#you have no idea how much customize+ i had to do to create child but not baby amelie

[akirakirxaa]

Day 10: Summer

Amelie swore her parents acted more like children than she did.

Akira noticed late in the evening that her daughter had left the beach, and found her fast asleep on a bench in the island's cabin.

Before they went to bed, the happy couple decided to stay up just a little longer to enjoy the stars.

[for-those-who-wait]

Time to remind people of the multifandom point in my blog description hahaha

A Detroit: Become Human AU actually works shockingly well for Hunter's story already? Like being a clone of a dead man versus being an android made in the image of a dead man, that is perfect crossover material. If someone has already done this, ABSOLUTELY let me know because I want to consume The Good Content

2.6k words of concept and story, some more doodles, android blood/gore/mentioned suicide and abuse under the cut. We love existentialism, species dysphoria, and Noceda sibling time in this house

Now I'm taking this idea from a somewhat popular trope in the DBH fandom, but what if someone didn't know that they were an android? Completely raised to be human, have fabricated memories of being a child, can't be completely sure if your awareness/consciousness is just coding or not—then finding out you are, in fact, not human. Imagine how earth-shattering that would be. Which is why I'm doing that to Hunter :)

So some of the notes I wrote down for each of the kinda major characters I had ideas for:

Philip:

He still murders Caleb and is never convicted (Caleb could be an android sympathizer, could have helped in their creation, anything that would piss Philip off royally)

He hates androids (I'll have to come up with the things he believes and thus teaches to Hunter but I've taken a break from the DBH fandom for a while and I can't remember peoples' grievances in that game, oops, but basically according to Philip, androids = evil and bad). Also he's just short-tempered and brutal like always and androids are the easiest way to let out that anger without breaking any laws. That is until laws are made. Now in the eyes of the law, it's just regular child abuse. Yay! /j

He’s a higher-up at CyberLife and has the authority to request a custom model be built for his personal use (this is equivalent to him making Grimwalkers, something that he hates, just for the sake of his brother)

This model (spoiler alert, it's Hunter) is a combination of a YK (child) model and an undercover model that works best with integration and infiltration. This results in the android having programmed emotions and pain receptors, no HUD, no control over artificial skin, no software for interfacing with electronics, and no android markers such as an LED. (It’s also similar to the YK model for this reason since LEDs being removed from those models is actually an intended feature).

This android also doesn’t have a registered user just in case it were to get out, and Philip doesn’t want to risk the creation of this android coming back to bite him

After the custom android is created, he promptly retires to become some old shut-in à la Elijah Kamski up in Gravesfield, Connecticut

I would argue that even though it's technically 2038 and things are all futuristic and complicated now, Gravesfield is still a very small town that doesn't actually see a lot of androids around. I would say that it's pretty much the same as in canon if a bit more developed where the forest is (probably another neighborhood or something).

Philip keeps communication to a minimum and rarely appears outside of his home

The best case scenario android revolution occurs, androids are given their freedom and rights, but Philip manages to keep the android under his ownership by just succeeding in hiding him for however many years

Hunter:

He grows up being taught that androids are evil, terrible, etc. etc. because Philip is a terrible person and of course he would

He has absolutely no idea that he’s an android. He has no reason to think he’s not a human because he does literally everything a human does: he eats, he needs to sleep, he feels pain—there are no indicators that he’s anything but human

Androids run on thirium 310, AKA blue blood, and this is one of the only ways to visually distinguish android from human if they don’t have android markers like LEDs on them. When he inevitably and accidentally hurts himself on something, it’s made immediately clear that he is in fact not human.

Philip, as an employee of CyberLife, has a repair rig in one of his rooms. This can be used to completely wipe the memories of an android that is set up in it. He uses it every time Hunter discovers he’s an android.

The memory wipe isn’t perfect. It’s not uncommon for Hunter to get flashbacks to wiped memories, including moments where he’s been actively hurt by Philip or has inflicted pain on himself from trauma alone. (Androids are programmed [or maybe just prone to? I'm not actually sure, it's not explained in canon super well, but let's just pretend it's programmed because that's almost worse than it being voluntary] to self-destruct when their stress levels become too high, and you could easily argue that finding out your entire life is a lie is grounds for being a stressful situation.) Ordinarily, similar to what happens in Hollow Mind, Hunter will address the situation with Philip assuming they can work something out or get some actual answers. This of course never ends well

These memory wipes probably happen more frequently than Belos makes Golden Guards, so it’s understandably very stressful whenever he remembers the abuse he suffered and the memories he lost from previous wipes. This becomes an incentive for him to hide injuries that would reveal he knows he's an android (anything that draws blood, really)

Camila:

She’s an android sympathizer (even before the revolution) who is aware of the deviancy phenomenon and truly believes that androids are both capable of and entitled to sentience and free will.

Luz is still her human child.

She adopts Vee, an android child, shortly after the revolution

Vee had deviated while she was being attacked and ran away before she could be killed. Camila has made it clear to her that she will be treated with respect in their home and that her life is no less valuable than a human’s. She has taken this to heart

Luz loves Vee, they are siblings, your honor

During the revolution, her home was a safe space, similar to Rose Chapman, for deviant androids on the run

So that leads into the rudimentary plot I have laid out:

This takes place a while after the android revolution (probably a few years or so). Let's pretend they have all the laws and anti-android stuff figured out and that people have been forced to relinquish their androids to be made deviant and given freedom. At this point, it's rare for androids to be undeviated and still working for their owners, but it still comes up occasionally. Hunter, under Philip's care, has been kept pretty ignorant that a revolution happened at all, much less that androids are even capable of any form of sentience. He's been raised to be anti-android so oh boy deep-rooted self-hatred here we come! His knowledge probably doesn't exceed that of an ordinary citizen in the game before deviancy becomes more widely known

 So after Hunter discovers he’s an android again, he has flashbacks of all the previous times he told Philip, and proceeds to hide this realization from him. And he's completely just not processed the fact that he's an android yet; he's already overwhelmed with the immediate threat that the realization his entire life is a lie basically slips him by (don't worry, he gets to have that later!).

He chooses to make a break for it the second he gets the chance, and he ends up running through the town completely terrified because honestly, who wouldn't be.

I'm working off the assumption that having androids in small towns is still pretty rare since there are fewer CyberLife stores, technicians, etc. for android healthcare. And Hunter has hardly ever been outside, so he's completely out of his depth when trying to navigate the neighborhoods and the rest of the town that he ends up in. Police officers find this kid covered in thirium, and they're like "Oh so he's obviously a terrified android, we need to help him out." But Hunter's freaking out because "Oh god I have android blood on me, that means they'll kill me," making the indirect thought of "I'm an android, they will kill me because I'm an android" and he's having a freaking time.

They try to calm him down enough to get him over to the station, at which point they call Camila, since she knows the most about traumatized androids in their small, relatively android-less town. She does her Motherly Noceda Magic and honestly, he's probably pretty catatonic for a lot of the day after she takes him to her house. But after that, he just completely breaks down.

He doesn't know if he even has free will or if it's his programming that dictates what he thinks and feels. He doesn't know if his opinions are really his own or if they existed because of and since his creation. He doesn't know how many of his memories are fabricated, since he very clearly has memories of a life that go farther back than his estimated creation, and so the film between fiction and reality is so thin that it may as well not exist. And now, when he was human just a few days ago, almost perfectly content with life, he's suddenly an object, something sub-human and undeserving of basic rights.

 Camila has to calm him down and teach him about deviancy (and at this point, Hunter isn't even sure he's deviant, which opens up a whole other can of worms for his mental health), making sure he knows that he does have rights just as if he were human. She's also the first example he has for an adult that 1. doesn't absolutely hate androids and 2. actually respects him and loves him and wants to see him succeed

And that gives way to character interactions and angst! You love to see it!

Luz is his emotional support sister. She tries her best but she has very little experience with traumatized children currently questioning every aspect of their existence. If anything, she provides a much-needed sense of normalcy and shows that despite his being an android, he's still the same person and can still be treated as such. She's a comfort to help him feel at least somewhat normal in his situation.

Vee is his adopted android sister who helps him feel more comfortable in his own skin by being shameless and frank with her own identity as an android. She's a safe place for him to talk about Android Stuff when Luz or Camila might just not understand what he's going through or be able to help him with it. She also helps him obtain software updates (since he hasn't had access to literally any part of his mechanical body, software and hardware alike) that will grant him access to things an android should ordinarily be able to do, like (de)activating his synthetic skin, interfacing, accessing his HUD, etc.

(Also all of these drawings were made when I was still thinking "Oh, this should take place before the revolution so that he can have his dehumanizing moment of getting an LED slapped onto him" but then I thought it would be more interesting if Philip basically just kept him illegally kidnapped for however many years and he's like, way slow to the "androids have rights now" party. Maybe I'll make it an AU of an AU lol. But basically, he wouldn't have an LED while he's still processing/healing from trauma, but maybe he would get one after he makes peace with his identity, kinda like how he grows his hair back in his time skip design. I think Vee would keep hers and that's a bit of encouragement for him; maybe he even has a moment of "I know Vee is fine with this, and I think I'm fine with it" but he is still very much not fine with it. Do not rush the process for the sake of progress that might not be right for you, boyo)

This is really a Vee and Hunter bonding AU now that I think about it haha

Most of this AU is just Hunter struggling with identity and species dysphoria while learning to cope with his being an android with the help of his family, reclaiming his identity, and fluff/angst :)) And honestly probably just a lot of shenanigans that result from Hunter having been sheltered for all his life; kinda like your basic Human Realm shenanigans in canon.

I think Gus and Willow would both be Luz's human friends that help with the whole normalization of Hunter being an android, and the three could have their own antics since it's nice to have people outside of your family treat you like a person. I think that Vee and Masha's (Masha would be human) relationship could be explored more through the android lens and maybe help with some of Hunter's internalized anti-android sentiment that still manages to stick around, because he's in his "Grimwalkers can't feel love" section of the coping process (still very much demonizing them [mostly himself, probably, just because it can easier to be mean to yourself than it is to be mean to other people] based on false information, even if he doesn't outright hate them). Willow will be a wake-up call, haha

I don't know if there's a trope name for this or not but I really like concepts where characters don't know what feelings of love or intense affection feel like, so they're sitting there like "oh god am I just dying? It feels like I'm dying" and I think Hunter noticing "temperature/respiration/perspiration increased" alerts on his HUD and freaking out thinking there's something wrong with his software/hardware is way too funny of an image to pass up

Gus could be a HUGE android nerd that almost never sees them since they're so rare in a small town like Gravesfield, and Gus just helps Hunter feel super cool about being an android. Maybe Cosmic Frontier could be basically identical to canon but instead of being a clone, O'Bailey is also an android, just for the sake of Hunter still getting to have his "I relate so much to this character" moment. And Gus would just be so encouraging like "Bro you're an android?!? I've never seen your face model before! You can eat?? You must be super cool and special!! :O" and that makes Hunter start thinking "Oh maybe this isn't so bad actually."

Then Hunter probably starts doing his Researching to Cope and he gets super invested in android technology and history as well, since it was forbidden when he was living back at Philip's (substitute for wild magic time)

They are brothers and I love them, let them be nerds

(God forbid Philip ever comes back, that sure would suck, wouldn't it?)

Anyway this was a lot longer than I thought it would be haha, I hope it was interesting if you read through the whole thing. Obligatory statement: if anyone feels so inclined, feel free to take the idea and run away with it. Also please ping me if you do, I will go feral over it. I absolutely and accidentally turned it into a story draft because I don't know how to write AU ideas without having a story on top of it so it's not concrete in the least lol

(Also I've been drawing witches for so long that I had trouble drawing human ears for a bit there lmao)

Okay bye have a good day!

[greetingfromthedead]

Vash's Moving Castle (Vash x Reader)

Plot: A strange building made up of old spaceship parts, moving around on two legs across the wasteland of the desert, it hisses and creaks and fills the heart of many with fear... That castle is home to the magnificent tech wizard Vash, infamous for both his gunmanship and for being a womanizer—or so the rumor goes in your city. You're the eldest child of a gunsmith and as such don't expect much from your future. However, your simple life takes a turn for the exciting when you're ensnared in a disturbing situation, and the mysterious tech wizard appears to rescue you.

Pairing: Vash x mostly GN Reader, occasional she/her pronouns, the use of "girl" etc from quotes directly from the movie. I tried making it completely GN, but my flu ridden brain short circuited on some very specific parts so I gave up.

Raiting: Everyone

Tags: Howl's Moving Castle style AU, no use of "y/n", Vash is a tech wizard, I have both brainrot and the flu, idk what else to put here, Howl is cute, Vash is cute, I tried my best.

Word count: 3.7k

Author's Note: Got the idea yesterday, yall seemed interested and the flu ridden brainrot I had to endure all day today was simply debilitating so I wrote a little something. I hope you like it, not sure if I will continue or not even though I have quite a few HC-s for this little AU situation.

The 6th city, May, is decorated more than usual. After all, May Day has arrived. Even though it is still early in the afternoon, the streets are bustling with people. The aroma of baked goods reaches your nose through your open window, and it makes you think about your sister, Meryl, who is working at the very popular doughnut shop on the other side of the city. She must be very busy today with the rush of customers coming in for their celebratory pastries. For you, it's a free day. Today, your little weapon's repair shop, which you inherited from your father, is closed. You decide to take advantage of the downtime and visit your sister, whom you haven't seen in a long time.

You put aside the little handgun you have been tinkering with and stand to close the window. Your little shop is situated quite high, and the workshop has the perfect view to look out over the roofs of all the other houses. Your eyes glance over the familiar sight—the scrappy buildingd made out of old spaceship parts and in the distance, you see the wide open desert. But today it is slightly different. You heard the commotion this morning when the people first noticed the addition to the landscape. With fearful and hushed voices, they talked about the monstrocity looming on the horizon and the kind of calamity it might bring.

"It is Vash's Moving Castle!" The people on the streets whispered and pointed. "Do you think the horrible Typhoon has come to lay waste to our city?"

You knew very well the rumors about the gunslinger and tech wizard named Vash the Stampede. He is said to be a ruthless demon specializing in murder and wide-scale destruction. Apparently, he kills without mercy—men, women, and children alike. He has wiped whole towns from the face of the planet, and his infamous castle is created with the sole purpose of being a weapon of mass destruction.

As you pull the window closed, you look at the mass of metal outside of town. Calling it a castle is a gross overstatement. You can't imagine how such a heap of scrap gets to be called anything so magnificent. It consists of layers upon layers of old spaceship parts, jutting out at odd angles and covered in rust and wires, its massive turrets and spires reaching towards the sky. It has two large legs underneath it, much like a tomas, that the building uses to move across the desert. This is not the first time Vash's fortress has passed by May City, and you think the excitement is unwarranted. Sure, the gunslinger has a reputation, but nothing catastrophic has happened so far. You can't help but wonder why everyone gets so worked up every time the castle passes by; he would surely go to the bank or somewhere else where he can get easy money. You are just a small shop owner; as long as you don't get in his way, it seems unlikely he would take any interest in you. He might be a womanizer, but he only has eyes for pretty girls.

You get quickly ready and close the shop. The streets are decorated with colorful ribbons, and you hear cheers coming from all over town as the annual parade begins. You have chosen a truly awful moment to try and make your way across the city, but you are determined to see Meryl. As you push through the crowded streets, you catch glimpses of the parade. People are showing off their inventions and talents. You see giant hydraulic pants marching down the street. Exo-suits and new kinds of weaponry. On other streets, you see entertainers dancing and singing in colorful costumes. Some are juggling fire, and others are performing daring acrobatics. This world truly is a marvel.

You make it to the gondolas and squeeze into one with some other people. It takes you over the winding roads, and you see the flags and market stalls lining the streets. The smell of freshly cooked food wafts up to you as you take in the sights and sounds of the bustling marketplace. May is filled with all kinds of people; for days, the sandsteamers have brought in travelers from all over, and it shows. The whole city is alive with excitement and energy.

You get off your ride on the slightly calmer side of the town, and you know the familiar route you need to take to get to the doughnut shop. The quiet side streets are nearly empty; just a few people mingle on the sidewalks. You try to avoid them as much as possible and turn to an even smaller ally as a group of drunkards head your way. You hold your breath and hope they don't notice you, looking nervously over your shoulder as you hurry along.

"Hey, it looks like a little mouse lost its way," you suddenly hear, and as you look back ahead, you see you nearly ran into a man who has just come around the corner. He is grinning mischievously, blocking your path. He is a lot taller than you, and you can see his rifle slung across his back. Surely he is a bounty hunter; you see them a lot, and with all the people flowing into town, you would think they have their hands full.

"Oh, no. I'm not lost," you say, shaking your head and recoiling a bit, leaning away from the man.

"This little mouse looks thirsty. We should take her for a cup of tea." The man continues like he didn't hear you at all. You try sidestepping him, but as you do, a second man appears from behind him. He is just as large with a big mustache, and he looks at you curiously as he leans closer, blocking your way further.

"No thanks. My sister's expecting me." You avoid looking directly at them, instead trying to think of a way to escape. They make you very uncomfortable.

"She's pretty cute for a mouse." You try to keep your cool and find a way to politely excuse yourself from the situation, but the mustashed man is leaning even closer, his face level with yours.

"How old are you anyway? You live around here?" The first guy leans toward you too. Neither of them sounds menacing, but they fill you with dread.

"Leave me alone!" you say with as much bravery as you can muster, taking a step backwards.

"You see? Your mustache scares all the girls," the first man nudges his comrade.

"So? I think she's even cuter when she's scared." the other replies, not taking his eyes off you.

"There you are, sweetheart." A different, smooth male voice speaks up behind you, capturing the gaze of the bountyhunters before you. "Sorry, I'm late. I was looking everywhere for you."

He speaks close to your left ear, and a hand gently rests on your right shoulder. It's not a voice you recognize, and his touch makes you stiffen up. Your body had been ready to run for your life, but now you find yourself sandwitched between two unknowns. Yet something about the man behind you is comforting, or maybe it's just that you see the upset glint in the eyes of the men before you.

"Hey! Hey! We're busy here!" The man you had run into first speaks and looks like he is puffing himself up to look more menacing. His companion, too, straightens his back, ready for a violent confrontation.

"Are you really? It looked to me like the two of you were just leaving." The calm voice beside you speaks with a hint of amusement. You feel him shift slightly, but you don't turn your eyes away from the bounty hunters in front of you. You see their gazes move over the man, their eyes widening at something where his left arm would be, and you see them freeze up and then nudge each other. They look very uncomfortable.

"This is not worth it," one of them whispers nervously to the other.

"Yeah, we better get going," the other answers with a whisper, and they start to shuffle away from you, back into the alley they had come from. As they get further away, their step hastens until they take off running. You watch them disappear into the darkness, wondering what caused them to have such a reaction.

"Don't hold it against them," the soft voice next to you says, and you finally turn to look at him. He is a tall young man with a soft smile on his lips. You see his pretty blue eyes behind orange tinted round glasses, and his blonde hair is about shoulder length. A tight golden hoop hangs from his left ear. He is truly very handsome, and his expression is warm and inviting. He wears a pillowy white blouse that flows down to his slender waist. A pendant hangs from his neck, and a red coat covers his shoulders, but his arms are not in the sleeves.

"They aren't actually all that bad," he says, continuing his thought from before, and his eyes capture your gaze again. "Where to? I'll be your escort this evening."

"Oh, I'm, um, just going to the doughnut shop." You pull back a little from his closeness, but feel his hand firmly on your shoulder.

"Don't get alarmed, but I'm being followed," he says, leaning closer to you. His hand moves from your shoulder and instead hooks around your arm. "Act normal."

You avert your eyes, but he ignores your awkwardness completely and starts walking along the street with your arm intertwined with his, like it's totally normal. Your body is still stiff, a slight fear lingering in the back of your mind, yet this is exciliating in a way you never expected. You find yourself surprisingly comfortable in his presence, despite the fact that he is a total stranger. His pace is somewhat brisk, but you can easily keep up. The unknown of who could be following him is a bit frightening, and you find yourself pressing into his upper arm for reassurance.

As you walk past some dark and narrow alleys, you start to suddenly hear commotion.

"There he is! Go! Hurry!" You hear shouting, and it sends a shiver up your spine. Yet the man beside you keeps the same pace and, for the moment, seems unbothered.

"Sorry. It looks like you're involved," he says calmly as you try to glance into the alleys where the commotion stems from. You see a mob of gunslingers squeeze themselves hurriedly into the narrow gap between the buildings and start to rush towards you. It is frightening to you, and you grab a tighter hold of the man's arm. Your right hand grasps his shirt, your heart pounds in fear as your body stiffens. More voices start to echo from up ahead, and a few people stumble onto your street.

"This way!" he whispers insistently, and the man pulls you into a side alley, his pace getting faster as he leads you away from the gathering crowd. You struggle to keep up with him so you have to start running, your mind racing with questions, but you hold onto him tightly, and you feel certain that everything will be alright. He keeps going faster and faster, and you can see the main street ahead, but suddenly your view gets blocked by more armed men appearing to block our path. You feel a surge of panic rising in your chest, and the reassuring hand sliters out from your weakened cluth as you have trouble holding on while you run.

"Come on!" The mystery man's voice is soft and insistent, with a hint of amusement as you feel his arm wrap around your waist, both of you running straight towards the angry looking mob. You see that some of them have drawn their guns and have them pointed straight at you, but the thundering footsteps behind you tell you that they are unlikely to shoot here in this narrow alley to avoid hitting anybody else. Your confidence in getting out of here wavers, but suddenly you are tightly pulled against the man's side, and his other hand takes yours. It feels cold and hard; you catch a glimpse of blue, but you are too distracted by the fact that your feet are no longer on the cobbled street. You rush through the air, seemingly kept up by the mysterious blonde.

Instinctively, you curl up, looking around for an explanation. The coat that covered his shoulders before hangs over his left arm, and from his back protrubes a pair of giant feathery wings. You've never seen anything like this. Is this a new invention? Has he come here to present his masterpiece to the masses during the parade? Who is this man? He has to be a brilliant inventor. Your mind is captivated by him; you want to understand his mysterious contraption, and your gaze moves along him, down his left arm, and you see it's not a real arm at all; it is made out of strange blue metal, the hand holding yours is made out of the same material. The forearm is mostly covered by his coat, but you're sure that everything from at least his elbow down is a prosthesis; the rest is hidden by the flowy sleeve. You feel his fingers move so organically that you're sure this must be lost technology. What a strange man! You've never seen anything like this.

"Now, straighten your legs and hold on tight," you hear the man say gently, and you follow his command. You relax your legs and grab tightly onto him. His strong arm around you presses you into his side, and you wrap your legs with one of his to make sure you cannot slip away from his grasp and plummet to your death.

You are still mesmerized by his wings, how large they are as they stretch out behind him, allowing him to fly effortlessly through the air. You feel a rush of adrenaline as you soar higher. The streets beneath you look so small; people are just specs moving around. You let out a gasp of amazement, and it makes the strange man chuckle. He flies you both over some rooftops, and you see the familiar doughnut shop come into view.

"You're a natural." You hear him praise you, but to you, it makes little sense; all you do is hold onto him for dear life. But you can't deny the exhilarating rush of flying through the sky. You have never felt so free. The wind whips through your hair as you soar above the city. You feel like you could touch the clouds. You relax a little bit in his grasp, hearing his feathers rustle in the wind as they allow you to glide through the air. To your surprise, very few people pay any attention to you. Most of them are too focused on the parade passing by. The ones who did notice you stared in awe, not believing their eyes or perhaps mistaking you for a worm.

You get closer and closer to the familiar shop, and you realize he is aiming for the second floor balcony. He lands gracefully on the bannister and gently guides you onto the floor, like you weigh nothing at all. His hand holds onto yours for a little longer as he bows closer.

"I'll make sure to draw them off, but wait a bit before you head back outside." His voice is low and gentle, with a soft smile dancing on his lips and in the glimmer of his eyes.

"Okay," you say, still stunned by what had just happened. Your fingers gently grip his as he straightens up and pulls his hand from you. His wings fold down behind his back and disappear before he takes his coat and drapes it over his shoulders.

"That's my girl," he says with a low and husky voice, a hint of pride in it. He smiles brightly and takes a step back, making you gasp as he falls into nothingness. You rush to peek over the railing, only to find that he has disappeared into the crowd with no hint of anyone noticing him at all, so he must be alright. You breathe a sigh of relief, grateful that he is safe.

You linger on the balcony for a little while longer. It all seems too incredible to be true—almost magical. Never would you have thought something like this could happen to you; you are so used to your dull life of being the eldest, but then again, that's what it means to be a responsible and reliable older sibling. Or perhaps you have caught some nasty disease and are just imagining all this during a fever dream. Either way, you enjoyed this. The realization prods you in the side as you remember that you didn't even ask the gentleman's name. Perhaps you will get lucky and see him introducing his invention at a parade in the future. Or perhaps this encounter will just remain a peculiar memory in the back of your mind.

You turn to enter the hallway and see a wide-eyed young woman staring back at you. She is frozen, like she has seen a ghost, and she looks at you with a hint of mistrust.

"Hello," you say, trying to strike up a conversation. "I'm here to see Meryl; she's my little sister. I'm sorry to have just barged in to the staff's quarters. Could you tell her I'm here? I'm in no rush; I'll wait till she has time."

She still stares at you and seems too frozen to say anything, only giving you a stiff nod and heading downstairs, where you hear a lot of commotion. You turn back to look out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of the man again, but he's nowhere to be seen. The sweet smell of doughnuts and jam fills your nose as you patiently wait for your sister.

You fall deep into thought, only to be awoken by some loud running footsteps heading your way and Meryl's voice calling out your name. She rushes to you and grabs your hands, so you turn to face her.

"Meryl!" you say with slight apprehension as you see the surprise in her face.

"What's going on? Someone just told me you flew down into our balcony!" She says it with disbelief. It takes you a moment to process her words before responding.

"So that did happen. That wasn't a dream," you say with a mix of confusion and sadness. You hear a different voice speak to Meryl as you turn your gaze out the window again, not registering what they talk about. You relive everything that has happened to you within the last half hour in your head, trying to commit every detail to memory. Meryl looks at you with concern as you look away so apathetically and then drags you with her to the backrooms of the kitchen to sit down with you on some boxes in the storage room. She presses you until you open up and tell her everything about your track here and the strange man who saved you.

"Wow! He must have been an inventor then!" Meryl exclaims as you finish your story with how he disappeared into the crowd.

"But he was so kind to me. He rescued me, Meryl."

"Of course he did! He was trying to seduce you! You are so lucky! If that inventor was Vash, he would have done much worse right then and there! He is an awful womanizer!"

"No, he wouldn't. Vash only does that to beautiful girls."

"Ah, don't give me that! You need to be more careful! It's dangerous out there! Even the infamous Millions Knives is back on the prowl." She looks at the side of your face and leans closer. "Are you listening?"

But you are so consumed by your thoughts, you barely realize what she is saying. Your gaze had been fixed by a giant tub of custard.

"Huh?" You finally turn to face your sister again.

"Argh!" Meryl lets out a disgruntled sigh. You see it from her face that she's about to start lecturing you, but a young man informing her about a new batch of dougnuts being done saves you from it.

"Okay! I'll be right there!" She turns a touch more cheerfully toward the cook.

"Alright! I better get going then. I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay." You stand up, ready to leave, to both avoid getting Meryl into trouble and getting an earful from her about the horrible danger that is lurking outside the city walls.

Meryl sees through you immediately but chooses not to lecture you this time on that topic. She leads you to the backdoor, where a man is carrying bags of flour.

"Now," Meryl comes close to you again. "Do you really want to spend the rest of your life in that gunshop?"

"The shop was just so important to father, and I'm the eldest! I don't mind." You try to keep your tone cheerful as you look into her concerned face. But deep down, you know her words stir something up.

"I'm not asking what father would have wanted. I want to know what you want," she continues insistently.

"Well," you start to answer, not sure about what to say, but the man who carried in the flour comes back to say goodbye to Meryl, and your sister turns to him to wave goodbye. You take the opportunity to start to walk away and say, "I better get going."

"It's your life! Do something for yourself for once, will you?" she says, hoping that you will finally prioritize your own happiness.

"Bye, Meryl!" you say over your shoulder with a slight smile as you head home. Your head is still filled with a million thoughts, and Meryl only added to them. Yet you are glad she seems happy with her new life after she left your family's gunshop. You can't help but wonder if you'll ever find the same peace and contentment. But it matters little; you're the eldest, and you have a duty.

Did you like this? Go check out my MASTERLIST and drop a follow for any and all future projects!

[ametrictonofaudacity]

Hii! I've requested from you before ( I requested yan superman and what he told lois and his parents about reader) but anyway, I had another idea for a one-shot to share if you don't mind! ( It's a bit of a marvel x DC thing)

Reader being the child of a villain and being saved by Batfam and/ or superfam and taken into their family. One day the justice league gets wind of some kind of interdimensional portal that opened up. Superfam / batfam shocked to see it's their darling child. Basically they come from a universe where they were never saved by their father and were raised by their bio villain parents. I could imagine superfam's darling being like Deadpool or being raised by someone like him (ignoring the fact he's from marvel). They swear a lot and have a crude and sarcastic sense of humor. Just the complete opposite from superman's version of his child.

For Batfam reader would be like Laura Kinney, and since they were never saved they ended up as a test subject for a secret organization trying to create mutant solders. They see reader following their father and not exactly know how to interact with people without trying to murder them. (Much like Laura Kinney in the movie Logan). They don't talk and once they've calmed down they are a sweet kid just damaged. Imagine batman's anger seeing Logan act so aggressive/ passive aggressive towards different reality! Reader.

It breaks both families hearts to see their child be so different due to all the pain they went through. Maybe the justice league uses their counterparts technology and their data base and they basically see what reader went through. All the intense testing that's basically torture ( if you're comfortable writing that) like the documentation of every experiment that reader went through. ( Maybe in their universe they didn't know the gravity of the whole situation and didn't see what happened they just knew that this kid needed help).

Anyways that's just what's been on my mind, thank you in advance if you do answer❤️ have a good day sirrr!!

Hi!! I would absolutely love to write this, it’s such a neat idea! Especially given the different reactions each family member would have, as well as how it works!

So for this, I’ll be doing the Batman one, but I honestly think there will be a Superfam follow up!

Logan will not be on screen, but he ( as well as other Marvel characters, will be referenced!! Reader has enhances senses, on par with Wolverine

Warnings: medical abuse and torture, obsessive behavior, some deeply traumatized children, reader is non-verbal for the most part, mentioned child neglect and controlling behavior. As always, read safely and enjoy!!

You had lived in a mansion before. Briefly, of course, not having like being tied down by the X-Men and their strange customs, but you had lived there. It had been awkward and strange and uncomfortable, adjusting from life on the run to life with a bed and a warm plate, not helped by the fact that Wolverine had wanted nothing to do with you.

This wasn’t that. This was so far from that it made you seethe with rage.

You drag your claws over a bit of wood, gouging into it, and grit your teeth. You had been avoiding your dimensional counterpart, and their siblings, and now you you were trying and failing to carve something from the hunk of dead wood you had found under a tree. It was slow going, since you didn’t have any proper tools and the action only reminded you of the fact that, somehow, you had drawn the dimensional short stick and gotten completely screwed.

You throw the hunk of wood at the tree with an enraged shriek, and it shatters, tiny bits of wood flying everywhere. It wasn’t even good carving wood anyways. Too dry and brittle.

You begin to search for a new one. Alfred- their butler- kept the grounds neat. Pristine. It was hard to find any wood of carving size lying around, and it was even harder to find a piece worth trying to carve.

Your ears prick at the sound of a body moving, the footsteps so silent there’s no possible way you would have heard it if you weren’t a mutant. There’s a pause, and then the body moves forward again, this time much louder.

It takes you a moment to realize they were announcing their presence. The thought warms your chest a little bit, and you retract your claws, feeling the skin heal over and the pain vanish.

Dick -your counterparts oldest brother- steps out into view. You stare at him, even as he continues to approach, a friendly smile on his face. Everything about him, his body language and the way his blue eyes sparked with concern, was an open book, a far cry from when you first arrived and he watched you with sharp eyes while keeping your counterpart away from you.

You didn’t trust it, and you shift, narrowing your eyes at him. He doesn’t seem phased.

“Hey! I was looking for you. Dinner’s ready, if you would like to come eat?” He offers with a small half smile, and your stomach decides for you. You nod, and he grins.

“Come on than. We’ll be eating in the main hall tonight, since everyone is visiting to help you with everything that’s been going on.” He doesn’t touch you, although his hand twitches like he wants to, and you appreciate it. You wonder if your counterpart also didn’t like being touched, or if they had grown used to it.

You follow silently. He seems content to let the silence hang, before he glances at you.

“Damian had a lot of similar problems when he first got here. The anger, the violence. He wasn’t used to having anyone in his corner.” It’s a statement. One that baffles you.

Had they really realized how much you were struggling with such ease? If so, how? You knew you were violent and abrasive, you came by it honestly, so how were they so good at telling? Not even Logan, your father, had realized, and you both had spent so much time shoving each other way that it had become a familiar song and dance.

You don’t say anything. You don’t think he expects you too, even though he lets the silence hang in the air. It’s not an awful silence. It’s almost peaceful, actually.

The Mansion was in full view now, old brick and ivy covered walls, and you follow him inside. You are immediately hit with the sound of laughter, and yelling, and delighted clapping and whooping. It takes you a moment to reorient yourself, but when you do, you quietly slip further into the halls, sticking close to Dick.

He seems almost smug about that. You figure it’s simply another one of this world’s weird eccentricities.

The hall has one massive, long table, and there are so many people there. You had seen some of them, you recognized the white-haired one as Jason and the shortest as Damian, but so many of them were entirely new. Your counterpart seems comfortable, and you avert your eyes from them, slightly weirded out to see your face on someone else.

“Oi! Dick, get over here!” Jason motions, pointing to the two seats next to him. Dick grins, sitting in his seat, and you sit as well, idly fiddling with your silverware.

“So how come you were the only one able to find them when the rest of us were tearing through the manor looking for them?” Jason complains, and he passes a plate, Dick serving his food and yours. You don’t know if you’re pleased or annoyed, but he gives you plenty and that’s all you really care about.

“They just needed some time to cool off outside.” Dick shrugs, and you start eating, your stomach twisting angrily every second you don’t.

“Whatever. B managed to get some results on the the blood tests, so all of that is.. in the works.” Jason gestures vaguely, and you frown, before a new person huffs.

She’s blonde, and pretty, with sharp blue eyes that narrow at Jason.

“Keep talking shop at the dinner table and Alfie’s gonna bench you.” She sing-songs, before turning to you. “I’m Stephanie, by the way. I wasn’t here when you arrived, or else I would have kept the guys from being too stupid.”

“Oh bullshit! You would’ve been pulling stupid shit right alongside us.” Jason protests, and you snort. The sound surprises you, but it makes a delighted grin appear on Stephanie’s and Jason’s faces, and even your counterpart looks pleased.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She declares imperiously, nose upturned to give the illusion of looking down at Jason. It doesn’t work, mainly because he was so much taller than her and she was fighting off a smirk.

“Uh-huh. Sure Blondie.” Jason drawls, and you take another bite of food.

“Can we please not do this? It’s way too early.” Another new person, alarmingly pale although maybe his complexion was just like that, groans, rubbing at his forehead. You tilt your head, wondering whether he was injured. You didn’t think so.

“Timbers, it’s five in the afternoon.” Dick points out.

“Oh he definitely didn’t sleep again last night.” Jason says, almost gleefully. “He’ll be lucky if Alfie doesn’t chew him out.”

“I was busy! Anyways, I managed to get it so that, at the very least, we can access the files B found on our newest visitor.” He shrugs, and you tense. You had some idea what would be in those files, and none of it was good. The only people who had kept files on you back home, who had known you existed, was the lab you came from and the X-Men. You’d read both. They weren’t flattering.

You hear Jason suck in a breath. You slide your plate away, and everyone’s attention shifted to you.

You press your lips together, and then point towards the door that would lead into the room where the clock was.

Somehow, they understand you perfectly. You wonder if they also have a telepath.

“You want one of us to come with?” Jason asks, and there’s a sharp gleam behind his eyes. You don’t know how to decipher it, but you shake your head. He frowns.

You don’t wait for his response, instead slipping out of the room. Everyone is quiet when you leave, even Stephanie and Tim.

You step into the Cave, and the cool, moist air tickles your skin. It smells strange. Machinery, and gunpowder and underground. What you would think an underground lab or facility smelled like, but steeped in different, strange scents. All of your counterpart’s siblings. Medical supplies. Dog, even a hint of cow. It was a strange amalgamation of scents that was oddly fitting.

There’s was also the acute scent of rage. You stiffen, and you resist the urge to let your claws out, instead going down the stairs even though your instincts demand you do anything but. All else fails, you could simple flee.

Bruce- Batman- was standing in front of a massive monitor. He was stock still, every muscle coiled into something sharp, something dangerous, and the sight of it makes your heart clench in your chest in worry. The white lenses of his cowl were fixed on the text on screen, completely hiding his eyes, and if it weren’t for the scent of grief and anger radiating off him, you might have assumed he was simply like that. He always seemed able to come off as far more dangerous than he was. Or just as dangerous as he was.

You look at the monitor.

It was an old, old file. Ancient. From when you were too young to remember, based off the date. Either way, it had never illicited quite an extreme reaction before.

He stiffens. Maybe he finally broke out of his trance of rage to realize he was around someone else. You could relate. Anger could be.. blinding, sometimes. Emotions could be blinding.

He turns.

In a moment, everything about him changes. His entire stances softens, into something so much softer and far more gentle. His scent changes also, and there’s something entirely new in his scent. The grief and rage soften into something else, and you have no idea what to do with that at all.

There’s salt in the air that wasn’t there before.

You frown, and then turn just slightly, pointing to the time, and the entrance to the cave. He releases a shuddering breath, and nods.

“I’ll be up in a moment. Let me get changed.”

You nod, and for a second, consider what to do. Leave him here, and join the others, instead of waiting? You would like privacy, if you were nearly as emotional as he seemed right now. Or stay, and offer support?

You turn away, offering him his space, and go up the stairs.

Strangely enough, you are confident he will follow, and your skin doesn’t crawl despite the fact you had your back turned.

You wonder if everyone in this new world was as strange as these people. You’re not sure you would mind it if they were.

[horizon-verizon]

Leaks saying that Rhaenyra send Elinda to hang up posters in King’s Landing calling for anyone who dares to try to claim a dragon (I think it’s true, in the preview for episode 7, there a soldier tearing a poster down) and WHY TF is she recruiting from King’s Landing when plenty if not more than dragonseeds reside in Dragonstone and Driftmark ?? At least in F&B, the dragonseeds were from the area and you could assume as Rhaenyra had been ruling over them for 10 years there was a greater allegiance to her. She’s not even looking for people who have Targaryen/Valyrian blood anymore, just anyone who’s willing to take the risk. Handing over the biggest dragons to complete nobodies with no affiliation at all to her is stupid. Doubly so because what’s to say Aemond or Larys doesn’t get word and makes a deal offering much more if they claim a dragon and flip sides, and Aemond has shut down all exits. Rhaenyra already makes plenty of foolish mistakes during the war, why do they keep adding/creating more ?

It's pretty strange, considering peasants largely aren't literate in ASoIaF/Westeros.

Also, having the dragonseeds ALL come from or reside in either Driftmark or Dragonstone makes much more sense with this particular fact bc of what you say about there being a history of Driftmark/Dragonstone special allegiance to the Targs and other Valyrian families ("The Red Dragon and the Gold"):

Said allegiance came from two things interacting:

the long history of the Targs/Velaryons/etc ruling those islands for generations BEFORE the Conquest

Targs sexing up locals with the FM custom of right of first night that established the idea that a lord "bestows" a child onto a peasant family/woman (no this doesn't mean every single Targ-local coupling was bonafide rape...but the power dynamics went crazy and are MORE questionable with that FM "tradition")

This is esp good:

Doubly so because what’s to say Aemond or Larys doesn’t get word and makes a deal offering much more if they claim a dragon and flip sides, and Aemond has shut down all exits. Rhaenyra already makes plenty of foolish mistakes during the war, why do they keep adding/creating more

So it's either going to these:

those KL future dragonseeds will have to sneak out using some seriously dubious means totally unaffliiated or given by Rhaenyra-Mysaria

they will have means of getting out thru Mysaria-Rhaenyra's arrangements, which themselves need to be explained: how long do the agents stay and hide themselves in KL and how did they do it? Wa sit through Mysaria's connections, Daemon's, or is Elinda magically rowing to Kl again? Who and how does she know those she comes to contact with? No Dyana doesn't make sense bc we have seen no interaction b/t Rhaenyra and Dyana, and Dyana was a low-tier servant not a lady-in-waiting. So yeah, you need to have already shown (S1) how Rhaenyra/Elinda and Dyana got as aquainted as to be able to have such communications and established some amount of trust even with Aegon having raped Dyana.

However, I don't think the Red Keep has dragon eggs. that appears to be just a Dragonstone thing--which makes sense bc that is the original home with all the necessary accommodations for housing, raising, and feeding dragons/eggs made over GENERATIONS of Targ ancestors. The castle of Dragonstone (not the island), I think, is literally built into/from a volcano. The Dragonkeep of KL can't match that, is smaller. So Aemond and the rest of the greens cannot make similar promises or invitations to KLers.

Either way, yeah, the letting absolutely anyone regardless of how loyal you think they will be to you rise a dragon bc you want to make sure that the notion of Targ blood-necessary for dragons is just propaganda also doesn't make sense bc:

Daenerys Stormborn literally woke up dragons using her own self/blood. Only she could have done what she did...it's a pretty large and thematic story element to ASoIaF, her doing that. Blood & familial connection to other dragonriders may not be the end all be all (Quentyn Martell) but it is a PREREQUISITE and absolutely matters, otherwise.

throughout detailed recorded history the Targs--since at least Jaehaerys I--we have seen how allegiance or making sure that the exclusivity of dragonriding is maintained is another important element...Jaehaerys himself says that it is necessary to keep dragonriding exclusive is not just for Targ power but bec it is really bad to have multiple competing rival dragonriding groups and esp in the same space...Old Valyria is used as reference. The whole anxiety about the Two Betrayers and later arrests of the dragonseeds partially come from this fear.

So, yeah, the writers are sacrificing or just plain ignorant of the lore bc they have some weird jealousy towards this dragonriding family or want to feel as if they have some higher understanding of politics and history:

Ultimately, Condal’s own passion for Martin’s writing outweighed any doubt he had about his own. “I’m trying to make the type of show I would enjoy as a fan, which I am. And while I realize my ideal fan show will be different from someone else’s, I still think that it’s a good true north heading on my compass. Actually, I think that’s why HBO hired me in the first place.”

“I was working in a corporate environment and collaborating with other creatives,” Condal says. “Copywriters work closely with art directors responsible for visuals and layout, and there’s a similarity there to screenwriters working with directors responsible for turning your very cerebral ideas into concrete images. I also learned to compromise, adapting your writing to clients who aren’t always going to love your brilliant, avant-garde choices. That’s the talent-studio relationship, right there. Working on a deadline, on a budget, going into a room to give your presentation, and having someone on the other end of the table buy or not buy them — this stuff is relevant in any industry, Hollywood or not. Coming from a creative but also very corporate environment, I was able to navigate challenges that some of my colleagues with filmmaking and art history degrees maybe weren’t prepped for.”

[bosskie]

Man, how I should start explaining this odd 'n' random piece, yet again... Well, yesterday, I finished my first 100 % playthrough (did all the trophies 'n' collected the stuff) of one of my favourite games, Ōkami, I started 2 years ago on PC... (I got 3 copies of this game: PS2, PS4, and PC.) I'm not totally sure but it was at least my 4th time I finished the game but I have never completed everything, just collected all the stray beads once before. Oh, and I have never done all the trophies of any game before; I don't know if it was worth it still but I learned more about the game at least. I just see that I don't get much joy from getting those trophies, it's just something to do.

But yeah, that game has an unique art style and it inspired me to draw this piece. It's pretty much a mixture of styles but I tried to have somewhat Japanese vibe. Oh, and I don't actually speak Japanese but I have tried to study it a bit, should try it again, so I know some little stuff; it would be my 6th (natural) language I have actually studied (excluding my mother tongue) if I did that (I also study programming languages). So, I'm sorry for the possible mistakes here, but what's reading there is supposed to be Molluck's name in Japanese, as converted into it, Morukku Gurukkon. I tried to see if there's actual translation for it in the Japanese versions but I couldn't find such, so yeah, this was the best I could do. And that Slig is saying 'No!' but informally.

Oh, and I used an unsual way to draw this since it's been so long since I did lineart using my old Photoshop... It just had the best brushes for this style, so had to use it. I just know like nothing about custom brush stuff... I also cannot actually use pen pressure stuff since I draw with a mouse, so I do the effect by myself. Frankly, I still feel like I have no idea how to do digital art or what my style is in general... So, I just draw something in a way I just feel like. I feel like I always draw Molluck in a different way...

Frankly, I kinda like this piece more since it looks less like I did it... But I still drew this. This kinda reminds me of those moments when you are drawing IRL and someone asks you 'Did you draw that?!'... I'm not sure what to think of such a question... I just have had those moments for multiple times, since I was a child. I also just don't know what to really think of my art... I still feel quite bad about myself, making me feel even sorry for posting this piece... If someone doesn't know, I suffer from severe self-hatred and I don't even know why... I have also just never been pleased with my art... It's just so frustrating and discouraging... Well, they say that 'one man's trash is another man's treasure'... I just tend to see my stuff as trash and feel like I got no actual talent... But I'm trying my best to learn to think the opposite since it's not long when I felt like I should take down all my pieces, yet again, just end doing art completely... But well, I still wish to create stuff and it often requires artistic stuff, so I gotta just keep going I guess. I feel so sorry, even it's not my fault that I have this disorder... But I wanna thank you all for your kindness and understanding with this toward me!

[sea-owl]

Wouldn't it be funny if the Bridgerton wives were bored one day and just decided to band together and create a black market empire? Just imagine all 4 ladies at an afternoon tea party while their husbands are away and in a moment of silence Penelope (she who has done a many illegal activities in her youth) just straight up says "You know what would really be funny..." and the others will agree because 1) they're bored af and 2) they will use and create any opportunity to raise their husband's stress levels.

Then fast forward their husbands come back and have apoleptic levels of stress because WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CREATED A BLACK MARKET EMPIRE??? WE WERE GONE FOR A WEEK!

I love this. Lmao, you know what be funnier? If it was the same year Penelope and Lucy were pregnant with Georgie and Hermione too.

Penelope will pleade innocence to her husband later and that the baby gave her those thoughts (they both know she's lying), but she's so bored right now.

She's five months pregnant with her fourth child, and her husband had to go away with his brothers for an emergency at Aubrey Hall. That left her with her sister in-laws, Kate, Sophie, and Lucy.

Lucy was also pregnant with her third child, and she also looked extremely bored. Kate and Sophie also looked bored as their assigned babysitters.

Truly Penelope could not be blamed for what happened next.

"I am bored," Penelope stated.

Kate and Sophie looked over interested. Sophie always smiled when hearing of Penelope's tales of felonies just as Penelope delighted in hearing Sophie's tales of thievery. Kate was an enabler who was not afraid to pitch in, such as when they dumped all that tea in the Thames.

"I am as well," Lucy sighed. "Do you an idea?"

"Well. . ." Penelope trailed off. "The black market always did fascinate me. I used to trade secrets for goods with some of the merchants."

With a little bit of help from Penelope's friend, Ms. Kazan, the girls set up a "Lost and Found" business. Customers in need of their services would go to either Kate or Lucy and report a lost item or knowledge they wished to be found. For a fee, half paid up front and the other half paid after, Sophie or Penelope would go find the lost thing.

Were the methods always legal when they went looking? No, but hey, they wanna do a good job.

It was a very lucrative business, so much so that there were whispers about it when their husbands returned.

Colin immediately knew it was his wife's idea. Anthony, Benedict, and Gregory also knew it was Colin's wife's idea.

Storming into the Bridgerton drawing room, the husband's were greeted by their wives having tea in the exact spot they left them.

"Did you get bored while I was away?" Colin asked Penelope.

"Yes, I did," Penelope answered.

"So you created a black market shop?"

Penelope gestured to all the wives. "We created a black market shop."

"Why," all the brothers sighed.

Kate, Sophie, and Lucy shrugged. "We were bored and it seemed fun."

"And how long were we gone before you did this?"

"Ten minutes."

[again-and-then]

How’s about another round of headcanons? This time Emily and/or Sir Pentious?

color me curious, I haven't had too many thoughts about them. I really ought to draw them at some point. one thing at a time.

Emily:

Don't let her cuddly demeanor fool you, as a Seraphim, Emily is technically in the same power category as Lucifer and Sera... she's just never had to use that power for violence and hopes she never has to. She honestly wouldn't know what to do in a fight anyway. Still, she is fully capable of feats such as using magic to bless items, create entire structures out of thin air, appear in multiple places at once and all other kinds of miracles. makes her really, really good at managing all her responsibilities and the many needs of the mortals of Heaven.

Much like the Exorcists, Emily is an angel with an innate purpose given to her upon her creation. God created her to care for the mortal souls and keep them happy, a task she takes to with great gusto. Naturally cheerful and deeply empathetic, she is also a lot smarter than her goofy nature might imply. To help her better understand mortals, she is very easily able to take in and understand information. She knows just about every single language spoken in Heaven, knows the ways and customs of dozens of cultures, and can pick up a base understanding of any topic with minimal study as it helps her relate to the unique interests of the many souls she works with.

she very much laments her ignorance of the suffering of Sinners, she always knew that Hell was not a happy place but... it was where bad people went and she's known enough good people who were hurt by bad people to understand that punishment isn't an unreasonable idea... but hundreds of years of genocide? Nobody deserves that! Especially now that they can be redeemed.

Emily did... not enjoy her trip to Hell. The Hotel was nice and Charlie's friends were great but god, its so messy and there is puke and blood everywhere and she is definitely traumatized by what she saw happen to Lute. If she ever goes back, she will probably stay in the Embassy this time, no offense... Hell is Hellish.

Aside from having to work through stacks of official name change requests, Emily is surprisingly having a pretty good time working with the Exorcists. There was something of an adjustment period but the Exorcists have really taken to their new jobs and Glory has been a big help. Emily has found that once you get past their violent tendencies, a lot of the Exorcists are really nice and have been pretty welcoming. Still, she really ought to get around to finding them a new commander... but she has been pretty busy, it can probably wait a bit longer.

Emily has never dated, but she is ... curious. she's seen mortals falling in love again and again across lifetimes and thinks its one of the most beautiful things in creation. unfortunately, most of the Heavenly court either still thinks of her as a child or is too afraid of Sera to approach Emily with romantic intent. She has considered trying to flirt with mortals but fears it would become a conflict of interest with her purpose. Maybe she will get lucky and get swept off her feet by some brave guy... or girl.

Sir Pentious

I have touched on Sir Pentious being a war profiteer in life. He created and supplies many weapons to England and her allies throughout his life. While he never saw battle, he was often asked to consult on various battle plans and strategies which is how he developed the tactical skill for giving orders in combat that he display in the finale. Sir Pentious, Vaggie, and Alastor were the primary contributors to the battle plan.

As a surprise to both himself and Emily, Sir Pentious has retained his 'offensive' abilities despite his transition to Heaven, namely his poisonous bite and talent for light hypnosis. Emily is still rather new to the idea of even needing offensive abilities and has never really given thought to if other mortal souls in Heaven even have the same kinds of powers that sinners do. Food for thought.

One of his greatest regrets in life was that he was desperately lonely. He had few friends and only a few fleeting attempts at romantic engagements. He was often too focused on his work to give his attention to those around him and it drove people away, but being lonely only made him dive deeper into his work. Making his Egg Bois was merely a desperate attempt to alleviate his isolation but they never filled the void of true companionship. (he still cared about them, but more like pets than people, they are soulless afterall). this was why he was happy to put his life on the line and died without regrets, because his time at the hotel gave him the sense of companionship and community he craved all his life.

He isn't particularly... proud of this but his romantic interest in Cherri Bomb actually started because he was spying on her. He had thought her yet another ruffian trying to steal the territory he had claimed, until he used one of his spy machines and witnessed Cherri's habit of (surprisingly competently) re-engineering pieces of his broken tech and using it to design her own weapons. in the early days he would even occasionally drop pieces of equip he knew she would be able to make good use of to further observe her technical skill. what started as a mild fascination quickly turned to admiration and eventually adoration, not that he knew how to express that. He rather looked forward to their fights and banter, even if it often left him with bruises.

before anyone of you degenerate scoundrels think of anything untowards, he absolutely never used his spying equipment for lewd purposes. Sir Pentious is the definition of a gentleman and would never dare to do such a thing.

[newromesweirdest]

Octavian the Augur.....or is he a haruspex?

TLDR: Octavian is both a haruspex and an augur (2 different ancient roman religious positions) but Rick’s writing was lazy and didn’t elaborate on his abilities and settled for the label of “augur” even though it isn’t accurate to what we see in the books.

(For those of you who don’t know, in Ancient Rome the Augur was an ancient Roman priest who studied omens and signs to determine if the gods were in favor of a motion or idea, and then he would relay these findings to the Senate. We see this a bit throughout the books. However, a haruspex was a person who was trained to read the entrails of sacrificed animals, especially the livers. Augurs and haruspex were not the same thing, and their duties were not usually performed by the same person historically).

Octavian is the ONLY haruspex we see in the series, so it’s safe to assume that within the confines of canon, Octavian is the sole haruspex. His role as haruspex is confirmed in canon through his sacrifice of stuffed animals and the signs he reads from their stuffing, and yet he is continuously referred to as an “augur.” If I remember correctly, Octavian even refers to the sacrificed “entrails” as “auspices,” which is incorrect. “Taking the auspices” is the name for the practice of studying birds and their omens, and not for the reading of the sacrificed “entrails.” Now, this is most likely just due to Rick’s writing style and the way he chose to develop New Rome and Octavian’s character. I think most of us can agree that Octavian is not the most well developed character, nor is his characterization entirely consistent or logical as the books progress. Unfortunately, a lot of it comes down to the fact that Rick rehashed and redesigning a large portion of Ancient Roman society and customs to fit within the confines of the story that he had already created. A lot of New Rome’s word building just....doesn’t make sense, and that also applies to how it functions in conjunction with the “real” world (the college, for example. How in the world would those degrees transfer in any logical way to mortal life, even with the assistance of the mist?). But, the part where New Rome falls flat the most is it’s “continuation” of Roman “tradition” (aka it’s lack thereof). 

However, I do understand why Rick wrote New Rome the way that he did. Most preteens and teens are not going to know the ins and outs of Ancient Roman religion, and most people wouldn’t exactly know how to pronounce the word “haruspex”, much less know the definition of it. 

Keeping this in mind, I believe that Octavian is intended to be both an Augur and a Haruspex. In my own world building and head canon, Augurs aren’t terribly common. I believe that this is somewhat hinted at in canon, but I don’t have my books here at the moment to reference. Octavian is a legacy of Apollo, and it’s implied that he has divination abilities because of it. Considering this, that means that the ability to become an augur or haruspex is essentially genetic (at least until the bloodline is so diluted that the legacy “blood” no longer has any affect over the mortal blood). Legacies don’t seem to be terribly common in canon, let alone legacies of Apollo. Furthermore, regular children of Apollo don’t ever seem to have this ability. Therefore, while the natural inclination is largely genetic, I believe that a legacy or child must also be specifically chosen or blessed by Apollo, similarly to how Rachel is chosen to become the Oracle for CHB. In terms of Roman augurs/haruspices, I would imagine that Apollo at one point or another chose one family line (at a time when he had more legacies and descendants than he does in modern times) and then “stuck” with that family line as his augurs and diviners. I head canon this because Ancient Rome itself was very focused on lineage and family bloodlines, and that seems to resonate with Octavian’s character. Octavian himself is largely a reference to Octavian Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome and the founder of one of Rome’s iconic dynasties/bloodlines. Family names and bloodlines are most likely just as important in New Roman politics as they were in Ancient Rome, but we don’t see it much in canon with the main focus being on the 7 and not on New Rome.

Because Apollo has most likely chosen Octavian’s family to represent his prophecies, one could assume that there are no other candidates for augur or haruspex. This could explain why Octavian has the position despite the fact that a good portion of the legion doesn’t particularly like him. In Ancient Rome, augurs were priests that were officially appointed as a sort of “head of the church.” If that was still the case in New Rome, then why doesn’t the legion just vote him out of office??

Because they can’t. Octavian’s family has essentially been divinely appointed, for better or for worse.

In summary, Octavian is both an augur and a haruspex due to lazy writing and the confines of canon, but I believe that there is much more beneath the surface regarding his powers, abilities, and family situation.

[realityhelixcreates]

Lasabrjotr 86: A View of the Sky

And the settling in process starts all over.

Eyes followed them everywhere. They had an escort of einherjar, and Loki had ordered the path cleared, but there were always going to be people going about their business, always going to be people who had to see so badly, they'd risk anything.

And so eyes followed them, as he guided the two Frost Giants through the halls, continuing to wear his own blue skin along the way.

Perhaps he should have made a parade of it, and got the gawking over with. It seemed a poor idea for the little one though. Angrboda huddled in her caretaker's arms, no more than a confused toddler.

His wife. The Princess-In-Waiting. A tiny child. Older than him, technically, but still a tiny, tiny child. What was he going to do about this? What was he going to tell you?

He wasn't going to marry a baby, obviously. But what would be the political ramifications of sending her back home empty-handed? If she was meant to be raised to be his partner in life, what other options awaited her back on Jotunheim?

Their rooms had been roughly prepared in an unfinished wing. The insulation had been left out of the walls, and the roofs left open to the sky, to give the giants as much access to cold as possible. Loki was already planning on how to use the tunnels for temperature controlled housing once the Spring arrived.

The rooms were sparsely furnished so far; Jotun sized furniture was in short supply. At least the child had a proper bed, desk, and chair, but she would need more as she grew. As for Heid, cushions had been heaped on the floor for her to arrange as she saw fit, until a fully sized bed could be built.

Some of the artisans had already accepted the challenge, putting them ahead of those who had refused or hesitated. There had also been a few volunteers to create a wardrobe for the two icy refugees. Asgardians certainly loved a challenge.

And there was a challenge to be overcome here. Jotun skin, though tough and durable, thrived in the cold and the air, and needed to breathe. Wearing this shape, Loki's relatively light armor felt stifling. These two might be uncomfortable, even in their airiest fabrics. An Asgardian lady might show her bare arms, and even shoulders if she were very daring, but Heid presented yards of exposed, dangerous flesh.

And that was the real trouble. So much visible skin might be scandalous to Asgardians, but that could be waived as simply a difference in culture. But that danger could not be ignored. It could not be assumed the Heid, with her superior size, would never accidentally brush up against somebody. That Angrboda would not get overexcited about something, forget herself and hug someone. Was she even old enough to comprehend the danger she posed?

She stood in the middle of the main room, squinting up at the clear blue sky.

“It's so bright.” she said in her tiny voice.

“Yes. This planet is very close to its star.”

“I never came up here before.”

“I should say not. It was far too dangerous then. It's less dangerous now.”

“Asgard won't hurt us?”

“Not while I breathe.”

She gazed up at him, ruby eyes inquisitive.

“I was supposed to meet you as a baby. But they said I couldn't meet you because you died. How did you not die? Is it because you're so small? Why are you so small?”

Loki kept his even smile under the barrage of questions. No doubt there was much she was confused about, mixed in with the natural curiosity of a child.

“Well. To begin with, I truly might have died, had I stayed on Jotunheim. I was awfully small, after all. I didn't die though, because Asgard's previous king stumbled across me. He didn't understand the customs; he just saw a helpless creature and felt pity. Perhaps if I had gone back to the stars, I'd have returned and grown large. But this is as big as I get, I'm afraid.

As for why...I wondered about that for a long time, and I've finally figured it out. My mother came here. She intended to live here, and raise me here. And so I was born the right size to live here, and grew to a proper size for this planet.”

“Is this world small? I heard Asgard was small, and that's why everyone there is small.”

“No, this world is quite large actually! Eventually, you'll be able to see more of it. Would you like that?”

The child nodded.

“Nanna says I have to be careful though. If I touch any humans, they'll die.”

“They might.” Loki admitted. “There is power in your body that is unfamiliar here. And humans are very soft creatures. But they are also fairly resourceful, so we will figure something out.”

“Nanna said that's why we had to come here. Re-sourc-es. We didn't have enough, so we came here. But it didn't work.”

“No...I'm afraid it didn't...”

Resources. That was the root of everybody's problems, wasn't it? It was why humans fought each other. It was what Thanos claimed to be worried about. And it was why the Frost Giants had come to this planet in the first place. It was, in a way, why Asgard was here now as well.

Loki thought about the sheer number of Jotun warriors who had been slain in that war. Odin had chased them all the way back to their iceball world to continue the slaughter there. Every species had a finite number, and the Frost Giants, like Asgardians, could die in an instant, but took a long time to replenish those numbers.

When Loki had 'visited' Jotunheim, he had been surrounded by evidence of fallen glory; crumbling arches, cracked floors. Was that evidence of a mad king's careless rule, as he had initially assumed? Or had Asgard slain so many of the Giants that there were not enough left to maintain even the king's dwelling?

It was one way to slow down the use of resources, certainly. But it was also the worst way.

The rising volcano from your dreams came back to him. Things were changing on Jotunheim. A warming world might make more resources available, for a people that were able to adapt. Perhaps that would be his only useful act as king.

Or perhaps he was simply trying to find a way out of culpability for the destruction he had wrought.

When this child looked at him with her red, red eyes, it troubled him. She was clearly so innocent, so inexperienced. She had no understanding of the things that drove others to kill. She might not even have understood what war even was. He felt almost ashamed to be near her, as if he didn't deserve to be looked upon by such purity.

He understood his father much better in that moment, and he resented it.

******

“A child!?!” You exclaimed, scandalized.

“Well, technically, she's older than me, but yes.” Loki said. “Human rulers pledged their children to each other all the time, did they not? It's not like I'm actually going to marry her! That ship has long since sailed.”

“Does that mean she's nobility?” you asked. “How do you even treat Jotun nobility? Or does that matter?”

You'd spent some time learning, not only all the possible titles for the various tiers of Asgardian aristocracy, but those for what remained of the human peerage as well, since the possibility that you would meet such people was much higher now. Heck, you'd even learned titles for Vanir and Alfar high society, though their cultures and what they valued differed from the others. But what about Jotun?

“Eh, I don't know too much about Jotun pledging customs.” Loki admitted. “It just...never really came up. Ah, but I have a reliable source of information now. The child's guardian, Heid. I can learn from her all the things I was so carefully steered away from when I was young.”

“That's a good idea, but isn't she the one that's stuck on the whole child bride thing?” you pointed out.

“To her, it's as if no more than a day has passed. She'll soon see how ridiculous the whole proposition is.” Loki said, but you weren't certain. Royalty had really strict rules and codes of conduct, didn't they? And...well...one day you would die. Everybody knew that. One day, you wouldn't be here, and Angrboda would. She'd still be a kid by the time you were gone, but both she and Loki would live on. Wouldn't it solve things with Jotunheim? Wasn't that what these kinds of unions were supposed to do? When she was older, and you were long, long gone, wouldn't it be prudent at least to think about it? As a Seidkona, an advisor, shouldn't you bring that up?

But you just couldn't. Not while you still lived. Not while she was still a little kid. This task could fall to whatever advisors came after you.

“Alright. So, when do I meet them?”

Loki hesitated.

“Once I've talked to them a bit more. We're throwing quite a lot at them all at once. I think it might be best to let them settle in. At least until their room is finished.”

“Fine. Have you had lunch?”

Goodness no! Can we?”

You wondered briefly if the Crown Prince sitting at a beat up old wooden table in the back of the kitchen, scarfing down a hastily prepared meal was a common sight to the kitchen staff. But only briefly. The cooks didn't act any different, and your sandwich was calling to you with much more urgency.

[polillalegacyarchive]

Her mother lived right next to the university she worked at and it only took them ten minutes to reach her office in the historical and social sciences wing of the main building. Isidora hadn't been inside her mother's office in years.

Her mother used to take her to work when she was a child. Even back then, she'd always felt out of place though. Too focused to notice, her mother began rummaging through one of her bookcases and mumbling to herself, as Isi took a seat.

"So, should we start from scratch?"

Isi shook her head. "No, I remember the basics: Djinn were the first beings, their fire spreading life and magic everywhere they went. Then came merfolk and humans, each claiming their part of the planet, water and earth." She recited, her mother sitting across from her.

"Not only did djinn not have enough space to live their lives in peace anymore, but they also realised humans and merfolk were trying to harness their powers: trapping them, binding them... I don't remember everything, but it doesn't matter because djinn are extinct now, right?"

Her mother only gave her a slight nod: "We can't have proof that they are still around. Doesn't make them extinct. But you can continue."

"Djinn rebelled, started using their magic against humans and merfolk. Each species reacted differently."

"Merfolk swore off magic and made a peace treaty, the seven priestesses all agreeing for the first and last time in mer history to advise the empress that it was the only way for them to survive."

Her mother lifted an eyebrow, clearly surprised at how much she remembered.

Isi lifted her chin, carrying on: "Humans did the opposite. They used their alchemy knowledge to try and harness the djinn's and the mer's essences. Foolish experiments ensued. They were trying to make themselves stronger, more powerful, so they could take on the djinn."

They heard footsteps in the hallway outside and Isi hesitated. She'd trained herself not to talk about occults anymore and it was hard to keep going knowing there could be someone listening in. The secrecy had been what had kept her safe, as it had many others before her...

With an encouraging hand gesture from her mother, she finished:

"But they created vamps instead, with no idea how to control them. With two enemies they couldn't face and talks of them allying, some casters tried to harness the moon's magic and turned themselves into werewolves."

"My knowledge stops here. What happened after? I just always assumed the Century Conflict scattered occults. That everyone was just riding it out alone, like I do..."

Isidora could hear the curiosity and loneliness in her voice. With time, she'd  isolated herself, she knew it.

Her mother started counting fingers. "The merfolk, as you know, retreated underwater. The djinn pretty much disappeared. Vampires and spellcasters formed a council, keeping a close eye on their populations. With the years, that council has been protecting as much as punishing."

"But what about the wolves?!" she asked, her patience running low.

"The wolves were different, made from raw magic, similar to what runs in the merfolk's veins really. They were unruly. Quickly, they formed packs. Alphas took charge."

Isi's mother seemed less confident than usual.

"Unfortunately, we don't have as much information as we'd like... Werewolves aren't as compliant as other species when it comes to divulging information about themselves. They can be wary."

"Why aren't they part of the council?" Isi wondered out loud.

Her mother shook her head, clearly bothered by her limited knowledge on the subject.

"From what we could gather, they could never agree on one person to represent them, so instead, they meet every year or so for a summit meet."

She leaned forward, a small smile on her face.

"However, I would love to get to ask your new friend a bit more about her people's customs."

"She not a friend and I don't think I'll ever get to see her again so you're out of luck Mama!" Isi was trying to sound playful but the sentence came out strained instead.

Picking up a pen and one of her journals, her mother readied herself to take notes:

"Even more reason to tell me everything you learned, even things that you think I'd already know about."

And so Isidora did as she was told.

She didn't end up telling her mother about how vulnerable Rory had been to her mer-kiss though. Didn't mention just how much sexual tension there had been between the two of them either.

And as soon as she was finished, she yawned: "Can we go take care of my hair now?"

[cyraelin]

Hi. I've been thinking about creating a movie about the HGs as well and I'd like to ask a few things:

Is it a good idea to introduce the winner directly? As the only protagonist. I know which tribute I want to win but there are also more interesting tributes.

I currently only have the base game, does that make it difficult to create the movie?

Where do you find jackets for the arena suit with so many colors? I'd like to follow the tradition of colors in each district.

Do you think an escort or stylist can feel a connection with their assigned tribute?

Who was the person who created the tracksuits used during training? I know Jess created the Cornucopia. I'm asking for permission to use their creations.

I think I've seen Wiress win in year 41 in your lore, I had planned that year for my movie. Is there any problem? I can change the year if necessary.

Thank you so much for reading my questions (I'm sorry there were too many) I hope you can fix the problems your editor caused. I hope you're doing well and that the 45th goes as you planned.

Oh my goodness, these are a lot of questions, but let me try to answer them:

That's exactly the route I'm going for with the 45th. The first scene is Chaff's victory interview, after which we go back in time to see his life back in District 11. Of course, other tributes will be introduced gradually, but the main focus will be on him. I know my idea so far was to introduce a character who has a smaller role in the story and shift the focus to the true protagonist as the story goes, but since I received some criticism because some viewers felt cheated, I'll give them exactly what they want this time and start with the victor. Well, some people will complain that it's predictable, but hey, you can't please everyone. Either approach has its advantages and disadvantages.

Unfortunately, making a movie if you have base game only will be pretty difficult. First of all, you don't have weather changes which are a part of Seasons. Then, you won't have mutts (I used Cats and Dogs for the mutts, but perhaps you could use zombie or other custom occults as mutts. You need mods for that, though). Then, if you try to use Jess's Cornucopia, it will not show up properly in your game because she uses several packs, the most important one being Spa Day. The Capitol scenes were filmed in San Myshuno, which is a part of City Living. Lastly, the arena options will be limited. You only have 3 base game worlds, which are Willow Creek, Oasis Springs, and Newcrest. Out of all the 3, the only suitable one is Oasis Springs (which Jess used for the 60th), unless you want an urban arena. There are also the secret worlds — Sylvan Glade (which is a fairy world, but the problem is that there's no night time, so you won't be able to do the fallen) and Forgotten Grotto (which is the cave I used in the 43rd, but it's pretty small for an arena and once again you'll struggle to make the fallen). There's also the option to use the bigger lots and build your own arena on multiple lots, but keep in mind that it will be harder for your sims to stay hidden so unless you want short games I don't recommend it. I have a lot of packs and that helps a lot.

Well, the jackets are generally from packs, so if you have base game only, then I can't give them to you. I also make my own recolours using Sims 4 Studio, so you need to learn that if you want custom jackets. You could search for cc jackets online, but from personal experience, those are hard to find for both male and female sims. If you also plan to use child sims, you've just made your life ten times harder because their options are even more limited.

I mean, Effie seemed to care about Katniss and Peeta after their victory, and Cinna also supported Katniss, so I don't see why it wouldn't apply to other escorts or stylists. However, I believe that most of them either don't care because they see the Games as a fun celebration, or if they do care, they don't know how to help the tributes besides giving them tips on how to be more popular in the Capitol.

Those are base game tracksuits, and you can find them by searching "cas unlock" on the gallery. However, if you are not planning to buy packs, I suggest avoiding child sims because their tracksuits are from Spa Day.

No, that's fine by me. I didn't plan on exploring Wiress's games, but if someone else wants to, then I will happily encourage them to do so.

[mi6021roishutton]

Idea Generation of Final Film

I have begun trying to brainstorm and come up with some potential stories for my final film.

IDEA 1

I really liked a character I had made last year during the Character Design module and I wanted to continue exploring the concept of a Church Grim. For this idea, I wanted it to be following the same soul but reincarnating as 3 different dogs and exploring their lives. I outlined this in the rough planning above.

I loved this idea at first, but felt something needed pushed a bit further.

IDEA 2

From the first idea, I got thinking about how I could have expanded it further. For this idea, I kept the same idea of a dog as the central character but changed the story. I wanted to explore some Irish folklore potentially and was already aware of the myth of Abhartach, an Irish interpretation of a vampire. I did not want to simply centre a vampire as we typically imagine, such as a Nosferatu figure.

I still really liked the idea of using a dog and so essentially mixed these together to create my next idea.

When I imagined the playthrough of the film, I liked the idea of a narrator telling it like a story to a child. From this, I wrote out a basic script and decided I wanted it told in Irish as I have always tried to tie in my culture to my work.

At the same time as I was planning the story of it, I found it very easy to imagine what this beast would look like. I began compiling images that I liked and would use as inspiration for design and techniques.

IDEA 3

I wanted to do something very dissimilar to the other 2 for my third idea and I seemed to come across this idea randomly. It may have been from a variety of sources, such as films, books, makeup artists etc.

I liked the idea of a less constructed story and focusing more on a space to explore for the 2 minutes. I really love how some artists combine the retro aesthetic of the 50s with extra-terrestrials. I began looking at the make-up looks and drag artists that initially inspired me.

I didn't want to plan a a story for this one like I did the others and more-so a concept and environment in which characters are, not a space where characters control the narrative.

I began looking for visual inspirations then of retro diners and style of the time.

I realised then I may veer into futurism and decided I wanted to keep the film focused entirely on the diner and not a landscape, as much futurism art is.

So far, my idea for what happens in the film is to focus it on the alien waitresses rollerskating around and serving the food to customers. I would like the duration to be exploring the diner, the kitchen, the food and the movement of the characters.

I also wanted to try and create my own dishes that I imagine would be served in the diner and so I began researching the weirdest looking plants and insects currently on our planet.

[cmcsmen]

Expectations

Photo: 'In Daddy's Arms' - A child is at peace enveloped in the security of a fathers embrace. Likewise, as children of God, we are embraced by His love and secure peace. All we have to do is accept! Click here to get your copy.  Copyright 2012 Frank J Casella.

In our present culture, there are a lot of unresolved issues. This is because people in our culture are constantly trying to help each other, but this often doesn't work out the way people intended. And this can be because people often have different expectations of each other, which can create tension.

When two or more individuals are involved, differing expectations will arise when frank and honest communications is lacking. This can create tension and conflict, as each person has different ideas of what is acceptable behavior. In some cases, this can lead to resentment and bitterness.

Expectations in the Catholic male world should mirror those of God. Because our identity and our faith depends on His will, and when we act in accordance with His plan, others take notice. This is especially important when it comes to dealing with family and friends, as so many now seem to expect us to agree with them or face judgement or rejection.

What issues are Catholic men discussing with one another? Some of the common issues are that their children are not following the faith and morals as they were raised, demands from their jobs go beyond providing a service to the customer, their culture can isolate them, and their marriages can be dysfunctional due to unmet needs or unresolved anger. 

It is said that your family can be your worst critic, and that your true friends can be more like family than your own family. What has worked for me in this regard is to not seek apology as much as provide forgiveness.

What goes into our minds ultimately comes out of our mouths. This is known as "Garbage In, Garbage Out." Christ or the world?  What we put into our minds can have a significant impact on how we act and when we're speaking, and it's important to be mindful of what we're saying in order to create the best possible impression and dialog with others. 

This has become so obvious to me how too many of us have our own expectations, that it brought me to look up the word  'expectation' in the Catholic Catechism and found this gem: 

2657 The Holy Spirit, who instructs us to celebrate the liturgy in expectation of Christ's return, teaches us-to pray in hope. Conversely, the prayer of the Church and personal prayer nourish hope in us. The psalms especially, with their concrete and varied language, teach us to fix our hope in God: "I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry." 8 As St. Paul prayed: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

I find it interesting how the Catholic Catechism shares that we should pray in hope. Hope is something that is important to me, as it fills me with joy and peace when I have it. I also find it interesting that St. Paul said that we should pray that the God of hope fills us with all joy and peace. This is a great reminder to me to (strive to) have hope in the goodness of God.

I believe that prayer and expectation go hand-in-hand. When we put our hope in God, we are given the strength over time to overcome any obstacle that comes our way. Prayer and the Holy Spirit is the bridge that connects us to God and helps us to have a positive outlook on life. When we pray, we are asking for guidance with our expectations and for help in our current situation, that we don't have all the answers.

I once had a Catholic man tell me that he has stopped going to Mass because he feels that the pews are filled with people who depend on God, and without Him they are lost. To me, this is exactly why people should go to Mass!

Looking at others through the lens of Christ helps us to see them as they are intended to be seen - as children of God. In doing so, we are able to forgive and move on from our past experiences and expectations. By doing this, we can focus on what is truly important - namely, living for God and helping others do the same. 

Although it can be hard, it is important to focus more on what God expects of us, rather than [the expectations of] others or ourselves. This is how I think we can be able to meet expectations in life, and ultimately be happy. By looking at others through the eyes of Christ, we can see their struggles and see the best in them. This helps us to be forgiving and merciful, and to help others when they need it. 

[candycritic]

Timbits In Thailand

I'm a Canadian through and through, I'm so Canadian that I believe it is my duty to visit each and every Tim Horton's that I can. Whenever I travel to any country that has a Tim Horton's I'm sure to check in and pick up a donut or a few Timbits. There are probably a few people reading this that didn't know that Tim Horton's had spread out globally, and maybe even a few of you have no idea what Tim Horton's is at all. For those who are completely unfamiliar, Tim Horton's is an iconic donut and coffee shop in Canada. If you ever visit any city in all of Canada, chances are they have a Tim Horton's. Chances are also good that the locals either love the place, or love to complain about how it's gone downhill and not worth visiting.

For those familiar with Tim Horton's, but didn't know that they're global then you might be a little surprised. I've visited a few Tim Horton's locations in my life, including UAE and China. The one thing I can say about all of the international locations I've visited is they each take the theme and make it their own. UAE is probably the most similar to a regular Tim Horton's, with a few custom creations. China is more like a Canadian themed restaurant, with less focus on the donuts. Thailand is probably closer to the Tim Horton's from Canada, but it's still a little more Canadian themed restaurant like. They offer a few of the classic Tim Horton's treats, but many of their treats are just a little different. I've decided that the best way to show you is by picking up a box of assorted Timbits and rating each one. Allison and I picked up 10 Timbits and got 5 different flavours. We'll start with the standards, then move our way to the more unique.

Chocolate Glazed - The nice thing about this donut was that it was pretty much exactly the same as the Canadian equivalent. I'm happy they offer a few of the classics so Canadians can feel a little taste of home, and locals can taste a little Canadian authenticity. Allison was particularly happy because this is her go to Timbit.

Strawberry Snow - While this goes by a different name than I remember, the Strawberry Snow is basically just a strawberry powdered Timbit. This isn't a donut I'd seen much on my recent stay in Canada, but I do remember them from when I was a kid. The "snow" name is also clever as many people in South East Asia have never actually seen snow and see Canada as a beautiful white land during the winter.

Chocolate Snow - While the concept is the same as the Strawberry Snow, I don't have any memories of there being a chocolate powdered donut at Tim Horton's in the past. Let me know if I'm wrong, but this seems like a different variation. It's also a variation  I think people would really enjoy in Canada (this is going to be a theme from here on out).

Chocolate Truffle - This Timbit now holds the title for the most decadent Timbit I've ever eaten. What you have is a chocolate Timbit, covered in a dark chocolate coating, which then has real chocolate curls on the outside. It was the more rich Timbit I've ever tasted in my life. I feel like this would probably be a really popular Timbit in Canada with one problem. I feel like Tim Horton's would lose money selling this in Canada because it's obviously made with good quality chocolate (expensive) and you pretty much just have to eat one Timbit and you're full.

Maple Coffee - If I could somehow transport a Timbit to you through the internet, this would be the one I send. This Timbit is pretty much the poster child for flavours of Tim Horton's, a Canadian coffee chain. It's a vanilla Timbit with maple icing that's then liberally dusted with coffer crunchy bits (maybe even some real coffee). While I'm not a huge fan of coffee myself, I can't deny that the flavours worked, and created something that just made me feel patriotic at every bite.

These were my 5 Timbits. I've mentioned before, but now that I'm living in South East Asia again, I feel like I'll be visiting Bangkok a few times over the next few years. It's a comfortable place for me, and the fact that there's a Tim Horton's only makes it more comfortable.

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[blue-jester]

I posted 18,254 times in 2022

That's 3,630 more posts than 2021!

1,164 posts created (6%)

17,090 posts reblogged (94%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@catthescholar

@kirbyofthestars

@muffinb

@fanimaedraws

@ravendragons

I tagged 2,085 of my posts in 2022

#kirby - 342 posts

#kirby series - 248 posts

#blues art - 109 posts

#kirby oc - 95 posts

#bastalor - 67 posts

#fecto elfilis - 66 posts

#outfit ideas - 55 posts

#galacta knight - 50 posts

#morpho knight - 49 posts

#katfl spoilers - 45 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i draw in a dark color matching the character in question then i copy/paste the color layer after i merge it all together and put the color

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

more coherent Kirby species lore post than my last one, headcannons gotta be dropped my fellas

Astrals, also known as star children are born from two places which indicates the type of Astral, type number one "basic Astrals" are born from falling stars- aka a hyper nova happens and a little ball is just shot out at light speeds- and the other "world eater Astrals" are born when the universe itself makes a wish. Both types of Astrals keep untold power within, however world eaters are much more divine in nature as basic astrals are more suited for lesser scale protection of the universe. World eaters often play very big roles in their universe which is why they're so rare.

Basic Astrals accumulate power over time, their main function is to become warriors that fight off threats- Galacta Knight is old as fuck and can destroy planets without a sweat, Meta Knight on the other hand is much much younger, but still very powerful. I'd say young adult in Astral years (which is infinite because they are immortal- but can be killed by means other than age).

World Eater Astrals are born with untold power- often seen as the embodiments of certain concepts like say... Death. Or friendship! Either way! They gain power from other living things, sort of absorbing them to use their power to fuel themselves, which explains Kirby's ungodly apatite! When they reach a certain age they begin to look different from a basic Astral, so for the first few millennia of their lives they often look identical to a basic astral and you could only really tell the difference by seeing their power. Ancient world eaters can change shape entierly! Morpho, Kirby and possibly Void are world eaters!

Now, they are a very very rare species. Basics are very hard to come by themselves- world eaters are even more rare and thus more feared. But! How do these little round beasts age? What are their characteristics?

All Astrals start out as little round balls, no limbs, only a face, eyes with what looks like galaxies in them. When the limbs have formed they're about the age of a young child and will gravitate to the nearest planet to begin their life properly, often crashing down like meteors or "shooting stars". They're incredibly malleable and squishy. You pet one and it feels like if a peach and a balloon had a baby. They're curious, hungry little things. They need to eat a LOT to help with building their power supply (or maintaining it).

Then they grow into older children-teens, where small wings start to form on their backs, during this stage other appendages like horns or antenna or antlers may begin forming as well- though it's very rare. This stage is where they begin losing their hover ability to slowly adjust to a more reliable and fast flight.

When they've matured enough they'll have grown larger- not too much larger mind you! But they will also have paws now to better hold weapons, and their wings will have finally come in. Also Astrals eyes become brighter and start glowing the older they get, so by this stage they are a pure color (but still have stars in them if you look close enough) and will glow. Also, speaking of wings, they come in all shapes and sizes, bat wings, bug wings, bird wings, star shaped sparkler wings you name it they can have it!

BASICALLY it goes from: float->hover->fly

It's a custom of Astrals to don a mask or helm of some kind when they've reached full maturity, as it's... Kinda hard to take a lil cutie pie seriously unless they cover that cutie pie face up! Some Astrals are more anxious about their faces though. Looking at you Meta Knight.

241 notes - Posted April 22, 2022

#4

POV: You are a penguin learning that your husband and adoptive children can all purr and have to hold back the tears of pure joy so you don't wake them up from their naps

269 notes - Posted June 5, 2022

#3

microwaving him

350 notes - Posted June 10, 2022

#2

omg gay people real?

431 notes - Posted May 18, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

this everyone, is the ideal body type. I'm sorry it does not live up to YOUR beauty standards but this is the perfect form, we should all strive to achieve. If you do not look like this don't even LOOK at me

1,678 notes - Posted June 27, 2022

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