#what does being chosen by an objectively shit human being grant you as a person?

[novadreii]

hold up. pause.

i couldn't get 15 minutes into the finale without crying. had to stop and write this. my heart SO goes out to marissa! i relate to her so hard, having been in a weirdly similar situation to her. was also with a two-faced performative leftist Nice Guy who looooooved that i'm a Strong Woman with intense energy in the beginning, and once we moved in together decided actually, i was too much. EERILY similar to ramses.

"that's what every guy feels. they love the first few months of dating me, cause the energy is so fucking great. like i get it, i've heard that before." i wanted to hug her so badly!!!! it's the most vile feeling on earth for someone to use the reasons they used to love you as the reasons they don't anymore.

meanwhile, marissa sees their difference in vibe/energy (ramses being the "calmer" one and marissa being the more intense one) as something to be celebrated and just worked around where consideration is needed. her love supersedes and she doesn't have a need to be in a relationship with someone who is exactly fucking like her.

the poor girl was so shooketh. she couldn't believe how suddenly he changed his mind, from one minute loving everything about her and wanting to get married to wanting to break up the next. god, i understand the whiplash from that shit. she is going to need therapppyyyyyyyy.

we as women need to stop thinking that men are just having a great time in a relationship with us if they haven't brought anything up!! they do not communicate the way we do. women being quiet = everything is fine. men being quiet = everything MIGHT be fine, but he could just as equally be deeply unhappy and plotting his escape/affair. they actually are sociopathic in that they can act like they love us to placate us while they find a way to fade out of the relationship. us women know that if we're done we can't even touch him anymore!

i'm so tired of seeing the pure love of women be fucking corrupted by user men. please understand that a man's emotional landscape may as well be an alien planet, they do not experience love the way we do at ALL. women love unconditionally, faithfully, like mothers. a man's love is conditional to the dopamine he gets from your presence. that's it. and because dopamine and therefore feelings fade in and out, you point blank cannot trust a man to stay by your side throughout all of your seasons of life.

maybe he's good for right now, sure, but don't depend on him being in the picture long term. imagine when you give birth and experience physical and emotional changes, or if you go through an illness, experience a personal loss, etc. most men will not hesitate to cut you loose the moment you don't make him feel good 24/7 anymore and need to lean on HIM. they don't want to be depended on, because dependence = expectations, and expectations = control = loss of freedom to a man. there is nothing more important to a man than the freedom to do whatever the fuck he pleases at all times.

please watch this show as a way to better understand how duplicitous men operate. i don't care if you don't watch reality tv bc you're better than that, neither do i, but this show is the exception.

every SINGLE man on the cast this season has displayed GIANT red flags from day 1 IF you know how to look. there isn't a single man on S7 who i would say is real husband material. whether it's being a liar, unfaithful, hiding things about their pasts, and being actual man children who have never had to lift a finger in their entire lives, it's clear this season that the casting of the men was meant to be a cautionary tale.

[ravnervn]

I agree with the above, but I also feel I want to add a bit of my own, potentially controversial, nuance as well:

In discussing dark topics in fiction, the counterpoint to the backlash is to frame it through the lens of coping mechanisms; that people write about these topics to process an experience they have gone through in a safer way. That makes sense, but I actually think that's still very limiting in its own way - it just means those who object will shift the goalposts to "you can write about uncomfortable topics, but ONLY as a means of self-therapy, and if you're doing that you don't need to share it."

To be clear here, I recognise that position because I have hewn very close to it due to adopting a philosophy of living my life in the way that causes least harm. I think that profiting off of the tragedies and traumas of others is vile; I think serious topics should be treated with appropriate weight. However, I'm also deeply passionate about literature and how fiction can explore distasteful aspects of being human in a safe place. For a time, I actually suffered from really bad cognitive dissonance due to this - the idea that because I enjoy and want to create works that confront the taboo that others would perceive me as endorsing it. That if I write stories about these topics, I'm flippantly treating them as fuel for spectacle and titillation if the presentation of the theme in the work isn't wholly miserable and condemnatory.

But that's reductionist. It's reductionist and stifling to say that we can only explore the human experience in specific ways in fiction, because to engage in messiness fully would mean potentially writing or consuming something that could be misconstrued as condoning something. Fuck that. You can explore a theme critically in the realm of fiction without thinking it's a great idea in reality, and it's critical thinking which is the key there on the part of the writer and audience, and that's really what's lacking in a lot of this.

The response to thinking "ick, but why did they write that, was that necessary" in response to a piece of media SHOULD BE to question, in good faith, why a writer might have chosen to do so! Does it contribute to a wider theme? Is it there to make a point? How did they actually depict and discuss that uncomfortable or dark topic as it was happening? These are all things you should actually ask, rather than simply go "it's freak shit" or "they're working through stuff" - and sometimes, the answer Actually Is one of those options! Sometimes an immortal who looks like a child acting in uncomfortably sexual ways is a genuine exploration of how fucked up it might be to BE a mature (ancient, even) adult who is locked in a flesh prison that denies you so many experiences other adults take for granted because no sane or reasonable adult WOULD look at you and regard you with desire, and sometimes it really is just that someone wants a convenient handwave for why it's okay to want to fuck someone who looks 8 because nooo dude they're super mature it's fiiiiine. If it IS that latter example then the author has no rights, is not valid, and you're morally obliged to shove them in a locker, and sometimes people might argue the latter IS the former to try and justify nooo dude it's really smart actually (which really muddies the water), but the former really could be an interesting bit of tragic existential speculation to turn around in your head even if it makes you uncomfortable - if you, as you are, were trapped in the body of a child forever, how would you feel?

My point here isn't to say "dark fiction is Good Actually and you need to engage with it" (though I do believe engaging with fiction that makes you uncomfortable is, in moderation, healthy for personal growth) nor to give people carte blanche to write whatever they like without considering the implications or problems. My point is that actually, it's fine that people write kinda gross stuff and it's even fine if they have fun with it, so long as they are being deliberate and mindful about how introducing these elements to their work will affect it. So long as they understand how certain tropes and depictions DO affect reality. It's important, even, not because it "represents reality" or "it's important to raise awareness"; it's important because humans are messy nasty creatures who think about gross things even when they know it's wrong and don't want to, and fiction is the one place where you can safely turn these really nasty things around in your brain before putting them back away again. So yeah, it is coping; it's just not coping in the way it's often framed.

[sid471]

An OBJECTIVE look at James Ironwood

A much needed TL;DR: Ironwood’s story is sad. But it doesn’t excuse his actions just cause we’ve known him longer.

So I’ve made it.... abundantly clear on many many posts that ever since the end of volume 7 and into volume 8, I’ve hated General James Ironwood. I’ve made SOME posts “throwing him a bone” but I usually end up still emphasizing his flaws. So... Here’s a post where I DON’T focus solely on his flaws. Here’s a look at Ironwood’s actions from his introduction in volume 2, to now. And I’ll try to be as, well, objective as possible.

So James’ first appearance is in episode 2 of Volume 2 where he talks to Ozpin and, briefly, Glynda. He clearly has some history with Glynda, maybe a romantic relationship that I personally support 😗... Well I mean not NOW but I did. So Ironwood seems to be a bit of a 3rd wheel to Oz and Glynda, Glynda dismissing him and his compliment and Oz not being PARTICULARLY happy with him and his army’s presence in Vale and after a bit of arguing, James says the infamous line, that’s even quoted in his theme track, “Do you honestly believe your children can win a war?” James bringing his army to Vale, and then later going behind Oz’s back to the Vale counsel to get permission to protect the kingdom, and also get Ozpin in the Counsel’s bad graces? He... meant well. But it was still a betrayal of Ozpin’s trust. Which is ironic considering trust is Ironwood’s whole... thing.

And it also tells us something interesting. He UNDERESTIMATES the capabilities and potential of humans. I know that may sound a bit like I’m reaching but think about it, Atlas mostly sends soldier bots to take care of Grimm attacks instead of humans. And even when he DOES send human soldiers, they rely on surprise attacks to get the job done, like the Ace Ops arresting RWBY and friends at the beginning of Volume 7. And when they DON’T have surprise attacks, Atlas’ huntsman lose. The Ace Ops lost to RWBY, they basically lost to Penny in a 1v4 fight, which Harriet admits in saying “Good work would’ve been capturing Penny.” So yeah they lost, Clover lost to Tyrian and Qrow, which I know is a different scenario but still if he were among the best of the best he would’ve either recognized the bigger threat in Tyrian, or would’ve been able to hold them both off, or, 3rd option, would’ve retreated and let Qrow and Tyrian have it out then come back to arrest them both, or the remaining one considering Qrow vs Tyrian, when we get it again, is GONNA end in a death. Fair Game bias aside, everyone blames Qrow but Clover also could’ve been smarter in his final moments. 

In fact EVERY major Atlesian we’ve seen has lost a fight at least once. Winter lost to Qrow in Volume 3, if you count that AS a fight, and Cinder in Volume 7, Ace Ops lost to RWBY and Penny, Clover, as mentioned, lost to Tyrian and Qrow, Watts lost to Ironwood, and Weiss has, notoriously, lost a lot of fights but among the first was against Banesaw, the White fang lieutenant in Volume 2, and most recently, Rhodes lost to Cinder, if you count him. Whyyyy? I’m personally of the belief that it’s because of Atlas’ over reliance on its tech, and I know I’m not the only who thinks this 😗. Atlas has the best Tech on remnant and can easily create robosoldiers or mechs to protect the pilot while also allowing the pilot to still fight. What use is training humans to fight when they have mechs and robots to do it for them? 

Phew. That was a little off topic. I’m sorry, anyway, so in volume 3, James brings Penny to Vale to participate in the Vytal festival which, speaking of trust, he didn’t tell anyone about. I understand not making it public knowledge. Soldier bots are one thing but a robot that looks like a little girl? I don’t think that woulda sat right with people. So, yeah not making it general knowledge, makes sense. But not trusting your 3 closest allies, and FRIENDS, in Oz, Glynda, and Qrow? Like Glynda said, it’s time to stop talking about trust and start showing it. That aside, things go decently well. No DIRECT signs of any conflict *looks at Cinder* and the festival goes well until the one on one finals. Yang attacking a “defenseless” student, in James’ mind, is horrible yes, but people’ll move past it, especially cause he disqualified her. But then shortly after that, Pyrrha, Ozpin’s chosen one for the Fall Maiden’s power, dismembers Penny on national TV. That is a huge blow for both the festival and him personally.

Continuing with Volume 3, while he’s calling for reinforcements, the robosoldiers that’re in his plane with him are hacked and cause him to crash land. Also a hit to him personally, HE ordered these be created and the fact that they were so easily turned against him and the people he swore to protect? Yeah... Kinda get it. Although, something else interesting in Volume 3, when he DOES rendezvous with Qrow and Glynda, Qrow immediately turns his sword into Scythe form for the first time in the show. And James’ immediate reaction? “Qrow! This wasn’t my doing!” and preparing his gun for a fight, before turning around and realizing that Qrow actually just saved him from a Griffon. This is........ interesting. Why would he assume a colleague he’s worked with for so long would suddenly be turning on him? I dunno. Just seems a little... paranoid wouldn’t ya say?

Volume 4, we see a new side of James. We see that he cares for Weiss, at least somewhat. More than Jacques, but granted a squirrel cares more about the Schneeblings than Jacques. But yeah, James has some pretty sweet moments with Weiss in volume 4, standing up for her at Jacques’ party, offering her a place at Atlas academy, he’s a pretty stand up guy to Weiss. But, big picture? This volume shows the signs of his paranoia being something serious. He completely shuts down Atlas. In his own words, “No one in. No one out. Not without the Counsel’s permission.” now, he knows about Salem. But he doesn’t know what she’s CAPABLE of, as implied by Qrow last volume. So, from James’ perspective, this DOES seem like the safest course of action. But this is exactly what Salem wants. Separation. Anxiety. Paranoia. FUEL for the Grimm. And this is the first sign of a common theme of James inadvertently playing into Salem’s hands.

Jumping to Volume 7, we don’t see him in 5 or 6 😗, James is still hella, HELLA paranoid, but he’s still happy to see Qrow and happy to have new allies. Now this is where we get a little dicey because volume 7 is a.......... divisive volume 😓. I’m gonna talk about JAMES’ perspective of events. Not necessarily my thoughts because... well... I’ve done that already lol. Many times 😓. So JAMES’ perspective on Volume 7. James sent the Ace Ops to investigate a stolen air ship and arrest the ones responsible for... ya know... stealing the air ship. So the Ace Ops do. And then they go back and take them to James’ office, and it’s the general’s old friend Qrow and his niece’s team and her friends, and a mysterious young man. We can see that James is happy to see Qrow, especially cause of the hug :3, and he’s especially happy to see Oscar, the new Ozpin. He trains Ruby and her friends with his Ace Ops, and allows Winter to help Weiss. And he DOES start to relax more. He starts to, dare I say it, let loose. He allows some lenience, he lets RWBY have the night off. Ruby going to Robyn’s celebration, Yang and Blake going on a double date with Flynt and Neon, and let’s the boys and Weiss have a movie night. He even gives RWBY and their friends their huntsman licenses. These are really great things to do :3

But where things start to crumble is after he announces that Amity is ready, which is a whole speech full of half truths, that he didn’t tell any of his allies about once again, to lure out Watts. It works, they fight, he wins, and we see THIS face.

This is a man who is completely CONTENT. He is happy in this moment. He’s arrested a man who’s always, by his own admission, been a pain in the ass, he has Clover, Qrow, and Robyn on the way back with Tyrian Callows, everything is great right now. He KNOWS that Ruby and her friends lied to him because Oscar told him, but he can sort that out with an honest conversation right? In my opinion, THIS screenshot is Ironwood’s last GOOD moment in the series. That thought process of everything is great goes to shit when he sees the Black Queen piece that Cinder left expressly to fuck with his head. And THEN he gets irrational and, once again, plays into Salem’s hands. He directly ORDERS the divide of the people. He plans to abandon Mantle, leaving them to die in the process, and he plans to completely sever Atlas from all of Remnant basically by launching it into the atmosphere to keep the Vault safe. That only ACTUALLY accomplishes one thing, being keeping the vault, which IS important. But it isn’t more important than keeping the people, ALL of the people, calm and prepared to face this threat, like he did at Beacon. He should have remained calm, like an experienced military official should, and made an announcement to all of Atlas and Mantle saying kind of what he did in Volume 3. “Grimm are all over the kingdom. You can either stay and protect your kingdom, or save yourself. No one will fault you if you leave.” 

Ironwood has a thing with fear. He doesn’t want to admit he’s afraid of Salem. As evidenced both times he’s shot someone....... interesting 😓. In the last episode of Volume 7, The Enemy of Trust, this exchange happens. Ironwood: You still think I'm afraid? Oscar: We all are. It's what we do in our fear that reveals--Ironwood: That's easy for you to say!

And then later, in the first episode of Volume 8 Divide, he shoots and kills Sleet once he says... Well... His last words “And what’s this about martial law? Have you lost your damn mind?! Are you that scared of what-- “ And notice, Ironwood shoots after Sleet goes to say “Are you that scared of what might happen?” And he IS right about one thing. It IS easy for Oscar to say “It’s what we do in our fear.” Because Oscar is child who can AFFORD to be afraid. James doesn’t have the luxury. He’s denying his fear because he’s the general. He’s James Ironwood. He can’t AFFORD to be afraid. If he’s afraid, everyone is going to be afraid. And, well, he can’t have that. That would attract the Grimm. He thinks he HAS to have a level head at all times for the sake of the kingdom. But James even generals in the military have feelings.... and sometimes need therapy to talk through some shit 😶. But... well... Maybe too late for that 😶😓.

In conclusion: James Ironwood is indeed a tragic character. A character who has taken A LOT of blows. A character who has always been paranoid. ALWAYS been ready for an attack. But even though he’s always been ready, he still wasn’t PREPARED. He wasn’t prepared for the sheer strength and AMOUNT of Salem’s forces. If he was more calm and more rational, he could have prepared better. He could have had Mantle and Atlas united against Salem, and that’s what can beat Salem, like Ruby said. James Ironwood is a tragic character, he has had it rough. But that doesn’t mean we should overlook his OBJECTIVELY horrible actions through out these last 2 volumes. Like ya know... Murder.

Phew .-. This is DEFINITELY my longest post. This better get attention I didn’t do all this for nothing >_>

[hermitcraftheadcanons]

To Do List:

What's up, my Herd of Nerds?

Anyway, as you can tell, tomorrow is AU Sunday. But, because it's one after a 'my input' one, it's a follower input AU day! Yay!

So, send me your AUs and I'll put all of em in a hat to pick one randomly. The winner is picked and posted and we'll all try and make headcanons about your AU.

Done:

Zombie Apocalypse AU :: (https://hermitcraftheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/618314308275863552/zombie-apocalypse-au-masterpost)

Pirate AU ::

Currently In The Raffle:

-Toy Story AU.

-Ever After High/Descendants/Vaguely 'nex gen priness' AU.

-Eldritch Horror AU :: Or if that's a bit too out there, a more normal Monster AU. I don't care, but in my heart, I know Cleo is some kind of eldritch horror. Zombie is far too easy.

-Eldritch Monster AU! Hermits are all Lovecraftian horrors who all individually decided that they wanted to pretend to be normal and are all trying to hide their otherworldliness. I also feel like Mumbo or X or someone as the one actually "normal" player on the server would work well. Most hermits don't know that everyone else isn't normal either, but some find out about friends maybe.

-Rabid Debate Club AU :: Random weird au idea where it's basic hs/uni au but like two of them try to start a debate club, then invite some friends just so there's enough people; cut to like two months later, it's all the hermits just fighting over whether or not pineapple should go on pizza or not lol it isn't very good i'm sorry but ya know rabid debate club AU.

-Animal/shapeshifting AU :: (Suggested Twice.) Every hermit can shapeshift into one token animal. (If it's something like "dog," they can only turn into one breed and color of dog, EXAMPLE: doc can shift into a black sable belgian malinois, but not anything else.)

-Wedding Planners AU :: Hermits work in various unrelated businesses such as a bakery, flower shop, etc., but see each other semi-often bc they're semi-often called upon to work together by another hermit's wedding planning business (obvs if you couldn't tell i know absolutely nothing abt wedding planning & businesses n shit lol but it's the /concept/ of it yannknow)

-Avatar: The Last Air Bender AU. (Suggested Thrice.)

-Fusion AU :: (Also suggested by Anon.) (Suggested Twice.) What if Hermits could fuse with each other? (Viva and Jumbo fused into MumboJumbo.)

-SCP AU :: The hermits have spooky powers and are kept locked up bc of it (or they have to keep the world safe from monsters and cursed objects!)

-RPG AU :: I feel like someone already thought of that but I am just wondering about it lately :p -🍋

-Adventure Time AU :: The hermits live in a post-apocalyptic world and the Lich (bad guy) is making everything decay. They need to gather all the gems (belt colours) to unlock the Enchiridion (a book) and have one wish each granted from Prismo (multiverse wish granting dude) before the Lich does. Only 4 elements can enter the multiverse: Slime (The Lich & Jevin), Redstone (Tango or Mumbo?), Ice (Stress), and Dirt (Grian, much to his dismay). Only the elementals can see the book. Grian's the protagonist with his sidekick Scar. He originally started collecting the belts because they were shiny but eventually decided to read the book and find out what they were for when Scar said he didn't see it. Doc, False, and Iskall are major obstacles because they don't believe the book exists.</p>

-Total Drama Island AU.

-Magical Girl AU :: Zedaph's the lead magical girl and rounds up a bunch of other magical girl hermits.

-Pokeman AU :: What are the Hermit's roles in this world? Who's the Champion, Elite Four. Are they scientists? Trainers? Do they compete in competitions, do they specialize in types? Who's everyone's starter? Has anyone encountered any legendaries?

-College AU

-High School AU

-Wizard101 AU :: I (🦊) recently got this AU idea and recently started going off somewhere with it in terms of writing, but, like, Hermitcraft meets Wizard101. Tons and tons of magical shenanigans, monster hunting, and idk what else.

-Magic AU

-My Hero Academia AU :: Headcanons can be about which hermits would have what quirks and occupations based on them.

-So I'm writing an AU where there's a second game of Demise but 5 years later. So far the first 2 hermits (Joe and Xisuma) have died, and their dead forms are cracked with an arrow in his chest (Xisuma) and cyborg (Joe). So since it's Saturday, I'm looking for what some skins would look for.

-City AU :: I mean this is really just a normal everyday AU.

-School AU.

-Terraria-Minecraft Fusion AU :: Who chooses what class? what events do each hermit prefer? how to they deal with the world infections? preferred biomes? Favourite NPCS? It has potentiallllll.

-70s/80s Teen Horror AU :: (like Stranger Things, Carreie, The Lost Boys, Halloween, etc.) -🦇

-Demi-God AU :: Sort of like percy jackson (everyone being the children of different gods from all different cultures.)

-Supernatural AU

-Marching Band AU :: Xisuma is the band major and all the show music is the remixes. I need to come up with some ideas for uniforms. Outfits and flags for the colorguard too.

-Different Eras AU :: (Suggested Twice.) All the hermits are from different time periods or eras. Like Wels is from the mediveal/dark era, Mumbo is from 1890-1920's, Iskall is from 2030, TFC is from 2020(?), Cleo is from 2130, etc!!! Like the mobs/animals became feused with humans, is when the mob players came from.

-Star Trek AU :: Like maybe they could be on one ship and each have different roles like engineers or doctors? I don’t know if this has been suggested but hope you enjoy! - 🐦

-House Mates AU :: ApartmentAU but scaled down?

-Atlantis AU :: (Could be merged with Mermaid AU???)

-Fighting Game AU :: Some influences would be Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Ultra Instinct, that kind of stuff.

-Time loop AU :: The hermits each have to deal with their own time loop.

(All those above in red are from our community's lovely Anons!)

-Superhero/superpower AU :: They each have a unique power/powerset that is in some way connected to their personality. (ie Mumbo *could* control electricity because of his love of redstone) Some Hermits may even choose to be "villains" and prank their other servermates. If you need power ideas, I've got a couple. (12u3ie)

-Daycare AU :: The recap peeps are the caretakers :P (-@tikauniverse.)

-Incredibly Long Cross Country Train Ride AU :: they all are in the same train car, telling stories of where they’re going, backstories.)

-Stuck In An Airport AU :: pretty similar to train au but they can be going diff places.

-Doctors AU :: they’re all doctors working at the same hospital.)

-Circus AU (Also suggested by an Anon.) (Suggested Twice.)

-Spy AU (Also suggested by @shadeswiftdraws.) (Suggested Twice.)

-Runaways AU :: The hermits are all teenagers who have run away from home, they all live on the streets until TFC takes them in. Head canons can be about backstories, living on the streets, or when they’re with TFC.

-Criminals and Police Officers AU

(-@lookitsspacekween)

-Dancer AU :: I mean, I already got a list kind of planned out, but headcanons for why specific styles are chosen would be appreciated! :) (usedtobelucythefallenangel)

-Broadway/Musicals Hermits AU :: The hermits are all casts of various musicals and when this newly-built theater opens up they all fight for which musical gets to play in it first (they have a riff-off maybe?) musicals mainly included are Hamilton, BMC, DEH, SiX, Beetlejuice, etc (feel free to add more!) (-@heyitsroby.)

-DnD AU (Also suggested by Anon.) (Suggested twice.)

-Mermaid AU :: In honor of the end of Mermay

-Space exploration AU :: There could be different ships, command centers, aliens.... Maybe someone could even get stranded/crash on a new planet? Who knows, could be fun.

-Paranormal/ghost hunter AU :: A couple Hermits could be the ghost hunters going to haunted locations to prove/disprove their hauntedness, others could be camera crew, owners of haunted buildings, or even the ghosts themselves.

-Camping/Vacation AU.

-Summer Cottage AU :: They all spend summers/weekends along the same shoreline and do different summer activities together. Outdoor fun and shenanigans!

-Space AU :: like star trek or similar.

-I would say evil clone au but I think that's pretty much the entire Hermitcraft tumblr right now lol. (Suggested twice.)

(-@shadeswiftdraws.)

-Magic AU :: Magic exists and all the hermits have powers. They can also summon a weapon but what that weapon is depends on the hermit. I'm thinking it'll take place in a sort-of Demise 2 in S7 with a big war. So far I've got: Grian - Cloning himself to his different personas (each has a different power). Xisuma - Making barriers, teleporting, and transforming into different mobs. Scar - Making mutant plants & boosting other hermits' attack & health. (-@datsaltyperson.)

-Demon AU :: Something enters the overworld and turns into a supernatural style-demon through Dimentional Distortion. Who gets posessed first, who goes crazy, and who actually kills it? Honestly I think that, if anything, Tango would know how to gank it, for obvious reasons. (-@fireflower-dusk.)

-High Street AU :: Everyone owns a different shop on the same street or some run a shop together (-@violets-arepurple.)

-Cat AU :: Either they're were always cats, or Hels turned everyone, including himself, into a cat, and they have to survive and overcome challenges in the Season 7 world. An example of a challenge would be Cub's a Sand Cat(the cats that always look like kittens no matter how old they are and live in deserts), and everyone's not sure if he can actually swim, so they have to find a way for him to get around without involving water. (-@scp10000.)

-How about a secret AU.. Every hermit has their big secrets and when Grian joined. He doesn't really know anything about those secrets even till season 7. Not many hermits talked to him in S6 anyway.. Mumbo was the closest to him so they would have regular chats For Iskall is mostly business related things Grian wants to know why so he set out on a quest to force the others to at least talk to him so he wouldn't be lonely. (-@babylightstudentbiscuit.)

-Hermit Family AU :: Xisuma is very busy dad but when he isnt busy the kids and younger hermits annoying the hell out of him. Grian once asked to use Xisuma's computer and crashed the whole thing trying to download illegal gamesites and get money off the internet. Mumbo and his trains run through the entire house and Xisuma trips on them daily. (-@gamerutx.)

-College AU!! But they are not students. THEY ARE THE TEACHERS (-@ivi-prism.)

Ones I planned to do anyway but Hermitblr Hivemind and all that:

Battle of The Bands AU: i believe u once mentioned a bands/ battle of the bands au... thats my jam... (Anon.)

[marchioness-caprina]

*:..｡o○Ruishiro Takizaku○o｡..:*

Basic : Ruishiro Takizaku a 18 Year Old Hero Apprentice who Works under the Under Hound Agency. He has a height of 6'2 with a lean and muscular build, He Prefers to Be Called Rui instead of His First Name. His Hero Name is ' Morphicus '

Appearance : He Is a Rather intimidating Young Man; if his Height and Build isn't enough to scare people then The Sharp and seemingly permanent glare he'd usually show would do the trick. He has a pair of Transparent eyes which reflects the Purest Color of an Amethyst, Short Ashy Blue Hair that's usually Styled in a Messy and Lazy Manner. He has Ear Piercings on both ears and his Fingers are filled with stainless steel Rings. His usual attire consist of a Black Button Up shirt, Black Jeans and a High Collared Jacket and finally Heavy Combat Boots. His Expressions are Rather complex but the most prominent Expression he wears is the usual Death Glare that never seems to disappear or the infamous ' Stone cold Bitch Face '

Personality : Though He may Seem Cold and Distant at First especially with his Intimidating Expression; You Better hope it stays That way because he is actually an Asshole at Heart. He's Sarcastic, Brutal and Cruel with his Words and He wouldn't even care what that person's Status is may it be a president, the no. Hero, a Family Member or His Lover, It wouldn't matter. This Trait of His Gets Him into a Lot of Unnatural Trouble since it's his Nature to be argumentative and Hostile and he seems to have a hidden world of Remarks to match his Wits. But during One of the Very Rare moments where his Asshole meter has reduced half way he is actually very Sweet but has an odd way of showing it. He lives for the chase and it's one of it. Generally he is like any human being, Complex. But if the situation calls for it he is polite and respectful to those People he hasn't formed a solid opinion for yet. If you want annoying then go To Rui; He Tests People's wits and Irritates them unconsciously just to see where their True Feelings Lies; He has a big brain so his analytical skills is beyond average, he is observant and knows How to Manipulate a situation that's being laid in front of him. So being an actor, lying and charming his way in is not a big deal.

Quirk : Umbra Morphology; The Ability To Morph into Something Inhumane By the use of Darkness or Any objects that Holds the Color 'Black'. When the Ability is used; Black Sticky Viscous Substance will crawl onto the User's Chosen Body Part for Transformation and slowly Consume that Body Part while Forming the desired form of the User. But the color stays on and unchangeable.

How it was acquired/ Small backstory: in the First Place He was deemed Useless by Society and was lesser than Trash Meaning; He was Quirkless. His Family was surprisingly accepting of his current state but He Himself did not Like how low he had stood with the constant Mockery of those people who had quirks. He wanted to acquire his own Quirk. He wanted to acquire Power for Himself and Show everyone that he was worth something and because of this selfish desire of His He began to search desperately; He searched up the Black web and Looked for any possible ways to acquire power without Having a Quirk. Sure there were sites that offered to use his body as a Lab Rat but that may possibly get him killed. So he kept searching and searching until he stumbled onto a site that offered a Mystery Box. It was Cheap; Too cheap that it was suspicious but he was curious. He wanted to know what was inside, could it be a gadget that could grant him Power? Could it be body parts instead? Whatever it is ; something urged him to buy it. And that's where he slowly began to ruin his own Life.

Fast Forward to a Few Days; The package arrived and to his utter Disappointment it was a price of Paper in a Box. He paid for something like this. A paper.... No a contract, a Black eerie paper that had letters written with white ink. He later decided that the Site he bought it from was a scam because when he searched it up again; There was nothing. He didn't bother reading the paper at all. And one night when he was answering his Assignments, his eyes drifted towards the black paper on his desk and when he took a closer look the words were not in the language that he spoke of. It was an ancient language; that's all he could confirm but judging by the output it really was a contract . So thinking that it would be fun he signed the contract and that's where things began to get scary ( I'll skip the other stuff)

He Later found out that The contract he signed was a Contract to be a Vessel of The Demon Of Darkness Umbrachus, A demon that had forced Rui To Accept it in his Body now his Body isn't his own. Sure Rui was happy to know that he had a 'quirk' now but later when he found out what price he needed to pay was the cause of his mass destruction. He had plunged himself on his own demise. The Demon craved the Flesh of and Blood of Humans and it forced Rui to eat Raw Flesh. Umbrachus was a demon associated with Wrath, Pride and Greed so if any of those emotions are triggered by Rui then there's a high chance of Umbrachus Gaining Control of his body. The Demon was Toying with Rui; Umbrachus Started Manipulating Rui's surroundings and giving him Hallucinations. Rui feard sleeping because Umbrachus could gain Control over his body whole he was passed out. And Finally Rui had enough when Umbrachus had nearly Killed His Younger sister due to Hunger; With the incident taking Place Rui Fled. He Fled and Lived in the streets, He fought the demon with all his might and when he was at his wits that's where Hellhound appeared to his rescue. Hell Hound runs a Hero Agency called Under Hound. And this Agency isn't just associate with heroes. They are also Masters of the Occult so Hell Hound who was in a similar situation as Rui took Pity on the Boy and Took him to His Agency where Rui was Given Proper Training to Control the Demon. And soon Rui was given a chance to become a Hero; not a Hero for the public or media but a Hero of The Night. A Hero Who Kills Villains not arrest them.

Trivia Facts

* He Has a Very Bad Sweet tooth And is a Fan of Spicy Food.

* He Was Given a Choice to change his name but he Kept it That way because he Thinks Being called Rui is Cool

* Has a Soft Spot For Dogs

* After Umbrachus Forcefully shared his Body he lost the ability to use Chopsticks and whenever he tries to use them he gets frustrated since it always slips.

* He may Not Look it But he is actually a Big Fan of Sappy Love stories but after Umbrachus entered his Body he started liking Hard Core Gore.

* He used to be Slender and Lanky but Having a Demon inside him had it's Perks.

* He prefers Convenience Store Food Over 5 star Meals.

* He is Bisexual

* He May Have Sadistic Tendencies . He blames it on Umbrachus but Umbrachus spoke otherwise.

* He's an Asshole But He respects Independent women; He was raised by only his Mother being present so he was Disciplined strictly .

* It is mentioned that he is a Fan of Sappy Love stories so surprisingly he is actually very romantic and loving if he ever finds a Lover.

* He is a Master of Lying but He prefers the Truth over lies since he is used to Saying unfiltered insults Opinions.

* A Seafood addict

* He may or May Not be Into Witchcraft

* Can speak Fluent Bullshit

* He can Form Umbra Claws, or even sink himself into the darkness to come deal his presence so he is mostly sent on stealth missions because of this advantage.

* Babies Creep Him out. Don't Ask. It just Does.

* He can't smile for shit and when he tries it comes out as a mocking smirk or a sadistic grin.

* Has Perfect control. Over his Facial expressions but tends to keep it Monotoned and Bitch-Like.

* An actual Dork and Goes to Animal Cafe

* a Fan of Musicals Especially Phant of the Opera.

* Surprisingly has Good Singing Voice

* If he's not pissing anyone off then he's flirting with someone without noticing it.

* Can Cook a whole feast but eats Cup noodles instead.

* Owns 2 large bookshelves filled with Books he never reads. Or even has the patience to read one.

* Has a Dog Named Cat.

* He claims to be allergic to the cold so his clothes are mostly sweaters, jackets, hoodies, anything thats warm. Even if it's in the middle of the summer with everyone sweating bullets you'll see him walking around casually with heavy clothes on.

* He has a mild Disdain for overconfident brats with flashy Quirks.

* Shameless with his Opinions

* Likes Blueberries

* Fast Food is his Only Food.

Note: I don't Exactly Have a Drawn Picture of Him since I'm still Contemplating a Few Details but I did make a Rough Appearance Idea of Him in Picrew. This Picture is Not Mine To own I'm just showing you guys what he'd Mostly Look Like. The art belongs to a Talented Artists with a Bright Future ahead. If you know them. Then give them my regards and Thanks ^^ . I Repeat This is Just an Example ^^ the Picture is NOT mine.

Extra Note : If You Have a Few Questiona for him then Don't Hesitate to Mention Him in your Ask ^^ . You are Free to Interact with him.

[direquail]

An NB reading of Grace in Terminator: Dark Fate

Disclaimer:

Before I start, just want to get this out here: I’m in no way insisting that Grace *has* to be non-binary, that we’re *supposed* to read her as non-binary, or that that’s in any way what she’s “meant to be”. This is just some stuff I’ve noticed that, as someone who sits on the genderqueer/non-binary/transmasc side of things, really resonated with me. Again--read her as entirely woman-identified if that’s what you want to do or feels right to you. I am ecstatic that lesbians and wlw-identified folks have someone that they feel represented in, too. I wish I’d had more characters like her when I was growing up and felt so out of place because of my gender non-conformity. 


But I, for one, would love a non-binary or even trans reading of Grace.

So what I’d like to do instead is just lay out a couple ways someone who is NB-identified *might* connect with Grace as a nonbinary character. Starting with the obvious.

Androgyny Now, I do want to be clear that I know that gender presentation =\= gender identity. And again, obviously, people will latch onto things that they relate to in characters, and I really do believe that there’s no “one right way” to read a character. The character of Grace isn’t a real person; she’s part of a story, told by people, who had something specific to say, and her character reflects that. But from the perspective of the people who watch her, who internalize and connect with her character, there can be points of connection that have nothing to do with the author’s/creator’s intent, and so, Grace-the-character can be many things to many people. The only real way to know how a person IDs is to ask them. That’s it, that’s all. You can’t assume. But also, sometimes, people do “ping” a certain way. They give off a sort of “energy”, and for me, Grace’s energy isn’t the sort of “diaphanous femininity” that even visibly-gender-nonconforming AFAB characters are often framed to exude. Grace’s energy isn’t masculine, either. Her mannerisms don’t seem intended to read that way; rather, they seem intended to read as soldier. I’m not very skilled at breaking down movements, especially when it comes to how actors move and what it all means. It’s totally possible that a lot of what’s unique about how Grace moves is because Mackenzie Davis is, self-admittedly, not the most athletically-inclined person. Grace is long-limbed and rangy and sometimes very stiff/poised, but never stiff through the hips like a Straight Dude(TM), or heavy through the shoulders like a musclebound meathead. She takes up space, too; she’s taller than Dani and Sarah both, and the only recurring characters who are “bigger” than her throughout most of the film are Carl and the Rev-9.

To be clear: Women can be tall, and rangy, and androgynous, and take up space, and that doesn’t make them less women--unless they don’t identify that way. My point with all of the above is just observing that Grace doesn’t move like a “male action hero”—but she also doesn’t seem over-the-top feminine in the way that mainstream-y media will “compensate” for perceived unfemininity, and that’s kind of wonderful. Her stature, her physique, all of that, seem to be chosen and calibrated towards an end goal that isn’t gendered: Combat, efficacy as a warrior. Whether you want to read her as a woman or as nonbinary is largely going to be about your personal preference. This also has the effect of giving the impression that Grace is absolutely unselfconscious about her body and how it looks—and she has no reason to be, not because she looks good or bad, but because what she can do with her body is just so vastly more important, and because she’s so willing to put her body and everything it can do on the line in order to fulfill her mission (and protect Dani). If Grace has a gender, it’d be “Protector” or “Warrior”. And in a way, what makes Grace so appealing to female-identified lesbians is the same thing that makes her appealing to NB people—Her character was explicitly designed not to cater to “the male gaze”, and therefore, she also exists outside the typical gendered confines reserved for “female characters” in media. The emphasis is just slightly different: Instead of a different way of being female, NB!Grace has little to no use for those categories at all. Again, it���s all in how you want to read her. Grace comes from a future where survival and fighting take first priority, and you could project the same tired “Gender isn’t a ~problem~ in the future/after the world ends” approach that a lot of cis and hetero men take to sci-fi--but also, why? It’s tired. Give me a Grace who is preoccupied with survival, yes, who maybe doesn’t have time to think too much about this gender shit--but also, a Grace who finds that this “androgyny” (although she might not call it that) suits her, who takes to this way of moving and being in the world, this way of using her body, and identifies more with that than with being a “man” or a “woman”. 


(Sidenote: as someone who took a fair amount of Queer Studies classes, it does irk me a bit that discussions of mainstream-y speculative media seem permanently suspended between this sort of “genderblind” futurism where “identities” just don’t exist because they’re apparently not needed anymore, or copy-pasting our contemporary discourses about identity into a future that is materially very different than ours. The point of these identities is, in part, to describe our experiences, the good as well as the bad, and those experiences of gender and sexuality don’t exist in a vacuum. So, the words we use will necessarily change to accommodate that—especially in the post-apocalypse. BUT, everything that comes after us will also bear the stamp of what came before it; it’s just a matter of what the creator means to emphasize.) Augments & Body Mods This is a little dicey, because there’s some clear tension in the movie between the idea of robots = inhuman/unfeeling = bad, and humans = good/feeling. And in that light, it’s potentially problematic to (even incidentally) imply that nonbinary/gender-nonconforming = not human.

But I’d like to point out that the film does deliberately challenge any neat separation of “human” and “machine” with Carl’s evolution as a person. 
And based on what I’ve read from James Cameron and Tim Miller interviews, there is some “blurring” intended between human and machine in the franchise.

In fact, Carl and Grace are foils for each other, somewhat, in the sense that they’re on opposite ends of a spectrum where human and machine become blurred, and I love that. As a genderqueer person with a very fluid experience, it appeals to me on a deep level because you could spend literally forever breaking down where does one “gender” end and another begin--emotionally, socially, spiritually, and physically.  


So the fact that there’s (1) no hard binary between human and machine (it’s explicitly subverted), and (2) we’re given multiple points of inflection, especially if you count Sarah and the Rev-9--alleviates a lot of the tension I’d feel otherwise in mentioning this. But I don’t think this is something that should be allegorical or a direct comparison; I think that it operates best on a metaphorical or theoretical level. 


And just, it’s the whole vaguely-cyberpunk idea of modifying your own body, not in a mass-produced or manufactured sense, but in this organic and highly individual sense, born out of contingency and necessity, that makes Grace’s Augments so meaningful. It’s one of the things that makes her read as human, too, because it feels more in line with our tendency to stick ink, steel, bone, what have you, through our skins whenever we get the chance--as opposed to some kind of symbolic dehumanization by “becoming a machine”.

Grace routinely refuses to categorize herself in anything other than the most general terms, or explain the details of her Augments, and she seems very protective of them. Rather than seeming ashamed, this refusal reads a lot like the popular queer identity explanation “not gay as in happy, but queer as in “fuck you’”. Her Augments are part of her, and part of her humanity; she volunteered for them, she owns them, and is even protective of them, viewing CBP’s invasive examination of her Augments as a kind of violation of her bodily autonomy. They’re clearly complicated for her, but they’re anything but depersonalized.

And going even further, the reason why she volunteered for them is so that she can defend humanity--and also someone she loves (Dani). They’re an extension of her sense of family, loyalty, love, and willingness to sacrifice.

And I don’t know for sure, but I imagine that Grace is basically one-of-a-kind, even among other Augments, if only because those Augmentations seem to be performed with the tech that’s on hand--salvaged Legion tech, by the sound of it, at least to start with. So the outcome depends on the parts available, the complexity and maturity of the Augmentation technology and process, and the skill & experience of the surgeons, all of which would vary over time. 


And honestly? If that doesn’t qualify as “beyond the binary”, I don’t know what does.

Some other general observations:

- Grace’s short hair is a constant throughout the post-Judgement Day scenes. As someone who started wearing their hair short as a preteen and hasn’t had hair to my shoulders since age 12, that does seem significant.

- Grace only introduces herself by name after Diego shouts “HEY LADY” in the factory before dropping an engine block on the Rev-9. Granted, most women don’t like to be addressed as “HEY LADY”, either, but it stood out to me, especially because she refused to give her name only a couple of minutes before that. Either way you read it, the line feels like it expresses some level of discomfort with or objection to that gendered statement. Maybe she finds that particular reference annoying or even offensive, but also, maybe she doesn’t really identify as a woman. She’s just... Grace.

- there were multiple times I mistook the back of her tank top for the back of a binder, even though she clearly was not binding.

- she constantly steals mens’ clothes--partly because she’s too tall for a lot of womens’ clothes around her, partly out of utility (like at the factory and CBP, where a lot of the guards are men). But also, it pleases the genderfucking queer in me quite a bit. And, I should note, when she had the option to take a female guard’s clothes at the CBP facility... she didn’t.

But ultimately, when I look at Grace, I see someone whose gender is “Warrior” or “Soldier”. And it’s so wonderful to see that so purely represented on a character we’re meant to perceive as female. So, please believe me when I say I don’t want to “take away” what Grace means for other people. 
And, for the record, I do mostly default to using she/her pronouns for Grace, because that’s how she’s canonically referred to. But just for fun--try this on for size: Using “they/them” pronouns for Grace. They (Grace) came back in time to protect Dani. It rolls off the tongue, right? It feels nice. Let’s re-try a couple of sentences from above: 


- “multiple times I mistook the back of their tank top for the back of a binder, even though they clearly weren’t binding” 


- “Grace’s Augments are about their ability to be a soldier. They were Augmented in order to hunt Terminators... Everything else is secondary to that, and their mission to protect Dani”

- “Grace only introduces themself by name after Diego shouts “HEY LADY” in the factory before dropping an engine block on the Rev-9 ... Maybe they find that particular reference annoying or even offensive, but also, maybe they don’t really identify as a woman. They’re just... Grace.”

And finally: 


Can you imagine the poor sod who tried to make fun of Grace for having a “girly” name? lmao rip

[hes-writer]

The Hate You Give

Hi hun! If you’re not too busy, could u write one where they’re are dating and she’s a latina? Like she feels insecure about her brown skin, slightly bigger chest and ass, her thick dominican accent bc the girls who were linked with him before were all white and blonde and like she tries to break up with him bc of all the hate and differences. Thanks honeyy!!💖💖 @champagnehaarry

disclaimer; I'm not latinx and I've done research as to not offend or stereotype this character to the best of my ability.

Summary: Y/N is latina and receives hate messages

Warnings: angst, fluff

——

Y/N was different. She knew that, well, she had an idea ever since she hit puberty way back when. Her chest had grown bigger than the rest of the girls and her bottom would get her catcalls when she walked down the street. She could handle it, she prided herself in being strong. She didn't mind her accent, not one bit. Sure, it was thick and her pronunciation on certain words had others asking for her to repeat what she just said maybe once or twice, but she tried to understand where they were coming from; ‘everyone has their differences,’ she thought. Her skin never really bothered her–in fact, she hadn't spared much thought about its pigment until now.

When she met Harry, all her insecurities washed away as if she was just a regular girl meeting the love of her life. The way she looked didn't matter to her because she could see in his eyes that he loved her—nobody could tell her any differently.

——-

Y/N was strong. So strong that even when the media caught the first sight of Harry and her hanging out together on their third date, she blew off the fact that one of the cameramen shouted at them, "Harry! Who's this beautiful brown lady with you?" One might say that it was a compliment, at least he called her beautiful, but she couldn't shake off the measures that person took to describe her. Couldn't have he just called her 'lady'? Y/N decides that she's making a bigger deal out of it than it actually meant.

The second time something remarkable happened—it was when Harry stopped their romantic walk to take pictures with his fans. Y/N didn't mind, she loved that Harry was so dedicated to the people that support him that he would basically give all that he can to them. He didn't have to, but he did and that made Y/N fall harder for him. One of the girls asked Y/N to take a picture, handed her their phone and posed with Harry. Y/N was surprised at the straightforward action and she knew that she could not mess this up. Not when the girl has probably been dreaming of this moment her entire life, Y/N will not be responsible for a blurry, half-assed picture. Instead, she asks the girl,

"Do you have any requests on how to take it? Portrait or landscape? Nothing below the waist or..?"

Harry admired her for being so caring, he only smiles at her for asking, being so patient that he feels giddy on the inside and he cannot wait to ask her to be his. The fan, however, furrows her brows and her face morphs into one of confusion.

"Can you repeat what you said?" Y/N repeats her statement but was only met with the same expression-–maybe with a hint of annoyance.

"I'm sorry, can you just take the picture? I don't want to be rude but your accent is so...thick, are you even from here,"

"Obviously not," the girl's friend answers for Y/N. The most obvious answer, if any. The girl beside Harry nudges her friend, eyes shifting from her and then hardening towards Harry as if warning her that she was being a bit rude.

Regardless, the friend eyes Y/N up and down with a glimmer in her eye that spoke hatred.

Y/N takes the picture anyway.

——-

As Harry and Y/N reach the door to her apartment, she couldn't help but think of the past events. It wasn't only that, it was a built up of temperament where she had been treated indifferently by people around Harry. Some fans commented under her selfie on Instagram ranging from "at least you have boobs and ass girl" to "how much fake tan does she use" —none, by the way, she was all natural. And Y/N can't help but feel a tad insecure.

Then came the news articles with the headlines, "Harry Styles Spotted With A Spicy Latina" or "Harry Snags A Girl From Down Under" which confuses her not only because they're an invasion of privacy but she wonders how her whole humanity can be diminished into such an objective headline—she had a name. Granted, she wasn't really worth knowing but regardless, it was better to be called by her name rather than a hotshot eye-catching headline.

She taps the link to one of the articles, scrolling through the lengthy piece of work, eyes squinting at the introduction where it states that Y/N was certainly a deviation away from Harry's usual hookups. Harry had taken it upon himself to make them some hot chocolate while she got changed in comfier clothes as a conclusion to their date night. She was supposed to choose the movie. Her eyes squint at the words "10 Proofs that Y/N Y/LN is a no match for Harry"

The first one on the list was Taylor Swift. Of course, how could Y/N forget about her. Skinny, blonde and pale skin, a stark contrast to her curvy figure, wavy hair and darker toned pigment. She feels a lurch in her stomach from the hit of realization.

Then came Camille Rowe—a model with similar attributes as Taylor. Completely the opposite of Y/N and she feels herself getting more sick at the knowledge being pounded into her. She didn't care about Harry's past because she only cared for who he is in the present. Seeing the women he went for before her puts a stake right through her self-esteem knowing that she would always be compared with one of them as long as she and Harry were together. Her confidence staggering each time she reads a negative comment about how her skin color made Harry stand out whereas it made her blend in the background-a sarcastic joke that wasn't very funny. Her breath hitching every time the topic of her accent came up; how fans who've met her in person make fun of her not having an understandable accent as if it was her fault that her pronunciation was too broad beyond their compare. And each time she sees a comparison of her and Harry with him and his exes, she shakes her head because she knows that literally nothing good ever comes out of that.

She knows she's strong. But why did this hurt her so much? The personal attacks being hurled at her made her feel so inferior to others and even to Harry! It was like the media was never gonna get used to the fact that she's a person of colour—continuously writing papers about their 'interracial' relationship as if it was such a huge deal when really, it was not even their business to pry or scavenge for.

"Hey love, have you chosen a movi– hey, hey what's wrong?" Harry walks through the doors of her bedroom, feet kicking the door slightly open while his hands carried two steaming mugs of foaming hot chocolate. Upon seeing her tears and slouched stance, he sets the cups down on the bedside table before sitting with her at the foot of the bed.

Y/N stares at him as he does so before wiping her eyes with the heel of her hands. "Nothing, it's nothing just.."

"You can tell me anything, you know that. Now tell me what's wrong, lovie" He wraps an arm around her figure as an action of comfort, but Y/N only sees it as a burden in her chest.

"I think we should break up, H" She looks at her sock-clad feet. Not being able to look at him in the eyes, it's her weakness.

"What? Y/N, did I do something?" Harry tilts her chin up towards his face, eyes frantically searching her red ones for a justifiable reason for her decision.

"I'm not good enough for you," Harry gasps at her confession, genuinely surprised that his girlfriend could even fathom to say those words, let alone think of them.

He denies every claim about her theory but his voice was muted by her mind repeatedly playing the things she had read a few minutes ago. Memories of her being demeaned echoing through her head.

"You're the best person I've ever been with. It doesn't matter what other people sa—"

"Yes it does, Harry! It definitely matters when I'm being constantly picked on and compared to your ex-girlfriends. Every day I read something about how I must've 'tricked' you into being with me because of how I look," Y/N cuts Harry's rant off, not caring if it hurts him because she was so so hurt. The pain had embedded itself in her, working its way up to her roots; who she was and where she came from.

"I'm not just another girl that Harry Styles dated. I'm the brown girl, the one who has the 'biggest ass' out of all of them and especially the darkest because you... you've only dated people like Taylor before and I can't live my life being put down because of how I look,"

Harry stares at her with emotion. Of course, the media was gonna pinpoint what his 'type' was. He didn't know it was hurting his love.

"Y/N, they're all bull. Whoever's writing this shit, they're only in it for the money," he begins, forcing her body to face him completely. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met. They're my exes for a reason and even if I did date them, I'm with you now because I love you for who you are,"

"But it's true, isn't it? They're all so small and I'm big. They're half the size of me for god's sakes!"

"It's not true. And you know why? You're mesmerizing in your own way. I love the way your body curves, the way you look doesn't matter to me as much because you're a beautiful, genuine person inside and out," He nods along to his words. "But your body is amazing, Y/N. And you should learn to love your skin because it shows you who you are."

Y/N bored at Harry's eyes, seeing nothing but genuine kindness behind it. Her mouth gapes open having not heard such compliments from anyone as authentic as the words Harry was speaking to her.

"Harry..."

"No, Y/N. I won't sit here and listen to you put yourself down. You deserve to know how unbelievably gorgeous you are. The tabloids, the hate—they're not true and people like them need some education before they go off dragging other people who don't look like them down."

"You're right, H. I'm sorry,"

"You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about,"

She wipes tears from her eyes, this time they're from happiness.

——

@ynm1505

[strixa]

On the TBTP-relistening Discord chat, I was asked by the wonderful and brillilant @surely-you-jess to try to answer this question:

[T]he one theme I love in Tanis and TBTP is the protagonist dying for a deeper world of demons, supernatural horrors, mystery, etc., but also being terrified if it were real. I love that dichotomy so much in both Alex and Nic and I’d love your take on developing further.

I’ll be honest: I don’t know if I can do this. And the reason why probably is at the heart of why I’m both Team Strand and cheering for Alex to be a BAMF.

These things-- demons, supernatural horror, what’s vaguely defined as “occult”--  don’t scare me.

I mean, they’re scary, yes, in the sense that they can be dangerous, but human beings are both terrifying and dangerous, too. Flying in an airplane is dangerous. The fact that humanity has smallpox stored in a vault in the Center for Disease Control is outright horrifying. But it is exactly for that reason our responses should not be panic. Do you let the fear of a car wreck prevent you from ever traveling? Of course not. Most of us buckle our seatbelts, get insurance, and drive defensively.

We must face our fears, or be ruled by them. This is the theme of The Black Tapes Podcast.

Marie Curie provides adequate perspective here:

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”

Compare this to Strand in 211:

“[The Gospel of Thomas] describes how it is knowledge, rather than faith, that grants salvation, which constitutes eternal rest, describing ignorance as a nightmare.” 

When Richard Strand maintains that he created the Strand Institute to continue his father’s work, I suspect what he meant is that he, like his father, wants to free humanity from its fear of the unknown. I don’t think he wants to take away our fears-- he strikes me as sensible enough to understand that fear is necessary to our survival. He just wants to show us that most things we fear, when we see them for what they are, can be overcome.

People bitch all the time that Strand doesn’t show empathy or compassion, but I go back to the Strand Institute letters, and I do hear a man capable of compassion. What he doesn’t offer to Maria Rodriguez or Robert Torres, though, is pity, or telling them what they want to hear (like Alex does). Neither of those things will help them, and the first is outright insulting.

That’s one of the many reasons why I mostly don’t get supernatural horror-type entertainment. Sure, there are ghosts and spirits everywhere, including demons. Why should that be frightening? Why do we need to have an exterminator mentality: “Ghosts in my house! OMGWTFBBQ221111!!!!1eleventy CALL AN EXORCIST!” when it can just be, “Look, just don’t sneak up on people or break shit, and stay out of the bathroom when my kid is in there, but you’ve got the run of the place, and let me know if you need something.”

I suppose it’s frightening if you believe as Clara Simone and Alex do, hemmed in by Christian hegemony: that’s it’s humanity’s world, that it was made for and given to us, because we’re the special beings chosen by its creator. But is leaving that belief behind such a terrible thing? Are we so greedy that we can’t share the universe with innumerable other entities?

I don’t know if it’s canon, but early in the TBTP universe, Alex interviewed Aaron Mahnke, the creator of Lore (and the even better show, Unobscured; I left Lore for Unobscured quite awhile ago). I can’t quite find the point exactly where it was mentioned, but they both talked about how fear of demonic possession can be a stand-in for fear of loss of control. I suspect at the heart of Alex’s fear of demons (she also seems to have a mild blood/injection fear) might just be a fear that, as a matter of fact, the world as she’s taken for granted isn’t what she thinks it is. That there might actually be things she doesn’t know, can’t explain...

That she might be capable of things she thought impossible.

That’s honestly terrifying, when you think of it. I’ve mentioned on my blog elsewhere, but the idea that you’re actually in control of your life is rarely a pleasant one. “The devil made me do it” is a surrender of agency, an excuse. If you’re in charge of your life, that means you actually have to fix the shit you broke, be it yourself, an object, a relationship (Alex, and her friendships with Nic and Strand), or a family (Strands, both pére and fils).

Strand has to do this, too, of course-- the entire workings with DaivaCorp (DaevaCorp? Whatever. Thomas Warren’s Project for World Domination.) and it being wrapped up with a supposed “family ability” that got him singled out and that he may have been denying for years means that, sure, his paradigm is broken, too. But the existence of his black tape collection indicates he knew something like this was on the horizon anyway. He was already fixing his shit, however he knew how.  Alex, on the other hand, had to confront her own misconceptions and fears, fast and out of nowhere.

And that? That, my friends, is fucking overwhelming.

And it’s why I think Alex’s personal drama, Alex’s struggle against her own fears, is the most compelling story of TBTP. It’s why this podcast is Alex’s story, not Strand’s. It’s honestly why I don’t want to believe Strand is a Big Bad: because early on, he sees that in Alex, and that’s why he likes her.

Give ‘em Hell, Alex.

@surely-you-jess, does this answer you?

[dope-squish]

Programmed And Damned [ RK800 Connor X Reader ] [ Detroit: Become Human ] - Chapter Four - Do You Believe In Soulmates

[ Goal - 60 Hearts/Reblogs ] [ Sorry for not updating. personal shit happened but now i'm back and i'm lowering the hearts or reblogs because why not ] [ Comments are extremely appreciated so please do comment. it makes authors feel great, i promise. it boosts our confidence ] [ Please press the heart button, the reblog button and share this fanfic to anyone and anywhere, this way, we'll more likely reach our goal ] [ Special mention to @timelizzy21 , @angsty-otters-blog , @connorshero , @divadonadance1 , @this-was-her , thank you so much for commenting *^* your comments made my day and i will continue making this story interesting so please keep reading on ][wanna make a fanart or soundtrack for the story? feel free to do so but if you ever do, please send them to me so i can post them in the future chapters so they can be appreciated]

It was basically considered a treachery when an android - a being created by humans' hands to obey orders they spout - feels any sort of emotion or anything at all but as you held a useless example of a father by his throat, the distressed crowd of humans is warm crimson blood stuttering to a halt as your fingers threaten to puncture the his rough skin - a total contrast to Autumn's which momentarily made you question about their relation - you can't help but to relish on the feeling of sickening pleasure it brought and it felt too fucking good to stop.

Ruth thrash about and put in great effort to oppose to your restraining and smothering clutch all around his bruising neck, brazenly sewing out string after strings of colorful and vibrant profanities that can and shall put a veteran sailor to shame, his livid glower zeroing solely on your monotonous facial expression. If his sight could burn as warm as the sun, then there was no ounce or a smudge of doubt that your optics would have melted. "You little plastic shit," A small but tempting part of your program felt the need to laugh at this man's chosen words - and broken speech - but realizig the gravity of the situation, you bit your tongue to refrain yourself from bursting out of laughter. "What the hell do you think you're doing? I am your owner. I control you ; you're supposed to obey me! Unhand me this instant! This is an order!"

An incredelous jeer dribbled from your sneer painted lips. An inhumane (so basically in-android? in-deviant) snarl was at risk to tear from your throat as your tongue spout out unregistered sentences from your system. "I don't take orders from anyone, and especially not from you." You spat out in disdain. "I am not a little plastic shit."

[ I AM DEVIANT ]

"I am a Deviant."

[ I AM HUMAN ]

"I am a human."

[ I AM ALIVE ]

"And," You wrenched him closer to your face until you were for certain he is aware of the warmth of your breath fanning his face. "I am alive."

Your vice grip around him was unyeilding and constricted even more so than you have ever imagined CyberLife would allow you (but then again, you are an android which serves a purpose for battling so it didn't really come much to a revelation). From this significant but effective change of strangulation, Ruth's calloused and grease tainted fingers let Autumn's silky auburn hair slide delicately through his ditt encrusted fingertips, unwillingly granting her freedom from his grasp and allowing her to flee from his ghastly intentions to lay a hand in her. Mentioned woman crawled away on all fours from her father and clumsily staggered back up on her feet, body lurching back and fro and hands blindlessly darting around her surroundings until they landed on some sort of leverage. Your enhanced pupils surveyed and calculated the enviroment enclosing Autumn's frame and the second you were guaranteed that she was safe from any form of hazardous danger, you - with a grunt in effort - inconsiderately flung Ruth as far as your arm power could conjure away from Autumn's location.

Ruth landed unpleasantly on more than a few heaps of bare containers and from the impact his stature had bestowed, their balance sense of stability became a chaotic jumble and plunged all over him, one particular box having been able to get caught on his head. A couple of men who stood standby, additionally the other Clashers - among them was Daryl's equally aggresive owner, William - scurried to Ruth's position to come to his aid. While they were being occupied with Ruth's welfare, your hand retracted from the puncture your fist constructed and outstretched it towards Daryl who immediately recoiled away from you, shrinking to what could be meraphorically described as a small mouse; traumatized to an absolute amount and thinking you were to move to harm him.

Your enhanced eyesight drifted to the microscopic wounds your android and mechanical induced body created around frail throat that were leaking with small amount of thirium. Undetectable by human eyes but noticable by androids's optics. An odd, indescribable feeling burst within the wires spreading across your body, overfilling you with the need to apologize and gain a confirming acceptance from the person included in your problem. Your system surfed throughout the web in search for an acceptable apology for someone you've almost and near deliberately harmed someone to bring them to their demise.

[ MALEWARE DETECTED :

GUILT ]

"Come on now, we don't have time to waste," You murmured under your breath and took tight hold of Daryl's hand in your own and hauled him back to his feet in one tug, steadying him as he tumbled wobbily on his two left feet. Your eyes surveyed the area and with a quick scan the surroundings, you manage to locate the oldest and rusting metal door in the arena which was your only hinderance to your desired freedom. Puckering your lips to point its idle existence, you clamored, "Over there!"

Avoiding all the pieces of what's left of the androids you callously obliterated in your state of android service for the humans - [ System Error ^ ] - you towed Daryl alongside you as your synthetic frames stood presented before the rusting door obstructing your journey to your freedom, you decreed, "Stay back."

Daryl had half the mind to part his dry lips to question your motive but his inquiry remained unspoken as he was rudely interrupted once your clenched hand made contact with the metal door, sending said object flying back to meet with the cemented wall right behind it with a booming and resounding noise within the interior of the factory that garnered the watchfulness of every being with a beating heart. Without sparing much less of an ounce of care for the destruction you've produced, you drew Daryl away from the arena and settled him behind you as your feet descended the small flight of stairs with hasty footfalls, thirium shaped footprints left staining the staircase. Daryl lurched at everg direction - threatening to fall off his footing - and had difficulty catching up with your pace yet - by some means - maintained impressive equilibrium, which you think was notable for someone having trouble inhaling. Maybe if he remembered he's technically still an android still, he would have no need to breathe.

Once your feet met the cold tiled floorings of the factory, so unlike the rough cement the arena held and as soon as your feet touched the very last staircase, they automatically brought you to where Autumn was positioned gripping her agobizingly throbbing scalp from the excruciating pain it endured from her only family. Your LED colored itself crimson red and your hand left Daryl's as it cupped Autumn's cheek gently, scanning if she sustained any fatal injuries. Your logical side was reprimanding you, telling you that you were overreacting seeing as Autumn had no evidence of red blood on any part of her nor does her clothes but you couldn't seem to find control for your motor skills.

"Autumn," Your murmured was broken from the concern injected into your tone, "Are you okay? How badly did he harm you? Can you move properly? Do you need my assisstance?"

Autumn softly took hold of the hand which held her cheek with an indescribable gentleness - which you didn't notice was quivering - and flashed you an uncertain smile as she pulled it away. She looked equally as perplexed at your uncommon display of affection. "I'm fine, [ Your Name ]," She reassured, her tone laced with scratchiness. "I'm fine," She repeated, more firmly this time around but the tragic lines of hurt on her face told you otherwise.

Your scanner made an attempt to inspect her wellbeing but for the first time, it failed to give any commonsensical information that would ease the concern blossoming in your thirium empowered artificial heart. "I apologize for my actions . . . I was, as humans say," You gulped. ". . . worried."

You didn't miss the dilation of Daryl's optics upon hearing your humiliating - as you deemed it to be - confession (the reason to your embarrassment must be coming from when you thought yourself as an unfeeling machine just a few minutes ago) as a small, jolly grin plastered on Autumn's features.

[ Autumn ^^ ]

[ Daryl ^ ]

Her beam brightened, if humanly. "Don't worry about me," She insisted.

Daryl interjected, yours and Autumn's heads snapping to his direction. "You must believe her. I scanned her. A few strands of hair was ripped off from her scalp and a mild numbing pain is present. Other than that, she's fine."

Your brows slanted as confusion positioned itself on your face. "But when I scanned her earlier - "

"She sustained no grave injuries, if that's what you're thinking." Daryl butts in. "What attained data your system received is undoubtedly an exaggeration. That's what commonly happens when an individual lets their emotions get the best of them."

The moment was cut off to a short when your proximity sensors caught a movement rapidly approaching your figure. In a swift motion, you grasped the arms of your two companions and pulled them down with you as you ducked. In unison to their bewildred yelps was the shattering of an empty bottle of beer that went overhead your frames and hit the floor with a sickening sprinkle. The surrounding crowd was chattering anxiously as they came audiences to a new scenario while some took the liberty to make use of this unfortune as an excuse to react negatively by spouting out colorful vocabularies and dangerous responses, hence the bottle.

Autumn was the first to stand, you and Daryl following suit to her actions. "That was a close one," She whimpered.

A smile threatened to appear on Darly's face - like some sort of silent agreement to her statement - but its possibility drastically went down as his sight trailed to the side. "You spoke way too soon." He spoke out in a tone you couldn't quite comprehend.

Autumn's brows furrowed in puzzlement, blinking. "W-What do you mean?"

Daryl's finger pointed and you followed its aimed direction only to locate Ruth Judge, along with the few other android Clashers all huddled together and glowering at the three of you with an intensity you cannot think was possible for any mortal to reach. From an expression you've stumbled across before in a shady website in the internet, if looks could kill, you'd be six feet below the ground by now.

Daryl faced them. "We need to go," He suggested. "As in, right now."

"No! We can't do that!" Autumn fought back, a scowl painting over her terrified expression. "We need to fight!"

A frown carved its way to Daryl's lips. "We're just wasting our time. And possibly compromising what little chance we have of surviving. We need to escape. And if you can't see, we're outnumbered."

Autumn, not one to back down on her decision, retaliates. "[ Your Name ] knows combat. That's enough. You've seen her take down those androids in the arena earlier. Humans are much more fragile and prone to injuries. We can help her fight back. We can't run away like cowards!"

He spat out, "There's nothing cowardly about wanting to survive, Autumn. It's too risky for us!"

"They're going to hurt us."

"Not if we run now." Daryl argues. "We can leave. We don't have to hurt anyone."

Uninevitably, the two faced your uncertain figure, both searching for your opinion in the matter at hand. To settld the feud, you scanned the premises and saw the probability of their suggestions.

[ Flee : 88 % ]

[ Fight : 92 % ]

You were torn between the two choices. Fleeing might be the wisest - and most pacifict - here for you had the knowledge these humans are no obstacle to you - a so called killing machine - but fighting was a display of dominance and in doing so, more humans will be less likely to chase you three after witnessing what brutality you had to initiate on them. After pondering and weighing the two options handed to you, you decided - [ Flee ]

"Your call," Autumn said so as she sent you a pointed look, as though telling you to make the correct decision. "Escape or fight back."

You took a moment to register your answer - making sure it was what you estimate as a better decision - before taking a hold of your companions' wrists and clamoring, "Let's move!" as you begin leading them through series of obstacles hindering your progress to flee from the group of men, sprinting as you rounded the large round arena in search for an escape passage.

[ Autumn / ]

[ Daryl ^^ ]

Regardless of the agitated screams tearing from the throats of countless frustrated Clashers, they were not the ones who managed to attain your undivided attention. Instead, from the corner of your eye, you took special note of the two familiar figures moving hurriedly with your pace - as though mimicking your response to run from danger - from the upper bleachers. Turning subtly to examine them more clearly, you spotted the same RK800 android sprinting - a look of programmed determination nestled on his perfectly symestrical features - with an old man with bulging stomach and untamed beard in tow who was clearly having a hard time catching up with the artificial human. Already knowing you can't extract any information from the android, your sight fleeted to the old man and scanned him for data instead.

[ Name - Hank Anderson ]

[ Occupation - Police Lieutenant ]

[ Handled Case - Deviants ]

"Fuck." The curse felt raw on your tongue as you spat it out in frustration and realization, head darting back to your main objective which was to exit the factory with Daryl and Autumn, unharmed and most importantly, alive.

"What's wrong?" Questioned Daryl as he matched your pace, brows burrowed together in concern for your outburst. "Is there something wrong?"

"A police lieutenant is chasing after us." You informed the two of them as you took a sharp turn inside a corridor, an unguarded metal door at the very end. "He has an android with him. A police android or something. They're here catching deviants."

The dilation of Autumn's frenzied amber pair of eyes was easily detected. "Deviants," She breathed out, "Like you and Daryl?"

You nod in response. "Like me and Daryl."

***

Once the trio entered a corridor and left his eyesight, a profanity spilled from Connor's lips and his pace significant quickened. "Hurry, lieutenant! They're getting away!"

"Well," An exhausted Hank huffed out as his cramping legs, damaged lungs and old age slowed him down to what Connor considered as a burden. "Try running after deviants and a very advanced prototype in my age."

Though hidden from Hank's sight, the RK800's LED bore a vibrant yellow color. "Androids don't age." Pointed out Connor in a matter-of-fact tone, to which Hank gritted his teeth to out of annoyance.

"Don't take it too seriously. I'm just stating my point." Hank retributed and soon enough, he slowed down to a stop. "Us humans aren't as indestructible and full of gasoline or thirium whatever as you are."

Connor's footsteps decelerated once registering the complaint that his human a parter spouted. "Do you want me to wait for you?"

Hank shook his head, back bent over and had one of his hand over his knee and the other dismissively waving his suggestion off like a pesky bee buzzing around. "No, no! Just go ahead and catch those deviants! I'll . . ." Hank leaned against the railing beside him, head thrown back. " . . . I'll just catch up with you."

"Got it," With an obedient nod, Connor whipped around and resumed his chase for the capture of the deviants and the female human. He scurried inside the corridors, his polished shoes slewing against the pavement and using his optics to unearth the faintest evidences of the combat android turned deviant's traces to pursue. He came to a skidding halt once a soft clink of a metal door softly closing reached his eardrums and soon enough, not a few second wasted, he found himself at the very last hallway built in the factory, and charged towards the door at the very end.

Shoving the door open with one of his calloused hand, he firmly stood at the very back of the factory where abandoned constructions machineries were laid like garbage and there - a cemented wall a few meters away from him - were numerous huge crates of different sizes where the duo of deviants and human Autumn Judge were using as makeshift stairs. New pop ups appeared on his optics.

[ Current Objective - Catch The Deviants ]

[ Side Objective - Question The Human ]

Without a single thought, Connor sprinted towards mentioned crates and as early as he calculated he was near enough, he extended his arm to reach and tightly took hold of the combat android's arm, tugging it back with all his might which caused it to stagger backwards until it fell from the crate it once stood upon and collapsed on the gravel covered groun. RK800 Connor parted his lips to reprimand the deviant of its desire to escape his clutches and the law's consequences - he could tell the deviant that it has the right to remain silent but seeing as humans' rights aren't applied with androids and deviants, it was out of the question - and surrender quietly but he nearly bit his tongue off when a swift kick was delivered to his face. Thankfully, his reflex saved him from ant damages. Before he could regain composure, a knee made contact with his chest followed by a powerful push. The thirium flowing in his thirium empowered pump temporarily stilled from the impact it endured and from that, Connor hovered a hand over his chest but kept his vice grip around its arm, unfazed as he staggered from its' assault.

"[ Your Name ]!" Autumn clamored in a moment of frenzy and made a motion to move from the highest crate to help and save the deviant - [ Your Name ] - from his duty-inclined actions but the other deviant - Daryl as it has stated earlier in the arena - was quick to hold her back and getting involved in the situation by wrapping his hand around her wrist.

[ Your Name ] moved towards him and grabbed both his arms, intending to redo its attack from earlier but already having seen it once, Connor successfully retaliated by ducking down, dodging the leg that thrusted above his head before getting back on his feet. Its leg got caught on Connor's shoulder and he used this opportunity to push forward in order to make it lose its balance and fall down and pin it helplessly to the ground. At this, it responded by letting go of both of his arms and flipped back to keep its state of balance. It's quite troublesome. Connor thought as he shot his fist towards it face but it leaned away and threw itself to the side. Connor had never encountered a deviant that could equal his intelligence and attacks, but encountering this combat android, he was proven quite wrong and if he ever had feelings, he wouldn't know how or what to feel.

"What are you doing? Let go of me! We need to help her!" Autumn cried out as she desperately tried tugging her wrist from Daryl's hold.

Daryl shook his head in disagreement. "You'll just get caught in it! We need to trust her!"

[ Your Name ] rolled towards the stack of bricks and skidded to a stop, teetering the said bricks to its precarious downfall. Connor took note of its subtle and sneaky fingers enveloping the brick that bumped against its footwear - he knew exactly what its intention was. It was too obvious to miss. Before he could process his next approach, the brick was already sent flying towards his rigid figure. In an instant, he swiped his arm to the side, the brick colliding with the synthetic skin of his forearm but his pupils dilated as a hand appeared charging to his face in a rapid speed. Though his bewildrement did not last long as the deviant wished it would. In a way to defend himself, he lifted his hand to catch the fist hurtling his direction in midair, just in time before it could cause any damage on him.

Connor's lips let a gasp slip from him, just like [ Your Name ]'s lips did once their hands connected. What information he failed to gain from the deviant was now within his grasp the second they their hands touched.

[ New Information Available ]

[ Model - AA 01 ]

[ Given Name - [ Your Name ] ]

[ Model - Combat Android ]

[ Owner - Ruth Judge ]

What on earth? Connor could see himself downloading all the information given to him but not because he wanted to or because of his purpose to acquire every single information needed to make a successfuly investigation, but because his subconsciousness wanted to. Subconsciousness, well that wasn't part of an android features and not having to run an analysis on himself, it especially wasn't part of his program. In that horrifying realization, Connor pulled away as though the combat android's hand stung him and fell to the ground with a soft thud, gawking at [ Your Name ]. It stared back at him with the same expression, LED glowing red. It must be experiencing the same thing but how come? He wanted to dwell more into this enigma but another realization dawned him - that after coming in contact with you, all his software instability disappeared in an instant. In fact, he could consider himself at peace.

"What are you waiting for? Let's fo [ Your Name ]!" Autumn hollered. Connor was idle, too stunned and too perplexed to chase after the three of them and settled only on watching as the female human dragged the combat android back up to the crates to escape the factory. Daryl jumped first, disappearing behind the wall and Autumn was next. [ Your Name ] was preparing to leap in tow with them but before it did, it spared a look back to stare at him. Connor stares back at it and said nothing as it jumped and ran off with its companions.

Connor picked up the subtle sound of the door slamming open behind him and the familiar footsteps of his partner in crime approaching him. However, he didn't look over his shoulder but rather fixated his sight on his hand which formerly held the deviant's fist. His hand was vibrating softly, as though desiring to touch and hold the deviant's hand once more. "Connor? Connor!"

Catching sight of the prototype merely sitting on the ground, Hank can't help but think of the worse and begab conjuring up ridiculous reasons as to why an android of his type was doing nothing to pursue its goal. "Are you okay? What happened? Where's the deviants? The human?" Hank questioned Connor but he was rendered shocked when an unexpected response from the RK800 reached his ears.

"Lieutenant," Connor starts as he begins looking back to stare into Hank's eyes, "Do you believe in soulmates?"

--

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[headcanonsforcompanions]

Danse/Synth theory!!

Ok so from what I can gather from Canon, is that Danse was an escaped synth.

-Danse was probably a chosen name or a name given to him after the mind wipe, when they implanted false memories.

- besides there being a possible canonical first name of Saul I think, Danse is the only name he has. Which when you think about it, makes perfect sense. The world has gone to shit and with all the radiation, and things killing people left and right, it’s not likely you have many kids (or live long enough to) to pass your last name down to. Unless of course your from a safe enough place where you can. I.e the brotherhood of steel. A lot of the Bos members might have first and last names, purely because for a long time they never let anyone else in and they have the protection and resources to provide for families of their own. Another instance is in little lamplight, there were very few but people like RJ MacCready, not only had a first and last name, but also a middle. Of course that begs the question of where did he come from? How did they all get there? How do more kids come etc etc. so we have established that if you were an orphan (such as Danse, Cutler, Harkness, Cait, etc) then it’s possible you didn’t have a last name.

- Danse as we know, is the original Danse. He was never a replacement. Why? Because if he was a replacement he would know. It’s very unlikely that he replaced OG Danse and then felt guilty and had his mind wiped. Why? Because for one, the institute would know where he is and either recall him, or at the very least not label him missing. On top of that X6-88 (my Boi) even comments that he didn’t know Danse was a synth. Also, Danse only has vague memories of his childhood, growing up as an orphan. No attachments, no one to miss. It makes sense that the first real person he meets and has a bond with is more vivid. Because the previous one before rivet city are all fakes.

- Certain Synths Can Age. It just doesn’t make sense why they couldn’t. For one, the institute has been planting spies for years!!! And no one had noticed until shit happened like the broken mask. Since the broken mask, the institute didn’t just stop replacing people. They continued. Don’t you think it would be a super easy tell if they just never got older? Because this is fallout we’re talking you have to make some assumptions. For one you can assume life expectancy is not long. How many old people do you see? Very few. Besides mama Murphy there’s next to none outside of cities. Which leads me to believe people just don’t live that long. But just like way back then in real life when life expectancy wasn’t long, people tended to age faster due to stress, hard labor and lack of proper sleep. I bet people in the commonwealth experience at least 2/3 of those. Hence they have wrinkles, they get grey hair, etc. now I’m not saying that’s fool proof it’s just an assumption. Buuut if everyone is on high alert in the brotherhood about synths, someone would have to notice Danse never aged. That Danse never really grew or changed in muscle mass, which he would have to if he was undergoing vigorous training from the brotherhood. He would have been caught not 5 years down the line. So I think it’s safe to assume that SOME synths are designed to age in order to infiltrate.

-Danse was an infiltration Synth that ran away. Not all infiltration is replacement. Just like not all spies are synths. Cricket, Trashcan Carla and that one other guy being some human ones. It’s not far fetched to say that Danse’s primary objective wasn’t to infiltrate the commonwealth. If we go with the idea that Danse never had reconstructive surgery, then well...Danse is very Attractive. Possibly he was at one point charismatic or suave for easy infiltration. We know for a fact he’s a good leader. Which just could be some ingrained characteristics. So if he was an infiltration synth, then he either saw the world as a new chance, got convicted by some railroad member who found him out or whatever, he decided to run. Which could explain how he got out.

- Alternatively Danse could have been a Courser. This is going with the idea that Danse’s body doesn’t change. Coursers have the strong lean combat ready form that Danse has. Plus it would explain why Danse fit into being a soldier so fast. Being a courser and being a soldier in the Bos aren’t too different. But I don’t have too much faith in this one. Primarily because

-Danse grows facial hair. Hair is at the base of it, Dead cells that are being pushed out. Granted they have a function, but that’s what they are. So I’m pretty sure he has to trim his beard or get a haircut at SOME point. Otherwise, another dead giveaway. So just by growing hair, Danse’s body is changing. It’s not staying perfectly the same how it was originally created.

-Danse and all other synths who have gone through the mind wipe are still sentient. Also codsworth and all other Mr handys and miss nannies are artificial intelligence, bordering on full sentients. For one memories are a fickle thing. We as humans don’t even have the best memories. Often we take what we think is important and then toss the rest in the trash to be discarded. When we sleep, are brains are processing everything in took in today and decide what to keep and what is useless. What you at 3 days ago? Useless. Depending on the personal importance to you it gets chunked in the trash. It’s also very easy for our brains to be lied to and for us to make up false memories on our own accord. Just through mere suggestions. In cases of severe brain trauma, sometimes they lose all memories. But that doesn’t make them any less alive no? I would go back to the definition of being alive all of which they match except! Possibly being able to reproduce sexually. Instead they can reproduce Mechanically. As in they build more of themselves instead of asexually (splitting themselves to make more) or sexually. So they are indeed alive. Codsworth waited for you for Hundreds it YEARS he nearly went mad form the loneliness. But that’s another issue altogether. Point is, synths are alive and sentient. Regardless if you take their memories.

-Danse sleeps and eats obviously, he has PTSD which is why he sleeps very little but he still does. Obviously he eats because again, dead give away. If he never felt hungry or ate he would be found out very quickly. Likewise if you eat it has to go somewhere. So obviously he shits too. Which means he has those basic bodily functions.

- now I’m not saying all synths eat,sleep, shit, grow but I’m saying ones designed for that certainly could. Think about it, your brain essentially sends out signals and hormones that tell your body what to do. It shouldn’t be that far off the mark to say the institute could enable or create some synths that do age and others that don’t. Shaun might not age because he’s the first child synth and therefore a prototype. Coursers might not age or sleep (or just sleep very little ) because they have no need to. But I highly doubt they don’t need to eat. Maybe eat very little but unless they get charged like the gen 1s and 2s , and those gems do get charged, it’s a scene you can come across in the institute, then they need a power source in order to function. There’s a doctor talking to gen 1s about not charging themselves for power unless necessary. Anyway because of the simple fact that even gen 1s and 2s need power, also the fact that if gen 3s acted like an unlimited powered unit well...then they obviously wouldn’t be so strapped for power now would they? So it’s again safe to assume like all organic organisms they need a fuel source. Food and water is a fuel source for organic organisms. For coursers it’s a bit tricky. For all we know they do have to go charge up, but since they technically are Gen 3s maybe they eat and drink instead for fuel or a mixture of both. If Harkness is to be believed to be a escaped Courser (which is why the Head of SRB set out to retrieve him) then it’s likely that coursers can refuel on food and drink. Because again it would be obvious he wasn’t human if he suddenly died do to lack of power, also again Harkness obviously eats and drinks and sleeps because he would be found out or he himself would know something was up.

Ok that’s allll I’ve got...anyone got anything to add or maybe even point out holes in? Please feel free! The synths/Danse debate has been killing me!

[qm-vox]

So You Want To Run An Autumn Court

(Check out So You Want To Run A Winter Court if you missed it.)

Winter may be the most misunderstood Court, but Autumn may have the strongest claim to being the odd man out. In a society built on recovering from horror and trauma, the Autumn Court (the Ashen Court, the Leaden Mirror, the Court of Fear) seems purpose-built to churn out monsters, murderers, and slasher villains. If that was all this is, if Autumn was only part of the system because pacts and Pledges made it so, the Court would have been killed to the last man hundreds of years ago. So why do the other three Seasons tolerate Autumn? What purpose does it serve in the Freehold, and what does its defining passion - Fear - offer to the other Courts?

The following article offers advice on designing and running your own Autumn Court and Autumn Courtiers, either as a player or storyteller. It draws primarily from Changeling: the Lost, Lords of Summer, Rites of Spring, Dancers in the Dusk, and Swords at Dawn; further books, if referenced, will be cited.

God Damn It White Wolf, Not Again

Make no mistake: this article is meant to be rooted in the canon of Changeling: the Lost and help present and expand on the Autumn presented in that canon. Unfortunately, more than any of the other three Seasonal Courts, Autumn is both inconsistently characterized, and constantly mischaracterized. For every two great ideas presented about it there’s some shit that’s definitely a flashback to when oWoD was still being designed and the entire staff of White Wolf was doing hard acid. Where necessary, I will be bringing up those parts, explaining why I have chosen to refute them, and offering alternatives rooted in the canon and/or how actual human people behave. Consider yourselves advised.

Witch-Queens - An Overview

The third of the Seasonal Courts and the first of the Declining Seasons, Autumn is associated with Fear in all of its forms: fright, terror, panic, dread, anticipation, doubt, horror, and suspense, among others. Autumn cultivates fear in themselves and others; to have an Autumn Mantle is not just to be an object of fear (though yes, it very much is that), but to know your own fears, to understand them, even to nurture them. Just like the other Seasonal Courts, Autumn rules its Freeholds for one-fourth of the year, generally from the equinox to the solstice, though local custom may vary.

Magic is Autumn’s claim to fame and specialty as a Court, but their MO goes beyond it; in part this is because Autumn is a big believer in efficiency, cunning, secrecy, and prudence, but this is also in part because Autumn is keenly aware of how much they just do not know. “Magic” is an incredibly diverse field, especially when one considers that Autumn takes it upon itself to investigate rumors or knowledge of non-Wyrd magic. Much like medicine, occult knowledge is a field in which you could be a lifelong expert, outstanding in your field, whose knowledge is consulted by Lost the world over, and still both not know shit and be aware that you don’t know shit. Thus one of the first questions Autumn tends to ask when solving problems is, “is there a non-magical solution to this problem?” Often the magical solution ends up being safer and more efficient, but the question is still worth asking, if only to arrive at that answer with confidence.

Talk Shit, Get Hit - Politics in Autumn

Brace yourself, this section is long as fuck.

While Autumn has traces of cooperation between Freeholds (notably, Autumn publishes magazines shared between Autumn Courts, and sometimes funds lectures by members of other Autumn Courts courageous enough to travel to strange lands), it is ultimately a local creature, with much more in common with how Spring governs itself than Summer or Winter. Where Winter’s understanding of internal rank and politics is informed by the knowledge that Pledges get broken and thus are insufficient to enforce trust, Autumn’s various forms of governance are informed by a certain cynical acceptance that violence and authority are related.

There is an unspoken understanding in Autumn that crossing certain lines will get violence enacted upon you. The vast majority of Freeholds - even failing Freeholds - do prohibit members just killing one another without at least prior approval from the current Crown, but as a genie in a Disney sequel once said: you’d be surprised what you can live through. Despite this, the act of violence is much more rare in Autumn politics than the threat of it. Occasionally hot-headed Autumn youngbloods figure their elders can’t be as scary as all that and end up learning a cruel lesson, or a bid to remove a rival or a hated enemy goes badly (or, depending on the Courtier, very well), but more often Autumn’s political maneuvers are undergone with a certain understanding that everyone involved is a killer, will be a killer again in the future, and is quite capable of making even your victory over them cost a pound of flesh.

How Autumn selects the bearer of its Crown varies from Freehold to Freehold, and how that bearer organizes their Court will likewise vary, but some trends and consistent titles do appear in addition to the local ones. You can broadly classify the Autumn Crown as follows:

Rule by Fear - It’s an obvious leap, really. Autumn is the Court of Fear, so from a certain perspective the scariest person there is Winning At Autumn. The Court’s casual attitude about violence definitely helps foster this style of rule, as does the fact that life under a master of Fear is likely to keep the Court flush with fearful Glamour that can be invested in further power. Now at this point you may be asking, quite reasonably, what the Court does about the usual attendant issues of attempting to rule through violence and fear, and the answer is: absolutely fucking nothing. An Autumn monarch that seeks to rule by fear needs to balance their ruling style with a certain amount of consent from the people they are ruling, because everyone they’re reigning over is playing the same game they are. Callous brutes who try to run roughshod over a Court of killers and witches find themselves nailed to a door and left to die alone.

Witch-Queens  - The other obvious candidate for the Autumn Crown is a talented sorcerer of some kind. This approach tends to be somewhat more nuanced than rule by fear; a powerful witch granted the Autumn Crown has also likely been selected for a reputation for wisdom, cunning, and leadership acumen, even if another person might be acknowledged as a more powerful witch. It’s easy to think of such Courts as more stable, considering the track record of autocrats that rule through terror, but that’s not necessarily the case. As much as Plato and people who still think it’s okay to wear fedoras in the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Eighteen would like to think otherwise, ‘intellectual’ and ‘good ruler’ are not synonyms; such figures can be and often are vulnerable to manipulation by more savvy Courtiers, and sometimes to straight-up being murdered by those who would prefer to rule through fear. A wise or at least self-aware Autumn Court takes steps to protect a good witch-queen from those events, and to quietly replace a bad one, but unfortunately ‘self-aware’ and ‘powerful’ are also not synonyms when it comes to Autumn.

An Actual Politician

(Zoe “Zippo” Morris, the Queen of Bonfires. Credit to @lidijadraws)

Finding someone who runs their local Autumn Court because they’re a legitimately competent politician with a functional understanding of human and/or post-human society is like finding an albino raven: it’s rare in the first place, they probably die before they reach adulthood, and if they didn’t it’s because someone else helped to shelter and nurture them. Despite the prevalence of Lost in Autumn quite willing to kill these fledglings in their nests and the seeming non-obviousness of them taking power, wise Autumn rulers of the other two types - generally those who have lived long enough to come to some kind of terms with their own abuse and trauma - will put in the work to raise these politicians so that they can be succeeded by someone who will keep the Court stable and prosperous in the long term. Managing Autumn through a mix of careful alliances, threats, and support from the other three Courts helps such rulers get away with not having the personal power to fight off all comers, and more importantly ties Autumn into the rest of its local society so that it gets a reality check more than “sometimes, when people can screw up the courage to actually show up”. In that way it’s better for the ruler too; without the might to trample over those who disagree with her, she must instead keep the members of her own and other Courts in mind, and be aware of her own bullshit lest she leap up on it and get herself killed.

Lords of Summer details a method of ruling Autumn that it labels as the Palace of Dust, in which Autumn is a wholly secret society hidden even from the rest of the Freehold, who acts to cause Fear and protect its fellows in secret. This is naked fucking stupidity. Even if Autumn could do such a thing without shredding its Clarity all to hell (which it can’t) or get a crack at recruiting new members without the other three Courts mistaking them for privateers or loyalists (which, again, it can’t), Autumn still has to run the god damn Freehold for 1/4th of the year, which among other things means having a person with a big obvious crown on her head, to say nothing of all of her Courtiers and their Mantles, or needing to be physically present to accept tithes of Glamour and oaths of vassalage. I encourage you to discard this idea entirely; it has no relation to how any society functions, and is riddled with logistical, psychological, and thematic problems. Autumn jockeys with Spring for the title of “most dramatic and theatrical Court”; don’t waste that opportunity trying to be the edgiest version of what is already the edgiest Court.

Not even the mightiest Witch-Queen rules alone. Lords of Summer presents some potential titles denoting status and responsibility in the Autumn Court. Not all of them will be present in every Court, and they aren’t necessarily called by these titles (in New Avalon, for instance, the Witch of the Bitter Wind has been called ‘Baba’ for many years, an allusion to Baba Yaga). Each has a role in Autumn’s society that is expanded on below:

Twilit Page - Broadly, the Twilit Page is in charge of neophyte Autumn Courtiers, but this is a more difficult prospect than you might expect. Where Winter is perfectly willing to leave its Flowing Pages out in the wind to die if they can’t form a relationship with a more senior Courtier willing to save them, Autumn is somewhat more likely to attempt to come to the rescue. Some of this is simply because Autumn is more likely to form personal attachments, and some of it is that you don’t bother gathering immense personal power if you aren’t going to use it. The Twilit Page has to keep tabs on aspiring and young members of Autumn, try to teach them the local culture of the Court, and hopefully palm them off into a more formal apprenticeship as soon as possible. Bad Autumn Courts emulate Winter’s example and give this job to a more junior Courtier to keep them busy with paperwork; wiser ones promote more powerful Courtiers to this position so that aspiring members of the Court know what they might become and can be certain that if they call for rescue, rescue will actually arrive.

Paladin of Shadows - Frightful warriors who for some reason don’t want to be in Summer end up in Autumn under this name. Paladins drive Winter mad, given that they’re a role specifically for Autumn Courtiers who are, seemingly, bad at being members of Autumn. Paladins embody the threat of physical violence and death, and are often a natural role for battle-sorcerers in Autumn; Ogres and Elementals especially fall naturally into this method of serving Fear.

Hedge Ranger - Hedge Rangers represent a sort of practical occult knowledge that few people immediately associate with Autumn. Rare is the person who hears the words “Court of Fear” and immediately thinks of a survivalist with a crossbow, but such is the nature of the Thorns: a land of magic that demands practice to go with your theory. Hedge Rangers rarely lack for work; the Hedge is a source of fear and doubt to almost all of the Lost, and those who must brave it will pay dearly for an expert’s guidance. More importantly, Hedge Rangers may be the Freehold’s first line of intelligence against an imminent invasion of the True Fae, privateers, or hostile hobgoblins.

Legate of Mists - Oddly enough, this is one of the positions potentially unlikely to be filled in a healthy Freehold. It sounds counter-intuitive; surely a diplomat is a valuable role in keeping friendly relationships between Courts? But when things are going well, members of the other three Courts generally go directly to the Autumn Courtiers they need for various services. Why cut a finder’s fee to some random asshole to direct you to Jack the Ranger when you can just find Jack or a member of his Motley yourself? But in an Autumn that is less trusted by its fellows, or a Freehold with sharp conflicts between the Courts in general, having someone more outwardly collected and socially savvy as a point of contact can be essential in not escalating conflict to a place people are going to regret. In a Freehold that doesn’t necessarily need a Legate, someone with a related skill set (such as a Baron of the Lesser Ones, or a member of the Legacy of the Black Apple) might have the title bestowed upon them in recognition of their skills, or to formalize their role in negotiating with those other beings.

Fool of First Frost - Any idiot can put on a clown suit and chase people with knives. The role of the Fool is not to spread fear directly, but rather to spread Autumn’s self-awareness of its own deliberate evil to the other Courts. When Spring, Summer, and Winter begin to grow toxic or to cause social issues in the Freehold, it is the Fool and their comedy that first holds them to account through dark parody, scathing rebukes, and the occasional terrifying mystery. Fools also hold Autumn to similar account. A good Fool is socially adept, cunning, and politically aware; a bad Fool is generally killed in their sleep by a slighted noble.

Lord/Lady Scrivener  - Perhaps one of the most inconsistently filled positions in Autumn, the Scrivener writes things down. The Lost have an uneven relationship with the idea of writing things down, in part because writing things down has a bad habit of getting people killed, and in part because of a strong oral tradition and the presence of the Eternal Echoes (Lords of Summer). Some Freeholds never learn the grim stories of When It Goes Wrong and install a Scrivener to keep records of the Freehold or the Court; others follow Winter’s example and record their histories in code. An Autumn Court involved in the aforementioned magazine-publishing and lectures keep a Scrivener in charge of their creation and distribution, but beyond that this title is often quite empty, and infrequent attempts to install it are generally shut down hard.

Ghul - In a Court whose role in the Freehold is often ‘odd jobs, but especially the horrible ones we don’t want to do’, the Ghul is the person who does the most horrible things. In theory, the Ghul’s role is that of assassin to the Court of Fear, but a Freehold that maintains and tolerates one likely also employs them as an executioner and a Jack Ketch. In many Freeholds, the Ghul may be a secret position, kept quiet so that the other Courts don’t know Autumn is willing to retain a paid murderer.

Witch of the Bitter Wind - Quite possibly the only title as ubiquitous to Autumn as the Crown itself, the Witch is the Court’s most prominent sorcerer. It isn’t enough to have raw power (represented with high Wyrd and Mantle); the Witch of the Bitter Wind needs to have broad and deep knowledge of magic, including things no one really wants to know but sometimes has to. The nature of their work means that Witches often shed Clarity to an alarming degree, but replacing a Witch of the Bitter Wind is no simple thing; Lost who can do what they do are not a dime a dozen. Keeping a leash on their Witch is often one of the Autumn Crown’s most important ongoing duties.

Magister of Nightmares - You know what would be nice? If White Wolf could write one god damn thing about this Court consistently for five minutes straight. In Lords of Summer, the Magister is purported to capture and maintain the target of the Ashen Hunt...a ritual in which the entire Freehold goes riding out to kill any of its enemies that it can find. One of these things has to be wrong, and on the balance considering that the Lost have severe problems with imprisoning anything or anyone for any reason, I am inclined to advise you to throw this title out, shake your first at the sky and scream White Wolf’s name at the top of your lungs.

Ashen Notary - One of Autumn’s more surprising roles, the Ashen Notary is an expert in Pledgecraft and is charged with maintaining and, if need be, recording knowledge of powerful Pledges sworn in the Freehold. In a society that sometimes has to establish trust between people who have understandable trust issues, an expert in Pledges is a powerful asset and a vital cog in the smooth running of said society. The Ashen Notary’s knowledge empowers them to check in on Lost who have sworn powerful Pledges, advise them on keeping said Pledges, and to offer their services to broker Pledges between parties who might not otherwise be inclined to do so. The Notary serves another purpose in Autumn itself: they force loners of the Ashen Court to actually participate in society, even if only on the pretext of checking up on their oath of service to the Freehold itself. Autumn Courtiers more inclined to counsel rather than terrify, with a talent for putting people at their ease, thrive in this role.

Aside from these largely internal roles, Autumn Courtiers thrive in the Freehold itself as advisors, viziers, and hatchet men. Though Autumn trends towards skill in violence and magic, its lack of an overall required skill set (in sharp contrast with Summer and Winter) means it often makes its bones doing odd jobs. Need a family of Fetches murdered? Autumn is looking for work. Need a guide through a dangerous Trod? Autumn has a man. Looking to learn Contracts that might help you in your day job? Autumn knows them. While Autumn joins Summer as one of the Courts that spends money rather than makes it, it funds its internal expenses by tithing from these services and otherwise making itself available to its peers.

The Promise of Autumn

What does Autumn offer to potential members, and to those that keep faith with it? UNLIMITED POWER is the answer that springs to most people’s minds immediately, and this is true to an extent, just as it is also true that Autumn provides a haven for those who have fallen in love with magic and struggle with the awkward feelings of shame and self-doubt that said love engenders. But neither captures the entire story. Alone among the Seasonal Courts, Autumn is not offering recruits the chance to heal, not as such. Where Spring holds faith in its renewal, where Summer promises to create something good and noble of the evil done to you, and Winter quietly sells a new life built on your own terms, the children of Fear seem, so often, to leap screaming into an abyss from which there is no return.

So why join Autumn?

Just as every Lost is scarred by Sorrow, so too is each and every living Changeling a child of Fear; Fear of the Others who may come calling to drag them back, Fear of what they have or might become, Fear of rejection by mortal society or mortal loved ones, Fear of betrayal, of privateers and loyalists, of the Thorns, of the things that live in their dreams, and this doesn’t even get into more mundane or personal Fears that may stalk them. Autumn’s offer is simple but compelling: join with the Ashen Court, and you can come to understand your Fear, and to master it. Autumn does not promise to make you unafraid; such a promise would be a lie, and counter to the Court’s ideals in any event. To join with Autumn is instead to develop a relationship with Fear, to confront your abuse directly and thus to lift some of its terrible power over your life. For many drawn to the Court of Fear it can be a relief to be told that it’s okay to be afraid, that even the grim demons that sit the high seats of Autumn are afraid, and that life can go on in the face of that Fear. This quieter, more intimate side of Autumn doesn’t get a lot of press, in part because Autumn prefers it that way, and in part because it can be genuinely hard to talk about. Fear is an intimate emotion, and for those of Spring, Summer, and Winter who go to Autumn for help with their Fears the idea of gossiping about those who guided them, aided them, even befriended them, can be unthinkable.

Other Lost join Autumn because they are in love with magic and they want more of it. The reasons can vary, but Autumn generally puts in quite a bit of effort to recruit such Changelings. Many assume this is because Autumn wants to retain its status as the foremost practitioners of magic, and this is to an extent true, but the Ashen Court also considers this a service to the Freehold. Unwise use of magic is dangerous; just as Autumn takes in the fearful and teaches them sorcery, so too does Autumn take in reckless sorcerers and teach them fear. Magic for magic’s sake is like the pursuit of any form of power for its own sake: foolish and likely to get someone killed. Autumn puts leashes on such Lost until they learn better.

Both sorts of recruits are ultimately made the same offer by Autumn, often unspoken but powerfully present: Autumn can give them the power to no longer be victims. Many Lost were helpless in the face of the evil which claimed them, abused them, and ultimately transformed them. The Court of Fear provides not just the personal power to fight back, but the knowledge and presence of mind to act, not without Fear, but with courage. For many, whose lives are defined by the Fear of going back to the Fairest of Lands, Autumn represents the ability to live with themselves again, in a way the other Courts can’t.

There is a certain ironic selflessness in remaining in Autumn. The Court of Fear purposefully takes on the evils needed to keep the Freehold running and safe, and as a result its active members are often, not to put too fine a point on it, evil. Autumn doesn’t just employ killers, thieves, and abusers, it cultivates them. For Lost whose skill sets fall into these shady categories, Autumn can be a place to belong; for others, remaining in the Season and deepening their relationship to it means asking hard questions about what they’re willing to become, and how hard they’re willing to work to avoid becoming something worse. Autumn’s peers are vital in keeping some semblance of an even keel on its Courtiers, to remind them both not to get lost in the vicious madness of power for the sake of power, and of the joys, pleasures, and sorrows of life that exist outside of the context of Fear. Autumn, in turn, helps hold its peers to account and provides both a spoken warning and a living example of what it means to slide into darkness.

Fear Itself

Autumn’s relationship to Fear is more complex than the other Courts often think it is, and definitely more complex than Autumn itself advertises it as. Just as someone who spreads Sorrow but does not feel Sorrow is a bad Winter Courtier, so too is the ideal Autumn Courtier someone who feels Fear in addition to spreading it. The dance between an Autumn Courtier’s public persona (something at least partly artificial and theatrical) and their private one is a complex affair that can be harsh on Clarity if not managed correctly, but it is absolutely vital to maintaining some semblance of sanity and perspective.

Outwardly, Autumn practices Fear of all kinds. They learn to cultivate and project images that fit their personal brands of Fear (in New Avalon, the local Autumn Court puts its apprentices through drama and theater classes specifically for this reason) and to sow Fear upon others. Only rarely is this visceral, violent terror, for a host of reasons. While the Court could create a glut of Fear by, say, killing an entire fraternity in its frat house on campus and leaving the excessively gory scene to be found by their friends and loved ones, such an event has repercussions beyond the emotion created: mortal police will investigate, bereaved loved ones seek closure or revenge, the school itself might be shut down, and such a vicious assault is certain to take a toll on whatever unlucky Courtiers are expected to carry it out. Much more common are activities such as spreading rumors and urban legends, telling terrifying stories, stalking mortals out alone on lonely nights, blackmail, and acts of violation such as breaking the locks on someone’s house or leaving unsettling ‘gifts’ in their personal possessions. Autumn’s own need to exercise a light hand in cultivating their passion in the mortal populace. Fear, while an effective emotion for manipulating others, can be difficult to predict and control; those Lost who don’t understand that spreading Fear can have unforeseen consequences soon learn better when they bite off more than they can chew and get someone hurt or killed. This is one of Autumn’s harshest and most necessary lessons: you, ultimately, are responsible for the desperate actions of those upon whom you spread your Fear.

Inwardly, Autumn Courtiers seek to relate to their own Fears, to understand them, and to take action about them. Fear can be a healthy response, and the Lost live dangerous lives in which vigilance and caution are quite reasonable daily activities, and the Fears that inform these behaviors are among the more universal to Changelings, but all things Fear more than just the Others. To be Autumn is to ask yourself questions like, “why am I afraid?”, “can I live my life with this Fear?”, “do I also love or Desire the object of my Fear? Does it make me angry?” and, “am I okay with the power this Fear has over me?”. There are many answers to these questions; Autumn encourages its Courtiers to make their own decisions about their Fears, to excuse themselves from projects or tasks where their Fears would cripple them and to seek out those professions where their Fears can be helpful to them. Many a Hedge-Ranger starts their career by acknowledging that they are afraid of the Thorns and seeking to overcome the darkness of that Fear with the light of knowledge, and Autumn knows well the power of desperate terror to turn a cornered rat into a vicious killer. Just as mortals seek out horror movies to experience a visceral thrill, so too does Autumn put themselves in a position to be afraid so that they can teach themselves to live with Fear, to act in spite of or even aided by Fear, and to prove to themselves that they are stronger than their own Fear.

While they are rarer than those Autumn Courtiers who also spread Fear upon others, some Autumn Courtiers relate to their Season only in terms of their personal fear, and their journey into Autumn is founded on understanding and choosing to nurture or overcome their individual Fears. The Ashen Court puts a lot of value in these more gentle, introspective Courtiers, in part because someone has to be around to tell the supervillains when they’re up on their bullshit (again), and in part because these are often those Autumn Courtiers who most openly serve as counselors and healers to their fellow Lost. Many of the Court of Fear’s most talented oneiromancers fall easily into this image of a kinder Autumn.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice - Organizing Autumn

The basic unit of Autumn is the Courtier, but the basic plural unit of the Court of Fear is the Master-Apprentice bond. While individual Courts do likely organize by appointing nobles and people to assist those nobles (such as, say, a Mistress of the Harvest in charge of the Court’s stores of Goblin Fruits and Harvestmen to assist her), Autumn’s basically selfish organization naturally breaks it up into those who do not yet have power - personal, social, magical, political -  and those that do. The most basic function of a Twilit Page is to help connect potential apprentices to potential masters, who take over the role of educating those apprentices, attending to their personal safety, and ensuring that they don’t starve to death on the streets. These apprentices in turn assist their masters with various projects, enabling them to focus on purely occult matters rather than attending to inconveniences like laundry, cooking meals, or replacing the sinister cobwebs that just won’t stay up in the corners properly. It is during this stage in their life that youngblood Autumn Courtiers learn about the divide between their work face and their friend face, the ideals of Fear and magic, and - hopefully - learn to Fear themselves as well as others. The results can be a bit disorganized, but it keeps Autumn in possession of broad skill sets that appeal to many potential new members who are looking for a place to belong in their new society.

Early adopters of Autumn are often somewhat lonesome by nature and don’t necessarily join Motleys straight away, but as they calm down and start to grow into their own the Court subtly or not-so-subtly encourages them to do so. While Autumn doesn’t have a formal commandment to join diverse Motleys the way Winter does, a sane and stable Autumn Court usually encourages it; Autumn needs the perspectives of its peers if it intends on surviving the journey to power with some semblance of its sanity intact. A Motley also represents a power group that a budding Autumn Courtier can use to further their interests within their own Court, both because a Motley is capable of defending itself from (and committing) greater violence than one Courtier, and because the interconnection of the Courts means pissing off an entire Motley is a much different political prospect. As the Autumn Courtier rises in power and ambition they find themselves with descriptive titles bestowed upon them in honor of their expertise, and with nervous members of the Freehold coming to them for their unique services (prophecy, assassination, occult knowledge, guidance through the Hedge, etc).

What happens from here depends on the Court and the Courtier. The higher echelons of Autumn are staffed by survivors and killers who have seen and done things they would rather not have seen and done. Lost can live for a long time if they’re not killed, but in a Court that respects these elders those lusting for a high office may have no choice but to hone their own skills and wait for the incumbent to finally die. For some positions - especially the Crown or the Witch of the Bitter Wind - there’s a certain “you kill it, you bought it” understanding, in which some degree of personal and magical violence is a permissible method of advancement. You can bet your ass that the Court keeps a careful eye on such usurpers, however; it doesn’t do to encourage random murder with leniency.

Mark Me Down As Scared And Horny

Autumn Courtiers are still (post) human people, and passionate people at that; Autumn’s self-awareness and caution don’t come even close to Winter’s deliberate culture of stoicism and self-denial. Just as much as any of the Lost, Autumn’s own crave personal bonds with others; they want friends, family, lovers, and the respect of their peers. To split the difference between the figures of dread their Court expects them to be, and the more vulnerable and human person such bonds require, Autumn is of necessity somewhat two-faced.

Ultimately, to be friends with a member of Autumn is to accept that you can’t talk about the person you know that others don’t. It’s more than just a PR problem, though that definitely factors into it. Fundamentally, it’s about trust. Just as you sharing your intimate Fears with your friend in Autumn means trusting a known monster and professional abuser with knowledge they can use to hurt you, so too does that Autumn Courtier trust you with their own feelings in a way that could hurt them. A friendship built on mutually assured destruction is no friendship at all, not even in Autumn, and if the children of Fear have to think of their close friends and family in that way then they’re already on the fast way down to staging slasher flicks in real life. For those who can respect their friend’s public persona in public (which does not necessarily entail pretending not to be their friend), Autumn can be among their staunchest allies and most protective supporters. It can be hard to have friends in the lands of Fear, and Fear’s children guard the ones they have with a ferocious will.

Romance, for those Autumn Courtiers inclined to practice it, is similar. Unlike Winter, which is more likely to seek out its own members to love, Autumn relationships with other Autumn Courtiers generally end in a certain amount of blood; each feeds the toxic traits of the other, generally creating a downward spiral of Fear. Summer and Autumn end up together quite a bit, bonding over a common interest in direct action and the similar problems of those who have made a career in violence, but Spring/Autumn relationships can be some of the strongest and most surprising. The renewal Spring believes in and offers to others can give Autumn something to live for besides power, and Autumn in turn provides support and love through the times of Fear and doubt that can sometimes cripple a Spring Courtier. Either way, loving someone in Autumn means to some extent accepting that they have chosen evil when they did not have to. Relationships that last involve both the non-Autumn partner making peace with that choice, and the Autumn one remembering that evil is the tool with which they do their job and not a toy that they play with for fun. If either side can’t swing their role, the relationship often fails.

If you go leafing through the published books you might notice a trend of Autumn Courtiers getting written as femme fatales that betray their lovers and/or murder them. Throw this in the garbage where it belongs. While a certain amount of backstabbing is endemic to Freehold society in general, Autumn being “the people who betray you all the time” leads us back to that idea in the introduction where if this was a thing that happens Autumn would have been killed to the last man a long time ago. This trend in the writing seems to be the meeting point between ‘Autumn is a social Court’ (true), ‘Autumn is often deliberately evil’ (still true), and ‘White Wolf didn’t bother reading their own books’, without stopping to ask about the psychological toll, how Autumn fits into a society, or even the fact that this stereotype fits Spring and Winter’s MO insofar as it fits anyone’s. Even if you were inclined to go here, White Wolf has done it to death. Please don’t.

Lords of Dust - Making Autumn Courtiers

When making your own Autumn Courtier, think about the events in their life that drove them to make this decision. Did their mind bend and then break beneath a particularly cruel Durance? Do they see Autumn as a way of bringing wonder into a world that can so often feel thin and grey? How do they respond to the fundamental questions at the heart of their Court? Autumn deliberately does not command answers to those questions. After all, it doesn’t do to sell yourself as the Court of scholars and wisdom only to discourage questions. Some other helpful considerations to keep in mind include:

What Do You Want?  - Autumn encourages ambition in its Courtiers, and offers power as a method of fulfilling it. What is the throne of your character’s ambition? Why do they seek it, and what will they do or what do they think they’ll do to achieve it? How does their ambition relate to their Fears, and to their own Court? “Keep my family safe” is a perfectly valid ambition, after all - especially given how dangerous it can be to love the Lost, as is joining a prestigious Entitlement, or even using the power of Autumn to reform an aspect of Freehold society.

What Do You Fear?  - The Ashen Court is defined by its relationship to Fear. What things and ideas inspire Fear in your character? How do they react to and relate to those Fears? Which Fears are they trying to shed, and which are they trying to cultivate? How does your character spread their Fear on others, and why? Do they treat the Fears of their friends and loved ones the same way they treat their own?

What’s Your Specialty? - As alluded to earlier, “magic” is an incredibly broad field of study. What sorts of lore attracts your character? Why did they become interested in the sort of magic they practice? What risks are they willing to take for the sake of knowledge, or to use their knowledge? Do they see magic as something mysterious? Spiritual? Scientific? Does your character prefer to keep their lore secretive, or do they perhaps like to foster a more general interest in magic?

What Are Your Sins? - Plenty of the Lost emerge from Arcadia scarred by the things they did to survive. To join Autumn means accepting that further acts, made more questionable by your newfound freedom, will be added to this tally. How does your character feel about Autumn’s deliberate, self-aware evil? Have they been asked to do morally questionable things? What lines do they draw, and how do those lines affect their relationship to their Court? Do they nurse doubts about the morality of spreading Fear?

Chaos Reigns - Autumn In Your Freehold

While Autumn boasts a diverse skill set, ultimately their dual role is to know things, and to do unpleasant things. Other Courts will come to Autumn for these needs, especially where they intersect, which gives you a place to start; figures such as Paladins of Shadow should be the exception, not the rule, unless you have a highly unusual Autumn (perhaps one that exists in relation to a relatively weak Summer). Likewise, Autumn is the Court where the line between a healthy Autumn and a toxic one is most heavily blurred, and where each vision of the Court will have elements of the other. Is your Autumn counterbalanced by a strong Spring and/or Winter that can help keep it on the straight and narrow? How does it relate to the mortal society around it, and what do the other Courts think of that relationship?

Though Autumn is not among the Courts that generates most of the Freehold’s money (as mentioned before, they join Summer in the caste of ‘retained killers’ that costs money), think about the social venues or businesses that your Autumn Court maintains anyway. An Autumn Court that operates a movie theater has access to a steady supply of Fear that also gives them an excuse to hang around normal people and reality check themselves; contrast this with an Autumn that has its claws sunk into a local university, or a Court entwined with a criminal family. Autumn joins Spring in being a Court whose members likely own and operate their own businesses as some kind of front, from book shops to stores catering to the modern witch; these locations can provide a pop of flavor to your Autumn and its Courtiers, as well as fronts through which the Freehold might launder money or stash sensitive objects or knowledge.

I welcome all questions, comments, feedback, and criticisms on this article - send ‘em my way! Next up: Summer

[bornsiren]

( FRANCISCO LACHOWSKI, HE/HIM, OC ) ┊ did you hear about SIREN? i heard that they also go by NICO RUÍZ and are aged 28. they’re still in tact, so that stuff in the press about them being SELF ABSORBED and CHARMING. think the papers are right?

cw: death mention, minor drug mention

➜  nico is a character from an original work im putting together, but i’m modifying him a little to better fit this particular setting!  i’ve been playing him on and off for like three years now, so there’s a chance you’ve seen him wandering around the rpc.  i’ll try to keep the important stuff brief, but if you have any follow up questions, please message me!  i’ll bold the most important stuff, everything else is optional reading.

➜ nico is the son of a minor brazilian goddess, iara.  he is half human, and he grew up with his father.  he has a lot of resentment towards his mother, because he feels she should have taken him with her when he was young.  however, to make him immortal and a part of her particular world, she would have needed to drown him, and she didn’t have the heart.  as such, nico is mortal && has spent his life among mortals.   ➜ as the child of a siren, nico has the ability to use his own siren song.  he is able to create a limited psychic connection, and thereby control anyone within hearing range.  he does not have to sing anything particular, so long as his psionic will is being carried by some sort of song.  the closer a person is, the easier he can control them.  extended exposure over long periods of time can render someone immune to his affect.  there are people who, even without exposure, are entirely immune to his abilities, but those are few and far between.  usually those with godly parentage or influence are immune.  if nico is trying to control large groups of people, he is limited to basic mood-influence rather than out-right mind control, but one on one and in close proximity, he can make someone do just about anything.  ➜ growing up with his father, nico was extremely poor, and he used his powers to keep he and his father taken care of.  as a young boy, nico’s control was lacking, and he wasn’t always perfect at it, but he was able to keep a roof over their heads.  however, his actions started drawing the attention of the wrong type of people.  he was scouted out by a group of assassins.  it was with these assassins that nico came into his own.  they helped him hone his abilities and taught him to fight, too.  nico finally felt in control of his life; he felt powerful.  he took on the name siren, then too.   ➜ eventually, his stint with the assassins would lead him to america.  by then, nico was becoming disenchanted with his chosen profession.  while he didn’t have particularly strong moral objections to killing, and especially not for the right price, he resented the strict rules he had to follow.  he settled on the east coast, and cut ties with the small group of assassins he worked with.  (it wasn’t quite as easy as all that, but we’ll make a long story short)  nico fell into a habit of thieving and committing other various petty crimes, while also taking up with the upper class of his city.   ➜ what i’m driving at here is that nico was (and is again) literally a professional sugar baby.  he uses his powers to convince people, mostly rich men, that they’re having affairs with him and reaps the benefits without ever actually having to put out.   ➜ i know i said i would keep this short, im SO SORRY it hasn’t been short at all.  thank you so much if you’re still reading -- because this is where it gets kind of fun.  while living his decadent-ass, brunch-fueled criminal life, nico came across a young boy and ended up sort of adopting him.  the boy, parker, was basically nico’s brother.  nico took him in off the streets after he found out that he was experimented on in an attempt to give him beyond human strength and an enhanced healing factor.  for the first time, nico had something to focus on that was bigger than himself, and taking care of parker humanized him greatly. ➜ then one day nico walked into a parent-teacher conference for parker and met isaak, the great love of his life.  who also happened to be a morally upstanding hero by-night.  a lot of cliche lovey-dovey drama ensued, and it honest to god made nico a better person!  he had a family again in isaak and parker, and he did everything he could to be better for them!  he thought of his family as a piece of himself.  and nico, self-absorbed piece of shit that he is, loves all the pieces of himself.  parker and isaak were pieces of himself he could love the most purely.   ➜ however, about a year and a half after their meeting, a massive attack lead to isaak’s death.  isaak’s death was unrelated to thanos.  ( in fact, it happened about a year ago. )  the death of isaak absolutely crushed nico.  he tracked down his own mother, tried to bargain for isaak’s life.  nico went so far as to track down the goddess who granted isaak his powers in the first place, but his efforts were rebuked.  the gods turned him away again and again.  he tried his best to keep it together for parker’s sake, but it was one of the darkest hours of nico’s life.  he went to lengths he’s not proud of in the effort to bring isaak back to life, but he ultimately failed. ➜ flash forward a year, and nico is with parker when thanos wipes out half the population.  this includes parker.  ➜ long story short; nico has lost EVERYTHING he loves.  he is cruel and careless.  he spends half his time drunk or drugged; he uses people to get what he wants.  he’s a mean little bitch.  he’s shallow and searching for anything that’ll make him feel a little less lonely for a minute.