#bc I have ✨ideas✨

[beigetiger]

Doing that promised yapping about these two. The masked one is named Matteo and the other one is simply called the mannequin.

They exist in a very large circus that bends reality on the regular in order to entertain guests, even if it has adverse effects on the employees.

Lots of different kinds of people work in the circus. There’s the ringmaster, of course. There are chained angels who stop the employees from leaving when a show is on. There are both wild and tamed beasts of all sorts, as well as their tamers. There’s a massive spiderlike woman who crawls around on the ceiling backstage who’s job is to ensure that the performers are ready to perform when they’re cue arrives. Some higher ranked performers have their own shows or spotlights, others exist as part of a larger cast. There’s more, of course. Lots of variety.

As I said earlier, the circus kind of bends reality. There are the higher ranked performers as well as the showrunners, ringmaster, etc. who have a good grip of what is going on, while everyone else kind of just allows themselves to be thrown around by whatever’s happening. The employees are never sure if anything is real or if what they feel is real, but going along and simply performing as need be is what they do to keep themselves grounded as much as possible. It doesn’t help that they generally do not speak to each other at all, not because they’re banned from it, but because they feel no need to. They’re aware of the existence of performers outside their little troupe, but nobody has a full understanding of the extent of the circus and those who work there (except for the ringmaster, of course). Maybe I’ll make a ranking of employees someday to make it all clearer.

Matteo is part of a cast that is dressed in all black and wears animal masks. They’re often support for more unique actors, but sometimes do their own performances. Matteo himself is often objectified for the sake of the show since his body type follows the typical “pretty seductive woman” and that is fully taken advantage of by the showrunners. It’s degrading, but there is nothing that Matteo can do about it because there is nobody he can really complain to and he fears what would happen if he ever tried to stop the performance.

The mannequin belongs to a larger cast of mannequins, all dressed similarly or identically to him. They have even less free will than the masked actors, and by that I mean they aren’t supposed to have free will at all. Occasionally there are puppet masters who control the strings on them, but oftentimes they can just be given instructions that they’ll perform, and they can just be hung up in a closet somewhere after the show is over. The ability of a mannequin to express itself is, during showtime, limited to small gestures like head or wrist movement wgile the rest of it is obeying its orders. After show, they generally don’t move at all. Like the masked actors, they are usually support for a higher ranked show.

The main mannequin is often used as a sort of support partner for Matteo during performances, since it further objectifies him to the audience (the typical “man and woman” routine except for making the masculine one a literal object in order to make the audience focus on the “woman” more), which is how they know each other. Matteo has developed something of an obsession with the mannequin because he is the only thing that Matteo consistently interacts with in a way that doesn’t feel negative or spaced-out.

A side note about Matteo is that he can and does take his mask/outfit off. But he has no memory of what happens or what he is like when his mask is off. His only experiences, as far as he’s aware, are what happens to him while he’s dressed to perform while inside the circus. He doesn’t even know what the surrounding area looks like or how big the circus really is. The whole thing makes him latch on to the mannequin as a way to ground to reality. In fact, none of the performers remember what happens when they’re not in costume.

This whole thing was probably incoherent as hell, I’m sorry.

[soundleer]

trom-bonfire 🎺🔥🎺🔥🎺🔥

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reference:

[deiaiko]

#23 - Kiss

Masterlist

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[suchine-toki]

Top 10 Gintaka moments

(Arranged chronologically because it was too difficult to choose. Spoilers ahead.)

1. Takasugi's laugh

After many encounters challenging the dojo, Gintoki sees Takasugi laugh for the first time, which becomes a core memory of his, a symbol of how things used to be and what he wants to preserve (ch. 517).

2. The promise

Surrounded by enemies, Takasugi asks Gintoki why he decided to join the war, to which Gintoki replies that, like him, it was not for a noble cause. At this, Takasugi recognizes that the two are good-for-nothing warriors, but asks Gintoki to take care of their sensei in case he dies. Likewise, Gintoki asks Takasugi to stay alive (ch. 516).

3. Gintoki's tears

Right after their sensei's death, Takasugi furiously runs towards Gintoki until, for a split second, he sees him crying. This becomes the last thing he saw with his left eye, a core memory that reminds him of the pain and grief they experienced (ch. 520).

4. Reunion at the festival

After 10 years of not seeing each other, Takasugi sneaks up behind Gintoki and threatens him with his sword, commenting on how easy it was and that he has become weak. He also tells him about his plan to kill the Shogun, claiming that within him there is a black beast that seeks revenge. At the same time, he confronts Gintoki for looking away from the past, making him unable to understand his feelings. To this, Gintoki responds that it's a shame that he underestimated him, which can be read in both a physical and emotional sense. It's assumed that they separate without another word (chs. 30-31).

5. They were the same

During a conversation with Nobume, Oboro asks her if Gintoki and Takasugi look like their sensei, to which she answers no, that the true resemblance was between them, since both had eyes full of sadness. As she says that, Gintoki and Takasugi can be seen passing each other, but only the former turns around to check that the latter is gone. It's worth mentioning that Gintoki warned Takasugi to be careful if he saw him walking down the street in chapter 97, but in the end he decided to not do anything (ch. 398).

6. Confession and realization

After their fight, with both of them on the floor, tired and full of injuries, Takasugi opens up to Gintoki about his suffering. He confesses to him that his face was the last thing he saw before losing his left eye, how devastating it was to see him cry, and the enormous survivor's guilt he feels, because he understands how much Gintoki loved Shouyo. To this, Gintoki responds that he didn't choose him, but simply knew what was important to theirsensei, thus lifting the burden from Takasugi's shoulders. Not only that, but Gintoki also confesses that, despite everything, he continues to see him as a fellow disciple of the Shouka Sonjuku and a comrade, whose soul he will protect (ch. 520).

7. Sword exchange

After a long coma, Takasugi awakens in Rakuyo and throws his sword to save Bansai. Likewise, Gintoki launches his bokuto to save Shinpachi, leaving them both unarmed. This is when they decide to take each other's sword and protect what is important to the other, reinforcing the message that a sword is made to protect the soul, and on other occasions that it even embodies it. Afterwards, they pass through hordes of enemies in order to see each other again, defending the other from an imminent attack and retrieving their weapon while locking eyes and making snarky remarks (ch. 573).

8. Pep talk

While everyone on Earth seems defeated, Gintoki hears a familiar voice over the radio. Hundreds of kilometers, far up in space, Takasugi tells him that they have everything under control and encourages him to continue fighting. Likewise, Gintoki assures him that on his side they haven't lost yet, and playfully encourages him, asking if he has already been reduced to junk. Despite being injured, Takasugi tells him to be ready when he comes for him, to which Gintoki smiles (ch. 650).

9. Let's rescue sensei

The greatest tragedy in Takasugi's life is not only the death of his teacher, but also that Gintoki had to be the one to kill him. Aware that he has little left to live, he admits that now he can be a little more honest with what he really wants to do. After fighting Gintoki as a way to punish himself, he's now able to recognize that he wishes to fight alongside him, while also wanting to alleviate his suffering by sharing the burden of his actions that day. Upon hearing this, the serious expression on Gintoki's face turns to astonishment at being able to achieve mutual understanding and once again have a common goal that is deeply personal to both of them (ch. 682).

10. Born under the same star

While Gintoki's eyes reflect the despair he feels at having to strike Takasugi's body, he remembers their childhood together. Gintoki fought very hard to protect everyone, but Takasugi fought even harder to protect him, and although Gintoki was definitely not ready to lose him, Takasugi was content with the idea that he had prevented him from killing their sensei once more. Knowing that he has little time left, it's Gintoki's turn to be more sincere. He embraces Takasugi and reassures him, acknowledging that he did indeed manage to protect him and that he wished they could have drunk together more often. But Takasugi tells Gintoki he doesn't want to hear him like this and he asks him not to send him off with a sad face. Mustering willpower, Gintoki smiles and tells him to wait for him in hell, which becomes the last sight from Takasugi's right eye as he smiles back before dying. No longer able to restrain his emotions, Gintoki weeps as he watches the sunset (ch. 703).

Part (1) (2) (3) (4) (Bonus)

[kaidanalenkosprmanager]

Sophie Oliveira-Shepard Alenko-Oliveira and Kaidan Alenko-Oliveira - ME3 (4/?) "So... that's why you actually invited me down here? Not biotic training? The pep talk of the century about how I can finally start fixing all of the shit I broke? The fight with Zaeed about leaving Earth? Dom getting injured because of me? The crappy way I'm still feeling?" "Maybe. It depends on whether or not it worked. But the last time I checked? 'Our shitty problems', right? That includes the way you're feeling. The way I'm still feeling. We solve it together, huh?" Mass Effect 3: Legendary Edition (2021) + Bonus

[whoopseydaisy]

An addition to the cocktail chapter of the @worldsbeyondpod Unofficial Cookbook:

Honey With A Note Of Song

an absinthe wash (the green fairy, for your roots)

2 oz. rye (your liquor of choice, strong and spicy)

1/4 oz. pine and rosemary honey syrup (you cannot go home again)

1 barspoon of saline solution (for your first divine smite, where you found your breath once more)

1-2 dashes of peychauds bitters (because this is a play on a sazerac)

a grapefruit twist (a touch of the bitterness age has brought you)

serve in a glass reminiscent of a chalice

[scarlet-herring]

thinking of a reverse robins au where instead of briefly going to keystone, jack drake packs up and moves to suffolk and then enrolls tim in st. hadrian’s finishing school for girls to try to get a new start and do what’s best for his ‘daughter’. shenanigans go down; tim loses contact with the bats for a bit, and he’s unwillingly inducted into spyral as agent 35.

every so often i remember that one analysis/theory that the drakes were originally going to be spies before the story changed. chameleon!’cannot-be-photographed’!tim. hear me out.

(my thing is: revrob-ing needs new storylines: tim & jason would not have the same origin stories. so the question becomes ‘how do i kill tim/get him out of the equation so people think he’s dead while still respecting his character?’)

[littlespoonevan]

I just wanna say if they are going there with bi buck (which, like, I don’t have a horse in this race I’m happy to see it play out however it does idc) it is absolutely hilarious to me if the circumstances that led to that were: they tried to bring lucy back, they Could Not bring lucy back, they brought back tommy instead, and then just went ‘well I guess we’re doing this now’ ashdhdkskjd

[svtskneecaps]

my personal pipe dream is that one monday the egg statistics drop and flippa (and maybe tilin) are just there. at the end. with one heart, and one gray checkmark.

what i imagine is the server flips their shit. alive!!! alive!!! but they log in and they don't see the eggs. instead they get a message. i do not care who it's from or how it's delivered. they're told the eggs are being held captive somewhere, but they're alive. all that's left is to find them, before sunday at midnight pst. bc if their tasks aren't done, they die (one checkmark, one quest set. once rescued they become triple check like the other eggs)

slimeriana come CRASHING back into the server, they don't know jack shit, ESPECIALLY mariana who doesn't recognize 90% of the island anymore but holy fuck, flippa is alive somewhere and they have to find her. and maybe mariana's still in the old server days mindset of raising his kid alone but slime's slowly been indoctrinated into "it takes a village" and honestly the absolute second mariana logs on, someone's gonna be in chat already like HEY MARIANA CAN I TALK TO YOU? be it baghera or cellbit or forever or bad or I DON'T KNOW, COULD GENUINELY BE ANYONE LMAO but like mystery and eggs in danger is chumming the water for this server

which is great bc A) mariana has a concrete goal for logging into the server (finding his daughter) and B) he would be interacting with the rest of the server along the way, because he's not going to be doing this alone (he wouldn't even be allowed lmfao the rest of the server would be at his doorstep asking to help him in like 15 seconds flat) which means C) he might get reasons to log in extending outside flippa and slime. bingooooo

i call this a pipe dream bc i can poke so many holes in this even rn (does cc!mariana want flippa back, like fr? i'm not up to date) but can you IMAGINE. LIKE DAMN. i'm putting this idea into the public domain fr go nuts with it.

[hawkwidows]

it's all well and good that people are calling out the disgusting behaviour happening but sadly she and far too many others have been allowed to foster an environment like that and think they can go unchecked bc months ago everybody worried too much about being morally correct solely in the eyes of online mutuals and let casual, graphic homophobia run rampant bc it was directed at someone who'd become nothing but an easy scapegoat. these assholes were never correct, just loud, and opportunistic, and the fandom willing to go along with it to cover themselves encouraged that. you let people who hate you, around you, just for a laugh at a tiny thing you share in common. and I keep my distance bc the trust is lost after witnessing some particular shit

I'm happy that it's not being accepted so easily now, that it's understood you don't have to "fear looking like you're stanning someone" just to call out bigotry and harmful rhetoric, glad everyone is being braver and hope they continue to - even me with my anxiety is trying, like this. but damage is done. best that can be done is not give things attention as much as they were getting. report and block as you go.

[twistedappletree]

Actually obsessed with the idea of Jin Ling trying to teach Lan Sizhui archery and getting smug as hell because he finally found something Lan Sizhui isn’t an instant prodigy at but at the same time, he sees how determined Lan Sizhui is to learn it and can’t help but love teaching him and wanting to see him succeed so they can hunt together

[kaidanalenkosprmanager]

Sophie Oliveira-Shepard Alenko-Oliveira and Kaidan Alenko-Oliveira - ME3 (2/?) "I want to be your strength. Your soft place to land." Mass Effect 3: Legendary Edition (2021) + Bonus

[unwelcome-tagalong]

i am about to be so, so annoying about the fact* that Bellara has OCD

*(is it canon?? no. but is it a fact?? also no except that it is) /hj

[capricioussun]

10 for Edge?

What age do they most want to be right now?

Ooh what an interesting question! I thought about it for a minute, mulled it bit, and I think honestly he’s generally fine with his age, either above ground or underground, or perhaps would rather be a little older. So like, if he’s in his early 20s underground, he’s rather be in his late 20s or early 30s, and a similar difference on the surface once he'd be more mid-late 20s (like, late 30s).

I generally like to hc monsters age much more slowly than humans, but more so than physical age he’d mostly want the experience that comes with it. He always feels a little...inexperienced, for where he'd like to be. It's mostly because of that messed up sense of self stuff, so he generally kind of feels like he’s more so successfully pretending to be what he is than actually being it. But of course, as is usually the nature of aging, he'd hope that the feeling would lessen as he settled in more.

Whether or not that would actually help is anyone's guess (it wouldn't), but at least Undyne and Sans wouldn't treat him like a kid if they were closer in age (they still would).

[dandyshucks]

Had the idea of Guzma shouting “GO, MY SCARAB” to one of his Pokemon and thought I should tell you because you’re the Guzma person <3 - @kaijus-love-zone

this is so funny fhdjdkl i absolutely love it omfg, i had to wait to answer this til i doodled smth for it so I finally did that today in the dark of the room while a horror movie played at the activity centre i go to LOL so pls forgive any wonkiness of it ^^;;

i chose cutiefly bc I love the idea of him having a massive soft spot for those lil goobers hehe :3

[toxooz]

ever since that one ask i keep thinking abt Jakkans timeline with the whole 'Ollie's demonic genetics cause him to age super slowly and outlive everyone else' so hes like 1000 years old but only looks like he's in his mid 40s but hes also like a half cyborg at this point