#which is probably going to cause me irreparable damages

[starry-bi-sky]

Danyal Al Ghul: Incorrect Quotes and Miscellaneous Thoughts

Incorrect quotes-style snippets specifically for my danyal al ghul au here (which i really need to come up with a unique au name for atp). Because I thought it'd be funny. And also some miscellaneous headcanons thrown into the mix. Some context for the au: - Danyal is 5 years older than Damian (so 10 and 15) - Danny faked his death when he was 10. Talia knows and helped him with it. - Jazz, Sam, and Tucker do not know he's an ex-assassin.

-------- Snippet 1

Danny, dryly tapping his temple: I have, as the Americans say, irreparable psychological damage, right here.

Jazz, an older sibling first and foremost: well, it's good that you're self-aware.

-------- Snippet 2

Danny, aged 10, in the American foster planning to just age out of the system: *emanating Bad Vibes. Pure, Little Orphan Tom Riddle Energy*

Jazz, aged 12, coming in to adopt a new sibling with her parents: Him. This is my brother now :)

Danny: ...what

--------

Lilo and Stitch is Danny's favorite Disney movie. He watched it when he was 11 with Jazz when she was attempting to connect with him, and by this point Danny was becoming receptive to her efforts. They had a movie marathon in the living room one night.

Safe to say? It resonated with his little 11 year old heart strongly, and he related very strongly with both Nani and Stitch. He got unexpectedly emotional and hid in his room for the rest of the night. Jazz felt really bad, but it had the intended (but kinda unexpected) effect of him trying to be nicer to her afterwards.

-------- Snippet 3

Dash, aged 12, causing trouble again and getting intercepted by Danny: *scaling up a desk* AHHHHH! GET YOUR LITTLE FREAK, FOLEY!

Tucker: Hey! Danny is not a freak!

Dash: GET HIM TO BACK OFF

Tucker, was the kid Dash was messing with: ....whats in it for me

-------- Snippet 4

Danny, saying some questionably immoral shit: What. Why are you looking at me like that.

Tucker: Bro. I mean this as kindly as possible; what the fuck?

Sam: yeah, I'm with Tuck on this one.

-------- Snippet 5

Danny, ranting about Vlad: if it weren't for the laws of this land, I would have slaughtered him

Sam, painting his nails black: I'm pretty sure you'd slaughter him regardless of the laws of the land -- and quit moving, you're gonna mess me up.

Tucker: we've literally seen you debate yourself about this, Dan

Danny: ...you are correct, but it is the principle of things.

-------- Snippet 6

Vlad: I have experience my child, and the money and power attained through using those powers for personal gain, you say. I could train you, teach you everything I know! And all you have to do is renounce that idiot adoptive father of yours.

Danny, was already contemplating committing a Violence: ....

Danny, internally: I'm going to stab him *turns into Phantom*

--------

Funny contrast I realized between Danyal and Vlad that iirc I haven't pointed out yet is that imo, Danyal doesn't rely on his powers nearly half as much as canon Danny does. He falls back instinctually on his League training, and thus sometimes forgets to use his powers in battle. This was prevalent especially early on when he was still getting used to the whole 'halfa' thing.

He incorporates them more often after a year, but still for the most part relies on his own physical hand-to-hand combat. He trusts those skills much more than he does his powers. I'm not sure where he is on a technical level compared to canon, but just to stay safe I'll say he's similar in power skill as canon Danny. Perhaps a little more finessed than him because his League training would probably have him trying to figure out his powers as soon as possible.

But in summary? Danny is strong in hand-to-hand combat, weak in powerset.

Meanwhile Vlad is the opposite. I can't recall if he even knows hand-to-hand in canon, but it makes total sense to me that Vlad Masters wouldn't because he's so confident in his monetary influence and ghost abilities that he sees no need for it.

And he's kinda got some merit behind it. He's very powerful and has 20 years of experience to experiment and fine tune his powers. He's got bite to follow up his bark. He's perfected long-range combat and his ability to phase through walls makes it impossible to corner him, but if you can manage it, then one good hit could probably knock him on his ass.

So in summary, Vlad is strong in powerset, weak in hand-to-hand combat.

And it casts a good contrast between the two of them in that regard. Danny, as a fellow halfa, can follow Vlad when he phases through walls and is fast enough to land a hit on him. His league training as an assassin, albeit rusty, is still deep ingrained enough in him that he can hold up as a rather veritable threat against Vlad without needing his powers.

But Vlad can force Danny to use his powers more often through use of his own. The duplication is the first thing to come to mind: Danny's fast enough to dispel them on his own without powers, and smart enough that he could figure out who the real one is if given a few minute. But that's not always efficient enough.

Good foils for each other that way. Also Vlad's Plasmius design mimics Ra's juuust enough that he looks like Ra's knockoff loser second cousin no one talks about, which only fuels Danny's hatred.

-------- Snippet 7

Danny, ranting about Vlad for the first time: --and it's only made worse by the fact that the little ingrate resembles a cheap knock-off of my grandfather!--

Sam, choking on her water: he what--

Tucker, doing a spittake: HE DOES?

[maespri]

your turn to die characters ranked by how painful their death was (and why)

okay. crazy title, i KNOW. but this was actually so interesting to talk and think about. at least for me.

spoilers ahead, and TRIGGER WARNING. this post is going to go into detail about each death. it’s going to get gory and upsetting. if you don’t think you can handle hearing about that, please keep scrolling!

everything is under the cut, because this post is LONG, i'm warning you now.

some backstory: i have a special interest in anatomy and physiology, and i've always thought about how the different deaths in your turn to die worked. my wonderful friend @lovivelle and i talked about this topic extensively last night and they made this tier list with me! so, here's the ranking and explanations!

this ranking ONLY covers HUMAN deaths, because dolls/dummies do not feel pain.

quick glossary: exsanguination: death caused by bleeding out hemorrhaging: bleeding necrosis: cell/tissue death hypoxia: inadequate oxygen supply hypovolemic: loss of fluid in the body, often referring to blood or water shock: life-threatening condition where the body does not have enough blood circulating through it crush syndrome: medical condition where skeletal muscle is crushed for a prolonged time, resulting in shock and organ failure hematemesis: vomiting up blood hemoptysis: coughing up blood TBI: traumatic brain injury immolation: death by burning; being burned alive

the tier list:

OUCH!! (most painful):

nao: nao's death involves her ribcage being crushed. i put her at number one for what i hope are obvious reasons. for starters, her death is drawn-out, making the pain last even longer. while her ribcage is being crushed, any internal organs are being crushed as well. her bones are probably splintering and breaking off and piercing her insides and organs. overall... just horrible pain. official cause of death: internal hemorrhaging and irreparable damage to organs.

kurumada: kurumada's death involved being crushed (between two walls), which is similar to nao's. i would put their pain levels as being equal to each other, but kurumada's has the potential to have been less painful than nao's, because we don't know how quickly the walls crushed his body. if they were moving slowly, the pain would've been drawn-out and agonizing, and in that case, i would make the argument that his death was more painful than nao's. but if it was very quick, he would've just felt blinding pain in his entire body for a few seconds before it would end. we do have to keep in mind that kurumada is clearly quite muscular however, which probably provided some resistance against the walls, but only served to draw out his pain even further. official cause of death: muscle necrosis, internal hemorrhaging, and irreparable damage to internal organs due to crush syndrome.

either way, both definitely experienced, in my opinion, the most painful deaths in the game.

YOWZA! (very painful):

mishima: mishima's death results from his collar slowly heating up and burning his neck until his head disconnects from it. i don't even have the words to describe how painful this would be. the fact that the collar heats up slowly and it is drawn out only makes it worse. if you've ever burned yourself before anywhere on your body, you know how painful it is. imagine that pain centralized around your neck. mishima might have the fortune of his nerves being burned off after a certain amount of time, which would mean he wouldn't feel anything (think third-degree burns burning through to muscle, tissue, and nerve endings). but at that point, because the burning is around his neck and your neck contains- A) your spine/spinal cord and B) your trachea, which allows you to breathe- anyway and burning it in half would definitely kill you, he may be dead before he even has time to not feel any pain. either way, this shit would hurt so bad. official cause of death: cerebral hypoxia due to decapitation.

hinako: hinako technically has two deaths, but we ranked her based off of her being drilled. a lot of questions actually arose when my friend and i were talking about the drill deaths, because we don't know the speed at which the drills move. i mean, whether they're moving quickly or slowly, it would still obviously hurt- but the faster the drill, the quicker the death, which would make it less painful. being drilled would be unbearably painful for the sole fact that she might be alive for a lot of the drilling until it reaches any vital organs. no matter what, it'd be very painful. official cause of death: hard to say for certain, but would most likely be from exsanguination... y'know, from her body being split in half by a giant drill.

kugie (kanna's sister): my friend and i were FLOORED when we looked into kugie's death. in the game, i don't think we get a canonical answer specifically as to how she dies, but in the manga, we do. kugie and kanna have the same first trial as joe and sara, but they don't succeed. in it, kugie's bed literally snaps and essentially folds her in half. in the image from the manga, we can see blood flying out from the bed (implying it happened very quickly, because if it were slow, the blood would instead drip and flow), and kugie's hand sticking out between the two slabs of the bed. i think this death is the most painful out of the entire "YOWZA!" category because kugie was probably alive and in immense pain for at least a few seconds or even minutes after the bed snapped. if i had to speculate official cause(s) of death:

i would guess her lumbar vertebrae (basically the bottom discs of the spine) and spinal cord snapped, cutting off sensation and sending her into shock.

if she was folded in half, her legs would have quickly shot up, meaning her torso was likely unnaturally slammed into by both them and the bed, and sustained massive trauma. this would cause internal hemorrhaging and damage to her organs.

the blood spurting out of the bed was likely from her head. i'm a teenage girl, likely the same height or around the same height as kugie, and when i bend in half, my face is level with my knees. knowing this, her knees probably slammed into her face and broke her skull, causing a TBI.

the combination of all of that would have first caused terrible pain for, like i said, at least a few seconds or minutes- we don't see how extensive the damage really was, so i can't say for certain... but yeah.

aughhh (painful):

joe: joe's death is really interesting to think about, because upon first glance, you might think it's one of the most painful- but there are a few things i considered with him. his death is a result of wrigglers draining the blood out of his body. because we don't know how large the wrigglers are, i can't say how painful it would be when they enter his body- but i'd have to guess they're on the smaller side, like little tubes, because if they were big, they would have difficulty sucking out his blood due to how small blood vessels are. it would hurt horribly to have the wrigglers enter his body and drain the blood. we don't know if they moved around through his blood vessels- if they did, that would definitely exacerbate the pain- or if it was more just like getting blood drawn. but what i considered with him, the thing that makes his death less painful than the others, is the fact that he would probably pass out long before he's even fully dead. the amount of blood he's losing at such a rapid pace would first make him dizzy and disoriented before he just... passes out. his entire body would start shutting down very quickly and he wouldn't even be awake for it. his body would give up on transporting blood to the extremities and non-vital organs and shift only to transporting what little blood it can to keep vital organs running. when that blood runs out, the heart will stop being able to pump enough blood throughout the body and to the brain, and joe would actually be dead. so... yeah. official cause of death: hypovolemic shock resulting in organ failure.

shin: shin dies after being fatally injured by the death game's security system. while it's unclear exactly how the security system killed him, i believe he was stabbed/impaled somehow. there are a few questions regarding exactly where he was stabbed, but i assume he was hit somewhere in the torso because he has blood coming out of his mouth. if you don't know:

blood coming out of the mouth can be a result of haematemesis (vomiting up blood), which is where blood wells up in the stomach/digestive tract due to trauma in that area

it can also be a result of haemoptosis (coughing up blood), which results from being stabbed in the lungs/trachea due to trauma in that area

my guess is he was stabbed in the stomach, because if he were stabbed in the lungs, he'd be coughing and frothing at the mouth struggling to breathe. if i'm remembering correctly, he's also shown to be clutching his abdomen after turning on the joe AI, so... my money is definitely in the stomach.

which, you guessed it, would hurt. a lot. and there's no workaround. he's strong enough to drag himself to the rubble room and turn on an AI before dying. he would've been in blinding pain that entire time before dying.

official cause of death: exsanguination.

reko: reko technically has three canonical deaths, which made her hard to rank. i'll cover them all.

strangulation (hanging by collar): being hung is painful, but i think people underestimate how terrifying it is too. reko would have been terrified and in immense pain for a few minutes before dying. everything in her neck would be getting crushed and pressed on by the collar thanks to gravity. overall... awful death. official cause of death: cerebral hypoxia due to strangulation.

stabbed: same as what i said for shin. terrible pain for however long until she ultimately bleeds out. official cause of death: exsanguination.

fake-reko falling headfirst onto a spike: this one's... interesting! mainly because i think she would actually just be dead instantly. if the spike pierces her brain, she won't even really have time to process "ow!" before just. being dead. official cause of death: severe TBI resulting in death.

owie (painful, but not as painful as others):

q-taro: q-taro is stabbed in the back by mai and slowly bleeds to death over the course of the chapter. the reason i put him so low is because he would definitely be in some pain, but i don't think mai stabbed him very well (no offense girl). he's able to walk around, talk, and do stuff with the others after being stabbed, at least for a little while. it's difficult for me to pinpoint what exactly killed him because of this. i'd imagine his body began repairing the stab wound in his back, but ultimately, blood loss and the disruption to everything surrounding his spine (because mai stabs him in the back) is probably what killed him. depending on how deep mai's knife was, the blade may have even pierced or grazed internal organs such as q-taro's heart or a lung. his body probably put most of its focus on keeping his internal organs running whilst simultaneously trying to repair them, which tired him out over the course of the chapter, before it ultimately couldn't keep up with the amount of blood being lost. a hasty bandaging job using an office first-aid kit is not ideal for stab wounds.

*edit: this person corrected me regarding q-taro's death! i still think the severity of his injury could have killed him before the coffin cremation system actually killed him, plus the information is interesting, so i'm keeping it. but technically, being burned alive is actually what killed him. ouch.

official cause of death: exsanguination OR immolation.

kai: kai's death is kind of up in the air in terms of the specifics, but we know he kills himself during the first main game by cutting his arms. in order for this to kill him, and for him to have bled out as fast as he did, he likely cut his axillary and/or brachial artery. your brachial artery runs down the front of your bicep and is an extension of your axillary artery, which is in your upper arm/armpit. if kai cut deeply into both his brachial arteries, and/or his axillary arteries, he would bleed to death very quickly. it would be really painful, but i think adrenaline and the probability he'd pass out immediately would certainly be on his side here, making it at least a little less painful. either way, he dies quite fast, so. official cause of death: exsanguination.

uncertain (i'm not sure!):

this category is for the characters who have one or more variables that make it difficult or impossible to determine how painful their death was.

kanna: first of all, the way kanna dies is impossible in real life. lets just get that out of the way. you cannot have flowers sprout out of your body. that immediately makes it impossible to tell how painful it would be for her.

if i were to suspend my disbelief for this, however, here's what i have to say about it:

safalin says kanna is numb during her death, which would instantly give her a pain rating of zero. kanna is screaming during her death, but given what safalin says, that doesn't necessarily prove she's in pain. she could just be screaming out of fear.

if she weren't numb, yeah, she would be in a lot of pain. flowers and vines growing out of your body, poking out of your skin, running through your insides- that would hurt insanely bad.

but the fact that:

this death isn't possible in real life

kanna is presumably numb during her death

we don't specifically know how the seeds are working/moving inside her body

kind of made it impossible to rank her.

if i had to guess a cause of death, i'd guess severe disruption by the vines to her internal organs and processes is what ultimately killed her.

hayasaka: hayasaka's head is presumably cut off by a swinging axe. there are two reasons we put him in 'uncertain'; we don't know how sharp the blade of the axe is, and we don't know the velocity it's swinging at.

if the blade is swinging slowly and is very dull, it would take a few swings to fully cut off hayasaka's head, which would make it incredibly painful.

but if the blade is swinging very quickly and is super sharp, his death would be instantaneous, making it essentially painless.

so it's difficult to say, but either way:

official cause of death: decapitation.

ranmaru: ranmaru's death is in 'uncertain' because we

don't know exactly how that happened to his stomach

hear him talk about how he's numb to it

don't know how long he's been sitting there

i imagine he was in some pain and just putting up a front, but we just don't know for sure. and like i just said, we don't know what specifically killed him or how. we just see a wound in his stomach.

probable cause of death: exsanguination/hemorrhaging.

anzu: anzu's was between 'uncertain' and 'so quick.' we see spikes piercing her body, but the angle makes it difficult to tell exactly where they pierce, or how sharp they are, etc. if the spikes didn't hit her face/brain, she probably felt intense pain for some time from the neck-down before rapidly bleeding to death. if the spikes got her head, she'd die instantly. so.

probable cause of death: exsanguination? TBI? damage to internal organs/processes?

ranger: according to ranger's wiki, his human form was stabbed by an assassin. not nearly enough information to rank him with certainty.

cause of death: stabbed?

so quick (too fast to be painful):

both mai and alice's deaths were so fast, they fell into this category.

mai: mai shoots herself in the head. her death would have been immediate and painless since she shot herself in the brain.

official cause of death: fatal TBI.

alice: alice's abdomen explodes. if that happens, you're probably going to feel a very brief flash of pain before immediately dying, because the damage would be so extensive (shrapnel exploded his stomach, but there was undoubtedly collateral damage to his heart, lungs, and other organs around there). he would have been in shock if he did somehow manage to survive for a few more seconds. pain would be minimal or nonexistent in my opinion due to the sheer severity of the injury. and in terms of him being hung in chapter 3, it's the same as reko.

official cause of death: shock resulting from traumatic abdominal injury.

thats it!

if you for god knows what reason read all this, thank you! i'm honestly only posting it kind of for myself and my friend to look back on if i ever want to think about it again, but maybe someone will find it interesting.

questions, comments, concerns (of which i'm sure there are many)- i'm an open book. i'm not a professional by any means, but i am insane. bye!

[erikatsu]

TIL FOREVER FALLS APART — DAINSLEIF

PAIRING: dainsleif x fem!reader (princess!reader)

WARNINGS: 3.5 archon quest spoilers, hurt/comfort (?), niche headcanons, dainsleif is a lil self destructive, reader is me-coded. idk word count. probably 500-1k.

TAGS: @dottores @dxlucs @mxnjiros @alucrds @juniprinz @suyacho

you always felt more comfortable under the moon's gaze than you did in the sun's glare. it was often why he found you up at odd hours of the night. even if it wasn't the moon you once knew, it was closest thing you had to home. but you had never felt more safe and secure in the arms of dainsleif– once your personal guard and now your lover.

well, even before the fall, he had been. countless times the two of you would lie under khaenri'ah's moon, just enjoying each other's company since you couldn't in public. while dainsleif was a pure-blood khaenri'ahn and a noble, you were a princess. he was not someone you could have and hold until death did you part. how fortunate for the both of you that you bared the same curse of immortality, and that death would never come.

but there were still several obstacles in the way— the memory loss, the weight of the curse causing pain to spread throughout your entire body, and not to mention the erosion that would eat at your being and rot it from the inside out. it was difficult sometimes, to watch the man you love slowly lose parts of himself.

there were times where he'd wake up, confused and nearly delirious— mostly from nightmares that had been plaguing him for nearly two centuries. gaps in his memory always appeared after one, losing chunks of time that not even the ley lines could help recover. time spent between you, slowly fading from him and slipping through his fingers as if it were sand. you were worried one day he'd forget about you.

dainsleif's erosion was taking a toll on him faster than it was on you. it was also presenting itself in a strange way— his skin growing black where he first felt it and crawling up his arm. bright, glowing blue lines nearly traced over his veins and manifested a manipulative energy similar to the ley lines. you were certain that his use of them is what was causing this.

you couldn't help but frown as you traced the blue lines that ran up his porcelain skin, over his bicep, and curled around his jaw. they had yet to reach his eyes, which were nearly the same shade of blue, but it was close. it was getting worse, spreading faster than the erosion even though it was fairly close behind. he looked away, doubt creeping into his mind as it always did when you looked too close. he feared you were growing to hate what he was becoming—that if the erosion took his body before his mind, you would see him differently. that you would love him less and leave him behind to rot.

"you used it again," you stated, letting your thumb glide across his cheek. "you promised you would stop."

he met your eyes again, letting the sadness he usually hid show, "i promised to protect you. to do so, the ley lines, the abyss–"

"to do so you're destroying your memory," you cut him off, your voice slightly cracking. "you're doing irreparable damage to your mind and if you keep going... how will you protect me if you can't remember me?"

he was shocked that your concerns weren't about what was happening to his body— but his mind. he had never known you to be shallow, however the awful thoughts ate at him as he increasingly grew more disgusted with himself. appearance was not what you were worried about— his well-being was.

he was a fool for thinking the way he had, and he was just now realizing why you were so insistent on him not over using the power he'd been gifted. it wasn't until he heard the pain in your voice and had seen the building of your tears that it finally clicked.

he frowned, pulling you closer to him. he pressed a his lips against your temple, before resting his forehead against yours, "you are the one thing i will never forget."

you opened your mouth to counter, put he pressed a finger against your lips, "i can still remember the first time i saw you, and the way your hair shined under the moonlight– just as it is now. i remember the first time you smiled at me, embarrassed because i complimented your dress. i remember the day i gave you the necklace you never take off, and how it was the first time you kissed me. i remember the first time you told me you loved me, and all the times after that.

"your laugh, the way your eyes would light up at all the new things you saw after leaving the homeland, how you annunciate your words– everything about you is engraved into my mind. you, elska mín, are the one thing that i will never forget."

[ashleywool]

ramblings on the intersection of science and faith

My MRI report came in yesterday.

I'm not gonna get too deep into the medical details until I've had a chance to discuss it in-depth with the professionals (which unfortunately probably won't be until Monday at the earliest), but I do have some things I need to say about it.

First: I'm okay. My life is not in danger. Making these discoveries now has undoubtedly saved me years of struggle that may well have gone on to endanger my life. Instead, I get to address the source of many ongoing issues and most likely cure them all. Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty big deal, but not a big scary deal.

Second: yes, I will need surgery. This has not been officially confirmed and its safety signed off on by a doctor, but from reading everything I can get my eyeballs on, I don't see any reason under the sun why surgery would not be the logical and urgent (but not like, emergency urgent) next step.

Again, I'm not gonna go too deep into the details until I understand it better and we have a game plan in place. But I have to talk a little bit about the feelings that are bubbling up around all of this.

My condition, and the particular way it has manifested, is exceedingly rare. I mentioned one of the tests I took to a doctor who had to be older than my parents, and he said, "I have not heard those words in that order since medical school." Of course, I know that just because something is rarely reported doesn't necessarily mean its existence is rare. But in my case, it seems like it's both.

I'm a Broadway actress with no medical background and I somehow figured out what was going on in my body even though it was ridiculously unlikely to be true. And now the doctors have no choice but to acknowledge these discoveries.

I would not have discovered any of these things if it hadn't been for the show closing when it did, my ovarian demon babies causing trouble when they did, having that surgery when I did, and having a chance conversation with a friend who just happened to be marrying a friend I've known since high school (and wouldn't have known if it hadn't been for our one shared chorus class)...any tiny alterations to that timeline could have led to a completely new timeline.

I miss our show every minute of every day. My heart misses it. My bank account misses it. But also, if the show was still running, I'd be physically struggling even more, and I would not have had the time and freedom to pursue the solutions. If the show was still running, and I was still pushing myself to continue with it, it might have caused irreparable (or at least excruciatingly-slow-to-repair) damage.

The sheer statistical likelihood of everything that's happened, everything happening, everything that is in my life right now, is staggeringly low. Practically impossible.

And so, once again I find myself saying, I can't not believe in God. I can't not believe that my life and my purpose were by design and by a Designer.

I could dig deep into arguments about the finer points of theology all day. I could happily lose myself in Bible study--not just the literal words, but the history and cultural context for all of it. I could "academic" my Christianity to death the same way I "academic" everything else in my life to death. By that logic, some would argue, I shouldn't even be a Christian. "Walk by faith and not by sight," and what have you.

But I believe--and this tends to ruffle feathers of Christians and atheists alike--that one must walk by faith only after sight is entirely exhausted. My faith is rooted in the question of what happens when the science stops sciencing. My faith is rooted in the question of, why would humans be driven by a sense of purpose and an impulse to know the answers, unless the answers were meant to be known to us? Even if the answers change nothing, even if our sated curiosity has no practical value, we delight in it.

I think walking by sight often and inevitably leads to faith. Digging deep into science and logic brings us closer to God, not farther away.

Discovering all the things I just discovered about my brain and my body has strengthened my commitment to all the things I feel called to do. And rectifying the situation will enable me to live out those callings with more energy and effectiveness than I've ever had.

I can't conceive of a reality in which that wasn't done on purpose.

Anyway. I'm working on a list of things I'm going to do once I'm on the other side of this, and I'm planting the seeds for them right now. Maybe I'll share it later. Maybe I won't. I guess you'll just have to wait and see.

[chloecherrysip]

Just Beyond My Reach, There's Someone Reaching Back For Me (speculative mario movie fic, mario & luigi centric, around 3600 words.)

[OK SO i literally could not stop thinking about this post in the mario movie tag from last week, which turned into me trying to write out my thoughts about how the scenario could unfold, which then turned into me writing a full-fledged fanfic that's over 3,000 words long??? I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. I've truly lost my common sense, but I just felt like I HAD to get this out before the movie arrives and their reunion is nothing like this in any way whatsoever.

This is a speculative fic of just one possible scenario out of millions, no actual spoilers; i'm working off info we've seen in the trailers/TV spots/promotions/etc, and all the characterization is based off those too, so it might ultimately be off-base. Please don't @ me after the movie comes out and get on my case about details being wrong! I AM IN THE PAST (and jealous of you in the future for having already seen it).

I present to you: A Version Of Mario & Luigi's Reunion in the Mario Movie That Would Cause Me Irreparable Psychic Damage.]

----

Mario hears him first. He would know that panicked yelp anywhere. 

By that point, he’s lost count of how many of Bowser’s minions he’s tried to interrogate as he fights his way through the airship. There’s so much shouting and clanging all around him, and his voice hurts from yelling loud enough to be heard over it, but he can’t stop. “Where do you keep prisoners? Have you seen someone who looks like me — but tall, skinny, and green? If you take me to him, I’ll go easy on ya, I swear—” 

it’s hard to tell if they’re just refusing to answer him, genuinely don’t know any useful information, or can’t actually communicate in a way he understands — probably some in each column. But he’s about to grab another angry Koopa by the shell and try again when there’s a commotion far off in the distance. The yell that echoes out to him is faint, but it tugs hard at Mario like a rope tied around his middle. Something from his memories, the nightmares he’s been having this whole adventure that he hasn’t told Peach and Toad about. Something instantly, certainly familiar to him in a way that few things are. 

His heart is suddenly lodged in his throat. He barrels his way past the troops and the Kongs fighting them, moving fast towards it.

The area of the airship he’s in starts to slope down further ahead, surrounding a huge open space that, judging by the flickering embers in the air and heavy heat that’s got him sweating through his shirt already, has a whole bunch of lava simmering at the bottom. On the other side of the chasm, there are a whole group of what look like angry blue penguins beating down some feisty stacks of Goombas with their bare flippers. There’s also what impossibly looks like a star, with a face and everything, beaming bright and doing twirling cartwheels in the air, giggling at the carnage underneath. And behind all that, he can see—

Mario reacts without having to think. He jolts forward against the railing, reaches a hand out, and yells as loud as he can. “LUIGI!” 

He can only see glimpses of his overalls and green hat at first amidst all the other chaos, but then pieces of the ongoing fight tumble further to either side, giving a clear view. Mario watches wide-eyed as his brother frantically swats away Goombas, shrieking and flailing his arm furiously when one snags some teeth through his sleeve until it comes loose. He looks terrified and a little queasy, but also very determined, even jumping in to help when one of the penguins gets pinned down. They seem to be working together. 

Luigi is here. He’s really here, alive and fighting and still in one piece. Mario isn’t too late. It feels like a 20 pound weight’s suddenly gone from his back that he hadn't even realized he was carrying around.

His yell is half-drowned out by the chaos, but Luigi’s head still snaps up, eyes wide and stricken and bright with recognition. “Mario?” He cries out, his voice cracking badly. He kicks another Goomba away and then starts spinning, searching the surrounding area with increasing desperation. “Mario!?” 

“Over here!” Mario wishes he had another raccoon powerup so he could just fly across the gap and reach him right then and there. He has to settle for taking off his cap and waving it in the air like a flag. “Luigi! Over here!” 

Finally, their eyes meet across the gorge. It’s not necessary at that point, but Luigi still tears off his own hat and starts flailing it around too overhead, as if just to make absolutely sure his brother knows where he is. “MARIO!” He shouts, his tired face instantly transforming into a relieved, overjoyed smile. 

“Are you okay!?” 

“Y-Yeah! I mean, define “okay,” but I, I'm not hurt or anything like — wait, how did you get here!? We’re way up in the air!”

Mario’s face already hurts from how wide he’s grinning. “Not anymore! And whaddya mean? What do ya think I’ve been doing all this time? Looking for you! You don’t think I could find you wherever you are, even if it’s a million miles in the air? Give your big bro some credit, eh?” 

A laugh bursts out of Luigi, surprised and shaky. Mario has missed that sound so much. “Right, right. I did think…I mean, I hoped, or…” His brother shakes his head, his voice failing him. He lets out a deep breath, so deep that it’s almost like he’s been holding it in ever since they were separated, still smiling like the sun. “I knew you would. Mario, you — look out!” 

Mario turns just as a hammer goes whizzing past his ear, tumbling down into the lava pit. He dodges the next one more capably and then catches the third one that comes his way. In one smooth, lightning-quick motion, he throws it back at the attacking Hammer Bro, nailing him in the face and knocking him out cold.

“Whoa!” He turns back to see Luigi staring with his mouth agape. “When did you learn how to do that?”

“It's kinda a long story!” There will be plenty of time to get into all the details about his adventure when he’s gotten Luigi safely out of an active warzone.  “What about you? I thought you were a prisoner here!” 

“I am! Or I was, I guess! We — me, and the penguins, and Lumalee,” he gestures wearily up overhead, where the blue star-thing is idly playing with a pinwheel that it somehow conjured out of thin air, “and the others — we broke out! We, ah, we’ve been trying to find a way outta here ever since, but this place is a maze and we need some kind of hot air balloon or one of those floating clown-car thingies to even get away in the first place, and—”

“Spinies at four o’clock!” One of the penguins shouts, at the same time that Mario yells “Luigi, on your left!”

Luigi jolts at the sight of the three spiky, spinning shells approaching fast. He jumps high enough to leapfrog right over them all, causing them to ricochet off the wall unexpectedly and careen off the side straight into the deep pit. 

“Nice, Weegie!” Mario cheers. “You always were the better jumper.” 

“Keep your head in the fight, soldier!” One specific penguin calls out to Luigi. He’s wearing a very fancy gold crown — probably their king? “We’re not done here yet!” 

“I know, I know, but look!” Luigi gestures excitedly across the chasm. “My brother’s here! He made it!”

“Good show! If he’s as brave as you said, he can help us beat back these dastardly troops once and for all! We’ll all see the light of day again soon!”

The rest of the penguins cheer, thrusting their flippers victoriously into the air, and then let out a wave of new, guttural battle cries. The Penguin King smiles over at Mario and salutes him before rejoining the fray. There are more of Bowser’s minions crowding the walkways on both sides, Mario realizes with a newfound wave of worry. He needs to get to Luigi now. 

“Stay right there!” He calls, starting to run alongside the railing. “Don’t move! I’m coming!”

“Are you kidding!? Wait!” Luigi starts running too, mirroring Mario. “I can meet you faster this way!” 

Mario laughs. “If you can keep up with me!” 

“You’re on!”

The road ahead of him is pure chaos, filled with attacking enemies and whooping Kongs and weapons flying every which way, but Mario runs. He runs until his heart burns, dodging and weaving, almost tripping here and there because he can’t stop looking over the gap to make sure Luigi’s still there on the other side, stumbling his way through his own gauntlet. The two areas are winding closer together, slowly but surely. They must meet somewhere. He’ll find it. He has to.

“Hey, Luigi!” He yells, breathless and happy. “Remember when we were fixing Mrs. McGrady’s sink a couple weeks ago and talking about the future? Did you imagine it’d be anything like this?” 

“Whaddya think!?” Luigi shouts back jokingly. “I-I mean, I imagined people being mad at us, but those were customers. There was definitely a lot less lava, and magic, and crazy green pipes that send you to places from your literal nightmares!” He laughs, which swiftly turns into a yelp when he has to dodge away from a red Koopa. The next words come out thicker, almost strained. “Mario, you, you’re really here, you — I missed you, I…”

Even with the distance and the distracting noise and the heavy breathing, Mario can hear the familiar tearing in his brother’s voice, and it pushes him to run faster. Luigi is so much braver than many people in their life have given him credit for, but he has a breaking point, and Mario can recognize it like the back of his own hand. Heck, he could use a good cry right about now too. They're so close. Just a little further.

He’s never been the biggest hugger — that title belongs squarely to Luigi, who always holds on a little too long, especially when Mario protests, swinging him up into the air until Mario has to grab him in a headlock and wrestle him down, both of them laughing by then — but he genuinely doesn’t know how he’s ever going to let go of his brother again once he’s within arm’s reach. 

“I missed you too! Every day!” He calls out, and if his voice cracks, well, that’s okay. “Hold on! It’s gotta be just up ahead!” There’s a solid wall coming up where they won’t be able to see each other across the way any longer, but the sharp curve of it looks extremely promising. “I’ll meet you on the other side!” 

“Okay!” 

The wall comes between them. Mario's finally in the clear, having left all the attackers in the dust. His legs and chest hurt, but it doesn’t matter. He's about to get his brother back. He feels invincible, unstoppable.

“I told you, bro!” He can’t hear Luigi at all any longer, but he shouts anyway, hoping the words reach him.  “Even if it didn’t turn out like we thought, it’s all gonna be okay! This is crazy stuff, but as long as we're—” 

Mario turns the corner and skids to a sharp stop. The words die in his throat, turning to ash.

Bowser is in front of him. 

The King of the Koopas nearly fills the entire space wall-to-wall, hulking and monstrous, even bigger than what Mario imagined. He breathes out an angry, deep growl that prickles at Mario’s skin, star-bright embers scattering in the air, the smell of burning getting stronger and stronger. But none of that is what Mario is focusing on. He’s frozen in place at the sight of Luigi, wriggling in one of Bowser’s gripped hands. A thick, scaly finger is coiled tight over his brother’s mouth too, keeping him from making any noise besides a variety of muffled, panicked sounds. 

“Thought you didn’t know him, Greenie,” Bowser says in a low voice to Luigi. “Wasn’t that what you said? Boy, you wouldn’t like what I usually do to liars. It involves fire — a lot of it.” His rows of sharp teeth part, just enough for a big exhale, tinged with molten heat. Luigi cringes, turning his head away as far as he can manage. He’s trembling. “But lucky for you, turns out you’re not entirely useless.”

It takes a moment for Mario to come back into his body, remember how to move and think. But slowly, his hands ball into fists. A voice erupts out of him that barely sounds like his own, grave and angry, angrier than he’s ever been in his life. 

“I’m only gonna say this once, ya overgrown turtle,” he says, shifting his footing into a fighting stance. “Let my brother go now.” 

Bowser looks down at him with a derisive sort of amusement for a long moment before laughing outright. "Give me a break, shortie! You’re even punier in person — 50 of you couldn't stop me. But that hasn’t stopped you from trying, has it? You and your little friends  — your pathetic excuse for an “army,” if that’s what you want to call it. But that all ends now.” 

As if on cue, Mario hears DK and a few other Kongs turn the corner, whooping and hollering, only to pause too at the sight of Bowser. “Let’s get ‘em! He can't take us all at once!” Someone says, and there’s a rush of new movement behind Mario. Bowser turns Luigi in his hand, holding him out a little closer to Mario with a shake of the wrist — a taunt. One of his claws pulls up just a little from the rest, the sharp tip arched and pressed lightly to his brother’s neck. The implication is clear. 

“Stop!” Mario shouts, half-strangled. He must sound serious enough that DK yells “hang on, hang on!” to his brethren, grabbing them with both arms and holding them back from attacking. On Bowser's other side, Mario can see the penguins watching what’s unfolding too with wide eyes. Even all the minions in the area have gone still, weapons lowered, waiting to see what Bowser does before making their next move. The space is suddenly quiet. 

The claw finally relaxes again. Luigi’s eyes are very wide, and there are tears on his face as he stares at Mario. He tries to say something, the sound of it hopelessly muffled against Bowser’s hand — an apology, or a plea, or simply Mario’s name. 

Mario is shaking. He grits his teeth hard, desperately tries to hold himself steady again. He hopes Bowser can’t see it — but there’s a gleam in the King’s eyes, and it couldn’t be any clearer that he does. 

“Do you know how long I worked on this plan?” Bowser says, his tone softer, more thoughtful all of a sudden.  “Orchestrating these invasions, gathering forces far and wide to serve me, taking the almighty power star for myself. I’ve wanted this for years!” His wide mouth curves up, plainly wicked and self-satisfied. “And now here I am, about to rule the world like I deserve, and a couple of useless, pipsqueak plumbers from who-knows-where think they’re just gonna waltz right in and ruin it for me.” Bowser chuckles to himself. It’s a dangerous, sharp-edged sound, echoing on and on. “Ain’t that a laugh, Mario?” 

Mario doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t even know if he’s breathing any longer. All he can do is glare.

Bowser shrugs. The large fingers on his occupied hand flex ever so slightly, a slow, malicious ripple of movement, all the scales glinting in a wave. “You’re less fun than I thought you’d be,” he says gruffly. "What does the princess even see in you? A tiny little killjoy who loves ruining things for others. Guess it’s only fair I ruin something of yours to make us even."

There’s no further warning or fanfare. In one brutal motion, Bowser crushes his grip tighter around Luigi. His brother’s mouth is still covered, but the way he cries out is starkly, unmistakably pained. 

Mario’s vision floods with red. Something inside of him, the patient, careful part that was still desperately clinging to one last scrap of self-control, snaps cleanly in two. He runs at Bowser full-speed, fist cocked back, teeth bared. 

“I said LET HIM GO!” 

He doesn’t make it there. Bowser, grinning outright, moves so much faster than Mario would have ever guessed he could. He spins, and his tail comes out of nowhere. The impact is like an oncoming train, catapulting Mario into the nearby wall with a sickening crack.

There’s a horrible ringing sound in his ears. His head hurts. He hears Bowser laugh, followed by a roar and a burst of fire breath, awful-smelling and close enough to singe. There’s a lot of shouting, and panic, and thunderous footsteps, moving in a hurry. He can’t think any longer. Why can’t he think? All that comes to mind is—

(They’re fifteen, hiding in their bedroom with some smuggled bandages and antibiotics from the medicine cabinet because if their mom finds out Mario punched out a kid behind the school, she will LITERALLY murder him. Luigi wraps each bruised knuckle carefully as Mario winces and complains about the stinging ointment. His brother looks angrier than he’s ever seen him before, though, and that makes him quiet again in a hurry.)

“You want him so bad?” Bowser is much further away, his voice a distant rumble over the flickering flames. Get up, Mario tells himself. He’s gasping, struggling to push himself back up with useless, trembling hands. His legs feel numb. Get up! “Then come and get ‘em already!”

(“You never stop and THINK first, y’know?” Luigi shakes his head, badly trying to hide the tears budding under his eyes. “And now you’re hurt, and it’s all my fault, and — and I don’t need you to do stuff like that for me! I can handle it, e-even if you think I can’t!”) 

“Mario!” That’s Luigi, terrified and wheezing, finally able to talk again. An intentional decision by Bowser, no doubt, just to be cruel. Mario can barely hear his brother at all, and the sound of his voice keeps growing fainter. “No! Let go! MARIO!” 

(“What are you even saying? That’s not why I did it at all!” Mario insists, using his uninjured hand to flick Luigi’s nose with a few fingers. His affronted expression at that makes Mario laugh, and the motion quickly turns into them trying to be the first one to swat each other in the face without getting blocked. At least the tears are forgotten, which is what he wanted from the start. “Don’t ya get it? I know you can take care of yourself. But if anyone wants to hurt you, they’re gonna have to go through me first. I’M the big bro, and that’s just how it is forever.”) 

Luigi! 

He’s standing again, even as his body protests every pull and push of the way, even as he’s still struggling to open his eyes. Someone strong and furry offers some extra support on his right side. 

“You okay, man?” Donkey Kong asks. “Geez, that looked like it hurt. Hey, anyone have an extra mushroom?” 

Stars are flashing across his vision, but finally they fade away. There’s a line of fire in front of them like a makeshift barrier, slowly but steadily dying out. Sure enough, Bowser and Luigi are gone. Mario’s heart lurches hard against his ribs.

“Setting a devious trap for sure,” The Penguin King grouses from further away. “Using one’s own flesh and blood! Does that dastardly Koopa’s depravity know no limits?” 

“I’m fine. Never better,” Mario groans. He points past the fire. “He went that way, right?” 

DK blinks, looking a little uneasy. “Uh, yeah, but we should probably regroup first and — hey! Wait a second, you idiot!”

Mario’s already charged full-speed ahead, jumping over the flames. Others yell after him too, saying it's too dangerous, but he’s running anyway, chasing the smell of molten heat, the faint, far-off echoes of yelling that feel like pinpricks in his lungs. 

He knows it’s a trap. He knows. He just doesn’t care.

He already let Luigi literally slip through his hands once before. Heck, he isn’t sure if he’ll ever be able to forgive himself for that alone. No matter where he has to go, who he has to fight, how much abuse he has to take, he's getting Luigi back right now, and he's gonna pound that overgrown bully's face until he regrets every life decision that led to him daring to hurt Mario's little brother.

It can't be too late. He can't have screwed this up again. He'll do anything. Even if...

The feeling of something on his cap startles him out of the thought — the softest boop-boop-boop, like someone very small is bouncing on it. He assumes he’s just imagining things until the blue star-thing (Lumalee?) floats down further, easily keeping up with his top speed, humming what sounds like a lullaby. Mario gawks in its direction. 

“The biggest sacrifices are often the ones that burn the brightest, out in space,” it says, bright and sing-song. “Did you know that?”

“What are you even talking about!?” Mario yells. “Sorry, but I’m a little busy here!” 

It’s unbothered by that, twirling close enough to give his mustache a little, playful poke. “Not existing any longer is natural, inevitable. We all go into the light someday.” The way it’s staring at Mario is unnerving, as though this little, creepy star knows exactly what he was just thinking about. “You look scared of that. Are you?” 

Mario swallows thickly. 

“No,” he says. “If that’s the only way, then…” His eyes are burning at the edges, just a little. “If the people I love are safe, then it doesn’t matter what happens to me.”

Lumalee smiles a dreamy, thoughtful smile.

“Oh,” it sighs, little more than a breath. “This is going to be so much fun.” 

And then it floats away. 

Mario doesn’t have time to stop and wonder what that was all about. He throws himself deeper and deeper into the airship, even when a heavy metal gate slams down behind him to separate him from the others, even when the slabs of rock under his feet sink down into the lava from the weight and don’t resurface, erasing any way out. Mario thinks of his training, of Princess Peach and Toad cheering him on, of the exhilaration and hope he felt looking out over the Rainbow Road, of Luigi smiling in the warp zone right before they were ripped apart. He steels himself for what’s coming next.

Further ahead, he hears his brother call out for him.

Mario runs.

[damnation-if]

anyway this is going to have a slightly different Mood than my previous post but i’ve just woken up to hear about people. leaking early access builds of the games of some of my very good friends and i couldn’t be more disgusted.

if you’re not aware (i say, assuming that the people doing this actually don’t know and are not simply of the belief that it doesn’t matter because authors don’t deserve any money, which is highly possible) early access is one of the easiest things an author can give as a benefit on patreon - not everybody has the time or energy or opportunity to provide bonus content every month, and if you drive authors away from giving early access, you will put a lot of them in a position where they CANNOT offer ANY benefits at all.

there will still be some readers who are happy to support their favourite authors even with no benefits, so you’re not going to stop authors having patreons, if that’s your particularly spiteful motivation. you’re just going to make it so that nobody gets to see the game early. hooray... you win?

i’ve spent a lot of this year struggling to keep myself from becoming homeless due in large part to my physical disabilities, and the thought that once i have enough of the game out i could maybe open a patreon and provide early access to supporters for perhaps a few extra dollars a month so that i could afford to buy dinner once in a while or god forbid eat some dessert on a bad day is one of the main hopes i’ve been holding close to my chest to help keep me going when i’ve really wanted to give up on everything. now i don’t know if i can do that anymore because it’s clear that people in this community can’t be trusted.

i hope anyone who has partaken of leaked early access versions is proud of themselves for the probably irreparable damage they’ve caused to the trust relationship between authors and readers in this community :/

[swagglessmoth]

“Shadows, Blinding” rant

(🚨Mega spoilers🚨)

This fic really fucked me up bro.

The fucked up family dynamic. Kakashi not being able to ever come back to his timeline, never being able to go back to how everything was. Unintentionally abandoning his students and friends and indirectly causing their death.

Obito.

All the things he’s learned about his family. All the scars he’s gained in The Village (physical and psychological), the whole village fucking despising him in the end despite it all.

Nana.

Whatever the fuck the spirit mother was on. The irreparable nerve damage she caused too, a constant reminder of what happened. Him not even having the opportunity to be back in team Minato (judging by the epilogue, Obito and Rin would be around 14-17, Kakashi would be older than Minato at 30). Kakashi having to move on from everything he’s ever known, all he has, AGAIN. 💔💔

Oughhhh I’m unwell man, the ending was just so bittersweet, and with the sequel coming things are probably gonna get much worse before they get better. 1000000/10 we need more angst like this.

I do wonder one thing though: did the seal really erase people’s memories of you? Or did it really just transport you to another timeline in which you don’t exist, and bc the Hatake dgaf about the Outside they didn’t really notice? I’m just saying 🖐️😬🖐️ bc it seems Kakashi’s not returning to HIS Konoha. Never mind the time displacement, which was kind of a given, he straight up died at birth. It’s not that he’s been forgotten or erased completely, he existed and people remember his birth, he just didn’t survive. And him not being there changes A LOT for many characters (mainly team Minato). This is a completely different timeline, who knows what else changed with Sakumo there, what about Kannabi Bridge (which would have already happened)? does team Minato even exist, or were they put in different teams? Who would even be able to fill the spot where Kakashi once was, how will Kakashi react to being replaced?

Also, talking about the sequel: it’s gonna be interesting to see how Konoha reacts to Kakashi. A guy (probably kage level, it’s the least he deserves after all this) that appeared out of nowhere, has a sharingan, and is apparently related to one of the best shinobi of the village. Interesting mix. Oh and don’t even get me started on how Kakashi himself will react to being in (supposedly) another timeline, all he really wanted was to be reunited with his kids 😭 now he won’t even get that bc while they may be the same person, they’re really not, and they never will be the same kids he knew (bc those died in the war, and he wasn’t there for them). WHAT THE FUCKK AAAAAAA

[pixies-and-poets]

Wow, I haven't really followed the paper mario fandom, although I loved the games. But that sounds really bad. If it's not too personal, what sort of things happened? (if it is i totally understand if you'd rather not talk about it)

Wheeew! Let me tell you a sad story. At least what I experienced from my perspective.

So, I first got into the Paper Mario fandom not long before Super Paper Mario's release. This was back on deviantArt, mostly. I adored the first two games, and when I heard about SPM, I was skeptical at first. It was more like a platformer? Why was the art style so strange? ...But when it came out, it ended up being my favorite! I knew that as soon as I finished it.

Of course, not everyone felt that way, and there were already people who didn't like SPM because of how different it was, or the story didn't resonate with them. But to be honest, I didn't interact with those people very much. I was mostly friends with other SPM fans, and at the time, if they liked that game they probably had played and liked the first two as well, or at least one. It was a happy time as far as I was concerned. Most people, even if they didn't like SPM, seemed to think it was just going to be some kind of weird spinoff and they'd get back to the traditional gameplay soon enough.

....And then years later, Sticker Star came out and its complete blankness of story and personality hit us all like a speeding truck. This is when things fell apart pretty quickly. Pretty much EVERYONE in the existing PM fandom hated it, for good reason in my opinion. This is also where I became more sharply aware that certain people had a resentment towards SPM, since it was either seen as the "beginning of the end" as far as the gameplay starting to go off the rails, OR people outright blamed the story for being too out-there and emotionally charged which caused Nintendo to put the brakes on all that and go in the complete opposite direction (which was backed up by dev comments that came out around the time).

So from here on out I started to feel more and more like a weirdo for maintaining that SPM was my favorite, and a game that means a great deal to me personally. But after Sticker Star, the PM fandom just became an irreparably damaged and bitter place. Initially, the blame was put on Miyamoto because the understanding at first was that he had mandated the PM series 1) put less emphasis on story and 2) no longer be a typical RPG, really, since the Mario & Luigi series also existed to fill that niche. There were a lot of ageist comments made about Miyamoto in particular. Over time, as more info came out, the blame largely shifted to Kensuke Tanabe.

Things only got worse when Color Splash was announced and it looked like more of the same. People said the worst things about the devs, especially the people in charge, and looked for any reason to hate the new game and wish for it to fail. Even though Sticker Star and the soon-to-be-released Color Splash didn't have many defenders of their own, a lot of the larger Mario/Nintendo fanbase began to grow tired of old-school Paper Mario fans, as they... we... started to develop a bad reputation. And with good reason! Looking back, the complaints were understandable but the behavior was often unacceptable. And you know what? I got caught up in it too. I'm not gonna pretend I was above it all. Those were easily my worst days as a fan of anything. I didn't go out of my way to be vocal or mean about it in Nintendo's replies or anything, but whenever I did bring it up personally or on my own stream or discord or whatever, I was bitter. In the past few years I've sometimes come across old comments I made that I'd cringe at now. You might think of me as someone who is largely positive and tries to focus on spreading joy and dwelling on what I love, not what I hate. But the PM fandom at that time was bad for me. Between the Sticker Star and Color Splash days, I was definitely not the kind of person I try to be now.

When Color Splash came out, I didn't even play it for a couple years. But in that time, I largely stepped away from keeping up with the fandom, and I mellowed out a lot, and continued to grow into the person I strive to be today. And then when I finally did play Color Splash in 2018..... I liked it!!! The writing, the scenarios, the general creativity and even the gameplay are just SO FAR above Sticker Star and I think most people didn't even give it a chance, and because so few people own a Wii U, it might be forever doomed for people to just assume it's a slightly better Sticker Star unless Nintendo ever ports it.

And by the time Origami King came out, I was soooo done talking about the series and debating it. I had just totally burnt out. But I was at least tentatively looking forward to the game itself. And whlie I don't love every choice made for Origami King, I liked the experience as much as Color Splash, if not more. It's a nonstop interesting game with utterly fantastic graphics and music, and further steps back in the right direction as far as characters and lore go.

And that brings us to today. There are people, sometimes people that I myself have known for years, who NEVER stepped away, who never stopped acutely feeling the pain of the Sticker Star days, and wage a campaign of complaining to Nintendo to this very day. Meanwhile, Origami King (and to a smaller extent CS and even SS- what I'd call the Real Paper Trilogy) has a sizeable fanbase of its own, especially among younger players. Oldschool PM fans tend to see fans of the newer games as simpletons who have no taste, and fans of the new games often write off people who miss the old style of PM as boomers who can't accept change and are forever bitter and annoying. And then SPM fans just kinda feel like our own thing sometimes, the black sheep of the family. But as someone who likes (almost) all the PM games, I've had people be rude to me just for talking about any side of the issue. One time I was talking about how much I liked Profesor Toad from Origami King only to have some stranger, unprompted, reply to me about how ALL OF TOK'S CHARACTERS WERE SHIT AND THEY ALL SUCKED AND HAD NO PERSONALITY and I'm like no??!!?!? That's not true!!! That's not true AT ALL! I didn't stream TOK when it came out, I wouldn't fucking dare, because when I did play Color Splash for the first time it was on stream and I had to deal with at least one person coming in and being like "why are you playing a terrible game?" despite my repeated warnings that I didn't want to get into a debate on the game's merits. And on the other side of things, I've seen people come up with the most specious arguments to claim that TTYD is actually a Bad Game because it has some backtracking or whatever and that PM as a series was never actually good. There's just... so so many frustrating things I've encountered in the fandom that I'd have to double the size of this answer, which is already a novella, to enumerate them all.

But yeah. I kinda want nothing to do with it anymore. I'm just going to keep appreciating Flavio in my own time.

[astrum-aetherium]

Hey Shiro here :)

I was just wondering (ad I often do during my Henry Winter musing hours), but do you think Herny wlcpuod fall for Richard Papen like s/o or Camilla-like??? Or maybe I should say it better - do you think of these beforementioned personality qualities og these two could potentially lead Henry to be intrigued with that type of person? I know I am kind of a shipper between characters, but I do also like musing about readers AUs (which lead me to check on AO3 regularly and I know we all here have it same lol). Also and this is probably another request for scenario - first time meeting Henry Winter' potential lover and how would it go in your opinion (first impressions mostly) - this could be connected to my previous question or you can jus go with your own imagination. Thank you once again for being here I enjoy reading your answers, and they feel most accurate to my vision of Henry too.

Sending lots of love and support 🤗

-Shiro

i mean, i'm sure it goes without saying that henry would be extremely likely to be interested in as well as fall for someone similar to camilla. that's what he did in the book, it's canon.

as for camilla's personality traits mixed with richard's — a sullen sort of awkwardness, coyness; holding back, a little unsure, though obscuring multitudes, an undeniable greatness and depth of mind — would certainly allure him as well. after all, the entire greek class accepted and treasured richard in their own ways for their own reasons, henry included. therefore, i think it's safe to say he would potentially find himself interested in someone who personified richard and camilla's qualities in one. he would be enthralled by the mystery encrypted in the air of someone like that, the intelligence they possess but don't flaunt like others tend to. it could absolutely work.

as for meeting henry for the first time, specifically regarding first impressions, well — i think he won't have noticed much about you at first. for him to truly become interested in learning more about a person, i think he needs to have encountered them on many occasions and thereby solidified his interest in them. he wouldn't waste his time observing and analyzing someone he could obtain no use from. he needs to come to the conclusion that he's indeed enthralled independently, and only then would he compile an image of them in his mind.

concerning you, and this is based on your request for a potential partner who resembles richard and camilla, i can imagine henry being intrigued or even mystified with your person. he could sense, upon a closer look, that you do indeed contain multitudes and yet don't particularly strive to yield that information; that you're so laid-back and carefree, not exactly willing to let the whole world in on the secret of your essence. in order not to appear too plain to him, however, you would certainly have to share his interests and be well-versed in the things he is most passionate about. i can definitely see him appreciating intellect in a potential partner above all, specifically in his areas of study.

as for first impressions of henry, well, this is highly subjective and personalizable. stoic, detached, apathetic, rude, and cool are the first adjectives to come to mind. pretentious, arrogant, snobby. and yet... enthrallingly, knee-wobblingly, dangerously intelligent. so smart it would feel as though he carries immense knowledge into each room upon entering it, though depriving everyone else present of it — making you feel stupid and worthless by merely existing in his presence. a grand, diminishing effect. the atmosphere of a vast, condescending, entirely self-assured, and indifferent scholar. cool, sharp, imperceptible if needed but very much noticeable in other cases, and prone to causing irreparable damage — like a needle.

[cedar-sunshine]

Character Voice Tag

stealing this from @illarian-rambling

My line; "of course I can drive!"

Your line; "this is literally all your fault"

(writing this specifically as how would they respond to 'can you drive?' In a relatively affirmative manner)

Orion- "Yeah, obviously. Obviously I can drive. Why would you ask that??" (He's visibly sweating and clenching the wheel so hard that he can't feel his fingers, also he has no idea which pedal is the brakes)

Tristan- "Maybe. Better than you, at least. If we die, we fucking die." (Honestly he'd be a decent driver I think he just never learned how to)

Atlas- "Yep, I can definitely drive!" (The first thing he does is turn the wheel the wrong way to back out of a parking spot and act like it was on purpose)

Alex- "I can drive better than literally anyone in this car and if anyone here disagrees with me you can try driving and get us all thrown of a cliff." (<- correct)

Lee- "Yeah, of course I can drive! Do I look like someone who can't drive?" (He can't drive)

Athena- "I mean, I can figure it out. It's like a bicycle, sort of, right? Pretty much. Yeah, I got this." (They might damage the car irreparably but the people will be fine and you won't be late, probably)

Angel- "legally, yes, I can drive." (You can interpret this however you'd like!! You are probably correct)

Essie- "obviously I can drive, I've got the keys and my feet can reach the pedals. Here, I'll show you." (They would be one of those people who you think is going to get you killed because they're constantly speeding and hitting the curb and running red lights but they're actually really good?? You always get places at least a few minutes early and with significantly more awareness of your own mortality)

Vince- "I can drive if you want me to. I got my license. I mean, angel never lets me drive, but I can." (He drives like a grandma)

open tag for anyone and everyone cause I'm too sleepy to tag my normal people.

[my-mt-heart]

Wanted to add on to the JDM discussion, but need to do so anonymously, for a few reasons. First off, much thanks to anon and yourself for being open to healthy debate on this. Maybe I won’t be accused of forcing opinions on people this time, lol.

It took me months to properly unpack the ramifications of his choice. When this all started, I first found those tweets kind of relieving of the emotional turmoil and confusion we were all being bombarded with. And AMC’s statement felt condescending. So in the moment I appreciated that a key voice was just talking to us like people, and was willing to address the elephant in the room. I made a post about it sharing my personal feelings, and was heckled a lot for it. I think there are people in the fandom who still dislike me on that basis, which is funny because after 11 months my opinion has evolved from there.

Evidently, he was not aware of what really happened. I don’t think his intent was to spread falsehoods or cause harm, but unfortunately those tweets did a tremendous amount of irreparable damage. People are too willing to look at a woman in her 50s in this industry and believe that she really fought her way out of a contract and jeopardized all her future work opportunities, because she was tired. (Sidenote: I don’t think the selfish ‘fans’ who want Melissa far away from RTD for their own personal reasons, realize how difficult it will be for her to find other work at her age. Or that potential employers will take into account what kind of SM PR an actor will bring to their project). Anyway there are countless people who believe she really needed a break and there is no changing that in their minds because of where it came from. We’ll never know what Norman would have said on Fallon if the script hadn’t been changed.

Jeffrey sadly created a huge PR mess, which I can undoubtedly say was met with consequences. An old set photo of Melissa and Jeffrey doesn’t depict what their relationship might be like currently. AMC neglected to send him (and by proxy LC) to SDCC (filming was just a convenient excuse)—possibly a punishment for going off script, but more likely, to entice Melissa to be there.

I was at the finale event, and the interactions I personally witnessed when the cameras weren’t rolling were very telling, to say the least. They painted a clearer picture of how Mel really feels about Jeffrey, about Norman, and about Gimple. And I’m really content to leave it at that. It’s really everything that’s already been said multiple times on this account.

Thank you for sharing your perspective and you're right that your opinion should be allowed to evolve. I don't think anyone was sure what to make of the situation a year ago, and I include myself in that as well. Whether through a fans' POV or someone with industry experience, it was all so weird. It's sad that we're still seeing the collateral damage and maybe some of that can never be fixed, though I would hope AMC are well on their way to fixing what's in their power for Melissa's sake and for her fans. I was going to get into the challenges of Melissa finding other work a little later, but since you brought it up, I should probably just do it now. I can already visualize people foaming at the mouth lol

We know Melissa has plenty of talent and a stellar reputation. That's beside the point. In an industry where sexism and ageism are still running rampant, there's going to be less leading roles available for women over 35, let alone 50. Even less for women who don't dye their hair and therefore won't appeal to men 18-49. Other considerations include an actress' social media footprint and where they're based. Melissa isn't active on SM and she's not on either coast. None of these are "faults" of hers. This is all just to say, I can understand if she chose not to go down that path and judging by all the buzz about her joining the Caryl spinoff, it seems like maybe she did not. That doesn't mean she's settling for anything less than she deserves. She'll get to be the leading lady, playing a character we know she loves, and she'll likely have the leverage to create a better work environment for herself, where she'll be respected and valued.

[robinsnest2111]

5, 8, 13 and 33 {:

5. shuffle your playlist!!! what’s the first song that plays?

Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr. 👻

8. tell me about your favorite band. go on infodump for me.

okay uuuhhhhhh currently Mötley Crüe and KISS are tied for the title of favourite band soooo. idk what to talk about honestly. all of the kiss band members make my heart happy, Eric Carr aka The Fox and Eric Singer as The Catman are the most adorable imho, and I loved finding out more of the band lore from that special edition magazine I bought recently! Their music makes me happy and I love hearing everyone's different styles depending on who worked most on which song, who sang it, etc.!!! And I adore all the band's different style phases! The darker more brutal metal sound, the poppy disco-y glam sound, the softer ballad style songs! 🥰

and for mötley crüe? MICK MARS IS MY FAVOURITE OLD MAN MY SWEET BABYGIRL MY DARLING! he's weird and strange but also cool and beautiful and I wanna steal his gender so bad. I wanna be like him when I grow up. Fun fact: what really drew me into the fandom side of things was a post praising Nikki's thighs, how he himself was self conscious over them and wanted skinny legs like his terror twin tommy but how the op of the post and many others(!) adore them! really helped my own body image issues regarding my thicc thighs :') also that one post praising Mick for sticking with the other 3 idiots (affectionate) for 40+ years, keeping the band alive even with his health issues and near death experience and I think that's when I first fell for my fav old man.

this one goes for both bands: so far I have not listened to their entire discographies but I'm so excited to discover all there is to their repertoires!!! ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

13. what is one album that has irreparably damaged your social skills?

idk if it'd count as damaging my social skills (my childhood trauma has done a great job on that all on its own lol) but I was OBSESSED with Gwen Stefani's Love.Angel.Music.Baby album when I was 8 and it probably didn't help that none of my classmates (who already didn't like me for being a weirdo) were into her music lol

and though I've since learned of the problematic messages and Gwen's naive and ignorant justifications behind this album and its themes, it has still shaped younger me quite a lot 😅

the line "'Cause it's Super Kawaii, that means: Super Cute in Japanese" will forever be burned into my brain

33. DO YOU COLLECT CDS????

I DO!!! I have around 300 at the moment (not counting the few I'm planning to sell soon). I definitely need more space to properly store all of them, at least 1/3 is currently precariously piled up behind and around my TV for lack of shelf space...

---

music ask game

[saturnssz]

Some stans absolutely do act like sn is still the majority, I was actually disappointed and confused that I kept running into so much ns lmaoo. They stay whining and complaining about girly naruto that straight women self insert into as if current ns isn't just that but reversed. Only thing is its probably less about being attracted to naruto and more wanting to be taken care of since thats what ns content centers around. The dynamic is always naruto somewhat taking care of or babying traumatized (quiet/fragile/subdued or tsundere supreme who refuses to ask for help) sasuke who takes up cooking/gardening or generally starts to act like a housewife.

There's sooo much content treating sasuke like a girl but for them it's justified because of the yin-yang dynamic. Ns stans draw for literally anything to make sasuke feminine but sn stans are still the cringe self insert devils. Can you imagine sn stans using boruto and sarada as proof for who's "the girl" in the relationship.

Idk which editor or whoever called sasuke the heroine but they've done irreparable damage, and that one shot manga mario or something too. Then there's posts saying sasuke is naruto's kushina and taking jabs at "Naruto self inserts" saying the popular naruto-kushina sasuke-minato isn't the way kishimoto sees it as if them and kishimoto know eachother.

I stumble upon ns fics sometimes and their descriptions of naruto as some (insert masculine adjective), sweaty, rough etc etc is so.. 😭 I've never read sn fics where sasuke is described like that. Don't even get me started on the way they draw him in fanart sometimes where naruto is broad and thick while sasuke is slim with the thinnest waist. If you follow ns stans you'd think sasuke was this sassy dainty twink or hinata 2.0. It's like they're so caught up in the symbolism and couple comments from creators they forget there's more to the characters and start pushing them into boxes, mainly the masculine/feminine active/passive ones.

Sorry for the long rant I've just seen too much 😭

Anon! If you're seeing this answer please follow me or send me a message you're so fucking funny. And you're right. Not gonna over it again cause I explained myself to other anons. But it's totally true, this is the state this shipping fandom is in and I want no part in it. I got like, most of them blocked by now and I dont regret it lol!! A bunch of hypocrites. It feels like now that I've spoken out a lot of people feel the same way so it makes me feel as if I know what I'm talking about 😭 I ain't the only one seeing this shit lmao. Like lemme see what you're seeing, cause I ain't seeing it unless I go look for post in 2014. And you're right about the fics too. Modern ones always make sure to point out that they're both pretty. Like he's ethereal, but they get it sorta way. At this point, they're what they fear and vilify those who like sasunaru more. They won't ever shut up about us, too, like they're still in 2010....youre like almost 30 move on. Oh the irony...

And on top of that, that dumbass "kushina parallel" gotta be one of my biggest peeves. NO READING COMPREHENSION. Take off the shipping googles for the n*rus*su stans and see that Naruto IS compared to his mother. Like what the hell?? 😭 They both have the dattebayo tick, they're both firey, outgoing and strong in their own right. Minato, his fucking dad outright states, "wow, you look a lot like your mother!" Does he have to have red hair to make it ANY more apparent? And I don't like naruhina, more dislike/neutral, but even in that boruto illustration Naruto was the one MIMICKING his mother while Hinata was Minato. Like ain't no way you despise the thought so much you start making up things. No, that does not mean he's super femme now, just that he takes after his mother in personality and looks. He's his mother, sasuke...idk. he doesn't fit Minato in my opinion LOL. You done got me heated, one of my most hated posts omg 😭 went on a tangent sorry about that

[impybutt]

Garden of Bones 02 || Rex and Bonesy bonding, plus background lore

Bonesy’s bedroom is vaguely furnished and kept mostly dark, to ease the strain on their sensitive eyes. The bed is a roundish nest of blankets and pillows, cluttered on the periphery with various clothes, half-finished projects, and crafting supplies. Bones is laying on their back against a comfortable pile of stuff with Rex pressed softly against their side, propped up on one arm.

“Obviously it’s yes,” Rex murmurs, idly tracing the seams of Bones’s ventral plates with the pad of his forefinger. When he’s calm and lucid, his voice is a pleasantly deep croon; a combination of training and general shyness. “I’m just curious… why me, specifically, and not the others. Bron, for instance. She’d be very gentle.”

“You’re gentle,” Bones replies flatly. Rex’s weight against their side fills the barrel of their chest with comforting flutters. “Anyway, it–” words get trapped in their neck. They decide to make the attempt at tactful doublespeak, weaving the point around the weight of everyone’s shared trauma – the one Brontide dug up by accident, trying to help Weaver stop dissociating during sex; that Bones invented specific ways to avoid, including teeth and buttons where there otherwise wouldn’t be.

The lag in conversation is significant and, like always, Rex waits it out. Gently caressing Bones’s torso, occasionally eliciting a tickle of light from under their chitin, while they drag out the silence at their own pace.

“It has to be you,” they finally admit. “It’ll probably just be you, if… if it goes well. If I like it. At least to start with.” Their gaze sweeps over Rex’s soft little body, mentally contrasting it with his physical strength and restraint; with the kind of monstrosities he’s been, caused, in the past, and now vehemently rejects. “You’re a man. You’re the bloke. Y’know…” they shrug up against sentiment, instinctively cringing from it, “... Man of the house. My patriarch. I picked you for that, after how you stepped up.”

Rex makes bashful eye contact, briefly, and offers a wobbly half-smile. A little white flower pops up spontaneously next to his broken horn; a star jasmine. Bones’s namesake. The very same flower which reappeared with a blanket of fragrant green moss, to comfort them when they screamed down the pipes, as the weretree was violently electrocuting everybody. 

After Puck, the original heartwood keeping the lightning (poorly) contained, finally splintered for the last time, and Brontide – then going by Oberon – couldn’t reconcile his pieces. They were too far gone, too irreparably damaged, nothing left of the original but tarnished memories. Oberon held on to whatever and whoever she could, clawing the walls of a sisyphean death spiral that she and everyone else was hopelessly sliding into.

There’s a void in the guts of the weretree, deep beneath Knoppegarten’s safe clover beds, where time and space mean nothing. The force of the spiral was too much; everyone had already died, too quick, for just long enough. 

Weaver found itself in a piece of cold obsidian, the last recognisable jewel of a familiar volcano, and fell in love with the quietness of the Nothing. It reminded her of the peace she felt with Puck and Oberon, when they meditated atop that very volcano - the one made of Puck’s final body - before everything went down the shitter.

Oberon lost track of her own name and face so many times that she became an empty vessel for unwelcome ghosts, until a new name was offered to her, and she chose Brontide: the sound of approaching thunder. A singer who listens for signs, catches the bodies, and records the fallout of the storms. 

Bones was pulled screaming from the petrified jet, burdened with thirty years of core formative memory that got scattered across four separate lives. Burdened with visions of lightning, and the thing that killed the first Rex, the first time, when the weretree was just a sapling; that killed him uncounted times, until he forgot it all, including himself, and stayed dead until the tree was already fully grown.

Then thirty-ish years later, the lightning surged out of control and killed the whole tree - for just long enough. 

And the ‘he’ that came back looked nothing like Puck, or Rex. But it had their heads, among many others, and the lightning had fresh terrors to spin panic out of pain and back again, into more and more strikes, day or night. Terrors that bound Brontide screaming to her bed; that chased Bones out of their own body, and made an offensive puppet of the empty carcass; that fought Weaver for Worst Nightmare, until the Sphynx won that battle by becoming as cold and ruthless as the void that seduced their adult mind.

Resolution came violently, and it took two pieces of what used to be Puck: Warren, a young jackalope, the oldest caretaker of his animal siblings; and Grimm, the eternally mutating ghost of a long-dead father figure. The empty, sloughing bones of the Rex that held on for thirty years, when every other part of him failed; the first consciousness, in the form of a terminal mission. In their last desperate attempt to recover the weretree, spurred to madness by Bones’s primal howling, they broke the two-way mirror separating the trunk from the roots; the garden from the graveyard. 

The immediate consequence was an unstable fusion, powered and eventually subsumed by the dirtiest secret ever collectively buried: Servitor_Rex, the servant king, a berserker so named by Bones themself, in case that emergency protocol was ever tripped. The first sprout of the tree, directly from the taproot, made in patriarchal violence and ordered to shut up and sit still. The one who died youngest, and went dormant. His first act on being fully awakened was a response to Bones’s panic, when he ate an entire human aggressor alive; his second was to go backwards into his own dreams and rip off Puck’s wings, grounding him forever, rather than risk the heartwood shattering from the weight of delusion again.

The regret and resentment he felt when he saw his own footprint on Puck’s back; saw the disappointment on a face he regarded as belonging to his child, started a ripple that bent Rex in two directions, six ways. Back and forth; up and down; left and right, outside of time or space. A terminally shape-changing monster, being and doing whatever he could to provide for Knoppegarten, and reconcile with his own violence. He took on the mantle of the Puck that was, but in his desperation to spare his family more pain, ate more lightning than he could stomach. The loving scholar he aspired towards got viciously interrupted, when the timeline of his life unfolded before him in the throes of a terrible spasm. He inherited Puck’s madness in the form of manic dissociations, triggered by the electricity still pulsing the core of the tree.

The earliest living memory he could recover was the sound of a yelping dog, twisted by thirty years of pain and confusion into a bite that wouldn’t let go. So it was that Servitor Rex became irrevocably shaped like a fox terrier, whatever other features emerged, and positioned himself as the guarding Cerberus of Knoppegarten. The culmination of every Rex before him, including the one called Puck, from whom he learned how to patiently cultivate a thriving garden, and nourish the weretree from the bottom up.

It took a while for Rex to feel worthy of Bones’s affections, given the circumstances of his awakening. Even now, the second-hand pride his Labradorite picks up from the other heartstones feels undeserved. “That’s the nature of depression,” Weaver would explain, while it played its cool fingers through his hair after he recovered from a fit. “It eats away at you. Part and parcel with everything else, I’m afraid. Cause plus effect. We’re all very disabled, darling; the tree's fucked.”

Bones eyes the little jasmine blossom and allows themself a reserved smile. “I’m really happy to see you growing flowers again,” one of their many ancillary hands delicately touches a petal, then lets itself play across the fracture lines of Rex’s broken horn. “Your reincarnation was pretty rough. Lots of… folding in on yourself. I spotted a Lucifer complex for a minute, there.”

Rex snorts a laugh. “And now you want to give me your V card,” he jokes softly, leaning into Bones’s hand. All four Fae have mutable gonads; the rare few times Bones has bottomed, usually for Bron, it hasn’t involved their vagina. Up to this point, they’ve had that particular door inarguably sealed.

“Yeah. ‘Give.’ You offered me a living name: Lucky Jasmine.”

“You didn’t even think twice about accepting it,” Rex whispers, still a bit floored.

A look of profundity creases Bonesy’s brow, and they brush their knuckles across Rex’s temple ridge. “I remember everything you did for us. When Bron went down and all I could do was scream… You weren’t anything but the flowers, and you still managed to carry us to the waterfall so she could puke her guts out. Do you even remember how?”

Rex shrugs; shakes his head a little. “I just remember… feeling like I knew how to help. Didn't even realise I was still dead.”

“I felt you. I felt that it was you. All over my back, like a jacket. You took over the limbs and all the pain just… stopped.” Bones searches his face. “Your pain tolerance is really fucking scary.”

Rex shrugs again, trying not to be dismissive. Bones is rarely this sentimental. “I suppose that explains all the mystery bruises. And for some reason you’re certain I can be gentle with you.” Trepidation crosses his face; concern that a badly timed seizure will knock him out of his rational mind.

“Yeah because all prior evidence points to that being your top priority, especially when you aren’t recognisably you. Rex, babe… I’ve seen you resort to violent self-harm rather than risk any of us the way Puck did. I don’t ever want to see it again. You broke off your own horns to terminate that Lucifer complex, it… I don’t want to see that again.”

“... I don’t even know what shape they’re trying to be,” Rex whispers, and lowers his eyes, ashamed. “I refuse to be him again. He was nothing but a fistful of bad copes. He let go.”

Bones pulls Rex into a full embrace; nuzzles his fringe; breathes in the combined fragrances of his hair, and the happy little blossom now being joined by various friends: pea flower, blue dendrobium orchid, nightshade.

“He was cooked, honey. There was nothing left of him to hold on with. I’m just… I’m just real fuckin’ glad you caught the rock.” They lift his face, rubbing their thumbs across both freckled cheeks. The red light in their pupils reflects back up as Rex concedes intimate eye contact. “Just let yourself change shape if it happens. Horns, wings, extra heads, whatever – you’ve never had a problem with my bonus gobs.” A cheeky set of teeth punctuates that point from somewhere near Bones’s groin; Rex hoots an involuntary giggle.

“Not when they’re so clever!” He laughs, squirming as Bones plays his arousal like a familiar game. Under their thumbs, his cheeks warm up to a pleasant rosy pink, and his pupils dilate just enough to take the edge off his perpetually alarmed, cold blue eyes.

Another smile pulls at Bones’s lips. “There you are,” they murmur. A tea rose the same pastel pink has joined the bouquet, blooming coquettishly under Rex’s curls. He feels a sympathetic thrum in his Labradorite heartstone, coming from the Fire Opal under Bones’s chitin - of jealous possession – tempered with protective affection. “My flowers,” Bones whispers, and their expression shows something new in response to the latent blossom: like the sting of absence finally soothed by the target of its longing. They hold Rex’s gaze for a powerfully long time, many seconds, drinking in the way he openly adores the green in their eyes.

“My Lucky Jasmine,” he responds with a subtle, knowing cock of his eyebrow, and any semblance of control is immediately lost. 

Bones stammers out some clumsy fricatives, futzes “shut the fuck up,” and pulls Rex into a passionate kiss.

[inkforged]

Violation: An Examination of Southern Baptist Purity Culture and Sexual Assault

**TRIGGER WARNING**

A/N: This is NOT a post about sexual assault within the church. This is NOT a post detailing sexual assault. This is about my personal experience growing up in the Southern Baptist Purity Culture (SBPC) and how that shaped my reaction to my own assault.

It may not surprise you to learn that this is difficult for me to write about. I could choose not to write about this and continue on as if this were my issue alone to deal with. However, I realize that there are probably many women who have struggled the same way I have and I think it needs to be talked about.

In March of 2023, I was sexually assaulted at a grocery store in broad daylight while shopping with my mother. It was all at once horrifying, paralyzing, and completely absurd. The details are unimportant and I will not be explaining the sequence of events to anyone but my therapist. There are few words I have to say about the incident, but what happened in the aftermath was far more confusing and complex than I could have anticipated.

I was already in the midst of a deep depressive state when it happened, so you can imagine that this did what feels like irreparable damage to my mental health. Through the work of two therapists, a personal trainer, and anti-depressants, I am finally - 9 months later - feeling like a functional human again. There is still healing and work to be done, but I've come to a place where I'm ready to discuss what this process has been like for me.

Those who have experienced SA on any level often go through the stages of grief as they process what happened. I got to the anger stage pretty quickly and camped out there for a long time. I was furious that I was violated, but more so that this person had stolen my ability to remember the good things in my life. I was enraged at the power this incident held over my life. It seemed so inconsequential. I wasn't hurt badly, I wasn't dead, it could have been so much worse. But it still happened and I was changed. I wasn't the same person from one second to the next. Something was taken from me and there was no way to get it back.

I don't feel safe in stores anymore. Thank God for Instacart.

I struggle when people come up behind me whether it be while standing in line, or just hanging out in a social setting.

But the thing I've struggled with the most is the feeling of shame. I feel ashamed of what happened. Which is ridiculous because logically, I know that none of this was my fault. But there's something in me that won't let me feel absolved of wrongdoing.

I think this mindset is HEAVILY influenced by the teachings of the purity culture that I grew up with.

I am only speaking to SBPC because that's what I have experience with and how I feel it affected me. I would like to clarify: I am still a Bible-believing Christian and I have no intention of bashing people's beliefs. I still love Jesus, the Church is still made of humans though and sometimes, we get it wrong.

The main issue that I have with the SBPC of the late 90's/ early 2000's is that it created a narrative that over-sexualized women to a point where we were shamed for our bodies and taught that our worth lay solely within our purity.

Women were taught that it was their responsibility alone to keep men from stumbling and sexualizing them. Little girls were taught that their bodies were too sexual for men to deal with so they had to always be covered to not cause a man to do horrible things.

Instead of teaching Mark 9:47

"And if your eye causes you to fall away, gouge it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell."

Jesus clearly intends for us to take ownership of our own sins and remove temptations ourselves.

I went through True Love Waits which put a purity ring on my finger to remind myself that my body had to stay pure for my husband. When that ring broke in high school, a classmate told everyone that it meant that I was a slut and no man would want me now that I had been "used." You can imagine what this did to the psyche of a 16-year-old with self-esteem issues and a belief that she was already difficult to love.

My worth lies in my relationship with Jesus and nothing else. But I can write that a thousand times and still the shame creeps in.

When I started to try dating, I quickly discovered that the only men who interacted with me only wanted me for my body. I'm a plus-size woman and that made me a target for those seeking to check off a bucket list or fetishize me. I was informed that -according to the men out there- I am not worth dating. I've been shown over and over that I don't matter as a person and am not worthy of respect or romance or even a simple cup of coffee. I'm just a body to be sexualized, mocked, or touched.

After the assault, I felt worthless.

With my worst fears and insecurities confirmed, I started asking questions like: how do I face going to church? How do I talk to God about this? Will He forgive me for being impure? Will a man ever want me if he learns about this? This whole situation cemented the narrative that had been steadily playing in my life for a long time. I fight that narrative every single day with everything I have. I have to constantly battle to remember that what the world is telling me and what God is telling me are two very different things.

I'm dealing with this in my late 20s after separating myself from the purity culture- I can't imagine what teenage me would have been feeling at this point, which is why we need to start the conversation.

I'm still healing and will be for a long time. I'm still in the stage of daily reminders that I am not defined by this and that it wasn't my fault. But how many women are in similar situations to mine? How many women experienced the worst of humanity and responded with shame and guilt for something out of their control? How many women live with the narrative that their worth lies in their bodies?

I think we can all use the reminder that we were made for more than that. God created us with intention and purpose. He doesn't define our worth by our bodies or the things that happen to us.

[bharathomeapplianceservices]

Signs Your Washing Machine Needs Repair: Don't Ignore These Warning Signs

Many times we ignore some signs of the washing machine and use it thoroughly without knowing the harmful effects of avoiding them. Therefore, if your washing machine has a problem, it could disrupt your household. Look for washing machine servicing.

Fortunately, warning signals of imminent problems are frequently present, allowing you to take action before a significant defect develops.

Water Around the Machine

The most glaring indicator that your washing machine needs repair is water around the appliance. A developing pool of water may indicate that a water supply line, seal, or tub has broken. Fortunately, a skilled appliance repair specialist may find it rather easy to fix these problems.

Don't ignore the problem if you do see water surrounding the machine because doing so might cause water damage to your property in addition to allowing the problem to worsen and become a more major error.

Unclean Laundry

When your laundry doesn't come out of the washer perfectly clean, it may be really upsetting. However, it can also be a sign of a deeper appliance issue. The problem can be the result of a broken component or sensor problem.

The first thing to be sure of is that you didn't use too little detergent or overload the washing machine with clothing. If this isn't the case, you'll probably require nearby washing machine repair expert assistance to identify the problem.

Unusual Sounds

You're probably accustomed to the smooth humming and other sounds that your washing machine cycle makes. So, it is cause for concern if the appliance starts to creak or grind.

When the machine is overfilled, the tub tips out of equilibrium, which often results in thumps. Squeaking or grinding sounds, on the other hand, may be a sign that a component is broken or that pieces are being removed, which would impair performance.

Unfortunately, these problems won't go away on their own, and if you ignore them, you risk allowing a catastrophic failure in which the malfunctioning component causes irreparable harm.

The Drum with Water

Your garments should be practically dry when the load is done since they have been thoroughly rung out. Therefore, there is a problem if the clothing is drenched in water or if there is water in the drum.

Although you may wring the clothes out by hand, this problem has to be fixed, preferably before your next cycle of laundry.

No Water

On the other hand, there is a serious issue if there is no water filling the drum when you switch on the machine. Although you might be able to locate a loose connection at the machine's rear, a skilled technician will often be required to fix a sensor problem.

The washing machine must be turned off and a repair call must be made since, obviously, there must be water for it to wash.

Error Codes

Finally, a screen display is probably a feature of a newer machine. The sensors of these models enable them to conduct cleaning tasks effectively. An error code is generated by faulty sensors, and this code is displayed on the display.

Your owner's handbook could have a reset for the error code in some circumstances. A little object, like a sock, being stuck in the filter, for instance, may result in an error code. It will reset the device if you remove the obstruction and open the filter.

The owner's handbook will often advise you to get in touch with a Washing Machine repair near me to solve the code.

You can count on your home appliance repair technician's experience to help you if your washing machine is giving you problems.