#than that same character creating/raising a person in that same world because it's no longer horrifying.

[ladykailitha]

Well Met By Moonlight Part 20

When I first started this story a year ago the only goal in mind was to get a sexy blood drinking scene between Steve and Eddie. Which yay! I achieved TWICE!

But then the story began to grow and twist and things kept getting more and more interesting. Plot deepened, twists turned sharper and characters began to take shape.

I'm grateful to everyone who held on this one even as interest for it waned. I'm happy that it started to gain more interest again at the end, because that's what kept me going all the way to the end.

I'm currently having someone read it (not in the ST fandom) to see if they think it has the potential to be an original fiction that could be published. I know she loved the story, but I have gotten back all her notes yet. So we'll see.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19

~

“It’s good thing that worked,” Brian said scratching the back his neck sheepishly. “I wasn’t sure my song worked on werewolves.”

“It doesn’t work on selkies?” Nancy asked.

Brian just shrugged.

“We were under water,” Barb explained, “we didn’t hear the song.”

Nancy eyed her suspiciously, but wisely said nothing to her friend.

“So now that everyone’s lives are no longer in danger,” Wayne said dryly. “You want to explain the whole ‘they don’t belong here’ statement?”

Nancy jumped at suddenly be addressed. “Oh, right! I knew there had to be more to the story than what the newspaper and the VHS report said.”

“Video Home System?” Jeff asked in confusion.

Wayne snorted and Eddie badly hid his grin.

“That’s what I said!” Eddie crowed.

Nancy rolled her eyes and decided to ignore the idiot vampires. “Van Helsing Society. They’re a secret police force that investigates these types of things.”

Alexei slowly inched out of the boathouse and everyone kept their eye on him.

“Dr. Brenner was doing a lot of experiments and not just on werewolves. He was looking into other dimensions as well.”

“What was the point of it all?” Steve asked.

Chrissy landed on the beach and said, “He was trying to create the perfect supernatural being. One without any limitations at all. But he didn’t want keep using people from our world to do it because it would raise too many questions. So he was opening worlds and pulling out test subjects. But always werewolves.”

“That’s insane!” Steve cried. “You have to see how insane that is, right?”

Chrissy nodded. “When the cat sìth arrived at the Creel House to tell us of our Dominus’s death, I started looking into the previous Dominus’s experiments thinking it had answers to what was going on in this town. I was right and disgusted.”

Nancy nodded. “They,” she jutted her chin at Alexei and Murray, “are the ones that survived because at the same time they were brought over, Dr. Brenner was being investigated by VHS and had to stop temporarily, so they slipped into the wide world accidentally. This world’s Dr. Oborin killed those kids because they were teasing this world’s Mr. Bauman’s baldness. But when they saw the two that looked exactly them, they hatched a plan to use them as scapegoats and are currently on the run in Mexico.”

“Who told you all this?” Jonathan asked, speaking for the first time.

“I did,” and final person emerged from the tree line.

“Sam...” Wayne said warningly. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“That’s actually a funny story,” Sam said sheepishly. “So apparently our investigations did overlap?”

“Sam...”

“Right,” Sam said with a grimace. “Do you mind if I take over the story from here?” he asked Nancy.

She waved her hand at him. “Go ahead. I’m interested to hear what more you may have gleaned.”

“So my original investigation was whether or not there was a descendant of the original Karl Van Helsing from the female line was in the Harrington pack,” he said with a wince.

Steve frowned. “What does ‘female line’ mean?”

“There is the male line,” Sam explained, “where you keep the last name. Harrington for example. You are a descendant of the original pack leader, Clarence Harrington. That is the male line. The female line is when, let’s continue using Harrington as an example, say Clarence had two sons and a daughter. The daughter marries and has children. Those children are still related to Clarence but their last name has changed.”

“You think Greta had children?” Wayne asked incredulously. “Because like hell she did.”

Sam shook his head. “No, not Greta. Her aunt Vanessa, who married Peter Kincade.”

Dread pooled in Wayne’s stomach. He knew that name because he had been trying to find out why Murray would murder a non-werewolf. Not that he knew it was Murray at the time. Peter Kincade was Allison Harrington’s great, great, great, great, great however many it was grandfather.

“When Benjamin Kincade was murdered and subsequently his daughter and husband,” Sam continued, “the blood was sent to our lab by an anonymous source, a source we now believe to Dr. Alexei Oborin.”

The assembled turned to the doctor who was now cradling his mate to his chest. He stroked Murray’s head. “I didn’t like all the murder. I found a neater way to get Harrington out of the pack. Show the VHS that he was their missing link and he’d be whisked away and have experiments done on him so they can strengthen their ranks. Then you’d be alpha, my love.”

Murray whimpered.

“I’m sorry,” Alexei whispered back. “They didn’t move fast enough.”

“So that’s how it intersects,” Eddie said. “If Murray hadn’t killed the Harringtons and Mr. Kincade, you’d never had been in town looking for Steve.”

“It would have been easier,” Sam agreed, “but there is some really power magic on Steve that prevents VHS agents from being able to detect him. And it is absolutely due to his Van Helsing blood. They were purported to have all sorts of abilities and immunities that made them perfect watchmen of the supernatural communities. The blood magic used to create the spells that will protect an agent makes it impossible to mate with supernatural creatures.” Wayne bristled, but Sam held up his hand. “Note I said mate, not couple. It’s the act of producing a child that is disastrous.”

“Why’s that?” Barb asked from the dock, still the only part of her that was human was her head. “Supernatural creatures mate with humans all the time. I mean some times it can have some pretty strange results, but no one would call them disastrous.”

“It’s the anti-magic of the spells used and the innate magic of the supernatural being mixing and slowly driving the poor child insane,” Sam said, looking side-long at Steve. “We actually had long suspected Steve might have some connection to the Helsings because–”

“Because he should have gone crazy twice!” Eddie said with a gasp. “The first time was when he changed for the first time at age eighteen. The Franklins were banking on him going off the rails so they could paint him some rabid beast that needed to be put down. But he was lucid.”

“And then again when the Hunters tried to kill him,” Nancy finished. “He should have gone mad from the amount of silver he had on him. Even for that short a time. Being alpha would have only protected him so much.”

Steve pointed to himself in shock. “What? Me? There’s no way, there has to be another explanation.”

Wayne shook his head. “Nope. You’re the descendant of two very powerful lines, Steve.”

“Back to the problem of Murray and Alexei,” Brian said, raising his hand. “Because Steve is cool and all, but all this new information doesn’t really change that. It just confirms what smart people have known for years.”

Steve blushed.

“They can’t be in this world anymore,” Sam said, sadly. “Their very presence is what’s causing the sharp increase in supernatural suspicion in the normal populous. The whole being just out of step is sending out shock waves across the world that they’re dangerous.”

“I understand,” Alexei said, “I always knew there was no place for us anywhere.” He leaned over to kiss Murray.

“Maybe we can–” Nancy began when two gunshots went off in quick succession.

Then Alexei slumped over Murray’s body. There was no doubt what had happened. Alexei must have picked up the gun when Chrissy landed. Then he shot Murray, finishing the job that Robin had started then turned the gun on himself.

BA-DUM! BA! DUM!

“Oh,” Robin said softly. “Now that they’re dead you can actually feel the difference.”

Nancy let out a frustrated whine and stomped her foot. “I was going to suggest finding a way to send them home. Not for them to die.”

Sam came over and put his hand on her shoulder. “This is was the best. Even though they were innocent of the original crime of killing the kids, Dr. Alexei Oborin killed the Hunters in his own universe and then all the deaths on Murray Bauman’s hands are far too many. To merely send them back would be a grave miscarriage of justice.”

Her lip quivered, but she nodded. It galled her. If they hadn’t been pulled here by Dr. Brenner than they would be lauded as heroes in their home world, only to be branded villains in this one. But they had caused so much harm.

Sam turned to Steve. “So about that linage...you are wasted here as a mere alpha. You could head the entire Van Helsing Society. You would be incandescent there.”

Steve shook his head. “No. This is where I want to be.”

Eddie let out a little whine of relief and even the golden wolf that was Robin looked relieved.

“I am making Robin Buckley my female alpha,” he continued. Nancy let out a breath of relief of her own. “I’m changing the name of the pack to the Roane County pack. No more Harrington crap. I am the last and it will end with me. Same goes with the Van Helsing line.”

Sam’s eyes nearly burst out of his head with that. “You can’t mean that, surely!”

Steve shook his head. “I can. I will donate a single vial of my blood to the Society and allow you to test the limits of my abilities for one week a year, but the rest of the time I will be here. Taking care of the people who matter most to me. On one condition.”

Sam’s hands were clenched in rage. “You dare to make even more demands?!”

“Yes,” Steve said coolly. “The Society will come out of the shadows. You lot being a secret society is precisely why there is rise in Hunters. If people knew there was an actual policing body that would bring rogue cryptids to heel, they would be less likely to want to take matters into their own hands.”

Wayne and Sam shared a look of shock between them.

“Oh.” Sam gulped heavily. “Deal.”

Steve shook his hand, then he turned to Chrissy. “I’m assuming you’re the new Dominus.”

Chrissy blinked. “Oh shit. I guess I am.”

“Good,” he said primly. “We’ll meet later in the week to find you a new home and to lay out a new treaty between the Coven and Pack.”

She nodded gravely. “It will be done, Alpha.” She turned to Jeff. “Come, we need to find places for our Coven in the mean time.”

Jeff nodded and they both transformed and flew off into the air.

“Robin,” Steve said, turning to his new alpha female. “Take the rest of the pack back to the compound and explain everything that has gone on. Let them know I will be back shortly to reassure them. I will mete out Tommy’s punishment when I get there.”

The golden wolf nodded solemnly. Nancy and Hopper changed back into wolves. Tommy climbed back on Hopper’s back and then looked behind him at Steve. He had misjudged everything and no he must pay the price. Then they followed her back to the compound, Jonathan bringing up the rear.

Steve walked up to Barb and Brian. “The Roane County Pack owes the sirens and selkies a debt of gratitude. Name it and if it’s in the power of this alpha it will be yours.”

Brian and Barb looked at each other and then they both shook their heads.

“You continuing to advocate for us will be a far great boon then any other thing you could do for us, alpha,” Barb said sternly.

Steve nodded.

Brian reach out and took Barb’s flipper in his hand. “Plus, there’s this, too.”

Gareth and Eddie let out wolf whistles.

Brian blushed, but Barb smiled softly.

“Yes, this is a good reward as well,” she murmured. She removed her hand from her skin and took his hand.

Brian smiled up at her. They both transformed again. She slipped under the water as Brian flew over it, humming to himself.

Steve turned back to the remaining four. He walked up to Gareth.

“What is it the gwyllgi want?” Steve asked, getting down on one knee so he could look the large black dog in the eye. No preamble. Just straight to the point. He knew the Graveyard dogs had a lot of grievances against his pack and he was going to change that starting now.

“Agree to meet with my father to work out restitution for our pack,” Gareth said seriously.

“Done,” Steve said, bowing his head. “I will make sure Robin contacts him for a meeting.”

Gareth shuffled forward and hugged Steve with his neck. “You’re a good alpha and a better man.”

Steve pinched his nose and then rubbed the end. “Thank you, Gareth.”

Gareth loped over to Eddie. “You take good care of him, won’t you? He tends to get caught up in his head sometimes.”

Eddie nodded, giving a watery chuckle. “Just whose friend are you, mine or his?”

Gareth tilted his head to the side.

“Both.”

The dog turned and vanished into the tree line.

Wayne turned to Steve. “I’m thinking of retiring from this whole supernatural guardianship. I’m going to let Eddie take over. I’m getting too old for this shit.”

Sam let out a sound that was combination between a whine and clearing his throat. “If I–I mean, if I haven’t completely ruined things between us. I–”

“Just spit it out, Sam,” Wayne growled.

“This was my last investigation for the Society,” Sam said, looking down at his feet. “I told them after our last meeting. I hate lying to you. It kills me every time. So I want to spend my time with you. If you’ll have me.”

Wayne huffed and then grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him in close. “You’ve got a lot grovelling to do. And I have a long list of ways you can start making it up to me.”

Sam eyes went wide at the low sultry tone. “Oh. I am very willing.”

Wayne transformed and flew off with his arm securely around his waist.

“Gross,” Eddie sniffed.

Steve pulled him into his embrace. “I too have a list of things, but mine is more about the lovely things I want you to do me.”

“Ooh, I do like the sound of that, big boy,” Eddie said with a feral grin. “And I’m pretty sure my uncle won’t be at the trailer for awhile.”

“I like the way you think,” Steve pulled him in for a long kiss. “I’ll meet you there. I just have make sure Robin hasn’t set the compound on fire and then I’ll be right there.”

“Are you sure you want her as your alpha?” Eddie asked with a chuckle.

“Yeah, she’ll be fine once she gets over her nerves,” he said with a smile. “Plus no one will be asking if we are going to mate. Having a lesbian best friend really does have its perks. You don't have to come with.”

Eddie through his head back and laughed. “Nah, I’ll come with. I want to see their faces.”

Steve smiled and took Eddie’s hand.

They walked past Lucas, who was on guard duty, hand in hand, a werewolf and a vampire. Both once outcasts even in their own communities, now leaders in their own right.

Steve smiled.

The future never looked brighter.

~

Tag List: COMPLETE

1- @mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog

2- @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @goodolefashionedloverboi

3- @fullpoetrybread @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @bookworm0690 @littlewildflowerkitten @just-a-tiny-void @potato-of-the-lord @thelittleclare

5- @goosesister @tinyplanet95 @she-collects-smut @irregular-child @y4r3luv

6- @fairytalesreality @anaibis @papergrenade @ravenfrog @blondie1006

7- @thedragonsaunt @sadisticaltarts @kultiras @blackpanzy @disrespectedgoatman

8- @kal-ology @w1ll0wtr33 @townseleven @dreamercec

[duchess-of-mandalore]

Do you have any thoughts on what Satine and Obi-Wan's lives and/or the galaxy at large would have looked like if she'd survived the events of The Lawless?

Oh man, this premise has an infinite number of answers depending on where you go with it. But I think I can give some general principles.

Like ... for example, Satine survives The Lawless but Order 66 is subverted. Actually, I wrote a fic about that (Tethers of Inconvenience), where Satine pursues an arranged marriage with a senator from Kuat (Giddean Danu, a character in the RotS deleted scenes) who would be able to help her rebuild and protect Mandalore, which she finds difficult to do on her own since she humiliated Palpatine and the Senate in TCW Season 2.

But more generally, if she survives The Lawless, I think Obi-Wan takes her back to Coruscant and she lives with Padme. She begs the Senate and Jedi to assist in dealing with the mess on Mandalore. I think that Bo's able to take the planet back, and she and/or Korkie lead since her brainless, idiot, fake-news-believing people are still convinced that she killed Pre Vizsla with her own hands and caused the downfall of their city.

Then, let's say that Order 66 does happen. You've got two diverging roads: 1) Obi-Wan is able to find her and bring her to Tatooine with him, in which case they get to raise Luke together and have a kind of strangely (im)perfect happily ever after living a quiet life neither one of them had before (wonderfully explored in @mg024's Two New Hopes) ...

Or 2) He can't get to her and has to leave her when he goes into hiding, like in @the-obiwan-for-me's Krennictine AU. This has a similar premise to my Marriage AU but with Orson Krennic. In both our AUs, I think we're of the same mind that Satine never loses her personal idealism, but she becomes much more practically minded. I think the run-in with Maul proves to her that "Even extremists can be reasoned with" is much, much too hopeful. I think she's always prepared to sacrifice her personal happiness for her people if need-be, but there's always that piece of her that's longing for her happy ending.

Imperial-era Satine is fascinating because she's the one who characterized the idealism of the Republic but who was really spared suffering by dying before the rise of the Empire. Personally, I think that Palpatine would take very great joy in trying to smash her like a bug once he has no guardrails, given that she was one of the only people who publicly stood against him during the Clone War. I mean ... we kind of forget that after the Republic and the CIS, the largest political entity at play in the Clone War was the Council of Neutral Systems, led by Satine. She's a symbol of the Republic era and she wouldn't go quietly into the night once the man she's always despised proclaims himself Emperor.

I think Palpatine would immediately try to take over Mandalore (canonically, he did within the first year of his reign because he was still using a clone trooper army). In a SatineLives AU, whether he immediately succeeds would probably rest on whether she's willing to negotiate for her people's freedoms (like Bo did with Gideon in The Mandalorian), but even if she did, Palpatine would probably just renege on any agreement they had.

In general though, I lean more toward her giving up any claim to the throne permanently because she thinks Bo (and a Korkie hardened by both The Lawless and the rise of the Empire) can meet Mandalore's needs more than she can.

And if that's the case ... if she has no Mandalore and no Obi-Wan ... I could see her doing something like creating a relief organization that essentially goes from planet to planet cleaning up the effects of the Empire and then eventually becoming a secret organization focusing on saving and rehabilitating injured rebels. It's her way of maintaining her pacifistic ideals in a world where she no longer has the ability to remain fully neutral.

If anyone has any thoughts on these ideas or others of your own, I'd love to hear them!

[scattered-winter]

it's about knowing someone so well that you know you can raise a child with them. it's about suffering so much and losing everything you once loved as a child but building a world where your child would never have that happen to them. it's about spending your life as a tragic story and making a conscious decision to close the book and find peace. and most of all it's about raising your kid with the person you've been through seven different kinds of hell with and knowing that your kid will only know about it from stories, not from experiencing it themselves

the powerful urge to give all my traumatized ocs kids after the war is over both as a sign that they have recovered enough to care for another human being and as a sign that they feel safe enough to raise children in a world they know will be better to the kids than it was to them

[larathia]

"Matlock" reboot is pure Boomer wish fulfillment. (But actually, pretty good anyway.)

First the disclaimer: No, I'm not a Boomer. I'm Gen X. Which for you younger ones basically means I've been Boomer-adjacent my entire life; I know most of the Boomer media and jokes and all that because until I was old enough to be considered 'marketable-to', that was all there WAS on the TV.

So, yeah. As a kid, I wound up watching the original Matlock on occasion, and Perry Mason, although both were more my grandmother's thing than either of my parents. ANYWHO.

My interest in this reboot had zip to do with any of that. It had everything to do with Kathy Bates headlining, because every time I've seen her name in the cast list the plot went somewhere Interesting.

This show has a metric fuckton of Boomer nostalgia going for it. There have been several moments where I had to wonder if every single aging Boomer-era actor is somewhere on this show, because good goddamn there's a lot of them. I'm edging up on 50 and (should I say, 'appropriately for a Gen X?' yeah, I should) I'm either too old or way too young for every single scene in this series. (There might, now I think real hard about it, be one very fed up possibly-gen-X in the cast. She's in the archives. Yes, I'm biting my tongue right now.)

There are, of course, references to Boomer media all over the damn place, because that's how Kathy Bates' character works a lot of the time; she's basically in the role of going "I understand you, aging Boomer client, in a way these children don't."

Do I find that annoying? ...Yeah, but honestly, by now I'm used to it. It's a scratchy shirt I've worn so long I've got callouses.

But. I did say any time Kathy Bates gets involved in a story, it goes somewhere interesting, right? This is no exception.

See, her entire character is about 90 percent lies. She's created "Matlock" in order to get access to the internal records of this specific law firm, because her daughter died of drug addiction and these lawyers knew about the dangers of the drug in question and defended the pharmaceutical company that made it. She wants the evidence to take them down. And she's playing up the "harmless clueless computer-ignorant old boomer lady" schtick because it means 99 percent of everyone in the series just looks right past her.

(This doesn't mean she's a tech wiz, btw. Just that she's not as tech-blind as she pretends to be.)

For the most part, Kathy Bates' character is fighting half of her generation in order to protect the other half. Along the way she seems to be doing a pretty good job of teaching her millenial compatriots when to pay attention and when to dismiss the bullshit - since a lot of people will put all "Boomers" in the same basket, which is not exactly helpful for the job they're doing.

And, possibly most refreshing to me personally, Kathy Bates' character gets confronted on a regular basis with the fact that yanno, the world has changed in the past 60 years - in a lot of ways for the better. And there's some bullshit she was raised to think was 'just how the world is' that is in no way any longer true, and the show lets her adjust and grow.

...Which I guess counts as a fantasy moment for a lot of us who are younger and would love to see more of that in real life.

[wot-tidbits]

Curse Words Analysis Part 1: Blood and Bloody Ashes! by JaimTorfinn

The whole article can be read here.

The curse word “bloody” (by itself) is one of the most common curses in the series with 1,284 total occurrences. It’s used like its real life counterpart, and unlike its associated phrases, “bloody” is almost always followed by a word that it intensifies, such as “bloody fool”, or “bloody dice”. A recent comment by u/wjbc offers some additional insight on the word:

"Bloody" is a real world curse that Jordan uses because it's considered mild by modern standards. But in Victorian times it was considered very profane, short for "God's blood." It was also very lower class. George Bernard Shaw created a sensation when his character Eliza said "bloody" in the play Pygmalion (later turned into My Fair Lady).

Jordan started off slowly, and then went a bit wild in The Dragon Reborn, which is mostly due to the introduction of Mat POVs. In fact, all the numbers are very affected by how much screen time Mat gets in that book, with The Path of Daggers having the lowest occurrences due to Mat being absent.

When Sanderson took over, he was conservative at first, but then set new records with the final two books. As you can see from the authors’ average per 100k words chart, Sanderson used the curse almost twice as much as Jordan.

When it comes to total occurrences, Mat Cauthon is the bloody king! With 767 uses, he says or thinks “bloody” almost 7 times more than Uno, who is in second place with 115. It’s interesting to note that he thinks the word more than he says it, with 440 instances thought, and 327 spoken. Uno, on the other hand, speaks almost all of his (101 instances) since he only has one PoV section, in A Memory of Light.

With 110 occurrences, “Blood and Bloody Ashes” is the most common of the “bloody” phrase variations. It is often used as a standalone sentence, usually with an exclamation mark. Considered a fairly strong curse, it has been known to raise the eyebrows of the prim and proper.

With 101 occurrences, “Blood and Ashes” is the second most common of the “bloody” phrases. It’s very similar to “blood and bloody ashes”, but is perhaps a bit milder. It was also Jordan’s curse of choice when he first started.

With 68 occurrences, “Bloody Ashes” is the third most common “bloody” phrase, and functions pretty much the same as “blood and ashes”. “Bloody Ashes” is a Sanderson invention, with no occurrences in Jordan’s books.

Some fans assumed the use of “Bloody Ashes” in Sanderson’s books was a mistake, but when questioned about it, Sanderson claimed that it was on purpose.

SANDERSON: I've done this intentionally. It's a personal quirk of mine from my linguistic background. I feel that many constructions like this, over time, will simplify. As the world of the WoT has been modernizing, I feel that slowly "Bloody and bloody ashes" would shorten. I've used the longer version in the books, but have begun pushing the oaths toward their more clipped versions as part of a subtle linguistic shift to accompany the birth of things like gunpowder and steam power. Our world's own oaths have done this quite aggressively.

[threerattsinatrenchcoat]

Writer Interview

Tagged by the fantastic @beesht, @commander-krios, and @coreene!

(just realized I forgot to tag people ummmm @lolliputian, @aviatorasharak @bloobluebloo)

When did you start writing?

So long ago that I no longer recall when it was. I also like arranging and playing with words. It's a crutch for me; my brain often feels aimless and chaotic. Writing lets me lock down my thoughts so I can quit chasing them.Expressing myself face-to-face has always been a struggle; I hide behind screens, sunglasses and masks. I'm happiest when people don't know what I look or sound like, and writing is the easiest way to talk with people without my physical-ness getting in the way.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

Love horror, adore it. I'm not super great at writing it (yet!).

I also love heists. I keep trying to write a heist. It is not going well.

Finally, I love mythologies and folklore. I'm currently really into American Indigenous (specifically Inuit and I just got a book on Latin American mythologies) and Middle Eastern (specifically Iranian). Or, at least what I can find in English, from a reputable source. I would love to write about characters from these (Esfandiyār! Sedna!) but I'm a white American who is neither a part of those cultures nor educated enough to treat the subject with the respect it deserves.

But I will talk about them and encourage other people to learn because they're very cool.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

Haha, I specifically don't read while I'm writing so I don't emulate anyone, but creativity doesn't happen in a vacuum so..

My writing style and content were influenced by the authors I grew up on: KA Applegate, Terry Pratchett, Diana Wynne Jones, Terry Brooks, Sergio Lukyanenko, Neil Gaiman, Francesca Lia Blake, Anne Bishop, Terry Goodkind, Arthur C Clarke, Laurel K Hamilton. Some of those authors I was far too young to read, a lot I don't read or like anymore, but they definitely shaped my fascination with urban fantasy, people living normal lives in weird worlds, people finding the weird in normal worlds, horror and humor and how they fit together, how both are most effective when they're just reality taken slightly off-kilter, and how small any single person's perspective is.

I've also been on Tumblr for about a billion years and have the Tumblr/millennial accent and I'm too tired to change it. 

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

On my phone, swipe keyboard, usually while commuting or waiting in line or standing over the stove or late at night when I can't sleep. Writing isn't a priority in my life right now, so I squeeze it into all the empty spaces.

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse?

I wrote about this here under "recharging when I'm not feeling creative" and here under "where do you get inspiration", but short answer is taking a complete break from creating anything, slogging through whatever is blocking me or interacting with my community.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Shifting identities and what defines a person. I was raised on the idea that the "soul" is a person's core unifying self. I'm fascinated by this concept because if you take away "soul" as an easy answer, then what is a person? What makes me the same person as who I was twenty years ago? As me, age 2 months? If I lost all my memories, am I still me? What if I only lose one thing, like my driving force, or a fundamental belief, or if I recover from trauma or receive treatment for a chronic condition? What if I was uploaded into a machine? 

Anyway, I'm rambling, but I think I probably assign my identity to experience: memory, skills, hobbies, achievements and failures, and those are the concepts I've been exploring a lot.

What is your reason for writing?

I get itchy otherwise.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

I like knowing the exact parts people like, so whenever anyone quotes part of a fic, I get excited. I also love hearing people's theories or if they noticed any Easter eggs or references. My writing is so self indulgent sometimes and meeting people who also like it feels like meeting people who would like me? (That sounds really pathetic haha but I'm leaving it because it's honest).

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

Funny! And hopefully a bit creative. 

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

Finishing a piece before I publish it, I guess. Writers have a right to bail on a piece for whatever reason, even for no reason. Writers have a right to publish incomplete work. But, personally, I'm a little proud that I put out completed pieces. 

I also try to write in a way that's uncomplicated. I avoid using oversized words, complex sentences, too many pronouns or vague references. Keep things simple, you know? I want to write things that people can read when they're distracted, or only have time for a few paragraphs, or if they aren't great readers.

Usually when I'm reading my head is already fried and I don't have the time or spoons to get assaulted by a thesaurus.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

I'm only influenced if I'm doing a piece for someone, or if I know a specific person will read it and I want to make them smile. Beyond that, it's all for me :)

How do you feel about your own writing?

It's a little trite, but that's okay. I love happy endings, so I aim for that. I also love the bizarre, absurd and ridiculous.

I do overuse this sentence format, where it's two clauses together. I'd like to fix that. And like all my paragraphs are three sentences, gross.

Anyway, I like it overall.

[rakubalka]

@khr-guilded-cage @massivechildtidalwave

Have either of the two of you ever watched or read Overlord? Because I kinda wanna start an AU in which we throw Tsuna(around a week before the start of canon) in as the only other still active guild members of Ainz Ooal Gown into the new world along with Momonga . And just have Tsuna be an actual teenager (and the resident person with morality to keep the others in check) .

The activities of being the Nazarick's resident teenage suprime being include :

- make sure Demiurge doesn't go to the deep end and hurt innocent people . By reasoning that they can instead use people like r@pist and the general scum of the earth to supply the parchment for scrolls with no moral questioning, after all there is no need for mercy if the person did something unforgivable

- start an entire movement in Nazaric to find Momonga(his Dad in all but blood) a good partner from outside of Nazaric because he will look at them as children so they need someone who is closer to his mental age

- started the Momonga x Gezef fan club and the resulting shipping war (because Tsuna was raised in the internet and had somewhat regular contact with the rest of the guild for at least a year or two while being like what 10 , that's gonna leave an interesting impression of how fandoms work) because Gazef is quite literally the best pick they have

- start coming to any and all places when he is bored to either supervise or learn what they are doing

- become an active member in the Momonga fab club along with the other members of Nazarick

- create an art laborer guild because it's way more sustainable in the long run to have 200 artists on their pay roll than to have the same amount of people in farms . Also the fact that pieces of art had a much more favorable turn to Ygrasill gold ratio than grain is helping a lot , and that's without putting into consideration the way less of strand they put on the land

- changed Albedo's setting from the canon version to something along the line of "Like the Guildmaster of Ainz Ooal Gown she too holds Nazarick and it's denizens as something prescious worth protecting at all cost" (are I'm overiding Albedo's character , yes I am but with Tsuna here the story is gonna be different because he IS here)

- terrorizing this world's dragon population because for a difference of Momonga his build isn't roleplay focused(as much as he loves lore) but a solidly combat focused , more specifically his build is similar to Ulbert aka magic glass canon that can easily take you out with just one spell even and if you're a max level specialized tank

- mitigate if not stop the "Splat" from happening by being the voice of reason to NOT use a mass sacrificing ritual on what are most likely farmers who didn't have a choice other than to comply with the crown or be executed for "treason" (the war still ends in a massacre but no one got sacrificed to an literal lovecraftian God)

- have the whole of Nazarick trying to come up with a way to also get him immorality

And just overall being both a nuisance on anyone who tries to down play or insult Nazarizk and Momonga along with also being Nazarick common sense and morality person

Then at some point Vongola somehow get him back and more specifically in his human body . The result is an extremely pissed Nazarick who will be into the KHR world in less than 5 months ready for blood .

And in those 5 month Tsuna is going to be both 1) extremely depressed because he thinks the only place he ever felt like was his home is no longer accessible and he's no longer able to contact Momonga (who might be dead in body) and 2) is slowly going to make Vongola pay for taking him from the both the dream he had and because of how they not only mistreat him but also badmouth his guild and more specifically Mimonga (his Dad)

Result

You have a very angry Nazarick led by PvP and Guild War veteran of world class Momonga(who is also either a Cloud , Sky or a mix of those two and very protective of HIS people ) who is fully ready to kill people with the whole of Nazarick on his side and with Albedo , Demiurge and Pandora Actor given full premison to get what is needed no matter the method

And you also have hell bent on revenge Tsuna who actually not only has experience how to wild flames as easy as breathing but armed with all his spells and ready to take Vongola and the Mafia down

Needless to say Vongola and the rest of the underworld are fucked

(also let's add Skull as Ulbert just for the lol)

(I actually already have Tsuna's build and race in mind and even a world item a can give him that I made for him specifically)

[grizzersmamma]

Beyond the Loch | Monster CoD AU | Chapter 3.

Summary: “With monsters now being used the world over to wage war, the military is desperate to encourage non-human citizens to join their ranks. A young kelpie, John ‘Soap’ MacTavish, is invited to join the infamous Task Force 141, the first task force in history to be headed up by a monster. Soon after joining, he encounters a black dog, an omen of death known only as Ghost. Determined to prove that not all black dogs are harbingers of disaster and misfortune, he decides to become Ghost’s field partner, becoming close to the spirit while everyone else flees from him terror. Only time can tell if he’ll come to regret it or not.”

Notes: Decided to create my own CoD Monster AU! I’ve seen loads of different AUs, but this will be my own personal take on what creatures the different characters would be. 

Pairing(s): Future Ghost/Soap. Other to be added.

Warnings: Unedited because I’m tired ;w;.

Series Masterlist

Previous: Chapter 2.

Next: Chapter 4.

Kelpies are an oddity, Ghost has decided. 

Of course, he cannot know for sure if all kelpies are so strange or if it’s simply the personality of his new sergeant. For now, he will have to assume that it is a quirk of the species, but just in case, he’ll have to continue observing the other man from a distance. It has been less than 48 hours and already he is causing quite the stir.  

Currently, the sergeant is stood in the middle of the field of grass that surrounds the base on all sides. He has shifted from his human form and into a more natural shape. Ghost isn’t too proud to admit to himself when he finds something or someone impressive, and the equine from of John MacTavish is certainly that.  

A stunning, muscular stallion with a black coat that shines a deep green in the sunlight like the iridescent feathers of a bird. It’s an unnatural, ethereal animal so similar to a regular horse yet completely different at the same time. The mane has been cut short, closely resembling the Mohawk the man sports, but his tail has been left to grow out. He watches silently as it swishes, snapping at any instincts foolish enough to try and land on the monster’s body.  

Ghost settles himself onto the grass across from the other man, no longer in his human form. A batch of new recruits has recently arrived and the captain has decided that it would be best to get the human ones desensitized to the monsters they will be working alongside as soon as possible. And so, Ghost has been forced to spend his brief break between jobs lounging near them in his canine form.  

There is, of course, a healthy level of curiosity among the humans, many of them trying to take subtle looks at him from where they’re training. With any luck they’ll soon grow bored of gawking at him and his fellow monsters. He hates the attention.  

Soap, however, seems not to have that issue, flaunting his stunning form much to the delight of the younger soldiers . It takes him a while to finally notice Ghost’s presence, ears pricked forward in his direction and head raising to stare at the dog. He snorts, shaking out his mane before tilting his head slightly to the side so their eyes meet. 

He doesn’t behave like a prey animal staring down a massive dog bigger than it. He watches Ghost with great intensity, but not with the flighty nervousness of a horse, rather a predator observing potential prey. His eyes don’t flutter about in search of danger, they stay pinpointed on the other animal in interest. Two dangerous predators, one obvious in his threat, the other a mimic, pretending to be a gentle, fragile creature. He can see why naïve humans would so easily fall for such a beautiful creature only to be torn to pieces in the blink of an eye.  

But Ghost is no newly whelped pup, he knows how it feels to be regarded by another beast.  

His point is proven when Soap suddenly yawns. His mouth opens, but rather than opening normally, his whole face splits open. All the way from the centre of Soap’s lips to the hinge of his jaw pull apart like a snake, showing off the row of shark-like serrated teeth hidden within. A human head could easily fit between the monster’s jaws and Ghost doesn’t doubt he has the strength needed to separate one from the rest of the body.  

He hopes one day he’ll be fortunate enough to see it for himself.  

Despite his interest, he forces himself to tear his eyes away from the other monster, ignoring the way his fur is standing on end under the horse’s intense scrutiny. He goes back to observing the fresh meat instead, watching the rather poor form of the men only just learning their way around the obstacle course.  

The men have all been handpicked from their previous positions and brought on board to join the task force due to their promising potential, but they’re all rough around the edges, at least by Ghost’s standards. They seem to be able to sense his gaze, occasionally glancing in his direction before looking away again just as quickly, as if his eyes alone will eat them alive.  

He supposes it doesn’t really matter; he likely won’t be working closely alongside any of them. The Ghost works alone. 

Soap seems to be much more suited to working with others. He’s easily approachable and seems to get along with everyone he encounters. No wonder Price decided to invite the man to join the team, he can already tell that the kelpie was a good choice. Just a few hours earlier, Soap was showing off some of his skills under the guise of training.  

If the rest of the men hope to work with the new monster, then it’s imperative they learn how Soap behaves and how to work his abilities into battle plans. He’d only showed off a half-shifted form the same as he’d done the previous afternoon, displaying his agility and speed below the water. He’s swift and dangerous, with powerful muscles that move him through the murky lake like a crocodile. 

And now, Soap is trotting across the field, head pulled back to form an elegant curve. He looks like one of those fancy horses performing dressage, each movement carefully choreographed so that not a single ounce of energy is needlessly expended. It isn’t until the kelpie lifts his head to regard Ghost with a pleased whinny that he realises he’d been staring again. He feels his own ears flatten back against his head, irritated at himself. 

The horse, however, seems mighty pleased with the attention, flicking his tail and snorting.  

Ghost can’t help rolling his eyes at the behaviour, leaning down to rest his head on his paws with a soft huff. Thankfully, he's saved from explaining himself to the sergeant by a young corporal jogging over and waving down the kelpie. The human quickly starts to relay an order from Price and while the two of them are distracted, Ghost is able to slip away unseen.  

Well, as unseen as a black behemoth of a dog can at least. 

He manages to get to the building where the command team offices are located before shifting back into his human form. His clothes materialise around him - one of the perks of being a ghost - and he's able to slip inside.  

Price's office is located beside his own, allowing them to easily reach one another. More often than not, Ghost will find himself scooping up his laptop or whatever paperwork he needs to fill out and bringing it to the Captain's office rather than his own. He typically prefers his own company, but occasionally even he feels the need for some social interaction. Even if the interaction is limited to sitting silently while in someone's presence. 

He decides to pause at his own office, collecting the handful of papers that have been deposited on his desk. He's due to meet with Price now for details on an upcoming mission, but it will be a fairly unofficial briefing seeing as it's set to be a solo mission. He might as well bring some paperwork to complete afterwards. 

When certain he has everything he needs, Ghost raps on the captain's door, waiting patiently until a soft "it's open," comes from the other side. The room is fairly dark when he enters, the cool, dim lighting being what the dragon finds most comfortable. The man should be lazing around in some deep cave up in the mountains, but he's doing the best he can with what he has to work with. 

The captain is courteous enough to switch on the lights when dealing with humans and their inferior eyesight, but Ghost is more than happy to be lurking about in the darkness with only the bright glinting of Price's visible. It's a pleasant place, especially with the scent of cigar and dragon smoke in the air.  

"Captain," Ghost greets with a brief nod.  

He's met by a deep rumbling sound that could easily be mistaken for a growl, but Ghost has been around the other monster long enough to recognise the slightly gentler tone, more of a pleased purr than anything aggressive. It's an internal battle to resist the urge to wag his tail at the greeting. Lord knows he would never be able to live it down, instinctive or not. 

"Lieutenant," Price hums back, resting the cigar he had been in the process of smoking on the edge of his ash tray. "Take a seat, we're just waiting on one more," he continues. 

"One more...?" Ghost asks slowly, eyebrows furrowed behind his mask as he dutifully takes the seat the captain had gestured to. Perhaps one of the intelligence operatives had more to inform them of? 

"Yes," Price confirms, rumbling softly to himself as he strokes his beard in thought, "the new sergeant, MacTavish. I've decided to assign him to this mission." 

Ghost beats down the way he immediately goes to bristle at that, remaining calm as he says, "I thought this was a simple in-and-out mission?" 

"It will be, hardly anything worth losing sleep over," the dragon confirms, leaning back into his chair, "which is precisely why I thought it would be a good first mission for Soap. To test the waters, see how he works with someone else." 

Now that's a little suspicious. Soap has a long list of successful missions working alongside both humans and other monsters. There's no need to test how the kelpie would do around others and he highly doubted the other man needed to be eased into the job. "Anything else?" He knows that Price can see his narrowed eyes, even if his suspicious frown is obscured. 

The lizard is entirely unfazed, offering a mere shrug before taking a puff of his dying cigar. "Not particularly," he smiles, but is apparently unable to hide the intensity in his slitted eyes, "although, I will require a report on MacTavish's abilities, what you think of him." Price might have waved his hand lazily at the addition, as though it was unimportant, but Ghost is smart enough to read between the lines. 

The captain isn't trying to find out how Soap works with other people in general, he's trying to find out how he works with Ghost. 

Price is saved only by the sound of another knock on the office door, otherwise Ghost would be telling the man exactly what he thought of putting him with the sergeant. It was a terrible idea that would only get the kelpie hurt, and Soap didn’t deserve to be dragged down just because he didn’t have the common sense to keep well enough away.  

Most people were smart enough to keep Ghost firmly at a distance from them, only ever cooperating with him when they needed something from him. And he was fine with that, really, it was better for everyone that way, no matter how many times Price tried to prove to him otherwise.  

Ghost didn’t need another Roach on his hands.  

While Soap isn’t exactly a replacement perse – it has been several years since the horrible failure that ended with Roach in critical condition and almost a dozen men dead – Ghost can’t help seeing the similarities in their situation. A young, bright eyed and eager sergeant being assigned to work alongside him only to end up medically discharged or worse because of a bad call.  

For everyone who gets close to Ghost is always plays out the same way. They pry apart the thick walls he’s built around himself and remind him how to feel hope, entertaining the idea that maybe, just maybe, this time will be different.  

Yet it never is, and Ghost isn't going to allow himself to grow attached to any other poor soul that just so happens to be unlucky enough to stumble into his life.  

Price calls for the person outside to enter and a moment later Sergeant MacTavish is standing beside Ghost’s chair, facing the captain. “Captain Price, Lieutenant Ghost,” the man acknowledges, offering a nod to both in turn.  

“Have a seat, MacTavish, and we’ll get on with the briefing,” Price returns, nodding at the seat beside Ghost.  

The briefing takes only a short while, with the simplicity and prior discussed information making everything go much faster. But for Ghost it feels as though it drags on for hours and he can’t wait for it to be over so he can finally have a serious conversation with the captain again away from potential prying ears.  

When there are no further questions from either himself nor Soap, Ghost waits patiently for the other man to leave, but Price is quick to pipe up before he can, “I need to speak with the sergeant, so for now, you’re dismissed lieutenant.”  

His fingers twitch slightly in annoyance, but not wanting Soap to know something is wrong, he stands and offers the captain a salute. Ghost is a professional, he can tolerate working with someone, even if it would be easier to simply complete the mission alone. He’s not going to allow the presence of some new sergeant distract him.  

[empirearchives]

What do you make of a claim that Napoleon "lacked soft skills" or at least severely underestimated the power of diplomacy?

He was a much better diplomat than he’s given credit for. He compromised for the sake of peace many times. He restored and normalized France’s diplomatic influence with the other countries, which had collapsed and was nonexistent before him. His regime lasted much longer than any of the other revolutionary regimes and survived multiple coalition wars (no other regime survived even one full coalition).

His victories are always credited to his military success and that’s definitely true, but forgotten are his diplomatic accomplishments which backed all of them. Let’s remember that he was a diplomat of France before he became head of state (a successful one at that).

One problem is that people treat him like he was the only person with agency. All breakdowns of peace are pinned on him by default. Never any questioning the other rulers lack of care for diplomacy.

I believe that there are personal accounts that have been exaggerated and embellished to make him out to be uncouth or fitting the stereotype of a fiery Corsican savage (“uncivilized”). Many of these accounts are used to justify declaring war on France. “Napoleon was mean so therefore thousands must die.” Basically excuses and propaganda.

I also think there is an element of truth to them and there were real cultural gaps that made people misinterpret him as being brusque or rude. He came from a different background and was raised with different social norms.

Many of his allies abroad were murdered or died (ex: Fox in England, Tsar Paul in Russia). That’s not his fault. That’s not due to any of his personal diplomatic weakness. That’s just being unlucky.

Besides his asshole-ness and pettiness, he was also a delightful person who was able to charm even the most offensively hostile world rulers and representatives. The breakdowns in peace weren’t because of his personality or lack of soft skills, but due to incompatible differences in geopolitical interests of the countries involved.

And let’s be real, Napoleon understood the stakes. He knew that no amount soft skills or diplomacy could make up for military defeat. And he was right. He had created alliances across the continent which had all amounted to nothing when the coalition armies marched onto their lands and had them surrounded. These same allies abandoned him the second he was militarily weak because they basically had no choice. Everyone had to bow down to brute force.

The problem with many accounts of his diplomacy is that they don’t actually seek to explain *his* perspective or what he was trying to accomplish and why. You have to be careful to recognize when something is a bad faith assessment.

Basically anything the assigns “ego” or “narcissism” or “selfishness” as a reasoning for his actions (lol) but presents other French and coalition leaders as selfless patriots in contrast to him is straight up propaganda and should never be taken seriously. That’s not to say he had no flaws or made no mistakes, but those are biased character attacks, not genuine historical descriptions of his motives.

[veliara]

hihi! i'll ask a few <:

12. How much does your OC's background and origin affect their approach to relationships? Are there specific insecurities or preferences that lead on from their past?

29. What makes a scene or situation "romantic" in your opinion? Is this something you find easy to portray?

38. What is your favourite depiction of romance (or sex if you prefer) that you have produced? Or if you haven't produced one yet, then what is your favourite example from another creator?

Well, hi ^^) thanks for the ask! (I'm going to speak from Ciel's example, since she's my main original character) 12.How much does your OC's background and origin affect their approach to relationships? Are there specific insecurities or preferences that lead on from their past? Ciel's background, her family's influence had a lot of effect on her preferences. She is naive at times, a bit too trusting with those who have treated her with kindness. Growing up in a loving and affectionate family, she misses the feeling of serenity she had at home. Until one day she discovers that same serenity in the oddest company in whole Ishgard. She didn't plan on seeking a relationship at the beginning of her adventures, let's just say they sort of fell on her. She wanted to see the world, to taste freedom. The result of her upbringing has caused her to have a strange flaw. She doesn't know how to live for herself. She doesn't want anything for herself. That's the way she was raised. To live for others. Only to give. It's normal for her. So finding herself in Ishgard, in a world where she, “half-breed boy” is despised at best, in a company that almost the entire city tries to stay away from, she learns to live for herself, to want something/someone and learns to protect it. (Even if that “someone” is a 7ft tall guy in plate armor who clearly doesn't need this protection.)

29.What makes a scene or situation "romantic" in your opinion? Is this something you find easy to portray? For me, it's the details that make a scene romantic: the glances, the soft and gentle touches. Silence or quiet, relaxed conversations, when my characters are at ease, “without the armor and masks” they wear in front of outsiders. The intertwining of fingers. A kiss on the temple, when lips linger a little longer than necessary. Intimacy of being themself in the company of their partner. Allowing themself to be vulnerable and knowing they won't be harmed (in any sense of the word). That's what romance to me in a scene. I'm completely incapable of writing spicy scenes, too afraid to vulgarize the precious things I've been trying to create for so long. But I absolutely love writing soft romance.

38.What is your favourite depiction of romance (or sex if you prefer) that you have produced? Or if you haven't produced one yet, then what is your favourite example from another creator? There are a few scenes, in part 2 that make me smile stupidly. My favorite is when Ciel, at Paul's request( Oh, you one-eyed devil!! >.<), comes to keep an eye on Grinnaux, who is asleep after being wounded by a poisoned blade. He missed the blow because of her, so she blamed herself. In the end, the stroking of his hair, which to her surprise he loves, turned into a gentle cuddling. She doesn't understand what's going on, he's not really conscious and acting on some inner instinct. And then he wakes up… I'm not gonna write this scene here. Maybe one day I'll translate it and make some screens if I feel like it. Who knows?

P.S. I apologize for the long answer. I would like to say a lot more things, but I`ll keep myself in bay. I'm the kind of person who can talk for hours about my character and her adventures.

[mentaly-british-biologist]

TF2 PLAYABLE CAHARCTER LORE:

Okay, so just some context. Mann Co is a business organisation that runs most other companies in the world. Everything was shared equally between two brothers/heirs to the corporations power and money, apart from one thing in particular. A gravel pit.These two brothers, known as Redmond and Blutard Mann wanted to overachive and be better than one another, so decided to hire mercenaries to fight for this land. This original team, founded between 1800-1850's was comprised of Billy the Kid, Stonewall Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Alfred Nobel, John Henry, Nikola Tesla, Sigmund Freud, Davy Crockett, and Fu Manchu. They would take the roles of the mercinaries like so:

Scout: Billy the Kid (1859 - 1881)

Soldier: Stonewall Jackson (1824 - 1863)

Pyro: Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

Demoman: Alfred Nobel (1833 - 1896)

Heavy: John Henry (Folk Hero)

Engineer: Nikola Tesla (1856 - 1943)

Medic: Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939)

Sniper: Davy Crockett (1786 - 1836)

Spy: Fu Manchu (Fictional Villain)

These people would battle with others with similar weapons, stature, and power until they would eventually get too old to fight.After this, the two brothers soon realised that they may die prematurely before the battle could end, so asked for personal commissioned machinery designed to keep them alive for longer. [[This will be elaborated in the plot later, this stuff is kinda important.]]Okay, now the old team is dead. Time for the new ones. 1930's mercs were probably the most advanced out of all of the mercs, with the 1850 mercenaries looking like they've been pulled off the streets to fight, and the 1970 mercs looking like a mix of the two old teams designs. Everyone has some sort of camo on them apart from their engineer, who possibly be Fred Conagher, the father of the Engineer we know and love. Fred Conhager, in particular, may be the same man who created the machines keeping the Mann brothers alive, but we are currently unsure. The next generation, and the one we know today is the 1970's team. This consists of:

Scout- Jeremy

Soldier- Jane Doe

Pyro- Unknown

Demoman- Tavish Finnegan DeGroot

Heavy- Mikhail

Engineer- Dell Conagher

Medic- Mr. Ludwig

Sniper- Mick Mundy (Adoptive name)

Spy- Unknown

Along side them is Ms.Pauling and The Administrator. I'll list out characters as shown, one by one.

**SCOUT**

Full name is unknown, so we'll stick to Jeremy. He was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He is the youngest of eight children, and so constantly looks for attention. Can't read, but can run extremely fast. Seems that a specific brand of fizzy drink, known as Atomic Bonk can make him much faster. Dies in the comics and goes to heaven, whete he is told he was God's gift to all women, and was sent back to earth to 'get laid' [[This is the comics words, not mine]]

Has a tattoo of tom jones with the words 'S€X BOM' on it [Told you he couldn't read] and is canonically Spy's son. Has a crush on Ms. Pauling.

**SOLDIER**

His name may not even be Jane Doe. Because those are USA and UK placeholder names for unidentifiable corpses. [[Jane Doe as a woman]] Is a God-fearing patriotic Midwest American. Despite his role in the team, he has not once been in a war situation. He just got to the frontlines in WW2 and started blowing up Germans. He has lead poisoning, although we're not sure if that's why he's like this, he is extremely aggressive and has a special move called 'rocket jumping' where he can fire a rocket at his feet, shooting him into the air. It doesn't hurt him however, because he doesn't think it will [[So stupid he bends nature's laws at will??!?!?]] He was also roommates with a wisard called Merasmus. Merasmus kicked him out, and tom jones became his new roommate.

Soldier kills tom jones. For no reason. Soldier is also in love with Heavy's sister, Zhanna.

**PYRO**

Whoo boy, this is a confusing one. We do not know Pyro's gender, where they're from, or even if they are a person. We do know that many characters refer to Pyro as he/him, but Soldier does have a suspicion that they might be a woman. He may be schizophrenic, or it could be their optical mask, but he sees the battle as a fluffy arena filled with unicorns and lollipops. However, they do have the capacity to be very much enraged, and cut off Soldier's hand once when in a car with Demoman and Ms. Pauling.

**DEMOMAN**

Drunk. Born in Ullapool, Scottland. His parents were Tilly DeGroot and her husband who we don't know , whom both are blind. Demoman was put up for adoption by them after being bad at blowing things up. He would eventually find a book called 'The Bomonicon' [[I hope i wrote that right]] with a mischievous spirit inside. Once he had opened the book, the spirit inside made it's way to his eye, haunting his eyesocket, and making him lose said eye. He then blows up his adoptive parents while trying to hunt for the loch ness monster, then gets taken back by his original parents. His mother keeps asking him to get a job, even though he makes 3 million+ a year. Loves alcohol. Like, really loves alcohol, so much so, that when he eats normal food, his body thinks it's been poisoned. After an extensive time away from alcohol, his body turns his stomach into a makeshift distillery, fermenting bone marrow into alcohol. This alcohol in particular is so strong, it gives blood-sucking robots [[Don't ask]] alcohol poisoning. Can also do something similar to Soldier by 'Stickybomb jumping' that also takes no damage, due to him being too drunk.

**HEAVY**

Heavy was born in Russia sometime around WW1. His father was an anti-revolutionary who opposed the Communist uprising, so he was executed and Heavy's family put in the gulag for three months before it was burnt down in 1941 and all the guards tortured to death. Yeah, you heard me right, the gulag. He has three sisters called Zhanna, Yana and Bronislava. His mothers name is currently unknown to us. His weight is the same as his HP: 300. He is quite a nice guy when it comes to his teammates and gives even more affection to his guns, who of one he has a case at the end of his bed for. This gun in particular is named Sasha, of which he is very possessive and which weighs 150 kilograms and fires $200 custom-tooled cartridges at 10,000 rounds per minute. He also reveals that it costs $400,000 to fire his weapon for 12 seconds. Heavy has named all of his primary weapons, basic Minigun being Sasha, Tomislav being Svetlana, Brass Beast being Oksana and Huo Long Heater being Sheila. He was also the first in the team to have the experimental ubercharge operation and survive, making him bulletproof. Also sandvich.

**ENGINEER**

Known as Dell Conagher, this man has eleven PhD's. Yes, you read that right. ELEVEN. He was born in Bee Cave, Texas, USA, and may or may not be related to one of the previous mercinaries in the classic team. Apart from this, he has created machines like teleporters [[Don't put bread in them]], sentries, and dispensers that he can place around the battlefield to help his team. He is friends with Pyro, and seems to understand them, despite their speech being muffled. One of the only few to help The Administrator with her Australium-Age related problem, and answered the phone for her when she died once.

**MEDIC**

Okay, this will be too long if I go into detail. This is quickfire. Mr. Ludwig was born in Stuttgart, Germany and has little regard for the Hippocratic Oath. He is insane. He loves doves, especially his most beloved one, Archimedes. Managed to get into contact with the devil and made a deal that would cost his soul. We do not know what he had sold his soul for, but the chances it was for his medical 'discoveries' is quite high. Managed to steal an entire skeleton and got away. Lost his medical licence soon after this. While giving his teammates surgeries, stole all of their souls and surgically added them to his own soul. During a Halloween party, he was caught off gaurd by a mugger. After knocking him out, he then put the muggers brain in a pumpkin.This would later help him out. Re-hired to aid the 1930 Classic team for a new leader, *Grey Mann*. When sniper was shot down by the classic's heavy, he brought him back to life an hour later with the help of a blue whale's pineal gland directly into his brain stem. The entire surgery cost about 1.3 billion dollars. Classic heavy, after seeing this, crushes his favourite dove, Archimedes. He also brings his bird back to life. After this, classic heavy and Medic get into a fight. Heavy shows up, only for classic heavy to shoot Ludwig twice in the chest. After quickly swindling the devil by giving him another soul for a pen, he comes back to life, and then pretends it is an inducer that would make classic heavy give birth to three healthy baby baboons, due to the three baboon uterus's he had placed inside him during a surgery [[I'm confused too, don't worry]] Classic heavy belives the bluff, giving Heavy enough time to take him down. after that, he takes out the real inducer and claims that the human body could only generate two at the most.

**SNIPER**

He is Australian.

Except, he isn't. He's a New Zealander.

New Zealand is Atlantis btw.

His adoptive name is Mick Mundy, although his real first name is Mun-dee, like his real mother and father, Bil-Bel and Lar-nah, making his real name Mun-dee Mundy. New Zealand is underwater due to the fact that the geniuses wanted to isolate themselves from the rest of the world. After being shot out of the country in a Krypton-Superman-Spacepod style fashion, he is adopted by Jonathan Mundy and his wife Mrs. Mundy in Australia. He then becomes skilled in shooting from afar. In the most previous comic, he dies. Medic brings him back to life, and he immediately attacks him, asking why he was the last person he saw before bleeding out. Yeah, he also pees in a jar and throws it at people as a weapon, so... yeah. Also, golf trophy.

**SPY**

Not much is really known about his past but all that is known is that he was born in France in an unknown region. It's a mystery on how he became a master spy and a master of disguise as no one knows if someone trained him or he rather he trained himself. We do know however, that he is Scout's father. He seems to hate everyone and everything, and may or may not have lung cancer due to how many cigarettes he smokes. He is snarky, witty, and cocky, some of these traits are shared with Scout also. He got shot in the kneecaps when a plan in the latest comic, and Sniper saved him by shooting the guy who did it. He also disguised as Tom Jones when Scout was dying, and for the first time, directly called him son. He wears a custom tailored Louis Crabbermaché suit, is valued at $10,000, and has his own smoking room within the base.

I made this all in the Undertale server. Don't ask.

This took me three days to do.

[xo-cuteplosion-xo]

Eeeeee I never know if my rambles are any good but here is me doing a sort of study into Dazai and Ranpo kinda analyzing their intelligence.

Could it be completely wrong... yeah... is it a bit of a personal take... kinda... did I kinda do some research? I did actually but surface level.

It's 1,667 words : )

Confidence to post this from my moot @pompompurin1028

Character studies:

Dazai and Ranpo

Dazai and Ranpo are both incredibly interesting characters. In more than one way they remind me of one another. The two are both highly intelligent and it's hard to say which would outsmart the other considering their intelligence differences.

Dazai is shown to be more of a mastermind. His intelligence is specific and direct. He bases predictions on the observations of people and the natural order of how a person operates. It's almost philosophical in a way. There's this certain disconnect to the world.

While on the other hand, Ranpo shares a similar disconnect but in a very different manner. Ranpo's definite is being able to observe and connect quickly. Hexs somebody who is hyper-observant and his brain processes information quickly and efficiently. He can "see through" people because he observes the smallest details most wouldn't notice. He can't actually do anything without evidence. We see his downfall with the perfect crime. However, through observing outside information from the crowd to things he noticed and looked around he was still able to find the murderer. Be it he did this a bit slower than he is used to he solved something that nobody else in this universe would have been able to solve.

It's arguable that perhaps Dazai may have been able to but I'd say because Dazai is oriented towards predictability and problem-solving he wouldn't have been able to find the perpetrator. Dazai would have observed that something was wrong, it was too perfect. There was a lack of evidence. Yes, you can create a perfect crime but Dazai most likely would have found something up with the scenario and looked for an ability that would have caused this.

My basis for why this sort of scenario would take Dazai longer is purely in the way we have seen him act. When it came to seeing Ranpo work he was rather impressed and admits to admiring him. It's not direct but the panel says "why ranpo is admonished by the agency." If Dazai didn't also think he was impressive then these words would have had a different spacing or flow and different words completely. I genuinely think Dazai in a way sees his flaws as being backed up by Ranpo.

Both are incredibly intelligent and have been such since they were small children.

The only difference is their environment.

The environment a child grows in and learns has a large impact on the development of their intellectual capabilities.

I don't think the Dazai we see today is the same type of smart as the Dazai we see in 15.

(Welcome to Lu losing their academic sources : (... oops )

I read in some studies that a child with an above-average IQ that is nurtured and has positive influences even when faced with trauma will develop an outlook that allows them to slip better into society and feel less estranged from others. Ranpo is a fine example of this. He suffered a great trauma with the loss of his parents but because of Fukuzawa, he was raised in those important teen years by somebody who nurtured and gave him hope allowing him to "fit in" his intelligence was forced in front of him and flaunted. That seemed to be avoided by Fukuzawa. He didn't want the child to grow up thinking he was too different and to put himself at risk because numbers said he'd be fine. This is shown when he gets so upset at Ranpo for putting his life on the line to solve a case. Ranpo is shown that intelligence isn't everything he's just like everybody else a life worth existing. He learned that lives should never be risked for the sake of a successful plan there will always be a route around. He became egotistical and motivated by praise but he values the lives of others and grew compassionate.

On the other end of this spectrum is a child whose intelligence is shoved in their face. It's the only trait that is ever acknowledged and they are even punished when that single aspect is not up to performing In other words an environment where the child is scolded and only ever acknowledged for intelligence in an abusive situation is commonly going to befall a bath of separation from others or will dehumanizing themselves. Dazai is a prime example of a child's intelligence being incorrectly handled. We don't know how things were for him before mori but some of the most crucial years of a child's life are those teen years. As intelligent as he was at the time, an adult influence still would have made a huge impact, and whether it's something that is solid or not Mori's role in his life was the most prominent adult presence. From the age of 14 to 18 Mori's abusive treatment of Dazai would have shaped his intelligence to look past morals and "basic human ideology" and see simply the open board. I like that it's often shown as Dazai making moves in chess because it's a very good example. Chess is a game of sacrifice and risk. This type of raw intelligence isn't a natural talent. You can be born with a high IQ but the shape of that IQ is nurtured. Dazai had to be cunning, risky, and sacrificial in the Mafia. It's not a place where he could place value on life. It's highly likely his situation pre-mafia wasn't any better. He already felt separated from humanity Mori's "care" only made things worse for a kind already starting to separate himself from others. If Dazai had been in a situation similar to Ranpo's he would likely have seen his intelligence lean closer to Ranpo's observational intelligence.

I also like to look at the two of them, now versus then.

We see a huge change with Ranpo. He doesn't take huge risks like sacrificing people on purpose. He tries to solve things without doing harm. When. He shakes the agency shakes. They rely on him because he's empathetic and understanding though he doesn't make it obvious.

Dazai is less obvious but if we look at 15 dazai and the current dazai there's a definite difference between the two of them. 15 Dazai was still exploring his capabilities. Planning and acting was still somewhat new having only just truly gotten into the mafia. We see him predict things and notice things but his details and explanations are mainly observational habits. We don't see him purposefully putting him or Chuuya into severe life-threatening danger the way we see him act in Storm Bringer. He doesn't sacrifice "pieces" then in Dark Era we see a severe drop in his attitude toward others. Even somebody he is close to is put to the test and toyed with in a way. We see him more organized and far more willing to sacrifice others for his goals than we noticed in 15. Then there is the ADA Dazai. There's manipulation of feelings but he's never put others in a place where the risk was overly dramatic. Kyouka was a gamble but it can be inferred that it was indeed the only way to save her from either execution or being killed in action. Even in Dead Apple, his gamble did put others at risk but he didn't purposefully try and kill any of his coworkers or pieces. I believe it's a fair assumption that none of them were in real grave danger. Dazai in prison however can be seen as almost slipping back. I believe the influence on Dazai with his surroundings is more important than anything else with him. Around Fyodor we see the light in his eyes drain. BSD really likes paying close attention to the eyes in the manga It tells us a lot about a character. Dazai's emptier looks usually reflect when he's around remnants of his past or he's acting similar to how he would have in the mafia. It's not a complete slip but he takes gambles that could get others killed. We don't know of it was his intentions are with a lot of his "moves" but what little we can infer from panels and expressions it's clear Dazai has less regard for human life and the only reason he doesn't do things the way he did is because of his promise to Oda. Oda was the first positive influence he had as a child. Around oda Dazai's intelligence was observational rather than performing in an analytical way. He wasn't taking knowing the situation and doing background research to figure out he'd lose his friends. No, he analyzed Ango's small details. He recognized things without any sacrifices and came to the conclusion that things wouldn't stay like this because of a pattern of events in his life not the rules of the world. He subjected himself to personal feelings and thoughts rather than the logical straightforward approach. This part could be argued but I truly think Dazai's thought process altered around Ango and Oda then around the agency he began to see a bit more of why protecting people was better than sacrificing them.

I believe Dazai and Ranpo have equal intelligence they just have separate types of intellectual capability because of their differentiating upbringings. I want to look more into how they contrast and yet complete each other's weaker areas eventually but at the moment this is all I have written out and all the journals I've read so far. I have a feeling that Ranpo is sorta that white knight of intelligence while Dazai is the dark knight of intelligence. They are equal and yet completely different and yet both are just as important to the overall "game". I could also probably go more into detail about how Dazai's upbringing with his intellect only created a worse issue of separation between himself and those around him. It's a concept I'm still building on but I think Dazai and Ranpo complement each other in a parallel kind of way.

[franstastic-ideas]

Can I have the entire 50 character ask thing for your favorite sisterhood girl pls I like hearing about them

Ohhhh, don't make me CHOOSE!

I know I've already spoken quite a bit about Akari, but maybe I still haven't enough!

1. Canon I outright reject

Her being fifteen.

Akari's age should be up to interpretation, and I say this is a 21-22 year old woman who happens to be short.

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on

Hikari and Akari are one and the same, not separate people with an uncanny resemblance to one another.

3. Obscure headcanon

She has a deep, lovely, womanly voice...

Akari doesn't quite laugh out loud, so much as give a soft, breathy chuckle or snicker. But, if and whenever she does laugh, it sounds like the crowing of a Murkrow.

4. Favorite line

Not exactly my favorite, but it's the funniest in and out of context:

*said in the calmest of tones and with the most serene of smiles*

"Thorton, would you kindly shut your mouth?"

5. Best personality trait

She's extremely perseverant. She would have to be to have endured as much as she has in Hisui, as well as be perceived as a near unstoppable force by the general public.

6. Worst personality trait

Akari is extremely guarded about her softer emotions and can come off as cold because of that.

Due to her ambivalent sentiments towards the possibility of entering a romantic relationship, she either ignores the affection given to her by an admirer or will play the oblivious game for as long as possible (when she's not, you know, actually being oblivious).

7. Age/height/weight headcanon

As stated above, she is a 21-22 year old woman to me who just happens to be short - perhaps 5 ft. 2 in.

As for her weight... she's lost quite a bit since her arrival in Hisui.

8. Unpopular opinion about them

I'm personally not at all fond of her being characterized as this innocent, naive little creature that Volo takes great and perverse pleasure in manipulating and betraying.

9. Scene that first made me love (or hate) the character

Her mere existence was enough for me to love her.

But Akari possibly being the only protagonist to have embarked on a second adventure depending on personal interpretation definitely caught my interest.

10. Best moment on screen (or in the book)

When she calmly asserts herself against Kamado during the trial that will decide Volo's fate.

No matter how much Kamado raises his voice arguing that he can no longer be trusted to keep his word and needs to be punished severely for his actions, Akari responds to him with a calculating coolness.

11. Faceclaim for the role

Akari has a design already, so I'll share my voice claim for her instead: Kikyo (Willow Johnson) from Inuyasha.

12. Crack headcanon

Akari won't allow herself to show any weakness - but thinking about Wheatley, her Rotom back in Sinnoh, reduces her to such a visibly miserable state, always letting out a deep sigh before saying:

"I miss my Rotom, (name). I miss him so much..."

13. Dumbest thing they’ve ever done

Actually considering for all of a moment eating the only-Arceus-knows-how-outdated Old Gateau she found in the Old Chateau.

14. Most heroic moment

Ask anyone in Hisui and they'll tell you it's when she survived her banishment and managed to quell Origin Forme Palkia's frenzy, thereby saving the entire world.

And then after that, taking down a deranged Volo on Mount Coronet's peak along with none other than The Renegade, a Legendary Pokémon created by almighty Sinnoh/Arceus with a history so violent that it warranted what was intended to be eternal banishment to The Distortion World.

15. Worst thing they’ve ever done

Akari turning her back on Volo after he lowered himself to his hands and knees begging for her forgiveness.

It's something she almost immediately began to regret. That desperate, tearful expression of his wouldn't leave her mind.

16. Deepest darkest secret they won’t even admit to themselves

She truly does want someone to love her. A man that will love her and only her to the point of obsession.

17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them

Golden Afternoon by Circus-P.

"I'm invincible To all the rage, the hate, the pain of fate I am vulnerable To all my rage, my hate, the pace at which I change"

18. What they’d go to see a therapist about

Every single hardship she experienced in Hisui honestly warrants therapy, but she has too much pride to ever even momentarily consider attending a session.

19. Vices/bad habits

Akari tends to treat others in a similar manner to how she is treated. She won't stoop to pettiness or cruelty, but she will behave more coldly towards those who have wronged her.

20. Scars

Emotionally, her father abandoning her she was still small. He said being a married man with a child wasn't what he wanted out of life after all, so he left Twinleaf Town and never looked back.

Her mother fiercely believed that he would return, but once the realization he wouldn't finally struck her, Ayako stopped speaking for a while and accidentally neglected Hikari. Jun was Hikari's source of sunshine during this time.

Physically, I sometimes imagine she has a small to medium X-shaped scar on her chest from her battle with Lord Kleavor, and a few burns from the one with Lord Arcanine.

21. Drink of choice (not just alcoholic)

Berry Juice, or Razz Berry Tea

22. Best physical feature

Her long, flowing, slate-colored hair has caught the eye of several.

23. If they were a scented candle, what would they smell like?

Lemon and Lavender~

24. Most annoying habit

She tends to intimidate others with her silvery gaze, something that more often than not isn't intentional.

25. 3 things they’d want to take with them if they were dropped off in the middle of nowhere

Considering Akari did get dropped in the middle of nowhere, nowhere being Hisui, there are a few things she would have liked to have brought with her: her previous team members, but there are six of them rather than three.

26. What they would do if stuck in an elevator with [insert character of your choice from the same fandom]

If she and Volo were trapped in an elevator, there are two drastically different outcomes that may occur:

Volo will try to take this opportunity, since it seems they're going to be in here for a little while, to get some smooching done - since people keep giving them less than appreciative stares when they do so in public.

Or, in the event that Volo doesn't know how elevators really work, despite his best efforts, he almost immediately spirals into a panic and begins blaming himself for this event - because surely this is Arceus punishing him for his past sins and she just happened to get caught in the crossfire.

27. Their guilty pleasure

Volo's obsession with her.

It's secretly everything she's ever wanted, and once Akari has confirmed it's entirely sincere and unwavering, she becomes just as obsessive over him.

28. How they feel about [insert character of your choice from the same fandom]

She holds a deep admiration and respect for Touko, due to her complete lack of hesitance in expressing her thoughts and feelings.

29. Eating habits

Prefers and has a high tolerance for spicier flavors.

She even crafts a new type of Lure Cake made specifically for attracting Fire-types (not that people are supposed to eat those).

30. Sleeping habits

Akari believes that her day begins whenever she wakes up, so she can be an absolute beast when forced to leave the comfort of her bed or futon.

31. If they had a Tumblr Tacklr what would it look like?

Her account is one the Sinnoh League required her to make in order to answer questions for interviews, and that would be the only thing she ever uses it for.

32. Something guaranteed to make them smile/laugh

Whenever Sariel, her Alpha Togekiss, slurps someone (gives them a big, slobbery lick).

It takes every last ounce of her willpower to keep her composure sometimes, depending on how extreme the reaction is of the person slurped.

33. Something guaranteed to make them cry

Her wedding day and the morning after.

Akari doesn't quite understand why she would be crying when she's never felt happier before.

34. How they react when they are feeling X emotion (sad, angry, excited, scared, etc.—can specify as many as you like)

Sometimes Akari smiles or chuckles when she isn't necessarily happy.

35. Their idea of a perfect day

An afternoon spent in the arms of her beloved as their Pokémon play together outside - with no annoying calls from the League demanding her presence.

36. Their favorite season

Hisui/Sinnoh doesn't experience any seasons due to having a cool climate year-round, but Akari does prefer cooler temperatures over warmer ones.

37. What they really think about themselves

A strong trainer and someone worthy of respect, but otherwise no one particularly extraordinary.

This is reflected in the first act of 'What Once We Were', Akari is described in a decidedly neutral manner, but come the second act when the story shifts to Volo's perspective, his adoration towards her is so powerful it affects the narration.

38. Favorite holiday

January 12th, the day diamond dust always falls on Snowpoint City.

39. Favorite game

I feel as though Yume Nikki and all its various fangames are something she would enjoy.

40. Favorite book

The Curse of Mankey Island (half-joking)

41. If they could have lunch with anyone in the world (living or dead, from any fictional universe or the real world), who would it be?

Her beloved~

But, if her lover isn't an option, her dear friend and fellow sister Touko.

42. 3 comfort items

Her Buneary Poké Doll, Old Gateau, and apparently Wheatley.

43. 3 favorite foods and 3 they despise

Her favorites are Tamato Berries, Jubilife Muffins, and as previously mentioned Old Gateau.

She dislikes extremely bitter berries, Coconut Curry, and anything Irida cooks.

44. Their happiest memory

Akari doesn't have one in particular that she would place above the others: choosing her starter ad setting out on her journey with Jun and Kouki, becoming the new Champion of Sinnoh, meeting other girls like her at the World Tournament...

Receiving her starter in Hisui from Professor Laventon and finally feeling some sense of normalcy return, followed by her first encountering Volo, who was one of the few to show her kindness and respect without having to prove herself beforehand.

45. Their favorite celebrity

Haruka, current Champion of Hoenn and fellow Contest Star!

46. The person they most admire

Touko, as mentioned above, but she also holds a great deal of respect towards Kotone for her persistent warmth and kindness.

47. Their dream job

She's content with her position as Champion of Sinnoh and one of the strongest trainers in the world.

48. Scariest moment of their life

Volo's betrayal.

That moment was her worst nightmare brought to life.

49. Favorite toy as a child

Her Buneary Poké Doll, Alice, that Jun bought her with his own allowance for her seventh birthday.

50. A memory they’ve blocked out

Akari has forgotten everything about her father to the point that she can't recall his face or even his name.

She's fine with this.

[elsolaer]

BATGIRL 02 HEADCANON: META - GENE.

the question of cassandra being a metahuman is brought up towards the beginning of her solo batgirl (2000) run by a group of scientists who note these things about cass.  (  1, 2, 3  )

super speed ~4.2x of the avg human  (assuming it’s based on adult male stats)

super strength ~2.6x of the avg human (same assumption as above)

extremely high serotonin levels

blood chemistry’s completely out of wack

these are all apparent indicators of a metahuman according to the fbi agent in the links, and yet no metagene apparently present  -  i’m not sure how they tested it, i’m assuming through dna samples found when she had some conflict with them and if that’s the case then a thorough test was NOT done.

they continue on by trying to justify how she couldn’t have a metagene by claiming her movements are borderline human and its her aggregate speed that’s metahuman. they go on to talk about how humans can do a lot of insane impossible shit, but the problem is doing multiple of those things at once due to the mental strain of it all which is a direct conflict with them claiming she’s not meta. 

any in depth discussion of this isn’t brought up again but there are multiple times throughout her comic (so many that i wont really bother to source) where she displays abilties that would be outside of her physical capabilities as a 16-18 (general age range of this comic) year old girl, even taking into consideration her vigorous human weapon training from birth.

has broken a massive hole through THICK CONCRETE PRISON WALLS with no tools or outside assistance

has broken punching bags in half with a single punch at least twice

has beaten huge, hulking, strength based metahumans on her own and with relative ease 

constantly takes down large groups of trained fighers/soldiers/etc. from the time she was ~7, give or take, until current age of 20.

has enough strength and speed to not only overpower batman but beat/kill him if she wanted to - noting this because he been training and practicing longer than she’s been alive and even metahumans have trouble overpowering him.

on that same line of thought, she’s the only person in the entire world who has beat lady shiva not once, but twice. she’s another human but one that has a similar situation to batman where she’s been training and pracitcing longer than she’s been alive AND she started from a younger age like cass did.

has carried and thrown grown men that are easily ~200-500lbs with ease. 

there’s more that i just. can’t think of right this second but my point is that being able to do all of these things consistently when other characters in her very same comic have trouble doing so points towards her abilities being more than just her childhood training.

i really considered if i should have her be a metahuman or not because on one hand, most if not all of the batfamily is made up of non-metas and it might be a disservice to them to have her be the only meta. on the other hand, these are all things that the rest of the bat family can not do save for a few instances here and there that just aren’t realistic. cass is CONSISTENTLY doing shit like this to the point that i can’t write them off as one offs. 

the biggest reason i’m going with her having a meta-gene is because i think that adds a realistic element of horror to david’s goal of making the perfect human weapon; him and sandra are both regular humans as far as they know so the likelyhood that they created a kid with an activated metagene?? thats an insanely lucky circumstance given to the wrong person. 

i believe her metagene is recessive and was passed down from sandra, not david. that adds to the whole aspect of her looking, acting, and fighting like her mother depsite being raised by david and that’s a much bigger threat than the reverse. cass was even named after her (cassandra). sandra / lady shiva was the best fighter in the world before cass. that just feels like a good set up for somebody like cass whos going to have identity issues from her upbringing, her family, her morals, her training. 

due to the fact that the abilities she has through the gene aren’t so prevalent that she’s hulking strong or has other wacky abilities, i believe that’s part of why the agents from the beginning weren’t able to find a gene through the dna they had available at the crime scene. realistically, genes like that could be hidden anywhere in your dna and they wouldn’t find out anything about her meta gene unless 1) they were specifically testing for one and 2) they did a full extensive testing of her entire chemical makeup n all that other medical stuff. 

so, yeah. tl;dr: cass has a recessive metagene that is currently going unaware until somebody decides to bring her to the doctor and have a bunch of extensive medical tests done on her. whaddya know.

[vonkarma2]

📙⭐🌠🌀💜🎀 on the oc ask?

I’m never picking the characters myself for these ask things again it makes this take so much longer 😭 

📙 What kind of subjects (of conversation, of discussion, in school or whatever) does your OC find interesting or engaging or that they can talk for hours about? What kind of stuff do they just find fun?

Lucia is really interested in like world events and politics, she thinks it’s very interesting to learn about. She also thinks it’s incredibly depressing and she hates hearing about it, so as you can imagine there is some conflict between these two desires. At any rate, she can talk for a long time about it— she’s pretty quiet at first, but if you get her talking she’ll like, go on a long monologue abt whatever topic. But she for the most part doesn’t find it fun, it’s more of like a compulsion to learn more about it + understand it I guess. Not dissimilar to Rocio’s obsession with magic, but it’s more grounded in nature. In terms of what she likes to talk about for fun, she really likes talking about + listening to music, + can talk for a while about it if she’s asked to.

🌠 Who was your OC’s first friend? Do they remember them or are they still friends now? Talk about some of the people your OC has lost contact with over the years. Do they have any regrets about losing these people and would they revist them if they could?

Ok I have to say. I’m not doing this one I am so sorry I tried to think of something I promise but I guess no one has like a former friend/someone they’ve lost contact with as part of their backstory. Rest in pieces. And I really want to get this done and post it bc I feel bad for taking 8 thousand billion years on this so I will pass on this question I’m sorry. you might have forgot you even sent this by now LOL

⭐ What is your OC afraid of? Any crippling phobias or some such? How do they act when scared and what helps them calm down? Does anyone ever find your OC scary? Why?

Jude (Prince Sovereign of Renaudin <3) I think for the most part has been kind of emotionally shut down for a while now. He’s afraid of a war breaking out again in the same way most people are, but probably less so than the average person because he’s resigned to the fact he has no control over anything that happens. He doesn’t want to die or anything, but he’s not all that afraid of it either. I think when he does get scared he tries to dissociate from the situation, like imagine he’s not really there or he’s looking down on everything from afar. Maybe he’ll just go to sleep or whatever. Do old timey drugs they had in the 1910s what was popular back then opium? No idea. 

I think people are scared of him very frequently though, like since his power is so strong he could like. Extinguish the sun/create eternal night if he wanted to, potentially. He’s not actually that powerful, at least under ordinary circumstances, but like the rumors/his reputation have been exaggerated. So everyone that like interacts with him directly (and also political leaders who have to deal with him being used as a threat/bargaining chip) are afraid of him both as an object of extreme power and as a person— they’d be fucked if he ever decided to go rogue yk.

🌀 Where is your OC from? Where were they born? Do they still live there, if not why did they move? If they still live in the area how has it changed since their childhood? How many places has your OC lived in and where has been their favourite?

Kela has been living in the coral kingdom for most of her recent life, since that’s where the people she like acts as advisor to (and later replaces) work, right? Like it was the first place created by wizards and the largest of the kingdoms, so there’s a lot of trade lot of meetings of international leaders etc etc, and she was indeed born there, but she actually was raised in the kelp forest kingdom. They didn’t know abt the magic superintelligence thing at the time and thought she was just a normal person with no special attributes, so they didn’t want to study her or anything and she was raised in like a group home type setup. It was pretty nice, the wildlife in that area is very beautiful and she really likes being in nature so that was good for her. She was also good at making friends, and since she was raised alongside a lot of other kids, it was nice for her, she got along with them really well. So she has a lot of pleasant memories associated with it, and is very sad she had to leave, but she understands why it was important, and she likes the coral kingdom as well. I think she likes them equally as much, she cares a lot abt the people of both kingdoms in general + likes both a crowded city setting and a small town setting. She likes the city because you never like run out of different people if that makes sense? 

💜 Music or Silence? Swords or Spells? Cities or Nature?

Aya: Music, swords (<more so guns or regular fistfighting than either of those, though) nature  (they hate living in a city so fucking much they’d be happy living alone in the woods, not for isolation reasons (they actually dislike being isolated) but just bc of the environment. They hate claustrophobic spaces with a lot of people)

🎀 Do they wear a specific accessory with a special meaning behind it? What is their usual fashion sense like? What do they wear when they want to be comfortable and what do they wear when they’re going to a fancy party? Or do they just not care?

Only character I have that wears a particular accessory often is Angel so I will go with him <3 he wears these green spherical earrings like every single day, he likes how they look + they’re kind of similar to jade which is popular at the time. But they’re really made of glass so he has to be careful not to break them. Very impractical. In the country/time period he lives, there are two different styles, one that’s a more ‘traditional’ style and one that follows international trends. Both of them are popular and neither is really favored over the other (except in certain specific circumstances like ceremonially/for holidays or for meetings with international business associates), but mixing them together is considered extremely unfashionable. Angel used to like mixing them together as a kid, but now that he’s older he is significantly more fashionable. Wears things from either style depending on how he’s feeling. He used to have horrendous fashion sense but he’s actually pretty good at it now. This is bc he is incredibly self centered and so cares a lot abt how people see him. He definitely puts a lot of effort into dressing up if thr event calls for it.

[cooking-potatoes]

SO LITTLE TIME. . . SO LITTLE TEARS

❝I LAY MY FULL CONFIDENCE TO THE L'ECLAIREUR THAT WHEN THE DAY COMES❟ I'LL BE SAVED IF I CANNOT SEE PAST THE HATE.❞

CHARACTER(S): Dagger Dadger, Midnight Budgerigar, & 'The Monster'.

WARNING(S): BODY POSSESSION, BLOOD, EXPLOITATION OF FEELINGS, IMPLIED EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION, MURDER, MENTAL HEALTH DECLINE, AND INSANITY.

lowercase was intentional when writing this!

it was a long process to come to terms with this. . . this hate inside her heart.

a hate that was exploited by the monster of corruption.

it hurt her, it stabbed her, seeing her body do all those. . . all those heinous crimes all for the sake of fun.

no real reason, no purpose, for the pain that her body was creating.

she wanted to yell at the thing, at the monster, for making her do all those stupid things, for creating pain out of her hate.

her hate that she locked up deep within her being because if it ever got out, if it got out, no one could break through a decade's worth of hate that was only growing by the second.

choking, breaking, and destroying anything in its path that it touched.

budgie wanted the l'eclaireur to hurry up and find a way to stop the monster from taking over her by the second.

sometimes she couldn't tell if it was the monster or herself that was acting. and the answer to that always scared her more than ever.

the blood on her hand only grew as she oversaw the monster using her adora magic. This magic was so flexible and so jarring that it is said that once an adora was corrupted it could hardly ever come back to what it once was because in order for an adora to fall, their love must no longer be there to raise it up again.

but budgie loved - loves - the l'eclaireur. more than her own being and she would die knowing that fact.

but before she ever fell in love with them, with her family, she had this hate bubbling up for a decade ever since she was young, ever since she was born, and seeing another person fall by her hands, dying the water red, she wanted to cry for ever learning of the word hatred.

it wasn't unlike budgie to cry, but hearing the monster use her voice, her stance, her magic, it was like it was mocking her, for using her to get its end goal of destroying the world and reigning it in chaos as the gods watch it fall before ever intervening.

if only she didn't learn of hate.

if only she could remember how to love.

if only she didn't accept the grace of life.

her eyes dimmed seeing the eyes of the man she wanted to accept as one of her father figures, as part of her chatter, she yelled inside the mental mind of her limbo before sets of hands covered her eyes, her mouth, her arms, her wings, her everything.

"Oh, sweet adora, you mustn't cry now. . . the party's just getting started."

sharp fangs appeared on budgie's face, the fake budgie's face, as the magic of an adora increased in size fueled by the hate that simmered underneath the skin.

dagger glared at budgie - because no matter the face, no matter the look or the fear or the energy that was giving budgie this aura - it was still the same o' vigilante that gave everyone a share of hope for a brighter future despite them never seeing the end of it.

budgie was still the same vigilante despite everything they went through.

dagger never met someone like budgie, perhaps similar in personality, but not like them. never like her. she was unique looking, she had a heart of gold, and most of all?

she was a child who could still love the world despite the scars that littered her body.

dagger glared at budgie, feeling the lingering effects of the corruption spark inside him as he raised a sword up to them, at the person whom dagger would see grow up and succeed in becoming the best of l'eclaireur.

"If only we could hold on to past virtues a little longer, Budgerigar."

the monster grinned, feeling its holder vision glow through the smoke and blood that was staining its skin, "if only we could hold on just a little longer, no? Dagger."

this battle was just about to begin.