#12freddofrogs

[outshinethestars]

Rules - put your spotify repeat on shuffle, list the first ten, then tag ten people.

I was tagged by @liveandletrain, Thank you <3

Kokyou — Yasuharu Takanashi (Fairy Tail)

Amazing Grace — Chris Rice

Make Room — Elyssa Figueroa 

Oogway Ascends — Hans Zimmer, John Powell (Kung Fu Panda)

Be Thou My Vision (reprise), — Michael Card

EshuEtsuSai — Kohta Yamamoto (The Seven Deadly Sins)

I Shall Not Want, — Audrey Assad

再次將我更新 — SehLin, 小羊詩歌

I am Merida — Patric Doyle (Brave)

Karla no Kokuhaku — Yasuharu Takanashi (Fairy Tail)

I was going to make a joke about how many Fairy Tail songs I have on my on repeat playlist, but then I realized there’s a Seven Deadly Sins song, that’s SO much more embarrassing lol. In my defense, I 100% forgot that song was from Seven Deadly Sins.

Tagging: @sweetteaanddragons @starfishlikestoread @mari--lace @wearetakingthehobbitstogallifrey @theshadowedqueen82 @maltheniel @12freddofrogs @rays-of-gold @southern-continent-skies @chekhov-cat

[crimson-chains]

You know, I just have the wonderful image of Pink shrieking indignantly throughout Black's trial because Green is actually putting in effort this time to justify why someone might be found covered in blood. White sitting in the background calmly, almost boredly going “but I actually did it. I was holding the knife. Half the crew saw me. I think Cyan was still breathing his last when they got there. It's different. I really did it. Please calm down. It's okay.”

Hahaha, awwww, that’s a cute idea!!! X3

yeah, White’s situation was a bit different since he was caught holding a knife and there were others who saw him along with Green! XD

[mydetheturk]

First sentence challenge - It said something about the grand line when one's first concern about being splattered in the blood of a sea king was that their favourite shirt was going to smell fishy for a month.

It said something about the grand line when one's first concern about being splattered in the blood of a sea king was that their favourite shirt was going to smell fishy for a month. Shanks had been back on the Line for all of five hours. It’d taken that long for a sea king to decide it didn’t want to back down from Shanks’ glower and try to nibble on the Red Force.

A swift slice of Shanks’ sword had the fortunate blessing of taking out the sea king. The downside was that Shanks was now covered in its blood from the arterial spray and the entire crew - Ben included, the traitor! - was laughing at him.

[spectrumscribe]

Holy heck, I remember grossologists. That was a fun show. Wild, but fun. Haven't thought about it for years. ( And, you know, I believe you when you say it had those fun and terrifying scenes, but. My most vivid memory is the episode where two villains go on a date, so the siblings try to set them up by dressing as delivery men and saying the valentine was from the other villain. It stuck with me because the supervillains both conscripted their postmen to help with their makeovers. )

for a brief while it was on-demand with a channel we’ve got subscription to, and my little sib (who wasn’t old enough to have seen the original run) spent weeks combing through the series. i got a rehash of most of it, and once again i was reminded how much i miss the early 2000s cartoons.

[sroloc--elbisivni]

(On mobile so I cant actually hit the right symbol but) infinity - song meme?

Like a Staring Contest (Future Kings of Nowhere)

literally this entire song but also 

Now I’m going through the motions like a drunken ballerinawho’s too tired to dance but keeps on getting up to see ifanybody stuck around to see a show that has been over now for daysand I know that they’re gone but I keep checking anyways

put a “∞” in my ask box and I’ll shuffle my music player and give you my favorite lyric from the song that comes up.

[biolizardboils]

nope, because despite my best efforts most people arent willing to do the little research it takes to prove its fictional :')

(and also because its a fair critique of the school system)

everyone please look at this form harold filled out in kindergarten

[incorrectfmaquotes]

Heya. That marriage quote is sourced from "Wicked", so you know.

Thanks for catching that, I’ll change it right away.

[prixmiumarchive]

Ambrosia, Winona, Juniper

Ambrosia: last song you listened to?

“From the Outside” album by Hey Violet on shuffle. I think the last song that played to completion as “O.D.D.” which is like a play on being odd/”oppositional defiant disorder,” I think. Why do I listen to music for high schoolers? I’ll never understand now. 

Winona: favorite quote? 

There are obviously many words and quotes that I really love, but there is a poem called “A Brief for the Defense” that I heard the day after Jack Gilbert died from an English professor of mine at this poetry night I went to at a place near my university campus. It was my first exposure to Jack Gilbert and happened because he had died which felt poignant, too. Anyway, I love the whole poem but this excerpt is really powerful to me and I have the bolded part almost memorized as a thing I try to remember when I’m really suffering within my own mind:

If we deny our happiness, resist our satisfaction,we lessen the importance of their deprivation.We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure,but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must havethe stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthlessfurnace of this world. To make injustice the onlymeasure of our attention is to praise the Devil.

Also, sometimes things being spoken aloud or sung are powerful for the way they are delivered. The whole song “Praying” by Kesha is really important and evocative to me, but the way the line “And we both know all the truth I could tell / I’ll just say this is I wish you farewell” has this very smooth flow into itself with really unusual syntax gives me chills. “I’ll just said this is I” is such a weird way of phrasing something, but I love it. But yeah, that song was a godsend to me.

Juniper: coffee or tea? 

Tea. 100% tea. Specifically Luzianne tea, but I will do others and herbals that aren’t actually tea and stuff. Coffee has to be almost entirely covered up for me to like it. Like, I want a milkshake with espresso or something.

[lazuliquetzalart]

Oh! Happy birthday!

❤️❤️ thank you!!!!!

[12freddofrogs]

Post-canon oneshot; gen; a family discussion which does not end with any assassinations, which is potentially a new record

Tarvek dropped the pile of papers on top of Martellus’ desk, picking up the ink pot in the same gesture to avoid it spilling.

Martellus’s quill (because of course the man still used an actual feather quill; he was too theatrical to be practical and Tarvek couldn’t even mock him for it because Martellus absolutely knew about Tarvek’s own collection) paused in midair where he had been in the middle of working. “Good morning, cousin.”

“Good morning.”

“And what’s this?” Martellus took his ink pot back to rest his quill in it.

“You tell me.”

Martellus picked up the first page, flipped through the second, and then rolled his eyes. “Don’t be so suspicious.”

“I don’t know whether I’m more offended you thought a fake wall with such an obvious trigger was enough to keep it hidden, or that your newest plan to assassinate me involved framing Cousin Elias.”

“That shelf isn’t where I keep any actual secrets; it’s just meant to be a convenient place to keep things in reach.”

“Right, the real secret desk is attached to the third storeroom on the second level, with the switch at the eighth brick to the left.” Tarvek waved his hand dismissively, and was pleased to note the flicker of annoyance in Martellus’ face. Good. “That’s not my point. Elias is an idiot.”

“Which is why he makes an excellent scapegoat.”

“Hardly a believable one.”

“It’s not like I would want to sacrifice Uncle Kurt to the Heterodyne’s vengeance.” Martellus rolled his eyes and started rearranging his papers back into order. “I’m not currently planning to have you assassinated.”

Tarvek raised an eyebrow and gestured at the papers.

The thing was, Tarvek had willingly walked into the Refuge of Storms. He and Martellus needed to make some normal, ordinary negotiations about the current treaties, and Tarvek had agreed to go visit.  Martellus hadn’t actually tried anything in the year since they broke the time stop over Mechanicsburg, and although there had been the usual stream of assassins Tarvek was reasonably sure none had been from this specific cousin. They were almost getting along.

Well, the wine at dinner last night had been drugged, but to be fair Tarvek had also mixed his own poison into Martellus’s slice of an actually delightful cake. It would have been almost ruder not to have at least one poisoning. Neither had been a serious attempt.

Martellus sighed. “I’m concerned that you might have an actual accident one day.”

“Were you thinking an experiment gone wrong or perhaps a slip and fall down the stairs?”

“Either. Any. I’m not being euphemistic; I mean accident.”

Tarvek frowned. “What?”

“They happen sometimes.” Martellus spread his hands in exasperation. “Have you ever actually looked into Aunt Cathrin’s death?”

“Why bother? That was clearly Natalia’s —” Tarvek trailed off as he realised what Martellus was implying. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

“You think her carriage genuinely just—”

“It has been known to happen.”

“But Natalia—”

“Genuinely mourned her.”

“You can mourn someone and still have them killed!” Tarvek protested. “She had the most to gain!”

“Firstly, the fact that someone else gained more doesn’t mean that the person with the second-most to gain couldn’t have done it,” Martellus said, infuriatingly condescending. “Or third, or just a petty grudge.”

“That I’ll concede, but—”

“And secondly, sometimes the carriage wheels are genuinely made badly, and a driver just happens to hit a pot hole at an unfortunate angle.”

It was indeed possible, but Tarvek was having trouble – although, Natalia had seemed genuinely distraught, and he remembered thinking at the time that he’d never considered her a good actress. Maybe he should send her a box of chocolates or something.

“But thank you for demonstrating my point so clearly.” Martellus tapped at the paper. “In our family honest accidents, as rare as they are, are not actually believed.”

“So you decided to frame my hypothetical, accidental death on Elias in order to—” Tarvek left the question open.

“I’m concerned that if you were to fall down the steps tomorrow, the Lady Heterodyne would methodically go through the family, one by one, removing organs and testing creative death rays, until she found someone she believed the culprit. And, unfortunately, I would be the top of the list.”

“Don’t be silly, cousin. It’s Wulfenbach who keeps torturers on his payroll, and unlike Agatha, his rooms remain in perfect working order,” Tarvek said, as if Agatha’s dungeons were not kept well prepared at all times. It wasn’t like she wanted it.

Martellus shook his head. “I’m sure between the two of them they would very successfully wipe out the entire Valois line.”

“Unlikely. Agatha likes Violetta.”

Martellus wrinkled his nose, probably irritated at the image of Violetta as the last surviving heir of the Storm King. Violetta would probably stab him for that, as if she also wouldn’t be horrified at the idea. Tarvek had once offered to help her figure out where she was in the line of inheritance, and she punched him enough times he’d burnt the calculations he’d already finished. Somewhere in the seven hundreds, although he hadn’t added the new children born since then.

The whole concept was amusing, but unrealistic. Despite everything Martellus had been around for, he’d never actually gotten to know Agatha – or maybe he understood she believed in justice, but Martellus himself didn’t fully understand what justice meant. If Tarvek died tomorrow, Agatha and Gil probably would go on a rampage to find who did it, but they wouldn’t kill anyone without proof.

He could explain that to Martellus, but Martellus having a vested interest in Tarvek staying alive was so much more useful.

“Don’t frame Elias. Aunt Henriette is a far more realistic choice.”

“Aunt Henriette has the subtlety of a rampaging construct with rayguns for arms; how is that more realistic?”

“Or, currently, the Countess of Mount Peuckert.”

“You can’t use this as an excuse to have your enemies dealt with post-mortem.”

“Why not? By definition my current enemies are the most likely to have me assassinated.” Tarvek smiled, mostly because he knew it would annoy Martellus, and turned to leave. “And I already sent a message to Agatha that you were planning to assassinate me and frame Cousin Elias, so I doubt he’s that believable anymore.”

“What?” Martellus stood up abruptly, barely catching his ink pot before it fell.

Tarvek plucked the quill from the desk for absolutely no reason other than Martellus couldn’t stop him. “I’ll go send her an update, shall I?”

“Yes. Now. Do that.”

Tarvek raised an eyebrow.

Martellus scowled. “Please.”

“Since you asked nicely.”

Martellus waited for Tarvek to leave the room before slamming his head against the back wall.

Tarvek, paused outside the door as was his usual habit, had to bite back the urge to laugh.

He really did need to write that letter. The Refuge of Storms was close to Mechanicsburg, and it would take no time at all for a horde of Jägermonsters to arrive. Tempting as it was to let them get close enough for Martellus to see, that seemed more likely to terrify the castle staff.  Not to mention it would waste Agatha’s time.

Although it was nice to consider that next time Martellus started testing the boundaries or generally being obnoxious, Tarvek merely needed to fake his own death. He’d tell Agatha and Gil first, of course, they’d never forgive him if he didn’t, but they would love the chance to act the avenger. Martellus would realise it soon enough, but the lie didn’t need to last to give Martellus nightmares. If Tarvek planned it well enough, he could probably get one of his spies in the same room when Martellus heard the rumour to get a picture. Maybe come up with some excuse for it to be Violetta, she deserved it. Though she might prefer to stay with Agatha so she could help with the potential threatening. Tarvek could workshop it later.

[djenaha]

2, 46, 29 and 58 please?

Thank you for asking! :)

2: Do you have any siblings?

I have 2 sisters and I am the eldest.

29: What character would you most like to cosplay?

I really want to cosplay as either Wonder Woman or Batgirl this Christmas (’cause every year, our family has a dress-up Christmas party but it’s still about family and Jesus even though it’s a super competitive affair requiring months of preparation). 

46: Who is your favorite Disney villain?

Yzma!

58: Have you ever broken a bone? How?

Never!

However, teeth are not bones but once I was running down the stairs really fast in my aunt’s house and when I got to the bottom floor, I slipped on a slipper and fell face forward, cracking right through my left frontal incisor and chipping off a large section. There were bits of my teeth everywhere. I cried so hard not because I was in pain but because my mum is a dentist and she HATES it when we have stained teeth, dirty teeth or bad breath, let alone a chipped tooth. 

Also, one time while we were camping, my mum accidentally hit me in the face with a pan and there is a dent in my nasal bones to this day.

[crimson-chains]

I would just like to let you know that i am very much enjoying love among us, and am having a lot of fun guessing where it will go while still admiring every new page.

I’m glad to hear you’ve been enjoying the story!! It’s a lot of fun to draw ^W^

[incorrecttlcquotes]

Scarlet: Wolf saved my life. Twice.

Wolf: Once. And a half.

Cinder: How do you half save someone's life?

Wolf: I was the one that was sent to kill her, so I figure that only counts as half, right?

Iko: That actually makes sense.

[ayishashae]

“Will the accused step forwards?”

“Do we have to do this?”

A stony glare was all that met his words, and Al sighed, hands raised in defeat. “I don’t even know what I’m being accused of!”

“You are accused,” Lee said, arms folded over his chest, but Al caught the barely bitten back hint of a smile on Lee’s lips, “of stealing my heart.”

Al grinned. “Well in that case, I’m guilty as charged.”

“Oh sweet,” James said, distractedly presenting Al with a jar that contained a heart still somehow beating sluggishly. “Could you hold onto this for me, then?”

“Where did you get this!?”

[12freddofrogs]

So as a general question to the Girl Genius fandom: has there ever been any confirmation on what happens if a slaver wasp infests a child Spark before their breakthrough?

(Most) wasps don't affect Sparks, but at the same time you are not really a Spark at birth. Although the kids do seem to be unusually brilliant, so clearly there is some indication from early on. Maybe you are immune from birth.

For that matter, do we know how old you have to be to get wasped? Could an infant be caught when they were born, or would we say they need to have an understanding of language? An infant won't be able to understand any orders, but if they're already inclined to obey it might be easier than doing it on their fifth birthday or something.

(Mostly I'm wondering how Sturmhalten handled new Sparks. They're rare enough there might not have been any born into the town at large... but it's equally possible there was a teenage boy working in a tavern who one day built a robot to collect and clean dirty plates. What happened to him? Did he throw up the remains of a wasp embedded in him for over a decade and assume that's a usual part of breakthrough? Did that wasp never manage to enter at all? Did the town perhaps notice when a small child was immune to the wasping, or were his parents - ordered to present him for it but no one thought to be more specific - just not questioning it, because they were too glad their son would be free.)

[12freddofrogs]

I think it definitely relies on what the character themselves (or what the viewpoint character!) considers their name to be.

I have a character that ends up changing his name in the first few chapters, to distance himself from who he was. So in those early days he considers his name 'Jack', until he hits the new plot point. The story narration then starts calling him 'David'.

(Mostly. Every once in a while David finds a situation Jack was good at but David tries to avoid, and - as the pov character - the narration often includes something like. “Jack - no, David, he was David - reached for the handle.”)

If you're not doing the transition period, however then I would recommend just using whatever name the character considers their own at this point.

Also, slightly unrelated, but often I think the best way of doing a 'multiple identity' story is to change the name with the person.

For example, I read a lot of superhero fics, especially Batman. And I have to say, I definitely prefer it when the character is called 'Bruce' when he's at home, and 'Batman' when he is in his cape. It fits it very well to show the distinction.

I have seen some very nice moments when he is wearing his cape and cowl yet has a personal moment with his family, and the narration calls him 'Bruce'. Likewise, a moment where Bruce Wayne gets up from the kitchen table, his eyes dark and his fingers clenched, could definitely say “Batman stood” instead of “Bruce stood”. But I find that should only be one sentence, rather than the whole scene, and it should switch back to the identity he is in at the moment.

Remember that normally, the name is the thing the reader sees. You might describe their shirt and jeans, sure, but the name is the thing that comes up ten times on the page. If that name can demonstrate who they are as a person and what their character is like, you should absolutely use that.

if a character has two names that they go by, how do i determine which one to use in my work? it's not like a name-and-nickname thing, more like a character went by a certain name for a part of their life, and then went by another for a different part. for the character i'm thinking of, i've seen both used in other people's works, so idk

There’s a character like that in my fandom. In season 1, she goes by Skye. In season 2, she learns that her birth name was Daisy. By season 3, she’s using that name. 

I make the choice based on when in her personal timeline I’m basing the fic. If it’s pre-canon or season 1 or 2, then I go with Skye. If it’s season 3 or later, then I go with Daisy. That’s how she identified herself at those points in time, so that’s what I use. 

How do the rest of you decide?