#animals left to inherit the earth……

[jame7t]

you know even if there are flying saucers and shit we have no reason to believe theyre intelligent. not even 'NOPE' style 'its a animals' type stuff like the aliens might actually just be morons. Think of it this way: "you" are traveling for thousands of years, looking for resources. You're the 900th clone in a sequence, built by a system that claims it cannot fail. You are a product of hubris affected by entropy- something humans sometimes think is unique to our planet- and the technology your ancestors built for you has degraded and rotten to the point where you're more of an organ for the saucer than an intergalactic explorer. It still works, of course- you and the 1000 or so travelers beside you in the void are all alive and healthy, routinely reproduced by your ships when the previous iteration croaks. But you made to be perfection. The idea of a flaw in this system was inconceivable. You have never learned anything for yourself. Your memories are inherited from the previous iteration of "you-" but that version was just a little bit more whole, a little bit closer to what it was when a real Lil' Pleebnar was born on Plibbum 6. You're a copy of a copy of a thousand copies born with knowledge of what the buttons in front of you do- you were engineered to have perfect eidetic memory, but trivial things like 'philosophy' and 'first contact rituals' have long since left your mind. You didn't need them during the journey. The very, very long journey. Now you're on earth- well, above it. You've not had the threat of learning something in millennia, and the sights and sounds of the little blue orb beneath you terrify you and your flock. You would dust off old language protocols- if you remembered what language was. Your ship- the vessel that now works as a shell, protecting your stupid little grey meat, stirs. It automates scouting rituals and initiates an information gathering campaign to send back to a motherworld that no longer knows you. An information campaign learning nothing at all. A New Jersian throws a bottle at your craft. You shit yourself in fear.

[susiephone]

i am so fascinated by the world of "flow" because like. it doesn't look like the humans have been gone that long. the house isn't that dusty, the city is submerged but not crumbling apart, the boats are mostly in good condition, and the cat returning to his house makes me think that on some level he still expects someone will come back. but there are no bodies.

now, this could be because showing an actual human corpse would be too dark for what the filmmakers are going for, but there are ways they could've implied it if they'd wanted to - think tarzan's parents' being shown on the floor after the leopard attacks them, but you only see their feet. there are also no signs of, say, a nuclear winter, or a major natural disaster (until the flood happens), or something that would've caused a mass evacuation or a mass death. it really seems like they all just disappeared one day. between that, the secretarybird's "ascension" (as i think of it), and the whale that doesn't look like any real whale and also miraculously survived being beached as we see in the post-credits scene, it absolutely seems like there's some form of magic or divine intervention going on in this world. (plus you know. animals smart enough to steer boats.)

so like... was this the rapture? just some weird universal 'reset' where all the humans blinked out of existence and the animals were left to inherit the earth? or did humans die off a long time ago, but something kept their artifacts miraculously intact?

[niteshade925]

April 13, Xi'an, China, Shaanxi Archaeology Museum/陕西考古博物馆 (Part 3 - Qin dynasty to Sui dynasty):

First up is one of many bronze edict tablets of the 2nd emperor of Qin dynasty, made in 209 BC. Inscribed upon it in Seal script is one of two edicts, specifically the one from the 2nd emperor of Qin dynasty (秦二世), which basically is a continuation of Qin Shi Huang's edict on standardizing all weights and measurements. Here Qin Shi Huang/秦始皇 is referred to as Shi Huangdi/始皇帝, where shi/始 means "origin", and huangdi/皇帝 means "emperor".

^The edict inscribed is as follows (this is my VERY rough translation, please take this with a grain of salt, I'm not great at reading Old Chinese; original text is on bottom right of picture):

“First year (209 BC; first year of 2nd Emperor of Qin's reign), [We] issued an edict to chancellors Li Si and Feng Quji: Shi Huangdi pioneered this effort to standardize all weights and measurements, since then all such edicts have been inscribed on bronze. Now that [We have] inherited this Huangdi title, [We] shall not refer to Ourselves as Shi Huangdi here. Likewise, should Our descendants continue to produce tablets of Shi Huangdi's edict, they shall not take credit for Shi Huangdi's achievements. [We] hereby inscribe this edict on the left, so that all may be clear."

Ever since Qin Shi Huang tried to standardize systems of measurements for the entire country, every dynasty since Qin dynasty has also done the same. These are the standardized weights and volume measurements (all made with bronze) from Western Han dynasty (202 - 8 BC). Those volume measurement tools are very much like oversized measurement spoons, since they are mostly used to measure liquids and grains (in ancient China grains can be measured by volume).

Looks like I forgot about this one in part 2, this is a bronze sword from Warring States period (475 - 221 BC), I believe. It's decorated with carved pieces of jade (some are on the scabbard, but the scabbard has presumably decomposed over time):

The painted and carved stone doorway to a Eastern Han dynasty (25 - 220 AD) tomb. The actual (double) doors are in the middle, and the pieces around them are the side jambs and the lintel. Note the animals, mythical creatures, and humans depicted. On the double doors, in order from top to bottom, there's a pair of Zhuque/朱雀/Vermilion Bird, a pair of symbolic door knockers shaped like a beast carrying a ring in its mouth, and a pair of oxen. On the top right and top left of the lintel piece, you can also clearly see the sun crow and the moon toad, respectively.

The layout of some Western Han dynasty (202 - 8 BC) mausoleums. Note that the "pyramids" on the model aren't stone pyramids like the Great Pyramid of Giza, they are actually fengtu/封土, or artificial mounds of earth on top of the actual tomb to symbolically seal the tomb (feng/封 means "seal" or "to seal"), and can serve as tomb markers. Fengtu can differ vastly in size according to the social status of the deceased, so the fengtu of imperial tombs are usually huge, some so big that they are like small hills. However, while Western Han dynasty imperial tombs have these square-ish fengtu mounds, in Eastern Han dynasty (25 - 220 AD) the fengtu mounds became circular, and imperial tomb fengtu have been circular pretty much ever since. But fengtu wasn't just reserved for the elites, common folk also built small circular fengtu mounds on top of graves (these graves are called fen/坟; graves without fengtu are called mu/墓), and this is still practiced today, albeit much more common in rural areas since there are less people and more land. When people tend to the graves of their family members and ancestors on Qingming Festival, if the grave is a fen grave, people would pile more earth on the fengtu to make it rounder as part of the upkeep process.

A set of pottery figurines of entertainers from a Western Han era tomb. I love how they set the display up here, you can practically imagine the music and the dancing

More pottery figurines from Western Han era tombs

Western Han era hollow clay bricks depicting the Four Symbols/四象 of the cardinal directions: Qinglong/青龙/Azure Dragon of the East, Zhuque/朱雀/Vermilion Bird of the South, Xuanwu/玄武/Black Tortoise of the North, and Baihu/白虎/White Tiger of the West.

Left: a piece of intricately painted lacquered wood, I forgot where it's from but it was probably a piece of decoration on a larger artifact. Right: a piece of gold decoration inlaid with turquoise from Western Han era

The biggest decorated yubi/玉璧 (jade disc with hole in the middle) found so far, from an early Western Han dynasty tomb. Its diameter is 43.2 cm (~17 inches). If you zoom in, the inner band is decorated with these almost tadpole-like little swirls, and these are called gu pattern/谷纹, since they might represent sprouting rice kernels. The outer band is decorated with 4 sets of kuilong patterns/夔龙纹 and 4 sets of dragon-phoenix patterns/龙凤纹. It's speculated that the patterns here together depict the universe, and the hole in the middle is where the spirit of the deceased will travel through. This particular yubi also has 六百六十一 ("six hundred and sixty-one") carved discreetly on the side, presumably a "serial number" left by the artisan who crafted this piece.

Decorated backs of bronze mirrors. I didn't take a picture of the plaque so I'm unclear on what time period these are from (may or may not be from the time period indicated at the beginning of the post):

Left: a hand-held incense burner. Right: a particular type of incense burner called a boshanlu/博山炉, so named because the lid was made to look like a mini mountain

Various Northern Zhou dynasty (557 - 581 AD) painted pottery figurines. Below middle arranged in a circle is the metal pieces on a belt.

Sixteen Kingoms era pottery entertainer figurines:

[pinkiemachine]

Hi! First off, I love your DC ideas!!! I was just wondering if you had seen the Green Lantern animated series and planned on doing anything with green lantern(s) in your DC stories?

He isn't even my favorite, I just love hearing your ideas and remember loving the show when I watched it last year. Again, love what you've come up with and drawn, hope you have a good day/night/whenever you read this!

*cracks knuckles*

Yes, I’ve recently heard that there’s a Green Lantern show in the works, and yes, I’ve been planning my own outline for a while now (however it sadly does not have as much framework as the rest of my BatFam or even Superman and Wonderman stuff.) BUT there are a few things to note purely based off the concept that I know are going to catch people off guard, so let’s jump into it!

First potentially controversial idea: Green Lanterns come in teams of four now! A squad, if you will. The team begins when Hal Jordon finds Abin Sur crash landed on Earth, and he inherits Abin’s ring. Hal is an ex-pilot for the Airforce, and while he mostly still enjoys being a test pilot for Ferris Air, he feels stuck in a rut and like he’s not really working toward anything—he’s got no mountain to climb, no dragon to slay, no big purpose for his life. So when the Lanterns come along, while he’s nervous at first, he eventually decides to give it a try. Before anything else, Hal is told about how the Lantern Rings work with the emotional spectrum. Each ring is equipped with an “emotion tracker” that registers your emotional wavelengths (anger, jealousy, fear, willpower, hope, compassion, love) and must all fall within exceptional margins before you’re considered ready for active duty. In this case, Willpower must be at a high level, and all the others must be at a constant mid-point range. (The idea being that if these levels go too high, you’re letting your emotions control you. If they’re too low, they’re being suppressed, and that’s not good either. Having them be somewhere in the middle, with Willpower as the dominant force, means you’re in touch with your emotions, but you have the will to control them and yourself.)

Now—the Green Lanterns are currently having trouble with another corps, the Red Lanterns, the ones responsible for Abin Sur’s death. So Hal is expected to find and form his unit of Green Lanterns as quickly as possible, so that they can be trained as quickly as possible, to join the fight as quickly as possible. No pressure. The first person he meets is John Stewart, an ex-marine who now works as an architect. He’s far more mature and level-headed than Hal, and it quickly becomes apparent that he’s more likely to receive the leader role for this squad from their superiors back on Oa. But John and Hal become good friends, so there’s no hard feelings.

The next person they find is Guy Gardner. Okay, that’s not entirely true, Guy found them. An impulsive, arrogant, loud-mouthed Army vet—the moment he learns about the Green Lanterns on Earth, he wants to know how he can get in on the action, and once he finds out that one of the prerequisites is you have to have a proclivity for strong willpower? He wants to know why he wasn’t considered first! So he’s a part of the team now. Because he said so. You might say he… WILLED it into existence! :D So now John has Hal and Guy to babysit.

Up next is their fourth member, Jessica Cruz. Jess was part of a special ops unit as a sniper, and one day she went on a mission with her team, and she was the only one who came back. She left the military shortly after, citing PTSD. She doesn’t like to talk about it. However, turns out that hiding away in a cabin in the woods trying to burry all your feelings isn’t always the best idea, because she soon finds herself attacked by a strange new creature calling itself “Paralax.” Our three Green Lanterns help her overcome this fear-feeding menace, and free Jessica from its hold, and she has a bit of a rude awakening moment. She thought she had been in such control of her feelings, but they were really controlling her. When the final lantern ring chooses her, she says she will think about it.

Now, here is the second potentially controversial change I’m making: Keli Quintella is a Blue Lantern! Come on, I think it’s high time some of the other lanterns got some love, wouldn’t you say? Besides, it’s only after she hijacks a lost Blue Lantern ring and uses it—without permission—and joins Earth’s Lantern Squad—without permission—that Jessica feels like she can finally accept her ring. It’s Keli that gives her hope that she can overcome her demons.

So now we have our team, and it’s time to go kick some Red Lantern patooties. Naturally, it doesn’t take long for the Yellow Lanterns to crawl back into existence after the Green Lanterns wiped them out a while back, and Hal’s rivalry with Sinestro, etc etc, but I’m still blocking everything out, because I do plan to incorporate Emerald Twilight and Blackest Night. Which means, yes, Kyle Rayner will be joining the team, but later on, after… well, I’ll just come out and say it. After Barry Allen’s death, Hal enters his villain phase in Emerald Twilight, trying to use all the willpower in the universe to bring Barry back, but it ends with Hal being stopped, kicked out of the Corps, and sentenced to life in prison on Oa. (Or, at least, that’s what I have in my first draft.) It’s during that whole mess that Kyle becomes a Green Lantern, and… yeah, it’s one chaotic time to be chosen, for sure. But there’s a reason he was chosen when he was, hehehehehe…

Anyhoo, there’s only one other character I’ve drawn so far, and that’s Star Saphire: I didn’t mean to draw her so small at first, but after it happened, I was like, “No wait, plenty of women are this short. Why not just make that one of her quirks? She’s got short person anger issues because people keep thinking she looks like a child.” lol. Of course, in a cartoon setting, some might start to make accusations, so maybe the idea won’t stand up to scrutiny, but I thought it would be cute. Anyway…

Now, not all of the lantern corps as we know them are in existence at the start of the show, because of reasons. Like, the GLs got rid of the Yellow Lanterns way back when. And then the Pink Lanterns and the Indigo Lanterns come into existence later too, and it’s all important because it’s leading up to a prophecy being fulfilled in Blackest Night. For the moment, though, I just want to classify each corps to make them more easy to understand as an organisation. So—

Red=Anger: Rogue Militia.

Orange=Jealousy: Lone Criminal.

Yellow=Fear: Terrorist Organisation.

Green=Willpower: Military/Police Force.

Blue=Hope: First Responders.

Indigo/Purple=Compassion: Church (sort of).

And then Pink=Love: …to be perfectly honest, I got nothing. Matchmaker service? XD You decide.

One final thing I forgot to mention: Yes, John gets appointed to be leader of the GL squad, due to his good performance record and his ability to wrangle the others. Hal, meanwhile, gets appointed to be their representative on the Justice League. I wanted to give both characters equal time to shine because I know they’re both fan favourites as lead GL characters, and this seemed like a good middle ground.

And I call this show: Green Lantern: Special Forces!

There are more story things, especially regarding Kyle, but this post is long enough already, so if you want more, just comment 💚 down below :)

Part 2 where I rant about KYLE 👇

[gremlinmodetweeker]

König Alternate Universes

Masterlist

Konig Dump

Art from This Post

ONESHOTS

ONESHOTS ART

All the oneshots set in alternate universes.

Happy Tails:

KorTac decided to rent some space in a small animal adoption cafe to provide an animal therapy program for their agents. König came for the snacks.

Summoned!CoD AU

Reader, or Summoner, was forced by the military to summon a beast of war to use in battle. Unfortunately, Summoner isn't great at controlling themselves, so they accidentally summoned a being far too powerful for any of you to control.

Nice Kidnapper!König

To live is to suffer. Your existence feels meaningless, and you know that if you dropped off the face of the earth, nobody would remember your name. Your one chance of happiness was speaking to a nice masked man at a bar, but your 'friends' had cut off your time and stolen you away. Little did any of you know, he'd steal you back soon enough.

A/B/O Government Appointed Wife!Reader [COMPLETE]

In a world where military soldiers are forcibly paired up with partners to produce more soldiers, König is paired with an omega O, and has to deal with the new changes in his life.

A/B/O Sci-Fi Dystopia Slavery AU

When your grandmother died, you were set to inherit her caretaker slave, an alpha A named König. You struggle to figure out if you like keeping a slave or not. These questions are further complicated when you get wrapped up in a political plot heralding great change through the nation.

Ghostbusters AU:

Who ya gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS!

Monster Trainer!Cod

Reader, code name Handler, is assigned by higher ups to be the Designated Operator of König, a rowdy and difficult-to-control jotunn/nachtkrappe shifter hybrid with a strange history of 'accidents' with his previous handlers. Your best bet to get by is to speak to others on base, but nobody is forthcoming with information

Phantom of the Opera!AU

Inspired by a glorious ask, a version of Phantom of the Opera where König is our beloved phantom trying to save reader from the horrible fate of being seduced by a lover from the past with a dangerous agenda. König is a twisted man, but it takes a dark soul to recognize another, and so he will do whatever he can (from the shadows) to save his beloved songbird.

Frankenstein König

When you lost König in a car accident, you dedicated your entire life to bringing him back. Now that he's back, you're realizing you never actually figured out what you'd do if you brought him back.

Cannibal King!AU

Taking place in the world of Sons of the Forest, reader is trapped on a remote island. Soon she is kidnapped by a cannibal king. Once by his side, she learns that life in the woods isn't as painful as expected, and that humanity comes in many forms.

Local Executioner!König

Living in a small village leads to a tight-knit community. When you father left to be an adventurer after your mother passed in childbirth, you were taken in by the village baker, your uncle. You always avoided the public executions, but your uncle gets sick and can't go out to market to sell his buns on the very day an execution is slotted. You must go, and there you find a cursed outsider who sparks your interest.

Cat Hybrid!KorTac

Horangi and König are sick and tired of roughing it on the streets. They were born and bred to be soldiers, but the batch of kittens that were meant to be made into KorTac's next greatest soldiers escaped into the city, they had to grow up on the streets. They made their little gang, but Horangi and König always wanted more. One day, reader comes along and finds two sick kittens on the street. Unable to stop herself, she brings them in and nurses them back to health. She immediately regrets her decisions.

Giant Squid!König x Flapjack Octopus!Reader [COMPLETE]

In the darkest depths of the ocean, few creatures find life. However, one giant squid mer takes pity on a small little flapjack octopus mermaid. It seems even in the coldest places, warmth still blooms.

[momoliee]

Orbs, On the Movements of the Earth

Just watched the finale, and i’ve got to say, i was moved. The ending left me breathless, in the best way possible.

I don’t even know where to begin, but i will start with the most obvious: the second Rafal, or Rafal2. I fully believe that Rafal 1 has died, and that Rafal2 is not an alternative universe, as the ending involved the letter to pototski. Then who is Rafal2? Well, my theory is that Rafal2 is meant to represent the idea that even if Rafal1 died, there was always gonna be other Rafals out there, with the same thirst for curiosity, with the same desire to pursue knowledge. I think Rafal2 is meant to show us that the passion behind learning can never be lost, it can never end with the death of a person, cause one day, someone else will be born with that very same passion, and even if they also die, then another and another will be born. Rafal1 died too young, but in the very same town, another Rafal was born, with the same convictions, the same thirst for knowledge, the same belief in the power of curiosity. And i think that’s beautiful, the concept that the pursuit of truth doesnt die with us, that someone else will inherit our will, even if we dont pass it down directly.

Building on to the point of ‘passing down’, a theme on which our story heavily relies on, i love how the priest that gave albert the final push to go to university, was implied to be the same inquisitor whose friend died after freeing jolenta, all those episodes ago. He talks about how he regrets letting his friend die, how he knew his friend did the right thing, and how he carried the burden of that event. I love how, just when we thought all our characters died and the chain of ‘passing down the torch’ was cut off, there was an unexpected and weak thread woven somewhere else. I love how the now priest, previously inquisitor, inherited his friend’s doubt for the system. He inherited his friend’s sense of justice, he inherited his friend’s will, and he passed it down to albert. That chain was never cut off, it was just passed down in an alternative roundabout way.

And finally, onto our miracle: the letter. The letter is a marvel. The letter exists simply to show that this anime was never about refuting religion, it was about believing, having faith, having hope. and how God does not betray His believer’s hopes. Every time they passed down the “10% profit to pototski”, they passed down the hope that their will wont be lost. they hoped, they had faith, up until Draka released that bird. And all of that was answered, by a miracle, a coincidence, of albert passing by and hearing one sentence, of the question mark that that sentence generated. that was all it took for our characters’ efforts and sacrifices to not go to waste. even after they were long gone, they were still rewarded for their hard work.

Our story is just a hypothesis on everything that couldve happened in history, all the records that were lost, all the people who were erased. it’s a speculation, a theory, about “people from the 15th century”. One important sentence that was said was, “the truth is not conceived, it is discovered.” so when one person dies, the truth does not die with them, another person just rediscovers it. How albert wasn’t the person who conceived, he was the one who discovered, discovered what all our dead characters tried so hard to keep passing on.

I think our author is trying to tell us not to absolutely believe, not to cease thinking, but to doubt. to be curious, to chase after knowledge, to discover truths, to doubt those truths, to start over, and most importantly, to always pass the torch. And even if we one day will be scattered to ashes, someone else will be born, to finish what we started. and that is how our will, will always live on, never to be suppressed.

[timdrakesuperspy]

dc omegaverse scents

alfred is a post menopausal alpha but his top scent is like cleaning product/flowery/clean, followed by mid notes of ozone, gun powder, and leather, and base notes of mint and musk so a lot of people mistake him for an omega (and mistook past tense, which he def used to his advantage as a spy)

bruces top scent is leather and expensive woody whiskey, middle scents are very basic salty, sweet, and bitter, and the base is musk, mud, iron, and more leather/kevlar. he wears it way too much to jot have it. obviously when hes omega (correct choice), the sweet is stronger/more wine-ish than whiskey, when hes alpha the bitter and woody/whiskey is stronger

dicks top scent is kettle corn (sweet and buttery) and salt, middle scents are leather, chalk, wood shavings, and clean straw, base scents are rain and fig/musky fruity. i do think dick is an alpha but i also think scent is probably the same no matter his designation because he’s very flexible (lol) and has a very neutral and even mix

cass’s smell is top notes of citrus, middle notes of musk and salt, and base note of iron. very very basic but very strong and very well-controlled scents

jason’s top smell is paper, ink, and fruity wine, mid notes are flowery, base notes of expensive leather and musk. he is also an omega of course but i think his scent could go either way, which he def uses to his advantage

tims smell would have a top note of energy drinks and ozone/electricity/storm, middle notes of wet concrete and chlorine, and base notes of iron and salt. if hes omega the energy drink is the sweeter part, alpha then its the sour part, and beta its a mix of just plain old average energy drink. when tim gets passionate he smells like an incoming gotham heat storm

kons smell is top notes hibiscus and ozone but in the thin air/top of a mountain type way, middle notes of petrichor, cut grass, and river, and base notes of chemicalness, bleach, peroxide, plasticky, and just artificial in general. very hard to describe but the base smells are very lab-like. for a while the base was all he had, but as he grew and spent more time in hawai’i and kansas he developed more. instead of that milky baby scent most people had, kon just smelled like the tube. when in the womb, pups take on first the milky scent obviously and then their mothers most base scent, and as they grow they develop more complicated ones, typically from the parents and whatever they grow up doing/caring about. kon did not get that because he was designed scentless on purpose because lex wanted him separated that way and the scientists figured he’d never need one because he’d always be a cadmus tool, but as kon got older he developed more because he did have regular scent glands, they were just purposefully left underdeveloped. lex’s base scent is also very chemical/metally because of his fuckass dad and also the kryptonite and cancer and stuff, so in a fucked up kinda way kon did end up inheriting his mother’s base scent

i think probably base notes inherited from the parent slowly age out into top or middle notes. as a baby, damians main scent is metal from his mom, as he ages with bruce its leather and metal, and then as he gets older and more mature he develops his own personal scents

stephs top smells are wet grass and grapes, mid smells are woodsmoke and iron, base smells are cedar and vanilla

damian’s smell as he is twelve is of course that milky baby smell, but ill delve into it anyway. as an adult his top smells are leather and metal, mid notes are paper, heat smoke, animal fur, and spices, following by a base note of turpentine and linseed oil. the only change between designation is what kind of spices—sweeter for omega, spicier for alpha, etc

in this au in particular, clark was given shots and engineered as a baby to be very adaptable to his environment so when he landed on earth he was basically human (as far as scent goes) but as he grew older he developed scent glands and thus more scent. the weirdest part about him is he never actually had that milky scent, because ma never produced any milk so there was never anything to pick it up from. his base note his whole life was fresh cut grass and old wood, which developed top notes of paper, metal, and smoke, and mid notes of ozone, hay, and animal musk

lex’s smell is top notes of musk and expensive vodka, mid notes of money paper, cold, and wind, and base notes of chemicals and metal. very cool and unfeeling smells, which clash drastically with clark’s warm, homey smells.

cassie sandsmark has top notes of leather and wood smoke, mid notes of ozone, and base notes of apple

bart has top notes of fruit and grass, mid notes of cinnamon, and base notes of ozone and electric heat

anita has top notes of sandalwood and jasmine, mid notes of incense and candle wax, and base notes of frankincense

greta does not smell until she gets humanized again; before she had sweet, candy and fruity scents with mellower base notes, and now her top scent is ozone, her mid scent is Neapolitan ice cream, and her base scent is dust and clay

cissie’s top scent is leather, mid notes of grass and tea tree oil, and base notes of vanilla

slobo is an alien and doesnt have a real scent but everyone agrees he smells like space dust, blood, and leather

[moonylovegoodsposts]

Back To You | David!Clark Kent × Plus Size OC!

Wordcount: around 4K

Warnings: fluff, no use of Y/n (no matter how hard I try, I just can't get myself used to write using the Y/n thing, I'm so sorry about that!). Plus sized Oc, because why not? and Latina(Brazilian) Oc, because again, why not? Suggestive ending.

Oc! Lianna Torres

ps: guys I AM SO SORRY for being late with this one, I really lost myself. english is not my first language so im sorry for any mistakes.

faceclaim for Lianna Torres: Brianna Marquez (@/brimarqz)

I drop the last box on the porch, sighing as I watch the moving truck drive away. What trouble have I gotten myself into... actually, they have gotten me into. I love my family very much, but did they really need to leave me with... this?

Okay, let me explain. My grandmother died a while ago and, well, like every decent American, she had a will. What I didn't expect was that I would be forced to leave Brazil to inherit a farm that is falling apart. She hadn't lived here for a good few years when her illness began to take over, so the farm was left empty and the animals were given to someone who could take care of them, probably to a neighboring farm, from what I remember.

I stare at the large wooden door, the key in my hand. I take another deep breath, walking to the door at once, turning the key, trying to get it to open. Well, as everything that is great can get better, what is shit can get worse too. "Shit!" I exclaim, kicking the door, more to try to relieve stress than to try to open it.

And I thought I was the favorite granddaughter...

I roll my eyes, my head falling forward and my forehead hitting the door. "Holy shit... Why didn't you leave this to Matthew, huh, Grandma?" I ask, as if she could hear me, wondering why she didn't leave it to my cousin, who lives, like, two hours away.

"Do you need help?" I hear a voice that makes me turn back to the entrance of the farm and see a ridiculously tall guy wearing a blue flannel shirt and jeans, standing in front of the porch steps. "Excuse me?" I ask, not understanding where the man came from. I look a little behind him and see a blue pickup truck parked at the entrance of the farm. How did I not hear him coming?

"My parents said you came to live here permanently, so I thought it would be a good idea to come and help you... and it's summer, I have nothing to do on my parents' farm, so..." he continues babbling, as he walks up the steps, looking nervous about something but only one thing goes through my mind: Who is this guy?

"Excuse me, who are you again?" I ask, very confused, making him stop on the last step, his expression changing a few times. "Do I look that different?" He asks with a smile, staring at me. I open my mouth to reply with some ironic shit, but my brain freezes when I finally recognize the bright blue eyes. "Clark?"

It all seems to make sense now. I mean, why on earth would a random guy show up at my grandmother's door? Which is now my house...

Clark and I used to play together when I came here, in the summer when I was a kid. And sometimes in the winter too. And not just when we were kids...

I watch him smile and climb the last step. "I thought you forgot..." he says, pulling me into a tight hug that I return. "You look different, but I could never forget you!" I say, pulling out of the hug and he walks to the front door, touching the doorknob.

"It's stuck, you won't be able to open it that easily..." I say, trying to warn him, but when I see him he's practically broken down the door. "What the..." I stare at him, who seems to have made the minimum effort to open that door while my toes are still sore from the kick I gave him. "Ladies first" he says, gesturing for me to enter the house and I do. My heart skips a beat as the first wooden plank creaks beneath my feet.

The house is in a state of disrepair, that's for sure. Cobwebs are the least of it. All the furniture is falling apart and the musty smell is unbearable. All the wallpaper is peeling and everything is a mixture of mud, dust and bugs. I reach for the light switch, trying to turn on the light. The light stays on for a total of five seconds before the bulb simply explodes into sparks. "Shit."

"Okay, so... we have a lot of work to do..." Clark says, crossing his arms beside me and I glare at him "You don't have to..." I try to argue but he interrupts me "I'm not going to let you take care of this house alone. Are we going to start now or not?" He says, rolling up the sleeves of his button-down shirt.

Oh my God, when did his arms get so... huge...?

Holy shit, Lianna. Focus!

"Okay, let's go..." I say, taking off my own jacket, throwing it over some boxes outside.

_

I sigh, sitting on the porch steps, trying to regulate my breathing. Most of my boxes are still outside and it's already the third day, but every hour there seems to be a new problem with the house.

Why does it have to be me?

The sound of the pickup truck pulls me from my thoughts. I see Clark getting out of the truck in his boots, jeans, and green flannel shirt.

I've really been away for too long... when did that teenager I knew get so...

I guess I'm thinking too much. I'm definitely thinking too much, thinking so much that I almost didn't notice the clump of white fur getting out of the truck and running towards me. The dog circles me, smelling me and wagging his tail, stopping in front of me, tongue out, as if smiling. "Oh, hi!" I greet the dog, my hands going behind his ears, the look in his eyes bringing back memories of my teenage years. "Wait, is that Krypto?" I ask Clark, who approaches the porch.

"That's him!" He sits down next to me, his hand stroking the dog's head. "Wow! He's what? 15 years old?" I look at Clark, seeing his blue eyes looking between me and Krypto, stuttering a little "Yeah... yeah, I think so... about 15 years old, yeah..." he says, coughing a little, looking a little nervous. "Uhm, my mom sent this" He hands me a paper bag "for your lunch".

"Oh, she's so sweet!" I smile, taking the bag "I miss her!" I say, looking inside the bag, the incredible smell of food reminding me that I didn't have breakfast.

"She misses you too, she asks me every now and then if I've heard from you..." He looks at me as if he wants to talk about something that I know exactly what it is. "I'm sorry I disappeared... life got a little more complicated when my dad died and coming back here..." I try to explain myself, but Clark puts his hand on mine, interrupting me. "It's okay... I mean, you could have sent me an update, but you're okay, that's what matters," he says, looking into my eyes.

I take a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of his hand on mine and those sky-colored eyes staring at me.

"I wish I had called..." I say, a feeling of not having done what I should have taken over me "written, I don't know... sent you an update..." I laugh, without any humor. "I didn't call either..." Clark says, shrugging, but looking at me with a little guilt in his eyes "I could have called..." he says, intertwining his fingers with mine, looking at the rain that has started to fall.

"Things were as they were supposed to be..." I say, letting my head fall to the side, resting it on his shoulder, smiling when he rests his head on mine.

"What do you think about changing that wallpaper? It's kind of cheesy, right?" He suggests completely changing the subject, in that way he always did to distract me from difficult subjects. "That would be great!" I chuckle, leaning into his touch.

_

"So, I brought the best ones I could find..." Clark says, entering the house with many rolls of wallpaper. Many. "There's this blue one and there's this one with flowers..." he shows me "I think you'll choose the one with the flowers, but I needed to bring the blue one in case you changed your taste in prints..."

I laugh, looking at him, finishing sweeping the dusty floor. I put down the broom and walk over to him, looking at the options he brought me. He really knows me well. He still knows me well. I smile, picking up one of the rolls of wallpaper with a white background and flowers in pink, blue and violet. "I loved this one!" I say "Thanks, Clark!".

"You're welcome! I'll return the blue ones to the store later..." he says, dropping the box of blue wallpaper on the porch. "You're amazing, you know that?" I say when he stops in front of me, holding the box with all the rolls of wallpaper in one hand. He smiles at me, with that smirk as he says: "You've told me that a few times..."

I can barely contain the smile that tries to appear on my face, as he places the box on the new couch, identical to the old one, but without rat piss. Krypto doesn't take long to climb on the couch, watching as we work, enjoying his nice little life. It's quite possible to say that Clark's more excited about this renovation than I am. He's been here every day for almost two weeks, without fail. I have nothing to complain about, but it's funny and gratifying to see how much he's dedicated to making this house at least decent.

I see him enter through the back door with a ladder, his perfect hair dragging on the doorframe and I notice that he slightly lowers his head to get through.

"So..." he begins, positioning the ladder on the wall near the door "my mother invited you to dinner at my house today..."

"Today?" I ask, incredulous. "Today." He answers me simply, as he begins to install the wallpaper.

Is it wrong to find the guy I've had a crush on since I was a teenager extremely attractive while he's installing wallpaper? Ah, the wonders of adult life...

"Oh, I..." I try to say, but he interrupts me. "You know she doesn't take 'no' for an answer, right?" I confirm, knowing this very well. "And also, she's already started thinking about the dinner menu, so..." he argues, leaving me with no way to refuse.

"I have nowhere to run, right?" I ask, just to confirm.

"No."

_

And here I am, standing at the Kents' door, wearing a dress. A dress! A white sundress with blue flowers. My God, I haven't worn a dress in years. I ring the bell next to the door, taking a deep breath. The door opens and I see Clark on the other side, smiling, wearing his denim jacket and the white t-shirt underneath, and his glasses askew. "Hi! You're early!" He smiles, making room for me to pass. "My mom's in the shower and my dad's out back finishing fixing the back door." I walk into the house, slightly embarrassed to be back after so long. "I brought this..." I hand the dish to Clark, "I didn't have much time to make something better, so I made it with what I had at home..." Clark takes the container from my hand, removing the cloth from the top, revealing the sweet treat my mom taught me to make. "Lily, you didn't have to..." he begins with a smile forming on his lips and I feel a shiver down my spine hearing my old nickname come out of his mouth after so long. "I did need it, Clark. I wasn't going to show up here empty-handed." I smile "It's called 'pudim', it's typical in Brazil..."

"You're amazing, you know?" He smiles, taking the pie to the kitchen, gesturing for me to follow him. I close the front door behind me and head to the kitchen. "You've told me that a few times..." I smile, watching him finish setting the table.

There's still a small feeling of being home hidden in my chest. Everything seems as comfortable as I remember, the couch in the same corner as always where Clark and I used to watch all the cliché Christmas movies and romantic comedies – because he always let me choose what to watch.

"So..." he approaches me, drying his hand on a dish towel "here hasn't changed at all, has it?"

"Even the couch is in the same place... it seems like it was yesterday..." I say, trying not to sound too nostalgic.

"It really does!" I hear a familiar voice at the kitchen door and turn around, finding Martha, smiling, coming to hug me. "Martha, I miss you so much!" I hug her back, smiling.

"I was so happy when I found out you were moving here for good! I called Clark right away, he was in Metropolis, putting off coming to spend the break here!" she says, ignoring her son. "Mom..." Clark says, a warning and a little embarassment implied in his voice. I look at him, curious, since he had made me understand that he was already here.

"Lianna! My God, you're such an adult!" Jonathan appears next to Clark, smiling at me, repeating Martha's action when she hugged me. "The last time I saw you, you were wearing glasses and pigtails!" he says, not even humorously, making me laugh. "That's true!" I agree. "Thank God for contact lenses!"

"Come on, let's sit down and eat!" Martha gestures to the table. "Mom, Lianna brought a typical Brazilian dessert, it's called 'pudin'." He says, with his cute American accent. "Pudim." I correct him playfully, emphasizing the 'm' with my Brazilian accent.

"Pudi-m..." he tries again, making me laugh. "Almost that..."

We finally sit down to dinner, Clark in front of me, next to his father and his mother next to me.

Dinner goes by peacefully. There's never a lack of conversation with the Kents, even after so long. His parents ask me how things are going in Brazil, how my mother and brothers are doing, what I do for a living, if I like what I do. That's the kind of thing you talk about when you haven't seen each other for many years.

"I'm a journalist..." I say, as Martha cuts a piece of the pie she made, placing it on a plate with the dessert I brought. "Are you a journalist too?" Jonathan asks me. "I am! I used to work in audiovisual journalism in Brazil..."

"That's really cool!" Clark says, picking up his own plate of sweets that his mother placed on the table, "Do you have a job around here yet?"

"Not really... I dropped everything to come and take care of the farm..." I say, taking a bite of the pie.

"That's really nice of you..." Martha says, "We kept some of your grandmother's horses when she got sick... the cows went to another neighbor, but they're all well taken care of!"

I look at all of them, sighing in relief, "That's good to hear! I admit I was worried about the little animals, I loved them!"

"I remember! I even thought I was going to be a vet..." Clark says. "I almost was... but I don't think I would have..." I laugh.

The evening continued as pleasantly as before. Clark's father was the first to leave while Clark and I worked together, washing and drying the dishes. His mother tried to stay a little longer but soon followed her husband, claiming that she no longer has the same energy as before. Clark and I finished putting away the dishes and I was ready to leave when he took two bottles of beer from the fridge and handed me one, inviting me to stay a little longer.

And here we are. On the roof of the Kent house. Looking at the stars. Just like when we were teenagers and used to go up here, sneaking drinks from the adults. Now we are two adults and it's so weird to think about.

"Can you believe that nowadays we don't have to smuggle a bottle of beer here anymore?", I ask, breaking the comfortable silence between us. "I was thinking the same thing!" he says, letting out a laugh.

I hear a few small pops and look to the side, seeing Clark sitting down, resting his arms on his knees, staring at the trees behind the house. I sit down too, trying to adjust my dress to cover my thick thighs. Damn, this is why I don't wear dresses!

"Is everything okay?" he asks, seeing me struggling with the dress. "It's okay, it's just... that's why I don't wear dresses... I'm too big for them..." I say, taking a deep breath, finally managing to keep the skirt in place and I see Clark frowning. "I think it looks great on you..." he compliments and I can't help but laugh humorlessly. "I know it doesn't." I reply. "I guess I was trying to impress, or something... I don't know..." I say, laughing at myself, taking a sip of beer.

"I think you should wear it more often..." he says, looking at me with an intensity I haven't seen in a long time. "You look beautiful..." he smiles with that sideways smile, his blue eyes staring deep into my soul, and that's enough to make my heart beat faster, as if I were that teenager again.

He looks forward again, as if coming out of a trance, shaking his head a little, his curls bouncing cutely. I turn back to the front, staring at the trees and the stars. "Thank you..." I say, "For helping me with the house... and for the compliment, too..." I lower my head, trying to hide my flushed cheeks. "I think you're the only person who can compliment me so... openly...".

"I just told the truth." I see him shrug, taking another sip of his beer and I look at him, searching for some sign of joking or lying in his eyes. Nothing. "You know, I missed you in the summers. And in the winters too..." he admits, leaving the bottle leaning against a tile.

"I missed you too." I confess, hugging my legs, feeling the cold night breeze chill my bones. "You were by far the best company to spend the holidays with..." I smile without showing my teeth, remembering the chaos that the holidays became as soon as all the grandchildren arrived at the Farm.

"I guess I can say the same thing... your cousins ​​were very..." he smiles, unfolding a blanket he brought when we went upstairs. "Chaotic?" I suggest, feeling him place the blanket over my shoulders, our faces being inches apart for a few seconds, making me hold my breath until he was back in his place.

"Yeah... 'chaotic' is a great description for them..." he laughs. "I'm glad it's just you now... I can visit you without fear of leaving all covered in paint..." he remembers one of the last summers I spent here, when my twin cousins ​​played a prank on him. Well, the victim wasn't really him, but rather anyone who walked through the door at that time, and well... Clark was the first. "Maybe I'll call Fred to help me prank you, one of these days..." I laugh, teasing him a little.

"Oh, I'm sure he'll love that!" Clark says sarcastically, making me laugh even more, and I barely notice the way he's staring at me.

I take a deep breath, wrapping myself even tighter in the blanket, and my heart skips a beat when Clark keeps staring at me in that intense way he's had before.

Something in his gaze reminds me of the last time I was here. On this roof, just the two of us. The first time we kissed. I almost let out a laugh, a slight snort escaping my nose as I look straight ahead, avoiding his gaze.

They always say that the first kiss is always bad, and... yeah, it kind of was. We came up here, smuggling some cheap liquor I found at my grandmother's house. We were trying to get away from my cousins, obviously, but we ended up drinking too much and kissed. And it was really weird. We got down from the roof, and he took me home without saying a word. The next day, when I wasn't drunk anymore, I could barely go to town with my grandmother to go shopping, afraid of running into him and afraid that he would never want to look at me again because of that horrible kiss. But of course, Mrs. Celina dragged me with her to the market and made me hold all the bags while she picked out the things. That's when Clark showed up to save the day, as he always did. He helped me with the bags and walked us to our farm. And then, when my grandmother came in, he kissed me again, at the front door. Infinitely better than the day before, I must say.

"What's wrong?" I hear his voice next to me, pulling me out of my trance of memories. "Nothing..." I answer with a smile, but he raises his eyebrow, not accepting my answer. "It's just..." I start, looking at my hands holding the blanket "I was remembering...".

"First kiss?" he asks, his eyebrow raising a little higher and I suddenly feel so shy around him. "Yeah..." I say, looking straight ahead again.

I hear a laugh beside me but I don't dare look at him, the embarrassment making my skin flush.

"I always remember that when I come here... and I come here a lot..." he says, looking down, his arms resting on his knees, his tone almost like a confession. "I think... maybe I missed you more than I care to admit." he says, his voice almost in a whisper, as if he were saying it only to himself. But I hear him, and I look at him, my eyebrows furrowed and my gaze too curious, too hopeful, waiting for him to continue, but he doesn't. He just stares at the roof, as if he's said enough for now.

"Me too." I admit. It's not a lie. In fact, it's the honest truth. "I love Brazil, but spending my vacation there, alone, isn't the same... and by alone I don't mean without my cousins..." I say, a small laugh escaping, but my smile slowly disappears when he looks at me again. Those bright blue eyes. "I missed you. A lot." He presses his lips together in a thin smile, playing with the empty beer bottle in his hands. The subject seems to disappear between us, but it's not an unbearable silence. It's actually quite pleasant. In fact, everything is quite pleasant around Clark. I used to think it was all in my head, from when I was a teenager, but... the feeling is still the same.

I take a deep breath, staring at the stars, imagining what it would be like to fly among them, as if all the weight of my body were null. I smile at the idea of ​​a small and light body, as if it were even funny. Me, small and light.

"It must be cool, right?" I ask, out of nowhere, still looking at the stars, and Clark looks at me with a question mark on his face. "Flying," I clarify. "Like Superman. Being so powerful that you can just jump and fly around... or being so light that your body simply floats near the stars." I say, smiling, but I can see the gears in his head turning and turning and turning.

"I wrote and directed a video journalistic report about him, you know?" I ask, more to tell him something I think he'd like to know. "Superman is a huge hit in Brazil, everyone loves him. That neat little hair, the blue eyes and the underwear outside his suit. The kids love it." I laugh, taking a last sip of my beer while looking at Clark.

He's still, staring at me. I frown at him, as if to ask "What's wrong?" But the gears in his head seem to keep turning. "Clark?" I call to him and he swallows hard, looking down and then back at me. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh, sure, it's great!" he says, shaking his head and looking at me with a little smile. "It's just that you reminded me of an article I need to write about Superman too... but... but what about this video journalistic report of yours? Can I watch it any time?"

"Sure! Tomorrow, if you want I'll show you... speaking of which, it's getting a little late, right?" I ask, staring at the phone screen. "It's almost midnight... I think I should go..." I say, worried about the time.

"Oh, yes! Of course, it's late!" Clark agrees, standing up, offering me his hand and I gladly accept, following him slowly, avoiding making too much noise on the tiles.

He goes down the stairs first, reaching the grass. I go down soon after, foot by foot, step by step, suspicious of the old wooden stairs. But even so, I think I trusted him too much. When I was almost on the grass, with a few steps left, a damn nail broke, making the wood give way under my feet and all my balance disappear. My body falls backwards and I feel like it's in slow motion as I try to reach the stairs to hold on and balance myself, but at the same time, I embrace my fate that I'm going to fall backwards on the ground. I just close my eyes, waiting. But the thud never comes. In fact, there is a fall, but on two strong and enormous arms that are now surrounding me, somehow, saving me from falling on my ass. I open my eyes, wondering how and when Clark became so strong, but as soon as I open my eyes, I see him. His eyes. So close. After so many years.

He puts me back on my feet, without any apparent effort, but he continues to hold my waist. And now that I realize, I continue to grab his biceps – which I don't even remember how I started holding in the first place.

I let go of his arms, a little embarrassed by the situation, but his eyes don't leave me, they don't stop studying my face, and it may have been my imagination, but I'm almost sure I felt his hands squeeze my waist lightly, making me look into those eyes again and for a moment, I almost don't realize how close we are. I almost don't notice when he leans a little more towards me, and the way my body simply responds, even after so many years.

But it's impossible, impossible, not to notice when he presses our bodies together. The way his eyes wander to my mouth every now and then. The way our breaths mingle as the tips of our noses touch as we continue to lean into each other.

And it's almost otherworldly when he finally kisses me. When my eyes close as my arms instinctively wrap around his neck. And when his arms wrap around my waist, pulling me closer.

I almost let out a moan in the middle of the kiss when he tangles his fingers in my hair, angling my face better as the kiss gets deeper and deeper.

I don't know how long we stay there, or anything like that. I just know that we need to break the kiss when the need for air becomes greater. Our breaths, still mingled, and completely out of control, almost make me laugh. But nothing really matters to me now, when all I feel is wanting more.

More, more, more.

I tilt my face again, searching for more and he obliges. The kiss now feels more desperate, more passionate, more... hotter.

"I think you can stay here tonight..." He murmur against my lips and in a few seconds I feel his hands going down to my ass, squeezing a little and then going down to my thighs, making me wrap my legs around his waist, and I almost let out a little scream at the way he holds me so easily.

"Yeah, I think I can..."

[shannonsketches]

Rewatching Battle of the Gods and mAN. If you're ever scrolling my dbTag and going 'Sketches, what do you mean Toei does the same plot but completely changes the story, that makes no sense.' I'm talking about Character-Driven Storytelling. And the difference between Toriyama's Character-Driven Story and Toei's Plot-Driven Story is Most Glaring in comparing Super's movies and the anime retellings of Super's movies, because the screenplays for the last four movies were written by Toriyama, and obviously the show was not.

I saw BotG back first when it came out, before the anime was released, and The Point Of It was that it was the very first Dragon Ball story in which Goku failed and Vegeta was left in the position of The Protagonist, due to all of the growth he experienced in DBZ (Beerus in this movie takes Goku down immediately, and does not compliment him at all. King Kai, in this movie, has nothing rude to say about Vegeta and just warns him not to engage with Beerus because Goku just tried and lost, which freaks Vegeta out). So even while Goku still is the guy who gets to fight Beerus in the end, the majority of the movie is about Vegeta's efforts to not have a fight at all.

Like this is the Whole Thesis of Super (as Toriyama wrote it). Vegeta is being handed the mantle of Earth's Guardian (because as Piccolo points out later, he was a Prince and is becoming nostalgic as he gets older (as so many do), so his role is slowly coming full circle back to a proud inherited leadership position, which Goku has no interest in.)

You may have seen me complain about Vegeta and Bulma's dynamic being weird and bad in the anime despite them having been married for ~12 years by this point.

That's because the reason for and the dialogue from when Vegeta gets to the party was completely revised. In the show, Vegeta goes because Bulma yelled at him.

In the movie, he is still wearing his armor because he left training and went straight to the party with the Express Purpose of keeping everyone safe. Bulma not only knew Vegeta was training and expected would be there eventually, but also immediately recognizes something is wrong when he does finally arrive, because he is still wearing his armor, and she notes that him being broody like this is, by this point, unusual.

His behavior is, of course, is because he because he is trying to sense Beerus -- who he has just been told would destroy the Earth if anyone engaged with him. The game of the whole movie becomes Vegeta acting Completely Insane and throwing his pride aside to make sure everyone is safe, because protecting Earth and his family has become his top priority.

His frustration isn't because he finds her or any of the Z Fighters annoying. It's because he is trying to manage a problem that he can't tell anyone about, for fear that the other fighters will get involved and try and solve the problem -- especially if they learn this man's harmed Goku -- and Vegeta knows their good intentions will only make matters worse.

His outburst is because Bulma is (two glasses of champagne into her day and) trying to talk to him while he's trying to concentrate on locating this massive incoming threat he can't find. And what's more is that his raising his voice to Bulma is a shock to everyone.

Including Bulma.

Because the point is he is not normally like this.

And even though Vegeta can't sense Beerus' ki, he knows when Beerus is present, because he is suddenly terrified.

And then the gag becomes that Beerus speaks to Vegeta only, and Vegeta doesn't yet remember exactly who Beerus is or what he looks like, so he looks Completely Insane trying to find him,

When Vegeta does finally find Beerus, he immediately remembers who he is and treats him with the utmost respect, because he understands how Heirarchy works (this is completely changed in the anime, and turned into an attempted fight, for some reason).

Because he will not tell anybody what's going on, who Beerus is, or why he's there, because the risk is JUST too high, he just plays along with Bulma's assumption that they're friends of his. Which means Bulma (who is absolutely plastered) happily invites them to come party with everyone, leaving Vegeta the incredibly comedic task of running context-free interference for the universe's most temperamental god while the most fight-minded people on the planet are getting drunk.

Toei loves pretending Vegeta can't interact with people in a normal way, but Toriyama loved reminding the class that Vegeta is a seasoned professional with 25+ years in a semi-corporate military force who can and regularly does behave as one.

The whole bit of this arc is Vegeta being so scared of his planet and his family being destroyed (again) that he is willing to sacrifice his pride to herd a cat, because Dragon Ball has always been a comedy and Toei is so bad at remembering it's a comedy

I will also die mad that in the anime Gotenks fights first, when in the movie Trunks (as he has before) got involved when he saw Beerus beat his dad, and Vegeta begged him not to fight. Gotenks getting spanked (literally and figuratively) by Beerus is also what got Vegeta back on his feet.

Then there's this (y'all when I tell you someone at Toei fucking hates Vegeta,,)

For context, in the anime Beerus compliments Goku and insults Vegeta. Surprisingly no one, in the movie it is The Opposite. Beerus never says a bad word about Vegeta (and doesn't say anything to Goku after their first fight), and compliments his fighting instincts. And that's before Bulma gets hit.

In the anime, Vegeta can't do anything to Beerus, who drags him for like two minutes straight. Then he walks away from Vegeta, who cannot bring himself to stand, and takes his aim.

In the movie, Vegeta gets back up when Gotenks is knocked down, compliments Beerus, and accepts that the gap is too wide between them. Beerus decides it's time to be done here and charges directly at Vegeta.

Vegeta does not defend himself, does not dodge, does not flinch, and does not break eye contact. Then he says it might be an honor to be killed by Beerus (complimenting Beerus) (where in the anime he says it might be a proud way to go (complimenting himself)), and is ready to die on his feet.

(note: He doesn't say anything about pride, because his actions speak for him, as is very commonly the case with Toriyama's Vegeta, whose pride is loudest in his quiet confidence, not in his insecure outbursts).

The other major difference I absolutely hate in the anime is that for some reason they decided Beerus hitting Bulma was a long, drawn out, dramatic thing.

In the anime almost a full minute passes between her hitting him and him hitting her back. She hits him first, then lectures him, then the rest of that time is spent cutting between Beerus winding up and Vegeta reacting to him winding up, despite The Rest of the Party standing Right There and anyone could've easily pulled her away (Piccolo, for example, is unharmed and standing, and is literally like ten feet from where it happens. He has expanding limbs. Non-Issue of Moving Bulma).

NO. [spray bottle sounds] BAD WRITING.

The point of that moment, in the movie, is that it's a 'blink and you'll miss it' moment. THREE SECONDS pass between the moment she strikes Beerus and the moment he hits back. Vegeta only has time to be shocked that Bulma slapped him, because Beerus' rebuttal happens So Quickly, absolutely no one could've reacted fast enough to stop it. And even if it had been more drawn out -- because Vegeta had Beerus follow him away from the party to fight so that nobody else got hurt, Gotenks and Bulma both end up following him out there, and while everyone else stayed back and watched, nobody was close enough to stop it.

The point of that moment is to be Shocking. There is no wind up, there's no drama, there's not even a music cue. It is Completely Unexpected, for the characters and the audience alike, and that's why Vegeta has such an extreme reaction. He had No Time to brace himself for what was about to go down and No Time to change it.

This is another scene that was fully About Vegeta that Toei made About Someone Else (Beerus), changing the shot to a group shot of his power up and immediately having Beerus block all of the attacks, where Toriyama said, "Vegeta's strength scared the SHIT out of Beerus for a hot sec"

And if you've been following along in my vent tags about why Toei's writing is so bad and what they constantly center everything around, you can probably guess why the premise for this movie was changed so dramatically. But if you're new here, it's this:

It's because Vegeta's SSJ1 could do what Goku's SSJ3 couldn't.

And Vegeta didn't even notice, because he is not Trying to beat Goku. After his own fight and until he shows back up, Goku's probably only mentioned twice, because this ain't about him. Vegeta's not even really trying to beat Beerus here. He's not trying to prove anything. It's not about power or pride or saiyans or being the best, it's PURELY about protecting the people (specifically in this instance, the woman) he loves. ALL of which become the theme of, "Vegeta you are stupid powerful when you can stop overthinking everything."

But that's not allowed in Toei's writing room, nO SIR!!!

Bonus Part 1: Someone at Toei Hates Vegeta part 41238712: The episode About Vegeta's Response to Bulma Getting Hurt is basically titled 'Yay, Goku's Back', because despite stretching this 1hr45m movie out into 14 Episodes, the one that is about Vegeta surpassing Goku (in the movie) and fighting to defend his wife of Over a Decade is a five minute fight scene followed by twelve minutes of Oolong's two minute rock-paper-scissor gag.

What was the fight scene, you may ask??? Instead of having Vegeta know he's not strong enough and still stand in Beerus' way, for Beerus to say 'chill out, I told you it's over' and tap Geets on the forehead to knock him out cold, like the movie --

They decide to have Vegeta just stop trying mid-fight, have Beerus tell him he's too weak to be a threat, then add that he had more fun fighting Goku before knocking Vegeta on the chin and having him land on his back fully conscious.

God I hate Toei's writing aksldjlaskdalkj

Bonus Part 2: That thing Vegeta spent the entire movie trying to avoid telling his wife because it would've scared the shit out her and ruined her party, scares the shit out of her and definitely would've ruined her party.

Crazy that he knew that and did everything in his power to keep it from becoming her problem. He treats her like she's his wife or something ahahaha 🔪 toei 🔪 hahaha

anyway if you figure you've seen the anime so you don't need to watch the movies cause they're basically the same no they're not they're only the same in terms of Basic Plot Points, PLEASE do yourself and your writing skills a favor and watch the movies

[poxsart]

🌊🔪Ahoy, Capeside!

These animals represent each of the slashers you will be meeting in my story, Capeside! My love letter to Slashfic fans and anybody who appreciates dark romance!

I will be posting the chapters on A03 and making a side tumblr as well! I hope to enchant, mesmerize, and titillate your senses >:3

🔞This story is ADULT MEDIA / ADULT CONTENT🔞

If you are a minor (below 18) for the love of a higher power, do not read Capeside! It contains the subject of sex, violence, and things kids have no business reading or being involved with! Thank you.

Alright! With my disclaimer, I shall pitch you all my opener! 🐈‍⬛🐟🦉🕷🔪

This town holds many secrets..

Of bramble and thorns, call the wicked..

Another summer, they roam the Earth to play..

Can you feel the bumps on your skin?..

Do you hear the whispers on the wind..

The ground is tainted here..

So many have disappeared..

Survive the night, win their favor..

Rescue the town, to be their savior..

A simple nursery rhyme? A riddle to crack? MC doesn't know as when their grandfather mysteriously passes away, they are left with an inheritance of a vintage seaside home..

After recently being fired and threatened with eviction, MC sees this as an opportunity of a lifetime to rebuild and connect to their roots!

However, after a couple of months of comfort, fixing up, and tender love, the summer arrives! Right when MC thinks about assimilating into their new lifestyle, they begin to notice the strange things that go bump on the night...

[maybe-im-dark]

Reflection

Victor stood in front of the dirty mirror of the rundown motel room. Hitler and his dream of a world-ruling Germany had died 5 years ago, so there was no war to fight in currently. None that America was involved in anyway. Women were starting to wear pants and a new style of music had begun to take hold. It was called Rock and Roll. Victor found himself liking it. He and Jimmy were taking jobs, wherever work was needed. On construction sites, as harvester hands or stockmen. Victor was never able to hold a job for long, that didn’t involve killing. All too often he got on the wrong side of his superiors and coworkers with his sadistic streak and his ability to twist the knife into even the smallest of wounds.

The fluorescent light overhead buzzed faintly, casting a sickly yellow glow over his face. His piercing blue eyes, the ones people whispered about, glared back at him. But it wasn’t just his eyes he saw in the reflection.

It was his eyes.

The grey hue, sharp and cold as a winter sky. The same flat expression that could turn to rage in an instant. Victor’s jaw tightened as he took in the rest of his face. The big forehead, the puffy cheeks, the thick, arched eyebrows, even the little double chin—all of it was his father staring back at him. Mocking him.

He couldn’t look away.

“You’re just like me,” the memory of his father’s voice sneered in his mind. “A monster. No good for anything but breaking and destroying.”

Victor’s claws slid out instinctively, scraping against the sink. He tried to suppress the sound of his father’s words, but they rang out clear as day. Every bruise, every cut, every scar he had left him with seemed to surface on his skin all over again, vivid and fresh.

No good for anything but breaking and destroying.

He snarled, slamming his fist into the mirror. The glass shattered, cutting into him, shards raining into the sink, but it wasn’t enough. His claws raked across the countertop, gouging deep grooves into the cheap veneer and leaving blood smears behind. The room felt too small, too suffocating, and the air reeked of mildew and stale liquor—a scent that reminded him too much of the past.

The past where his father loomed over him, reeking of whiskey, his fists raised. The past where he learned to cower, to flinch, to hide his tears because weakness was unacceptable. The past where the man who should’ve protected him was the one he feared the most.

Victor’s chest heaved as he forced himself to step back, his claws retracting slowly into the nail beds. He glanced at the shattered mirror again. His reflection was fragmented now, fractured into dozens of jagged pieces. It almost felt fitting.

When had he become him?

He could pinpoint the moment he stopped fighting it. The day he realized no matter how hard he tried to be better, people only ever saw the animal. The brute. The predator. Maybe his father had been right all along. Maybe that’s all he was meant to be.

Victor leaned against the wall, sliding down until he was sitting on the grimy floor, his head resting against his knees. He’d embraced it, hadn’t he? The beast. The animal. If the world wanted a monster, he’d give them one. It was easier than trying to prove he was something more.

Because what if he wasn’t an animal but a man?

What if he was just like him?

The thought clawed at his mind, dragging him into a spiral he couldn’t escape. He didn’t cry—Victor Creed didn’t cry—but his hands trembled, and his throat felt tight.

The sound of a door opening snapped him out of it. Logan’s heavy boots thudded against the floor as he walked in, carrying the scent of rain and damp earth. He froze when he saw the mess, his hazel eyes flickering to Victor and the shattered mirror.

“You good, Vic?” Logan’s voice was rough, cautious.

Logan had always been the pretty one of them. With his crooked grin and his wind swept hair he sure was every woman's dream. No, he got lucky. He had inherited his mother's looks.

Victor didn’t answer right away. His gaze lingered on the broken glass, on the splintered image of himself. Of him.

“I see him,” Victor said finally, his voice low and guttural.

Logan frowned, stepping closer. “What’re you talkin’ about?”

Victor’s lips curled into a humorless grin as he looked up at his brother. “Every time I look in the mirror, I see him. Our old man. Same eyes. Same face. Same damn monster.”

Logan’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t say anything. He leaned against the wall beside Victor, silent as he processed the admission. It wasn’t often that Victor let the cracks show, that he allowed anyone—especially Logan—to see the parts of himself he hated most.

“You’re not him,” Logan said eventually, his voice firm.

Victor snorted, a bitter laugh escaping him. “Ain’t I? Look at me, Jimmy. Look at what I’ve done. All the people I’ve hurt, the things I’ve destroyed. Tell me that ain’t our old man starin’ back at me.”

Logan crouched down, forcing Victor to meet his gaze. “You’re not him,” he repeated. “You’ve done shit. We both have. But you’re not him. You didn’t get a choice back then, but you’ve got one now.”

Victor’s claws slid out again, flexing against his will. “Don’t feel like I got a choice. Feels like it’s in my blood.”

Logan’s hand shot out, gripping Victor’s forearm. “Maybe it is. But you’re more than your blood. You don’t wanna be him? Don’t be. Prove you’re better.”

Victor stared at him, his mind a storm of rage and doubt and pain. He wanted to believe Logan. Wanted to believe he could be more than the monster his father had made him out to be. But the mirror was still there, broken but unyielding, reminding him of the truth he couldn’t escape.

“You don’t get it, Jimmy,” Victor said finally, his voice raw. “You don’t see him when you look in the mirror.”

Logan’s grip tightened. “No, but I see you. And I know you’re better than that bastard ever was.”

Victor didn’t respond. He just sat there, his gaze flickering between Logan and the shattered glass. The silence stretched, heavy and oppressive, until Logan finally stood and offered a hand.

“C’mon. Let’s get outta here,” Logan said. “You can sit here and hate yourself, or you can stand up and prove that asshole wrong.”

Victor stared at the hand for a long moment before taking it. Logan pulled him to his feet, and together, they walked out of the room, leaving the broken mirror—and the ghost of the man who haunted it—behind.

But as Victor stepped into the night, the scent of rain washing over him, he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d ever truly leave it behind.

[heavenlymorals]

Biblical References in the RDR Games: Part 2

You guys seemed to LOVE my original biblical references post for Red Dead so I am here to post some more because there are SO MANY. And like before, I am aware that some of these may be complete reaches, but it's my blog and I do what I want 🙃

Enjoy babes ❤️

@headersandheelers @secretcheesecakenacho Since you guys wanted to get tagged ❤️🤭

Arthur and Dutch mirror Moses and Pharaoh in chapter six. Arthur begs Dutch to let his "chosen" go, who are the people who he believes have a chance in living without the baggage of the gang (the women and John and his family). Dutch refuses to let them go, which creates the biggest conflict in chapter 6.

Arthur kicking out Strauss gives me heavy Matthew 21:12-14. Basically, Jesus kicks out loan sharks and sellers from a temple designated as a house of worship where people can be helped. Their presence destroyed the sanctity and the purity of the temple. Both the gang and the temple existed originally to help folks, but the presence of people like loan sharks destroy that original mission. So yes, Arthur kicking out Strauss is a parallel to Jesus kicking out the loan sharks from the temple.

The color for high honor is blue while the color for low honor is red. Blue in the bible is very often associated with heaven and God. Red in the bible represents the flesh that humans are trapped in during their time on earth, which can then correlate back to sin and violent.

Micah was a prophet in the bible who is most known for predicting the fall Jerusalem. Micah in the game also predicts the fall of the gang in the sense that he was the one who caused it. The name Micah also means he who is like God, so the irony is kinda funny.

John being able to see the cracks in the gang before many of the other characters could very well be a reference to this passage: "For you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you Free" - John 8:32. Abigail in RDR also says this which is a reference to this passage: "You knew the truth, John. And they hated you for it."

Just another passage that reminds of Arthur's redemption and the whole searching for peace thing: "Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it" Psalm 34:14

The mission "A Fisher of Men" is a reference to Matthew 4:18-20. "While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him." Of course, beyond just the action of fishing with Jack, this is also a parallel to Arthur's empathetic yet still firm style of talking to Jack. "It's about time you earned your keep." "You got to stick at things, Jack."

The mission "The Sheep and the Goats." In Matthew 25:31-46, it describes how God will separate people in two groups. The "sheep" will inherit heaven and the "goats" will be damned. You can connect that to the gang as well. The sheep are the ones who leave Dutch while the goats stay with him and become damned or a shameful version of who they once were.

Also note in the epilogue how John says he doesn't like goats and chooses sheep as the first animals to raise on his ranch. That could also connect to Matthew 25:31-46.

The mission name "Do Not Seek Absolution" is really interesting to me because it's the first biblical mission name that could either be a reference to scripture, which I'm thinking Deuteronomy 12:13 in the sense that one shouldn't offer their praise or worship to false gods who won't answer prayers (think Arthur and Dutch and how Arthur was still following Dutch after the gang lost it's original image) or a rejection ofa the Christian mindset of the time. Absolution is the idea of the promise of having your sins forgiven by God. It might be saying that Arthur should try to redeem himself by his action towards the person rather than his guilt towards a higher power.

Molly getting burnt rather than having a funeral is less a biblical detail but more a cultural detail. Though cremation wasn't really condemned in the Bible, the passages about being buried in the ground or in tombs was the people's standards in how they wanted their dead body to be handled due to religious reasoning. Whether or not Molly is Protestant or culturally Catholic (I lean the latter), the fact that Grimshaw asks for her body to be burnt just adds so much more weight to how cruelly traitors of the gang were dealt with

Love this stuff sm

[sepublic]

The Rapture, the Day of Unity, and Happily Ever After

I wouldn’t be surprised if the upper echelons of the coven regime weren’t concerned with being sustainable, because they were privy before the public was to the Day of Unity, which was itself essentially one big rapture where everyone goes to a perfect utopia! They don’t have to worry about the world they’ve left behind, they just need to last long enough to make it to this endpoint, like Belos talking about how he only needs to ‘live long enough to see this through’.

So it must’ve been quite a shock, realizing that’s not it; There’s nothing for all their hard work. They have to go back to their lives as normal, but knowing it’s eternal in the sense of worrying about living life until it naturally ends for them, and making society run ahead of them for the next to pick up. Now people have to do their jobs in creating an actual functioning society instead of loftily dreaming of a fantasy, which is of course topical to the show’s themes about being beholden to the world and people around you as you make dreams practical.

I can see a comparison between the apathy that came from the Day of Unity and how a lot of rich, powerful folk —especially the ones running fossil fuel companies— don’t care about destroying the Earth and its environment, because they’ll be dead before it gets bad enough that the devastation reaches them in their cushy little suites. On the Day of Unity, Emira’s frustrations over her mother only caring about money feel in a similar vein, it all hearkens back to the same problem with these CEOs where their personal, material enjoyment is the only priority.

And this makes me think of the rapture comparison too; It comes from the Evangelicals, who are the descendants of the Puritans. I can see the writers playing with how Marx called religion the opiate of the masses; The idea that Christianity was often exploited by the upper class against the lower class to justify their suffering. The idea was that if you were poor, you didn’t need to worry about improving your material world because as long as you remained pious and faithful, you’d eventually inherit a heavenly afterlife.

Thus, working-class Christians were made complacent, believing their mortal suffering was just temporary and even a test for their ascension. Whether you think they actually got a heavenly afterlife is an entirely separate real-life theological discussion, but the point was that it was an excuse by those in power to avoid being held accountable in making the living world actually tolerable for everyone else, and everyone else would not hold them to that standard because they thought it didn’t matter anyway.

So I can see the Day of Unity functioning exactly like that, in fact I’m pretty sure it just did onscreen because we see wild witches such as the Demon Hunters accept the coven bindings because for whatever losses they suffer, eventually the Titan will make it all worth it right? And this framing of the Titan as an abstract God who will take you to an abstract universe is interesting; We know tangibly that other worlds exist of course, but in the context of the show, the utopia bit is a lie.

And if we apply it to real life, much how the show calls out IRL witch hunters (and its fictional one, because TOH’s fictional witches warranted nothing for their existence) as insincere… I do remember a college lecture in things like Animism or cosmocentric belief systems; They saw the ‘spirits’ as not existing on a separate plane, but our own. There was no afterlife or heaven, it was all in this world, people live on when they die and break down and are consumed by other beings, that sort of thing.

The practices of wild magic and the worship of the Titan seem to follow in a similar vein to these and Animism; The Titan is sacred and her body has its own life reborn as the environment, but she’s also undeniably dead, as pointed out by a Deadwardian witch. Eda stresses learning from the natural environment around you for magic, their ‘god’ is a mortal being and also their tangible world. The magic comes via glyphs in nature, as well as the magic in everything that witches get their own magic from. There IS something resembling an afterlife in-universe but we never get to see it, the beliefs of wild magic seem to be at odds with Belos’ Christian colonialism, and again its promise of a rapture and a separate, abstract God and utopia.

Point is; There is no universe after this, or at least that’s not how wild witches treat it. The focus is on the here and now and making this world last, and making it last for the future generations that will take your place. And this defiance of a rapture in favor of life always going on makes me think of how Dana hates the term Happily Ever After, for the implications of everything just being over and that’s it. That’s the end. All the problems are solved now, there is no story left to tell.

I can’t say this was intentional on a conscious level or otherwise, but I do have to draw a connection between this and how TOH’s ending was in response to this critique; Life keeps going on, the protagonists have to keep fixing the Boiling Isles, and then keep it going even if it IS fixed. They just undid coven bindings and King found his first glyph. The Archivists are still out there. The protagonists don’t get an eternal unambiguous happy ending where there’s nothing left to do, they don’t get a ‘heavenly afterlife’ as one could call it, and that’s good!

From a meta standpoint, you can see how it encourages fans to write more stories, to be inspired to keep it going, and it’s another way Dana made the shortening work in the show’s favor. Dana said back in 2020 that she encourages fans to build off of things, as she did as a kid with her own shows, she also wanted it to be that deep growing up! So both in-universe and IRL, TOH isn’t meant to be over, there is no absolute ending because fandom lives on.

Hell, Dana even professed interest in a prequel following Eda’s childhood; She’s since become pessimistic about the possibility, more than likely on account of her cutting ties with Disney and executives’ disinterest. But the point still stands; Life keeps going, IRL. The lives of the characters keep going, in-universe and IRL through fandom.

I also wonder if you could discuss Lumity under this lens; I’m making exceptions for queer romances, especially in children’s media, because they often have to deal with censorship pushing them to the last minute. But when it comes to romance in general, romance involving the main character largely consists of Will They/Won’t They, with the climax having the romance achieved. But because of the Thrill of the Chase, a lot of writers don’t want to explore how characters actually navigate a relationship, hence why it’s drawn out and saved for the ending; The romance has been nearly tied up as a Happily Ever After, there’s no more story to tell. So when they get a continuation, they’ll often undo progress.

Lumity avoids this; Lumity has them get together at the halfway point of the series, and then actually explores their dynamic as a couple together, without creating misunderstandings or breakups or anything. We see how they work as a couple, how they get to enjoy each other as a couple. So them getting together isn’t the ending climax, it’s just another stage in their continuing dynamic. There is no Happily Ever After; There’s problems for them to face together that do sometimes strain their relationship, but they still work on it together; Dana was adamant on showing these things instead of settling for them asking each other out and letting the rest be an implication.

And I think that’s so much more healthy to show kids than just idealizing the Thrill of the Chase and its climax, without appreciating the mundanity of just being together. Because kids grow into adults and don’t really expect or care to pursue a romance past that point, and I wonder if this is part of the culture behind cheating, of still reaching for something unattainable because media doesn’t normalize already having things when it comes to romance. Nor does it care for tackling things together as a couple most of the time.

Dana was raised Catholic, which is separate from Puritanism, but she did have to deal with Evangelicals growing up, as they raged about innocuous things like Pokemon; And Pokemon was her Good Witch Azura, a last gift from her father before he died in a car crash. It’s something Dana still enjoys and she’s done crossover art for it and TOH.

So I can see the coincidence/connection in Dana critiquing Evangelicals’ rapture ideology and how the end of everything is used to placate people instead of worrying about what needs to be eternally maintained, and like. Her feeling similarly with stories and even romances where it ends definitively and perfectly. Because fandom keeps going and she’s a part of it too.

The world keeps going, there is no endpoint to history IRL or in the show; People have to adjust going back to the banality of continuing to live and worry about running society in the long-term, rather than expecting it to not matter because they were going to be raptured anyway. And you know what, this could be good, it means it lasts forever as we see Luz and co. embrace it, happy to enjoy their lives, actually getting to be in a relationship; But life is fragile as we see with the Titan, so we gotta work to keep it going, so that even when we get our definitive end, the people after get their time.

[spacer-case]

...and when the last blood-beast comes to rest unto the Earth, what next will arrive to inherit it?

i drew this sci fi piece for my portfolio, but it also turned loosely into a marcoace au because my brain got zoomies

short version: guy on a joyride (coughs ace) accidentally travels to another world filled with mythological-ish creatures, but they're actually all robots mimicking life with no real sentience of their own - except one lone, lonely consciousness (coughs marco) whose mind was digitally preserved before the rest of organic life got wiped out, and has been waiting a long time for a friend

long nerdy version under the cut:

ace's world is a fun and scrappy sci fi future world, with stuff like his hovercraft that syncs to his body's movements too

he was out riding with deuce and got too caught up in the thrill of flying that he went way out of safe bounds (not pictured: deuce panicking) and got swallowed by a giant sky beast

somehow (i haven't thought that hard about it) he appears in marco's world after this - when i first had this idea i was just thinking of a literal reference to the philosophical concept of animals as other worlds/animal alterity, a la Barbara Noske), plus i like the idea of gateways being where you least expect them

anyway yeah he gets isekai'd

enter: marco's world!! this is a land where organic life once thrived, including sentient beings (i haven't decided if they were also humans), but all organic life has long since died out and given way to a new, constructed "ecology"

it's full of seemingly mythological-ish creatures (phoenix, dragon, etc. but all are also warped from what we would imagine)!! but SIKE they are actually robots; cybernetic constructs!!! each one goes through the motions of life for many years until they steadily break down. their parts get recycled and they are remade to spawn from egg-like structures (like the one in the bottom left corner of the drawing)

and who is remaking them? MARCO! aka the last, lone remaining consciousness from the sentient race that died out. his mind was preserved digitally, but by the time he awoke he only remembers snapshots of his original life. he continuously cares for and builds all the robots, and uploads himself into different bodies whenever he wants, but no matter what he tries he can't recreate anything truly alive with its own free will

so he's lonely and sad

basically the whole thing was an exploration of the concept of a man-made mythos! and the boundaries of what defines life, will, sentience, etc. etc.

but when he meets ace - a real, living breathing organic human - it will change his life! because............because...i haven't thought that far

many questions remain...is ace's world a past version of marco's? will he find a way to restore organic life to marco's world? should he even do that? will he find a way back home? will they kiss? ? will marco get a human body?? will i ever make something bigger from this or even turn it back into ocs instead of op characters??? will they wear wigs???? when will they wear wigs????????? who knows!

but for now it is what it is hehe

i doubt anyone read all that, but if you did, thank you for your time....here i reward you with a secret:

below is an early sketch of this illustration, and underneath that, the composition originally came from A FAILED DRAWING OF MARCO!!!

the brainrot goes deep :')

[darklove4u]

There is a new farmer in town

Warnings: none

Your grandfather has passed away and thus, the you inherited his farm.

You had left the soul-eating office job at the Joja cooperation behind and took the farm as a new beginning.

You then moved to a town named Pelican.

But first things first, the farm needed a name.

You decided to name it Gothic Farm as you live next to Gotham now.

Might as well blend in with the bleak and monotone mix of colours that Gotham was.

The current mayor of Pelican town, Lewis, welcomed you and you talked a bit about your late grandfather. Apparently, your grandfather had been acting strange in his last months on earth but perhaps that was just the decline of an old mind.

Anyways, you were now the new farmer in town.

You wrote down in your notebook:

Introduce yourself to the neighbours

However, the first thing you did is to get rid of the weeds that overcrowded your ground.

It's noon when you cleared out a big enough area to start creating your first farm area. And that you did.

Afterwards, you decided it is time to buy some seeds and to introduce yourself to anyone that you can find.

The first one you met is the local store owner Pierre, where you also buy some seeds.

Pierre: You must be the new farmer. If you're looking for seeds, my shop is the place to go. Thankfully, we are not as crime ridden as the city next to us, so you don't have to worry about anyone vandalising your fields.

You gave him a short nod and are soon on your way.

You aren't from Gotham but you have heard some things about the city. Mostly bad things.

You were on your way back to the farm as you stumbled across Harvey.

Harvey: Oh, I am sorry for blocking your path. I'm Harvey, the local doctor. It's a pleasure to meet you. Be careful outside at night. We aren't crime ridden but your farm is really close to Gotham.

You thanked the doctor for his advice and are soon back on your farm.

You planted the first seeds, cleaned up the farm some more and then headed to bed.

You were about to fall asleep when you heared sounds from your farm. You still and listen.

At first it sounded like a wild animal but soon you could make out muffled cursing.

That was definitely a human outside on your farm.

You got up and silently moved to your window. You looked outside to try and see who it is.

??: Can anyone hear me? I am stranded... GPS is broken. I don't know where I am... Anyone?

You heard a male voice outside but he's hidden in the shadows of your farm. But the man sounded distressed and in need for help.

You put on your shoes and decided to open your door.

Farmer: Hello? Is anyone there?

You looked outside through the gap of your opened door. You regret that you didn't craft some torches to spend light.

Farmer: Hello?

You tried again and eventually you could make out movement close to your field. A man in a ... suit was standing there, pressing a hand to his left side.

??: Someone lives here? I... I'm fine. Go back inside.

He demanded but his voice sounds weak and was filled with exhaustion. His voice also sounded slightly distorted.

Farmer: You don't sound alright... What are you doing here? You're not... a criminal, right?

The man huffed amused but it sounded more like a pained wheeze.

??: I'm not a criminal. I'm Red Robin, a hero... I shouldn't be here.

He, Red Robin, explained and walked a few steps towards you. However, is legs gave in and he let out a short yell in pain as he fell to the ground.

You ran over and caught his upper half just before he fell unconscious.

[allwave-isat-vn]

Changeism 101: Denominations

(also on ao3)

Like any group, Changeists are not a monolith. One of the major divides within the Changeist community lies between two factions: the Orthodox and the Farusian.

What does Orthodox mean?

One might think the name implies an old-fashioned form of the faith. In reality, Orthodoxy has evolved from Changeism's inception just as much as Farusianism has.

Simply, Orthodox Changeists believe in a concept called Inheritance.

Is that the only distinction between Orthodox and Farusian? The belief in Inheritance?

Inheritance is the main difference between the two sects. However, belief (or lack thereof) in Inheritance is foundational; it influences the practices and thought processes of both denominations.

What the crab is Inheritance?

When a once-living thing decomposes, its body breaks down into uncountable, digestible pieces. The soul breaks down the same way the body does – into what is known as Essence. Just like the body nourishes others, Essence imprints on its surroundings, fuels Change in living souls, and in some schools of thought, shifts the spiritual energies of the world.

Inheritance is the idea that we – the living – have "inherited" the Essence of everything that has died before us, from the contemporaries of our prehistoric ancestors to the plants and animals we consumed for our most recent meal.

So I am both myself and an amalgamation of every dead thing?

In a way, yes. Everyone is an individual, and respecting individuality is one of the core tenets of the Change faith! Not only do you possess your own soul, but the combination of Essence within you is unique as well. The Essence you've Inherited may inform your health, attitude, and decision-making.

What else is there to know about Orthodoxy?

Inheritance could be fairly interpreted as a form of reincarnation. Those who have lost loved ones feel comforted knowing the deceased are still present in the form of Essence.

Orthodox Changeists are often interred in body gardens, where they may give their flesh and Essence to those that need it. Body gardens are lively, serene spaces meant to foster community and give back to the Earth – so beautiful, it's easy to forget they're built over corpses.

Inheritance is why the things people eat must be treated with respect! From beef to boysenberries, Orthodoxy demands the ethical creation and thoughtful consumption of food.

(Besides, if an animal is abused before slaughter, its Essence may bring you pain.)

Then, what does Farusian mean?

Farusian Changeism is adapted from the 19-volume Guide written by Fairuz "Farus" Comtois, a community organizer from the Reinvention Era.

Farus's texts married Changeism with the emerging theory of materialism. While they still celebrated Change, they either reworked or cast off every belief that did not have observable evidence to back it up. These works, propelled by the sociopolitical upheaval and scientific advancements of the time, gave rise to one of the two most popular Changeist denominations today.

If Farusians don't believe in Inheritance, then what do they believe?

Since Essence and Inheritance have yet to be scientifically proven, Farusian Changeists reject them outright. The very existence of the soul is up for debate.

If living beings do have souls, those souls cease to exist as soon as death occurs, leaving only the physical remains behind.

So no afterlife?

If by "afterlife" you mean an individual's consciousness continuing to exist beyond death, no.

Without Essence, how do Farusian Changeists view the dead?

Farusians, like other Changeists, see beauty and nobility in nourishing life with one's body after death; every living thing perpetuates the world and the Change within it long after it dies, with or without Essence.

Funerary rites and the treatment of the corpse are left to the discretion of the decedent and their loved ones. Some Farusians still request interment in body gardens, and some have other preferences, such as cremation, medical cadavers, or transformation of the body into a sculpture or instrument.

Anything else to know about Farusians?

The materialist view extends to other aspects of Farusian belief. Some question, or even deny, the existence of the Change God, seeing Them as nothing more than a mascot.

Because one life on Earth is all anyone gets, and because every living thing plays a role of equal importance, Farusian ethics call for compassion, fairness, and the minimization of harm.

One quirk found among those who believe in souls is a fixation on near-death experiences. According to these subgroups, a body that dies and then returns to life may have a new soul occupying it. Those who survive something fatal are lauded as being reborn, and Change is considered the best way to accommodate this new soul. However, intentionally causing a near-death experience delegitimizes the entire soul replacement process.

What do Orthodox and Farusian Changeists have in common?

Many, many things!

Houses of Change never discriminate, and so they support members of both sects. Housemaidens can be any denomination, or even nondenominational.

Diversity being a core value for Changeists, relations between the Orthodox and the Farusians remain largely friendly.

The two share many Guide preferences.

Both sects follow the Advancement Doctrine.

Religious holidays are almost entirely the same across the faith, with the exception of Farus's birthday being a minor holiday amongst Farusians. Some of the shared holidays are more important to one sect than the other, however.

The Change God is an important figure in both denominations, although Their exact role varies between subgroups.

Both denominations make use of the same religious symbols, including the Circle, eggs, masks, trees, mushrooms, water, and fire.

Their political leanings and lifestyles align broadly. Birth, puberty, love, aging, nature, self-determination, art, science, and community-building are important to all Changeists.

How does all this relate to our story?

Two of the Saviors of Vaugarde are devout Changeists: Mirabelle is Orthodox, while Isabeau is Farusian. Bonnie does not consider themself religious, but they've been brought up in a nondenominational Changeist environment.

In All Wave and No Goodbye, the cast contains a mix of Orthodox, Farusian, and nondenominational Changeists.