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welcometothejianghu · 9 months ago

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Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 心宅猎人/Psych-Hunter.

Psych-Hunter is a 2020 drama about a hot young amnesiac who, accompanied by a rich psychiatrist with major daddy issues and a rich girl who cosplays as a cop, uses his Inception-style psychic powers to solve crimes that are part of a shadowy conspiracy orchestrated by a mysterious figure.

True story: Once I couldn't remember the English name of the drama, so I called it "House Haunters," and now my brain insists that's the real English title. If only!

Do not, under any circumstances, labor under the impression that this show is good. It's not. It's incoherent. The writing is bad. The villain is absurd. The vibe is comically melodramatic. People make inexplicable and out-of-character decisions all the time. Countless complex mysteries get set up with no way to resolve them. There's a thin lampshade hanging over it that blurs the line between bad decisions made on accident and bad decisions made on purpose, but the net result is largely the same. This is the show that first inspired my wife to declare something dumb as a guinea pig in a roller skate.

But it's fun. It's a sea of colorful chaos with brilliant pieces that shine through like strange gems. It knows how to work an atmosphere and does so to create some legitimately creepy moments. It spins a wild yarn filled with bizarre and loveable characters. And it has some twists that truly have to be seen to be believed. In the mood for some beautiful nonsense? Here's five reasons that despite everything I warned you about in the previous paragraph, I think this one's worth watching.

1. Psychonauts for Jazz Age homosexuals

Honestly, that phrase alone should let you know if this is the thing for you. But just in case, let me explain the basic premise of the show:

Jiang Shuo, a man who has lost his memory and been adopted by circus folk, is capable of jingling his keys and diving full-body into someone else's subconscious, represented by lovely and thematic dreamscapes. He does this to solve crimes. Sometimes he takes along a handsome doctor who seems like he might know more than he's letting on, by literally tying their hands together with a red string.

Also, when they do this, they get gorgeous steampunk magical girl costume changes, complete with the cutest little pony nub you've ever seen.

This show can be stunningly beautiful. It knows how to manifest dream logic eerily well. Most of these cognitions are gorgeous, and many are done with primarily practical effects, like it's a stage play. ...And it's good it relies on that so much, because the CG it has is kinda cheap and terrible! So, yeah.

(Side note for the DMBJ fans: This is directed by the same guy who directed Sand Sea, which I assume is related to how this both is a visual treat and completely falls apart on the back end.)

The reason I'm a bit surprised that this hasn't taken off more among the creative set is what a great piece of worldbuilding this Psych-diving is. These boys (and, once, the girl) get to short-term manifest bodily in someone else's materialized mental state, where the person whose brain they’re in neither controls the experience nor remembers what happened after it’s done. Were you writing weird Arthur/Eames fic a decade ago? I got a new best thing for you. Can you say freaky dream sex? Because I can.

The base premise should be more than enough to get your gears going. Come ready to get weird with it. There's so much potential here, and so much of that potential is incredibly gay and wearing impeccably tailored suits.

2. Your friendly neighborhood circus family

As I mentioned before, Jiang Shuo lucks into the best possible fate that can befall an amnesiac: being picked up by carnies.

The troupe includes Ventriloquist Man, Really Big Dude, One-Eyed Acrobat, Other Acrobat, Cheerful Fat Girl, Boy Who Looks Like A Kid But Is Actually Played By An Adult So I'm Not Exactly Sure How Old The Character Himself Is Supposed To Be, and Silver Fox Circus Dad, who manages the whole crew. They're a ragtag bunch of performers who all live together in this cute little compound in some very nice slums, and sometimes they open the gates to their lavish compound and put on a circus show for all the common people!

Now: You know this is not going to be the wokest, most sensitive portrayal of body differences, because of course it isn't. But damn, it's pretty not-bad. The show treats all the circus members as valuable people worthy of affection, whose (occasionally exasperating) quirks are no more or less exhausting than those of the non-circus weirdos in the rest of the supporting cast.

I was half-expecting them to disappear after the first arc, but no! They’re a constant fixture through the show! They’re mostly there to support the show’s more comedic moments, but some of them get wrapped up in more emotional plotlines as well. And every now and then you get to see them actually do their circus shit, which is great.

I will admit that my fondness for them is related to how much I generally love fictional Freaks — you know, misfits who have banded together because society considers them unacceptably weird, but together their weirdnesses make them strong. When you find them, they’re usually the bad guys (e.g., the Gung-Ho Guns from Trigun, the Scorpion crew from Word of Honor) whose freak statuses make them formidable and occasionally sympathetic antagonists. But not so here! The Psych-Hunter Family Circus is good guy support all the way through to the final episode.

I know "found family" is a term that suffers from overuse, but that's the best way to describe what's happening here -- really, it's a family that's already found itself even before the show starts, and now they all live together as an unconventional collective of astonishingly flexible people. How did they find one another? Doesn't matter! What matters is that they all love and would do anything for their newest member, and they think it's great when he comes home with his attractive rich friends, who often arrive bringing snacks, which is really the best use for rich people, if you think about it.

3. Two hands, one ring

Now, if you've seen the series already, you know the moment I'm talking about. But if you haven't (and, statistically, you haven't), know that what I mean is the relationship between these two losers.

Together, Qin Yiheng and Jiang Shuo form the emotional core of the series. They're both drawn to one another because of mysterious circumstances that have started to align. Jiang Shuo's memory is missing, Qin Yiheng's dad has vanished, and all signs point to those absences as having something to do with one another.

Very early in the show, we see Qin Yiheng pull a "come with me if you want to live" on Jiang Shuo, giving the impression that he knows just what's going on in this crazy city. Except, no, he doesn't. Or does he? No, we're pretty sure he doesn't. Or he does, but he's forgotten what he knows, if he ever even knew it in the first place. Anyway, time to tie their hands together and jump into someone else's brain!

I'd say they're in love, but that's not quite it. Dr. Qin Yiheng, high-class homosexual, is in love with Jiang Shuo to the point where he's about to murder someone (possibly Jiang Shuo himself) out of frustration about it. Jiang Shuo, on the other hand, is much more sticking his fingers in his ears and going LA LA LA YOU CAN'T CATCH ME GAY THOUGHTS while trying get a girlfriend in an effort to pretend that all the shit they get up to together isn't tremendously romantic.

That is, until the scene that leads to the which-hand ring guessing game, at which point the burden of their relationship falls on Jiang Shuo (and the Inception parallels get unignorable) for exactly as long as the show will allow it to, before it freaks out and has to add another girl love interest just to make sure all the homos got no'd.

It's not textually gay, because seriously, have you met Chinese television? But it's pretty gay. Or, rather, I think Liu Dongqin (Qin Yiheng) is playing his character as a dedicated homosexual on purpose, and Hou Minghao (Jiang Shuo) is just ... kinda like that? I mean, everything I’ve seen him in, he gets real dreamy-eyed around strong men who pay close attention to him. Maybe it's just his thing as an actor. I'm not judging.

However, the main cast isn't just the two of them. One of the things that led me to this show was the promise of an OT3. And does it deliver on that promise?

Well ... sorta.

Qin Yiheng, Jiang Shuo, and Yuan Muqing are a pretty standard MFM not-love-triangle trio of Male Bestie, Main Guy, and Girlfriend (respectively). There's about five seconds at the beginning of the series where it looks like Yuan Muqing might be into Qin Yiheng, but no, that evaporates almost instantly and is never spoken of again -- and with it disappears most of their interactions with one another, period. So it's less an OT3, and more a case of bisexual cutiepie Jiang Shuo getting both a boyfriend and a girlfriend in a world where censorship will only let the latter relationship exist textually.

But damn if these boys aren't made for one another. Sure, there's a level of conscious comical queerbaiting to it -- I mean, there's straight-up an "only one bed" moment, so you know the show isn't stumbling into rainbow territory on accident. No matter how sexual or nonsexual or whatever you read it as, though, their dynamic is the spine that holds the story together. Really, it's almost sad how often the relationships are set parallel to one another, because when you do that, it becomes obvious how intense Jiang Shuo's bond with Qin Yiheng is, and how largely lackluster and comphet most of his canon romance with Yuan Muqing is by comparison.

Like so.

sidebar: The Girl

I am not going to go into a full-throated defense of The Girl this time, as I am wont to do, mostly because I think Yuan Muqing is full of potential in concept but so badly executed that there's really no hope for her. Her entire personality is whatever they need her to be in any particular scene. It's just that once in a while, what they need her to be is completely insane -- like, seeing-things-that-aren't-there insane -- and it's so great that it makes me mad! She could have been like this all the time! But noooooo

As it is, she has a perfunctory canonical romance with Jiang Shuo that's about as endgame as anything is capable of being (see point 5), and it actually gets pretty cute when it finally gets to the point where it's not just awkward obligation! But alas, it only does that so late in the series that it's not even worth it getting invested in it.

She is a creation of the show. She has no novel counterpart. Her entire function in the drama is to un-gay the dynamic between the boys. You can tell that she was initially supposed to have a different role -- to be the muscle of this trio -- but the narrative forgets pretty quickly that she's got that skill set, and she regresses to being The Girl. She makes dumb decisions that forward the plot. She gets put into danger whenever it's convenient. She demands Jiang Shuo do manly things for her because that’s what a girl is supposed to do, I guess? And then there are moments where she’s cool and crazy and it’s awesome! But they never last.

So if you are going to watch this, be prepared for the fact that the female lead is badly written to the point of frustration. I feel her actor is doing the absolutely best with what she's got; the problem is that what she's got is pretty crappy. Still, Muqing gets some pretty charming moments here and there, and I think it's worth hanging onto those and imagining the character she could have been, if the writers had cared just a little more, or even at all.

4. Powerfully surreal worldbuilding

I'm not even talking about the way people's psyches are structured according to dream logic -- the "normal" waking world is almost equally bizarre. The story takes place in sort of the real world c. 1930, except that a lot of things are off. For example, Japan and England are real locations, but China kinda isn't -- instead, the show takes place in a Shanghai-like city-state run by this moustachioed generalissimo with a faux Latin American dictator aesthetic. The place has its own flag and government and police force (where all the cops have coordinating surnames) and diplomatic relationships with other countries, so it’s clearly its own thing. But what that thing is? What it’s even called? Look, don’t worry about it. Nobody else is worried, so you shouldn’t be either.

You will, at every point in the series, be wondering if the show is trying to telegraph to you that Something's Not Quite Right Here, or if it's just making weird decisions for the sake of artsy weirdness. But don't worry -- there's absolutely no way to tell the difference between the two! Just roll with it.

There's a weird mix of universe rules happening throughout, where everything is mostly period-appropriate for a while, and then somebody builds a clock with levitating parts, or causes someone else to have very specific memory loss — or, again, swings some coins in front of a person’s face and gains the ability to treat their subconscious like a VR amusement park.

You can sort of reconstruct the evolution of this weirdness: The book has actual factual ghosts in it. Well, that’s fine for books, but TV isn’t allowed to have ghosts. But TV can have people who imagine ghosts, so long as it’s all in their heads. Okay, but you know jumping bodily into those imaginations isn’t actually a thing real people can do, right? Well, then let’s make it scientific. How can that be scientific? I don't know, it’s psychiatry. I don’t think that’s psychiatry. Look, it could be. Well, it’s definitely not psychiatry in 1930s Shanghai, and that’s the set we’re allowed to film on. Okay, what if it weren’t actually Shanghai? What if it weren’t actually 1930? What if all of this were at best a weird approximation of the period that adheres to no rules except the ones we want?

Once you’ve thought that, the sky’s the limit.

The show has a very inconsistent grasp on reality, and I am listing that as a pro instead of a con because I am choosing to embrace it as a deliberate choice rather than assume it’s the result of craven incompetence. There's something to be said, though, for how pervasively inconsistent it is. It'd be one thing if there were just a few plot holes here and there (and there are), but this is more along the lines of: We woke up in a mysterious boat and got taken to an island with a giant sea monster skeleton on the shore! What's that all about? Couldn't say! Was it real? Maybe! Moving on!

Let the number of "it's fine! who knows!" comments I've made throughout this rec indicate how much this is the kind of show you just have to roll with. If you are a nitpicker or someone who is troubled by unexplained nonsense, this is not the thing for you. If you love artistic magical realism and high strangeness, you will eat this up with a spoon.

And the lampshade that hangs over all of this worldbuilding is...

5. THE STUPIDEST POSSIBLE ENDING EVER

Okay, usually I am coy about when I think an ending has problems. I am going to drag this one out front and center: Psych-Hunter has an ending so jaw-droppingly, head-clutchingly stupid that I'm actually listing it as a selling point, because it has to be seen to be believed.

When I first watched it, I suspected the show ran out of time or money or something and just had to slap together the quickest possible ending ever. But no! This is the ending they meant! If you go back to the rest of the series, you can see that this is what they were (kinda) setting up the whole time! They just set it up so poorly and decided to make the twist hit at such a late point that not only is it complete nonsense, it actually renders moot the entire emotional stakes of the show! Absolutely incredible!

Now, as I've said before in other places, I don't begrudge the actual twist itself. I mean, it's stupid on its face, but I think they could have done something with it — if they'd had it happen halfway through the series, when the characters would have had time to adjust to the new knowledge. Instead, they slap it on at the last possible moment, when there's no time to have any reaction to it. It's just jarring and baffling, and then the whole thing's over.

I've seen lots of people say "season 2 when???" Season 2 never, friends. There was never going to be a season 2. The only reason you think this was an even remotely acceptable narrative move was that you were assuming that this would be the midpoint, not the end. You're having the same reaction I did, only I can tell this was always meant to be their spectacular dismount.

(To me, it's clear what happened: They J.J. Abramsed themselves into a cool premise for a mystery with no idea how to solve it, hoping they'd figure it out along the way. When they got to the end and still hadn't figured it out, they simply ... opted out of solving it.)

Now, if you want a normal viewing experience out of this show, watch to the end of the next-to-last episode, close your browser window, and have imagination adventures about how you think all the mysteries should resolve. But you're not going to. You are going to continue on to that last episode, and you are going to realize that nothing I could have said here could possibly have prepared you for this. And somewhere, I am going to feel the urge to cackle wickedly and not even know why. Except I'll know why. We'll both know why.

Want to watch this hot mess?

That baby's an iQiyi exclusive! But you can watch the first episode on YouTube, if you feel like getting a taste that way.

Look, I know I may have spoiled my pitch somewhat with that last selling point. After all, why would you bother watching a series if you know it has a shit ending?

I refute your objection thus: Knowing it has a shit ending changes the whole game, because it removes the feeling of betrayal that hits upon your discovering that the ending isn’t what you wanted. You know that already now, so there can be no betrayal. The ending goes from being an unpleasant surprise to being exactly the unexpected thing that you expected. With that in mind, you can dive right in (ha ha) knowing that you’ll never get the closure you crave, and therefore whatever you make up along the way is perfectly valid.

This is obviously a turnoff if you prefer shows that are like seeing someone start a magic trick, perform it without breaking a sweat, and walk off calmly, leaving you wondering how on earth they accomplished such an amazing thing. Think of this more as someone starting a magic trick, accidentally letting the rabbit fall out of their hat, saying “I meant to do that!” like thirty times, and suddenly vanishing through a trapdoor, leaving you wondering what the trick was even supposed to be in the first place — but they were really good-looking and well-dressed, so at least whatever they were doing was nice to look at while it was happening.

See? They're having fun.

#psych-hunter #心宅猎人 #house haunters #i made this #rec post #please watch this and then write more fic for it #I have a very selfish agenda here

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thornaelle · 6 months ago

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A portrait of my Pathfinder character Sabella's current mental state. She's having A Time.

▸ Everything she thought she knew about her life was a lie. ▸ Her great-grandfather is not just dealing with a fiends, he is one. He's a Rakshasa, has probably been several of her ancestors through reincarnation or impersonation, and he wants her to come home and be a good little pawn, sorry, grand-daughter. He particularly wants her back now he knows she can change her form and hide that she's a tiefling. ▸ But she wasn't actually born visibly a tiefling! Her older brother Cesare was though, and that was deemed unacceptable because they needed a respectable face for the family heir and not one that openly advertised that they had been dealing with fiends. Their second born, however, could be safely kept out of sight until they could find a way to permanently hide her fiendish blood too. So their heritages were swapped via horrible transmutation magic involving a painting stretched over a frame of magically re-shaped ribs, which has been hanging in her bedroom most of her life :) ▸ Totally unrelatedly hahaha; She's missing a rib! Cesare is probably missing one too :) It's fine, it probably contributes to her ridiculous acrobatics modifier she's real bendy :) :) It's fine :) Or could that be the ancestry involving a creature know for having wierd joints? Certainly no-one's looking at the way she moves with new eyes at all hahahahaaa :) ▸ Her parents may have been trying to protect her all her life which meant pushing her away and making her want to leave. Real shitty way to discover your parents might not actually hate you, might in fact love and want you very much. ▸ AND her dad has "business dealings" with the Azarketi ambassador, of the kind that mean they light up when they're in the same room and her mother is really pissed off. Is your family life not complicated enough already, dad??? ▸ Everything is Fine. ▸ :) :) :|

She's quite looking forward to getting to go and hit things that are completely unrelated to her fucked up family. (I am having a great time. Sabella may be in the middle of a nervous breakdown.)

#art #pathfinder 2e #tiefling #pathfinder extinction curse #ttrpg #sabella & her scintillating sabres #but we are massively off script for extinction curse right now #i gave my GM a tragic backstory™ and he was like 'nice but have you considered that it could be even more harrowing?'#it was just 'oops we've got a tiefling daughter that's gonna be bad for our business relationships better pretend we don't' when i wrote it #we should be back on the actual adventure path next session #at least for a bit #until grandtiger comes to collect his prodigal grandaughter #i have some ideas about how i want to deal with that :3 i'm sure he's a reasonable fiend #it'll be Fine #sorry i just really needed to froth about my campaign i'm having so much fun #thorn OCs

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nunalastor · 4 months ago

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Ratatouille AU

I've just finished watching Ratatouille, and holy shit Remy needs a therapist. That being said, here is my conclusion:

Lucifer as Linguini and Alastor as Colette would be the obvious choice. Alastor is totally a strict, grumpy boss bitch who knows how to cook and is French. But what do you take me for? A fool? A simpleton? No no, Alastor is Anton Ego. Grumpy, picky, thin to the bone, and swayed from his antagonism only through a nostalgic recipe from his childhood.

Colette would be Lilith in this case, and Lucifer would still be Linguini because it's funny. Now, for Lucilith, then just as in the movie, Colette!Lilith and Linguini!Lucifer are together. But, a much funnier ending, and a much more RadioApple ending, is Linguini!Lucifer and Anton Ego!Alastor getting together after Alastor eats that kickass ratatouille.

So, to summarize:

Alastor as Anton Ego

Lucifer as Linguini

Lilith as Colette

I do actually think Linguini!Lucifer and Colette!Alastor would be adorable, and absolutely fitting, but I wanted to get a little silly with this one.

Additionally:

Adam as Skinner because he's a greedy bitch who can't keep a secret properly.

Lute as Talon Labarthe (Adam's lawyer).

Remy as Lucifer's snake, which I would choose to call Eden, but can really be named anything.

Husk as Pompidou because you should never play cards with him, and he's banned from Las Vegas and Monte Carlo.

Vaggie as Horst because she has a dodgy backstory and could kill you with her thumb.

Angel could work as Lalo because he's as flexible as an acrobat and would get himself fired for dating his boss's son.

Michael as Auguste Gusteau, because Lucifer's actual dad is God and idk how to translate God into this story (there is no god in this story). So, Michael, since they're still related and he would leave Luci his restaurant if he gave a shit about him.

I also noticed that Lucifer would work well as Remy, with the whole disapproving family, and being dreamer and high achiever to a fault. But Remy has no love interest, and as far as I know, the rat colony is basically one big family. So, I'm not manufacturing Rat!Alastor, because incest is Incest Anon's thing and who would I be to take their gimmick. And I'm not insane enough to do Remy!Lucifer x Human!Alastor, so Remy!Lucifer remains a pipedream.

...Though, you could do Remy!Lucifer, Linguini!Charlie and Colette!Vaggie. In which case, Emile!Michael because why not?

Any suggestions for the next movie to watch while I'm redrawing scenes from Ratatouille as Alastor/Lucifer?

-Tired Anon

Anonymous asked:

Watching Ratatouille right now and I don't remember Remy having this many mental problems.

Still not even halfway through but the first variation of the Ratatouille AU is Alastor and Lucifer as the woman pointing a gun at her boyfriend 16 minutes in (Lucifer's holding the gun).

I'd show the scene but can't do that posting anonymously, so here's a reddit post talking about it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Firearms/comments/v4yu5f/just_because_nobody_else_every_asked_can_somebody/

-Tired Anon

Anonymous asked:

Ratouille AU

Actually, one last stupid idea. Skinner!Lucifer (because shortie) x Anton Ego!Alastor.

I'll go now.

-Tired Anon

#hazbin hotel #nunalastor asks #Ratatouille AU

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prof-ramses · 8 months ago

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Here are some (mostly Mammon centric) thoughts I came up with when I probably should have been doing work for class:

Working off of some of my previous ideas, I really like the idea of Mammon and Bee previously having some sort acrobatic act together in the same vein as my idea Ozzie and Mam were once a comedy duo.

I like to interpret that a lot of Mam’s business ventures, while primarily rooted in greed, have a sense of sentimentality to them. Loo Loo Land for example is a blatant cash grab and pet project of Mam, but it’s also his (kinda weird & messed up) way of showing his respect for Lucifer (not to mention it was a place he and his niece made a lot of fun memories). Building off of this, his idea for making the Robo Fizz’s fully functional pleasure toys is him taking the advice from Ozzie that “sex sells” and running with it (Ozzie probably kicked himself when he realized this). I also like to think he has other business ventures that homage the other Sins, like a fast food chain that has a menu containing a lot of food Bee is/was fond of.

Also building off of the previous bullet, if Mammon ever finds out what really caused Loo Loo Land to burn down, he would personally March up to Pride and deal with I.M.P. Not to mention “taking care of” Blitzo would also be a way to indirectly get back at Fizz.

I can’t help but feel part of Octavia’s apprehension towards Mammon when he starts dating Stella stems from him being the creator of the Fizzarolli robots and maybe some level of coulrophobia given Mammon is basically the premier clown of Hell. I think it would be neat if he actually managed to help get over some of her fear as they start getting closer as father and stepdaughter, perhaps even through their shared distaste for the robotic clowns, even if it is for different reasons.

For the life of me, I cannot get the idea of the male Sins at one point or another growing facial hair. Like, just the mental image of Luci with a full beard and Mam with a Gomez Addams style mustache haunts me. Granted, I also feel like they probably look back on this period and laugh about given how it just doesn’t mesh with their aesthetics.

I know I’ve commented on what I think Mammon looks like under his hat, but the reoccurring joke of him never being bare headed gives me life. Him never being seen without his trademark jester’s cap is hysterical to me. Morning, noon, and night; rain, sleet, or snow, he’s always wearing it. The only exception being when he bathes… then he wears a shower cap.

Just this:

The Sins (minus Luci) are standing outside of the Hazbin Hotel, planning on giving their niece a surprise visit.

Leviathan: Oh it’s going to be so nice to see Charlotte again. (To himself) I don’t get why she always has to go see her father, it’s not like it takes THAT long to visit Envy. Asmodeus: (Chuckles) You said it Levi. After all this time, I bet her face is gonna light up the second she sees her favorite uncle. Satan: Mammon? Asmodeus: Wha-NO! ME! (The others look amongst themselves before erupting into a chorus of laughter) Belphagor: *Click-Click-Click* That Does Not Sound Right. Asmodeus: Oh, Ha-ha-ha… Fuck you guys, we’ll see who’s her favorite. (Charlie walks out to greet her guests and face IMMEDIATELY lights up) (She squees and proceeds to charge at Ozzie�� only to run past him and tackle/hug Mammon) Charlie: Uncle Mammon! Mammon: (Hugs her back) Charlie! Little Dingo! It’s so good to see you! How’ve you been? (Mammon proceeds to flip Ozzie off behind Charlie’s back) (Ozzie seethes as the other Sins stifle another round of laughter)

Hope you enjoy these, I’m probably going to be pretty inactive for a while.

Thanks for more goodies!

That's a pretty neat idea, also, reminds me of my idea for Levi's role in the troupe is an escapist/stuntman, since his slimy serpent body makes him very adept at it.

Aww. This actually reminds me of my own idea for a fic of Mam consulting Via while brainstorming ideas for the rebuilt Loo Loo Land to give it some more actual identity. Since that would make the parallel with the original LLL being tied to Mammon's relationship with Charlie and the new one being tied to his relationship with Octavia. I generally like the idea of Via inspiring Mammon to express his authentic self a bit more.

I think he'd also go after Wally, since I have the headcanon that Wally just snuck in and used a spare cart for his own torches, since if he actually worked there, he would have to split it with the park.

YESSS! Via's reaction to learning Stella and Mammon were dating at all must've been something else. I'm honestly surprised I don't see more people exploring coulrophobia as a character trait for Via. I'm also a sucker for Octavia-Mammon bonding ideas, they're always so cute!

I actually have a dilemma about this, on one hand, Luci looking like he has an exact wig of his hair glued to his face after neglecting himself in favor of his duck making is a great visual, but I also find the thought of Luci being naturally baby-faced really funny.

I think Mam would sleep without his hat, but he would still only take it off after getting in and locking the door so any passing house staff don't see him without it. It's not even that he's insecure, he's just that committed to the bit/brand. Very few have lived after seeing his gently electrified locks, speaking of which, I like to think that, like his webs, his hair produces a soft static tingle to the touch.

Yes, just so much yes.

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angelbaby-fics · 5 months ago

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Hiyaaaaa, I think it's my first time requesting off anon but this year party just sounds so fun, I love your writing so much.

I was thinking of something with stucky or one of them on their own with a little, maybe going to the circus. I have a big obsession with specifically flying trapeze, I watch videos all the time and a couple days ago my sister and I did a flying trapeze class which was amazing lol. But maybe the little really like the flying trapeze act and is super excited to see it.

oooh thats so fun!! i've never actually been to a circus i don't think but it seems so cool 💕 198 words

when steve told you he'd bought tickets to the circus, you could hardly contain your elation. you could see the massive tent from half a mile away as you kicked your feet in the back excitedly in the back seat. your daddy carried you into the big top, the sights, sounds, and smells filling up your senses. as you settled into your seats, a man approached with a huge handful of bagged cotton candy, and steve bought one for you before you even had to ask. the sugary treat melted in your mouth as the lights dimmed and the show began. your eyes lit up at performers swallowing swords and eating fire, and you giggled at the clowns circling the stage on their unicycles. your breath caught in your throat when the acrobats climbed up the big ladder, your favorite part of the show was about to happen. the glided through the air like fairies with invisible wings, flipping and catching one another as you tried to keep up. you couldn't pry your eyes away, but steve was watching you the whole time, making a mental note to sign you up for trapeze lessons when you got home.

you're invited to my summer tea party!

#steve rogers x little!reader #daddy!steve #daddy!steve rogers #daddy!steve x little!reader #cg!steve rogers #steve x little!reader #marvel agere #summer tea party

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bydragonfireandblood · 2 years ago

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Honestly, best part about watching HotD was that it gave me a free blocklist to weed out any jonsas (because ridiculous number of the green stans seem to be jonsas!) I might've missed the first time around with GoT. But what's absolutely baffling is how many claim to be feminists. I'll go to their blog to block them and their bio will be something like "She/her, feminist" and it's just like... what kind of mental acrobatics do you have to be doing to believe that??

Let's see, shall we? Just off the top of my head, jonsas (and fairly often Sansa's more... "special" stans) like to

Put down Dany and Arya for not being "feminine enough" (i.e. their ideal femininity, which ig means women can't be anything else). As if expecting women to conform to a standard of what's "feminine enough" isn't part of the problem :/

Constantly claim Sansa can't be held accountable for her mistakes because she's a child, but then regularly claim another child is unforgivable for her mistakes and should die for it

Imply (and sometimes even say) that Dany shouldn't be breaking the wheel. You mean the patriarchy? You, an alleged feminist, don't think the patriarchal system ASoIaF has is awful and dumb??

Suggest that Jon is actually going to politically manipulate Dany by pretending to love her but really he's doing it for Sansa. That is... disgusting on more levels than I could count, but I'll simplify it to "wanting to see an ending where a woman is manipulated sexually and then murdered by her male lover when she's no longer useful is gross and you should feel gross" because apparently they can't read at more than a 2nd grade level

Ignore the fact that this already-misogynistic plotline would be, in their dreams, so the man can get together with their favorite woman instead. Because putting down a woman like a dog in favor of another woman isn't bad, apparently

Absolutely hate the fact that Dany is a subversion of the prophecied hero trope because she's the "Princess who was promised". This would be a wonderful twist on the trope instead of the sexist "but actually it was the man all along!" one, which has been done to death already

Crack jokes about Dany being infertile and how that would "make Sansa a better wife for Jon, bc she can give him an heir". Ah yes, implying it's a woman's duty and purpose to have kids and that anyone who can't is broken. Wonderful example of feminist rhetoric, you guys

And this very much extends to the green stans too! Little wonder so many stansas seem to love Alicent, since they're both "women who have to suffer through the patriarchy". Let's see what our precious, definitely-feminist Alicent has done, shall we?

The big one: actively trying to prevent a woman from rising to the Throne so she can be replaced by her son, a man

The son, I should add, being utterly unfit to rule and she knows it (unless she's absolutely fucking stupid, there's no way she could not know Aegon would be a bad king). I mean, he assaulted serving staff, disappears to the slums to watch his bastards fight to the death, and when he was supposed to be king he fled. Rulership material indeed :/ But Alicent seems to think a penis makes him suited to rule despite all that

Straight-up admits that Viserys was less suited to rule than Rhaenys on account of temperament... but then in the next breath ask Rhaenys to help her uphold the male succession that fucked her over, in favor of a man even less suitable for kingship than Viserys was

And on the note of the serving girl... silencing rape victims is not feminist. At all. I recognize HotD's societal standards are different, but idk, they sure like to apply modern standards like war crimes to Dany and Rhaenyra so I think I'll do the same here

Resents Rhaenyra for finding happiness in her own relationships. Look, what happened to her was awful and I felt bad for her, but once she turned around and started putting other women down for not suffering like she did, instead of trying to see the system that caused her suffering ended... that's where she went wrong. (Also I feel like reminding everyone Laenor was gay. Did greens want Nyra to maritally rape her husband?? How dare a woman have an enjoyable sex life)

Book Alicent legitimately hoped that "mayhaps the whore will die in childbirth" because that's absolutely a feminist girlboss thing to say

Look, I have no problem with people liking or even defending either character for some of their actions. Even I'd admit the Greens are fun to watch despite being in the wrong, and that Sansa's bullying means her arc has potential for character growth towards realizing her ideal femininity is wrong. But when their stans start attacking other women for not accepting and conforming to the system? That's why I usually see urls/lots of posts about these characters as a red flag

If you're one of these people and I somehow haven't already blocked you? Please go outside and work on the internalized misogyny a bit before you claim to be feminist

#anti sansa stark #anti sansa stans #anti greens #anti green stans #anti alicent hightower #anti alicent stans #anti daenerys antis #qitn believers dni

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devious-chronicles · 6 months ago

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grand opening

This is my first attempt at writing so please be nice, by that I mean give criticism but don't just go "this sucks" and expect me to get better. Also this is just a bit of an introduction to the world and main characters, expect the actual first installment to be much more detailed.

3:14 PM

The Jester was rushing. She knew she still had plenty of time before opening but Nines would be very upset with her if she wasn't as early as he was. The outfit was as hard to get on as ever, the black and white stripes seemed to blend into her pale skin making it hard for her to tell where she started and it ended. Looking in the mirror she couldn't help but admire her hat, Nines had let her pick it so she could feel more special than the other performer's in her act, the way the large silver bells hung behind her head letting a few curls of her red hair poke out of the bottom allowed her to remember she was something under the costume and the makeup. After she had wrapped herself in her red ribbon she took one last look at herself in the mirror and put on her mask, she felt happier already…

1:38 PM

Nines calmly adjusted his tie in the mirror “another day, another show.” He repeated, his hand wandering to caress one of the many pictures of his Jester that he had pinned around the mirror before he began to gather his things. He made sure not to arrive too early as to allow her some time to relax, he didn't want his prize overworking herself after all. As he made his way towards the door he took one final look at her picture before he disappeared into the flashing lights and glittering flames of the circus.

10:45 PM

The Jester stood still, Nines’s arm curled around her neck as he prepared her mentally for the big show. “Now my Dear as the star of the show it's best that you maintain your best manners at all times. The King would be rather angry with me if you messed this up.” he said. she nodded along even though she had heard it a thousand times and she really didn't need a reminder. Even if no one had ever seen him, The King was still the one running the show and she knew she couldn't make him angry. “Yes sir, I'll do my best I promise” she whispered as she looked up at him through her mask, watching as he smirked and pressed a kiss against the top of her hat, she's lucky she had her mask on or the staff would've seen her turn redder than her hair.

11:00 PM

Nines watched as his Jester practiced with the rest of the opening crew, this was the night, the grand opening, the big moment. He knew His jester wouldn't disappoint him, not with her knowing The King had a lot riding on this success. The other performers were already arriving and he knew they only had an hour to truly prepare. One hour… that's all it takes… one hour. He stepped back into the shadows before the others could notice him. He was gone by the time The Jester looked back over.

12:00 AM

The show was beginning, the curtains drawing back as The Jester stood front and center, ready for her time in the spotlight. She was a nervous wreck beneath it all but she wouldn't let it show. The tricks began as the other acrobats swirled around her in various positions and poses. She started her routine, she flipped and twirled through the air before landing into a cartwheel. She spun around the stage, the light flaring and the silver glitter sparkling in the air as she moved. The Acrobats whirled around her in patterns, a star, a moon, and finally the mask. It all came to a finish as she leaped into the air and landed in a handstand before the Acrobats lifted her up in one final pose.

2:30 AM

The Jester Sauntered through the halls, her shoulders slumped and the mask almost slipping from her face. She was exhausted, the opening was bad enough but her personal shows took a lot out of her. As she walked alone down the empty hallways she could feel herself falling asleep just standing up. She couldn't help but think about her nice bed and she almost wanted to speed up, though she didn't have it in her really, maybe she shou- her thoughts were interrupted as a gloved hand shot out from the shadows and pulled her in before her mask was quickly yanked away. The loud sound of lips smacking together echoed through the hall as Nines pulled her away.

#the amazing digital circus #tdac pomni #Tdac Gangle #OC #The night circus #Le Cirque des Rêves

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tinyinvadr · 1 month ago

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New chapter!!!

Psychoborrower 2

Chapter 9

With our senior league membership card, we were allowed entrance to the Astral Lanes Bowling Alley.

I don’t think it’s possible for me to play bowling, but it still looked like a fun place to hang out. They were even playing All Paul on the jukebox!

But the mission came first. There would be plenty of time for bowling-related shenanigans AFTER we stopped the mole.

I did notice Coach sitting over by the bar, mumbling to himself over a spread out blue print for something.

Raz suggested we check on him first, just in case he was getting any world domination ideas. When we asked about it, he insisted this battle bot was “for peace”.

Look, I’m typically pretty understanding when it comes to Coach, but once in a while I have to admit he can still be pretty questionable.

We couldn’t dwell on that for too long, though. The time had come for Ford’s mind to finally be restored. Or, at the very least, we were about to start that process.

Ford was behind the counter, spraying down bowling shoes with disinfectant. Still not sure why you would wanna pay to wear someone else’s dirty shoes. Humans are weird.

He let us into his mind, and we ended up in the lobby of a different bowling alley. More specifically, inside of a giant bowling ball. Raz and I were knocked around as it rolled to a stop, and I clung tightly to his sleeve as he pulled himself out of one of the finger holes.

We were both disoriented, though he recovered faster than I did. Guess I get that from my Dad. We both get dizzy easily.

Raz took note of this, gently plucking me off his arm.

“You okay, buddy? Need some pocket time?”

I sighed, nodding slightly as I avoided eye contact. He pulled his coat open and lowered me into the pocket, and I leaned my head on his chest without thinking about it.

“You know, it’s okay if you like sitting in there. I don’t mind. It’s kinda cute, actually.”

“I knew you’d say that.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just glad you feel comfortable around me.”

I frowned. I’d gotten too comfortable. Too attached. If anything happened, if anything went wrong…

No, I couldn’t think like that. We’d already come so far in such a short time. Nothing could stop us. We were going to be Psychonauts together. Mom would see that I belonged here. That I had a support system. A family.

I pushed down the feelings of worry that I’d never see Raz again, firing a snarky comeback at him like I always did.

“Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever you say. You just want me to be your little pocket companion.”

“You want me to take you out, then?”

“Nope.”

He shrugged it off, looking around the lobby. One thing that stood out was a photo booth. Normally, it wouldn’t have been anything out of the ordinary, but we could hear voices coming from inside. We went over to investigate, but the booth was empty.

However, inside we could see the printed photo strip, and in the pictures was a woman I didn’t recognize and a man who had to be a younger Ford.

“Ford and Lucrecia dated?”

“Uh… am I missing something? Who is she?”

Raz explained that he saw her in Ford’s mind earlier. Or, a wood carving of her, rather. She was displayed alongside the Psychic Six, and it sounded like she was a member of their team somehow. But for some reason, she wasn’t publicly acknowledged, hence the name Psychic Six instead of Psychic Seven.

It seemed the next place we needed to go could only be accessed by rolling down the lane on top of one of the bowling balls. It was probably for the better that Raz had me in his pocket. With his acrobatic experience, he had the better balance out of the two of us.

We rolled through the tunnel, and on the other side was a city inhabited by germs. Yes, actual germs. Germs and slime everywhere. What was it with all these mental worlds being so gross?

At the center of the city was a giant Ford bowling pin, and Raz concluded that the shattered mind fragment we needed was located inside his head.

What followed was a treacherous and disgusting journey through the city, balancing on bowling balls across dangerous obstacles and puddles of goo. Yep, really glad it was Raz and not me.

Some of the track pieces were missing, so we did have to backtrack in order to fix it, but once everything was in working order, we reached the Lover’s Lane. It was kind of like a tunnel of love ride, and inside were bowling pin versions of Ford and Lucrecia reaching out for each other, but we kept bumping into them and knocking them down.

The tunnel led out to a construction crane that lifted us up to Pin Ford’s head. We made it just in time, because the prophesied end of the world that the germ citizens kept talking about had finally come to pass. A massive bottle of disinfectant spray appeared in the sky, wiping out everything.

Before we could be blown away, Raz made the jump into Ford’s head. Disturbingly, it actually looked like the inside of a living human skull.

We jumped up to the brain, and Raz pulled the shard out, much to Pin Ford’s protests. Once it was out, we could see Ford reflected in the shard.

“Lucrecia… You loved her.”

“That’s right. But I called her ‘Lucy’. Our first date was in a bowling alley. The place was filthy, but that didn’t matter. That was the night that I knew…”

He trailed off, looking saddened. Then, his bowling personality appeared.

“That it was too good to last forever? Hey, come on now, everything comes to an end eventually. The important thing is to appreciate all the good times we had with her.”

Agent Ford sighed as his fragmented personality passed him a bowling ball.

“I just… never thought it would end so badly.”

Suddenly, we were teleported to Ford’s primary mental world. We stood in the destroyed remains of a cabin in the woods, and in the center was Ford’s headless body, holding a shattered mirror. Raz placed the shard back in place, then took the ball from Bowling Ford and put it on a still intact shelf.

When we returned to the physical world, Ford was gone. Now that his bowling personality had been defragmented, he had no reason to remain in Astral Lanes.

“I don’t get it. What did Ford mean when he said things ended badly with Lucrecia? What happened to her?”

Raz frowned. “I don’t know, but it had to have been something horrible. It looks like they were really happy together, too.”

“Raz… should we even be doing this? I feel like we’re poking around in something we’re not supposed to.”

“It does… but Grand Head Zanotto said this is our only chance to stop the mole. I guess we just have to trust the process.”

I had my doubts, but I continued to go along with Raz. He had a point. Surely the leader of the Psychonauts knew what he was talking about. This had to be the right thing to do.

But something still felt wrong about it.

The next Ford personality to defragment was in the mailroom, but getting to him would also require a detour. He had locked himself in the office, and wouldn’t let us in unless we had approval from a senior mailroom worker. Given that Nick Johnsmith’s brain was still missing, our only chance of getting to Ford was to find a substitute brain for Nick.

Our next stop was Otto’s lab. Surely he could spare a brain from his collection.

When we arrived, he greeted us from behind his workbench.

“Good to see you again, boys! What brings you here today?”

Wanting to keep our mission on the down low, Raz made sure to keep things as vague as possible.

“We’re just here to look around. Check out some gadgets.”

Otto chuckled. “These are far more than just gadgets, Razputin. These… are dreams. Creations that start within the psyche, formed from our innermost thoughts and feelings, and are then recreated in the physical world. Every single one of them has a story behind it.”

I looked around the room at Otto’s dreams, fascinated. He had such an interesting perspective. One I’d never thought about before.

“Anything in particular you want to see? Of course, since you’re interns, I can’t lend any of them out to you. But, Agent Nein does have quite a bit of faith in you, so I’m sure something could be arranged if either of you are interested.”

I could definitely see how Otto’s approach to mentorship impacted Sasha’s methods. The two of them were very different in their demeanors, as well as how they viewed science, but it made sense that they worked so well together. I hoped my internship with Sasha would work out just as well.

“We’ll have to get back to you on that. Talk to you later, Agent Mentallis!”

In the back of the lab, we found the Brainframe. Of course, when Otto saw us looking at it, he immediately stepped in to tell us about it.

His collection consisted only of non-functional brains from deceased bodies, all donated for experimentation. At least, we hope they were all given up voluntarily. Otto was uncomfortably casual about the whole thing, and he apparently didn’t keep his records of them properly organized. It wasn’t a huge stretch of the imagination to believe that there were a few brains in there that weren’t supposed to be.

Once Otto left, we searched through the catalogue of brains until we found one that looked to still be in good condition. Raz released it from the Brainframe, then opened up its container to attach the psycho-portal.

“Hey, if this thing’s dead, what’ll happen if we astral project into it?”

“Only one way to find out.”

“Raz, you know I don’t like it when you-”

We projected into a black void.

“Annnnd we’re dead. You’ve killed us.”

“No I didn’t! We wouldn’t be conscious at all if I did.”

“You sure about that? You ever been dead before?”

“Let’s just go, there’s nothing-”

Suddenly, a small light appeared, floating in the endless abyss. Raz reached out for it, and it flew around, appearing to have some level of sentience.

“Oh. Um… Hi, I’m Raz, and this is Flint. What’s your name?”

The little light mumbled incoherently, trying to speak. It took a few tries, but we kept talking to it to try and encourage a proper response. Finally, we got one.

“Sorry! I haven’t talked in such a long time. Is this what my voice sounds like? Who are you two? Are either of you me? Are you both me?”

I shook my head. “No, we’re not you. I’m Flint, he’s Raz. Who are you?”

The Mote of Light excitedly buzzed around, laughing.

“Words! You’re saying words! Whoa, what was that noise I just made? That wasn’t words, am I dying?”

Before we could answer, it flew away.

“No, no, I’m ALIVE! This is the most alive I’ve ever felt! Oh, but what am I? Everything? Nothing? God? The universe?”

“I’m not sure, but right now you’re a brain in a jar. You’re still conscious, but it looks like things went dark in here from a lack of sensory input. Being separated from your body for so long must have made you forget who you are. But if we put your brain in Nick’s body temporarily, you’ll get sensory input again, and maybe that will trigger your memories.”

“I’m not sure what any of that means. Who’s Nick? What’s a body?”

The Mote had no concept of anything outside of the void, so trying to explain physical existence would be pointless. Raz simply stated that we would come back to help once the procedure was finished. With that, we left the unidentified brain.

“So Otto had a living brain in here all this time… Should we check the other ones?”

“Definitely. But we need to take care of this first. This brain needs a body, and Nick needs a brain. And we need Ford to let us into the office.”

Raz pulled the brain out of its container, giving it a kiss before sticking it in his bag.

“You make me sick, Raz. You really do.”

#giant/tiny #g/t #giant tiny #g/t writing #psychonauts

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unnervinglyferal · 11 months ago

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It's more tied to the fact that psychosis or whatever the hell my brain has been hitting me with since like August hits when I'm here in my bed at night, sometimes in the middle of my sleep, like, it literally wakes me up in the depths of the night just to fucking make me experience suicide-inducing levels of existencial dread and horrific sensations previously only known to maybe G-d and other bodyless entities.

I'll be here laying still trying to get some G-d forsaken rest, which is something we all need to survive and function like sane human beings -at the maximum extent some of us can- and my mind will decide it's the best time ever to make me go through mental acrobatics that involve me being unable to recognise that I exist, that others exist and that no, actually, the world will not disappear the minute I go to sleep or even die, and you guys are your own individual beings with your own consciences, the problem with that is that you don't really have anything that proves that to you. I lack tactible proof that you guys are as real as me, and that you guys have your own private currents of reality, because you can't prove that kind of stuff, it's stuff that seems obvious in perspective, but you don't really ever get to see it yourself, because most people don't need that type of proof.

Anyways, that's not the only problem. Alongside existencial doubt and dread and horror, I have to face physical sensations that don't make any sense. Yesterday night I got woken in the middle of the night by a sense of incredible vibrating violence against the world, and it was not like, just an emotion, because the insides of my nails itched with hate. My hands feel like, heavy and lightweight at the same time, and I get such an intense mental fog. It's terrible. It's a feeling so terrible it makes me, the 18 year old adult fucker, go to sleep on the same bed my parents do hoping it'll leave me alone. It's a feeling so overwhelming that my mind instantly decides that dying would be a viable option for instant release, as in the sense of euthanasia. It's embarassing, it's distressing, it's agonizing, it is unsustainable.

I don't even know for sure if it's psychosis, but I call it such because I've considered that it might be like an anxiety attack or a meltdown out of overstimulation, but it feels different that any of those things. It's mental anguish that came out of years of sadness, depression, fear and loneliness. It woke me up in the middle of the night one random day and it hasn't left since.

So far, I can only seem to wait those out when they happen. Not like I have any other choices. I can't seem to find any triggers that I could avoid to avoid causing them in the first place, though it's not like something that hits you in the middle of sleep without any seemingly plausible reason it's the kind of thing that can be avoided at all by any means. Just one of those situations you gotta grit your teeth through, before you figure out what exactly it is or where did it come from or if it's curable at all.

And that's why I'm scared of going to sleep. The mind works in ways. Not sure which, just ways.

You need to get somewhere peaceful. Somewhere that you've got peace of mind and you can rationally trust that you're safe. I'm not going to say "feel safe", because you're not going to feel safe anywhere for a long while no matter where you are, but somewhere where you can tell yourself that the part telling you that you're in danger is wrong, and trust that it's true.

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unfortunate-songbird · 6 months ago

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Can I have more information about your silles? (Ocs)

Yes yes yes absolutely I love you forever for asking

space gang!

Quill- he’s the team leader he’s the guy ever he was in college to be a marine biologist before he dropped out due to depression and joined the knockoff Star Wars Rebellion. His greatest fear is losing someone he loves to depression / general mental health but he gets so agitated whenever someone comes to him for help (and much of his worry manifests as anger) that it actually keeps people from reaching out to him. He’s obsessed with the Octonauts.

Em- she’s the muscle the brawler the ‘angry one’ as much as she wishes she wasn’t but it’s all she knows how to be. She has to hold grudges because if she doesn’t no one will and she’s always the last to leave any situation because she ran away once as a small child and lost everything. She’s said some unforgivably cruel things when she’s angry because she can’t think over the overwhelming urge to make someone else Hurt. She bullies people as a love language (both banter and actual physical rolling-on-the-ground tussling)

Owen- he’s the acrobat the gymnast the stealth the one in the rafters looking down. He spent his life alone and only recently discovered the joys of being a clown of being funny enough to finally have the attention he craves. He plays it up relentlessly but deep down he’s so scared he’ll end up too much and drive everyone away. He’s the youngest and the protected and it’s both gratifying and stifling. He’s cheeky he’s gullible one time he dyed Quill’s hair green and got away with it because no one suspected him.

Rowan- he’s a rich kid he’s a spy he’s the actor the infiltrator the rogue element the traitor. He decided to doom himself to a painful death rather than ask his friends for help. His natural posture is the letter C. He might be transfem but that won’t occur to him for many years because who has time for gender right now. He’s got a guilt complex. He’s a gay theater kid. He’s incredibly socially awkward. He doesn’t know who he is behind all the masks and is convinced he’ll never be more than his worst mistakes. He’s the reason the kitchen is equipped with four fire extinguishers.

Wedge- they’re the hacker the tech wizard. They’re not even all that good at computer stuff. They grew up as an Empire military kid and the guilt for still loving their family complicit in an evil system eats at them daily. They have ADHD. They’re terrified they’re going to let everyone down like they have all their life. Their family thinks they work at Space Walmart except Cousin Julia who knows what they are (rebel) and goes through Candace from Phineas and Ferb level shenanigans to expose them and it never works. They play Minecraft curled up in a kitchen cabinet. They got so worried about their abysmal pain tolerance and being the weak link that they briefly tried to blackmail Rowan into giving them lessons in torture resistance. They main Kirby in Smash Bros and suck at it.

the fantasy gang is unfortunately less developed but I’ll do my best

Alex- loser high schooler dies (cringe) and becomes a loser ghost. Died with a massive zit and now it’s part of his eternal appearance. No he’s not cripplingly lonely shut up.

Vida- your typical snarky unimpressed middle schooler. Misses her mom :( (died under mysterious circumstances and with a secret past). Secretly loves explosions and funky chemicals. Lowkey disappointed that Alex is just a dork teenager and not a proper gorey scary ominous ghost.

Jamie- Average tween girl likes 20 kinds of bugs is a statistical error. The average tween girl likes around 5 types of bugs (rolly pollies, butterflies, ladybugs, dragonflies, bees) Insects Jeorg who adores every single bug in existence is an outlier adn should not have been counted.

Evan- token cautious nerd. She couldn’t commit to one gender and you think he can make big plot important decisions? Massive fantasy book nerd but in the sense that she wants to stay Far Away from actual magic bc do you even know what happens to people in stories who mess with that kinda stuff?? Lifelong trauma at BEST.

Miko- your typical plucky orphan who lives in a magic boarding school learning to be a wizard. Absolute goober. >:D . They are party rockin in the house tonight. Surprisingly chill abt their home being invaded by Evil Conquering Anti-Magic Kingdom (lie). They’re so silly and that’s all dw about it.

Foaming at the mouth abt them they’re my sillies ❤️

#song’s sillies

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existential-angstt · 1 year ago

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Pay Attention Please (P. 4) // (professor) Shane “Dio” Morrissey x Reader

A/N: hi guys, this one is a bit shorter than the others but its been so long since i updated and the next parts gonna be spicy and just gonna take some mental acrobatics so i wanted to throw something out!

Taglist: @lokanda

That night you had a new arsenal of material at your fingertips to play with. He’d seemed almost flustered earlier– embarrassed. That was almost as hot as him throwing you against the wall all dominating, voice husky. You kept mentally tracing over the color in his cheeks when he stared at you earlier as you touched yourself, moaning his name.

“Mr. Morrissey- fuck-”

You paused, your hand slowing. You swallowed and started moving your hand faster again, moaning experimentally, “Oh, D.”

At the sound of that, you let out an involuntary whimper which made your whole body shudder, so you kept on. “Fuck, D- D-”

You came remarkably quickly after that, noting how much of a difference it had made.

The next day in class dealt with a more complicated concept so you didn’t allow yourself the luxury of daydreaming about your teacher railing you the whole period– instead, you actually had to think. Professor Morrissey assigned a rather lengthy and unforgiving worksheet to be completed in class and you were silently cursing him for it.

This is definitely payback.

You looked up at him with a slightly agitated little look which quickly flashed to surprise as you caught him staring at you. He twitched minutely but didn’t dare drop his gaze for another moment until he was deciding to look somewhere else. You were sure it was an act of authority– he wasn’t letting the fact you met his gaze make him drop his. You looked back down at the worksheet, your face warm, which made you furious.

After an eternity of this infernal grammar practice, class ended and everyone started to pack up and go. You took your time at first, trying to best plan your approach when a particularly mischievous idea occurred to you. A test, of sorts. You let everyone else go up to his desk and set down their papers first, giving some space between you and the last student to leave. Eventually, you made your way up while he was busying himself with some papers– next class schedule or a plan or something. You set down your paper and said, “Thanks D- I mean, Professor Morrissey.”

The expression you had plastered on your face was so normal it couldn’t possibly look normal– but you were forcing it to be a blank slate that gave away nothing. His head jerked up and he looked at you for a long long moment. He seemed to relax a little for a moment and dropped his eyes again, a lot of cogs very obviously turning inside his head.

“Coffee?” You said.

He looked at you again.

And you looked at him.

He let out a little sigh, seemingly defeated. And then a nod.

Waiting through the next period felt like nothing. You got your homework done and hardly listened to him speak, just the sound of his voice because you were so ecstatic. You’d won. At least for now.

You led the way out of the classroom after his second period once he’d gathered his things, down the stairs, out the door, onto the bus, and into downtown where you dropped into the cafe seats once again. He still seemed… somber. You noticed his hands were barely resting on the cafe table– and that was when you noticed his rings. He wore a few, definitely more than most men– and they were all interesting gaudy things. You could see a little bit of that young rascally goth boy in them because they were something he would’ve worn– one was a dragon, there was another with a large deep black stone like an onyx, and the last was a silver band with little skulls all around it.

You reached for his hand and he, to your surprise, didn’t resist, letting you pull it across the table to inspect them. “These are neat,” you said, turning his hand over in yours and trying very very hard not to think about how large it was. His hand was almost twice the size of yours and you swallowed a little bit. He sighed again softly. “They’re old,” he said, using his left to pick up and sip at his coffee.

You reluctantly dropped his hand and nudged him with a foot. “Why’re you so grumpy?”

He frowned a little bit, sipping at his coffee again. You weren’t even sure how he was drinking it, yours was much too hot. He bit at his lip a little and then looked up at you, still frowning. “You’re supposed to be staying away from me.”

You snorted softly. “I’m in your class, dumbass,” you said softly, flashing him a giddy little grin. He seemed to ease up a little, trying to keep his expression stormy but not finding much luck.

“What were you going to call me earlier?”

You paused and looked at him again, a little thrown off by the abruptness. “What?” He eyed you with those dark eyes of his, almost hungry in their darkness.

“You were going to call me something other than Mr. Morrissey, what was it?” his gaze was relentless. Man, if he became a cop or something everyone would confess left and right with the intensity of his eyes on them.

“Uh- D…aniel?”

He scrunched up his face. “What?”

“D-aniel. Yes. Because… that’s your first name, isn’t it? D-aniel?”

He snorted and laughed a little bit- a rich, low laugh that made your tummy flip.

“How did you work that one out, kid?” he said, pulling the little stirrer out of his coffee and licking it clean. You blushed at the sight of his tongue– god, stop being so horny about everything-

But then you remembered to scrunch your nose the same way he had. “You’re not that much older than me,” you grumbled.

He ignored it and set the stirrer down on the table. “My name’s not Daniel,” he said, eyes on his cup. “What is it then?” you responded automatically.

His eyes flicked up to yours. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” he said slightly smugly. You paused and opened your mouth- “You’re blushing,” he interrupted.

That made you blush more and shut your mouth.

“Tell me,” you said, sitting forward. He eyed you again and leaned in, inches away.

“What, tell you what name to moan at night?”

You froze. How did- but-

He chuckled lowly, which sent a ripple of heat down through your tummy and sat back in his seat. “You’re too young for me, sweetheart,” he said, finishing off his coffee. Without warning he got up, picked up his stuff in a fell swoop, and stepped outside. You scrabbled after him after a moment of sheer disbelief, making the table shift suddenly with a loud screech as you hurried out after him. He was holding all of his stuff just outside the door, lighting a cigarette.

You stared him down as he pulled the cigarette away with a groan, blowing out smoke. You shook your head a little. “Dean?” He chuckled again. “No.”

He started walking down the street, the direction he always went when he left you here. “David.” He coughed a little ahead of you, shaking his head. “God, no.” You kept following him down the street, spouting D names while he smoked and walked. You had no idea where you were going but he wasn’t stopping and you certainly weren’t letting him go. You named every D name you could think of, even weird ones as he became more and more amused.

“Derek?” “No.” “Devin.”

“Mmmmm no.” “Dominic.” “You’re never going to guess it, you know.”

You kept following and he wasn’t stopping you, still marching down the street. He was, however, walking slow enough for you to keep up. With his long ass legs he could outpace you without breaking a sweat and he remarkably wasn’t. Eventually, after you’d run out of D names and simply followed in near silence, intent on not losing him, he stopped at a building and let himself in. You followed without hesitation, secretly waiting for him to say “when” but he hadn’t yet.

He trudged up the stairs inside and you hurried after him. Eventually, you found yourselves at an apartment door he was unlocking. Your heart jumped in your chest and you followed him inside. You were in his apartment.

#NYPD Blue #shane dio morrissey x reader #dio morrissey x reader #shane dio morrissey #dio x reader #dio x you #dio morrissey #Pedro Pascal

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azumasoroshi · 2 years ago

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continuing from the last post, we're back to izaya with the bag over his head and earthworm

and it's really interesting because he's animated in a way that makes you really, REALLY doubt that it's izaya

ok it's hard to show in photo form but like. the way he tilts his head back and forth with earthworm moving the scissors makes him look wary and nervous? and you cant see his face but his body language is so far from relaxed that you're like oh they must have captured nakura or some other person. no way izaya's actually in there

and after she asks about his sisters (you still cant see well in photo form but i gave you the timestamp and the episode number so :3) he shakes his head back and forth quickly with some kind of wobbly sound effect and it's so unlike izaya!!!! izaya wouldn't react to any of this right??

and then we cut to here!! and it's like oh yeah that definitely isn't him. he's literally outside with mairu right now

side note but awww they're so cute. im sure they're 100% normal mentally sound siblings who definitely didn't decide their personalities via a fucking coin flip ahahaha

orihara family is so fucking weird. sometimes i wonder if izaya is good at dodging shizuo's attacks because he's used to his siblings attacking him all the time (which is really cute actually) or if his siblings saw him getting chased around by shizuo all the time and thought 'hey that looks fun' and decided to attack him too (decidedly less cute but a lot funnier)

im assuming it's the first one though since the twins have been doing martial arts probably before izaya was in high school?? probably

it's funny how he's actually caught off guard here. like his ultra instinct carries him but he only turns after mairu makes a noise

like he's the king of environmental awareness as opposed to shizuo who kinda blocks everything out so this is hmMMMMm

mayhaps he lets his guard down around his siblings :eyes: ohoho do i sense a weakness orihara-san??

there was this line in the izaya youtuber au where namie is like damn i'm this proud at catching izaya off-guard for like a second?? my life is fucking sad. that's how i feel right now

smug bitch

flexible characters get me going bro like vash the stampede. izaya. why do i keep grouping them together in my head like they're both human lovers (albeit for very different reasons) and they're both flexible and they're both voiced by johnny yong bosch. what's the deal here what is fate trying to tell me about my taste in fictional men

i will never get tired of his acrobatics ugh

bro has a fuckin rectangular prism for an ass what is going ON there

um. gayass

what was i talking about again OH YEAH the earthworm thing. well not like i can talk about that any more until we cut back there

im not taking screenshots of the entire "fight scene" (it's just izaya dodging and being a little shit like "oh woe is me why would you attack an innocent civilian in public??" (he's the one holding the knife, mikage's brother points out)

and we're back! still not sure how exactly that works considering the transition between phones - was earthworm showing him the footage or something?? or playing the audio, because she asks about mikage right after

in any case izaya continues to keep his head low, visibly reacting to what she's saying/pouring the water but never saying anything

we switch away again to him talking to celty and we're at a really weird place where half of it feels like izaya's going to be under there and earthworm is actually getting to him this time, and we'll see through the flashbacks a series of fuck ups or how he planned to be here and be unphased but he's a little bit shaken by the torture methods

and the other half of it feels like oh, through the flashbacks we'll find out how exactly izaya caught on to them trying to capture him and made a stunt double

the one post that's like "i dont see him complaining" continues to crack me up

we cut back to earthworm again but im running out room of this post lmAOOO

it's incredible how hard it is for me to stop talking like this is actually insane. see you guys in the continuation post i guess

#izaya orihara #durarara

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ionalottabookmarks · 1 year ago

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Duela in Titans Secret Files

There are two issues in this series, both 50+ page comics that contain multiple stories. Duela appears in a single page in the first issue, is mentioned briefly in one of the stories in the second issue, and features prominently in another - her first major appearance since the 70s. We’re combining all the stories into this one post.

Issue one was published in 1999. In the relevant story, word has gotten out that the Titans are re-forming, and will be recruiting members.

Duela is expecting to be recruited (spoiler alert: she won’t be). She claims to be the daughter of Doomsday. She’s at a bar, which we’ll come back to later. It’s the best look at civilian Duela that we’ll get in this era, and she looks like a fairly normal, adult woman.

Issue 2 came out in 2000. Her first appearance is on a computer screen, showing a bunch of former Titans that we’re keeping tabs on.

So. This is a very brief appearance, but there’s just...a lot to unpack here. First of all. Over a dozen? I count Joker, Two-Face, Riddler, Penguin, Scarecrow, and Catwoman in the 70s, and in the 90s, Wildebeest and Doomsday. That’s eight. Eight is not a dozen.

Second. If she’s in a mental institution, how was she in a bar in the last issue?

Third. Schizophrenic. Okay. She’s never really displayed any signs of schizophrenia. But more importantly, the book that first calls her schizophrenic being the same book that first portrays her as a villain? I don’t like that. I don’t like that at all.

Fourth. Acrobat? Not that she wasn’t, I guess, but she’s also an inventor, a detective, and a martial artist.

Okay. Moving on.

When our narrator (Bette Kane, fyi) says this shaped almost all of us for the better, I’m pretty sure the person she’s not including in that is Duela.

In this story, Beast Boy and Bette are going to arrive at their apartment to find Beast Boy’s cousin has invited, like, a zillion superheroes over for a Titan’s recruitment drive. It’s basically turned into a wild party, and they’re not pleased. Then Duela crashes.

I do like the balloons. But wow, Beast Boy. That’s mean. And she was a respected member of the Titans when you weren’t, so, like, shut up.

She’s upset that she wasn’t invited. Understandable, since literally everyone else was. Beast Boy’s cousin claimed he tried to invite her, but she was undergoing electroshock therapy at the time. Which is where I express my absolute disgust at the utter lack of sympathy these *heroes* are showing for a former teammate undergoing a mental health crisis. “Psycho.” “Krusty.” “Creepella.” Look, maybe if you could be nice to your schizophrenic friend who’s clearly going through a hard time, she wouldn’t be attacking you right now.

Also worth noting: Duela calls Bette “Ms. Wimbledon” here. This is the same thing Pantha calls Bette, and Pantha is the person Duela claimed to be last time we saw her, in JLA/Titans.

Duela’s brought friends! The one with the empathetic stimulator is a Beast Boy enemy. There’s two of them, actually. I’m not sure if the other guys are with them or Duela. All of them, including the stimulator dudes, are dressed to match Duela, but that may be a coincidence; I haven’t read any of Beast Boy’s other comics yet, and it’s been sort of difficult to track down much information in these guys. (Fear and Loathing.)

Duela’s friends/henchman are dispatched quickly. But not Duela herself, because she’s awesome.

“Bozo.” Like, wow, we are really packing on the insults for the mentally ill girl lashing out because her feelings are hurt. Have any of you considered, like, having a conversation with your former teammate who really just wanted to be included?

Okay, so it’s not like Duela isn’t coming through with her fair share of name-calling. And she’s got a jack-in-the-box! I love when Duela has gadgets.

And our girl is unceremoniously knocked out with a rock.

So there we have it. Duela’s first major appearance outside the 70s, Duela’s first appearance as a true antagonist, and Duela’s first time being diagnosed as schizophrenic then being called psycho by people who are supposed to be her friends.

I hate this issue. Have I mentioned that I hate this issue?

Duela’s next appearance will be in about 5 years, in Teen Titans #22, in 2005. We won’t have a dedicated post for that; it’s one of a few issues in 2005-2006 where she appears in the background of big scenes, and I’ll be compiling them in one post.

#duela dent #joker's daughter #harlequin #dc #dc comics #teen titans #titans west

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