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irisintheafterglow · 9 months ago

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a kaiju attack spoils date night with bf!hoshina. he is so pissed.

cw: canon-typical violence, swearing, mild angst/fluff, happy surprise ending

"is it just me, or does the vice-captain seem angrier than usual?"

"maybe he's just fired up. there's a lot of yoju for him to take care of," iharu observes, scanning the emptied streets from the rooftop of an evacuated office building.

"you idiots really don't pay attention at all, do you?" shinomiya mumbles under her breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. the rest of the officers with her stare at her blankly. "it's thursday, geniuses."

"is there something special about kaiju appearances and days of the week?"

"not that i've heard of," kafka states, scratching his head with a finger. "did new research come out?"

"maybe it's because of the full moon," haruichi says and the other men look up at its soft shining light, nodding in understanding.

"that makes a lot of sense."

"but why would that make the vice-captain angry?"

"maybe he's a werewolf," iharu whispers with sincere worry. "maybe kafka's not the only shapeshifter in our division."

"it's date night, you meatheads! the vice-captain's supposed to be off-base and relaxing," shinomiya explains impatiently like it was written on the floors in fluorescent paint. "he's probably angry that the attack came right when he usually picks up..."

"picks up who?" the officers stiffen and quickly fall into perfect lines. you smile at their professionalism and try not to laugh at how quickly they changed their gossiping demeanors. "you know, officers, you should be careful about what you say in regards to the vice-captain."

"our deepest apologies, platoon leader," kaguragi monotoned, ever the perfect soldier.

"at ease," you command them. "you have nothing to apologize for. i'm simply warning you of what might have happened had it not been me passing by."

"understood, platoon leader," izumo confirms. "if we may," he continues slowly and you can see the rest of the officers eyeing him warily. "were we...correct in our assumption as to the reason for the vice-captain's mood?"

"the werewolf assumption or the assumption that only shinomiya was correct about?" everyone but shinomiya reddens, looking down sheepishly at the toes of their suits. the axe-wielder straightens her shoulders with a proud glint in her eyes. "to answer your question, it would be the latter," you answer with a poorly-hidden smirk. "he'd barely knocked on my door when the alarm sounded."

"oh, i bet the vice-cap was seething."

"he definitely was," you confirm, recalling the colorful curses he uttered as you both begrudgingly shed your nicer clothes for your combat suits. i was supposed to take off your clothes under different circumstances, he'd lamented. don't go thinking our night is canceled because of this. i'll finish them off quickly for you.

your relationship with hoshina was no secret, considering that he talked about you whenever he was given the chance. every kdf member on base knew you preferred to keep your romantic life as private as possible to avoid questions of power dynamics from higher-ranking officials. hoshina, however, either didn't listen or didn't seem to care. he happily declared thursday nights to be date nights, threatening intense punishment for the officers below him if they caused trouble while he was gone. a static-filled message from the scouting teams sounds in your earpiece and you dismiss the officers, moving to join the vice-captain at the front line.

judging by the slowly increasing trail of dead monsters covering the asphalt, you find hoshina easily as he cuts a clean slice through a fast-moving yoju. you change the frequency on your earpiece so that you're directly connected to his.

"someone's been busy," you remark, pulling the batons from your back and electrifying them with the switch by your thumb. they hum in your hands, electric blue lightning crackling in sync with the released power of your suit. "save some for me, would you?"

"any other day, i would," he replies and you hear him smile despite his annoyance. "but it took me three months to get those reservations, so i wanna finish this up quickly." another yoju falls, your boyfriend a phantom blur in the darkness.

"are you calling me slow?" your hand plants itself on your hip as you continue to watch him cut down enemies, barely moving from your place between the dead kaiju. "i can't believe my boyfriend thinks i'm slow. here i thought you were my biggest supporter."

"that's not what i said," he huffs, the slightest waver in his exhale the only evidence of exertion. "i'm just faster." he pauses for half a second to catch his breath, and you snag your chance to overtake him.

"hmm, i think i'll take over for a second, then." launching yourself from the ground, your feet run perpendicular against the wall of a crumbling building as you close the distance. you can feel hoshina's attention on you while you dodge the yoju's swinging limbs and sink your batons into the skin covering its core, electricity surging through its body as it falls with a loud thud. "how's that, mister i'm just faster?"

"cute," he admits, offering you a hand as you hop down from the monster's head. you're shoulder to shoulder facing opposite directions and catch the challenge in his eyes as you look at him over your shoulder. "but i know you can go harder."

"go your fastest then, soshiro," you dare. his throat bobs as he swallows thickly, a subtle sign that you'd thrown him off. "i'll do my best to keep up."

---

"so, this is not how i wanted date night to end up," he says through a mouth full of noodles, slurping them loudly from the bowl on your living room coffee table. "and i'm sorry we couldn't go to that fancy place."

"to be fair, the website didn't exactly update its hours immediately," you remind him. "how were we supposed to know the place got demolished in the attack?"

"true, but i made you get all dressed up for nothing," he grumbles, accidentally dropping a vegetable and splashing broth onto his face. "ow." you snort against your spoon, setting it down in your bowl and swiping over the corner of soshiro's mouth with a napkin. "this was my favorite shirt, too. worst date night ever."

"good thing there's this place called the cleaners, babe." he continues to frown despite your unending patience, letting you clean him up while he indulges in staring at you in your nice clothes. you could make anything look pretty, he thinks, staring unashamedly at you wrapped up in a blanket and covering your going-out clothes. "hey," you murmur, gently grabbing his chin and turning him to face you. "i don't mind."

"you don't mind what?"

"this kind of date night."

"but we could do this anytime," he mumbles, avoiding your eyes. you shake your head, pushing away your food and climbing into his lap, your legs on either side of his hips.

"no, we can't. we don't know how many times we get this in our line of work," you point out with an ache in your chest and he finally blinks up to look at you. "so i'm grateful for any time i get to spend with you, soshiro." his throat bobs again, but he manages to give you a small smile.

"you're too good for me, you know that?"

"if you say so," you shrug, leaning down until your lips barely brush his.

"but, you know," he murmurs and you pull back, staring into his starry eyes. "there's not a lot of nights," he inhales, reaching behind him to grab something from under the couch's throw pillow, "where i get to pull this move."

"what're you--ohmygod." he smirks at you as you blink down at the small box sitting in his hand, covered in crushed velvet and embroidered with gold. "that's-you didn't..."

"i did," he whispers, memorizing every inch of your shocked expression. "so," he pushes open the top half of the box with his thumb to reveal something that sparkles even in the dim lights of your apartment, "please--"

"yes!" you scream before he can finish his sentence, your excitement echoing off the walls as you both break out into wide grins. "holy shit, yes!"

"baby, i didn't even ask the whole question," he chuckles, giving in and slipping the ring on your finger. "what if that wasn't the question i was gonna ask?"

"i'd skewer your head with my batons," you smile sweetly and he hums, admiring the jeweled band in the light. "that was the question you were gonna ask, right?"

"of course, sweetheart," he assures you, finally leaning up to press his lips against yours. "you're the only one i'll ever let keep up with me."

"you gonna marry me, hoshina soshiro?"

"i'm gonna marry you so hard, the entire base will know." you fondly remember your conversation with the officers earlier in the night.

"darling, i think they already know."

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#kaiju no. 8 x you #kaiju no. 8 x reader #kaiju no.8 x y/n #hoshina x you #hoshina x reader #hoshina x y/n #kn8 x you #kn8 x reader #kn8 x y/n #hoshina soshiro x you #hoshina soshiro x reader #hoshina soshiro x y/n #soshiro hoshina x you #soshiro hoshina x y/n #soshiro hoshina x reader #hoshina fluff

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copperbadge · 1 year ago

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RE watching thoughts: I’m not 100% sure, but it might be that the whole “I am not my thoughts” is about engaging and identifying with your metacognition MORE than your initial thoughts. Because I get where you’re coming from - what is a consciousness but a collection of thoughts and feelings? But you can also have thoughts about your own thoughts that are more useful for dealing with whatever situation you’re in, I guess. (Random aside - every time I start thinking about thinking about thinking my brain inevitably starts thinking about Tiffany Aching and The Wee Free Men.)

I really should have replied to this ask sooner because it's going to seem like a non-sequitur now (this was sent much earlier in March) but I'm kind of glad I didn't, because I've been chatting with people about this and I think I understand more why there's an emphasis in some therapies on the idea that we are not our thoughts.

(I uh, haven't read the Tiffany books so I'm not much help there.)

I am coming to understand that many, perhaps most, people judge themselves, comprehensively and harshly, based on their thoughts. Perhaps it's just a lot of people who struggle with mental health, but given the commonality of the sentiment I don't know if I'd confine it that tightly; generally it appears that people cannot conceive of themselves as anything other than a binary of good or bad. So many people I've talked to about this portion of DBT, the watching-questioning-identifying thoughts portion, say that it helps to snap them out of a spiral of "I'm a horrible person, I deserve to suffer/die, I can never be redeemed" after they've failed at something, or had a negative thought, or reacted poorly to an unexpected event.

That is not something I've ever experienced. I mean, jokingly maybe, but not in a real, internal sense.

And that's not to brag -- I'm not saying I think I'm a good person, either, because I don't think I'm a good person. I don't conceive of myself in terms of good or bad. I never cuddle my cats and think "I'm such a good cat dad" or forget to feed them and think "I should die now." I have a perpetual morally neutral attitude towards my own existence; my thoughts and actions might trend me one direction or another but I'm aware of the temporary nature of that. If I fuck up I'll worry about who I might have hurt or whether I'll be fired or what's going to happen as a consequence, if I am polite to someone who didn't deserve it I know I was acting kindly in the moment, but I don't make an inherent moral judgement of myself based on that. And it seems like the vast majority of people do. Which you would think would make me feel pretty good about myself, but honestly...I don't know.

A lot of people I know who have ADHD or are Autistic have talked about seeing themselves as other, as alien -- like that one webcomic artist who draws themself with little antennae to indicate they're strange and different. I've always understood why one might do that, but I never felt that way myself, before or after the diagnosis. After all, let's remember, I was The Normal* Child of my siblings, and if I was The Normal One before the diagnosis, why wouldn't I remain Mostly Normal after?

* As ever, I'm using "normal" as a cultural term, to indicate what we think of as mainstream, not because normal is a thing that really exists.

My life has been relatively solitary -- I have friends and family and I love them but I'm rarely part of a large group, I don't spend a lot of time out in public interacting with people, I'm not a big socializer. Before the Adderall, I really couldn't be, I took too much psychic damage from interpersonal interaction, so I chose those very carefully. And now my DBT class has been a rare moment when I'm encountering contradictions to a lot of my assumptions about the way human beings in our society interact, react, and behave. I just...don't fit that mold very well. I think of it as having crossed wiring, not in the sense that I'm faulty but just in the sense that I'm very, very different. Not Normal. It's not exactly a bad feeling but it's certainly not a great one, internalizing the sensation of alienness.

DBT is proving to be a mixed bag but not in the way I or my therapist intended -- it seems to be either things I was already instinctively doing or things that simply do not apply to me. In one way it's disappointing because it means there isn't much help to be had (we're a little over halfway through the course and I keep thinking "Maybe next class will be useful") but on the other hand it's validating that so much of what I came up with myself as unconscious coping mechanisms is literally what I would have been told to do anyway.

Sometimes it's a combination of both, though, which really blows. I guess most people, if they reframe another person's actions, actually find emotional relief in that, and I don't. An example from the class is that if someone is rude to you, you can consider how they might be having a hard day, and be polite in return; that's great, in terms of defusing a situation, and it's something I do a fair amount of. But apparently it's also something that for most people results in feeling less awful about the interaction, and that's not the case for me. Which is why so much of DBT feels to me like lying to oneself. It's not lying for most people.

So, yeah. I'm going to finish out the course and keep trying things with the therapist but I suspect given everything, I might already be at "as good as it gets" in terms of emotional work. Which isn't the worst thing in the world, and there is still the option to try medication that could help, but I think there will come a point where I'm going to have to deal with the fallout of just how different I am, and how that has impacted my life. Might end up a good thing; something I've really been trying to resolve is unhappiness over being unpartnered and highly likely to remain that way, and at least if this provides a better understanding of why, then perhaps I can process that and put it to rest in a way I've been trying to do but not succeeding well at.

So, we'll see. But I find it both fascinating and kind of horrifying how many people can believe they are irredeemably bad, even if the belief is only temporary, simply because they had an uncharitable thought or impulse. It makes me somewhat grateful for the crossed wires, at least.

#sam has adhd #therapy #dbt

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phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess · 28 days ago

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Do you think if Adam's aim was just a bit worse and he took off/vaporised Alastor's arm instead of gouging his torso that Alastor would still return to the hotel (assuming he even can choose not to?) and try to play it off as just a scratch?

Deer man jumps into the musical, it continues for half a second before screeching off key when everyone notices the MISSING ARM?!

Also the pervading sense of guilt because no one looked for him.

On the one hand, yes, he's that fucking dramatic.

I'm basing the assumption of potential cauterisation on the fact that the holy light is, well, light and it vaporised Pentious completely. On the other hand, he did bleed, but that could be superficial because the inner/deeper injury was where the heat sat. I need to know more about these grace weapons. We know archangels have weapons of holy fire, so it wouldn't surprise me if Adam's aped it somehow. They gave him a big compensator to shut the big baby up... So like, on the one hand, (hah) he could turn up and kind of obscure himself halfway in shadows, and its only when someone notices that the arm they reached out to grab wasn't really there that it really flags with them that wait, he's made a shadow arm...

Or he could just be using his tendrils like, too obviously and Husk is like 'Hold up, that's unusual for you...'

Or he can straight up just turn up, like you envision, and wave them all off like, 'give it a week and a hearty meal of sinner, and it should be fine...' even though he knows and they know that angelic steel injuries cannot be fixed like that.

>more importantly, he sends Niffty out to make absolutely sure his arm was vaporised, because he fears what Vox might do with it if he found it. Much less the MOTH. Certainly he wouldn't overtly blame Angel Dust if he was made, by his chains, to film a special... but they could never make eye contact again under the circumstances. And it would likely upset Charlotte.

----------------

Lucifer was panicking.

He'd JUST managed to help Charlie, his baby girl, out of a pit of despair and now she was bordering hyperventilating and hysterical again. What was he supposed to do? How do you fix this when the panickee only had the one physical body you couldn't just detach from to panic on ethereal waves of light until emotion negated in ways humans wouldn't understand for aeons?

"Ey, paperbag. manifest. NOW. C'mon short king." Angel snaps pink fingers in front of the King's face, jerking him back into the moment and making the devil realise all his wings were fluffed up and out in distress.

"What? Oh, okay. Why?" He asks, the bag appearing as barely a flicker or reactive thought, and is snagged from the air by Angel. The starlet whirls about towards Charlie, who is sobbing, rocking and heaving air in like it was made of molasses.

"Okay, it's gonna feel like shit for a minute but I need you to breathe into this bag, in and out until you can slow yourself down... C'mon toots, I know you can do this. It's an old trick, but it helps." He coaxes, getting the Princess to curl her fingers around the entrance and align it correctly.

There's a disturbing moment where they were all collectively certain that the bag might just explode from the frantic nature of its use. Then, Charlotte started to calm down.

Lucifer felt his internal core start to settle. He's pretty sure its the archangel equivalent of a heart, but then humans had a lot of weird goopey stuff in there that didn't translate, so who knows?

His baby was okay, she was safe. This was just a little panic attack, all thanks to that Fucking Deer and his bullshit. His horns flare to life, tail lashing against the floor as red eyes turned to face the other clump of bodies in the room.

how dare he upset Char Char like this?

why hadn't the bastard just slunk away and died? Let her be sad for a day or two and then, finally, he could find her a more stable or less annoying Overlord of some kind. Carmilla? She was motherly ish. She had those... three? Two? Ish? girls?

Maybe Zestial if it was the old timey thing Charlotte was delighted by?

What about those media ones? This whole hotel nonsense was ridiculous and would break her heart, but it wouldn't hurt for her to be attached to a group of media-connected overlords. She's about the right age to start her own spy network... that's what Paimon said, and his children tended to have a pretty good grounding by their late 200s. If only Char Char didn't have his heart... she was too good for this place and these... sinners.

Desolate, disgusting and self-devouring things that just killed and broke and tore down and hurt for no other reason than it was better to hurt than be hurt instead. His expression fell into a scowl of furious distaste for the whole mess of them.

This was an abuse of the gift he suffered for...

They tore his wings off, they broke his halo and for THIS? These things that were once human?

And yet, Angel Dust was helping Charlotte settle with gentle actions and the authority of one who had self-soothed through worse.

And yet, Vaggie was holding Charlotte and whispering calming things with no thought but to calm her love.

And yet, the snake fellow had decided to risk everything for a chance to save everyone, today.

And yet, the winged cat bartender was herding the red fucker to a soft surface to deal with his injuries, whether the deer protested or not. Knowing he could be punished, and yet... no rebuke came.

And yet, the little maid was hovering quietly, holding tightly to the deer's coat and making sure he stayed... as much as she was ensuring she knew he was here... and the creature who seemed to revile touch did not brush her aside.

Was this what Charlie was seeing? These little acts of kindness and compassion and vulnerability amidst the muck and mire and murder and mayhem? Was this why she cared when he couldn't feel anything anymore?

She was so like him, that it almost burned to see her... to know that eventually, her heart would fracture, like his had. Like hr mother's had. That no good work remained. That eventually, despite their best attempts, even those they cared for and cherished would be torn from them, killed or fall to their own machinations.

One day all these sinners would be ash, and Charlotte may never rise above that loss. The ache never really faded, more akin to a bruise that when remembered one couldn't help but press on to check if it still hurt. To confirm the echoes of past pain.

"Dad please, calm down..." Charlie hiccuped, leaning heavily into the comfort offered by Vaggie and Angel, sniffling and scrubbing at her eyes. "I overreacted, it's not his fault... I just didn't realise... what I was asking. I mean, I did, but I thought..."

"That it would all be okay and that if we lost anyone it wouldn't be those close to you? Yeah... I think we all hoped for that. But, ain't the way things rolled out, was it?" Angel soothed, an edge there, like he was trying to be kind but felt frustrated by her continued naivety even after the battle. "People always die when the angels come, heh... I mean, this was just the first time you saw it up close'n'personal. First time their spears were aimed at you, right?"

"Back off, she's had enough!" Vaggie snapped, her eye glaring at the arachnid.

"But she needs to hear it. You know that. And if you don't wanna be the bad guy, I gotta do it. Besides... you've been on both sides of the angelic steel, thought you'd understand better than most the cruelty of it all." Angel shrugs, and with that many sets of arms, it's quite a wave-like motion. "I've been a hair's breadth from being skewered more than once since I fell here, its a fact of... well, death. Afterlife? Whatever. Feels different when that cold delighted fury's aimed at you, huh?"

"I... get it. I get what you're saying... I didn't see it before, because I saw what I wanted. But that's your reality, isn't it? Angels or Valentino, or the faceless people he forces you to sleep with for the cameras? The naked cruelty you can't avoid, just hope you can survive until the next moment?"

Angel hunches in on himself, arms curling in in an attempt at self-comfort. "Yeah... you get it now, dontcha? S'why I needed you not to piss off Val, I needed you not to get hurt... I can't stop him with me, same as we can't stop them angels forever... but I can keep you safe from him. I can keep Niffty outta his hands. I can stop him from putting his hands on you guys..."

"...I've been looking at redemption wrong this whole time... it's the actions you're already doing to help others, not some mystical future you who turns down drugs and sex..."

"Yeah, the roleplay was pretty fuckin' bad, toots... it was insulting as hell, honestly. And then you lavished all that attention on Pentious... I got jealous back then, real jealous. All that time I fought to keep you guys from Val and the Vees, and you're just handing your attention and everything to their pet spy..."

"I didn't mean to make you feel that way, Angel."

Angel sucked a breath through his teeth. "Then you need to understand that what you just said wasn't a real apology, right?"

Charlie looked shocked, eyes brimming again. Lucifer was getting worried this was going to make her spiral back into a second attack before there was a chance to calm her down.

"...you're right. You're right, I've been so wrong about this... I'm sorry that my actions and words and the way I went about redemption not only made you feel bad, but like you didn't matter. That I didn't care. You're my friend, and you sacrifice so much every day and I don't do what I should to keep you safe, to keep you feeling wanted. You're important to me, Angel, and I'm- I'm sorry about the whole time you felt you weren't... and it was my fault..."

The tears start again, but this time, she's not quite as out of control as previously, she's sobbing but not hysterical.

"Aw c'mere you silly bitch, it's okay... you think me'n'Cherri never fought? We just got better at apologising... right?" Angel enfolds her in so many arms that the hug seems half cathartic half straight jacket. Vaggie is confused to be caught in the middle as well.

"I-I-I just wanted you all to be okay... and then Pentious... and D-Dazzle... and then I thought Al was okay... because you and Husk and Vaggie and Niffty were o-o-okaaaaaaay..." The sinners were a few more tears away from being powerwashed at this point, but they held his sobbing princess tighter. "And, and then I re-realised I was a bad friend... b-b-b..."

"Deep breath, hun... it's okay, deep breath then speak." Vaggie soothes.

"Because I didn't LOOK but I kn-knew I asked him to fight Adam... and then something was wrong because he came for me... and- and- and-... now he's really hurt... but you all were okay. I should have looked... what if he never forgives me? What if he can never trust me again? What if this breaks all the progress we made?"

"He's literally a people eating not-deer that's here to watch you fail, why should you care?" Lucifer interjects, trying to bring logic back into this fraught moment. He realises that it hurts to hear, but... its the truth. "And let's be real, its not like he's much use now... why don't you let me find you a better overlord to help? The television seems to have a lot of sway, might get more redemptionists? Hmmm?"

Oh, oh no... that was a severely disappointed daughter look.

"That's kind of fucked up to say, Short King... especially the idea of replacing him with his weird stalker. You think Charlie would be safe with a guy who can hypnotise people into doing whatever he wants, and I mean anything?" Angel deadpans, the words rolling off his tongue with a distinctly disgusted air. "Like... he's my boss's boss, and he lets Val fuck some of us into reforming, you know? What do you think he'd do with full access to Charlie? To Vaggie? To everyone here...? Not that you fuckin' care, I know ya here for Charlie only."

"No, no, I care about some of you... because Charlie does. But the tv can't be worse than the deer... at least he doesn't eat people... but that's not the point, I'm just saying that even if you like it, it's broken now. And broken Sovereign Overlords, hah they think themselves so important... 'Sovereign'... ah... I mean, they get killed pretty quick, honey. He's not going to last, I'm just planning for the future."

There's a pause. "Remember when your hellacorn got sick and we had to have one of Bel's doctor's come to put them to sleep...? You didn't want Lady Midnight to suffer, did you? If we'd let her out in the wild the others would have eaten her, this is like that..."

"It's not the same, dad!"

"But it IS! I'm trying to protect you, Char Char! All these sinners will be killed or mangled or broken so badly they'll fade... eventually. I've been there. Your mother has been there. This, it's lovely, it's a sweet idea... but it's not forever. You have eternity to find and cherish more sinners and hellborn than you can imagine... but you will lose all of them, in time. We wanted to keep you from that for as long as possible, but you've always been stubborn, my little light."

Charlotte looks furious and devastated, but she can't quite form words around the lump in her throat at the statement. "You-... You-..."

A large, thick black tendril whacks the King across the back of his ridiculously behatted head, sending the thing flying.

"Shut. the Fuck. Up."

Niffty's eye went wide, as she giggled. 'Sir swore... you really made him mad, ultimate bad boy...'

"Have you considered, that your incessant coddling and blindfolding of Charlotte has contributed to this distress in any way, or are you used to just throwing power around until things turn out the way you want?" Alastor asked, looming over the Short King, seething with barely contained anger. "I understand Angels have never been human, but your daughter is at least partly one somewhere in there, and she is struggling. Not in a fun way that one can observe with schadenfreud, either. And you, all-powerful overfluffed fool of a creature, make it worse with every word... simply because the aeons you've lived have hardened you to even your child's tears."

"And what the fuck would you know, bellhop? At least I did my part against Adam, like you were supposed to. Where were you when she needed you, huh? Big words from a soon to be dead overlord... and she'll be rid of your slick influence... what are you really after? Go on, it's just us father figures, what are you seeking from my girl?"

"Oh you self-important porcelain doll of a thing... look at you, even now you are dripping poison into the broken heart of your daughter, and you're too absorbed in your own beliefs of righteousness to notice. I have never lied to her, watching sinners try and fail is amusing... and let's be real, if you'd done your job properly as King, none of this would be necessary. Why did you consign centuries of sinners to exterminations, hmmm?"

"Don't try to spin this on me, radio boy. I signed them to protect the hellborn, the only actually innocent thing in Hell... you lot got here because you fucked up your own lives and chose cruelty, murder, assault, drugs, theft, and so many disgusting other crimes in between. And for what? Power? Instilling fear? Revenge? Comfort and riches? Well, they didn't come with you, so what's the point in it all?"

"You are a pathetic little thing with a narrow view of the world, aren't you, my king?" comes the sarcastic drawl. "Was it apathy that moved your hand to sign the declaration... or were you coerced by your disdain for sinners? Did you perhaps want to punish your wife and remove the temptation of starting another revolution with your actions? Oh, she did mention that... how you became this odd little shell that sat motionless for weeks at a time, and how she would yell or throw things, just to see if you animated. A little broken doll in his palace playset. How... cute."

Lucifer flinched back. How the fuck...?

"That's why she took Charlotte... why she asked sinners she trusted to keep an eye on her darling child, when she was forced away. And why she was certain to mention you should be kept absent from Charlotte's life... she couldn't risk you infecting her with..." The gaze swept over the king derisively. "...whatever this sad display is. She wanted her to be a bastion of hope for Hell, and you wanted a forever baby that would coo and comfort you. There's a psychosis for that on earth, you know. Psychology textbooks are ilarious reads if you get bored enough to peruse them..."

Lucifer shrank back a little. his body was nigh invulnerable, his power near limitless like all his kind... but his mind? It was a thing created to span the universe and beyond, crammed into a shell for millennia, and filled with self loathing, trauma, fear and self hatred. It was a weak point.

Lilly knew that. And apparently, this fucker did too.

"Look at your daughter, your lowness... look at her face, and tell me if the queen was right to ask you be kept from her life? You, who thinks himself right no matter what conversation he steps into and has such a strong opinion on topics he hasn't deigned to hear the nature of. You who walked into the hotel and sneered at everyone, before talking down to your own child and deciding for her what she needed."

"Al, please... he's had enough... I think he understands what you meant. And I don't like that you broke into his insecurities like that... but Dad did start it by calling you a thing. So I... I really need... you two to apologise to each other." Charlie steps between them, and it's like a strike of lightning dissipating the humidity before the downpour starts.

"Dad, I love you... but you can't treat my friends like they're disposable, like they're already gone and some nameless thing. Maybe I will lose them, maybe I die and they lose me... but we're here now, together, and working on something important. Al, I didn't realise my mother sent you to keep me safe... and I'm sorry that it got you hurt, my dad was wrong, You aren't disposable... but you also can't send him into a depression spiral, I need him. hell needs him. So I need you both to work with me here."

"I'm sorry you are so estranged from your child, and the status of Hell, Your Lowness."

"AL!" Charlie warns, she raises her hand to give him a whack, and falters as it neared the missing limb's location. "Should you even be standing? That's... I mean, I know Husk was doing first aid but..."

"I have literally had to fight whilst half burned and partially disembowelled before, my dear, this is a nuisance at best." He tried to shrug it off theatrically, and then paused as it slightly unbalanced him. With a sigh, he turned to the king. "While the contents of my words were undeniably true, you deserved to hear them in a more... structured way, that... promoted... personal... growth?"

Charlie suspected if she turned around she'd see either someone's phone screen with prompt words on it or the world's strangest game of charades.

"For that, I apologise. It has beena long day , and I suspect everyone's tempers are fraught... you did come in to save the day, after all. And I will admit, the footage of Adam being pounded into the-... Angel, do stop giggling... ground, was delightful."

"Wait, what footage?"

"Why, from the numerous voxtech drones spying on the battle to voyeuristically watch the princess die, I imagine. Vox is rather like that... he has a thing about watching people turned into gorey debris."

"Some overlord was watching Charlotte fight to the death with Heaven and they were..."

"Getting aroused, most likely, yes. Do calm down, it is hell and therefore full of degenerate sinners, after all." Alastor gave another little lopsided shrug. "You should pay more attention to the Overlords, some have amassed more power and influence than you think, and they control swathes of the population without chains... especailly the vile picture box and his little hypnosis trick. If he should catch you unawares, it would be the end of us all."

"Why?"

"Apart from turning you into a puppet figurehead to sell his products to every ring, and possibly also Heaven if he can strike the right bargain? And he would absolutely think himself capable, no matter tha cost of life and limb... he'd barter Charlie's life for a chance to gain money and power from above. I rather believe your wife might have ripped him limb from mechanical limb by now were she here..."

"And he's stalking you...?"

"Frustratingly, yes. He's never really understood the word No. But intriguingly, you two share that malady, don't you little majesty?"

"What? No! I have always been a huge proponent of consent..."

"In some areas, yes, that wasn't in doubt. But where was Charlie's right to refuse when you talked over her and took over her hotel in an effort to self-aggrandise? Hmmm?"

"I don't-... I didn't... did I?"

"...yeah, you kind of did, Dad. But it's okay! We can work on it! You thought you were helping!" Charlie jumped to reassure. "And... and it starts with sorry-..."

"Please, no more singing today... there's been quite enough." Alastor's expression pinches.

"Oops, sorry... are you-... do you have a headache? I can get you something for it?"

"It's fine, I will ask Husker for something from the bar in a moment. I'm rather eager to hear the King try out an apology for the first tme since he begged your mother not to-..." His teeth audibly click shut. "Hmmm, the temptation to start the fight again was winning."

"And it's sooooooo great that you recognise a destructive conversational cycle, Alastor! I'm so proud of y-..."

"Please, refrain from your... rainbows and sunshine routine, my dear."

"Oh... sorry."

"Hey, she's trying to be kind, you asshat..." Vaggie interjects, trying to look stern, but she's slowly blinking like someone on the verge of naptime. It had been a long day INDEED. Angel seemed to be keeping her upright by using her to keep himself upright.

"And I acknowledge that there's been enough sparkles and glitter for at least two afterlifetimes today. Now, on with your apology, little majesty... I would like to get a drink."

"Oh fuck you, you pompous-..." Lucifer takes a deep breath. "I mean, you valued member of my daughter's staff and person who I am not mad at because you did fight for her and are injured, and I'm being nice. I wasn't kind and spoke about you as a disposable object rather than a person, so I apologise that my words upset you."

"That's... not an apology." Angel interjects, again.

"What? Why not?"

"It had the sound and cadance of an apology, but you put the blame on being upset back on Smiles... not on your own words and actions. That was apology 101 round here, maybe you need to stick about for classes, huh?"

"Oh. Okay, let me try again... Bellh-... Alastair... Alastor? Alastor... I'm sorry that I spoke to and about you so rudely. You have apparently been keeping my daughter safe on behalf of my wife, and even to the point you started a fight with me to point out how I fucked up. I maintain that dropping a piano on me was overkill, but in retrospect... I did try to cook you, so... I think we can probably compromise on co-parenting from here on out. What do you say?"

At the last second, Lucifer pulls back on the impulse to shake hands because right now... the left is all Al here has left.

"Well, he didn't start melting from sincerity, so that was a little disappointing... but I'm willing to be the bigger man about it." Alastor grinned at Charlie, whose startled snort of amusement turned into a cough. "Now, I strongly suspect there's a good point to pause and try out whatever new refreshments there are in this gaudy bar of yours, little majesty..."

Before he can turn, Charlie grabs his wrist. "Al, I really am sorry that you got hurt... it's my fault. I should have checked you were okay before we started rebuilding. If I'd known..."

"But you didn't, and the past can't be revisited, so why bother with would haves and should haves?" He replied, airily. Ignoring how Husker seemed to be watching him with the intensity of a cat with a red dot. "Husker, my good feline, do find something in the bartop to fortify us all. Possibly something with a lot of water for the princess, I believe there's little left in her body after all that weeping."

"Yeah, you're not getting a drink... I have no idea how much blood is left in you, but I'm guessing alcohol won't help..." Lucifer says, really looking at the other now. "I mean, it'd be funny... but you'll upset Charlie, so I'm thinking no."

There's a record scratch as Alastor's tendrils pick the now amused King off the floor by his lapels. "And you propose to stop me, little majesty?"

"Uh, yeah, King? And you're, heh, already disarmed..."

There's a pause as Charlie prepares for the Dad Off part 2 to begin... but Alastor simply laughs in that mildly unhunged way and puts the King down. Niffty joins in the laughter. She's not sure what the joke is, but she likes to be included.

"Oh I quite like that one... what else does his royal buffoonery have up his sleeve?"

"Well, unlike you, I have an arm..."

A studio audience laughed.

Husk groaned at the horrendous turn of phrase.

Charlie felt her sense of dismay rising, eyes flickering between the two of them. The dad jokes were escalating, and she wasn't sure if this was a normal turn for camaraderie after a battle, or some sort of mass hysteria onset. She started to text Aunty Bel for guidance.

Vaggie shifted into her managerial mode, getting between the pair of all powerful comedians and the bar. "No drinking. Worst thing you can do when missing a limb... or an eye, trust me... and having the King of hell tipsy would be a bad look after all the respect you gained today. Charlie hinted at something called the Beezelbub incident and wouldn't tell me more..."

The King's mouth dropped open. "It wouldn't get that bad, there's no beezlejuice here..."

"The King's royal staff was on full display, according to Zestial..." Alastor conspiratorially told Angel Dust, whose expression went... odd. "He believes he has a photo hidden somewhere of the event, I'm sure he'd come to a reasonable arrangement to show it to you for an interview about your time at the hotel, and being in the battle, hmmm?"

"Do it and I burn every building in Pride down, sinners." Lucifer teased, manifesting a glass of something. "Besides, I managed to remove that last picture last century, it's long gone."

He snaps and a series of plush red couches cram into the slightly too small space, looking more like a maze than a sitting area. With a gust of his wings, he manages to drop most onto their backsides on the furniture. They were useful for more than just looking handsome after all...

"Right, now... anyone injured and needing angelic first aid, say something. I can't return anything lost, not to angelic steel, but I can usually add enough power to kick-start your natural healing. Also, I can can do this..." He prods at Vaggie, and she sighs, tension leaving her creased brow. "Whabam, headache gone! Wing ache managed! You need to rest those things, Ma- Vaggie, you just remanifested them and haven't stopped using them since. The cramps will be a nightmare if you push too much harder..."

"Thank you Sir."

"Char Char?" he offers his hand, and she takes it.

"This doesn't hurt you, right?"

"No, not like this... absorbing grace sometimes feels awful for a minute but nothing short of psychological agony or one of your uncle's holy blades can do much to hurt me."

"And how does one procure...?"

"Oh shut it, bambi." He smacks the deer in the face with an errant wing. "I think you've done enough talking today... now have a drink and let me deal with that mess. I mean, the stitches are well done and all..." he added, seeing Niffty start to panic at the 'm' word about her obvious handicraft. "but the rest is just yikes in there. you can't vaporise a limb and part of a shoulder without some internal chaos."

"It's fine, hands to yourself."

"Why, you seem to need at least one more to balance things out..."

"If we're making hand-based offers..." Angel grinned, lounging back as Husk handed him a funny pink and green drink that seemed designed for a cocktail glass, not a beer stein. And yet...

Alastor sighed so hard it faded into static, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You are a terrible handful, aren't you, Angel?"

"I'd say 'two, if ya gottem' but er..." laughed the starlet, poking out his tongue.

"Husker, deal with your man..."

"Nope, you started it with the dumb hand jokes, I'm not dealing with any of this..." Husk protests, tail twitching.

"Ooh, let's roleplay, Deer Daddy... I can be a naughty criminal caught red Handed, and you can be the long, hard..." the pause was just too long for comfort, "Arm of the law..."

"...the puns were immaculate, but I can't fathom why you're playing this angle tonight, Angel. Surely even you are exhausted from the battlefront, bereavement and building of the earlier hours?" Alastor queries, at ease despite the lewdness, because really he knows the spider is playing.

And unlike his bosses... Angel is rather good at accepting a boundary, accepting a no without it being overt. They had been getting along quite well recently, actually.

"Oh, that's easy... not unlike me, Smiles, just saying..." the starlet flops back on the couch and drops his ridiculously long legs over the lap of an annoyed Vaggie, laughing Charlie and ultimately the arm of the couch. "I'm the distraction, right?"

"Wha-..." Something touched the back of his neck, and everything faded out rather startlingly. Radios shrieked in alarm before falling silent, a rather furious shadow snapped at the King.

"Wha-bam! Got him... okay, can someone get him off me, why does he feel twice as tall when he's flopped over me? It's like he's managed another height joke without words, the fucker."

Angel sighed and allowed Charlie and Vaggie free to untangle the deer from the King, and settle him on the couch. The King hovered a hand over the area, "Ooh, yeah... stitching's neat but it is a m-... er it's a problem inside. Let's try and put things back where they need to be."

"Can't you like... fix his arm?"

"...'fraid not, Sweetie. Or I would have fixed Vaggie's eye, already, I mean... as long as she wanted that. Once angelic light or steel removes something, it's gone forever. It's why I can't put my halo back together, they shattered it with holy fire..."

He looked so indescribably ancient and sad in that moment it was heart wrenching. "That was aeons ago, though, it's okay now... if they hadn't broken it, I wouldn't have you. And if this bony nightmare of a not-deer didn't fight Adam and stall him long enough... I guess I wouldn't have you, now, either. So... I'm going to set what I can to rights. Might be able to regrow some of the missing shoulder joint and collar bone, to give it the right shape... and unsinged the lung on that side... but not the arm."

"What do we do about the other overlords? I can't-..." her voice breaks. "I can't go through all this, all this healing and everything, and then lose him to someone like Vox or Carmilla or... Rosie wouldn't would she?"

"...you wouldn't like the answer, Princess." husker replied, not making eye contact.

"Alastor wouldn't, if she was hurt... would he?" Charlie asked in a small voice, watching her father work.

"...no, but he's an outlier like that. Once he has a fondness for someone, they go into some circle in his head that means they don't get touched... and he'll fuck up anyone who looks at 'em funny. Rosie's in there. Niffty. That bitch Mimzy, but I think its more obligation because they was alive together and he didn't bail her out that one last time. Me, for some reason... never really understood why, think he decided we were friends one day and that was it. You. Maybe Angel... and sorta Vaggs. I think Pentious was in there too, but on the outer edge, cause he could have pulversised the guy more than once but... he never did."

"Okay, that's the best we can hope for, his own regneration has been directed in the right areas. Should be stable enough to leave it for now... but there's always the chance of infection, or festering grace, and such. I'll stay around and keep an eye out just in case. You sinners are so durable and yet so fragile when it comes to things like germs, its insane." Lucifer muttered the last bit before turning to the rest. "Right, who else needs healing hands?"

"Oooh, Short, King, you can put them healing hands on my hot, aching-..." he's cut off by a wing to the face, that flips him back onto a couch. With a flare of golden light, Angel finds himself sinking into a nightmareless abyss.

"Nope. No thank you. Nap time for the overly aroused arachnid. Who else? Come here kitty cat, let's fix that tweaked wing..."

"Me next?" asked the terrifying little maid.

"Er, sure, you give that knife of yours to Vaggie for safekeeping okay?"

The pupil shrank in thought... and then bounced back. "Okay!" trilled the little sinner.

"How do I keep him safe?" Charlie asked, again, into the companionable silence.

Husk laughed. "Oh he'll fight you every step of the way, kicking and screaming... but you can get him to play along if you speak his language. Rosie worked it out ages ago. I have at least a basic idea on it... and Lillith was pretty fucking good at it. Not like manipulation or anything, just turning things around just enough that they come at him in a way he's willing to accept."

"Can you tell me how?"

"If you got time to hear some of the most goddamn insane shit of your life, then sure. He's not likely to wake up and eat me for it, right?"

Lucifer blinked, "What? Oh, yeah, angelic sedation is pretty strong... can knock sinners or winners out for weeks if we need to, depends on the injury. Don't want anyone waking up with all broken bones, you know?"

"Good, because he bit me once in reprimand and those teeth fuckin' hurt. Now, what do you wanna know, Princess?"

"Everything. Teach me to speak repressed allpowerful overlord... so I can keep his stubborn self alive when the others come to challenge him because... because I got him injured."

"No you didn't. He chose to stand up to Adam, you can't make this man do things like that even with these techniques, I promise you. Even without the deal, he would have stood between you and Adam..."

"Wait, what deal?"

"...you want me to be eaten? Forget I said it."

"Your mother didn't do half measures, duckling, she kept all her agreements on indestructable parchment or on a leash. I think... we know how she ensured he'd keep his end of the bargain, no matter how much trust they shared between them beforehand. She's... she was kind of paranoid when it came to your safety."

There's a very solemn moment.

"Of course, she could have also harassed him into submission by showing him the relentless barrage of your baby photos and craft projects. We love you char char, but you were a baby for decades, there's entire vaults full of your photos, portraits and finger paintings. After even half of one, maybe two thirds if he's particularly stubborn, he would have been compelled to make a deal to protect you."

Charlie's expression fell into a thousand yard stare. "Oh no... no no no NO he can't have seen the baby photos!"

"Can... I see the baby photos?" Vaggie grins at Lucifer, and he snaps his wrist to manifest a pile of dusty albums on the floor. Charlie hurls herself on top of them.

"Noooo, don't look at these, Vaggie please... I was such a weird baby and, oh no, is that my emo phase? Dad, why?! Husk, start talking Alastor-ese, now. Anything. Now please!"

"Alright... sure, for a glance in that album you have jammed in your shirt right now."

Charlie's shoulders slumped, defeated. "Fine... deal..."

When they woke up, Alastor and Angel would be devastated to realise they missed the delightful awkwardness of the King going through the baby albums (Vols 1 to 9) and giving a truly sweet story about each picture. No matter how Charlie melted into the couch, begging for death.

-------------

End of some kind

Imagine the overlords trying something and the hotel Responding

Imagine Charlie and Vaggie using Alastorese to trick himse into his own best interests.

Imagine the CHAOS of Lucifer and Alastor bonding. Reluctantly. but enough that the dad jokes, which they both enjoy, become damn near lethal. And Charlie has left her mother a voicemail asking to be picked up because 'please, there's two of them now'.

Somehow Angel is empowered to turn Valentino inside out and becomes the new Overlord of the industry. He learns the sound of one hand clapping as Alastor watches the vindicating slaughter, and only intervenes when Val loyal trhalls try to get in the way.

Imagine the dangers of an overlord who can compensate for loss with his shadows and tendrils. Whose power is underestimated for his lack of arm, and the people who die because of their arrogance.

#hazbin hotel #alastor #lucifer #charlie #vaggie #husk #angel dust #niffty #ask #headcanon #phoenixwrites #i dont know why i wrote this its so late

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crooked-wasteland · 1 month ago

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As we're in the topic of AI, I remember my mom once insisting I learn how to use it as she believed all jobs are going to be replaced by machines in the future. When I tried giving my valid arguments to how AI should be implemented without totally replacing people, harming the environment, spreading misinfo (I'm lookin' at you, Google AI!) and stealing information, she just shut me down with "Oh, but you risk being left behind! Remember Kodak? They shut down when everyone started going digital!"

There was this wise man who said "I'd prefer to have AI help me do my chores and reduce the workload but not take over the job I love." As an artist, you know that anything that's made by a human becomes a novelty and more sought after. I remember passing by our local mall and all of the ads had these hollow, generic AI-lookin' CGI graphics. There is just something in them that makes me gag!

Heck, I'd rather look at those corporate Memphis illustrations more than those slop. Again, I wonder if she's even listening when I suggested how AI could be susceptible to privacy breaches. I hate how even Google and DuckDuckGo have AI features now whenever I search for something. Even one of the prestigious art schools such as Gobelins landed under fire for using AI!

For now, AI doesn't seem to be a very promising tool. It's not like digital art or cameras because at least it doesn't feed off data and just makes creating art or taking photographs much easier. At least you get to curate the results by toggling with settings and textures instead of just typing random prompts leading to some sickening random image.

In regards to AI, I know a lot of people have anxiety around the topic. But it's a great time to actually talk about what AI is and isn't.

And what we call AI is not actually artificial intelligence. What we are calling AI is still a highly regulated script of pseudo-reasoning that is impressive on first blush, but quickly shows its debilitating limitations.

For one, large language models are impressive as long as you don't think about it. The hive mind these companies have sought to create fails at the basics due to the fact that this is still just a software program we are talking about. It is utterly useless as a data collection and research tool as it has no idea what is and isn't true. The large language models look impressive. It looks like it's thinking as it goes step by step to “prove it's work” so to speak. But it is just sifting through data, it's not actually thinking. Thinking would be reasoning. It would be categorizing sources based on accuracy, while also taking into account implicit bias of such sources.

Asking GhatGPT to make a pasta recipe, but asking for substitutions to certain ingredients will not yield a surefire result as the computer is not going to understand the difference between a tomato and a lemon as both are acidic fruits. It does not understand the concept of texture or where it comes from. It doesn't grasp the experience of eating food because it is running on an assumption that the ability to taste yields a singular result. That everyone will find a lemon sour and a grapefruit bitter and a cherry tart. But what if you don't taste soap when you eat cilantro? What if lemons are sugary sweet while grapefruits are tart? The machine is never going to be able to account for the experience of sensing.

As such, AI will never be able to portray meaningful art either. The fact that AI has taken up so much of the artistic community's discourse goes to show the issues with art today. People are so afraid of a machine creating something that looks pretty because that's all we make any more. We have commodified and commercialized art to the point of it being soulless. Its only purpose is to appear aesthetically pleasing for an audience who will spend less than a minute on a piece of art we've spent hours to days to weeks working on. But the reason is because our art lacks meaning. Whenever someone praised art on Twitter and claimed an emotional reaction, they attribute their feelings to the context of the source material or the appearance to the art.

When I went to an art museum, the paintings were all very well done, but not all aesthetically pleasing. And the one that stuck with me the most was a painting of four elderly women staring back at me. The only aspect of the painting that is in sharp focus are these women’s blue-grey eyes. And that was intentional. Because I kept finding myself going back to that painting because I kept feeling a strange sense of guilt. These eyes were on me and I couldn’t tell if it was with tenderness or scorn, so I had to keep going back. I felt guilty, if it was with tenderness I was ashamed I couldn’t remember anything else about them. Their faces left my mind the second I looked away. If it was with scorn, I felt the need to figure out what I missed. What quality was in the painting that was leaving me confused about the way these women looked at me.

That’s when I noticed their faces were literally painted in such a way that gave them an almost dream-like effect. The artist played on my brain’s inherent desire to identify a face, and with the eyes painted in such fine detail, the hazy idea of a face was held together in my brain. But I couldn’t say anything else about them without looking directly at them.

And it made me feel, but feel in a way that was slow and contemplative. It made me consider what the artist was trying to say without just googling it. A guess based on our wordless conversation through his medium. Because the real beauty and power that makes art ART is the way you get to interact with it as an individual. It’s vaguely spiritual. You can have these conversations with people long passed, and come to know them through their works.

That isn’t how it is anymore.

When you’re chasing numbers, be it in the form of money or perceived admiration, you inherently lose sight of what got you started: a feeling, a thought, an idea. Computers will never be able to question an idea. Never be able to extrapolate meaning from information or technique. Computers only understand numbers.

The fear of AI is the fear of replacing capitalism and consumerism. All we are thinking about is numbers. Numbers in the price of rent and food. Numbers in the hours worked and days off. Numbers in how we justify our own existence through social media clout and how much we consume with literal numbers. We function like computers, so of course people are scared of being replaced by computers. That they need these computers to stay on the latest operating system.

Only machines are scared of machines.

#anon ask #ai art #chatgpt #artificial intelligence #technology #consumer culture #consumerism #capitalism #robert glover #social media #neoliberalism #libertarianism #socioeconomic

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soleminisanction · 2 years ago

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How much of Stephanie’s flaws do you think is character flaws and how much is sexist writing? Because while some stuff I’ve heard about her seemed like red flag, but I’m also wary of pointing them out because there’s so much sexism in DC Comics and I don’t wanna fall victim to sexist takes. Do you have any clarity on that conundrum?

That is, I think, a much more complicated question than you'd intended it to be. Let me narrow this down to just one flaw to show you what I mean:

In Steph's original appearance (Detective Comics #647-649), her one real "character flaw" is anger. It's what drives her to move against her father, sure, but it's also what nearly leads her to murdering him, it drives the conflict between her and Batman & Robin, and it's the reason Bruce describes her as being, quote, "on no one's team but her own."

When she's made a supporting cast member in Robin, however, the anger is still there, but it's no longer treated as a character flaw... partially because Chuck Dixon has a tendency to write angry characters as a default. Instead of being something that gets her into trouble, it's treated as a trait that makes her a "spitfire" full of "righteous anger," by which I mean Dixon used her as a mouthpiece to scream insults at anyone with an opinion he didn't like and had her beat up men that "deserved it," both with the assumption that readers will agree with her, because the narrative is on her side and portrays her as being in the right.

This is largely how Steph's anger is handled for the rest of her characterization, when the exception of one storyline written by Jon Lewis, who framed it more as a thing to get Steph sympathy -- it gets her into trouble at one point, sure, but is otherwise written with an undercurrent of, "this poor girl, the world has been so very mean to her, don't you just want to comfort her?"

The thing is, that treatment of her violent anger as something righteous and okay, where she's always in the right and the people she hurts always Deserve It? You can argue that that's a form of sexist writing, because there are scenes where she behaves abusively and it's not treated as abuse or even a bad thing, because she's a girl and women's abuse is not taken seriously. You even see this in how she's treated by the audience -- she's got basically the same anger issues as Jack Drake, and yet while interpreting Jack as a abusive is widely accepted by certain parts of the fandom, the same is not true of Steph.

Other people would argue that portraying her as angry at all is inherently sexist (and I don't agree with this, but I have heard people make this argument, stupid as it is) because it makes her look like a "shrew" or a "woman scorned" or otherwise plays into negative stereotypes of women's emotions.

Which then leads the modern version of her, colored by and primarily based on her portrayal in Batgirl (2009) by Brian Q. Miller, where Steph just, doesn't have anger issues, at all, or at least so the narrative would claim. She gets fired up in a fight, sure, but ~she doesn't have a mean bone in her body~ and is always so ~smiley~ and ~happy~ and just a ~sweet widdle polyanna~ who only wants to do ~the right thing.~

But see, that, ditching the anger issues entirely? That's also sexist! Women should be allowed to be angry and still have the potential to be treated as heroes! Getting rid of it because you can't think of how to make a woman with anger issues into a likable and compelling character is sexist! Especially because it takes away her initial motivation and doesn't replace it with anything.

And that's just kind of how it is for all of the traits you could call her character flaws. The only ones we can say for sure are deliberate are those that wind up contributing to the plot, and even then, they very well might have some sexist writing wrapped up in them.

It's really not a simple black or white situation. But like I mentioned in one of my other posts, I ultimately think that the best way to address both deliberate character flaws and sexist writing is to work them into the plot and make them matter, resolve and explore them somehow, rather than trying to toss them away and pretend they never happened. That option is just as sexist as any other, and it's also unsatisfying and lazy. There's a long history of comics that proves people can do better.

#dc comics asks #stephanie brown critical #apologies if this one is rambly I had trouble getting my thoughts together

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nickssidewitch · 11 months ago

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based on me being an aries sun, leo moon, and scorpio rising, what assumptions would you make about me 😬

Disclaimer: Many people can have these placements, so take what resonates and leave what doesn’t. Some of these traits are things you could have, others could be things that people with your same placements could have. I also don’t know your other placements, so that’s also why this may not fully resonate with you. ✨🤍🫶🏾

Oh wow, you’re a really intense and passionate person here! The Sun and Moon both being fire is a great thing, meaning that your outer and inner self aren’t too far off from each other. You’ll open up about your emotions and opinions, and many people are going to be aware of your stances, even with the facial expressions you make. That doesn’t mean you don’t keep to yourself though, the Scorpio Rising is sort of the one that’s like “okay you’re doing too much; let’s dial it back a bit and see what the situation is like before we go any further”. But sometimes even the Scorpio Rising can get too caught up in the moment and you can get overwhelmed or unbalanced. Your main goal by the end of this lifetime is to feel some sort of balance and peace, and that’s something you’re striving toward head-on (or at least that’s what you should be striving toward). I feel like you have a really sharp gut feeling when it comes to people. Whether you’re right or wrong with your hunches of people, you’re not afraid of telling the people you love to be cautious of the situation/person you have a bad feeling about. When you’re wrong, however, it can send you into a spiral and either you may feel a bit of imposter syndrome and not trust your gut for a good amount of time, OR you’ll want to bring out that bad side out of someone in a vengeful way. Using my intuition though, I feel like you don’t do that intentionally, not necessarily wanting to bring that bad side out of someone, but that still is the result sometimes, which is why you may have intense arguments with people.

The Scorpio Rising tells me that you may have a wardrobe a bit on the darker side, something that maybe emo/punk leaning? Or just something unconventional is a part of your body like a tattoo, piercing, earlobe stretch? Your hair is probably darker-colored, and you have something very obvious and striking about your appearance. If you wear makeup, it can be prominent, or you do it in a way that accentuates your already prominent features.

🔥- All in all, you’re a really passionate person who’s really loyal and protective to the people you love. You may get a bit in over your head at times. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t work on grounding yourself and working on holding your tongue.

#nickssidewitch asks #nickssidewitch astro #nickssidewitch tarot #nickssidewitch

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quillyfied · 1 year ago

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Hellaverse Theories: Hazbin Hotel S1E3

Welcome to Quilly’s Hellaverse Theories, where I overthink the entire Hellaverse! It’s been a little bit; life got busy, I have a semi-major medical procedure at the end of next week, and my reverse seasonal depression is hitting real hard this year, so let’s jump into the madness.

Starting tonight with s1e3!

Short diversion to say: Lucifer sending Charlie out into the world with Razzle and Dazzle (who can turn into dragons) and KeeKee (who appears to be a powerful tool of creation that Lucifer uses, though all the theories I’ve seen people swapping around say it’s something more integral to the hotel itself rather than to Lucifer, but just based on what’s in the show…sure looks like Lucifer gave away a heckin powerful magical artifact to his daughter) is sensible but also warms my heart so much. And I would love so much to know if that was Lucifer’s doing at all, or Lilith’s, or a joint venture from the both of them. I am so ready to learn more about their relationship without the Charlie Blinders on.

Y’know. There is a very strong trend I’m noticing about my own fiction preferences right now wherein a bubbly blond of privileged status undertakes an impossible task to make a difference in the places they choose to be, meet a colorful cast of queer characters, and continually fail while also somehow succeeding at the bigger and more important task of creating a space where a bunch of traumatized folks with a lot of baggage can feel safe to work through those issues and bond with each other and form wonderful found families. Charlie and Stede Bonnet from Our Flag Means Death would have a DELIGHTFUL afternoon tea of swapping lesson plans, is what I’m saying.

(And Angel and Lucius would probably have a field day swapping stories but anyway)

Charlie and Vaggie’s relatively harsh sex-negative attitudes strike me as unusual for the show, which IMO itself has a pretty sex-neutral to sex-positive stance, depending on the angle. It begins to make more sense with a later episode and I’m sure I’ll talk more about this then, but in case I forget: they both appear to be operating off of what they THINK is the standard for getting into Heaven, which…is baloney because NOBODY knows how a soul gets into Heaven (and once they’re there they still bone with frequency and impunity, or at least Adam does). But if you’re going off the basic Christian-centric idea of sin, I can see where Charlie and Vaggie are coming from. Though Vaggie should know a little better what the Heavenly culture is like around those kinds of things, but tbh until we get more information, my assumption is that Vaggie hung around Exorcists pretty exclusively and they seem like a separate class entirely from other angels, if their jobs are a secret from the rest of Heaven and they purposely go into battle fully helmed. They’re two sheltered girls without a clue.

(The way Charlie turned out does make me heavily question what Lilith was actually like and how she expected Charlie to act. I want to KNOW dangit.)

Zestialllllll. I adore him. And I adore that he is, outside of Lucifer, most likely the most ancient being in Hell that we see. Certainly he’s the oldest sinner, and given that there are at least three methods of regular mortal turnover in Hell, that makes his very existence highly impressive. He’s survived hundreds of years of Overlord politics, turf wars, and Exterminations (assuming they’ve been going on for a while, GIVE ME A NUMBER VIVIENNE I NEED TO KNOW), and is so well known that people SET THEMSELVES ON FIRE to get away from him and Alastor walking together down the street. And Alastor gives him something much closer to actual deference, as opposed to what he gives the literal ruler of Hell next episode (a high-charged rivalry anthem on par with Loathing from Wicked, how have I not seen anyone do an edit or a comic of that one yet).

“Some have spun tales of you falling to holy arms.” Followed by Alastor pulling a major bluff, complete with shifty eyes. So Zestial’s information isn’t entirely inaccurate. Which still means just about anyone could be holding the other end of Alastor’s leash, but the major theories of it being Lilith (my personal favorite but also too easy and coincidental, feels like a red herring) or Eve (bound up somehow with Roo, I can just feel it) still feel most plausible to me. This could be foreshadowing and Zestial is wrong, since Alastor does nearly die due to holy arms in the finale, but…those shifty eyes. Zestial is definitely close, guessing a little too near the mark for Alastor’s comfort. What the HECKIE happened that put the Radio Demon and the Queen of Hell down for the count for the same amount of time? It is MADDENING. The incidents are obviously related, but how did that end with Alastor showing back up in Hell and Lilith up in Heaven?

(My cracked fanfic writer brain just went “Lilith decided she was done and passed her Queen duties to the deer man, Lucifer just found out he’s essentially married in power to Alastor, now discuss” but that is getting stuffed to the back of the mental closet where I will only ponder it late at night when I need a good giggle. Especially because it’s far more plausible that if Alastor and Lilith have any kind of deal whatsoever, it has to do with guiding and helping Charlie.)

(…could it be possible that Lilith’s deal with Adam involved trading Alastor somehow? Unlikely, since Adam had no idea who Alastor was, but Alastor being used as a pawn instead of being a major player would be such a delicious burden for his arrogant ass to bear and I kinda want to see it.)

Anyway.

Seeing an Overlord meeting is so fascinating, because watching Velvette come in and immediately challenge Carmilla and Zestial very much establishes something of a generation gap; the oldest Overlords in the room versus the youngest. But before I get ahead of myself and how BRILLIANTLY MANIPULATIVE Velvette is, a little stage-setting: no Overlords appear to have the same business dealings as the Vees, though there is genuine friendship between some of them (Carmilla and Zestial, Alastor and Rosie). No Overlords are locking horns at this meeting before Velvette shows up, no hint of political undercurrents or rivalries. The Overlords in the room are also high-rollers, it seems, the more powerful of the bunch, if only SIX of them own MILLIONS of souls. However, there are some hints after Velvette’s musical number to further shed some light on what Hellish politics are like, but before she comes in, all seems fine. Alastor gets his pride wounded (much to my personal amusement), but overall it’s perfectly civil.

Enter that hashtag bitch.

Her entire performance from top to bottom is a calculated strategy. Step one, show up late, ruffle some feathers with her lack of decorum, make it very clear up front that she’s showing up despite having better things to do. Put Carmilla on the back foot right away. But Carmilla is a professional; she’s a ballerina, used to dancing around her opponents. Step two, pull out the angel’s head and keep a close eye on Carmilla’s reaction, and start to push when Velvette meets immediate resistance to her “full assault plan” (I will eat my hat if they had such a thing at all; the three of them are safe in their fancy tower and they know it, and Velvette attending this meeting was never about the Vees working together with other Overlords at all). Step three: annihilate the meeting, push Carmilla into either admitting what she did and starting an uproar across all of Hell or shutting down the discussion before it can come to light, and the result is: the Overlords don’t actually sit down and make a plan about what to do about this accelerated Extermination. The Vees’ power remains unchallenged as the other Overlords scramble to keep theirs. Velvette planned this from the beginning.

The lyrics in the finale number confirm it, too “After the battle, masterless cattle, Overlords hanging by a thread…nature abhors a power vacuum, it leaves room for you and me. The future of Hell belongs to the Vees.” What better way to secure power than making sure your enemies can’t organize, even if it isn’t against you at first? The Vees are formidable, practically untouchable, because they work together. They can’t have other Overlords doing the same thing, because uniting against one seemingly impossible threat and succeeding has ripple effects. It becomes easier to unite against other threats. And if every other Overlord in Hell decided to band together to take down the Vees, the Vees wouldn’t win that encounter. Much easier to let Overlords’ natural distrust of each other continue to keep them alone and vulnerable while the Vees work in the background to take advantage of that vulnerability.

The Vees are a union-busting corporate tech giant monopoly, is what I’m saying.

Annnnyway.

Side note about character design: Velvette and Carmilla and Carmilla’s daughters all having very similar, if not the same, eye design is fascinating, but I’m not sure if it denotes a connection between them, since they also have the same eye design as hellhounds (seen more in Helluva Boss but there are a few in the background of Hazbin Hotel), and I’m not sure what to make of that tbh. Though Velvette being a doll and the Carmines being ballet-themed, possibly music box ballerina themed, does strike me as interesting too.

Okay, Zestial’s response: “Mightn’t they purge all of Hell for daring an uprising?” He’s the oldest guy in the room. He’s the most cautious, the most cunning, and one of the most powerful Overlords in that room, so probably in all of Hell. And what he just said is EXACTLY why the Exterminations are happening in the first place. Which begs the question: do the sinners know why Exterminations happen? Charlie knows, or at least knows a version of the story; Zestial being so ancient and also throwing out this incredibly obvious possibility that is already currently happening…I’m not sure if this is a writing continuity error or a hint that Exterminations have been happening for longer than Zestial has been around, so long that the original reason for it is lost to time for those who weren’t old enough to be there. The cautious way that Zestial and Carmilla are determined to stop Hell from trying to go to open war against Heaven makes me think that even if they don’t know the reason for the Exterminations, they’re smart enough to guess, and to want to keep their heads down and their people as safe as they can possibly be during a yearly bloodbath.

Also it continues to beg the question of why Lucifer “granted a pardon” to the Hellborn in the first place, if it was so long ago that Charlie probably didn’t exist yet, because a Hellborn sanction wouldn’t protect Lilith. She isn’t Hellborn. Technically neither is Lucifer, but I assume they figured that as an angel, even a fallen one, he wasn’t going to be in any danger anyway (since it apparently took ten thousand years for them to figure out on a wider scale that angelic steel kills angels too) (though it wouldn’t surprise me if the Seraphim all knew and just didn’t say anything). I’m rambling now but hOW LONG, VIV. HOW LONG HAVE THE EXTERMINATIONS BEEN GOING. I’M GOING TO START SCRAWLING ON THE WALLS.

“That was a productive meeting!” Okay, that’s my indication that expecting anything actually useful from this was probably a high bar to reach, but Velvette throwing an angelic bomb in the mix and then working Carmilla up to a bloody froth didn’t help, either. Overlords don’t collaborate, they don’t band together, they don’t share power. Even the Vees’ brand is held together with a lot of mutual self-interest and each one of them thinking that they’re the top of the operation. Though, personally, with this one scene, my money is on Velvette for being the top of that particular dogpile. Since. Y’know. She just single-handedly destroyed any chance of the Overlords working together to try and protect Hell.

(Also please tell me there’s at least one fanfic out there where the Hotel crew actually gives BDSM a shot. I don’t need to read it; I just need to know it exists. With a more nuanced and fair view of what professional BDSM is that isn’t just “weird deviant sex.”)

I can also see why a lot of people think Carmilla is a fallen angel when she’s placed so very obviously in narrative parallel with Vaggie. Part of me thinks this is merely foreshadowing to Carmilla becoming Vaggie’s mentor, because Carmilla being an Overlord and having daughters both seem like things that angels don’t do (and Carmilla’s daughters sharing physical similarities with her indicates to me that they might not be adopted daughters, but perhaps her actual daughters from life, since Sinners can’t reproduce). But there are plenty of little tidbits that would lend themselves to Carmilla being a fallen angel as well, such as the winged shape of her face markings and her general coloration being similar to Exorcists. Not to mention her deep knowledge of how to beat them, but that could very well be the decades or even centuries of observance Carmilla would have gotten in as one of the few demons willingly out during an Extermination Day. I lean towards Not, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she was, either. (How Carmilla and Vaggie both speak Spanish if they were both once angels is another question I want answered, tbh, but that could be something as simple as Heaven/Hell being multicultural by design and maybe they just sort of picked it up. But that doesn’t feel right tbh.)

“I just thought this would all be easier.” OH HELLO MAJOR THEME OF THE SHOW. Charlie’s naivete can be so charming sometimes, but so deeply saddening other times. Watching her grow up and start to shed some of that is a satisfying and subtle character arc and I can’t wait to keep watching her go.

Pentious having minions that have nothing to do with his power makes me more inclined to think that the little creatures that Alastor summons are souls he owns, but again, there’s literally no way to tell just by watching the show right now. Sigh.

Okay, only took two hours to get through this episode, so let’s take another two for the next one! It’ll be fine!

#quilly's hellaverse theories #hazbin hotel #quilly writing

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bubblyernie · 2 years ago

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Bestie what???? Where’d I even say that 💀💀💀I normally wouldn’t reply to an ask like this but since you decided to make it public smh

(tags are different from pineapplerightsideupcake, these are two different people, just addressing em in one RB)

First things first: i understand there are risks, but I take precaution. The binder I use isnt compressing me past what a snug sports bra would. Plenty of other things like tattoos or body mods or piercings come with risks too, but people still do them for the way they look. Plus, you can be safe about it. There’s plenty of resources, I don’t want to focus on that because the second part is the part I want to address most

Second: I disagree with you. I bind because I like my body, I have a small chest to start with and I think a binder elevates that look. For someone who wears makeup, they do it because they think it makes them look good but that doesn’t mean they hate their face to begin with,???? What political movement???????? Where’s this coming from? People been bod modding with piercings and tats and plastic surgery for years but to say that modding is suddenly hate based because it’s gender-related out of nowhere?

I bind not because i think the body I already inhabit is wrong, I bind because I think it makes me look cool, like a cosmetic. I understand this is NOT necessarily the case for everyone, I emphasize this again, I AM NOT TRANS. AND TO BE CLEAR: i am not saying this is something you should say to trans people, I’m saying this is something you shouldn’t say to ANYONE. I will not speak on behalf of trans people, it’s not my place, but the response feels like it was spoken with the intent to bring down transitioning/gender affirming care which in this day and age is still seen as a trans/queer exclusive thing so I want to address that. (It’s not btw and shouldn’t be, that’s my point)

Not everyone who binds/uses gender affirming gear hates their body NOR does it automatically mean they are unhappy gender-wise (again, my OG post says this, plenty of cis people use products because they love their body as do trans people). Similarly, cis people can hate their body too for not being what they want to look like without it being gender dysphoria, such as weight, blemishes, build, height etc. It’s a really narrow minded assumption to make — that people alter their body/dress different because they think their bodies are wrong — and it implies you think you’re ‘right’ or that you see people who do mods like this are trying to ‘fix’ themselves. 😬

The point of my OG post was to NORMALIZE gender affirming gear, whether it be for cosmetic or for euphoric(? Idk if I’m using that term right. I mean like makes people feel good about their gender) reasons. That’s because it’ll benefit both cis and trans people. Please do not use that to make some other point that ONLY focuses on body binding because that’s just Not the point of my post, it’s also the one thing that’s not already normalized like makeup or hair cutting or name changing.

Maybe it’s totally out of place for me to go off idk, and I know I shouldn’t be like feeding the fire here, but I don’t like people putting words in my mouth. We can agree to disagree, just don’t bring that stuff on my post??????????

I also want to make it clear I don’t want people taking in this kind of rhetoric that trying a new style means your old appearance was something that’s hated. Stay in your lane, I’ll stay in mine, we literally never had to mingle but you decided to reblog instead of making your own post or sending me an ask so I guess we’re tangoing, shawty 😫🥴

I will not be entertaining another reblog response by the way. If you want to discuss, then make your pitch in one big paragraph. Either send me an ask or tag me in a post or dm me if you have more to say so I can read it over myself, privately, and then, if it’s more of this nonsense, choose to ignore you

i thought tumblr may be a better place to post this, there's a higher population of queer folks around this platform than insta :P

also mentioned it there but if you have some input pls share!! i want to know what the vibe on this topic is

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alitheakorogane · 4 years ago

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Canon Confusions: Phandom Phanon Edition (PART ONE)

I had been a on-and-off fan of Danny Phantom for 4 years, and I kinda find out that there are some concepts, characters 'names' and terminologies that was thought is canon... Was actually fanon.

In fact, there are lots of fanon floating around the Phandom, that I could sometimes confuse myself if that was canon or fanon.

---------

Here are some examples of fanon I have noticed on the Phandom:

The Phandom called Valerie's ghost hunting persona as the Red Huntress even though I remembered she was not called like that in the canon series.

Also, it also seems to believe that Paulina's last name is "Sanchez" for a long time, but this is never mentioned anywhere in the show's canon. However, this fanon was finally confirmed in Channel Federator's 107 Facts About Danny Phantom, which Butch Hartman himself did and referred to Paulina as "Paulina Sanchez".

Many have believed that "James" is Danny's middle name, and because of the popularity of Danny's fanon middle name, I even used it in my fics. I still don't know the real reason, but 'Daniel James Fenton' has a nice ring to it. It was actually a good name.

As much as you don't want to believe it, the unique term "halfa" is only used ONCE in the series to describe Danny Phantom's status as a half-ghost, by Sidney Poindexter in "Splitting Images". It should be noted that "The Halfa" was used as a nickname for Danny before "Danny Phantom" (or Inviso-Bill 😂) became a more well known name, rather than describing his species. Apparently, the Phandom (and even Death Battle) has used it to describe half-ghosts like Danny and Vlad.

Danny's obsession. Some says it's "protection" since he always loved to protect Amity Park, and some says he doesn't have an obsession because he was only half-ghost. And even though we could see ghosts have specialized in some areas (like Box Ghost specialized in boxes and all things cardboard and square), the term obsession was not mentioned in the series (correct me if I am wrong.)

As much as we all read fanfics and fanarts depicting ghost cores, the fact that the cores themselves are a fan creation are shocking! Why would you say that? Apparently, according to some sources, there is actually a misinterpretation on our end caused by a dialogue between Danny and Frostbite on 'Urban Jungle'.

"Ah yes, the cold sensation. Your central core reading indicates extreme cold. As if your body is self generating it. I sensed it within you the last time we met."

Apparently, in medical terminologies, when medical professionals refer to a person's core temperature, it means they are referring the temperature of your internal organs, such as the liver, located deep within the body. In short, your internal temperature.

Vlad has a fire core. Well, if cores are real, the reason why Phans decides to give Vlad a fire core because Danny has ice cores. And archenemies with opposite powers are cool. But remember, we never seen Vlad ignites flames with his powers (not counting Dan, who is Phantom/Plasmius fusion who is apparently has fire as hair).

Many fans are under assumption that Ember's song indicates a bad romance that tragically took her life. Although, it was not confirmed, not that I have known of.

Ember's human name is 'Amber'. Then again, nothing is confirmed

Danny hates being called "Daniel" or "Dan", despite him never really having a problem with in the series. Makes sense, since Dark Danny was credited as "Dark Danny" in the canon episode. (but credited as Dan Phantom in that GBA game.)

Wes Weston and his brother Kyle Weston. Both semi-canon characters who the Phandom gave his own backstory and personality despite the character only appeared once as nameless background characters. The younger Weston, which is named Wes, was based on a joke where Sam was confused over the engraved name on the class ring Jack had given to Danny.

"Who the heck is Wes?"

Apparently, it was engraved Sam, but Sam read it upside down.

The term 'ectoblast'. The canonical term is Ghost Ray.

Danny blushing green in Phantom form. That makes sense because we saw Danny bleeds ectoplasm in ghost form, but in canon, he actually blushes red in Phantom form, like in 'Fanning the Flames'.

Also the fact of Danny's blood being a mixture of red and green when he bleeds. It only mentioned and seen in fan works, but not in canon.

We could see that Danny's a 7 in the scale made by the Guys in White in canon, but it was still unsure if the Fentons also use the same scale in canon.

Youngblood's canonically unnamed assistant was named "Bones" in fanon.

Also Mr. Lancer and his most famous fanon given name, "William". Probably because Lancer loved English poetry, makes sense his given name was based on William Shakespeare.

Ghost has their own language. Since Ghost Zone is whole another dimension, it makes sense that they have their own culture, especially their language. Although in canon, they naturally speaks and writes in English.

And the most obvious one agreed by majority of the fans: LET'S PRETEND PHANTOM PLANET DIDN’T EXIST. 😂

What are your other fanon experiences in Danny Phantom? Let me know! ❤️❤️

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PART TWO:

#danny phantom #canon vs fanon #danny phantom fanon #phandom #danny phantom fandom #this fandom has confused me #phanon

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harcidian · 4 years ago

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fma post-series predictions

with Arakawa's new content coming up on July 12th, 2021, I wanted to share some details I tied together to form a general idea of how the series can possibly continue beyond the canon timeline, based on all the clues in the manga and in brotherhood. Even if Arakawa doesn't follow this theory, at least I'm able to get it out of my system.

Disclaimer: I'm not saying these are canon, or that these should be canon. These are mere observations and some are completely assumptions, so take it with a grain of salt.

Let's start by enumerating the characters' goals in the future, then defining the basic symbols, then drawing out assumptions on how these can be connected.

For this discussion, we'll be following what the silver pocket watch looks like in the manga. I have no idea why both FMA 2003 and brotherhood changed it, so if anyone knows, feel free to share!

note: I'm also using this headcanon for my ongoing post-fmab fic, meridian :)

(also this is very lengthy, so just click keep reading if you want to read more)

Due to Tumblr's photo limit, I wouldn't be able to add a picture for every point. But all these are from the mangahood unless otherwise stated, you could cross-check if you like!

Character's goals

EDWARD ELRIC, ALPHONSE ELRIC, CHIMERAS

At the end of the series (both anime and manga), the Elric brothers mentioned two goals.

first

"a new rule to counter the law of equivalent exchange".

Alphonse told Gracia that receiving "ten" and giving back "ten" only amounts to a zero-sum gain. So he proposed that if they receive "ten", they will give "eleven" in return.

In real life, this could be analogous to how interest rates work.

Gracia then asks Al what keeps them driven to come up with this principle, and he told her it's because of "a little girl we couldn't save."

This leads us to their next goal.

second

"once we pool what we learn from east and west together, maybe we'll find a way to help those who are suffering from alchemy".

Ed plans to head West, while Al plans to head East. Both of them seek knowledge on bringing chimeras back to their original bodies.

Al also mentioned studying the PURIFICATION ARTS in Xing.

The chimeras also strategized on how they would get their bodies back.

First, they take the soul out of the body and keep it safe in a separate location, then they take the body and separate it. They also cautioned about the "SPIRIT", which connects the soul to the body, and if it gets cut the soul can't come back to the body.

ROY MUSTANG, RIZA HAWKEYE, AND THE MILITARY

There were also two things that the mangahood hinted on what the future has in store for the military officers.

first

In Volume 16 of the manga, Riza tells Ed that their first priority is to "restore power to the parliament and move the country towards true democracy". Then she also shares that they plan to "negotiate with other nations to reduce our armaments" and "abolish the state alchemist program". Lastly, "end up on trial for the injustices we committed in Ishval".

However, the last plan should be taken with caution. There is an anomaly between the idea of getting hanged for their crimes and what Volume 15 is connotating.

In Volume 15, the highest-ranking priest in Ishval wanted to offer his life in exchange for the lives of thousands just to end the slaughter. However, Bradley tells him that one life is still equal to one life no matter who that person is. (It makes sense, in a way, but then again they only need it for the transmutation circle).

So I'm not sure if Arakawa wants military war criminals to experience death by firing squad or something but I guess it just depends on the way you interpret it.

Sidenote: After hearing about Roy's plan for "self-destruction", it appears that Ed has his own way of telling Roy to "stay alive". When Ed told him "you won't go far in life being that petty", he decided not to pay Roy back until he becomes the Fuhrer. And when that time comes, he'll borrow some more and will pay it back when Amestris becomes a democracy. Roy tells him, "then I've got a long life ahead of me". Ed also tells him "not to worry the Lieutenant."

second

Manga: Dr. Marcoh tells Roy that he would only use the Philosopher's stone to restore his sight if he agrees to restore Ishval.

Brotherhood: Roy already plans to restore Ishval without knowing that Dr. Marcoh can restore his sight. First, he plans to call off the military occupation from Ishval, then he'll return the holy land to the Ishvalans living in the slums.

In Riza's words, "This may not erase our sins, but it's the least we can do to fix it." (in the English dub but it has similar connotations in the manga)

OUR HEROES FROM XING (LING YAO, LAN FAN, MEI CHAN / MAY CHANG)

For now, I admittedly don't have much evidence on what's to come for them, but I think it's important to note that Ling Yao canonically becomes the Emperor two years after The Promised Day, where he decided to accept all clans.

I think that's all I have for the characters' goals, I'm sure I missed some, so feel free to let me know!

Now that all of that is in place, let's talk about the common symbols and how these are clues to what could possibly happen next after the series.

SYMBOLS AND THEIR CONNECTION

1. The "star" symbol on the silver pocket watch and its relation to the "spirit"

Again, I can't help but notice that the star symbol on the pocket watch looks different in the manga and the anime (and it honestly bothers me) so I'm going to have to rely on what it looks like in the manga.

So let's talk about this symbol.

In alchemy, a hexagram represents "the fifth element", the "quintessence", the unity of all elements [1] (it's Wikipedia lmao but it has citations. I'm too scared to check on other sites, I don't wanna dive too deep into alchemy)

We know that Hiromu Arakawa follows this symbolism since she used triangles for Flame Alchemy

(fire: plain triangle for fire, air: a triangle with a stripe on its top, and earth: an inverted triangle with a stripe at the bottom) [2]

I find it interesting to know that Arakawa specifically placed it on the silver pocket watch.

Caution, this is more speculation than observation and I've used it for my fic. I believe it stands for Time, and time has many connotations. The length of an event, a process from one point to another, and, of course, FMA's theme: immortality.

In an alchemical, philosophical, and chemical sense, time can be seen as the period that a substance exists, also known as volatility.

The volatility of a substance is central to alchemy, where alchemists believe that mercury is the most volatile substance. And it's interesting to note that alchemists code mercury as the Spirit.[3]

Remember when we were talking about the Spirit? About Ed and Al's plan to bring chimera's back to their original bodies?

SPECULATION: I, therefore, surmise that the quintessence, that time, that the Spirit, has something to do with splitting the soul of the chimera and putting the human soul back to the human body.

It's also interesting to note that volatility is a property used in Distillation (both a chemical and alchemical process). In Distillation, a liquid mixture is separated back into a pure component by heating it until the component with the lower boiling point (or higher volatility) evaporates.

And Distillation is one of the 12 Purification Arts that Al talks about, based on the magnum opus [4] [5]

Another interesting fact is that Ed and Al's goal of "fixing the volatility" have been foreshadowed all along.

2. Ed, Al, and Izumi's symbol

This represents the Crucified Serpent, where Arakawa modified it and placed wings and a crown on top of it.

I find it interesting that this site has defined what a crucified serpent means, and at the same time, defines what Ed, Al, and Izumi's symbol meant in relation to that.

So “fixing the volatile” generally means stabilizing the active principle, something which can separate harmful and beneficial elements from each other or even transform the harmful (pure active, too active) into the beneficial (balanced active).

The symbol that Izumi, Ed and Al wear, however, is not the crucified serpent alone. It is the crucified serpent winged and crowned. As we can see in many manuscripts, wings are used to mark progress or advancement of an alchemical solution toward perfection. Crowns mark the final stage of a spirit or solution: perfection, completion, ascension.

If we interpret snake = Mercury = spirit, which is a common symbol chain, then the symbol can suggest that the final “rendering” of the spirit, by death or enlightenment, will produce the pure, perfected, incorruptible spirit that, in alchemical terms, tends to go along with an incorruptible body. In this reading, the symbol indicates immortality, the standard promise of the philosopher’s stone. [3]

Basically, Arakawa is telling us that Ed and Al's goal has always been to fix the volatile or "render the spirit".

From the same quotation, another important factor we should look into is "Mercury", "volatile" and "snakes".

Do you remember another FMA symbol with snakes?

Yes. It is in Riza Hawkeye's tattoo.

This will be the last thing we'll interpret for this post and is the symbol that basically says it all.

3. Riza Hawkeye and the emblem of Flame Alchemy

Manga and Brotherhood

Source of the last picture [5]

I'm honestly a little skeptical of the last picture, because, in the mangahood, Riza's tattoo does not look like that, unless this was revealed in one of Arakawa's FMA guidebooks.

Anyway, we see that the snakes in Riza's tattoo look like an inverted Caduceus, which is the staff carried by the Greek or Roman god Hermes or Mercury. It is a symbol for medicine, and it also has Biblical roots where Moses crucified serpents to cure diseases back in the day [6]. Yes, we've gone full circle, we've mentioned the crucified serpent earlier, where it also mentioned the crucified serpents being related to Moses' healing [3].

We also know that snakes = mercury = volatility, and based from soterianyx's analysis:

Master Hawkeye meant for these two representations (the sun and the serpents) to be deciphered as one unit. When sulfur (the sun) and mercury (the moon/the serpents) are placed together, they are usually depicted in alchemical illustrations as the “Red King” and the “White Queen,” respectively. Riza would be considered as the White Queen, and whoever successfully decoded the array as the Red King. [5]

In alchemy, sulfur is related to the sun, fire, ambition, and is non-volatile, and mercury is related to water and volatility (correct me if I'm wrong, also I'm too scared to link it directly here but you could see it as the first result when you search "mercury and sulfur alchemy")

And if you remember that fire has the triangle symbol, and water has the inverted triangle symbol?

Yes, this merge forms the hexagram = the quintessence = time = life!

And in alchemy, this union between two dualities, fire and water, masculine and feminine, the Red King and the White Queen, is called the Alchemical Marriage [7], where two things become one.

(will edit this from time to time I'm so sleepy right now asksksakjd) Note: If the last picture is indeed true, then there's one more thing I'd like to point out.

Surrounding the largest circle in Riza's tattoo are 12 symbols. These 12 symbols are also known as the Zodiac signs. Interestingly, these signs are also used as a cryptography for the 12 Purification Processses in alchemy (the one we also talked before) [4]. This observation is also noted by soterianyx [5].

Calcination (Aries) ♈︎

Congelation (Taurus) ♉︎

Fixation (Gemini) ♊︎

Dissolution (Cancer) ♋︎

Digestion (Leo ) ♌︎

Distillation (Virgo ) ♍︎

Sublimation (Libra ) ♎︎

Separation (Scorpio ) ♏︎

Ceration (Sagittarius ) ♐︎

Fermentation (Capricorn ) ♑︎

Multiplication (Aquarius ) ♒︎

Projection (Pisces) ♓︎

Whew finally done.

How'd you like that? Thank you for reaching the end.

I also used this headcanon in doing my post-series fic, meridian . You might want to read it if you want to know more of my speculations since I'll be making my own analysis in the worldbuilding I'm doing there.

Other FMA blogs: @royriza - for royai stuff

@fullmetalanalyst - for my analysis

#fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood #fma analysis #fma meta #fullmetal alchemist #edward elric #this is written as objectively as I can #ack i need sleep #fma mangahood analysis #alphonse elric #riza hawkeye #roy mustang #fullmetalanalyst #hanamuri #fma symbols #shocks im so tired i cant even think of the right tags

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bigskydreaming · 2 years ago

Text

thehollowprince

I'm liking the first theory, but I think someone pointed him out as a background character in a former issue of X-Men Red. Haven't gone back to check yet

stone-monkey

I'm not reading it, but my money is on a Summer's family complication.

Ewing said he was a new creation so I’d be really surprised if they just reused an existing design but its not out of the realm of possibility. And lol when in doubt, assume its a Summers.

No, the way I see it, the evidence for:

Jon Ironfire as the unrevealed Vulcan/Deathbird child and Shi’ar prince:

1) Visually he fits, same hair color and general features as Gabe.

2) The missing heir has been heavily lampshaded the entire run. Vulcan brought up their child when facing off against Deathbird a couple issues ago, and with all the drama around the Shi’ar throne and Xandra, the question of where is Deathbird’s kid is a big one that needs addressing at some point. Especially since the thread where Lifeguard and Slipstream were alleged to be Deathbird’s hidden-away children seems to have been abandoned at least for now.

(That said, back during this conversation Ewing made a point to not have Deathbird respond to Vulcan using pronouns to refer to their child. Gabe’s only assumed the child is a boy, because well, Misogynist King. Literally. But Ewing definitely made a point to have Deathbird NOT confirm that their child is a boy, or at least doesn’t identify as such...however whether this was written this way as a hint that Gabe’s assumptions are off-base or simply because at that point Ewing hadn’t decided for sure yet on what he wanted the character of Deathbird and Vulcan’s child to be like....could go either way).

3) The name Ironfire seems to be a clear nod to Vulcan, who of course is named for the Roman god of fire and the forge.

4) Jon’s powerset includes transmuting his blood into any metal he can imagine, presumably including mysterium, and shaping it into weapons, armor, anything else....frequently manifesting it as sharp spikes he grows from his skin and hurls like projectiles. This not only mirrors Deathbird’s iconic javelin-quills she grows and uses as weapons, it also calls back to the blood-burning powerset of Adam Neramani, who according to this theory would be both Jon’s paternal uncle AND one of his rivals for the Shi’ar throne.

5) Given how much Gabe hates Ororo, having his son and heir have zero interest in the throne daddy dearest ‘acquired for him’ as well as being one hundred percent devoted to Storm would be HILARIOUS.

6) The fight between Jon and Mystique implied that Jon theoretically COULD be an omega, like Vulcan, but it could also be just typical fight talk and hyping himself up in front of his opponent. Ewing does like making weird abilities that don’t seem on the surface like they should be omega, however.

Vs....

Jon Ironfire as an unrevealed brother or son of Lodus Logos:

1) His powerset much more directly mirrors Lodus’ than it does Gabe’s.

2) Ewing and other writers have explicitly referred to Jon as being Arakkii in interviews. (That said, we’ve seen with characters like Craig, Beto and Ororo herself that the Arakkii take a very clear view of things: if you consider yourself of Arakko and fight for Arakko, then you are Arakkii, no matter where else you originated. And given Gabe blatantly didn’t care about Arakko other than as another potential conquest of his, this could be a lead-in to having his son reject all that and identify as being OF Arakko, much like Storm herself has rejected all desire to rule and simply wants to be of the land as much as anyone else. ‘No thrones on Arakko,’ round two. This time with the sentiment embraced by the son and heir of her chief rival on Arakko, after Isca herself).

3) Lodus is hands down Ororo’s biggest supporter and friend on the Great Ring, and has been since his very first appearance in SWORD, long before she even started making connections with Lactuca. In turn, she also gave up the Seat of All-Around-Us and the second vote that comes with it, calling him a better fit for it while she took the Seat of Loss in honor of Magneto’s death. They’re very close and while it would be FUNNY for Jon to be Vulcan’s son, with how devoted he is to Storm, thematically and character-wise I think his attitude around her makes a lot more sense if he’s Lodus’ son, and in the wake of his father and most of the rest of his peers on the Great Ring dying in the early days of the Red Diamond Empire....he’s naturally gravitated to one of his father’s closest friends and allies: Ororo.

4) We’ve seen that Jon will live to Year 1000, aging extremely slowly....which is more a staple of Arakkii mutants than Earthborn ones. Most of them possess some degree of longevity, whereas Earth mutants require that longevity be a specific part of their powerset to mirror that. (That said, if any Earth mutant were to live a thousand years without resurrection, it would make sense for it to be Gabe’s son, as many omegas DO have ways to extend their lifespan and Gabe in particular has brought himself back from death or the brink of it before).

My conclusions:

I think I WANT Jon to be related to Lodus Logos, but I’m more inclined to think he’s probably the Vulcan/Deathbird heir. I do think there’s a strong case to be made for either, and thus neither route would surprise me, but the missing heir plotline is too central to a lot of the book’s plots for it not to be coming up soon, and this sorta consolidates plots. Ewing does like to be efficient in his seeding of storylines. And like I said, the heir is of course an as yet unrevealed Summers too, and when in doubt....its safe to assume whatever’s going on has something to do with a Summers, lol.

(Plus, even if Ewing seems disinclined to follow up on it, that dangling plot-thread about Heather and Davis being Deathbird’s kids she stashed away to hide from D’Ken is still out there and someone else could pick it up eventually.....and that would make Jon their younger half-brother and idk why but Slipstream being Ironfire’s older brother is also hilarious to me. Especially when you factor in HIS epic crush on Ororo, back in the day.)

#x-tag

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dollopheadedmerlin · 1 year ago

Text

First of all, every time I do a poll about what color Kilgharrah is, I always get new options. This time around, those who voted other, said they thought he was either Blue or Bronze. Though I voted gold, I really do like the bronze option, and it probably more accurately describes how I view him.

Okay so let's look at the evidence.

First, you think, okay let's look at some renders of Kilgharrah. At the end of the day, he is a 3D model. So, there should be some flat colors of him out there, right?

Eh. Both of these images (this one and the original reference) have pretty influential lighting. And they both have incredibly different color. Some may argue that the first image is lit with a more neutral light, but since we don't know his true color, it very well could be a very cool light, like they use for night scenes in Merlin.

I'd say the first image lends itself well to people who believe him to be grey, black, blue, or purple and the second image lends well to brown, gold, and bronze.

Okay so those aren't concrete, plus it is entirely possible that Kilgharrah received touch ups or recolors as the show adjusted it's CGI. So focusing on what color the model is, might not lead us anywhere. So instead let's look for what color they want us to interpret him as.

Here are some unedited screenshots from the show:

Ah. Still pretty hard to tell for sure. Kilgharrah is almost always in harsh lighting, likely in order to partially compensate for the quality of CGI at the time. He is always either lit by fire or torchlight, moonlight, or he is presented as a near silhouette at dusk or dawn. You can easily find convincing scenes for all of the options in the poll. Even green (which I was very surprised got so many votes).

So maybe we cant find any solid answers in the source material. Let's look at merch!

Hm. The action figure even seems undecided, like they handed the unpainted statue to the designer and, when asked what color the dragon is, the Merlin team shrugged and said to just try and base it off of the screenshots. He appears grey or black from a distance, but is very clearly dusted with varying warm tones.

Next we have The Great Dragon Glider, which was an "exclusive free gift" that came with issue 1 of the Futura Specials Merlin Magazine. He is very clearly green!

However

This does not look like Kilgharrah.

If you are familiar with any of the little toys that came with Merlin Magazines, you'll know that the ones from issue 1 are simply preexisting bargain toys with Merlin branding added to the packaging (a bright orange sticky hand scorpion branded as a "Super Sticky Serket" and a crystal tree growing kit with Merlin's face and blue crystals from the Crystal Cave on the packaging). So, it is very unlikely that this dragon toy was designed with Kilgharrah in mind, and the only evidence this really gives us is that whatever part of the design team that worked on the gifts for the Merlin magazine decided that this looked enough like Kilgharrah to pass it off as such and hand it to children.

But, inside the magazine

There is a comic!

It uses very flat colors. This definitely seems to lean towards gold, bronze, or brown. He is colored in these exact shades and hues in every panel of the short comic.

Before my last bit of evidence, an honorable mention I think we should consider!

I feel as though it is a reasonable assumption to make that the Pendragon crest in the show is, in fact, meant to symbolize the Pendragon's conquering of magic and the dragons, assuming this crest was adopted during or after the Purge. Kilgharrah was locked beneath the castle as an example, so what better way to mark their triumph over magic that to plaster their greatest trophy on all of their knights? Any who dared to challenge Camelot would be reminded that this kingdom bested the dragons.

If Kilgharrah is meant to be portrayed on the Pendragon crest, then I feel like the yellow lends itself towards gold or brown.

However, this is an honorable mention because this is only based on assumptions and headcanons about the show, and nothing concrete. The dragon could have very well been their original crest before the Purge, the dragon may not be intended to resemble the specific dragon they have in captivity, or the gold and red colors could have carried over from their previous design.

If you are tired of all these images with inconsistent colors, don't worry, I finally have some text.

In all of the Merlin books, the Annuals, the Guides, the younger readers, the older readers - they distinctly avoid describing Kilgharrah.

All except once.

In Merlin: The Dragon's Call, the novelization of the first episode of the show, Kilgharrah is described as such:

Scales shone golden and bright on its majestic crested head, along its ridged spine and along its flanks

Finally, you think. We have it in writing. Surely this is the only proof of what color Kilgharrah is in BBC's The Adventures of Merlin (2008-2012). Such plain text finally puts an end to the mystery and the confusion.

Except it is immediately followed up by:

It may only have been the reflected torchlight, but the colours appeared to ripple with every movement of its great body.

. . .

I think it's safe to say that no one behind the scenes is entirely sure what color they made this dragon.

At least we know his eyes are yellow.

For Science

#mine #merlin #Kilgharrah #you heard it here first folks #his eyes aren't gold #they're YELLOW #Merlin's eyes are desxribed as amber a few times to be fair #wild #I 100% believe he is MEANT to be gold #or WAS meant to be gold at some point #I like how visually accurate bronze is though #bc bronze can look black in low light #and that fits for sure #also the passage definitely could jusy be referring to the rippling and not the actual color being affected by the torchlight #but it also does say “colors” after only listing one color #and even without the followup sentence #shone golden could be torchlight reflecting #i just thought it was more fun and dramatic to act like it was The Answer #lol

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sohotthateveryonedied · 4 years ago

Note

Hiii!! I really love your tumblr posts and I'm pretty new to the Batfam (meaning I have only read fics and textposts about them, no comics) and I wanted to ask about the year Bruce/Batman gets "lost in time". I know general things of what the kids have been doing–Dick became batman and fired Tim from robin, giving it to Damian, everyone thinking Tim was crazy for believing Bruce was alive, (don't really know what Jason was up to though, was he still murderous towards Tim? Does the pit still affect him? Also I have no idea about Cass and Duke, were they introduced at this point??) Anyways, my real question was why was Bruce lost in time, what villain put him there? And how did he get out? And how long was he "dead"? Was Bruce in another reality or like just asleep the whole time? Oh! And how soon did this happen after Damian got introduced to the family–a couple months?

I'm so sorry this is so long, but I hope you answer and thank you!!

(I’m going to try and cover all my bases here by going into how exactly Bruce “died,” what went down during the Battle For the Cowl, what the Batkids did while Bruce was gone, and how Bruce came back. Hopefully it all makes sense?? We’ll see how it goes lmao.)

Part 1 - What Happened to Bruce:

So there was this event called Final Crisis (which I won’t go completely into since it would make this post a million times longer than it already is), but the bottom line is that Darkseid wants to overthrow reality and release his Anti-Life Equation, which would overthrow the whole planet and turn everyone into slaves. (If you’re interested in knowing more about the storyline, here’s a Reddit thread that explains it WAY better than I could.)

What I CAN tell you is that during his final confrontation with Darkseid, Bruce is hit by an Omega Beam and turned into a burnt chicken nugget killed. Poor guy.

Final Crisis #6

Clark and Diana bring the body back to the Batcave and break the news to the Batfamily. Batman #687 covers a good portion of the aftermath such as Bruce’s funeral, the Batfamily grieving, and Dick coming to terms with his new responsibility of becoming Batman.

Batman #687

Part 2 - Battle For the Cowl:

Musical chairs time, fellas! After word gets out that Batman is gone, Gotham erupts into chaos. Dick doesn’t want to take over the mantle, Tim needs Dick to take over the mantle, and Jason says “fuck it” and takes over the mantle himself because somebody around here has to. He becomes this murderous psychopathic Batman and starts taking out criminals with deadly force because someone’s gotta do the job, so it might as well be him.

Batman: Battle For the Cowl #1

(Okay honestly, this series had some pretty bad characterization overall, which sucks since it’s such an important storyline. Jason is portrayed as this violent psychopath, which...okay, he was kind of insane after the Pit and all, but not to this degree. Personally, I choose to owe the bad characterization to Bruce’s death because as much as Jason resents Bruce for all he’s done, he does still love him and losing him would be devastating, which would exacerbate his already fragile mental health. As for Damian, this happens roughly three years after his first appearance, so we can assume it’s been a few months since he first joined the family. He’s still relatively new at this point, so nobody knows how to write him yet. He ends up being depicted as if his main two personality traits are Bratty and Assassin-Child and that’s it. It’s all just a mess.)

Anyway, Tim tells Dick to become Batman and stop Jason’s reign of terror. Dick says no, so Tim follows Jason’s lead by saying “fuck it” and putting on the cowl himself. He goes to confront Jason, which ends in Jason beating the crap out of him (again) and leaving him for dead after Tim declines his offer to become Jason’s Robin. Dick goes to save Tim and ends up fighting Jason.

Battle For the Cowl #3

Dick wins, Jason disappears, Tim is fine, and Dick finally gets his head out of his ass and becomes Batman.

Part 3 - What Happens to Each Batkid While Bruce is “Dead”?:

Dick:

As I said, Dick becomes the new Batman a month after Bruce’s death. He’s got big shoes to fill, and it takes some time for him to get used to his new role. He and Damian end up flipping around the classic Batman and Robin dynamic, with Batman now as the fun counterpart to Robin’s edginess. Dick, Damian, and Alfred relocate to the penthouse above the Wayne Foundation building, operating out of a secret Bat-Bunker in the basement.

Batman #688

Jason:

After Battle For the Cowl, Jason is still batshit insane and determined to make Dick’s already stressful life even harder by becoming a supervillain with an ugly costume and an even uglier hairstyle. (I know it’s just because the artist sucked, but still. Jason is horrifying to look at during this time.) He mostly just gets on Dick’s nerves by running around Gotham with his new sidekick Scarlet and killing criminals as Batman and Robin wannabes. Eventually, Dick has Jason committed to Arkham Asylum and he hangs out there until Bruce returns.

Batman and Robin (2009) #5

Tim:

Tim...doesn’t do great after Bruce’s death, mentally. Dick makes Damian Robin, his reasoning being that Robin is more of a sidekick and he sees Tim as his equal. By making Damian Robin, Dick hopes that it will give him the stability he needs to keep him from straying back toward the “bad” side. (It’s the right move ultimately, although his execution was pretty messed up since he didn’t discuss it with Tim beforehand, but he’s allowed to make mistakes. Dick’s father just died and now he’s in charge of picking up the pieces of their broken family. It’s a lot to handle.)

Long story short, Tim has a breakdown, realizes that Bruce is alive, dons the Red Robin identity, and cuts ties with his family to travel the world in search of proof. It’s a rough time.

Red Robin #1

Damian:

Our little guy becomes Robin! So proud of him! As I explained earlier, Dick makes Damian his Robin with the assumption that it will keep him out of trouble, and he’s right on that account. He mentors Damian, teaching him how to channel his violent instincts into something productive, and it works! Slowly but surely, Damian makes the transition from bratty assassin to actual hero!

Batman and Robin (2009) #22

Cass:

Duke sadly was not introduced at this point in time, so he missed out on all the pandemonium. Cass, however, has been Batgirl for years by now, but she got kind of pushed aside by the writers after Bruce’s death. Bruce disappears shortly after adopting Cass, but once he was “dead,” the writers sort of moved Cass around for a while, not quite knowing what to do with her. First she was with the Outsiders. Then they got disbanded and Cass tried forming a new network of heroes to take over for Batman if needed. Then she helped out in said network during Battle for the Cowl, taking care of a newly ravaged Gotham. Then Cass gave the Batgirl mantle to Stephanie Brown after she became disillusioned with the role, thanks to the loss of her father and mentor. Then Cass picked up and moved to Hong Kong to “follow Bruce’s plans” by continuing whatever work he had set up for her there. It was all very vague and confusing, and Cass more or less got swept under the rug during this time. Thanks, writers.

Batgirl (2009) #1

Part 4 - How Bruce Came Back:

When the Blackest Night storyline happens, the Justice League realizes that the corpse buried under Bruce’s grave is apparently not the real one and that he’s actually alive out there somewhere! How wild is that! This is further proven by Dick after he places Bruce’s body in a Lazarus Pit to revive, which has the same result because it’s very clearly Not Bruce and they should have listened to Tim from the start.

Batman and Robin (2009) #9

Anyway, what actually happened is that the Omega Beams that Darkseid shot at Bruce didn’t kill him, but rather blasted him back through time to the prehistoric era with his memories wiped. The Omega Energy inside of Bruce ends up catapulting him through various time periods, which is all part of Darkseid’s plan. With each time-hop, Bruce builds up more Omega Energy in his body which, when he gets back to his original time period, will be unleashed and destroy everything.

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #5

It’s been a little under two years since Final Crisis, though in-universe it’s uncertain exactly how long Bruce has been “dead.” We can assume it’s been a year, give or take. The way he comes back is too scientific and complicated for me to understand, so uhhhh the bottom line is that Tim and a few Leaguers save Bruce at the Vanishing Point and the day is saved! Hooray!

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #6

(If you want to read about how it actually goes down, then I seriously recommend reading Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne. It’s only six issues, so it’s a quick read and it explains the situation far better than I ever could.)

Bruce eventually reunites with his family after spying on them for a period of time as Insider to see what has changed in his absence:

Bruce Wayne: The Road Home

After that, things quickly settle back into their new normal. Dick and Damian stay on as Batman and Robin. Bruce goes back to being Batman as well, with him handling Batman Incorporated business and Dick continuing as Gotham’s defender. Tim keeps the Red Robin outfit, Steph stays on as Batgirl, and Cass becomes Black Bat. Jason stays in Arkham for a while before filing an appeal to be moved to a regular prison. He kills 82 inmates in less than a week and gets transferred back to Arkham, which he promptly escapes from. It’s a ride, I tell ya.

Aaaaand that’s about it! I hope this answered all of your questions!

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shysneeze · 4 years ago

Text

i’m in love with you (george weasley x fem!reader)

I’m in Love With You

Post War George Weasley x Fem!Reader

Request: Okay idk if you’d be up to it but I’m currently obsessed w the song Please Notice by Christian Leave and so I was thinking a George weasley x reader fic inspired by/based off of/same kinda vibe imagine. Do you understand that lol I feel like I said it in a confusing way, crossing my fingers that you’re pickin up what I’m putting down. Lol ily bye. ~ anon

Warning: angsty (but fluff I promise this time), self-doubt etc...

Authors note: this is a cliché, but it’s one you can pry from my cold dead hands

George has never been a huge fan of silence, it’s not something he’s ever been used to, growing up in a house full of the constant noise of familial ruckus, and so weekends without Fred such as this are something that’s always made him feel ever so slightly uneasy, listening only to the repetitive patter of rain on the windows and static whirring of a record he’s gotten too distracted to flip spinning idly in the corner.

The creak of his bedroom door opening is a welcome sound, followed by the gentle shuffle of light footsteps along the corridor before she appears before him, a much healthier and warmer version of herself, nothing like the teary-eyed (Y/N) (Y/L/N) he pulled from his doorstep and out of the rain only ten minutes previous.

“Hey.” She gives a sheepish wave.

Years as best friends should prepare him for the sight of her in his clothes, borrowed jumpers and stolen socks such a pivotal part of their friendship back in Hogwarts that he shouldn’t be startled by how gorgeous she looks in them, but he always is.

“Hey.” He manages a kind smile. “Any warmer?”

The subtle drop of her gaze to the floor warns him that she’s about to tell him a white-lie and his eyes cling to the way her hands still tremble with the cold. Then, just as he’s predicted, she gives him an unconvincing ‘yep’.

It wasn’t how he was expecting his evening to go, he’d already surrender himself to an evening spent on the couch listening to his favourite songs when there was a knock on his door. The time and weather instantly led him to the assumption of bad news, and for all the outlandish theories and anxious assumptions he concocted on his way to the door, none involved his rain-soaked best friend shivering on his door step.

A sputtered apology was all she managed before he pulled her into his flat in a protective panic, fetching her a towel instantly and setting out a change of clothes with no request of an explanation for her visit, promising himself only to ask once he’s sure she doesn’t have hypothermia.

He’s still not one hundred percent on that part, giving her a knowing look as he crosses the space between them to push a cup of warm tea between her frozen fingers. Her shoulders slump in relief at the heat finding her hands, giving him a sheepish, but grateful smile.

“Now I’m warmer.” She assures honestly. “Thank you, Georgie.”

“Figured that might help.” He smiles gently. “Livingroom?”

She nods, mimicking his steps subconsciously as he follows him to from the kitchen to the sofa in the living room, pulling her knees up to her chest and cradling the mug on top of them as he takes a seat on the opposite end of the worn sofa with his legs stretched out across the cushions

She twiddles with the handle of her mug atop her knees, deep in thought as the room falls into silence. Silence with her is the only type George has ever found comforting, the reminder of afternoons spent in the Gryffindor common room, listening only the sound her flipping pages of her book and the crackling of the fire.

“Fred’s out?”

“A ‘couples weekend away’.” George nods. “Him and Angelina are somewhere up north for the anniversary of the first time they ate ice cream together or something daft like that.”

She chuckles softly, her smile summoning one similar to George’s lips. There is always a certain amount of pride in cheering her up, he’s realised, in bringing a smile to cheeks moments ago stained by tears.

“I’m happy for them though.” She adds softly, a sombre sound to her voice that has him on edge. “They’re a cute couple.”

“Insufferable at times.” George says. “But yes, cute.”

She exhales a quiet sigh, dropping her head tiredly to the cushion beside.

“I got stood up… again.”

He drops his shoulder in a display of sympathy, pushing down the initial aggressive protectiveness that dares him to ask for the name and address of the person stupid enough to ever hurt her. It’s clear from the forlorn look in her eyes that she needs someone to listen to her, not to avenge her.

“I’m sorry, (Y/N).” He says. “Whoever they were, they were an idiot.”

“Thanks, Georgie.” She says softly. “I just really needed a friend tonight so thank you.”

He tries to ignore how the word stings, ‘friend’. It’s a sting he’s been trying to ignore for years, it should be second nature by now, but it still stirs that feeling he hates, the one that makes him feel ungrateful, because being her friend should be enough.

He hates that it never has been.

It was what he assumed was a harmless crush at first, back at Hogwarts, one he was sure he would grow out of, no matter how many times Fred tried to tell him otherwise. Much to his dismay, Fred was right, and every year it got harder and harder to ignore, even after school.

By now, the word ‘crush’ doesn’t seem to cut it, too childish to possibly explain the irresistible torture that is his love for (Y/N) (Y/L/N). He’s not sure there is a word to describe such a feeling, the way it fills his heart with warmth but aches at the same time, an ache he’d happily experience forever just to be near her.

Now he pushes that sting deep down where he can barely notice it in order to deal with the issue at hand, the girl sat across from him with sad eyes and fallen smile.

“You can rant to me.” He assures. “I don’t mind.”

She takes a moment to give in to his offer encouraged by the sincerity in his warm brown eyes from across the sofa and the nudge to her feet from his. Biting her lip nervously and with a deep breath, she begins to explain.

“I’m not saying he was the love of my life or anything.” She disclaims. “It was only our second date, but it still hurt when he just... didn’t show up.”

“I can imagine.”

“I was just sat in that restaurant staring at the door waiting for this guy I knew deep down wasn’t going to show.” She explains. “He could have just called; told me he wasn’t interested, and it would have been less embarrassing.”

“Guys are idiots, Love.” George says. “Take it from a professional.”

She rolls her eyes lightly at the comment, ready to scold his self-deprecation when she seems to lose the momentum as quickly as she found it, instead sinking further back against the arm of the sofa with a huffed out breath.

“Is there something about me that people think doesn’t deserve an explanation?” Her voice wobbles. “Aren’t I worth that much?”

His heart breaks into what he’s sure are thousands of little pieces, his breath catching in his throat at the tears that spring to her eyes. He pulls his legs back and shuffles towards her end of the sofa as she hides her face behind her knees.

Gentle tugging the tea from her fingers, he places it on the coffee table before pushing her knees down, guiding her legs across his lap, squeezing her knee to urge her to look up and meet his eyes. She sniffles softly as she lifts her head, gulping at the softness in his warm brown eyes.

“You are worth so much more.” He explains. “I’m so sorry they made you feel like you weren’t.”

“I guess I just feel… unlovable.” She confesses.

Frustration forces itself out of his lungs in a long sigh, startling her slightly. It almost hurts to listen to her talk about herself, ‘unlovable’, as if he isn’t sat in front of her, undoubtedly in love with her. It’s not the first time he’s wished she would notice, where life would be so much easier if she could just look at him and see instantly how in love with her he is.

If only she could see how he blushes when he makes her laugh, how even in crowded rooms, he has only eyes for her and how, sometimes, despite his best efforts, he can’t help but fumble over his words when she talks to him.

“You’re not.” He shakes his head slowly. “Trust me.”

It’s a miniscule confession, one he doubts she’s going to pick up on until he can see something flicker across her eyes, realisation perhaps. It fades as quickly as it appeared, as though in only a millisecond she considered and dismissed the notion.

However, George has taken the first steps down a dangerous path, there is no going back no matter how fast the beating of his nervous heart.

“You’re the amazing, (Y/N).” He continues. “I hate that other people can’t see that, but I do.”

“George-“

“I’m in love with you, (Y/N).”

“George please…” She exhales shakily, desperately. “Please don’t tell me this if you don’t mean it, if you’re just trying to cheer me up- please, George.”

“I do mean it, (Y/N).” He assures frantically. “Merlin, (Y/N), I love everything about you, the way you sing under your breath when you think no one’s listening, how you mimic the facial expressions of the characters in books without even noticing you’re doing it, how you get the hiccups when you laugh too much- blood hell, (Y/N), you’re laugh is the most gorgeous sound in the world.”

He’s in love with every single one of her quirks and habits; the lucky penny she’s taken to every single one of his quidditch matches, the pressed flowers she uses as bookmarks, and her pockets that are always full of plasters and healing cream… He could get carried away with listing them all, he has to restrain himself from doing so, bringing himself back with a sigh.

“I’m in love with you, (Y/N).” He repeats in confirmation. “And I can’t stand to hear you doubt yourself over and over because of some idiots who don’t know how lucky they are to even be considered by you.”

The tears that trickle down her cheeks fill him instantly with panic, sure he’s ruined it all as she wipes frantically at her eyes. The room fills with silence again, though George can only hear the thumping of his own heart in his ears, drowning out the rain and the record still spinning pointlessly in the corner of the room.

He’s done exactly what he was afraid of; he’s let his feeling pull apart the friendship that should have been enough for him. This hurts more than the ache of loving her ever has, the wretched torture of rejection.

“I shouldn’t-“ He mumbles. “I shouldn’t have done that-“

“Do you know how often I have imagined you saying those words to me?”

Her voice is cracked, much how it was when he first opened the door to her this evening, with disbelieving edge to her voice. The pain in his chest untwists itself slowly, replaying the words over and over in his head, until he’s sure he’s imagined it.

“What?”

“I love you, George.” She confesses. “Every disastrous date I’ve ever been on has been in an attempt to pretend I don’t. but I do, I really do.”

“You love me?”

The words feel foreign in his mind, he’s never allowed himself to imagine it before, that she could ever possibly love him back. Yet here she is, sat on his couch and wearing his clothes, tell him that she does.

“Yes, George.” She gasps incredulously. “I do, and only in my daydreams have you ever loved me back.”

Warmth fills him slowly, then rushes in all at once as the words finally sink in and he’s able to convince himself he isn’t stuck in some daydream of his own. His grin spreads slowly up his cheeks, contagious as it is soon mimicked on her own teary cheeks.

“You love me.”

“Yes.” She lets out a breathy laugh.

“Bloody hell.”

Her head tips back in a hysterical burst of laughter.

“You can’t just say ‘Bloody hell’ after I’ve confessed my undying love!”

“You cried when I confessed mine!” He retorts, chest vibrating with a laugh of his own. “This is surreal.”

Laughter fading to a grin, she looks at him with a new found light, a twinkle he’s very quickly added to the never ending list of thing he loves about her.

“I can’t believe you love me.” She says softly.

He does something he’s only ever dreamt of before, reaching out with one hand and cupping her cheek, grazing his thumb gently over the map of stains from what he knows now, were happy tears. He can feel her skin warm beneath his touch and tries his best not to smirk, not wanting to ruin the moment.

“This can’t be real.” He whispers.

“I know.” She smiles softly in agreement. “It’s all too perfect.”

“Is it immoral for me to kiss you after you’ve just been stood up?”

She snorts quietly at the question, shaking her head in reassurance and curling her finger around a handful of his jumper, pulling him closer.

“I think I was meant to be stood up.” She admits. “As cliché as it might sound, it led me here.”

“You’re right.” He mumbles, lips inches from hers. “That is very soppy.”

“Oh, shut up and kiss me.”

He’s tugged into her lips in less than a second. It’s better than he’s ever allowed himself to imagine during those lonely evenings spent staring at his ceiling, it’s everything to him. She moves her lips with his eagerly, as if she would be happy to the spend the rest of her life with him in this moment.

She’s perfect, it’s a fact he’s known since they were seventeen, but never has it been more true than this moment, tangled together in a kiss they’ve both been longing for in secret for far too long. All this time he’s not been the only one with what felt like an unattainable crush, no the only one suffering the ache of a heart in love.

“You’re amazing.” He exhales against her lips, eliciting one of those gorgeous laughs. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Georgie.”

“I’d listen to you say that all day.”

“Who’s the soppy one now?”

“Hm, just don’t tell Fred.”

authors note; v v rushed, if i didnt put it out though, I would spend all week on it and I have a mountain of uni work to do so meh, also drinking game: drink every time unless ur underage pls they confess their love... can you tell i’m super impressed by myself this time?

#george weasley x reader #george weasley imagine #george x reader #george imagine #fred and george #george weasley

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noblecrumpet-dorkvision · 5 years ago

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Twists for Humanoid Encounters

How often has your D&D group needed to fight the same group of humanoids in every room? 2d4 hobgoblins in every room of a hobgoblin fortress? 2d4 kuo-toa in every room of the kuo-toa temple? 2d4 bandits in every room of the bandit hideout? Sure, some of these humanoids have “suped-up” versions like hobgoblin captains, kuo-toa whips, and bandit captains, but eventually things will get boring with the same enemies every time and those boss monsters are usually reserved for the boss fight!

Encounter Twists (1d20)

Here are some ways to make an average group-encounter a bit different. Roll 1d20 to choose randomly or pick from the list below. These tend to be keyed towards an assumption that the enemies are humanoid, but that might not be the case.

(1) Varied Weapons. One of the enemies has a different weapon. For example, if all the thugs have maces, maybe one has a glaive or greatsword. Meanwhile, another uses two daggers instead.

(2) Varied Armor. One of the enemies has different armor than the standard. If the hobgoblins wear chain mail, perhaps one is wearing plate. Maybe one didn’t have time to put on armor and only wields a shield.

(3) Minor Spellcasting. Somehow, one of the enemies has come across the ability to use magic, whether divine or arcane. The creature gains the Magic Initiate feat, thereby gaining a cantrip and 1st-level spell.

(4) Healing Potion. One of the enemies is packing a useful healing potion, usually one appropriate for the players to find at their level in case it falls into their hands. If the creature sees an ally go down, they can give out their potion or use it on themselves.

(5) Other Potion. One of the enemies drinks a potion as the battle starts. Choose randomly from the following (d8): (1) Potion of Giant Strength, (2) Potion of Fire Breath, (3) Potion of Flying, (4) Potion of Growth, (5) Potion of Heroism, (6) Potion of Invisibility, (7) Potion of Invulnerability, or (8) Potion of Speed.

(6) Other Consumable Item. One of the enemies carries a consumable magic item, used when the time is right. The players might be able to snag one if it has multiple uses. Choose randomly from the following (d6): (1) 1d4 beans from a Bag of Beans, (2) 1d4 beads from a Necklace of Fireballs, (3) a vial of Oil of Sharpness, (4) a Gem of Brightness with 1d4+5 charges remaining, (5) a Deck of Illusions with only 1d4+1 cards remaining, or (6) a vial of Oil of Slipperiness.

(7) Class Feature. One of the enemies has experience in a player class, gaining one of the following features chosen at random (d12). Each functions pretty much like the class feature of the same name. These are meant to just give the impression of a class through one, usually simplified feature, rather than all of a class’s unique features.

Bard: Bardic Inspiration: Use a d6.

Barbarian: Rage: Bonus damage at +2.

Cleric: Spellcasting: Knows the Guidance and Sacred Flame cantrips. Can cast 3 spell-levels-worth of spells: either Cure Wounds (1st), Guiding Bolt (1st), Spiritual Weapon (2nd), or Spirit Guardians (3rd). Use their Wisdom modifier for their spellcasting statistics (minimum 13).

Druid: Wild Shape: Choose an animal appropriate to the setting and have it be up to CR 2.

Fighter: Maneuvers: Give them 4 d8s and just choose 1 maneuver for simplicity’s sake.

Monk: Ki: Give them 3 Ki Points and let them gain two unarmed strikes (d4) as a bonus action, or else dodge, disengage, or dash as a bonus action by spending a ki point.

Paladin: Divine Smite and Lay on Hands: Give them 2 1st-level spell slots with which to smite. Also give them 10 points of Lay on Hands.

Ranger: Spellcasting and Fighting Style: They can cast Hunter’s Mark twice per day and gain the Archery or Two-Weapon Fighting styles.

Rogue: Sneak Attack and Cunning Action: Use 2d6 for the Sneak Attack damage.

Sorcerer: Spellcasting and Metamagic: Give them 3 1st-level spell slots, a cantrip, and a 1st-level spell eligible for the Twinned Spell Metamagic feature. They can use Twinned Spell on one of their spells up to 3 times.

Warlock: Eldritch Blast and Pact Magic: Give them the Eldritch Blast cantrip, then 1 3rd-level spell slot (assume a second slot was used already). Then give them the spells Hex, Witch Bolt, or Hunger of Hadar. Use their Charisma modifier for their spellcasting statistics (minimum 13).

Wizard: Spellcasting: Knows the Minor Illusion cantrip and one damaging cantrip. Can cast 4 spell-levels-worth of spells: either Fog Cloud (1st), Magic Missile (1st), Flaming Sphere (2nd), Web (2nd), Fireball (3rd), or Lightning Bolt (3rd). Use their Intelligence modifier for their spellcasting statistics (minimum 13).

(8) Mount. One of the enemies has an appropriate mount, offering them greater mobility and the offensive/defensive features of an additional enemy, if it has attacks.

(9) Pet. The creatures have a pet, captured creature, or summoned magical servant of an appropriate challenge rating. This could be a beast, a monster, an undead (if a necromancer is present), an elemental (if a wizard or druid is present), a fiend (if a warlock or cleric is present), or a fey (if a druid is present).

(10) Brute Creature. One of the enemies has the maximum amount of hit points based on their hit point calculation. The creature rolls twice for damage, taking the better of the two rolls.

(11) Meek Creature. One of the enemies has half the normal amount of hit points based on their hit point calculation. The creature rolls twice for damage, taking the worse of the two rolls.

(12) Unique Species/Race. One of the enemies is of a different species. For instance, a group of Bandits might have a Dwarf or Bugbear in their ranks. You can grant an NPC creature some traits of the new species/race (like Dwarven Resilience), or you can just use statistics of a different monster (like the Bugbear).

(13) Infiltrator. One of the enemies is secretly a monster in disguise. Ones that fit the bill might include: a Doppelganger, an Intellect Devourer, a Succubus/Incubus, a Lycanthrope, a Yuan-Ti Pureblood, a Yochlol (if among drow), a Barghest (if among goblins), an Oni, a Hag, a Slaad, a Rakshasa, or a Couatl. For more powerful characters, you could use an ancient metallic dragon or a Deva.

(14) Sickness. One of the enemies is suffering from a random disease. Creatures that come within 5 feet of them have a chance of contracting the disease. The creature should be displaying symptoms in order for the players to effectively make decisions about this in combat. In theory, though, other enemies might be asymptomatic, so smart players should maintain distance with all the enemies.

(15) Unusual Surprise. If the players took precautions and surprised the enemies, half of them were unusually alert and are not surprised. If the enemies were not initially surprised, half of them were far from prepared and are instead surprised even if the players took no precautions. Perhaps they were daydreaming, sleeping, getting armor on, or tripped.

(16) Feat. One of the enemies has a random feat chosen from the following (d20, reroll on 16+). Some may require them to change their weapons or armor, and are marked with an asterisk: (1) Alert, (2) Athlete, (3) Charger, (4) Crossbow Expert*, (5) Defensive Duelist*, (6) Dual Wielder*, (7) Great Weapon Master*, (8) Heavy Armor Master*, (9) Mobile, (10) Mage Slayer, (11) Polearm Master*, (12) Sentinel, (13) Sharpshooter*, (14) Shield Master*, or (15) Tavern Brawler.

(17) Unusual Talent. One of the enemies has an exceptional statistic, different from others of its kind. Choose one of the creature’s abilities that is on the low end and make it comparable or better than their strongest ability. For instance, if such creatures normally have high Strength, give this one high Dexterity. If they are typically low in Intelligence, give them a high Intelligence and let them use smarter tactics. Give them unique weapons or spells if appropriate.

(18) Damage Rider. One of the enemies deals additional damage of a random type using one of their weapons. This may come from a magic oil or poison applied to their weapon, or perhaps their own arcane or divine magic. Don’t use a magic weapon as players will be able to use it once the battle is over (unless you planned to give such an item as treasure in the first place). Their weapon deals a bonus 1d6 damage of a type chosen at random from the following: (1) acid, (2) cold, (3) fire, (4) lightning, (5) necrotic, (6) poison, (7) psychic, or (8) radiant.

(19) Siege Weapon. One of the enemies is manning a siege weapon of your choice against the players. A ballista is usually a good option, since you usually don’t want a cannon in your players’ hands and a catapult is better for non-moving targets. You could also create a magical siege weapon, like a turret that casts Burning Hands, Scorching Ray, Ice Knife, Acid Arrow, or Lightning Bolt.

(20) Elemental Shield. One of the enemies has immunity to one damage type and resistance to all other damage until they are dealt damage of an opposed damage type, which destroys this magical shield. Pair the damage types like this: cold and fire, radiant and necrotic, acid and lightning (think of it like earth vs. air). Alternatively, one of the creatures is naturally blessed with immunity to one damage type. Give the creature some sort of visual cue for this to clue the players in.

Characteristic Twists

Another way to vary humanoid creatures is by giving them interesting personality traits or interesting physical features. Roll or choose from the Appearance Twists table to make one of the humanoids look more distinct. Roll or choose from the Personality Twists table to make one of the humanoids act differently or more interesting, sometimes in a way the players can exploit in combat.

Appearance Twists (d20)

Creature has...

Outlandish hairdo

Interesting headgear/hat

Worn trophies collected from enemies

Personalized armor or clothes

Prominent visible tattoos or war paint

Prominent visible scar

A cape or other dramatic attire

Prominent facial jewelry (or facial hair if they have it)

Weapon made from unique material or uniquely decorated

A meaningful symbol prominently displayed

Unusual physical features for their species

Eyewear (glasses, goggles, mask, or eyepatch)

Prominent visible birthmark

Unusual attire for class/profession

Missing or prosthetic limb

Trinket (roll on existing table) worn and visible

Worn piece of valuable treasure

Worn a memento from a lover

Worn animal hide

Appearance altered magically or through a curse

Personality Twists (d20)

Creature is...

Suffering from a form of Long-Term Madness (roll on existing table)

Overly confident, willingly enters dangerous combat situations

Overly cautious, always readies their action into a reaction

Intimidating, can frighten a target as a bonus action with a successful Charisma contest

Sadistic, aiming for weak targets

Defiant, challenges the strongest foes first

Overly dramatic, draws a lot of attention

Automysophobic, can't stand getting dirty

Irrationally terrified of something in the players' arsenal (magic, animals, fire, etc)

Biased against one of the players' species and focuses on them

Angered or terrified by mages, attacks them first

Flirtacious with one of the players, is effectively charmed by the player

Witty, taunts foes with banter

Indecisive to the point where they sometimes only take the Dodge action

Loyal to their leader to the death

Edgy and mysterious

Best friends with one of their allies, always tries to Help them in combat

Cowardly, becomes frightened and attempts to Disengage or Hide if damaged

Honorable, refuses to fight with an unfair advantage

Drunk and suffers from the Poisoned condition

#Dungeons and Dragons #D&D #DnD #5e #encounter #homebrew #monsters #combat

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