#my brain is made of rocks

[kingprinceleo]

hgmm ok, Big Maybe yall send me your AU designs (Ask Box Only) and i might doodle them for warmups for the next while (Not 100% Guaranteed) No OCs, just AU designs of the sonic cast

[absent-o-minded]

SFTH - Narrative Tropes

Keeping in line with my previous post about character tropes, I thought that it might be fun to point out some of the improvised narrative tropes that characterise a number of the longforms:

*** Spoiler Warning as I mention plot details

The Big Bad is defeated…but they’re taking the hero down with them:

Magnus O’Puss and Arthur Big Dick: BUS

Juliet and Caesar: Caesar and Juliet

Mama Twiliger and Henry Twiliger: Green Leaves on a Summers Day

Camp German Brothers and Jack Skelter: Burglary and Bobsledding

Sherlock and Moriarty: The Final Baker of Baker Street

The shocking ‘twist’:

Maria’s faked death x Danny parentage: Death For A Dollar

Gavin’s first son is alive and was wearing Johnny Jones as a meatsuit: Too Big To Be A Jockey

Mrs Hudsen reveals herself to be James Moriarty Hudsen(?): The Final Baker of Baker Street

Maria agreeing to the Blue Fairy: The Grape Depression

Tragedy that careens (sometimes forcefully) into a Happy Ending:

The near death of Thomas Jr prevented by Thomas Sr: The Enigma of the High Visionary

Sparkles and Clive’s passionate reunion stalls a nuclear explosion: The Case of Sergeant Sprinkles

Jeremiah gets reincarnated: The Mysterious Cube

Play ends with the prospect of L’s family finally being told about his death: The Creak In The Attic

The adults are oblivious, so the plots development is delegated to the children:

Peter Steven telling his Mum about the school chokey: The Milkman

Johnny and Janae figuring out a plan together: The Neighbours Under The Bed

Alexa escaping the failed assassination attempt with all the other bitches: Ballet of the Battlefield

Michael goes on the search for his vanished father: The Pilots Final Flight

The resolution of conflict finally prompts the yearning couple to get together:

Annabelle x Butch: Never Give Annabelle A Gun

Derek x Titch: The Unrelenting Aubergine

John Jacob x Angelina: The Off-Season

[kimasousparky]

no thoughts head empty mr. m au

bros being both brainwashed but!!! theyre still very loyal to each other even if they dont remember each other and think theyre just allies ejhfjfk. i like to think the actual reason mr. l hates mario in spm is bc it was needed to twist his love for his brother around and any amount of respect otherwise would make him hesitant to attack him. here, well... mr. l is still loyal to the count first, but mr. m himself is loyal only to mr. l

basically, mr. l takes the lead. mr. m doesnt care at all about being the leader of their duo, he doesnt have the drive nor thinks he's suited for it so he leaves it at for mr. l since he seems to like the role and he's way smarter than mr. m is. i mean, if it depended on him alone, he'd just throw hands at peach and bowser until he won. but if mr. l thinks they need a plan, sure, he'll go with it. he doesn't get why they need a robot or the need for a monologue, but sure sure, if mr. l deems it important then it's fine (as long as he doesnt have to speak, then monologues are fine)

and alas:

he's so so so so interested in peach. from the first time he saw her, he was like "oh im interested" immediately. a beautiful tall princess with silky blonde hair and soft features courageously traveling to save the world? oh sign him up! and then after she manages to defeat him in battle, he's like "oh im VERY interested" cuz besides all these qualities, she can even beat him up??? shit, he's in love!! yeah let's go!!!

peach obviously doesnt reciprocate. seriously, who's this guy?? (nevermind he resembles mario so much it hurts, but UGHHH she must be strong it's not him dont be swooned by his charming smile aaaa)

and please consider the scenario of peach rejecting mr. m with "i'm already interested in someone else" and mr. m angrily assumes he has a rival somewhere that he gotta defeat (that just happens to be himself idhjfkglf)

(maybe i'll make a post on a roleswap aka super paper luigi later, woo yeah)

[flowerakatsuka]

finally finished kuroba's updated fujio rock design!! i ended up thinking about them a lot more than i expected and ended up fleshing out their au a lot more so they really needed a new look. and here's a short playlist for how i imagine their band's music / their vocals would sound!

more info under the cut!

rotten flower is a lolita vkei band aesthetics-wise, but they pull from a variety of genres for their music. a lot of their songs have instrumentation inspired by european folk and classical music ( a la kaoling or yucat. )

their band has multiple themes they play on — card suits, royalty, flowers, and urban decay being overtaken by nature.

kuroba's band persona plays into a cool prince archetype with a playful side, this really comes out on stage.

they've gained more popularity as of late and have gotten the chance to play at larger venues, but kuroba still prefers playing at smaller, underground venues. they think it makes for a more intimate, energized experience.

rather than being a plant nerd in this verse, kuroba is obsessed with instruments. it's not uncommon for them to dive down a rabbit hole of researching different ones and come out the other side with a wealth of knowledge + a new baby in their collection. they're very fond of stringed instruments.

kuroba themself loves a wide swath of music genres and is interested in making music in them, but many of them don't exactly fit their band's aesthetic well. they'd love to produce a bossa nova or city pop album at some point.

they were also an utatie back in college under the pseudonym, " tsumekusa. " their channel wasn't super popular, but they had a few dedicated fans that loved hearing their covers. they mostly covered songs from the 80's.

kuroba used to be tone death in this au like they are in canon, but thanks to their fellow club member's help and encouragement, they were able to train their voice to the level it's at now. their natural singing register is on the lower side, but they're able to sing in higher ranges as well, ( i imagine it to be like to the range showcased in the jun togawa song on the linked playlist. )

their beef and rivalry with kara seemingly came out of nowhere after they meeting for the first time in the au. kuroba tends to be kinda curt and playfully snarky towards him while kara is happy that at least someone recognizes his greatness enough to see him as a rival. also, he's just very clearly infatuated with them and wants this to be a rivals to lovers situation so fucking bad. ( he'll probably get that wish granted, we'll see. )

[fromaliminalspace]

Icarus the Rock-Opera

Never regret thy fall, Oh Icarus of the fearless flight, For the greatest tragedy of them all, Is never to feel the burning light. Attributed to Oscar Wilde.

[thefrogdalorian]

A little love letter to Din Djarin writers... 🤍

I love that some of you write him as soft and gentle while others focus on the darker, harsher parts of his personality. I love that he can be both a quiet, kind man caring for his child or an intimidating, terrifying bounty hunter who is a lean, mean killing machine... depending on what the fic warrants.

I love how you write him with other characters from The Mandalorian or even with those who would never cross paths with him in canon, from Star Wars or elsewhere. I love how you write him interacting with yourselves and us, and some of you even create your own original characters to exist a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away alongside him.

I love that some of you ship him with that one other special person, while others recognise how desirable he is and ship alllllll the ships. Not forgetting those of you which are here for none of those ships and/or even headcanon him as ace. I love that any of those options allow you to explore your own identities and sexualities through him.

I love that you can write the most tooth-rotting fluff or filthiest smut, and all of those things in between. Whether it's for general audiences or explicit and strictly 18+ ... all of your fics have an audience and someone out there who appreciates your writing.

I love how differently you can interpret him, but there are also so many common themes and tropes running through your writing. I love that there is room for all of your Dins here.

I love that he means so much to you and that all of us here hold him in our hearts a little bit. I love that we can all watch the same episodes and come to entirely different conclusions about him. I love how much we love him.

Getting to be a part of this wonderful community and interact with so many people who love the space tin can man as much as I do has truly been one of the best things that happened to me recently. I'm so glad I made this little blog... It reminded me just how good fandom can be. I am blown away by the number of talented people here!

So, I just wanted to take a moment to express some gratitude towards all of you! Thank you for writing your Dins and please don't ever stop. Finally.... last, but not least:

I love Din Djarin!!!

[nevermore-selfship]

so things have

developed

behind the scenes

[dailykugisaki]

Day 335 | id in alt

Being desperate to end the fight might make you even worse off in the long run, Shoko.

[awomanunkind]

this picture is destroying me

[perilegs]

i know astrology is fake but i'm not too keen on how a lot of people on this website seem to be clowning on it as a hobby a bit too hard. i swear the woman who thinks it's neat how she and her friends with the same sun sign are all similar isn't trying to say that you are who you are born as and there is nothing you can do to change it. it's a hobby. an interest. what happened to finding meaning and joy in the small things. does it affect you if someone enjoys tarot reading or crystals. does it make you upset someone has interests that they enjoy.

[androidsnsteroids]

long time no see!! i thought i would share a playlist i made for adaine a few months back when i was going wild over tbk 😚 enjoy!!!

[aester]

i've connected the dots

[solidaritygaming-fanblog]

jschlatt Fanblog here, watched Mr. Solidarity gaming latest vod.

"I now learnt about Tumblr" WE ARE COOKED AND FRIED EVERYONE RUN EVERYONE RUN

GEM WHY HAVE YOU DONE THISSS!!!!

I'm honestly a bit scared. Gem what are you doing.

I mean if she gives them the proper education it will be fine. She understands how this place works. Some people are strange in their geninue love for the content, and some people (rarely) will choose to be mean, and you have to watch out for that. She gets it. But she also gets that a lot of the people here are always so excited and caring and just want to share those feelings with people who feel the same way. And it's good that she's sharing her knowledge of this space with the other CC's who want to see a community like that. I adore you forever gem <3 thank you for sticking up for us little underrock dwellers, but also it's completely rational for us to be scared shitless.

[hartbreak-motel]

Cody Rhodes, The Final Boss, and the Buffyverse Soul Canon

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't anxious coming into Wrestlemania season. We're a week away from Elimination Chamber, and with the exception of Jey Uso vs Gunther, and Tiffany Stratton vs Charlotte - feuds that feel lukewarm at this point (there's still time for things to heat up, but we're off to a rocky start), there don't appear to be any meaningful setups for feuds or programs for the majority of the company's major players. The Royal Rumble was three weeks ago, and aside from the aforementioned exceptions, there has been little to no story progression. The clock is ticking.

John Cena, who kicked off his retirement tour earlier this year, hasn't been seen since the Rumble press conference. The same goes for Roman Reigns. CM Punk, after recently coming off the one of wrestling's hottest feuds with Drew Mcintyre and a woefully short feud with Seth Rollins, is currently without a dance partner. Despite coming off of a white hot 2024, Drew Mcintyre seems directionless, with rumours of proposed feuds between Damian Priest and L.A. Knight floating around. Seth Rollins, despite the gradual tease of a heel turn during his feud with Punk, seems to be operating in a liminal space. The women's division, with the exception of the ongoing "Who took out Jade Cargill?" saga, is completely devoid of storylines. Arguably, the most intriguing storyline over the past few weeks has been the developing blood feud between longtime friends and rivals, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn with Owen's inevitable betrayal of Zayn, taking him out of the ongoing feud he'd been having with Cody Rhodes. While the pivot to Owens vs Zayn will always make for compelling television, it leaves a blank canvas for the undisputed WWE champion.

Last night's segment between Cody Rhodes and The Rock felt like the first step towards building something. What that something is,is to be determined.

The prior year, these two characters stood in stark opposition. The Rock, the omnipotent Final Boss, who used his fame, influence, and position on the TKO Board of Directors to cement his family's legacy and prominence in the company, at the expense of the company's top stars and up and coming talent. Cody Rhodes was the valiant hero, who endured two consecutive Royal Rumble victories to earn his opportunity to dethrone Roman Reigns' four-year reign of terror, and to win the title that had eluded his family for generations. Their roles were well-defined.

Then their dynamic took a strange turn, post-Wrestlemania. The Rock's schedule reducing his presence to a couple of sporadic appearances throughout the year. A tense and akward exchange the night after Wrestlemania. The Rock making known his disapproval of the alliance between Cody and his cousin Roman at Bad Blood.

Then Raw had it's debut on Netflix. Gone was the tension between The Rock and Cody. There were jokes, smiles, tequila shots shared. The two of them acting as though The Rock's brutal assault on Rhodes nine months prior, had never happened. It was....strange to say the least and left many fans scratching their heads.

Last night we got some answers.

If I'm being honest, The Rock's explanation of his and Cody's offscreen budding friendship, felt contrived. Like the writer's justification for abandoning the story between these two characters. Then he invites Cody out to the ring and the tone begins to shift.

The Rock lays it on thick. He appeals to Cody. He tells him he's a great champion. He talks about how their moms now hang out. He talks about how they spent hours drinking and connecting with one another. He paints a nice picture of their similarities. How they're both girldads. Two sons of wrestling legends from prominent wrestling families, destined for greatness. He tells Cody that he sees him as a  brother.

Then the saccharine facade begins to slip and The Final Boss rears his ugly head. As he's laying on the praise and adulation, he needs to remind Cody of the distance between the two of them. He needs to remind Cody that he is the most powerful entity in WWE and that he controls everything. How Cody's millions of followers pale in comparison to his half a billion followers.

It's in that moment that The Final Boss makes Cody an offer. He can make Cody's wildest dreams come true. He can elevate Cody's success to new heights. He can secure his legacy, guaranteeing food on his family's table for generations to come. He'll give Cody everything in exchange for one thing.

"I want your soul."

That line made my ears perk up. We know that accepting The Rock's proposition would require Cody to turn heel and become his corporate champion.

But what exactly would it mean for Cody to give up his soul?

Right now, I'm currently in the midst of my annual rewatch of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I couldn't help but return to one of the show's core themes: the concept of the Soul as a symbol of morality and personal growth. When a human in the Buffyverse gets turned into a vampire, they lose their soul, and subsequently the ability to make ethical choices. This isn't to say that vampires don't maintain vestiges of their humanity. They can experience anger, jealousy, affection, and even love. But without the ability to make ethical choices and empathize with others, vampires are stripped of their agency.  Slaves to their own selfish desires and bloodlust. As the show itself serves as an allegory for growing up, what better an antagonist than something that is both physically and emotionally incapable of growth?

This isn't to say that characters in Buffy who have souls are always willing to the right thing. Having a soul only means having the ability to make ethical choices - it doesn't guarantee that these characters will do so. There are several instances in the series when a supporting character gives in to their darker impulses. But it is often in these moments that these characters give up their agency.

Passion of the Nerd, a prominent YouTuber in the Buffy fandom manages to explain bad faith morality by paraphrasing Jean-Paul Sarte:

"When you believe that one choice takes undeniable precedent over another, you make yourself an object in the world, at the mercy of it's circumstances."

In the Episode, "Lie to Me," Buffy's tries to stop her old friend, Ford from allowing himself to be turned into a vampire to escape the harrowing fate of terminal brain cancer. While Buffy can sympathize with Ford's situation, she rejects his plight, knowing that Ford turning to vampirism would mean turning himself into souless monster.  Ford's response is to tell Buffy that he doesn't have a choice to which Buffy replies:

In contrast, Buffy continues to make choices, even if those choices are difficult. She chooses to accept the responsibility of being The Slayer, at the expense of a normal life. She chooses to give up her happy ending with her love interest, Angel so that she can focus on fighting evil. She chooses to sacrifice herself to save the world on multiple occasions. This isn't to say that she doesn't struggle with the weight of these choices. There are times in the series when Buffy comes close to shutting down and rejecting her responsibilities as The Slayer.

But the ability to choose to do the right thing, while difficult, is what makes Buffy a hero.

A face.

When taking the Buffyverse's approach to the Soul and morality and applying it to characters in WWE, you'll notice a common thread among the biggest heels in the company. The surrender of one's agency, and an abdication of responsibility.

Whether it be refusing to take accountability their actions.

Believing that the only way to show love is through manipulation and control.

Or surrendering themselves to a higher power.

To be a heel in WWE is to walk the path of least resistance. To be a slave to one's own selfish desires and bloodlust.

Going back to Cody. One year into his first world title reign as the top face in the company, he's beginning to feel the weight of the responsibility. He's lost friends, has been put through the wringer physically and emotionally. He's beginning to let his anger consume him in matches.

He's the valiant hero, a fighting champion...and he's exhausted.

Now he's been given a choice. To choose to the path of integrity and continue to carry the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. Or to accept The Rock's offer. To give up his agency. To abandon his responsibilities.

To lose his soul.

[surfedoutbrainwaves]

baby u were my picket fence!!

[wodniars-void]

Twitchy I saw these tags and want to enable you. Please say more? (If you have the spoons.)

Thank you for enabling me Cori!! I have brought you a very large ramble :3 This was so fun to expand on!!

I was mostly inspired by the ideas of Social Darwinism in the early 20th century. Extremely basically, the elite thought they were rich because they inherently deserved to be, and the lower classes and poor had something inherently wrong with them that made them poor. They were strong and thus became stronger, the weak only got weaker. To be extremely honest, total horseshit. But interesting to draw from for fictional societies!

In Scala ad Caelum, Keyblade Wielders are the dominant class. In fact the inferiority of Non-Wielders literally defines them in the sense they are Not Wielders. They are the non-default, the Other, the Lesser, the amalgamate masses. To be a keyblade wielder is the default, valued state, and to not be one makes you worth less. It's evident in the language we use to discuss these societies, even out of game- we define them by what they are not. If you're not a wielder, you're lumped together into one massive undefined group.

In contrast, within the Keyblade wielders are different rankings of superiority. In Dark Road this is possibly signified by the different colors of emblems that each student wears*. KHML appears to have its own emblem code, but it's difficult to tell as we have so little footage. Purely based off Dark Road and hoping it applies retroactively, there appears to be three classes within wielders. Bluebloods like Eraqus with gold emblems, Vala with the only silver emblem, and those with white emblems. Xehanort has one that is dark grey, but given his unique situation, we can assume a dark grey emblem is an outlier when signifying class. For our purposes we'll be excluding him and focusing on the other three groups.

Bluebloods are the highest class within the wielders, and have long bloodlines of keyblade wielders. Think "blood purity" or castes. It's commonplace for families of wielders to marry each other in pursuit of maintaining keyblade wielding abilities in families of "good standing", societal power, etc. They're like the nobility of the city, and as a result hold the most political control. The most politically powerful group of Bluebloods are Ephemer's descendants, since he founded the city. In a room full of Bluebloods, everyone listens to them.

Then there are wielders from mixed families, people with only one wielder parent or a "diluted" bloodline. Obviously they can be and are just as competent wielders as Bluebloods but they're by default an inferior social class. This is the majority of keyblade wielders**- by Scala times keyblades aren't exactly rare, and a lot of people don't have the hangups that the Bluebloods do about social standing. Really, as long as you can claim the heritage of at least one Wielder and are a Wielder yourself, regardless of other economic or social status, you're in this group.

Lastly and lowest are wielders of no social standing. They're often people who's keyblades just appeared to them one day, with no notable lineage of previous wielders. Sometimes the keyblade just chooses someone new! They're socially higher than non-wielders, but with no bloodline to stand on, they have to work to be recognized as highly as their peers.

Now to get the discriminatory part.

The upper class of Bluebloods generally holds the belief that Keyblade Wielders are such because they deserve to be in some way. Their hearts have a lot of very strong light, they come from families of very high standing, they hate darkness more than anyone else, etc. They're superior because they inherently deserve to be. The light deigns them superior by their very nature as Wielders. This bleeds into the inverse- Non-wielders aren't wielders because they have some inherent flaw. There's something inherently lesser about non-wielders that makes them undeserving of keyblades. They're weak or susceptible to darkness. The keyblade scorns them, which is makes them Lesser. Being Lesser makes the keyblade avoid them. It's a cycle, at least in the eyes of high society. (Needless to say, all of this rather untrue. A keyblade is either passed down via bequeathing or chooses a wielder. Literally anybody could get one.)

Only the most intense corners of the Bluebloods get particularly persnickety about this, at least publicly, but the effects of this attitude resonate through Scalan society. The societies are sort of a product of this strict class system. Keyblade wielders tend to mingle with others of like standing. For example, the Baroque society appears to be a particularly lower class society, largely comprised of wielders from mixed familes or no previous lineage. This is a bit of headcanon, but I would assume that Nept is the "highest class" among them, given he was able to become an Operations Master and is a member of the "Society Legal Investigations Committee". (yes, I watched the beta cutscenes to quote that directly, lol) Regardless, Nept being both in a position of leadership and in some sort of organized committee indicates he's probably of higher status than the rest of the Baroque society. Freya is possibly next highest, and Remus the lowest- he's kind of the one who gets bossed around and all. In my heart Freya is an Ephemer descendant though <3

Similarly, Player is almost definitely on the lowest rung of the social ladder. They'd fall into the category of wielders who's blades just Appeared to them, disregarding the whole reincarnation/fell from the sky thing. As far as anyone's concerned right now, they're some random kid who got their hands on a rusty old keyblade, and that's it.

This brings me to Brain. Brain is a notable exception to the extremely strict class dynamics, because he isn't engrained in them the way Scalans are. He's almost elevated above the class system because of his status as a Union Leader. He is at the true top, the most idealized place in society. Even the Bluebloods and Ephemer's descendants have to respect that. Not that most of them are very happy about that, but hey, societal conventions bind us all. Really the only person who rivals him in terms of political and societal importance is whoever leads the city- like say, Frigga in Fallen Stars.

I originally went down this train of thought as some Brain's Twitter Takeover worldbuilding, and I really quite like it, so I'm holding myself back a little to try and sift out what's general KHML ideas and what's potentially BTT :3 I cut a couple paragraphs of accidental spoiler overflow lol. I'm really excited to see what KHML does with these ideas of bloodlines!!! I'm sure it'll be a great story!!

*Side tanget: I tried to figure out if the emblem colors would correlate with my groupings, and that is a whole ride. It essentially comes down to which class the white and silver emblems represent. The gold emblems almost defiently indicate Blueblood or other high class status, as Eraqus wears one, but the other two are much more up in the air. For convenience I've included the list I compiled glancing at all the Dark Road sprites. It's my personal thoughts that the order is Gold -> White -> Silver -> Dark Grey, but hey, you do you. Gold: Eraqus, Baldr, Hoder, Urd, Vor, Heimdall, Helgi, Vali, Odin White: Hermod, Bragi, Sigrun, Vidar Silver: Vala Dark Grey: Xehanort

**second tanget: I know I said the middle class of wielders is the largest and then showed DR was mostly upper class so I had to make some clarifying comments. I believe that the Dark Road class is top-heavy because 1) Xehanort and Eraqus' class wasn't the only one at the academy (To quote the khwiki's DR summary, "Odin summons the No Name Keyblade from its display overhead, and leaves the room to evacuate other students.") 2) the process of different groups of people having more kids at different times 3) the many socio-economic aspects of going to Keyblade School and 4) not everyone WANTS to be a wielder and thus might not go to school for it if they don't have to. For all intents and purposes assume that the events of Dark Road happen at like, a fancy private school. The sample sizes there are Different.

This is all speculation and I may even have a bit of a conspiracy board going here but I had fun and that's what matters! KHDR they could never make me hate you <3