#°.✩┈┈∘*curse does things

[aroaceleovaldez]

i have suddenly become obsessed with a theme that HoO established but never proceeded to extrapolate on, which is:

You are Percy Jackson, and you have been swapped with a boy who was allegedly everyone's favorite person, but they have decided to replace him with you. They just met you. You stand next to his best friend and the people he's known his entire life. In his home. In his cloak. In his place. They stopped looking for him.

You are Jason Grace, and you have just found out you have a long lost sister who completely replaced you in her life with this girl you just met. Your lives and personalities are mirrors. She is you, living the life you were robbed of.

You are Annabeth Chase, and you have just become starkly aware that you have been inhabiting the void left behind by your best friend's long lost brother. You and Luke were just replacements for him. Now you have to look him in the eyes when he has nothing and know you took that life from him.

You are Piper McLean, and you have just found out your relationship is fake and built entirely on the memories of Annabeth Chase. You have been given a boyfriend when hers has been taken away. You have no idea how much of it is real or not but regardless you feel like if your relationship isn't exactly in their image that you have failed.

You are Leo Valdez, and you have just learned that you are the echo of your great-grandfather. You are not your own person. You just exist to be a mirror of him. A doppelganger. An actor and stunt double facing all the danger he never had to but wearing his face. To be there for his best friend decades later simply because he couldn't. You are playing a role. A seventh wheel and a pawn for a goddess who carefully sculpted your entire life for her own purposes.

You are Hazel Levesque, and the only reason you are alive is because your brother couldn't save your his sister. You are a consolation prize. An apology. Your existence here is misplaced in every way but you inhabit it anyways.

You are Frank Zhang, and you are a shapeshifter. Inhabiting your own body feels strange and clumsy when you could be literally anything at any time. You are anything and everything and live your life with the simple certainty of knowing exactly how you will die.

[frownyalfred]

“oh I’m 100% human” says the Batkid who’s been inoculated against 76 different kinds of Scarecrow’s fear toxin, has built up immunity to almost anything Poison Ivy has created, routinely goes diving into the Gotham harbor on patrol, has been blessed/cursed by a variety of deities (depending on the kid), frequently picks up random/temporary powers from various missions, and operates at beyond peak human capabilities in combat, athleticism, and intelligence.

[kylominis]

definition of a pretty little baby [♡]

[k0mmari]

[SVSSS] — It’s no big deal.

Audio is Otsukare Summer by HALCALI

[somegrumpynerd]

Truce is going well

[elventhespian]

So like... it's a Thing in all fandoms where fans sort of latch onto fanon versions of characters and their dynamics with each other that are actually completely off-base, right? I don't know if this phenomenon has an official name, but I've seen it so many times and it's fascinated me every time. Especially when a character's popular fanon selves don't end up just diluted from their source material, but straight up OPPOSITE their canon portrayal.

So one of my "favorite" variations on this was how the early PotC fandom used to get Will EXTREMELY wrong, especially in comparison to Jack, and it made finding in-character fics SO. DAMN. DIFFICULT.

I've talked about this MULTIPLE times before, as have several other fans. It's a dead horse being beaten. But basically certain prevalent takes on fanon!Will have in the past leaned towards a personality that was very patient and grounded and even demure to contrast against Jack's off-beat personality and Elizabeth's fiery rebelliousness. Because Elizabeth has the drive to push back against social norms, Will became the foil who fell back to his pre-pirate version, reluctant to break rules unless she pulled him into it, even in post-CotBP timelines. Likewise, Jack was the one with the WTF decision making, while Will was more rooted in reasonable decisions.

And by their appearances, archetypes, and certain elements of their world views, you'd THINK that's how it works. When we meet Will in the governor's foyer, Will is so lovestruck and doe-eyed and subservient to the governor, I think that people thought that's just Who He Is. Especially because he often acts as Jack's straight-man foil in the comedic elements. Straight-laced. Rigid. Even boring or timid.

But if you actually pay attention to the movies, it's very much the opposite. In canon, Jack's USUALLY the level-headed one who just happens to have chaos follow him, because of the way he can wield it. He thinks in long run, tries to solve problems with words and as little fighting as possible as often as he can. Ideal situations for Jack are more like a thief--he wants to be in and out of the job as silently and slick as possible. The scenarios he's in are insane, because the way he throws other people around with those scenarios is kind of insane, but he himself remains largely cool and collected.

That's Jack.

THIS is Will:

Canon!Will starts out literally so impulsive and rash, Jack has to physically manhandle him at certain points to keep him from blowing up his plans--and then still gets taken out because he underestimates his listening skills and impatience. Will corners Jack into what is functionally a cage match to the death by sanely locking the door with his sword and very nearly wins. He is constantly at 11, constantly demanding things be done faster, more directly, and at the same time quietly scheming behind Jack's back almost from the get-go. He does flashy jumps and flips off of things because using the stairs is too slow or whatever. He shows up in DMC yelling at Jack to give him his compass at the point of the sword, and insisting he'll get Davy Jones' key by just "cutting down everyone in his path."

Even when Will mellows out significantly in AWE, there are remnants of this contrast still there. Jack's plan for leading Beckett to Shipwreck Cove seems to have been a very reasonable and underhanded effort to deliberately make sure Elizabeth is inside the Cove while Will is on Beckett's ship, in command of the Compass. Meanwhile Will's plan was to leave a breadcrumb trail of vulture-sea gulls feasting on dead soldiers' corpses.

What I'm getting at is, yeah, Jack's a charismatic "rogue" and Will's a "romantic hero" TECHNICALLY. Jack makes quippy jokes, and Will glares and scowls and WTFs back. But not only are they are both more alike than people give them credit for, they are also totally opposite their roles' traditional personalities in ways that the fandom tends to overlook.

TLDR; Jack's crazy, Will's a sweetheart. But Will is also a manic gremlin, and Jack doesn't always know what to do with him about it, so they often end up something like this:

And more fans need to play with this fact, the end.

[merlins-strawberriesandroses]

POV you’ve informed the Queen and the Court’s Sorcerer of something and they very clearly know something that they’re not letting on

[licorishh]

no way she's alive ?? yea those mental health breaks because social media makes people suck are wild huh

[stickyspeckledlight]

A Boutique Just For You [Phainon x GN!Reader]

Phainon has a hard time convincing you.

Notes: Felt warmth in my cold dead heart buried deep in the ground and fossilized with misery and wrath untold and boundless today

“…But it’ll be fun!” He whines.

“Still no.”

“Isn’t it common for—”

“Not with that you’re holding.”

Phainon creases his brow, frowning in hurt. “What’d they ever do to you?”

“Simple. They existed.” You huff, glaring at the offending items. Your eyes hurt just looking at them.

“That’s pretty harsh,” he retorts, “I think they look—”

“Phainon.” You put down your foot, “Either you’re putting those outfits away, or I am.”

Phainon gasps, a touch dramatic, and quickly defends the two matching outfits in his hands: a bright, almost sickly yellow shirt, and bold purple pants. A little sun is etched proudly on the shirt, and the pant legs are patterned with dromas faces. He balances two hats on his head, boldly declaring “Honeycakes!” and “Pumpkin!” respectively. Two shoe boxes sit next to him, and would’ve been normal brown leather boots if not for the amateur stitching of smiley faces and suns on them. It looks like a toddler drew all over them in cheap crayon. The whole ensemble positively looks to have emerged from a trash heap.

“But…” Phainon looks almost helpless in the face of your blatant rejection, “We’ll match!”

“I can deal with that,” you hiss, “But Phainon, and I swear on Kephale’s soul, I am not wearing that.”

“But, but,” he blinks rapidly, unable to understand your distaste, “It’s got a lot of character and boldness. Clothes that are just one color as kind of plain, you know? The sun perfectly matches the yellow, and aren’t all of the little dromas faces just adorable?” He puts it up, pointing at each little face, “How can you say no to these faces?” He asks, giving you…giving you those damned puppy eyes—

No. You cannot fall here. Phainon may be able to take you with his charms in the moment, but you will not fall prey to them. To wear this outfit would be akin to suicide.

Your steel your heart. “Prof Nax might approve of that, but not me. It’s just so…tacky.”

“Tacky?” He struggles, like you and he are speaking in completely different languages. “But…I, I thought you’d find it cute. You tend to the dromas so much that I thought…” His face falls, “What about the hats? You can’t say no to the hats at least—and you can’t refuse those boots!”

You fluster, “We’re not wearing our pet names out in public!”

“But, honeycakes—”

“No!” Even as you think your heart dies a little, “It’s just—it’s just really embarrassing. So. No, I’m not wearing the hats.”

“Embarrassing? But we call each other like this out in public all the time…” Phainon tilts his head, like a confused puppy—befitting your affectionate moniker of him.

You’re certain that if you touched your face, you’d be met with lava, “That doesn’t mean it’s good fashion wear.” You clear your throat, steeling your expression, “Phainon, let me make this final: I. Am. Not. Wearing. Any. Of. This.”

He whimpers like a kicked puppy. “But the shoes—”

“Good quality,” you admit. Even for someone with as little fashion sense as himself, Phainon has trekked enough to know his way around good, lasting footwear. “But it’s the stitching. I have no clue how you found a seamstress this incompetent, but if we wore these we’d get no shortage of people asking us if the baby got their hands on our boots. And we don’t have a child, Phainon.”

Devastation and dejection wreck his expression. He crumples to the ground, and the embers of a destroyed home flicker in his eyes. “…I stitched those…”

“Oh. Oh.” You nod, pleased with the explanation, “Oooh.” Your face cracks. “Oh. Oh no, Phainon, I’m—!”

He shuts his eyes, shooting a hand up, “No, don’t. I…I should’ve known better. Aglaea has always told me I’m not allowed to pick my own clothes for a reason. But I just got really excited, so I couldn’t help myself,” he hangs his head solemnly, ensuring every bit of this apology to be heartfelt, “But I should’ve known better. I don’t really get what’s so bad about it, but that just means I end up neglecting what everyone else thinks,” he sighs, looking up at you with genuine sorrow and regret, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have tried to force this. I’ll pack this all away.”

Phainon begins to gather the clothing. He limps about like a kicked puppy, and clasps each and every article as if damning himself. A heavy cloud follows him, obstructing the sunlight you’ve grown to adore and fawn over.

You can’t do this anymore.

“Phainon,” you swallow, “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so…harsh,” you feel a little guilty now. Phainon was so enthusiastic when he showed you, and you, in a kneejerk reaction, set out to destroy any notion of you ever wearing that outfit. He wasn’t doing anything wrong, really, and stifling his passion like that was likely very demoralizing. All in all, maybe you were a bit of a jerk to him. You might’ve gone a bit too far with that comment on the shoes. “You were clearly very excited, and I uh…I didn’t return that.”

It’s almost jarring how Phainon practically leaps toward you. Just like a puppy.

“So…I went too far with the shoe comment,” you admit, “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t think about how much time and effort you must’ve put into all of this. You shouldn’t be apologizing to me over something where you only had the intention of making me happy.”

Phainon pursues his lips, “But…” he looks disheartenedly at the outfit in his hands, “Maybe it wasn’t so unreasonable. This outfit was the reason Aglaea said I wasn’t allowed to pick out my own clothes.”

“I’m not saying I like the clothes. I don’t,” you reply truthfully, “But…I think I did go a bit too far. I don’t like seeing you all glum like this—and it’s not over anything that major. You do a lot, Phainon, and I really should have thought about all you put into this. Even if our…tastes differ, that doesn’t mean you didn’t put a lot of thought and care into this. The stitching too! You’re already so busy, so the fact that you did it all yourself is really sweet.”

Phainon hums. The cloud following him lightens, “You really think so?” He leans in, eyes wide and innocent.

“I do.” You grin, “I’m so lucky that I get to be with such a sweet, thoughtful man.”

You can practically see his tail wagging. There’s no trace of his previous dejection to be seen. He grins widely, leaning further toward you with a giggle. Red softly dusts his cheek. Fire ravages your cheeks. “And I’m the luckiest man in the world,” he confesses, warm breath lightly fanning your cheek, “since I get to be with someone so benevolent,” he looks up at you through his lashes. His smile widens.

From anyone else, you might either sneer or retort with your own show of playful dramatism. But Phainon is special. Hearing that from him breathes renewed vigor in your chest. Your heart threatens to soar. It takes everything in you to not take his cheeks into your hands and squish them together.

“You charmer,” you mutter, putting no weight behind it. Your hand goes to his hair, playing with the soft locks between your fingers.

Phainon hums, grinning playfully. He tilts his head, looking up at you from where he rests his head on your chest. His arms wrap around your waist. His legs follow, folding below him to kneel on the stone floor.

“Charmer?” He chuckles, taking in a deep breath, “That implies I’m just throwing words around with a mere goal.” He sighs. His eyes retreat, as his face nuzzles into your chest. His hair brushes against you, and you dare say it is softer than even the most well groomed of furs. “I just tell you the truth as I see it.” He inhales deeply, then sighs blissfully, “And my truth posits that you are the most lovely being of all the lands.”

“…!” You stammer. “…I thought I was s-supposed to be the, the one who embarrassed you…?”

Phainon giggles mischievously, playfully wiggling his eyebrows when he returns his gaze to you. “This puppy’s got bark.”

You wheeze. “How do you say that with a straight face?”

“Well, when I’m with you, I can do anything,” he replies, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. And as it is most of the time, you can tell he’s being completely sincere.

…This man really will be the end of you. How did you two manage to go from arguing about horrendous fashion to this? If Mnestia were still around, they’d surely give you a standing ovation.

You sigh, leaning down to wrap yourself around him. “You don’t have the throw away the outfits.”

He perks, yanking his head away to meet your gaze. “Are you saying you’ll wear it?” His tone lilts on disbelief, but hopeful.

A crooked smile crosses your face, bashful, “Yes! I’ll wear it. BUT. Only when it’s in private with the two of us! An—woooooahhh?!”

Your feet no longer touch the ground, and the world becomes one big blur. Then you’re vaulted above, then caught by two arms. A wet, messy kiss is pressed to your cheek, “Thank you! I knew you’d agree!” He presses his forehead to yours, “Do you think you’ll start to see fashion my way when you wear it? I’d still love to match outfits with you out in public~”

You scoff, but out no hostility behind it, “No,” you say, but this whole series of events has made it so your chest only produces giggles. “We can wear them as much as you want; but just let me pick the public facing clothes, okay?”

Phainon hums, rocking your body back and forth, “Sure, I agree to your terms,” he kisses you again, this time to your nose, “How about we change now?”

You laugh, “Alright, alright. I assume you want pictures, too?”

“The more the merrier.” He kisses you again, then sets you on the ground gently. He retrieves the clothes, presenting your outfit with a goofy smile. Though you still think the outfit is an affront to style, you can’t help but return a smile back.

[karmaxxx130art]

Selkie AU

While waiting for Eddy to return from a gig with his band, Steve and Robin decided to do some ( light ) snooping around his room to uncover clues to his preferences, thus giving Steve a chance. They discovered some magazines under his bed, as well as a very beautiful animal skin.

Steve, for some unknown reason, felt really attracted to it and felt an irresistible urge to wear it. He did so and find himself not so human anymore. He and Robin thought the skin might have been cursed because now he is a seal.

This isn't the case. In fact, Steve is a selkie. His father sold his skin when he was very young, earning him a lot of money. Eddie's father was a dealer in magical creatures, and Eddie decided to keep some of his belongings when he went to prison.

Now Steve is trapped as a seal (not really, he just doesn't know it yet).

part 1 _ 2 _ 3 _ 4

My other Stranger Things AUs

[rocketbirdie]

it looks and sounds just like you, but,

[sonknuxadow]

its kinda funny that the chaotix are like the only characters who mention having to pay rent or buy food or whatever and theyll take any job that pays because theyre desperate for money but none of the other characters are struggling in this department at all even though most of them dont seem to have jobs. its like the concept of needing money to live exists for no one in the sonic universe EXCEPT for vector espio and charmy

[cowardlykrow]

yeah, and who do ya think knocked em out

[girl-named-matty]

Oh, why am I sad? Oh, nothing, just thinking about how when Sebastian chased Anne into the smoke in Feldcroft and saw the flash of green light when she got cursed, he probably thought someone had just killed his sister and only knew it wasn't true when she couldn't stop screaming.

[paint-it-dead]

[theflyingsealion]

I think one of the most vital parts of any curse of Strahd campaign is that when you're establishing the dynamic between your Strahd and Rahadin they both have to be at least a little weird about it