additionally, viewing Than as more of a reaper can create additional limitations for his kids, either in personality and how they perceive their powers or in the actual powers themselves.

Ofc, other people can have their own opinions and nothing is set in stone, lol. I might change up my opinion on some of this depending on whatever story is pulsating through my brain at any given time. I mean the wings things, lol, I've always been into it, but in the same breath my OC from the jealous!Percy story does not have wings because it slipped my mind as I was writing it 😂😂

Oh! Before I forget, with the Death Touch power - I'm sometimes flippy-floppy on this one depending on the story, but ultimately I think of this as requiring more effort than it would with a child of Hades, or the kids being more resilient to the idea of a single murderous touch because "it's not their time yet", because I interpret Thanatos being a personification god vs a god god as meaning he's more beholden to the timing of death versus being the full causation of it. He doesn't kill people himself, they just die because he's vibing around unchained, ya know?

Non-humans, like plants or monsters, may be easier because those aren't a type of death that Thanatos deals with, you know? He's people only, lol, but, yeah, typically I look at Than's kids as being like "well, yeah, I could kill this guy threatening my life by holding his wrist for a couple of minutes and putting in some efffort, but, eh, it's not his time and it's not like dad goes around stabbing people before their time, so i don't know..."

(Meanwhile the child of Hades that has adopted them is full on freaking out becuase dear gods, stop being so cavilier with your own life, you're not even doing it in a cool way like cliff diving")

[little-drop-of-water]

Chronicle Of A Concert

Chapter 1: The Concert Anouncement

First: Käärijä anounces he'll give a concert in Spain in September.

Me, in Mexico and with no plans to go: OMG! That's so cool! People from Spain and other countries nearby can go see him. Awesome! Good for them!

Then: I find out Tarja Turunen and Marko Heitala are also gonna be there, the day right before Käärijä.

Me, still not planning to go: Oh wow! That's gonna be great! I've read reviews that say they sound like Nightwish...more than Nightwish! I bet they're gonna play The Phantom of the Opera...

After that: I find out the venue is a medieval castle.

Me, having a meltdown: Holy sh*t, is castle! It's a castle! An actual castle! OMG, imagine listening to Phantom of the Opera in a castle...OMFG! Imagine listening to Paidaton Riehuja in a castle!

And finally: I find out the events are not in a festival, but in fact are separate individual concerts, which means more time for each artists.

Me: *Flights from Cancun to Spain*

Chapter 2: Talking To Everyone

At work:

Me: Hey, so...how do vacations work here? I know they're technically not paid, but how many days can I take?

Accountant: Depends on the date. When are you planning to take them?

Me: September.

Accountant: Oh, sure! Take a month for all I care!

To my parents:

Me: What would you say if...instead of going to my cousin's wedding, and spend my birthday at my cousin's wedding...I went to Spain for a couple concerts instead?

Dad: Go.

To my boss:

Me: I'd like to take some days off in September, is that ok?

Boss: Which part of September? Because I leave on the 15th.

Me: Oh, it would be during the first half.

Boss: Sure, how many days are you taking?

Me: I was thinking 2 weeks...

Boss: Why so much? Where are you going?

Me: I wanna go to Spain.

Boss: Oh, great! Sure! Make it worth it! But, I need you to be here on the 12 tops, so why don't you leave on late August, like the 28, 29 and come back between the 10-12? And you could work part time for a week so you don't go without a pay for all that time?

Me: You know what? That's actually a great idea.

Chapter 3: Planning

So...where the hell is Fuengirola and how do I get there? Ok, it's in the south, close to Marbella...damm, it's gonna be expensive.

The closest airports are Granada and Seville. The tickets to those are expensive. I'm gonna have to fly to Madrid.

How do I get from Madrid to Fuengirola? Oh, the closest city is Málaga...and it's only like 3 hrs from Madrid by train or bus...ok ok ok ok...so it's doable...

And how do I get from Málaga to Fuengirola?...oh, public transport, I see...great!

Hey, it's not actually as expensive as I thought at first.

Hmm...the direct flights from Cancun to Madrid are 9hrs long...pfff...I've done 11.

Chapter 4: The Story So Far...

I have the plane tickets, the concert tickers and I booked a hostal in Madrid downtown. I still need to book a place in Fuengirola tho...

I’m currently learning the Madrid Subway system and planning what to do for the time I'll be there (I’m going to a couple museums, there's a park I want to visit and a flea market that is a few blocks away from where I’m staying).

I already have my outfit for the concert (just need the shoes) and I’m thinking about making bracelets to give away.

[flo-nelja]

Arranged marriage for the meme!

Yay! I don't have a vivid imagination for this trope, so more than half are cases where the arranged marriage is totally canon.

Thorn/Ophélie (La passe-miroir/The Mirror Visitor)

It's very classic arranged marriage (for supernatural reasons) turns into resentment that stops them from realizing the good things about the other turns into alliance turns into unspoken love (painful for the reader) and maybe more? It fully worked on me. I especially loved how the description of Thorn (the book is Ophélie PoV) turn from uncharitable descriptions of an average looking man to very horny descriptions of an average looking man.

If you don't know the series, I can advertise it more. It's good French fantasy.

2. Louis/Caesar (Kimi o Shinasenai tame no Monogatari)

Yeah I have at least one m/m canon arranged marriage, is a dystopian future where romantic partners and reproduction partners are totally disconnected. It's a painful case of arranged marriage with love only on one side, it's a mess and they don't make it work. I enjoyed it though. ^^

3. Xavin/Karolina (Runaways)

In the category: arranged marriage to end a war. This one starts with love only one one side (it helps that one of them was raised to see this marriage as a positive thing and the other never heard about it), but they make it work. For a while. Because they're separated because you can't get peace that easily. Not the main romance for Karolina, but my fave.

4. David/Josiane (L'homme qui rit)

This one has a creepy age difference, but the relationship is fun despite it. They're capricious nobility of the kind "we could have loved each other so much, but the fact that our parents decided this for us is totally ruining the concept". I have hope for them in the future.

5. MIlly/Lloyd (Code Geass)

They are a case who absolutely don't fall in love with each other and break the engagement. I think their personalities go well together, though, and that they could have been good friends if not for the "ugh" reaction of being arranged engaged.

6. Khonnen/Leah (The Dybbuk)

Tragic version! Their parents engaged them to each other before they were born, and because of this they feel drawn to each other (it's a world with magic) and fall in love. Leah's uncle has forgotten about the promise and wants his niece to marry a rich man. The boy dabbles in dark magic to get her anyway and dies, but his ghost is possessing her. It's absolutely not healthy. Still shipping it.

7. Philip/Elizabeth (The Americans)

Communist spies in the eighties who are technically work colleagues but have a marriage licence and actual children. It's a slow burn romance and I love it.

8. Eponine/Marius (Les Misérables)

This one is absolutely not canon! I don't know why, I came across the idea of Marius thinking he has to marry Eponine out of gratefulness for Thénardier saving his father, either because he's naive, or because Thénardier is manipulating him, and I thought it had potential for being absolutely awful (complimentary)!

9. Ciel/Elizabeth (Black Butler)

You know, they're cute (they're cousins but I don't care). As of recently in the manga it's more complicated than this, but if anything it made me ship it even more.

10. Twilight/Yor (Spy x Family)

Both got married to have a cover for their (opposite sides) spy activities. Neither knows about it. It's written as cute anyway, on the arranged marriage that becomes real side, with their common affection for their (arranged) daughter a big part of the feelings. It works for me.

[doodle-do-wop]

Stina and Keefe HC inspired by this post!

Buckle in this is gonna be a long one

Stina can't fucking stand his ass

Someone save her he's so annoying

Why in the name of the prime sources does Sophie even like this boy he's so obnoxious

He's not even that funny literally why is she laughing at all his dumb jokes

She's in the trenches

This is her personal Exile

Stina can't fucking draw

Like at all

She can't draw

She can draw a horse! A really good horse!

But nothing else it's indistinguishable unless it's a horse

They're literally the same person in a different font

They're both empaths with self esteem issues, the hair(tm), down bad beyond down bad, extremely corny, actually touch starved as all hell, would crack a hole through the earth to reach their partner, self sacrificial morons, unnecessary sarcastic while bleeding out, sassy, detention occupants so frequently in detention once they both attended when they didn't even have detention

They're two cats in a burlap sack(Keefe's the orange one, Stina is the grumpy black cat that will actually kill him if left alone in a room with him)

The simping, did I mention the simping?

Keefe and Stina DONT get along (mostly just Stina) for bloody ages and Sophie and Dex (yes this is also a CopperMares post) wish for them to just grow up and be able to tolerate each other for more than five minutes (Stina lasted SEVEN minutes thank you very much) and the cousins immediately regretted that wish because they forgot how annoying their partners can be

The empath duo will do anything and everything in their power to flirt with/look hot in front of/tease/taint/smirk/smile/wink etc etc etc at their respective partners and it drives them crazy

Sophie and Dex have not know peace (to be fair look at who they're dating, it's a conscious choice)

Keefe might technically be older but despite his white boy attitude and his looks you'd think Stina was his older sister the way she will fully strangle him within an inch of his life and then yank him out of his shoes to buy him lunch

Empaths by genetics, siblings by torture

She still can't stand his ass but at this point that's just Stina's weird way of saying she cares for you (just look at Marella, Stina literally tackles the shit out of her despite Marella being about as tall as your average stepping stool but Stina would still lay down her life for her)

They hang out in the silliest way possible and it's trashing Cassius' house and getting ice cream (not always in that order)

Once they found one of Gisela's wallet cubes and they went to town buying supplies, food, clothes, random furniture (some of which may or may not have been shipped to the neutral territories, what are you a narc?), got their usual ice cream (Stina makes a face at Keefe's order but he swears when there's just the melted stuff at the bottom of the cup it's flavors mix really well) then they leap off to Candleshade and use some of their supplies to trash the house (again)

Cassius' big ass statue of himself has never seen a good day since the two have gotten along

They haven't hit all the floors yet but they will some day

It's a shame the Sencen's suck because they have pretty great taste in furniture and silverware

Sometimes they spray paint a big ass target and have a contest to see who can throw at Cassius statue on the bullseye and get it to stay on the wall (Ro is winning by a lot but Stina's telekinesis is getting really great)

Not an AU goes by where Stina hasn't somehow been stuck with Keefe and at this point I don't think there is

Keefe pretends like he can translate Stina's Stinaness the way Maruca can (ex. Stina telling Maruca she hates her and hopes she falls on her face and Maruca responding with "I love you too Stina") and he's almost never right

Stina 'commit to the bit' Heks has fruitlessly vetoed every Keefe Idea that's ever been brought to the table but guess who's the first person to jump on the bandwagon the second the plan falls into action

Sophie and Dex swap scoldings with each other before they go yell at their idiots for whatever big stupid thing of the month they've done now because otherwise the said idiots might be able to flirt their way out of most of the scolding part

Top 5 people who would sing Agony the way it was meant to be sang, dramatically, competitively, and over a waterfall on the forest with very dramatic very swoonable action

Keefe is princess coded while Stina is reluctant but roguishly handsome prince coded you cannot change my mind

Both would be Flynn Rider though (Keefe can also be Rapunzel though, Stina on the other hand could not)

There's probably so much more I'm forgetting but this is long enough for now

Anyway thanks for reading this all if you have and have a good one

@myfairkatiecat

[deke-rivers-1957]

Kissin Cousins Review

After Viva Las Vegas went over budget, Colonel Parker as the technical advisor pushed the panic button. The next immediate film had its budget slashed and everything was rushed just to make back any money lost. The production was very cheap despite a somewhat ambitious story of having Elvis play 2 characters.

Despite being made after Viva Las Vegas, Kissin Cousins came out first making for a very jarring experience if seen back to back. A lot of people HATE this movie because of the concept and cheap production, indicating that Colonel's plan didn't work as he expected. After all, if you only spend a grand total of a $1 million dollars on a movie, you only need $1,000,001 to make a profit. Does Kissin Cousins have some good parts to it or is it all bad and should never be mentioned again? Let's find out.

Kissin Cousins is a pleasant opening song. It's not something that blows you away but it's a nice little ditty with cute art. It makes me wonder why we never had an animated film as those were usually way cheaper than a regular movie. Yes animation in the 60s wasn't as big of an industry as it is now, but if Colonel wanted to value cheap production, animation would've been the way to go.

We get introduced to the conflict of the movie: The military wants a military base on the Tatums mountain land in the Smokey Mountains. The Tatums don't want to sell as they don't trust the government. As stereotypical as this sounds, this was a pretty common experience. The only issue I have with this element is that they want to show this as the Air Force, but everyone is dressed in Army uniforms. Josh starts off wearing a more accurate uniform but we quickly do away with that. A sign already that no one cared enough to make things accurate.

We also see very quickly that this movie is so cheap they can't even film b-roll footage of the real Appalachian Mountains. Instead we get Southern California mountains and Hollywood sets. As much as it sounds like a nitpick, the mountains are a mega important part of the movie. Depicting the real mountains would add more immersion into the story by showcasing how these people live. Smokey Mountain Boy as a song doesn't stand out on its own. It does sound lovely in the context of the movie. It sounds like the type of song a military man would sing. We get a dumb joke about mountaineers not knowing how to spell and the girls not knowing what Jodie looks like. If you look very closely we get another sign that the movie is cheap in the form of a faint yellow line in the middle of the screen. That's meant to be the filter that allows Elvis to play both Josh and Josh at once. More on that later.

We find out that Jodie actually isn't their brother. He's a cousin too and my whole world just blew up. This whole time I thought they were all siblings because he lived with them like he's their brother. There's Gold in the Mountains is bad. The lip-synching is non-existent. It's very apparent that neither Azalea or Selena's actress are actually singing. They sound nothing like they're speaking voices. I don't think this song was really necessary and could've been cut if it wasn't for a quota. Ma calls Jodie her nephew and man I want to know this man's story. There's so many ways you can go about this and show how this could significantly impact his character and his decisions.

Pappy is an amazing character. Arthur O'Connell really shows his range as he sounds nothing like Pop Kwimper from Follow That Dream. Despite being the same character of the government disdaining patriarch on paper, you really get the idea that this is a completely different person. Pappy and Pop are similar but are not the same. What I don't like is that his clothes are seen as dirty and full of holes. Jodie and the sisters don't have that problem so unless Pappy just got done wrestling some pigs, this is purely for laughing at dirty uncivilized Southerners. While it is unfortunate that some of them lived that way, this isn't the Tatums' situation.

Ma's an amazing character too and it only highlights my point that she wouldn't accept anyone in the family to be walking around in unkempt clothing. She would've immediately patched up any holes she found. You get the idea that she isn't someone to push around. She respects Pappy's authority but she also has her own authority. Ma is willing to flip Jodie right on his butt if he disrespects her despite Jodie easily being bigger than her. In real life, an average sized woman being able to flip over what I consider to be a 200 lb man would be super impressive. We clearly get the idea that Pappy loves it. He wants his wife to be a strong woman who doesn't take disrespect from anyone.

This whole scene insults Southerners by having them own a Confederate Flag in the house, eat possums and other stereotypical "white trash" food like this is a regular occasion. Like it's something they take pride in eating and wouldn't want to eat anything else. Note: people only eat that when there's nothing else available. It would only make sense if they were proud of Ma being able to make do with what little they had but again this isn't what they're going through. They have pigs so it makes no sense why they still eat possums outside of stereotyping.

We get a visual gag of the captain turning green. This is such a cheap special effect. It looks like they just shined a green light over his face like we're in a cartoon. So bizarre and only exists because "haha isn't mountain food so disgusting." Totally unnecessary especially with how long they drag the joke of no one knowing what an ICBM is. In real life, if this family was as ignorant as the movie makes them out to be, they would not survive.

One Boy, Two Little Girls is a very boring ballad. It adds nothing to the movie and is just filler. We already got a song with him singing to the sisters and learn nothing new. You can just cut to Josh talking to Azalea and Selena about how to convince Pappy. This whole interaction between Josh with Azalea and Selena is weird. We're supposed to think he digs both of them.

Catchin On Fast which is just as shallow. The song itself isn't bad, but in the context of the movie it comes out of nowhere. Josh just randomly picks Azalea over Selena. Yes we get the drama that Selena has to get married first, but outside of that there's no reason for him to pick Azalea. Yes it could be a matter of Josh preferring brunettes but it's never established to be the reason why he likes Azalea more. Admittedly I love that Selena isn't jealous of Azalea or mad that Josh picked her sister over her. In a different Elvis movie we know that would've been a conflict that lasted throughout the whole movie.

We get introduced to Midge and Jodie completely looks smitten. This is a completely different side of him. It's implied that he's had relations with more than one Kittyhawk woman but becomes such a different man around Midge. In that moment, none of the other women matter anymore. Midge is the only woman on his mind and you have to wonder what about her captures his attention. Maybe it's because she's not immediately throwing herself at him or seems interested in him at all. Just by this scene alone, Midge does not give a single care that he's staring at her. If anything she straights up ignores him after they're introduced.

Watching Azalea interact with the Kittyhawks when they give them their own bikinis is the only difference we get. Azalea actively stands up to them and puts them in their place. She doesn't tolerate their actions. Ma puts her foot down when she sees that this turned everything upside down and I can understand where she's coming from. If Azalea and Selena are disrespecting her and the Kittyhawks are causing nothing but trouble, of course she would be upset.

The reporter exposes their plan to get the mountain base and the plan is all coming apart when the general contacts the captain about going up to the mountain. The captain orders Midge to go to Ma and try to smooth things over. Despite this being the 60s, the captain treats Midge like any other subordinate. He's not overly harsh or lenient with her just because she's a woman. Now that's gender equality. She runs into Jodie and at first we think Jodie's going to act like a pig and a wolf. And he does act like that, but what makes this movie better than most is that he gets his comeuppance. Yes it's meant to be a source of comedy but given the 60s, Midge being allowed to push back against horny men is incredible. She grins and bears it when it's the other military men because a lot of them may outrank her and pushing back would be horrific. But since Jodie has no authority over her, she pushes back. In other movies Jodie would be a creep who escalates his advancements after every rejection. But he doesn't. He saw the look on Midge's face when she thought he got hurt. She doesn't actually hate him, she just hates how forward and physical he is.

Based on their social situations, you can clearly see how it influences these women's reactions to male attention. Midge is just so used to men seeing her for her body and nothing else that when in a situation where she can push back against that behavior she will do it, while the Kittyhawks hardly ever see men so any attention or interaction with men would be like giving kids candy after denying them that for so long. And whether he fully realizes it or not, Jodie has to acknowledge that Midge really isn't like other girls but her own person. So he changes his approach to serenading Midge with Tender Feeling. Easily the best song in the movie and actually adds depth to Jodie's character. Even though he's a cocky jock, this song actually matters by showing that he's capable of being more than that. It still fails but even when it fails the only thing on Jodie's mind isn't a notch on his bed post it's WEDDING BELLS. He had full choice of any Kittyhawk out there to marry. He could've married any one of them at any time. But he doesn't want to be with any of them. He wants Midge. You can make an argument that as soon as he saw Midge for the first time, he wanted to marry her. Unbelieveable how this side character in a cheap Elvis production actually has some type of character arc.

Meanwhile, Azalea tries to convince Ma about changing her mind. I know the movie wants to make us feel bad about it, but we don't have any reason to feel bad. I don't feel anything for this relationship. Outside of Josh being different than the other mountain men, there's no real reason for her to like him. I care more about Hezekiah missing Pappy and he's a dog.

So they go to find Pappy and all of the men except for the captain and Jodie get captured by the Kittyhawk women. For once an Elvis character doesn't like being appreciated by multiple women. I guess it's meant to show how Josh is more "civilized" than Jodie. We get another Joe Esposito appearance in this movie and he actually gets a line.

Ma actually gets a song lamenting the loss of her husband. Pappy, Won't You Please Come Home is actually a pretty appropriate song. It shows just how much she loves him. The vocals could be better but it doesn't have to be professional because within the context of the movie, Ma isn't a professional singer. Pitch doesn't matter when you're sad.

We find out Pappy got chased by a bear and got stuck in a tree. The wide shot of him being stuck in a tree is so bad. You can tell this is a stunt double since Arthur O'Connell is too old to be doing stuff like this. Even when you can see his face you can tell he's only dangling on a wire and it's not even clear how he's caught. I get we needed something to get Josh on the family's good side but they could've done this a bit better. You would think this would be when Josh and Jodie would have to work together to save Pappy, but I guess that would've just been too hard to film. Again if Jodie had a real character arc this would be the moment when he realizes "hey Josh just isn't doing this because he's told to. He genuinely cares about us. He acts like he's kin."

We get a good old fashioned hoedown and hi where did all these people come from? Up until now we've had the Tatums and the Kittyhawks as the only people who live on this mountain. So why is there a whole village of people here? It completely changes the Kittyhawk women's reason to exist. If you imply that there's literally no other man on this mountain outside of Jodie, then these women being boy crazy make perfect sense. Now that we know Jodie isn't the only young man, they just look like a stereotype that women are promiscuous.

Barefoot Ballad fits so well with Jodie's character but watch out foot phobic people because it's exactly as it says on the tin. The dancing however, isn't that great. It shows just how rushed this movie's production wise. I guess it could work in that in universe these aren't professionals but as a movie it could be better. This is where the song quota kicks in as we get yet another song in the span of not even five minutes. Once Is Enough is fine but it's still filler. The dancing is still bad as one of them actually falls down and it stayed in the final cut. Based on Pappy's little speech I would've thought he would start singing. Heck even the captain who would later play Grandpa Joe showed he could sing in Willy Wonka so it's not like we couldn't have had a Pappy song.

After all this time, Jodie finally gets a character moment where he warms up to Josh. While Jodie internally realizes that Josh was alright when he saved Pappy, this would've been the perfect moment to showcase that he's willing to compliment Josh. If only he had more of a role in the movie because what little we get shows a pretty engaging character arc. Midge coming around would've been a natural reason for him to warm up to city folk. I could make a whole post about how I would write his character since there's so much potential.

The Kittyhawk women actually play an important role by sending the general in circles. That's what makes this movie great. Everyone has a part to play even if they start off as a joke. Pappy gets in a drinking contest with the captain. I have to laugh that Jodie managed to snap Pappy's suspenders when Pappy tries to run away. It actually adds to Jodie's claim that he's the champion and therefore strongest man in the mountains. Ma makes it clear that they have to talk things over so Josh and Pappy try to make a deal over a game of checkers. Jodie actually tries to help Josh out by getting the captain sober. If only they took advantage of them looking alike and had Jodie disguise himself as Josh. Jodie would have to swallow his pride because he knows if this deal fails, he would lose Midge as she's a WAC.

It isn't until Josh comes up with a deal allowing Pappy to continue selling his moonshine without "revenoor" interference. They also get protection and $1000 a month for the land. The deal goes through and everyone ends up happy. The one thing I wish was better explained is how despite all these people being on the mountain, Pappy is somehow the leader. I think if we had so much as a line about how these people came from distant villages would be enough as it's not like the military intended on buying the entire mountain.

Kissin Cousins (Number 2) is a banger of a song and I really like Jodie's twang when he sings but wow the production is cheap. They don't even bother cropping the shot above where you can actually see Lance LeGault (Elvis' body double) in the background. This isn't the first nor only time either. Throughout the movie and during the song when they switch back and forth between Josh and Jodie, we can see his face by accident. Elizabeth Montgomery in Bewitched had to do something similar when she had to play Samantha and her identical cousin Serena. That episode came out in 1966 and managed to do a better job. A TV show somehow did the same concept better than an actual Hollywood produced film. It's so sad that production was rushed to the point of basic editing mistakes and mistakes in general are left in. Even the ending where the characters hold up "The End" signs feels like this is a cheap high school production instead of a Hollywood movie.

This movie has several problems. As I've said the production is cheap with songs that are nothing but filler and at times have noticeable mistakes, Josh is a very boring character with an uninteresting romance in Azalea, Jodie makes you wonder why they wanted Elvis to play two characters when one of them doesn't even do that much, and they outright insult Southerners by using very cliched stereotypes.

So why do I like this movie in spite of these problems? Because the story has enough good elements that you can actually fix the problems without having to completely change the movie. It's like a Clambake in that I would consider the highlights to be enough to cover the glaring errors in it. If this movie had a different production team or a better budget I would say this story is one of the better ones for an Elvis movie. Therefore I would give this movie a 7/10. This is a movie that best exemplifies how Colonel's interference directly hurt a movie that otherwise would've been great. I highly recommend watching it so you get the perspective of how poorly Hollywood thought of Southerners, yet still have the Tatum family feel like real people.

AN: Shout out to the discord besties for providing commentary about how the Tatum family showcased the bad light Hollywood painted the South in. Especially @grizelda71-blog. Your notes in particular helped me see both the good and the bad in this movie. Also shout out to @smokeymountainboy for your work as Jodie inspiring me to review this movie this month.

Tagging: @arrolyn1114, @thedaisymaisy, @that-hotdog, @peaceloveelvis, @imaginationlast, @fuzzymusic94, @helen06dreamer, @sfull12345, @briefpandatimemachine, @alittlemoreelvis, @lynettethemadscientist, @motht-eeth, @ash-omalley, @spooky-hazex, @teamnefarious, @blighted-star, @ab4eva, @oh-my-front-door, @father-of-2cats, @atleastpleasetelephone, @xanatenshi, @crazymadpassionatelove, @burnthheparaphilia, @aliengoth3 @stormie-ryan23, @yksuwyksud, @tacozebra051, @alienelvisobsession, @vintageoldsoul, @ohmygiddd, @lovininapinkcadillac, @stephthestallion, @mistyspresley, @bisexualwvtson, @ahundredlifetime, @karel-in-wonderland, @elvispresleywife, @georgefairbrother, @moonchild-daniella, @musiclover712, @worldofyns, @sillybookmarks, @g00d2balive, @leighpc, @generoustreemystic, @peskybedtime, @thetaoofzoe, @renegadewarrior, @vintagepresley, @tupelomiss, @myradiaz, @pinkcaddyconfessions, @kiankiwi, @presley72elvis, @delulubutidontcare, @januarypresley1969, @livelaughelvis, @hooked-on-elvis, @slayingjd, @ilivebecauseiamforced, @dusintv, @cattcb, @eapep, @jaqueline19997, @richardslady121, @iloveelvis2, @lett-them-eatt-cake, @if-i-can-dream-of-elvis, and @lookingforrainbows.

[robbie-roo]

somebody in a very long message asked me about skunks and mentioned a few other animals too so I'll do a quick post on skunks and see what I know about those other guys in later posts

also as a side note if you ever just want to chit chat about animals you can always message me or just tag me in your own posts I'm happy to have discussions as well as do these long lecture style posts :)

Skunks

cute little guys <3 I wanted a pet skunk and a pet raccoon as a kid (honestly I wanted a pet everything...) and the good news is you can technically have one! some states (17/50) will allow you to own a pet raccoon or a pet skunk but unless you are very knowledgeable in wildlife care or "exotic" pets I do not reccomend them they are not domesticated like dogs and cats are but can be tame (there's a difference)

anyways some skunk facts;

so their stinky spray is a pretty obvious skunk trait and like the messager mentioned many animals use scent as a way to communicate. pretty much all mammals have a scent gland located somewhere on their body- for many its the top of the head so they can rub pheromones off on trees or other critters to let animals know "hey this is mine" or "hey there handsome.... there's hot singles in your area"

they also mentioned possum and raccoons using scent- opossums are known for playing dead and will secrete stinky stuff to make their act more believable and raccoons? it's their urine and feces that make them stinky

some animals however use scent as a deterrent like skunks do

they are not the only animal that does this all mustelids do (that's the skink, ferret, stoat, etc. fam) and these critters are particularly stinky but don't have the spray adaptation that only skunks really have (as far as I've learned anyway)

both pet skunks and ferrets will often be surgically "de-scented" but usually still have a smell after (I mean... don't we all?)

skunks used to roll with this genus but recently made their own gang called Mephitis (literally means "stink") which has 12 species and includes skunks and "stink badgers" I've also seen some reports of 13 species but I'm not really sure off the top of my head which is true only 4 of them are "true skunks" though

skunks take their scent very seriously guys. some of them will directly aim for the eyes and others will do a little warning dance before spraying they can also adjust their sprays potency and angle and can also choose to spray from both or only one scent gland at a time

(spotted skunk- the dancers)

some can accurately spray 10 feet away but can reach up to 20 or more if they really wanted to soak you but then they have to reload for about 10 days before they can spray anything again

that odor can be smelled from 1.5 miles away! but don't worry 1/1000 humans can't smell it at all and their main predator owls also can't pick up the scent unfortunately for these birds they do still have eyes and a well aimed spray will still take them down

(also the chemical compound in their spray is flammable I have no idea who found that out and why but fun fact!)

if you ever get sprayed don't bother with tomato juice use hydrogen peroxide and baking soda to neutralize the compounds

anyways enough about stink

Skunks are omnivores and some will eat bees aiming for the actual bees over the honey like bears do (yes winny the pooh lied to you he wants that larva not necessarily the honey)

some skunks can be really social living in groups of around 10 and sometimes invite their neighbors to stay with them (there's a few cases of possums staying the night in their den) most of them ate relatively solitary but they aren't very territorial and will overlap sometimes

they are immune to snake venom! another trait that is somewhat similar to their cousins the badgers as they often eat snakes they can handle a lot of poison

alright that's what I know about skunks they're cute little guys but once again

DO. NOT. TOUCH. yes theyre stinky but they are also known to carry rabies if you see one out during the day do not approach it and call wildlife services if you are seriously worried

[wheeloffortune-design]

Hmmm ok so I’m from Perú here, but is not necessary for a Latino to have a Hispanic name, my family are immigrants so we have all kind of mash-ups. Like example:

Asian (first name) and second name is María xdd, all that kind of stuff

Or maybe a nickname could work too.

Example

Someone named Enrique can be referred as “Quique” , “Quico”, “Henry”, etc

So I just saw this, and you're totally right, but I'll take the opportunity to talk about how I name characters, if it's alright with you.

This ask refers to a post I made where I complained how hard it was to name your latino gay romantic lead when all the names in baby names lists are people from your family tree (and said family is probably gonna read the book and ask why you pick great uncle's name for your gay porn.)

I know I don't have to give them typically latin names. Myself, I'm named out of something my mom saw in a dream, so it would be pretty hypocritical.

But at some point in my writing process I decided that I would have to make my own representation myself, and vowed to make all my protagonists Chilean-Québécois. And for some diversity, then can be Chilean-Ontarians. And they're all gonna be queer, but that's a given.

I may be slightly exagerating, but you get the intention behind it.

So, parallelly, something our unconscious minds do, when given no information about a character, is to imagine the default. And, where I live, the default is white, male, cisgender, straight, abled, thin, etc. I thought I was spared from that, until I read a novel that only revealed 3/4 in that the protagonist was Black. I had to sit down and rethink about how I perceived the world.

It was certainly a choice from the author, and also the cover art, to not describe or show the protagonist as Black from the start. I'm intrigued with that choice, I think I know where that can come from, but I'm tempted to do the exact opposite. Our goals are the same- more diversity in litterature, I'm just going to take a more direct way, at the surprise of no one.

So, I write a book. Here's the public presented with a new character. Maybe the cover didn't show him, but I have control over the words used to describe him. With the same care I use to describe skin (té con leche), a certain type of hair (curled, thick, strong), a certain kind of body (round face, broad shouldered, strong arms of a baker, soft middle with the strong core of the hardworker). And I'll add in pieces of what I know- great eyebrows, amazing eyelashes, moles everywhere.

And I know the white normativity (is that the word? i should be sleeping, words are already in bed) is so strong that people can even keep imagining a white person despite all that. So I give them no choice. I will give my character a name that sounds latino, so they can't escape it. I will give him three first names and two surnames like any of us.

Now, we arrive at the more technical side of it. I'm on the babynamer lists, on typical latin names for boys, et oh dear. Number 1 was my father's name. Number 2 is my brother's. The followings are all cousins, uncles. I'm also putting a lot of them aside for future kids.

I think I'm gonna go with Mateo. It has all the qualities I look for in a protagonist name: simple, memorable, sounds spanish without having a letter like j that just gets butchered by other people, wouldn't sound weird in a romantic or smutty scene, none of my cousins have it. The sounds are nice, it's different enough from the other main character and pairs well together. Mateo and Darius.

(Darius has been named after the Persian emperor, because I want to write a typical LOTR fantasy but with gay romance, but also my skin crawled at the idea of ther another fantasy book set in medieval white europe. My first book is in ancient Egypt for a reason.)

I have a lot of things I think about when chosing the name of a character, I'll post about it some more later if it interests some people.

[the-paper-shredder]

Wick: Frostbite AU

So, after years of being on here (and my biggest interest getting some traction on here too) I'm finally doing a post on one of my AUs for Wick! Hooray!

Now you may be wondering, which one? Well, I'm introducing one I mentioned nearly 3 years ago, the Frostbite AU! As seen in the title, lol. Now the current version of it is slightly different from how I described it beforehand, so I'll start with that I guess.

In late 2014, Duncan along with Travis and Sam, do a ritual on the grounds of the Weaver property. It predictably wasn't done right, thus backfiring; they get put in an alternate timeline where they're in the winter of 1927, and the Weaver family never died. However, even with that, when the trio meets the family, everything just feels so wrong.

To put it in simpler terms: time travel and a cannibal cult. You heard that right. Anyway, time to go on with the characters.

Duncan: ➵ Full name is Duncan Wallace. ➵ 16 years old. ➵ Sam's his younger brother and they have a complicated, mostly negative relationship. ➵ Very secretive about why he's going to such great lengths (i.e. the ritual) just for knowledge on Wick/the Weaver family. But he did not expect to be sent to an alternate past. ➵ Looks calm on the outside but on the inside he's freaking out about being in 1927. This combined with his anger issues, stubbornness, and great ambition makes him a force to be reckoned with. ➵ Sees Travis more as a frenemy due to some stuff Travis did a month beforehand.

Travis: ➵ 15 years old. ➵ The ritual was technically his idea, but he didn't really mean it seriously. It just happened that Duncan took it seriously. ➵ Doesn't know what the fuck he's doing at all times. He's just trying to hide how anxious he is about being stuck in 1927 by continuing to act how he usually does, a.k.a. talkative and goofy. ➵ Still sees Duncan as a best friend. ➵ Didn't really know Sam until the ritual, so he's attempting to make friends with him (a.k.a. one of the few connections to normalcy he can find). ➵ Admittedly kinda terrified of the Weaver family lol.

Sam: ➵ Full name is Samuel Wallace. ➵ 14 years old. ➵ Duncan's younger brother. Once again, a complicated, mostly negative relationship. ➵ Only got dragged into this because he was wondering what the hell Duncan and Travis were doing on private property in the middle of the night and he's also interested in urban legends. ➵ Literally so pissed about being stuck in 1927 with no way out (pun unintended) and he's making it everyone's problem. ➵ A loner and rather quiet. When he actually opens up, he's sarcastic with an eccentric sense of humor, along with being idealistic and impatient.

John & Mary: ➵ In their early 40s. ➵ With Pastor McAlroy's disappearance, Mary has pretty much taken over the role of religious leader for the small town of Pine Creek. ➵ Mary is also known for giving people in need both shelter and food. ➵ Surprisingly enough, Mary is not totally neglectful of her children. However, she is 100% emotionally abusive and manipulative. Hope she dies ← is literally the writer. ➵ John has been emotionally shut down/repressed for over a decade, even before his time in WWI. ➵ Less active of a parent than Mary, but John still takes care of his children's needs nonetheless.

Benny: ➵ 17 years old. ➵ Practically Mary's right–hand man, trusting her completely even if it's mostly out of fear. ➵ Often helps around town due to his strength, his biggest acquaintances being the Edwards family. ➵ Worried mess who still continues to preach religious stuff both from the bible and what Mary tells him. His only escape from such an anxious life is napping whenever he gets the chance. ➵ Not particularly close with his siblings, but still cares for them. ➵ Towers over pretty much everyone, even his parents.

Tim & Tom: ➵ 14 years old. Tom is a few minutes older than Tim. ➵ Actually Mary's nephews and the Weaver kids' cousins, but are close enough that they're considered basically twin sons and brothers. ➵ Were isolated from society until they were 9. With basic life skills and common knowledge taught by Caleb, they were placed in the same grade as him once put into school. ➵ However, due to Tom's illness, he's often left at home and Tim brings him the notes after school. Tim, along with Caleb, are also Tom's main caretakers. ➵ Tim also will cook meals alongside Mary, although he refuses to make what Mary's often making. ➵ Tom barely talks and is overall a boy filled with terror at the world around him. On Tim's side, he acts older than he actually is, due to the responsibilities he's had to take up.

Caleb: ➵ 12 years old. ➵ Close with Tim, Tom, and Lillian. He's considered one of Tom's main caretakers. ➵ Very aware of what Mary has been doing, he hates her but is also terrified of her, so he tries to avoid trouble. The twins are the only ones who know this. ➵ To outsiders, he's just an energetic kid full of kindness. He is one, he's just one hiding a lot of dark things about his family. ➵ Has a bunch of friends that he often hangs out with. ➵ Not only taller than the twins but overall just tall for his age.

Lillian: ➵ 8 years old. ➵ Mary's favorite child and gets away with being a little shit (particularly toward the twins) because of this. ➵ Close with Caleb and tries to get closer to Benny. Cares about the twins to some degree, but not a whole lot. ➵ Mature for her age but isn't entirely aware of what Mary's doing. She just knows her mom is doing something only a few people are allowed to know the truth about. ➵ Energetic and charismatic, learned from Caleb and Mary. Still loves rabbits. ➵ Tall for her age, but isn't taller than the twins let alone Caleb and Benny.

[rebuke-me]

im giving you permission to ramble more about the ever after high au

I AM KISSING U ON THE MOUTH /p

okay. okay. im gonna ramble under the cut bc i have so many thoughts.

crash course for new readers: son of cinderella jeremy, charming kids brooke and jake (they're cousins), pied piper kid michael, daughter of the boy who cried wolf jenna, beauty and the beast kid chloe, alice in wonderland daughter christine, and goldilocks kid rich.

chloe and brooke are constantly at odds. they're always together because they're both princesses. they HATE each other but cant ever seem to leave. chloe keeps putting brooke down because chloe has a story, a destiny, and brooke doesn't. she's a princess, she's beauty, she's a big deal. and brooke's just a charming, not even a specific princess. she doesn't have beautiful hair or glass slippers or anything. she's just... a damsel. in distress. but she's kind and caring and wants to help, but she's not beauty, right? and then chloe ends up being the beast. she's the beast and brooke's HER beauty, and brooke puts her foot down and says no. she's not going to be in chloe's shadow anymore. she's not going to bend over backwards for HER story, for HER development. she's not going to be nice and kind just because chloe needs her. and that's how brooke becomes a rebel.

rich has a lot of pressure on him, ever since he was a kid. he's always told to be just right. he's goldilocks, the pretty little girl who takes over a poor family's life and cares so much about perfection. too tomboyish, too awkward, nothing's just right. he doesn't feel right pretending, either. so he cuts off his golden curls. he shears them off and finally, for once in his life, he feels just right. he goes by rich now, and the gold theme finally feels earned.

jenna rolan will never be believed. she knows no one will listen to her, even if she tells the truth. because no one can EVER think she's telling the truth. she never can, anyways. there's always a little white lie that slips in. she can't help it, her mouth runs for her. her friends all keep her around for gossip with a grain of salt inside. she's not even a BIG story. she gets eaten by wolves, and she can't even feel righteously angry about it. no one will ever believe her, and yet she still keeps pouring as much of her truth into her words as fate will let her.

christine's always a little out of the loop. she's from outside this world, but not quite. she should be fine. she's alice, of course, she's just a normal girl who happens to fall into wonderland. but she's too curious, too wild, too eccentric. she's seen as not quite one, not quite the other. too wild for wonderland, too normal for ever after. she lays awake at night, wishing she could hear the narrators, like the other wonderland kids. or wishing that she could know the right words to say, like the ever after kids.

michael loves his music, but keeps most of it to himself, playing it over his headphones instead of out loud. he's not a villain, not technically, but he doesn't like it when people have the idea that he's somehow making them do things. he doesn't play his music out loud, doesn't want to call a plague of rats to him, doesn't want to bring kids away. he was adopted, anyways, maybe these powers will go away. but he knows that it'll happen, and he'll leave, and it'll be fine. but he still takes the first opportunity of rebellion.

jeremy and jake know each other since childhood. they're royals, of course. they don't get along at first. jeremy's a princess kid, and clearly. and then his story's started early, with his stepmother. his only solace is his little sister, the destined ugly stepsister. he doesn't want that for her. doesn't want her to feel ugly, or evil. and jake's the charming, going to be the beast and the prince of chloe. or at least, they think so. but things shift. they talk again, and it's easy now. they get along, they have things in common. they risk their happily ever afters. and then the storybook of legends, and the signing. jake was going to sign anyways, of course. he didn't know not signing was an option. but then he sees what the future holds for him. he's not chloe's prince, he's not the beast they've wanted him to be. he's jeremy's. he whisks him away, he finds his shoe, he... pulls him away from his sister, his family. there's no ending where jeremy has both. but selfishly, he signs. and then rich refuses to sign, refuses to be just right. and jeremy doesn't sign either. and jake doesn't tell him that he signed because he saw them together. because he doesn't want to make jeremy choose between him and his family, between a happily ever after and the right to freedom. and jeremy thinks that jake saw his future with chloe and chose her over him, because of course he would. why would jake ever choose him in the long run? isn't that a tragedy?

[idv-sunsxin3]

Flos x Gabriel time baby!✨😇

Flos x Gabriel// HCs

(OC Crackship except I luv them to the point I would give them fluff and angst too/ih) Flos is my son while Gabriel is @klai-16xoxo's

____

Their ship will most likely be Flosbriel. Can be changed later if there is a better word/ih

They're these serious couple but few minutes later you find them acting so fluffy unexpected, like clouds--

Flos is often the very stern one, is technically his nature. Gabriel doesn't seem to mind that much because when it comes to cherishing Flos' everything, it means he'll cherish the trait that seems intimidating yet is the main part of him.

He slowly became aware that Flos is more careful and protective around the ones he cares, which are pretty few if excluding an entire nation in general. (Almost everything else outside Dyanthus can perish, he wouldn't bat an eye on them LIKE RHDDBDB- )

Flos is a fortunate to have Gabriel, just like Gabriel is as well... Flos had tougher times including an old love story that was far from loyalty and trust in a partner. So he feels quite grateful to have met someone like Gabriel...

As a single father for many years with lack in touch with romantic affairs- Flos may not be a pro at being  romantic, but he kinda does well unintentionally sometimes because man- he was raised to be a sincere gentleman besides being a silver-tongued stoic face. So that kinda makes up for it./ih

Idk- I keep imagining the fact that Flos would sometimes treat Gabriel so lovely that sometimes hus mind calls him "his wife".

'My wife must be cooking something- what is he cooking at these hour for.' *checks wrist watch for the time* 'Oh, how thoughtful, he's feeding the kids(the ones from the church-).'

Of course, LIKE NOT IN A MANSPLAIN WAY- you know this vibe where your partner gives this soft caring touch that you can recognize that a mother or a wife would often do? Yeah, wife material.

There is honestly not much to do besides the idea of Gabriel doing activities while being beside Flos who is doing federal paperwork- sometimes there are few times where they stop and do activities together like chess, knitting or cooking as they wait for Peter(the tiny son who would come back from college for Holidays with family-)

Gabriel in dyanthus was sometimes known as "His Grace's partner' or "Mr. Silver" by the color of his flower and how often he is seeing with their vice leader like a floating Cloud that has been fair to him. Flos doesn't pay attention to it unless is a bigger problem, since usually he is not often seeing by the oublic either unless is for significant annual events.

Gabriel being tangled with Flos in this loving bond means he gets to meet his family in a more deeper aspect, including his comrades who run the government system along side him(his cousin, his adoptive brothers, and the state leaders of his faction).🥺

Yes, it may seem awkward since they're just as skeptical as Flos when it comes to first impression and the tention in their naturally cold faces didn't help either. Of course, they slowly open up to Gabriel a bit, as their stern nature is very known for in the faction as normal too.

PDA isn't very often show, since Flos is not a public person. Yet it's not rejected whenever Gabriel starts them in public or not. He is just not use to doing that besides hand holding..... That’s the only thing he'll always do when they take a stroll together;;;

Flos may seem introvert.... I mean, he doesn't like interesting the people from the outside, doesn't mean it's the same when it comes to places and animals. So Gabriel would expect a lot of worldwide Traveling from different world once he is acknowledged as capable to go with him with no problems if he wants to. Imagining taking pictures, trying food together, and just tagging along with Flos as he takes notes of what he observes in the outside wild...

Traveling with Flos will always be about learning, and trying to find solutions. With the Pandera going on, Flos just tends to plan journey where he can test different kinds of environments that are deemed "safe to breath" for humans and immortals....

Flos wouldn't hide secrets from Gabriel. But there are forbidden things one shouldn't know unless he wants havoc to happen. (He won't lie about accidentally breaking stuff or going somewhere Gabriel obviously cannot go, ofc---) so technically, Flos does white lies 🤔

When Flos does tell the entire truth, it's sometimes good truth, and sometimes ones that do hurt... Flos wishes to give his family and his lover to have a world where wars would never happen... but there is still a long way to go. 😭😔

Dyanthus is neutral and a safe place for pacifists, but with the nation now open, there are still possibilities for a secret foreign conflict behind its back. Waiting for the right time to strike it....

But aside the angst- Flos doesn't find it difficult to express, he would just be direct and say whatever he has internal conflict of or just asking Gabriel if he wants to do something different today(because he has ideas, some days even strangely interesting /ih)

There are times is not easy said than done, you know... Flos sometimes doesn't understand something and doesn't know how to exactly address that yet. So having Gabriel bearing with him makes him feel more comfortable to take his time to learn and accept new things.

Flos isn't entirely traditional, idk about Gabriel but it seems they would have a similar idea to just accept new things when they seem efficient---

Gabriel, my crackship son-in-law(help-), expect your hubby go to Sunday church- because he is pretty catholic despite being so realistic and sometimes believe in the scientific side- Flos would love to have you sit next to him on one of them benches at the masses, is up to you if you want to or not ofc,,,🥺/lh

The fact that this crackship is French-Spanish couple brings an interesting dynamic--- I have hyperfixation on culture so imagine these two trying to share their culture, like cooking, dancing, music, customs--- there are similarities and differences they would eventually unfold themselves as they get to know each other which seems fun to do as a couple-- 🥺

They'll never be bored of each other for sure- these men are eccentric and slaying everyday fr fr✨️/srs

They would watch the barbie movie wearing pink(with Peter)- and then the next week Oppenheimer movie wearing black(with Hana)./ih

Peter would have come too for the Oppenheimer one but you know how he looks like a baby outsiders don't even know he is not a kid;;;😭/ih

[zeroducks-2]

Zero, pls give me the strength to write a filth ass sladick fic. I’ve got the brain worms for one specific abo fic, and I stg, it’s all I can think about rn 😭 do u have any advice for me?? Writing? Motivation? Characterization? 🥺🙏

Of course!

Now I'm of the opinion that writing advice, ALL the writing advice you find online with no exception whatsoever, is totally useless. "Think of the characters this way!", "structure the plot that way!", "motivate yourself going by percentages!" etc - it's not that it's bad pieces of advice, in fact, they're all great suggestions. The issue with them is that creating a story has some technical aspects, but writing is unique to every person.

One of the billion writing advice floating around might be great for you, or maybe all of them work, but maybe not at single one is even vaguely useful, because how you approach writing is strictly personal so if they work on you or not is completely hit and miss.

Therefore what I can tell you is how I work, and maybe you'll find some compatible aspects and it can help you :)

Long post ahead!

Writing & Motivation:

MOST IMPORTANT. Talk about this with someone. DM your beloved mutual, hit your bestie up on discord, annoy me on anon, do whatever you need to talk about this fic. Talk about the plot, how the characters are supposed to be like, what should happen, what world building is in place, how the sex should pan out. "But people will be annoyed!" NO WE WON'T, I PROMISE. I love hearing people's ideas on their next fic, AU, revolutionary plot bunny. I love all of them and I'm not the only one. Talk to us about your fic!

Don't pick a specific time or moment of the day to start writing. You have 20 minutes and then your cousin will be there? It's alright, throw down 30 words in those minutes. You have two hours and you're afraid you'll get in too deep before the dentist appointment? I KNOW IT HURTS but when you're back from the dentist you might be tired, in pain, not motivated anymore. Write when you feel the itch, even on a leaflet with a permanent marker (I normally use my phone's notes if I have no choice). Don't wait for the right moment, the right moment can be any time you want it to be!

Don't plan a shitton of chapters. Plan just one, write that one. "But it's 1k and there isn't even smut!" It's still better than no chapter at all with 0k words isn't it? Write that scene, no matter how short it is. Once it's done admire it, look how beautiful it is. You want to write more now? Great, go ahead! You don't feel like going on with this? It might be time to share your little thing with someone on AO3, on tumblr or IRL! And if writing just that one little chapter satisfied you, that also is okay! Oh wait, you only know what to write for your sex scene, no context? Write that sex scene, the context is right there in your head. If you'll also want to write the context that's fantastic, but start by writing that scene you want to write, don't stress because you need to "get to it". Don't punish yourself with "I can write what I want to write only after 20k words of introduction", that's the perfect recipe to make you drop the fic.

Characterization

Don't be afraid that the characters might be OOC. I promise you no one cares, and the people who care won't click on an ABO fic which maybe is also a Feudal Japan AU with aliens. What matters is the impression of the characters. I'm writing one of the sections of my Omegaverse Royal AU at the moment, and I decided to make it Eobarry! But I have no idea how to write Eobard, he is a real challenge to me - I have an Eobard expert friend who gives me some advice, but still. He's a complex character with a rich history and there isn't much I can do to keep him IC, but the thing is... if I don't write this, there's simply going to be less Eobarry fics to go around. Better if there's one more, even if it's not up to whatever imaginary standard I set with myself, than one less.

Don't be afraid to make the characters act a certain way because it's convenient. This is the exact opposite advice I give when people are writing non-transformative work: When you're writing a story, once you decide that a character is afraid of spiders you need to stick with it and make them afraid of spiders forever, they can't be afraid of spiders only for 1 scene. This does not count for fanfictions. Fanfictions exist for us to have fun, be horny, feel a whole lot of emotions and fulfill the desire to chew on our blorbos like they were squeaky toys. So you want Dick to be afraid of spiders in this fic? It never happened in canon...? Who gives a shit, he is now afraid of spiders. You want to make Slade very good at playing marbles? Cool, he is now a champion marble player for your fic and your fic only. And it doesn't matter if the characters are not consistent and "fall in love too quickly", or if "the sex is not realistic", or if "they should get pregnant like this", or if "there's no way they'd be alright with this situation". None of this crap, nobody gives a damn. You're writing to have fun, not to win a literary prize.

You might write A LOT and then realize you are absolutely unsatisfied with how the story went, because a character did something which set them on a course that you ended up not liking. It's fine! Go back to where the choice was taken and split the fic! Coincidentally, it's something I am doing with my Omegaverse Royal AU (the Sladick part) because I decided I wanted it darker :)

And remember, it's okay to be inspired by other fics. If you take something precisely off another fic you might want to ask permission because it's the polite thing to do, but if for example you find that you write Alpha Slade with a scar on his mating gland because you read that in my fic, that's totally okay! We continuously get inspired by each other, and my beloved writer friends know that I take inspiration from their things! (indeed my Omegaverse Royal AU, because apparently it's the perfect example for everything today, was inspired by the amazing works of anawrites and TheSubtextIs, with their Conflict Resolution and Conquered by Love).

Reach out if you need help, or if you want more specific advice that might be 100% useless! Cheers :D