#they are extremely fun. but impractical. no one sits in that thing

[elumish]

An Objective Rating of Fiber Arts

Bobbin lace: Fun! Easy to fix when you mess up! I feel fancy! Extremely time consuming and I haven't found a really convenient place/way to work on it in my apartment. My Batman lace sits yet unfinished. 8/10

Spinning yarn on a drop spindle: Good thing to do with your hands! Extremely impractical! Machines exist to make yarn better and more effectively. My hands hurt. Currently fun. 7/10

Knitting: Pretty easy! I have knit so many scarves! I learned how to knit in college, knitted a gazillion things (mostly scarves), finished undergrad, stopped. 6.5/10

Embroidery: Not bad! I tried for a bit and then stopped. I don't really have the patience for it. 6/10

Weaving: I haven't woven anything since I used one of those baby looms as a kid, but I think I'd be okay at it. I looked at looms at 2AM before deciding on buying a drop spindle instead. 5/10

Sewing: At a conservative estimate, three members of my family have built sewing machines. Multiple members of my family have patents on sewing machines/their parts. I am extremely bad at sewing. I bring shame to my family. 3/10

Crochet: If you gave me a million dollars and a month I might be able to crochet you a successful square. .5/10

Quilting: Witchcraft. ???/10

[beautouslysandy]

idk if you still do matchups but here is mine, it’s for outer banks, and it’s anonymous bc I am a 🐱. :

I’m on the shorter side for girls, like 5’3ish, but everyone else in my family is TALL ASF so im a fast walker. I have light brown straight hair and curtain bangs (that take far too long to style), hazel eyes, fair skin, and my cheeks are always flushed so it always looks like im blushing when im not (most times).

My friends tell me im very funny and outgoing but deep down I am very sensitive and emotional- I’ve just found ways to hide it. I’m an extremely loyal friend, and I’ll defend a friend even if I don’t agree with what my friend said or did. I’m very shy and quiet when I meet people at first, but once I’m comfortable it’s hard to get me to shut up.

Im always listening to music, and i swear one of my super powers is knowing the lyrics to every song. I stay up late making playlists and reading books. I randomly get outbursts of energy where I can run 5 miles no problem and feel like running in circles around a room, but I’m also constantly tired and always sleeping.

I laugh really hard at stupid things, like videos with animals or the impractical jokers show.

I don’t think I’m clumsy, but apparently I am because I always have something wrong with me. Like if I don’t have a third degree burn on my arm than I have a broken finger and if not that than I’m limping. Like I always am going to the doctor to either get a cast or medicine for an injury.

I’m very good at talking my way into and out of things, but I don’t do it often bc I get anxious.

Also random fun fact: EVERYBODY is convinced I smoke 🍃 when I don’t. Im told its because I’m very calm and can hide my nervousness well- I think its because I could get hit by a car and still be calm and collected, I’m just very zen at all hours and I don’t know how.

This is probably tmi but it’s kind of fun to debrief!!

honestly i think we would be good friends if we knew each other in real life! just a little fun fact about me, i am told I have a very loud personality meaning i am extremely outgoing and stuff haha.

it is fun to debrief! glad you enjoyed it!

hope you like your match up!

OUTERBANKS:

john b, one hundred percent. i think he likes having some calmness in his life, he has got quite the chaotic life. and he loves loves having a short girlfriend, he definitely will tease you about it every now and then but you he is just joking. anybody else though, they won't see the day of light ever again. i think he would find your sparks of energy very amusing. he always gets super worried when you get hurt, he warns you that you should be more careful. he has successfully caught you a few times preventing you from getting hurt, a few times. he probably loves that you are so calm, like said before. it’s nice to have something calm and dependable in his life. i think he loves making you laugh so he will say really idiotic stuff just to hear that laugh he loves so much, it makes his day to see you happy knowing that he is the reason you are. you guys probably watch those try not laugh animal version videos on youtube and just sit there cackling like a pair of little kids. he likes to help you sometimes with your hair and at some point he has mastered it but that is in the fair future (sorry john b). i think his favorite thing about you are your personality, it’s super important to him that his significant other has a good personality that he loves and you provide that. he respects your loyalty as he is as well, i think he is comforted with the fact knowing you are super loyal to him. when you first meet the group they are confused on why john b and you are together as he doesn’t really go for shy girls but once you break out of your shell and the true you shows, they understand. he loves to play with your hair, he loves it when you get flushed to the face because he thinks it’s adorable.

little drabble/skit

“hey, sweetheart, oh are you doing your hair?” john b said peering into your room.

“yeah.” you said looking at him though your mirror

“want some help? i am a professional.” he said with a chuckle as headed over to you to give you a kiss on the cheek

“yes please, i need some professional help.” you said laughing

“okay, then. prepare to be wowed.” he says as he starts to style your hair, five minutes in and he has already burned his finger two times

“ahh, shit!” he exclaims

“burn your finger, again? want me to do it?” you ask with a sympathetic smile, you grab his hand and kiss his finger

“thanks, babe. i wanna do this for you, you do a lot for me…it’s the least i can do.” he says with a smile

“okay. just let me know if you want me to take over.”

he nodded and then went back at it

ten minutes later

“ahh, shit!”

[ebbpettier]

OK, but why is Agatha wearing slashed sleeves in the 1400's? Don't leave us hanging.

I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED

(images and historical costuming infodump under the cut because you have unfortunately unearthed ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS)

first and foremost: it's some real

1519 hot-girl shit

that's why

(all the early-rennaisance girliepops were cutting up their clothes and showing off their camicia/shift/léine)

secondly (with a TL;DR at the bottom)

since this is a mixed-era fantasy setting, i wanted to really show that off with some NIFTY GARB.

we're spanning about 1350-1520, but MOST people are sitting comfortably in the middle to late 1400s, with some purposeful exceptions*. everyone is wearing something different, there's a lot of emphasis on crossover between countries and routes of trade that literally only make sense in a fantasy setting.

(*for example, people make fun of the mage for wearing a houppelande, because it's definitely out of fashion by 1450 and i thought it would be a fun little parallel to draw for his robin-hood costume.)

WITH ALL OF THAT CONTEXT

i made agatha's parents merchants (i thought it was a neat little nod to the traveling christmas party thing from the books, and it drew them a little bit closer to the inciting incident) which means she's simultaneously able to get the absolute cutting edge of fashion for the era if she wants, and under the scrutiny of her parents (who are both in a public-facing and extremely social-currency-based profession)

there's kind of a background argument in one of the earlier chapters between her and penny about it: agatha's in trouble with her mother for wearing too many slashes in her sleeves, penny thinks slashed sleeves and petticoats are superficial and impractical (the new modern hoopskirt is where it's at, if you wear skirts!), agatha scoffs because why in the world would she have a saffron-dyed, embroidered shift if she wasn't going to SHOW IT TO PEOPLE???

the thing about slashed/paned sleeves, in general, is that they were considered kind of uncouth at the time. slutty, one might argue! they were designed specifically to reveal small sections of your shirt or chemise, and if you're showing off your expensive undergarments too much people might talk.

it would have been considered very fashionable for agatha to have a few slits in her sleeves-

(sometimes women wore them in their bodices, but agatha wears a fancy schmancy stomacher in this so that's not relevant.)

-but too many of them in a single garment would start to suggest things about her character, in the attitude of the era. given that her parents have hangups about her behavior and propriety, it's supposed to have kind of a "YOUNG LADY YOU ARE NOT GOING OUT IN THAT" vibe. it's the kind of thing people were banned from entering churches for.

her mother is irritated because even if it's fashionable, it's not 1500s classy fashionable, and i'm hoping it kind of carries the same narrative weight as them finding her shoplifting habit very common and disappointing, but not actually punishing her for it because their disapproval and her perceived failure to conform are punishment enough. (purple varnish!)

TL;DR-

compared to the 21st-century idea of modesty agatha's outfit as i envision it would be considered downright matronly, but for the time period?

it's basically the equivalent of wearing an open white button-down shirt to show off a cute (and grotesquely expensive) designer bralette.

(and everyone has an opinion about it and she's getting pretty sick of constantly being posed for portraits and told what to do by people who've already decided her entire future for her.)

[vampiremourning]

okay so some of you may be aware but recently i discovered a fun trick ts4 pulled on me, which was deleting like. half the fucking doors from san myshuno apartments. theres no way to get them back aside from starting a whole new save file, which ive slowly been in the process of doing. but instead of just shoving my ocs & their lis/friends into Places ive been trying to put some thought into where they might actually reside & more or less do what i can to replicate a basic idea of that. this is a very long way of saying that i keep getting stuck on nines' haven lmao. on one hand i feel like its a pretty comfy space, at least his 'main' one would be? (hc of mine that most kindred who have been in an area for a while usually have a could rooms scattered around for convenience if they have the means to do it & i feel like he probably would? theyre not nice places or anything just like. convenient if he needs a place to duck into for the day). but on the other hand,,, man idk lmao. it could be more utilitarian but thats not really where im leaning for some reason. its probably like,, comfortable in the way homes that look like theyre stuck several decades in the past are. very lived in. neutral palette but not in a Bland way, probably a lot of browns & desaturated blues. he seems like someone who probably owns a quilt fdghg. idk how to describe it because its Not grandmacore or like. pottery barn catalogue even if thats the general vibe of whats in my head?? i just feel like hes a pretty private person so it makes sense that the haven would be a place where that could be dropped & recharged.

kat definitely has a place for herself even if she doesnt actually spend a ton of time there. i think she would treat it more like a workspace?? like the whole dining area would just be her Office, extremely organized to the point its mildly intimidating. she would absolutely go on a hunt for a place with a view even if its impractical, ideally she would be able to see the ocean but i have no idea how realistic that would be in LA even 20 years ago (i have never been & my frame of reference for cities is Toronto lmfao if that gives you any idea of how i mentally work this out). its not quite as comfortable to be in, i think she probably keeps the space too curated for that. i feel like she probably leans towards a midcentury modern style with darker colours, but the shelves are just. filled with Stuff. she keeps her non-expensive jewellery out for quick access and has some like. kitschy touristy stuff from greece here and there if you look around. there is a throw blanket on her couch but its the weird furry kind that you dont actually use?

she likes living at his place better though lmao by a long shot. like its not really a place 'work' happens the way it does at her haven, you can actually Sit there and feel relaxed. i also dont think she would do the 'decorative takeover' even if her personal style doesnt align with his furniture? like she might do shit like get new curtains if they do a better job at sealing out the sunlight or something, but otherwise the most she does to change things is make space for some clothing and personal belongings. he also has some clothes at her place but its more like things that were Left instead of brought over on purpose, its not that he dislikes it exactly bc it looks nice, but i also think he feels like it gives off the same energy as 'the room you're not supposed to sit in' in your grandmas house lmfao. (makes sense that its so clean tho,,, shes hardly every fucking There these days ghgj)

i will probably end up doing Both of these buildings bc im sure theres some sort of character analysis here but im too tired to get more into it lol

[nachtelang]

Can i get a uhhhhhh male reader asking the other boys of the protocol to wear skirts with him for a day!! That includes going out and during misions of that day!! And what they would do if someone tries to insult the reader for wearing them!!

sorry i let this one sit in my inbox for like forever because i genuinely Did Not know how i was going to write for all of these characters, and was honestly kinda worried you wouldn’t like how i formatted this or that i wouldn’t do your request justice. but i really really wanted to answer this request, as a gnc guy myself, this request really hit close to home for me. i’ll do my best for you, anon! here are headcanons for a male!reader asking the guys of the protocol to wear skirts with him for a day!

phoenix secretly hesitated agreeing to it first. i feel like his masculinity is a little more fragile than most. but he loves you, and if this was going to make you happy, he would more than happily join you! he took you out to a cafe and the two of you had a really great time. phoenix rocked that skirt more than he thought he would, and it was more than worth it to see how you smiled when the two of you were in public wearing skirts together. also, he definitely chose matching skirts for the two of you, because i can definitely see phoenix being one of the more fashionable members of the agency. he enjoyed wearing a skirt with you so much that, when you asked if he would do it again, he excitedly agreed!

sova is more than happy to wear a skirt with you on a mission! he’s the least hesitant one out of all the agents when it comes to this. the thing he’s worried about most is if it will hinder him out in the field, but if sage can wear that long flowing robe then surely he can wear a skirt. he’s quite surprised by how much lighter he feels wearing the skirt, and you’re honestly pretty blown away at how much faster he can move and how much quicker he’s able to shoot his bow and arrows while he wears the skirt. since this is a battlefield, there are bound to be a couple tears in your clothes, but worry not! sova probably picked up the ability to sew thanks to how much time he spent alone, out in the wild. if there are any rips in your skirt, he’ll happily sew them up for you.

breach absolutely rocks skirts like... the younger agents probably laugh when they see him wear a skirt, but he doesn’t care. he absolutely flaunts it, and you join him because you wish you had even half the confidence he does. if someone laughs at him for wearing a skirt, he won’t really care; laugh all they want, but breach knows he looks good and refuses to accept otherwise. but if someone dares insult you? they’re dead meat, they aren’t escaping from breach when he’s mad. anyone that makes fun of you for wearing a skirt is getting beat to a pulp, and breach will make sure of it. he wants you to feel just as confident as he does while wearing a skirt, regardless of your gender!

cypher also doesn’t see a problem in wearing a skirt with you, because the long, flowing coat that he normally wears is similar enough to a dress, right? he’d probably choose to wear a dress that goes down to his ankles, not because he’s embarrassed or anything, just that he really likes the style. my personal headcanon is that cypher is really good at sewing and working with fabrics, so you can probably count on him to make the two of you some really cute matching skirts to wear on your next date. cypher would also make them so that they’re easy and comfortable to wear on your next mission, because fashion doesn’t have to be impractical, right? expect him to be much flirtier when he sees you wearing a skirt on the battlefield, though. he’s going to compliment you every opportunity he gets.

omen is kinda grumpy about it first, because he feels a skirt would definitely clash with his edgy, ominous style. but he also doesn’t want to deny you your request, so he goes along with it anyways. he’s definitely not the happiest about it at first, grumbling to himself about how bad he probably looks, but the smile on your face and how happy you look that he decided to wear a skirt with you is more than enough to convince him that he made the right choice. anyone that dares to make fun of you while you’re happy like this is getting shot, no questions asked. he doesn’t say much, but he’ll do anything to make sure you keep smiling and that nothing ever stops you from looking so happy.

is brimstone too old to be wearing a skirt? yeah, absolutely. does that stop him from doing so when you ask him to wear one with you? definitely not! he’s wearing that skirt with you regardless of the laughs he’s bound to get from the other agents. i doubt brimstone has much of a fashion sense anyways, so he’s down to wear whatever you think would look good on him. and while the younger agents may laugh at him, he’ll simply shrug them off and instead tell everyone how great you look in your skirt! he’ll definitely do all he can to boost your confidence while you’re wearing it, constantly reminding you that you look great, and he doesn’t shy away from praising you for being able to perform so well out on the field while wearing a skirt. needless to say, he’s extremely proud of you.

[druid-for-hire]

new Hadestown au, ICARUS!ORPHEUS, wherein orpheus is not the world’s greatest musician but rather the world’s greatest inventor/mechanic/tinkerer. his creations are wondrous and beautiful and a miracle. Orpheus his mission is to create something that will repair the world--take what’s broken, make it whole.

Orpheus is still very much an artist--only his art in this AU is visual instead of auditory. and he’s still poor! not everything he makes is immediately useful for survival and y’know, hardly anyone has the money to buy things, and he has a propensity to just. give things away, especially the smaller trinkets he makes. and they take a Long Time to make. so he still works at hermes’ bar

SO!!!

this orpheus is body pain solidarity KDSKFJH

he has a fucked up back from all the heavy lifting he does around the workshop, being hunched over while he works on stuff, and being stuck in weird positions for extended periods of time when he’s working on machines and whatever, especially the bigger ones

also he’s got a wrist brace

he has a set of gear he wears a lot especially when he’s in his workshop

1) his wing pack! he built it himself and he’s proud. the pack was also made to help with his back problems. he doesn’t wear his mechanic gear when he’s working at the bar, but sometimes he’ll leave the wings on because back hurty. also, following w icarus, the wings are kept smooth & together and waterproofed w wax, kinda like a gloss. he reapplies every so often

2) his goggles! every part about the design is impractical (the red lenses and the beak) but i like them. they protect his eyes from flying bits and sparks and sawdust etc. when he’s working and wind when he’s flying

3) his boots! they’re sturdy workin’ boots, and have a talon function to clasp onto and lift things up. especially useful for moving bigger things around the workshop, up to higher levels and what have you, and he gets to flit around the whole space with minimal usage of ladders. (yes, they’re inspired by Vulture’s boots from Spider-Man: Homecoming)

(ALSO. the model of his wings are white crow wings, bc of the myth of Coronis)

because in greek mythology, crows started out white and had beautiful voices and the reason they turned black and got croaky calls is because a crow had to tell Apollo that his lover, Coronis, left him to marry a mortal 

and Apollo got so upset he burned the crow and then burned Coronis to death, or burned the crow and then turned Coronis into a crow, depending on the version

(thanks to @princessponies81 for helping me figure this bit out)

so there are some... parallels here

also, IIRC crow wings are elliptical-type wings, meaning they’re good for a lot of control and maneuverability in tight spaces. good for the workshop

also he makes automata too! he has this little mockingbird to help him around the workshop. lots of calls for lots of signals, like how a car will have diff beep signals for low gas or parking brake on or door left open or key left in etc... little bird can measure and alert for lots of things

he’s also less noodle-y than canon orpheus because of how much he uses his arms and legs doing lifting, work, and flying

he’s not like. Built or anything. but hes got some strength to him

he doesn’t just make really good machines either; he’s absolutely as skilled in fine, delicate things as much as the big pieces—he sees the details himself, has to make it himself, he’s as skilled in silversmithy or goldsmithy as he is in mechanics, and i imagine he has skills in metallurgy too. maybe even a bit of glassblowing? just for piece assembly. all his pieces will fit most perfectly if he makes them himself

things like the Silver Swan automaton (i’d link a video but external links are illegal on tumblr)

also... i don’t know if they manage to get married this time, but they at least get the wedding bands

lover, tell me, if you can--who’s gonna make the wedding bands?

@supercantaloupe: the river gonna give us the wedding bands -- he draws the mineral, the stones from the silt, and crafts them himself

SO, he charms eurydice with one (or many) of his dazzling creations that also have usages in practicality and survival

as is the youzhe, she leaves when he gets to obsessive with working on something, holed up in his workshop instead of like. Surviving the winter

they last longer into the winter this time though because again, he does have a couple of machines good for tiding over the winter and surviving, and eurydice can operate them. but he’s too caught up with creating something to fix the world to repair them when they break down

when he leaves, he leaves his mockingbird to take care of his workshop while he’s gone. make sure there’s not leaks or fires, etc., keep everything in working order

the trip to hadestown still takes a long time, but less time than in canon, given that orpheus gets there on a pair of wings, though he gets grounded plenty of times due to bad weather. plus, his wings aren’t really meant for long-distance

so in the end the time still matches up; the events underground still happen on the onset of proper spring

he sails over the wall of the Styx on his wings, but it’s a feat easier said than done; it really is high and wide, just... hundreds of feet tall, and i headcanon that the “wall” is in fact seven layers of fortification because some myths say the River Styx wraps around the underworld seven times

and he is not a high altitude flier

uhhhhhhhhh blah blah something something ... i’m not clear on all the details but here are a few things:

orpheus gets the shit kicked out of him in Papers as usual and the fates hold his wings over him instead of his guitar

i have no idea how If It’s True goes

SOMEWHERE there’s Hey Little Songbird II (thank you to @supercantaloupe​ for authoring this idea);

it's Hades to Orpheus this time. Ironic, as he sings and flies, a real songbird.

and orpheus, that inspired inventor, that mechanic, that engineer, blessed by Hephaestus himself, being tempted to stay. It's a marvel of engineering, those factories. But they're rough around the edges, dirty, inefficient, unrefined. Imagine all the work he could do. Imagine how grand it would be, with just his help. And imagine how much fun it would be to fix it all!

but since he's fallen in love - and lost her once already - he has to pause and think. it's too good to be true, isn't it? Is it true? Can he really stay here forever, with parts and tools and endless projects worthy of his skill and attention - at least, without her?

ok back to me writing stuffs

there is no Epic I / Epic II / Epic III; the titles are now Trial I / Trial II / Trial III, like trial runs of prototypes, and on the third one it has a double meaning as a trial of judgement

Trial III goes as such:

(and thank you to @ferretteeth for this)

Hades orders him to build.  An impressive invention in turn for his life – a chance he gives only because his wife is smitten with interest. 

Orpheus gets three days and no more, and when he is finally ordered to come before the throne of basalt and steel he brings his invention. And Hades gives a curt, mocking laugh, because all Orpheus has in his hands is a simple box of bronze, cheap and adorably human. 

 He almost orders for Orpheus' death the moment he sees it, but then the boy lifts the lid and reveals a mechanical flower. Petals made out of metal rusted rosy, nectar of flecks of fool's gold. 

Delicate and beautiful; extremely finely spun, as if the metal were only woven fibers. It is as soft as any silk.

"Where did you get that," the king snaps in a hurry. "How did you know–" 

And then, with the twist of a key, the invention reveals to be a music box and long lost chords fill the Underworld.

(i originally had the idea that he builds a planetarium that replicates the summer above, a caught snippet of the thing that hades could never make on a large scale. a beautiful thing with flowers that blossomed and played the old song as hades brushed his hands across them, sun above. but i figured it’s probably more in line with the sensibilities of Hadestown if orpheus had created something less... grand)

so eurydice and orpheus are granted their chance to leave.

i’m not sure what the test is, because he’s got to fly out with eurydice clutched in his talons, and i want him to be as much a victim of his doubt as in canon

but he has to follow this flight path with absolute perfection, down to the flap. you fly too high, the flames of hadestown will catch him. he flies too low, the flames of hadestown will catch her.

i think, in his paranoia, he flies too high, and his wings catch fire

his wings are on fire--his arms are strapped in to them. he’s burning up. he’s burning.

he’s slowing down in his ascent. in a moment, he knows that if they’re going to make it, it’ll only be one of them, and... he’s not going to drop eurydice. he can’t do that to her.

when his wings can no longer climb, he throws her the final distance to the surface. she turns around and reaches desperately for him, but he’s too far away.

he falls. a comet.

he breaks.

the fact is, he dies

but he dies in hadestown. so now he’s just... well, one, no chance of going back aboveground. two, now he’s... sitting at the bottom of that long climb, broken and in pain, surrounded by the charred skeleton of his wings, broken and burned feathers, drips of melted oil and wax, and blood

he’s... there for a long time, just suffering, before someone comes to see if they made it out, and finds him at the bottom

hades sees this as an opportunity to bring him back, let him heal, and put him onto projects, perhaps “to get your mind off of it all,” but. orpheus doesn’t want to work. he doesn’t want to do anything

thanks to supercanteloupe again for co-authoring this section:

Hades says he'll squander his god given talents to just sit around all day but Orpheus won't listen

hades has just zero fucking clue how to deal with a depressed human

"have I not given him all he could want, metal, tools, a workbench? Bed, bread, fire? Strength in his bones? And yet he refuses still? The boy must be mad," he cries, angry

@s-aint-elmo: "i got a new mechanist" 

“you ruined a perfectly good talented young man is what you did. look at him, he's got depression"

persephone herself is a mess (less so after Trial III) but she has at least some sense—she is more in touch with mortals than him, spending time with them up on the surface and throwing revels, but also greeting those who lost their lovers/sisters/brothers/mothers/fathers in the winter before

persephone encouraging orpheus to build, not for her sake or for Hades', but for his own. little flowers, little birds, wind up toys and music boxes. something to keep him going

s-aint-elmo: she brings him pressed flowers from the surface, little trinkets, tokens of the green. orpheus only lets the first few wilt and rot at the corner of his table.

flowers bloom until they rot and fall apart

it's a sad, painful reminder

he eventually has the resolve to rebuild his wing pack—better this time, because really, he feels crippled without them after living w em for so long

edit: (and the feathers are black, a la the crow myth)

when hades first sees him like, passing by w wings on his back, he turns to persephone like “what have you been saying to him?” “only what he needs to hear, husband”

he has a great fear of actually getting off the ground at first, though

he’ll perch at the edge of a rooftop, but... doesn’t move. it’s a leap of faith he doesn’t feel like he can take

he always saw air as just a medium to move through, that it would support him, as easy as swimming

now he sees straight through it to the ground

he has burn scars across the entire back of his arms, hands, and fingers

it’s a reminder every time he gets to working

rough patchy skin. calloused fingers from work

big sigh

eurydice goes home.

there is the empty shell of his workshop. his many machines and trinkets and tools and his hundreds of unfinisheds and thousands of scraps of plans, and… his bird left to care for the shop after god knows how many weeks or months.

it flies down and greets her, some string of whistles and beeps she only half understands. then it asks for orpheus

she tells it that he fell; he’s not coming back, it’s too late

the bird sticks by her from there on out, the last “living” remnant of her lover, besides his shell of a workshop

ok i haven’t thought farther than this, please have fun with this au i think it’s a new favorite alongside Unswayed AU & Apartments AU

[el-pintor]

Thoughts about the Christmas special

This will be a long, long, long post...

First, I write about ZhanYi and then about Tianshan.

ZhanYi:

Jian Yi's comment about his strength:

— Jian Yi mentions that he is so strong that he could pull trees out. This is pretty interesting information. Because this could indicate the time during the kidnapping, depending on how seriously you can interpret the statements. Did he continue to train or drill? Is it the result of training with He Cheng?

- In addition, this drunk talking could also refer to earlier chapters. Jian Yi has a desire to become stronger because he felt helpless against Mo. Incidentally, it is the first appearance of Mo.

The apartment:

— Whose apartment is this? Probably Zhen Xis, since Jian Yi is only at Xi's apartment in the future chapters. In contrast to earlier insights, the apartment is also pretty tidy.

– However, the interior differs massively from the previous chapters. I don't expect Zhen Xi and Jian Yi to be living together at this point. Old Xian just may not have used the previous references.

— So the connection between the two seems to be as strong as ever since Xi possibly brings him home to his flat instead to Jian Yi's.

- And another proof of how much Xi's character has changed. Because in the beginning, he didn't want anything more than kicking out Yi as soon as he showed up.

- He also apparently abandoned the violent nature. Instead of beating him up, he sits down on the couch with him in an embrace and falls asleep. He doesn't even take off his jacket, but lets Jian Yi willingly hug him.

- Somehow cute. Nevertheless, I hope that he will soon no longer keep Jian Yi friendzoned and return his feelings.

- Just as home furnishings have changed, Zheng Xi's character has changed.

— But maybe that's Jian Yi's apartment after all. No one knows about his living condition.

- Does he live alone? Or with his mother? Maybe he's back in He Cheng's care? Does Zheng Xi even know Jian Yi's address?

I hope we can find out more soon.

Tianshan

I think there are a lot of inconsistencies and you don't really get their behavior.

First of all a few trivial comments.

Rings:

- He Tian wears the ring he took himself as a gift. Coincidentally, it also fits like a glove. Either it would be too big for Mo anyway, or you can adjust the ring.

- In the first panel, it seems that Mo is also wearing a ring.

He Tian flirting:

- He Tian goes straight to the attack and leaves no unnecessary time and doubts about his intentions: After flirting, he just takes off his jacket and throws himself and Mo on the bed.

- He is hopelessly in love and love everything about Mo.

- That Mo has a newfound interest on studying turns he even more on.

- I think despite the fact that the room is too small for him, he will develop a secret preference for the bed. Because it's narrow and there is no place to escape and to keep a certain distance. So perfectly made for  cuddling and sticking close together.

The apartment, Room, whatever you can call it:

- I immediately noticed the rule with books (if they were books).

- The guitar on his bed plus other books.

- At first I thought that the "apartment" consists of only one room, but the kitchen and at least the bathroom are missing.

- it's quite empty and reminds of He Tian's empty apartment.

- Still, it's pretty run down and seems so cold. I hope Mo doesn't freeze.

Living condition:

- The question, of course, would be why Mo lives under this condition, although he would have it better in his mother's old apartment.

- Did he want to become independent as quickly as possible and therefore moved out so as not to further burden his mother?

- However, I hardly think that his mother would have been satisfied with the condition of the apartment, because the condition is worrying. I don't think he invites his mother over to his house.

-I don't know if that is standard in China when you don't have money. In addition, 19 is still quite young. Many people still live with their parents at this age.

- Did something happen to the mother? Hopefully not.

But maybe Mo is just rebellious and proud that he could afford something of his own.

Indications of Mos' current activity.

- As I said, I immediately noticed the rule with books (if they were books). Which of course is totally untypical for Mo, since he was never interested in books and learning.

- Are these cook and music books?

- Can someone tell me what's written on this book?

- The book in He Tian's hand has an unusual book form. So I suspect that this is a music book with notes or tabs. It seems to be at least a book for studying.

- So does Mo study anything with music and do his part-time jobs to finance it?

- Does he study anything else?

- Does he go to university at all?

- Or does he really earn his money only with part-time jobs? Obviously he won't make much money with it, so they could only be an interim solution if Mo didn't want to keep this lifestyle for life.

- For the university in China you need a lot of money, which you couldn't pay on your own. But there is the possibility of scholarships (I just assume that there is also something like that in China). Maybe he got a music scholarship?

- Mo doesn't seem to have many things. Of course, the books and the guitar are striking.

The guitar

- At first glance, the guitar is reminiscent of He Tian's guitar, which he would like to give to Mo.

- If you take a closer look, they are identical in shape and color, but they are two completely different guitars.

- He Tian's guitar is an acoustic (or concert) guitar and Mo's is an electric guitar.

- Could it be a little mistake from Old Xian?

- Perhaps this is also a later gift from He Tian after Mo learned to play guitar with the acoustic guitar and get advanced. A lot of people start with an acoustic guitar before playing electric guitar.

- Maybe the guitar is from the same serial production.

- Maybe He Tian owns the acoustic guitar and buys an electric guitar for Mo from the same series after Mo's interest for learning guitar has been completely awakened.

- By the way, you need a guitar amplifier for full fun with an electric guitar. I didn't see it in his room.

- Unless this could be an amp. Does anyone know what this thing could be? For me this could be organizers.

- It's s also extremely inconvenient in an apartment to turn it up fully. (Do more people actually live there? The apartment looks more like an old rehearsal room or a garage. My rehearsal room looked something like this, that's why the associations).

- You can also play the electric guitar on headphones, but that's pretty impractical because of the sound (it differs, if you use headphones ir not) and you still need an amp.

- By the way, music it's a costly pleasure. So, it is all the more interesting what exactly Mo does and how he finances everything.

- But I think those are little things that Old Xian probably doesn't think about (something that you easily can forget) .

- I wonder if Mo is in a band. Maybe with Zhen Xi together.

So now to the most complicated point:

Hey Tian, ​​his disappearance and the relationship with Mo.

- One learns that He Tian was not in China for a while.

Many questions arise from this:

- When was he gone?

- How long was he gone?

- Has he been away for a long period of time or is it a coming and going? A lot of it is pretty unclear, so you could guess both.

- The fact that He Tian was away for a long time speaks for the fact that he has never been to Mo's apartment. Has Mo just recently moved there?

- What is also new for him is that Mo reads books or even studies. You should actually know that if you were in regular contact. So is this a recent Mo hobby? That is rather unlikely. So how much did they really have to do with each other in the 4 years?

— However, there are some arguments against staying longer:

- He Tian knows where Mo works. If He Tian had been away for years, how would he know where Mo works? From Jian Yi or Zahn Xi? Maybe from Mo himself? Mo would most likely not give it away. So He Tian should at least stop by for visits.

- The second thing that speaks against it, is that Mo knows where He Tian lives. He Tian probably didn't change his apartment, but could have been if you weren't in the country for a long period of time. At least that doesn't indicate radio silence.

The relationship with Mo:

- After the chapters and all the hints, it was thought that the penny had finally fallen between the two, but no.

- Their relationship to each other has not really changed.

- Mo is still dismissive to He Tian.

There are several reasons about this matter:

— 1. Mo feels hurt and probably betrayed too.

- He Tian asked Mo in middle school not to abandom him. Now HE was the one who left and left Mo behind. Depending on the point in time at which this occurred, it is logical to first react in a negative manner.

— Nevertheless, He Tian seems to be a part of Mo's life, which he does not really want to give up and maybe also gives evidence that he might misses him.

The following aspect indicate

- He lit a cigarette, reminiscent of He Tian.

- He is still wearing his earrings.

- In addition, the design of his electric guitar is similar to He Tian's.

— 2. Mo couldn't build a closer bond with He Tian because He Tian left the country right after middle school.

- How can you build a relationship if you hardly see or not see each other?

- Mo has problems with trust. So I can imagine, that this could be extremely bitter for him and he is angry. Especially if he had open up to He Tian and then his gone.

— 3. Mo is just too stubborn to admit his feelings and get involved with He Tian and is a tsundere, so he have to act this way.

- Definition of a tsundere: "A tsundere is a character, most often female and in anime, who switches from being tough and cold towards a love interest into being soft and sweet"

- Well, I'm not so keen on these whole tsundere explanations. Of course his character is like a tsundere but it would be to simple to explain his character so one sided.

- Even tsundere characters can make progress and that's what I missing. The reationship between those two is going back and forth mostly two steps back and one forth. It's like they are stuck in this, just like ZhanYi are stuck in their relationship. But in this matter you know that Jian was gone for three years. Still I hoped Zhan Xi would finally admit his feelings, but he rather go with the safety zone. The case of Tianshan is way more complicated: You don't know what happened between them in these years. But He Tian seems to be in love more than ever and Mo seems to that he still hasn't figured out his feelings and doesn’t give the attention that He Tian wants. Mo is 18 or 19, not 15 anymore and I wish he would act more mature. But on the other hand, He Tian is really pushy again and is testing his limits. It's understandable that Mo acts irritated.

- So I think they are still don't there where you can call this a mutual relationship.

- They will eventually in the future, but this will take a lot more time obviously and they have a long road ahead.

Of course there is progress:

- Mo seems to have grown used to He Tian's approach.

- He is less aggressive, can even be touched, and he doesn't immediately panic. In the other special he even voluntarily shares a room with He Tian.

- On the other hand, He Tian seems to have become more courageous, so you thought, they really started out with a physical relationship.

- He gives away condoms, hugs him profusely, and tries to get to his butt (other special).

- Maybe they really did have an on-off thing.

- Old Xian indicated that He Tian was allowed to stay the night. So Mo doesn't throw him out. The only question is whether he is allowed to sleep in bed or whether the floor has to suffice.

- So yeah, for me this is really confusing.

Other abnormalities:

- Where's the dog?

- Did Xi stays true to the music? So far there has not been a hint of a musical instrument at his flat.

- What about Yi? Does he continue to play the guitar?

- And He Tian?

- When and why did Mo get his second piercing?

- He Tian doesn't seem to wear the chain with ring. Maybe he get it later?

[abbaccha]

khr oc partial bio! 

how she ends up in varia is still being thought about :’)

(see the full images here: 01 | 02)

Basic Information

Name: Vitaliya Squalo Aliases/Nicknames: Vit, Liya, _22235 (10YL exclusive) Age: 16 Gender: F Date of Birth: September 17 Family: Vongola Famiglia Team/Title: Varia Reinforcement Squad Member

Weapons: Rifles and combat knives Box Animal: - (No flame gang)

Hobbies/Interests: Decluttering, watching GRWM videos online, growing indoor plants that don't need soil, and looking at pictures of empty apartments on Pinterest. There is something eerily calming about them. Basically she does nothing productive.

Favorite Food(s): Food at or below room temperature, small bites. Most stuff are fine as long as the texture is not gross. Her diet is made up of several small meals throughout the day. People notice and comment "you're always eating?".

Favorite Color(s): Earth tones in general, but it doesn't show in her wardrobe.

Least Favorite Food(s): Curry and taro. The latter one in particular? Absolutely ew.

Least Favorite Color(s): Colors are fine she has nothing against them.

Other Likes: Electro pop music, she pretends she's over it. Foundation (makeup) that smells subtly nice.

Other Dislikes: Shenanigans, having to come up with reactions during boring conversations just to show she's raised correctly, and the fact that high heels are visually pleasing but functionally impractical.

Theme Song: DRUGS by lil aaron suits Vitaliya if you ignore the lyrics. The melody is so lit?

Appearance

Eye Color: Blue Hair Color: Silver Hair Length: Waist-length (sorry i really like the signature squalo look rip) Skin Tone: Fair with cool undertone Height: 168 cm Weight: 51 kg Wardrobe: "This is not a phase mom" attire, mostly black. (present timeline) High neckline, all shades of gray, high-waisted jeans. Comfort always comes first. (10YL)

Personality

Reserved, judgmental and a bit of a killjoy. She has an opinion of everyone but keeps it to herself, but it's not like she is vocal about anything else at all. Unless spoken to, she usually just minds her own business. But just by her sharp stares, you know she's judging something hard on the inside.

She has low social needs and is able to assertively say "no". Thus it is easy for her to act tough, while in reality she is definitely not fearless. For starters, full grown men in the mafia who can fight are pretty intimidating already.

When she was younger (before the age of 19), she was fairly nervous and uncertain but chose to mask it with silence. But as she gets more comfortable with being herself and the surroundings, she doesn't care that much? She can comfortably sit through a heated confrontation, as long as she's not involved.

Compared to the rest of the group, she's pretty tame since most of the time she can play by the rules just fine.

Over the years, she has built a comfort zone she's not quite willing to step out of. Sticking to the old familiar things is always better, she thinks.

One positive thing about her is her work ethic. She likes to end bullshit and get things done, no fun allowed at work.

In conclusion, she is distantly cold but has her shit together.

History

Still under development. But below are the basic ideas:

Vitaliya's family has a background in arms dealing. She was half Russian (father's side) and half Italian (mother's side). While her father was overseas doing business with not only governments, Vitaliya and her mother resided in the Italian countryside. Life was good and comfortable, Vitaliya was close to her mother's side of the family as they lived pretty close by.  

Superbi Squalo is her cousin. They have an okay relationship. I think that something happened and prompted Vitaliya to adopt her mother’s maiden name.

She received gun training from a family friend/business partner.

Known for being very careful and tidy when it comes to finishing people off. Later was invited to join Varia.

Became a deep web hitman on the side, goes by the literally meaningless alias _22235. This happened a few years after the present timeline. 

Friends

Old friends from school. Vitaliya still talks to them occassionally, not mentioning her current profession of course.

She's getting along with some Varia members (not the executives) who are also hateful bitches. Their "friendship" is based solely on the fact that they dislike the same things/people.

This is obviously self-indulgent but she's on good (or at least neutral) terms with the executives. Bel and Vitaliya formed some kind of odd bond through being the only two edgy teens. I imagine their friendship is not "intense" in a "we talk everyday we are bffs" way, they just keep each other company for they have the most in common. In the 10YL timeline, their interaction dynamic is Bel saying the outlandish stuff he always says and Vitaliya going "you're full of shit".

I would write a short paragraph about Superbi here, but saying a relative is your friend is kinda lame skjfh. Just know that they used to be close as kids(teens), so now they’re comfortable being relatives even in a professional environment. 

(Decent) people she sees everyday on the deep web.

Enemies

No personal enemies.

Abilities and Weapons

She uses all sorts of guns like a normal person, nothing special about how she does her job. As a safety precaution, she keeps a combat knife on her person at all times. But of course she's not an expert on hand-to-hand combat.

When on mission, she can be extremely patient, preying on the target for as long as needed for the perfect chance to strike.

that’s about it for now! if you read through all of it, i THANK YOU :’’’D you’re the mvp. if there’s anything that doesn’t make sense, it’s probably because i haven’t touched the manga in years, please bear with me. i hope it’s canonically acceptable for people with no flame to join varia, if not i would be caught off guard... also english is not my first language, so the writing here is not the best lmao.

[vaguely-concerned]

Mass Effect: Annihilation thoughts

TL;DR I fucking LOVED IT, a balm to my heart after struggling through Nexus Uprising! Also canonical lesbians! The sweetest quarian & his badass grandma! Elcor Hamlet except this time it’ll make you cry!!! 

- Aaaaaah the audiobook reader is Tom Taylorson (so male Ryder)!! Fryda Wolf (female Ryder) read the two others and did a nice job, but man I’m soft for his voice in a way only rivaled by (...outside-of-Overwatch!)Jennifer Hale and Nicholas Boulton haha. He also has a much better handle on the pronunciations and voices for the different alien species -- delightful, I’m still cackling over his pitch perfect elcor impersonation. (Bioware please give him more Scott Ryder to voice I miss my son)

- I’m only about half an hour in and this is already SO much better than Nexus Uprising, it really does feel like a brave new galaxy haha. Very funny, very warm and smart and engaging in how it does its characterization and Valente clearly has affection for the setting and the universe, she and Jemisin both do incredible jobs with these. 

- I’m fucking crying laughing at this cross-species near-brawl over a flower arrangement, god I love Mass Effect SO MUCH (what a neat idea though. something blooming quietly even when no one can see it. impractical as hell and hilariously including a high-nutrition celery now, but still neat)

Taylorson continues to wonderful things with the voices, that volus suit sound is so good. (he’s just generally really good at comedy) also a volus bellowing insults ‘moments before punching an anti-bouquet batarian in the groin’ sdafhjklsahfsjadkhfklajshdfkjlsadhf

- a high as a kite elcor... what a time to be alive, to get to read this book

I have already reached the ‘I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS BAR’ stage with these characters, hard boiled drell detective lady and sweet sweet quarian first officer and manically enthusiastic elcor doctor TOT I would die for any one of you!!!

- The quarian/multispecies ark was built for long-term habitation, potentially over multiple generations. So what you’re telling me is that the quarians are the only ones who fucking thought this through and the rest of the Initiative probably should have listened to the people who’ve essentially been living on arks for ages. Who’d’ve thunk huh lol. (I guess the in-universe explanation is that people like the mysterious benefactor just wanted those arks yeeted to Andromeda ASAP, no time to get fancy in case the Reapers changed up their schedule. Fair enough)

- ;n; petition to let senna have a SAM pls (also uh. how happy do you think the stringently anti-AI quarian pathfinder will be when he finds out about everyone else’s SAMs lol lol lol he’s going to PASS OUT FROM RAGE upon meeting ryder. well he sounds like an asshole, I hope he dies so senna gets a chance)  

- I can’t BELIEVE yorrik is an anti-stratfordianist, i am betRAYED! disgraceful, how can I still love you knowing this (and yet I do he is extremely funny and sweet)!!! (at least his theory is that this so-called ‘shakespeare’ was actually an elcor, which makes it better somehow lol. anything so long as he’s not an oxfordian tbh)

senna and yorrik’s friendship is so good and wholesome 

- I really love the consistent alien POVs in this book, mass effect should indulge in this more -- everyone loves this universe so much, bioware, stop making us squint through a human lense to look at it!!  

- oh of course quarian ‘pirates’ exist, the people who’re thrown out of the fleet must be doing something huh. 

- haven’t written that many notes in a while just because I’m enjoying myself so much, I keep forgetting 

- lfsdkhfsajkldhfskadjhfsjakdfhsdkjfh communist volus!!!! this is not a drill, communist volus! I am completely and utterly charmed by this entire book

- the quarian ancestor VI is so interesting and weirdly touching. senna is adorable (and relatably neurotic lol)

grandma AI smoking T___________T I love everything about this, she’s so cool. the worldbuilding being done around pre-geth revolution rannoch here... exquisite 

- way to make me cry about batarians cat valente ;_______;

- the voice acting is SO FUCKING GOOD! I keep forgetting it’s one dude reading all these characters haha, I caught myself wanting to look up who voiced this dying batarian. (special shoutout that he does so many wonderfully distinct and specific female voices!) 

- haHA I KNEW the quarian VI was a full AI (or near enough that it makes little difference tbh)!!! this fabulous grandma was self aware the entire time b i t c h e s !!!!

- the running joke of borbala’s ‘you need ______? I can make _______ happen’ is SO satisfying hahaha

ooooooh serious femslash vibes!!!! initially I thought batarian ex-crime matriarch was too old for drell PI, but this is undeniable. (I don’t think we actually ever get to know how old annex is, anyway, come to think of it) I guess if asari get to be five times older than everyone else and still fuck freely this isn’t really that weird lol

- “don’t look! it’s not so bad if you don’t look!” ofhsdalfhskldlsfjas oh senna baby boy 

hey qetsi? qetsi both senna and I love grandma liat more than you. stand the fuck down 

- NOOOO GRANDMA LIAT ;______________________________________;

- do you think SAM could meet liat (either ship!liat or just grandma!liat).... and have... a friend ;_________; (a cool laidback friend who isn’t a murderous angaran ai who might very well go the murder suicide sort of friendship route lol) 

anyway I miss SAM a lot and love him??

- yorrik noooooooooooo this is awful everything is bad and terrible I love all of them so much why must senna be sad and watch everything he loves fade away 😭😭😭

“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/Clean from my hand?” He realized he’d forgotten to preface the words with an emotion. Now they wouldn’t understand what he meant.

Oh. Oh what a way to drive home the sadness and loneliness of this moment f u c k  (and again the emotion taylorson brings to it jesus cHRIST) 

I’m destroyed over how much senna and yorrik love each other, cross species found family out here wrecking my heart in true mass effect style 

- yorrik is such a great character though. he’d be so easy to make a one-note joke character (like most elcor have been in canon lbr), but there’s nuance and depth and just enough satsifyingly believable alienness there. (I love the staunch elcor ‘you can’t call anything love that hasn’t lasted at least two centuries’ perspective haha) his memories of his childhood and disappointment with his profession and everything... goodnight sweet prince indeed :(

- they went and made elcor hamlet heartbreaking how dare they 

(to be real for a second I think some of the human culture references are a little bit clunky, but the elcor hamlet stuff is perfect. contextualizing a throwaway joke from the original trilogy and giving it emotional depth, helping us see it from the elcor perspective and how frustrating and lonely it is to be so fundamentally not emotionally understood or seen on a level most of the other races are, despite their other differences, even though you have all these feelings and want to communicate... its very good.)   

fun additional fact: both mordin and yorrik have played/wanted to play polonius in a production of hamlet! though I guess mordin is the slightly problematic fave in that duo and yorrik is a sweet melancholic angel who has never done anything wrong in his life, I would say protect him but I guess it’s too late for that D:  

- qetsi giving off some real ophelia vibes here, I wish yorrik was here to see it, he’s the only one who’d properly appreciate it despite it all

- I. am. SO FUCKING HUNGRY for more mass effect after this (well even more so than usual) I’m so hyped!! I love this universe so much! I want a new andromeda game with senna as quarian pathfinder and grandma liat as the ship’s AI and see how they interact with ryder and SAM! (honestly though I feel like senna might be the one who’d translate the most cleanly into a game, I think there’s a lot of potential in him that’s barely being realized towards the end there with his deep righteous rage cutting through his uncertainty. also I just want nice things for him. is that so much to ask. he is a good boy, yorrik was so right.)

- aaaah not just femslash vibes, canonical lesbians, this is not a drill! I can’t wait until they propose... ‘we get shit done together, want to be in good cop/bad cop with me until the day we die y/n?’  

- the ME universe doesn’t feel quite itself without all these ‘background’ species hanging around, I suddenly realize. I dream of an Andromeda sequel with all of them on the board and in play again Y-------Y 

- potential Liat and SAM dynamics are so fucking interesting though! if she becomes/is confirmed as a full AI (all I hope and dream of), you’ll have two artificial intelligences with such different starting points but not that dissimilar goals? Liat was an organic person once who’s looking out for her family even now, and SAM is completely artificial but also intimately tied to and protecting His People. (and pulling a whole lot of symbolic weight re: the strength of familial/interpersonal relationships to boot; he’s the best way alec ryder managed to connect with his children. even though he was dead. because as established alec ryder was a disaster of a person)  

- I enjoyed the loose murder mystery structure of this quite a lot, but that might also be because nexus uprising is so shapeless and meandering by comparison that I’d be relieved by anything else (sorry I’ll stop ragging on NU soon it just. took some hours of my life I can’t get back)  

- jemisin did great stuff for characters already in andromeda (cora, SAM, alec ryder) and valente made me remember just why I love this universe so much and desperately want these aspects brought to andromeda too... and now I’ve exhausted all the fresh mass effect content I had available to me and will sit here consumed with lust for the rest of the time it takes for a new game to be announced thank you and goodbye  

[siliquasquama]

Great, you built a Space Elevator. Have fun defending it.

It occurs to me that, even supposing the structural issues of a Space Elevator are solved, the matter of defending against physical threats would pose a challenge half as steep as building the thing.

You have a structure that is likely to be known throughout the entire world, visible from an extreme range, extending to a height far above that of any modern tower, such that it can be found by anyone, approached by anyone and attacked at any point along its length, including regions far above the range of any known aircraft. If one were to launch a missile from one’s own territory that could intersect the elevator’s line at the Ionosphere, the structure would be vulnerable to attack in a region no human military has ever been able to defend.

It is enough of a challenge to defend a railway that lies flat on the ground. Imagine trying to do that for one that goes straight up, and falls apart completely if any of it does.

The military logistics of trying to defend such a thing seem like they would be a nightmare.

That is, defending it at the point of it being attacked. Which is the last line of defense, not the one you want to rely on. It can presumably be protected by making it a shared possession of the entire world, such that no specific nation can put it to an exclusive use that invites envy. But you would need to defend against the people who DID want to have it all for themselves, as well as the people who are simply out for destruction.

The total cost of defending such a thing might cause the greater portion of the world to be involved in keeping it alive. Which is, I should think, a wonderful hook to hang a sci-fi story on...

As long as that story also deals with the threat of weather patterns. Imagine throwing every airplane you have into patrolling the elevator and losing the whole thing to a  thunderstorm.

There are a ton of questions involved in the existence of a stable Space Elevator whose answers would tell you how the story's setting works.

As for reality -- I would be much happier to have an anti-gravity system that lifts discrete payloads on its own, without needing a workable physical structure from here to orbit. That would be SO much more simple. Less impressive, but if you're going to space, Aesthetic is among the weights you must leave behind.

After all, there is no room for impracticality in Outer Space. If you fail out there, you don’t get to sit on the ground and cry. You die. I feel as though the construction of a Space Elevator is mostly for show. For all practical matters, pick an anti-gravity generator. 

[louadorable126]

Cherry Blossom falls on a day dreaming devil - Cyberpunk AU: Part 2

                >>Soon to be its own spin off fan fic!<<

Click here to read over on Ao3!

Hello there! >U.U<7

So finally back to publish the second part of my Cyberpunk AU story! 

I’ve really had lot of fun writing in this universe, so I’ve decided to spin this off into its own fan fic! So when I get around to publishing Chapter 3, I will most defiantly bundle in these first two chapters, so people can catch up! :D

So please do keep an eye out for that! It would be much appreciated!

Moving on, I am happy to say there is quite a bit of Vergil content in this chapter! (Yay!) And I do hope to have him feature much more prominently from here on out! 

I’ll also be including a sample in the bottom of this post again. So please enjoy that!

Anyway, I won’t keep you any longer! Please enjoy!

—————————————————————————

Summary:

Cyberpunk AU - In a city controlled by the generally altered race of Demons, Lady's life as a mercenary on the lower floor was never easy. Especially when she ran into Dante. A demon on the hunt for his missing brother.

—————————————————————————

Important information!

Fandom: Devil May Cry

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Realtionships: Dante x Lady, Vergil x Lady

Characters: Lady (Devil May Cry), Dante (Devil May Cry), Vergil (Devil May Cry) Morrison (Devil May Cry), Nell Goldstien (Devil May Cry) Eva (Devil May Cry), Sprada (He’s mentioned bless him), Mundus (Also Mentioned)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Genetic Engineering, Sci-fi Fantasy, Strip Clubs and Strippers, Dystopia, Seizures, Flirting, Eva and Sprada are alive! :D

—————————————————————————

“Boys~ Breakfast is ready!”

The smoky musk of cooked bacon was potent throughout the house that morning, as Dante rushed down the manor’s grand stairwell. He was half dressed, only barely managing to get a plain white shirt over his head, before he sleepily stumbled into the kitchen. His guardian was never too pleased when he arrived shirtless at breakfast.

“Mornin’ Eva.” Dante yawned tiredly, standing hunched over in the kitchen door frame. His vision was blurry with fatigue, as he gazed over at the charming woman, happily cooking on an old fashioned stove across the room.

Upon hearing his voice, she spun around to face him with a flourish of her dress. “Ah! There you are Dante!” She beamed brightly.

Eva Redgrave was certainly a beautiful woman for her age. With her blond hair tied back into a loose ponytail; her deceivingly youthful face was on full display in the gentle, sunlight pouring in through the kitchen window. 

She wore a surprisingly formal dress, almost as though she had gone to a ball the previous night and was still wearing her tight fitted, delicately embroiled, golden dress. The collar being mainly composed of a see-through, skin coloured material - that made it look as though golden vines grew up around her neck. It was extremely impractical, but his old man never once questioned his Nanny’s choice of everyday clothing. Even if Dante suspected it was just a side effect of going mad from being trapped in this house all these years.

Her gentle emerald gaze slipped past Dante for a moment - gazing beyond the kitchen door anxiously, despite the bright smile on her crimson lips.

This minor eye movement didn’t go unnoticed however, as Dante started back at her with an equally fabricated smile. She’s worrying about him again. Crap!

Dante wasn’t exactly the most punctual of people. A fact that was well known throughout his family, and may as well be a law of nature at this point. He would always arrive late to anything remotely timed. Having barely a care in the world as onlookers would on in annoyance. It was part of his mystique, and he was proud of it. 

His brother, on the other hand, was the complete polar opposite. He was never late to even the most informal of meetings. In fact, he would most often be the one scolding Dante for his slacker antics.

So for him to either turn up late, or even miss breakfast entirely for four days straight - certainly hinted that something was amiss with Vergil. A fact, that while concerning for Dante, had practically sent Eva into a spiralling anxiety.

He could clearly see how Eva’s hands were tightly clenched together. Her knuckles grew more white by the second, as she took more subtle glances behind Dante. Waiting impatiently for his brother to appear. So much so, she had completely forgotten about the steaming pan next to her - that looked as though it were about to catch on fire.

“Hey, uh- are you watching that pan?” Dante quickly pointed out. Gesturing to the pan with an awkward glance.

“Ah!” Almost imminently his nanny spun around and quickly turned off the stove. Hurriedly putting on a pair of floral oven gloves, that were hanging off the oven’s rail and swiftly moving the overheating pan onto a cooling mat beside her. “Phew! That was a close call! Thanks for reminding me!”

“Hey! No worries, Eva! Hopefully breakfast is still in one piece!” Dante chuckled heartily.

“Oh, I should think it is!” Eva reassured, waving away the cloud of smoke fuming up from the pan, and taking a quick peek inside. “In fact, I think it looks far better for it! The bacon seems remarkably crispy!” 

The blond woman grabbed a wooden spatula from a nearby pot of utensils, and poked the pan’s contents curiously. "I might have to do this more often...”

“What? Almost setting the house on fire? Don’t think dad will be too pleased!” Dante joked cheekily, as he walked over to his old fashioned, wooden seat and sat down.

“You cheeky boy!” Eva smirked over her shoulder at him. Putting down her spatula on the kitchen counter’s sleek, marble surface. “You know your father could have this place rebuilt in a matter of days if he wanted it too!”

“Heh, you're not wrong about that!” 

And she wasn’t. 

Despite the rustic, old fashioned appearance of the Manor House. All it really was, was a collection trillions of nanobots arranged in the image of a grand home. Nothing Dante touched - be it the tiled floor he walked barefoot on, the wooden table he was currently resting his arms on, or the ornately carved ceiling above him - was actually real.

It was a common technology used throughout the upper floor. Allowing for architectural wonders to be created, that by no means should be able to exist. It certainly showed off their technological prowess to all their neighbouring cities. But while the clean cut, clinical, futuristic style was most commonly used by any sane demonic architect. His dad was….far more flamboyant. Insisting that his house be styled off an old-fashioned Georgian manor house, surrounded by fine countryside for as far as the eye could see. 

Well…as far as the holo-deck's dome allowed anyway!

A few moments later, a plate of food - what looked to be a full English breakfast - appeared in Dante’s field of peripheral vision. Surprised, he quickly glanced up to find Eva smiling back at him, as she put down a pair of silverware beside him. When she turned back to the kitchen counter to load up a second plate of food. 

The demon picked up his knife and fork, and began to inhale the meal with ravenous glee. Tearing into the crispy strips of bacon and ripping them to shreds in a matter of seconds, before letting out a joyous sound of glee at its delicious taste.

“Dante?” His nanny asked all of a sudden. Carefully placing down the second plate of breakfast next to Dante; before sitting down heavily on the wooden chair across from him, with a loud creak.

“Yeah Eva?” He responded in a muffled voice. His mouth stuffed full of small mushrooms as he looked up at her.

“Do you think Vergil’s going to come downstairs soon?” Eva asked nervously. Once again gazing out of the kitchen door with an anxious expression on her face.

Dante gulped down the remainder of his food and he slowly lowered his knife and fork. He knew he had to say something. Anything that could at least act as a gentle reassurance for her. Even if Dante himself couldn’t guarantee brother was actually going to show up at all.

“He’s...probably just fixing up his hair. You know how Verge is about those kinds of things!” Dante slicked back his hair in a mocking fashion, before shrugging. “He’s a princess! Can’t leave the bathroom unless everything about him is perfect!”

“I can hear you, brother.” Snapped a familiar, nasally voice. Accompanied by the sound of the garden door slamming shut behind him. 

The pair quickly turned their heads at the sound. Finding Vergil standing there, the stark opposite in appearance to how his hot-headed brother had just lovingly jokes. To the point it made Dante’s hardened stomach feel grossly uneasy at the sight of him.

He looked…exhausted. As though he had been running around all night without a wink of sleep. His deep blue eyes were bloodshot with fatigue; framed by heavy bags of skin drooping underneath.

His usually pristine hair was a disheveled mess. Only barely managing to maintain its stubbornly slicked back form, as his stray, silvery locks dropped dead with exhaustion around their master's face. A face that clearly had remained unshaven for the past few days, if the stubble peaking up around his hard jawline were anything to go by.

Jesus christ Verge! Where the hell have you been?! Dante shouted loudly in his head. Opening up his mouth to let out a silent scream of shock at the state of his brother.

“Ah….Good morning Vergil!” Eva exclaimed in a jolly, yet uncertain tone, as she got up from her chair and strolled over to him. It seemed as though he was struggling to keep his balance, leaning ever so slightly against the stone doorframe. Not seeming all that there, as Eva reached up to touch  his cheek. Her fingertips barely making contact with his freezing skin. “Are you alright dear? You look far too pale-“

“It's none of your concern, Eva!” He growled angrily, as he grabbed a hold of her delicate wrist and ripped it away from his face.

It only took him a second of contemplation, in the awkward silence that followed the shocking incident, to suddenly comprehend what he had just done. A horrified expression shooting up his face, as he quickly averted his blurry gaze towards the tiled ground; bowing his head shamefully before the blond woman. His voice painfully soft as he spoke; "I’m…..doing just fine.”

He hesitantly stumbled past Eva, towards his assigned chair. Taking a quick glance at Dante’s half eaten plate with a solemn gaze. “I see you've made breakfast. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it back sooner"

“Oh, don’t worry about it!” Eva reassured softly. Waving away his concerns with her hand. "I’ve only just served it up, so it should still be warm."

Vergil slumped down onto his chair, and ran a hand through his hair tiredly. After a moment of hesitation, he delicately picked up his fork and took an uneasy bite out of a slice of bacon. Dante could have sworn his twin was about to throw up, as he painstakingly gulped down his food, with an uncomfortable shiver. His face twisting in vile rejection of the substance entering his digestive system.

He can’t keep that up for long with Eva around. She’s going to expect him to eat the whole thing. Dante quickly glanced up at his Nanny ideally twiddling her thumbs, as she patiently observed his twin eat from behind.  I’ve got to get her to leave somehow.

“Hey Eva, can you leave us for a bit? Kinda wanna to discuss super secret military business with Verge!” Dante asked nonchalantly. Keeping a close eye on his ill-looking brother, as he struggled to down yet another bite of bacon.

“Sure! The laundry should be done about now.” Eva nodded in agreement, strolling over to the kitchen door. "Enjoy your meal boys! I’ll be back soon!”

When the pair couldn’t hear the sound of her heels anymore, the brothers let out a collective sigh of relief. Vergil imminently put down his cutlery, and rubbed his aching temples with his thumbs. "Thank you, Dante. I wasn’t particularly in the mood for eating right now-“

“What the hell have you been up too!?” Dante snapped accusingly. Slamming his hand down onto the table. “You’ve been worrying Eva sick these past few days!”

Vergil was visibly taken aback by his brother's sudden outburst, a look of panic - with the slightest hint of guilt - sneaking onto his face for just a moment, until his usual stoic demeanor could take over again. His stern eyes now sent a cold glare towards Dante, defying any hint of emotion that he might have shown moments before.“Did no one inform you? I’ve been put on double shifts for assignments until father gets back from Vigrid.”

A lie. Even at the time, Dante had thought it odd his twin had been given assignments without him. Their father had forced his hand a long time ago, to allow for the pair to always be assigned to missions together. 

Sure, there had been times when they had been on separate missions. But that was normally because one of them was severely injured (Dante still swore it wasn’t his fault Vergil had fallen off that building. It...was just that the wind was far too strong that day!) and required a couple of days off to recuperate.

It was only later, when he had been asking around dispatch, that he learnt that no missions had been posted for either of them. That Vergil had been making the whole thing up to hide what he had truly been up too. Why hadn’t he noticed sooner?

Yet, despite this foresight, Dante found himself blurting out a familiar set of lines without thinking. His eyebrows raised in suspicion; “Seems kinda strange that I wasn’t invited along for the party! You sure they didn’t want me too?"

“They….wanted someone with...negotiation skills. Somebody who could speak subtly with culture and nuance. Something I know you particularly struggle with, brother.” Vergil stated bluntly. A tired smirk playing on his lips.

“You wound me, bro!” Dante cried dramatically, clutching his chest with a childish pout. “Come on! You know the babes love me down there!”

Vergil ignored his younger twin’s ramblings, and shook his head with a sigh. “They didn’t want you, ok? Can we just leave it at that?”

“Sure! But seriously Verge, you’ve got to take better care of yourself. You’re a complete mess right now!” Dante gestured to all of Vergil’s unkempt being with his hand. A concerned look uncharacteristically etched into his boyish features. "I’ve never seen you look so- well….scruffy! It's just so unlike you!”

Vergil looked incredibly self-conscious - as though he had only just become blatantly aware of the severity of his appearance. Without hesitating, he slicked back his messy locks with one hand. Trying to preserve what little of his dignity remained, as his ghostly pale cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. Awkwardly adjusting the embroidered cufflinks of his rich blue, velvet coat; as he spoke in a breathy voice, ladened with hidden stress beneath its surface: 

“I….I will, Dante. Just please give me a little more time-“

A cheerful knock at the kitchen door cut him off. Startled, the twins quickly turned face the door. Seeing the pale shadow of their matriarch peeking out behind it.

“The washing’s done!” Eva’s gentle voice chirped from outside the room. “Am I allowed to come back in boys?"

“Yeah we’re good now, Eva! You can come back in!” Dante called out.

A second or so later, their Nanny walked into the room holding a basket of washing under her arm; her golden ponytail flowing behind her. The clicking of her high heels swiftly came to a sudden stop however, when she caught sight of the boys untouched plates. She raised her eyebrow curiously.

“Have you been forgetting your food over all that military talk? You know life isn't just about fighting, boys! Even if your father certainly makes it seem that way these days."

Crap! I completely forgot about the food! Dante almost wanted to mentally slap himself for his stupidity - and given the searing glance Vergil gave him, he certainly wanted to do the same. As the pair awkwardly looked down at their now less-than-steaming plates. Neither not really knowing what to do.

Dante began to rub the back of his neck sheepishly, as he blindly stumbled around his mind for a suitable cover answer. “Ah yeah…sorry about that-“

“I’m done with eating, Eva. I’m afraid my appetite isn’t exactly all that there today.” Vergil admitted honestly. Pushing his plate across the wooden table towards her.

Wordlessly, Eva slid her hand beneath its ceramic surface and lifted it from the table ever so slightly - looking as though she was going to simply head straight for the kitchen bin, and cast away the plate's delicious contents into its murky deaths. But when the plate simply hovered in the air, Eva gently placed a soothing hand onto Vergil’s broad shoulder. The elder twin let out a startled sound, and quickly tilted his head up to look at her.

“You know, that’s exactly what your father used to say to me.” Eva chuckled lovingly. A dreamy look in her gentle eyes, as she gazed down at the young man. Reminiscence of a distant past playing on her lips. “He'd often forget his food because he was talking so much back then.”

All of a sudden, Vergil’s muscles grew stiff beneath Eva’s fingertips. A strange look of horrifying realisation crossing his features, as though he had just solved some grand conspiracy theory - or at least gained a cursed insight into one, with how unsettled he appeared. His deep blue eyes wide in disbelief, as his pinkish lips trembled with temptation. A forbidden question itching to leave his mouth.

Without saying a word, he bluntly rose from his chair; causing Eva’s hand to slip pitifully from his shoulder. His face was clouded in shadow, as he practically ran out of the room and into the hallway.

“Hey Verge! Where the hell are you going?” Dante yelled, throwing his hands down onto the table and quickly rising from his chair, perusing his irrational twin. Rushing past the elegant nanny, who stood there in stunned silence, her fallen hand barely reaching out after the elder twin but soon retreating back to her side. An expression of hurt marring her beautiful features, as she shook her head mutely in defeat.

Dante practically threw himself out into the grand hallway. His right shoulder colliding with the kitchen door painfully as he did so, causing a hiss of pain to escape his mouth. But he didn’t stop moving. He simply couldn’t. Vergil was never this irrational. Never this secretive. Something was horribly wrong, and every inch of Dante’s identical body screamed at him to do something about it. Even if that meant forcibly tackling his unstable twin to the ground, and forcing him to spill the beans before he tried something stupid!

“Vergil get back here!” Dante cried out, desperately trying to gain ground on his brother as the pair ran down the insanely long corridor. At least if felt that way to Dante. Every step his twin took, it felt as though he needed to take six more to catch up with him.

Yet, the younger twin’s pleas did nothing to slow his brother’s pace, as his long blue trench coat fluttered elegantly behind his fleeing form. Finally managing to reach the mansion’s ancient front door only to find it locked.

Now’s my chance! Dante thought determinedly, as a wild, fang-like grin appeared on his face. Watching his elder brother flounder with the out of place steel keypad beside the front door. Frantically tapping its buttons, with the occasional worried glanced over his shoulder; as Dante closed in on his helpless prey.

Yet, just as Dante got within touching distance of his brother’s azure coat. Vergil spun around with an inhuman efficiency, and kneed his little brother hard in the crotch.

“Aw, fuck!” Dante whimpered. His eyes rolling into the back of his head from the sheer pain emanating from his nether regions, as he crashed dramatically to the ground. Curling up into a tight ball as he withered in pain. All his previous bloodlust lost, as any remaining energy he had left drained from his body.

Dante weakly lifted his head. His vision hazy from the pain and hair falling in front of his face, as he saw his brother’s silhouette standing over him. The bright artificial sunlight emanating out from behind him giving him a ghostly, almost angelic appearance. In a way that almost made Dante question whether he ever truly existed. As stupid as that thought was.

“I’ll see you again soon….little brother” Vergil uttered ominously. Before he started to walk away into nothingness. The room now has a white box. Growing unbearably brighter and brighter with every second that passed.

“Vergil….you’ve gotta come back. Please!” Dante wheezed weakly, as he shakily reached into the plain white nothingness that now lay before him. His every cry growing quiet and quieter in comparison to the void’s high pitch buzzing. The sound of a heartbeat banging erratically in his ears like an overworked war drum.

All of a sudden, the louder clatter of pots and pans crashing to the ground smashed through the nightmarish illusion; it's sound far too crisp and real compared to the floatiness unreality of the world around Dante. Soon accompanied by a familiar feminine voice yelling-

--------------------------

Click here to read more over on Ao3!

[adhdzagreus]

Concilliabule virgil sanders :0

Virgil Sanders + A secret meeting of people who are hatching a plot

“Okay, good, you’re both here,” Virgil said, eyeing Roman and Logan. They both nodded, Roman frowning in confusion at having been called to the meeting without explanation.

“We are,” Logan said. “Would now be an opportune time to ask why we have been called here?”

“In a minute. First, what’s Patton doing?” Virgil said.

“He is watching those videos of small animals on YouTube.”

“Okay, great,” said Virgil. “That should buy us at least an hour.”

“Why do we need any hour without Patton?” Roman said, pouting. “Is someone going to explain what’s going on?”

“Because it won’t be a surprise if Patton is here when we plan it,” Virgil said impatiently.

“But what are we planning?” Roman cried in frustration.

Virgil sighed. “If you’d been paying attention, you would know that tomorrow is Patton’s birthday.”

“By birthday, you of course mean the anniversary of the first time he appeared in a video, yes?” said Logan. “Because as metaphysical human beings, we have no date of birth as we were not born in the traditional sense through delivery or cesarean section.”

Virgil looked at him. “Yeah. Obviously.”  

Logan adjusted his glasses. “It never hurts to be precise.”

“Oh, I get it!” said Roman. “You want to plan a surprise for Patton’s birthday! Why didn’t you just say so?”

“I was getting to it!” Virgil huffed. “But yeah, I want to do something for Patton’s birthday to show him that we, you know, appreciate him and stuff…”

“Virgil!” Roman said, holding a hand to his chest. “That is actually a very good idea!”

“You don’t have to sound so surprised…”

“I concur with Roman. It is a good idea. This seems a good opportunity to show our appreciation for Patton,” Logan said.

“Really?” said Virgil, narrowing his eyes. “You agree with me?”

“Of course,” said Logan. “I am not above a little frivolity for the sake of teambuilding.”

“That’s uh, a weird way of putting it, but yeah, sure.”

Roman’s eyes were lit with excitement. “What did you have in mind, Virgil?”

Virgil’s eyes widened at being directly addressed, and he shrunk into his hoodie. “I dunno… You know I’m no good at this happy, fun, touchy-feely stuff. That’s why I asked you here.”

“Well, fun times are my speciality,” said Roman. “You came to the right place.”

“Then why have you called me here?” said Logan. “You know I’m no more inclined to the, as you put it, ‘touchy-feely stuff’ than you are.”

“Yeah, I know, but you’re part of Patton’s uh, f-family too so…” Virgil looked away. Family was Patton’s word to describe the relationship the four of them had. He didn’t know if that’s how he would’ve put it, but it was a nice thought. Patton was full of nice thoughts, unlike Virgil whose thoughts ran more on the dark and gloomy side. Despite this, or maybe because of it, Virgil couldn’t help but love Patton, and while Virgil was terrible at showing such things, he felt it was important that they did something to show Patton how much they appreciated him.

But all of this was too complicated to explain so he just said. “I thought you would want to be included.”

Logan nodded. “I appreciate that. Thank you.”

“Yeah… No problem. Anyway.” Virgil cleared his throat. “Roman, do you have any ideas for what we can do to celebrate?”

“Oh, do I!” said Roman. “What about we throw a grand ball in his honor and invite lords, ladies, and nonbinary nobles from all across the land?” He gave an expansive sweep of his hand.

“That sounds extremely impractical to plan at the last minute. Also impossible,” said Logan.

“Don’t you think Patton would want something more, I dunno, relaxed?” Virgil said.

“Alright, Patton probably would prefer a more intimate get-together,” Roman conceded. “What about a family movie night? He can pick the movie, and I’ll summon some puppies for him to play with.”

Logan nodded. “This scenario includes all of Patton’s favorite things. I approve.”

Virgil frowned thoughtfully. “It’s missing something. Something to show we really care.”

“Well, traditionally, gifts are given on birthdays to show affection to the person being celebrated,” Logan said.

“Perfect,” Virgil said, pointing at Logan. “We should all give Patton something tomorrow.”

“Very well,” said Roman. “I suppose I can whip something up in time.”

“Okay, good,” said Virgil. “Then it’s settled.”

The others nodded and parted ways. Virgil went to his room to start planning his gift.

 xxx

“Oh, you guys!” Patton gushed. “You didn’t have to do all this for me!”

“This is true,” said Logan. “We did not have to do this.”

“And yet we did it anyway!” Roman declared. “As a token of our affection for you!”

“What they’re trying to say,” Virgil said, “is that, yeah, we didn’t have to do this, but we wanted to, to show we care about you.”

Patton beamed, holding a hand to his chest. “You guys are so sweet. Thanks so much for this!”

“Well, there is one more thing,” Logan said, summoning a package from his room and handing it to Patton.

“You got me something?” Patton gasped in delight.

“We all did,” Virgil said, clearing his throat. “Uh, here’s mine.” He handed Patton a thin square package wrapped in silver paper.

“And mine,” Roman said gallantly, holding out his own parcel wrapped in gold and blue.

“Oh, where do I start?” Patton fluttered, shining like the sun with delight. Then before any of them could answer, he said, “I’ll start with Logan’s since he gave it to me first.”

Patton tore open Logan’s gift enthusiastically. It turned out to contain, unsurprisingly, a book, but Patton gasped in delight anyway. “Oh, it’s about cats! I love it, Logan!”

Logan nodded with satisfaction. “As you show such enthusiasm for cats, I thought it might interest you to learn something of their history. Did you know that cats were domesticated as early as 7500 BC according to some archaeologists?”

“Wow! Really?” said Patton, wide-eyed at the prospect of ancient cats.

“Yes, yes, that’s fascinating. Open mine next!” said Roman excitedly.

“Okay!” said Patton. He tore into Roman’s beautifully wrapped package and pulled something free. “Oh, Roman, I love this movie!”

“I thought so! It’s all, you know, feelings and stuff. And you did cry like a very small child the first time Thomas saw it,” Roman said. “Also it’s bluray!”

Virgil squinted at the movie, trying to make out the title: Inside Out. He winced. Yeah, exiting the theatre after watching that film had been rough.

“Okay, I’m opening Virgil’s now,” Patton said, smiling.

Virgil startled. “Uh, you know what, it’s not very good. It’s okay if you don’t like it,” he stammered.

Patton looked at him. “Shush your face. I’m sure I’ll love it.”

Virgil worried his lip and nodded as Patton ripped the silver wrapping paper off of the gift he had gotten him. Patton gasped when he saw it, but that didn’t mean much. Patton was delighted by everything.

Virgil watched Patton’s face closely as the side examined the gift, a large black photo collage frame. Virgil had spent most of last night looking for photos and deliberating over which ones to put in and where, and he was as happy with it as he was going to get.

In the upper left was a photo of Logan, caught in a rare moment of contentment, sitting on the couch in the living room with a mystery novel. Below that was a picture of Roman, grinning directly at the camera, his arms raised in triumph at some unknown victory. In the lower right was a picture of Thomas, smiling happily with his tongue slightly sticking out. Above that was the photo Virgil had struggled with the most. He didn’t allow himself to be photographed often, and he always looked terrible in photos anyway. Finally, he’d settled on the only photo of himself he liked. It was a selfie he’d taken with Patton in an attempt to show him how to use social media. He had his arm around Patton, who was beaming, and the camera had gone off just as Virgil had started to laugh at something Patton had said, catching him in the beginning of a smile as he looked at Patton.

In the center of the frame was the largest of the five photographs. It showed the four of them together with Patton in the middle looking ecstatic about something.

Patton took in all of this in a few quick glances, his expression changing from excitement to warmth as he did so. “Oh, kiddo!” he beamed, putting his hand over his mouth and looking at Virgil. “I love it! C’mere!”

Virgil blinked at him and slowly went over to where Patton was seated on the couch. He felt even more surprised when the other side crushed him in a hug, and when he realized what this must mean, he felt relieved. “Oh, you like it,” he mumbled. “Good.”

“It’s perfect,” Patton said, releasing him, still beaming. “After all, we all know that the best gift of all is time spent with family, and this is a beautiful reminder of all the good times we’ve had.”

“Uh, yeah, sure, I guess,” Virgil said. “Pretty sappy, but I guess that’s true.”

“Well,” said Logan. “If that’s everything, I declare these festivities to have been a success, and I bid you all good night.”

“Later, Logan.”  

He disappeared, and Roman soon followed him, leaving Virgil and Patton who smiled.

“I didn’t expect you guys to do anything,” he said. “Whose idea was it?”

“Well, uh, we all kind of...contributed to it, but I was the one who called everyone together for it…” Virgil said.

“Aw, so this was your idea?” Patton said.

“I mean, I guess…”

Patton stood up, clutching his gifts to his chest. “That was very sweet of you,” he said, all pure affection and gentle smiles. “Thanks, Virgil.”

“Uh, no problem.”

Then Patton bid him good night and left, leaving Virgil feeling soft and warm and gooey, like the inside of a s’more.

[hall-of-merlin2]

Magic, Monsters and Merthur - 1x02 - (Monsters)

Hello hello.

I wouldn’t want to say that this is my second favorite thing to talk about... Since I love the characters just as much, if not more.

That’s the same with the Magic thing, I like the villains and characters equally...

Okay so this “analysis” continues to be my favorite thing to do instead of writing fanfiction.

But this is a type of fanfic, isn’t it? Yes yes, discussing canon, if you can call it discussion... But I am applying my own spin with the whole... Two prophesies and magic is more complicated thing...

Okay I’m writing fanfiction instead of writing fanfiction.

Glad we cleared that up.

On to the villains!

<_><_><_>

01:07

So… Magical snakes whose venom paralyzes and eventually kills. Sounds… Casual, and very impractical if you’re going sneaky sneaky like Valiant is here. Sure, you’ll win the fight, but then the guy you won against can speak up and say that you used magic, which is going to be a mess that you do not want to deal with. Killing them immediately would be much easier, even if it is a knights’ tournament where killing seems to be forbidden.

But if killing people is forbidden why use these extreme measures that can only result in death? You will only win temporarily and if you use the shield early on, like Valiant did, someone will figure you out and then you’re going to be killed. The only good use of a shield like this in this setting is the finale, after which you will receive your gold and be able to get out of the kingdom. But guess what.

Valiant doesn’t do that.

Awh. Valiant is an idiot.

<_><_><_>

16:56

Hey uh.

“Dinner Time” is unnecessary.

Those snakes aren’t alive – most of the time, at least. They are still magical creatures conjured from magic and only because of this does Merlin’s spell work in the end, more on that… in the end.

Just pointing out that while Valiant is a murderous and cheating bastard, he’s adorable in how he feeds the snakes that he watched kill two people.

<_><_><_>

“How will you explain why you were in Valiant’s chambers?”

“What does that matter? He’s using magic to cheat in the tournament!”

“But you can’t go accusing a knight of using magic without proof. The King will never accept the word of a servant over the word of a knight.”

18:15

How many times do you think Gaius had to lecture someone lower than a knight like this?

“So what I say doesn’t count for anything?”

“I’m afraid it counts for very little as far as the King’s concerned.”

The clash of someone who doesn’t give a shit about titles or what he can and can’t say and someone who has navigated the intricacies of court for so long that he sounds almost exasperated trying to explain something that’s common knowledge to him.

I am so glad Merlin came along and shattered what Arthur thought peasants can or can’t do. Because this conversation would have kept happening throughout his rule between someone just starting out and someone who knows the cruelty of royalty.

<_><_><_>

27:41

The weird part here is that they even need Ewan to say anything.

In another episode, Uther freaks out at Gaius because he didn’t immediately report what kind of disease has spread. Surely with such an obvious thing as a snake bite, Gaius would have informed Uther of this? Since the king wasn’t even aware that Ewan was injured more than a slight concussion. Uther couldn’t have walked up to Ewan, looked at his neck, and say that it is a sword wound. It was clearly something done by a snake, which no one saw during the tournament. Then this could have gone another way, someone would have said that Ewan was fighting Valiant when he collapsed, Valiant would be searched and then they would have found nothing, which would have been a fun situation to try and explain to this magic-fearing king. There was supposed to be a snake, there is a snake bite, but no snake. Someone frames someone?

Or even here, if Gaius truly didn’t say anything about Ewan being poisoned for some reason or another… Could be his superstition that Uther won’t believe him even with the wound clearly there… Ewan fucking died. Like? That’s fact. Why would he be dead if Valiant just smacked him to knock him out on the field? No one believes Ewan’s that fragile, right? No one believes that there was some sort of infection that could have seeped into his… wound?

No one questions this!

I’m just…

I’m not pointing out these plot holes to find more reasons to hate the show. I don’t actually hate the show, no matter what I might say in a rant or an off-hand comment. I love this show, I love it more than I’ve loved any show.

I’m pointing out these plot holes and then coming up with solutions to fix them for my own entertainment. I like thinking up of these ideas, how it could have been if this had gone this way and such. It’s why the magic is so interesting to me, I want to find a way to explain it, put my own spin on it, since there is no spin on it in the show.

I don’t hate the show. Period. I like thinking about it.

<_><_><_>

39:22

At this point, the only one who doesn’t believe that Valiant is using magic is Uther, right?

Everyone’s so worried.

Gwen because Merlin told her, Morgana saw that dream, but it’s also a bit of “Arthur’s gonna get hurt… Wait what did that servant boy say? Magic shield?… What if it’s true?…”

Arthur also because he still believes Merlin and doesn’t think that his accusations were baseless.

The whole atmosphere is just dripping with tension.

Not to mention Valiant’s theme! I’ve held out for the whole episode, but the chorus of voices that accompanies the fights with him is spine-chilling, and the only reason I like Valiant is because of it.

Just gonna… Gonna leave this here.

It’s the full fight’s music, but the theme must have come from this piece since there’s nothing else… It’s great.

<_><_><_>

The Villain List

1. Mary Collins.

2. Valiant.

Why? Well...

I don’t dislike Valiant. He’s actually quite smooth, and convincing, and he is clever... to an extent - see the very beginning of this for proof - but... I don’t actually think he’s better than Mary Collins. She had much more of a plan, she was far more organised and, in total, she killed... wait not just one person... The guards and Lady Helen, and then... No, that was it. THE SERVANT TOO, but other than that... She didn’t need to be lethal to be effective, she came so close to achieving her goal that if it wasn’t for Merlin being resistant to magic and cleverly noticing that people were falling asleep because of the singing, she would have succeeded. That is failure, but not because of her faults.

Valiant, on the other hand, failed his goal in a different fashion. His goal was not to kill anyone, not the king or Arthur or anyone, he just wanted to win the tournament. And he failed spectacularly in that regard. He is a knight, he knows the knights’ code, he probably even followed it up until a certain point when he decided not to for some reason or another.Then he decided to cheat, to get money, to become slightly richer. And turning to the easy solution - magic - was a good move, it was valid. Killing the guy who gave him the magic - also good.

The decision to make that magic lethal and highly lethal at that, was not.

That was an unnecessary move. That was a move that would have caused suspicion regardless of how successful he seemed in his fights. It’s a tournament for knights, it’s not an all-out brawl where the last man standing would win. Even if lethality was allowed, the other knights didn’t seem to consider it an option. Valiant stood out with his first choice, and he kept standing out as he went on, which drew unnecessary attention and suspicion, the two things that could have made his plan fall apart. And guess what - that’s exactly what happened.

Mary Collins was clever, and a good actress. Valiant was smooth, and a good actor, but not a very clever person. Mary Collins claims number 1, Valiant sits at number 2.

<_><_><_>

The Magic

The Merthur

[hamliet]

MDZS meets MBTI

The Myers-Briggs Personality type is older than the Enneagram, and consists of sixteen types based on four different pairs of personality traits: Introversion vs. Extroversion; Sensing vs. Intuition, Feeling vs. Thinking, and Perceiving vs. Judging. To be clear, none of these categories are black and white–for example, all Feelers are capable of using logic, and Thinkers have feelings and care about people–but it’s a cool way of understanding personalities.

I’m not going to do every character, but simply the characters I think are most important and the ones for whom I have the most information to analyze (some is def guesswork). :P Also, this is just my opinion and definitely open to debate! MBTI isn’t a science; it’s just something I do for fun. 

Wei WuXian-->ENFP “The Campaigner” 

Unlike many of the others, Wei WuXian’s type seems very, very obvious. He might be the most ENFP to ever ENFP. 

The ENFP personality is a true free spirit. They are often the life of the party, but unlike Explorers, they are less interested in the sheer excitement and pleasure of the moment than they are in enjoying the social and emotional connections they make with others. Charming, independent, energetic and compassionate... if they’ve found a cause that sparks their imagination, ENFPs will bring an energy that oftentimes thrusts them into the spotlight, held up by their peers as a leader and a guru – but this isn’t always where independence-loving ENFPs want to be. 

Lan WangJi-->ISTJ “The Logistician”

Why yes, Lan WangJi is the exact opposite of his beloved Wei WuXian. He’s another one that seems pretty obvious to me. 

ISTJ personalities are no-nonsense... ISTJs have little tolerance for indecisiveness, but lose patience even more quickly if their chosen course is challenged with impractical theories, especially if they ignore key details...

ISTJ personalities adhere to established rules and guidelines regardless of cost, reporting their own mistakes and telling the truth even when the consequences for doing so could be disastrous. To ISTJs, honesty is far more important than emotional considerations, and their blunt approach leaves others with the false impression that ISTJs are cold, or even robotic. People with this type may struggle to express emotion or affection outwardly, but the suggestion that they don’t feel, or worse have no personality at all, is deeply hurtful.

Jiang Cheng-->ISTJ “The Logistician” 

Yes, the same type as Lan WangJi, just a tad more bitter. Personality tests, even if two people seem to fit a type extremely well, can’t define someone, because people are just so infinitely more complex. The part about being taken advantage of reminds me here of how Jin GuangYao points out that people took advantage of Jiang Cheng’s need to prove himself to drive a wedge between him and Wei WuXian. 

ISTJs’ dedication is an excellent quality, allowing them to accomplish much, but it is also a core weakness that less scrupulous individuals take advantage of. ISTJs seek stability and security, considering it their duty to maintain a smooth operation, and they may find that their coworkers and significant others shift their responsibilities onto them, knowing that they will always take up the slack. ISTJs tend to keep their opinions to themselves and let the facts do the talking, but it can be a long time before observable evidence tells the whole story.

Lan XiChen-->ENFJ “The Protagonist” 

Sadly, this description is pretty accurate to Lan XiChen’s strengths and also his flaws--in particular in terms of his relationship with Jin GuangYao. 

ENFJs radiate authenticity, concern and altruism, unafraid to stand up and speak when they feel something needs to be said. They find it natural and easy to communicate with others, especially in person, and their Intuitive (N) trait helps people with the ENFJ personality type to reach every mind, be it through facts and logic or raw emotion. ENFJs easily see people’s motivations and seemingly disconnected events, and are able to bring these ideas together and communicate them as a common goal with an eloquence that is nothing short of mesmerizing.

The interest ENFJs have in others is genuine, almost to a fault – when they believe in someone, they can become too involved in the other person’s problems, place too much trust in them.

Jin GuangYao-->ESFJ (?) “The Consul”

This one I’m less certain of--FJ seems certain to me, but I/E and N/S is a bit debatable. I think he best meets the description of “the Consul” though. 

ESFJs are more concerned with fashion and their appearance, their social status and the standings of other people... ESFJs love to be of service, enjoying any role that allows them to participate in a meaningful way, so long as they know that they are valued and appreciated. Coming to terms with their sensitivity is ESFJs’ biggest challenge – people are going to disagree and they’re going to criticize, and while it hurts, it’s just a part of life. 

Nie MingJue-->ESTJ “The Executive” 

Less certain of E or I than for the other three, but the way he failed to overcome the challenge of how not everyone processes the same way seems very ESTJ to me. 

ESTJs are representatives of tradition and order, utilizing their understanding of what is right, wrong and socially acceptable to bring families and communities together. Embracing the values of honesty, dedication and dignity, people with the ESTJ personality type are valued for their clear advice and guidance, and they happily lead the way on difficult paths. 

ESTJs are aware of their surroundings and live in a world of clear, verifiable facts – the surety of their knowledge means that even against heavy resistance, they stick to their principles and push an unclouded vision of what is and is not acceptable... they expect their reliability and work ethic to be reciprocated – people with this personality type meet their promises, and if partners or subordinates jeopardize them through incompetence or laziness, or worse still, dishonesty, they do not hesitate to show their wrath... 

The main challenge for ESTJs is to recognize that not everyone follows the same path or contributes in the same way.

Nie HuaiSang-->ISFP “The Adventurer” 

Interesting name for a timid HuaiSang, but I really do think he is an ISFP. He is notably one of the few Nie Sect leaders who doesn’t seem at risk of dying from a qi deviation, and hence his less brutish way of ruling might actually, in the long run, be good for his sect. (NMJ would be proud... maybe.) 

ISFP personality types are true artists, but not necessarily in the typical sense where they’re out painting happy little trees. Often enough though, they are perfectly capable of this. Rather, it’s that they use aesthetics, design and even their choices and actions to push the limits of social convention...

If these goals and principles are noble, ISFPs can act with amazing charity and selflessness – but it can also happen that people with the ISFP personality type establish a more self-centered identity, acting with selfishness, manipulation and egoism. 

Wen Qing-->ENTJ “The Commander” 

Another one I feel fairly confident in. Wen Qing is a boss queen who gives birth to one of the series’ most iconic lines: “thank you, and I’m sorry.” She’s able to win the respect of Wen RouHan and even some people who hate the Wens, and thinks outside the box, theorizing on core transfer but hesitant to actually try it when she isn’t fully confident. 

ENTJs are natural-born leaders. People with this personality type embody the gifts of charisma and confidence, and project authority in a way that draws crowds together behind a common goal. But unlike their Feeling (F) counterpart, ENTJs are characterized by an often ruthless level of rationality, using their drive, determination and sharp minds to achieve whatever end they’ve set for themselves.

Wen Ning-->INFP “The Mediator”

I was torn between S and N, but I went with INFP because he is more focused on thinking about possibilities--in fact his arc is about learning to be confident in his own possibilities and to explore them.

INFP personalities are true idealists, always looking for the hint of good in even the worst of people and events, searching for ways to make things better. While they may be perceived as calm, reserved, or even shy, INFPs have an inner flame and passion that can truly shine. 

Jin ZiXuan--> ESTP, “The Entrepreneur” 

Does he have enough of a personality for me to really analyze him? Maybe not but I like him a lot. He is motivated by what seems like pride at the beginning, but we later realize he cares deeply about the people around him and genuinely cared for Wei WuXian because his wife did. 

Inspiring, convincing and colorful, they are natural group leaders, pulling everyone along the path less traveled, bringing life and excitement everywhere they go. Putting these qualities to a constructive and rewarding end is Entrepreneurs’ true challenge.

Jiang YanLi-->INFP “The Mediator” 

Shijie was indeed the mediator between her two brothers, and it’s her legacy of love and kindness, of wanting Wei WuXian to live even at the expense of her own life no matter what he’d done, that makes a huge difference.  

Luckily, like the flowers in spring, INFP’s affection, creativity, altruism and idealism will always come back, rewarding them and those they love perhaps not with logic and utility, but with a world view that inspires compassion, kindness and beauty wherever they go.

Jin Ling-->ESTP, “The Entrepreneur” 

Jin Ling is the hardest one to pin down and I’m mad because he’s one of my favorites. He is highly emotional, but I think he’s an ESTP like his dad.

Entrepreneurs keep their conversation energetic, with a good dose of intelligence, but they like to talk about what is – or better yet, to just go out and do it. Entrepreneurs leap before they look, fixing their mistakes as they go, rather than sitting idle, preparing contingencies and escape clauses.

Lan SiZhui-->INFJ “The Advocate” 

My type. 

INFJs indeed share a unique combination of traits: though soft-spoken, they have very strong opinions and will fight tirelessly for an idea they believe in. They are decisive and strong-willed, but will rarely use that energy for personal gain – INFJs will act with creativity, imagination, conviction and sensitivity not to create advantage, but to create balance. 

Lan JingYi-->ESFP “The Entertainer” 

He’s pretty easy to figure out. I constantly wonder how he fares in the Gusu Lan Sect. 

...they love putting on a show for their friends too, chatting with a unique and earthy wit, soaking up attention and making every outing feel a bit like a party. Utterly social, ESFPs enjoy the simplest things, and there’s no greater joy for them than just having fun with a good group of friends.

Xue Yang-->ESTP “The Entrepreneur” 

ESTPs are the likeliest personality type to make a lifestyle of risky behavior. They live in the moment and dive into the action – they are the eye of the storm. People with the ESTP personality type enjoy drama, passion, and pleasure, not for emotional thrills, but because it’s so stimulating to their logical minds. They are forced to make critical decisions based on factual, immediate reality in a process of rapid-fire rational stimulus response.

A-Qing-->ESTP “The Entrepreneur” 

Yes, I think A-Qing is the same type as Xue Yang, which doesn’t surprise me because they are actually extremely blatant foils in the story. It’s funny the description notes how observant ESTPs tend to be, because that’s something A-Qing absolutely is, noticing Xue Yang’s minuscule changes in expression and keeping her from trusting him, and Xue Yang is also incredibly observant of her words to realize she might just not be blind after all. 

With perhaps the most perceptive, unfiltered view of any type, ESTPs have a unique skill in noticing small changes. Whether a shift in facial expression, a new clothing style, or a broken habit, people with this personality type pick up on hidden thoughts and motives where most types would be lucky to pick up anything specific at all. ESTPs use these observations immediately, calling out the change and asking questions, often with little regard for sensitivity. ESTPs should remember that not everyone wants their secrets and decisions broadcast.

Xiao XingChen-->ISFJ “The Defender” 

The following description really reminds me of XXC especially after he hears the story about Xue Yang’s love of candy as a child, and every single day thereafter buys him and A-Qing a candy. 

ISFJs take their responsibilities personally, consistently going above and beyond, doing everything they can to exceed expectations and delight others, at work and at home... Naturally social, an odd quality for Introverts, ISFJs utilize excellent memories not to retain data and trivia, but to remember people, and details about their lives. When it comes to gift-giving, ISFJs have no equal, using their imagination and natural sensitivity to express their generosity in ways that touch the hearts of their recipients

Song Lan-->INTJ “The Architect” 

There’s not as much to go on for Song Lan, but what we do have seems to suggest INTJ to me, particularly in how someone who would spend years looking for a friend would refuse to consider that Xue Yang might have changed at all. 

INTJs are simultaneously the most starry-eyed idealists and the bitterest of cynics, a seemingly impossible conflict. 

Yu ZiYuan-->ESTJ “The Executive” 

Welp. The Purple Spider is definitely an Executive.

ESTJs are representatives of tradition and order, utilizing their understanding of what is right, wrong and socially acceptable to bring families and communities together. Embracing the values of honesty, dedication and dignity, people with the ESTJ personality type are valued for their clear advice and guidance, and they happily lead the way on difficult paths. 

[missilekidding]

☄ / 🔮 / 🌐 :)

Gah I had so much fun with these! Again, so sorry I didn’t get around to them sooner, but I hope they were worth waiting for!

☄ - NewsAGoGo

To begin with I need to say that my headcanons for this wonderful lesbian are HEAVILY influenced by @neon-rat‘s NewsAGoGo tag cause that shit is SO GOOD.

- So we got our lesbian scene queen here. She’s had about four thousand different hair cuts and colours and not a single one has ever looked good, but that’s sort of the point. She is CONSTANTLY shaving bits off her head and has most of her scalp tattooed. Frequently seen in a variety of extremely ugly green, yellow or orange trench coats and totally impractical knee length boots, and manages to pull off the ‘I literally wouldn’t recognise good fashion if it punched me in the face’ look brilliantly. This is mostly because of her charisma and confidence in personally loving her own look, and besides, she is a TERRIFYING motherfucker so most runners wouldn’t have the guts to tell her they don’t like her look anyway.

- When I say shes tattooed I mean she is TATTOOED. Most of her body is covered. They aren’t generally big pieces either - a large piece on her upper arm, chest and one thigh, but otherwise covered in tons of smaller pieces, individual from each other and symbolic of vastly different things. Her favourite is probably any of the pieces her girlfriend, DJ Hot Chimp, has given her, and even if Hot Chimp wasn’t genuinely one of the best tattoo artists in the zones she would adore the fact that it’s her girl’s iconic ocean patterns that rest across her rib cage.

- She can be pretty blunt, and it often comes across as rude - she will always speak her mind and totally tends to miss the changes in conversations when people are hurt. She can also get a little heated too when she’s passionate, but also very short when she doesn’t care, so she can be a little intense for many joys to deal with. That’s not, however, to say that she is unkind. If NewsAGoGo is anything, its a good fucking friend. She is fiercely loyal to Doctor Death Defying and her friends at the radio station, and to Hot Chimp, and she easily makes up for anything mean that she may accidentally say in the passion she shows to the people she trusts.

- Before they settled either with or near Doctor D in the radio station, News, Hot Chimp, Cherri and Pony all ran together - it only lasted for about six months once they escaped the City, but it was probably the most fun any of them had. They were some of the earliest killjoys to get out, so the rules of the Zones were much less defined, meaning that setting fire to buildings for the sake of it and driving fast enough to crash every single car they found was fine - the precious nature of these things really weren’t set out or apparent, and the desire for chaos which plagues any runner fresh out of the City went uncontrolled in them.

🔮 - The Phoenix Witch

AH! My absolutely favourite character in the universe! Resident Goth Deity!

- She isn’t called the Phoenix Witch for no reason. The woman has mad power. Raising the dead and making random shit vanish type power. Mostly she takes this very seriously - a nasty side effect of prophetic visions is that she can see the role she, and others, need to play in the big picture, and so her somewhat controversial choices to raise, or not raise joys from the dead plays on her conscience a lot. It’s not clear where she got her power from other than the fact that it took her years of practise to gain it, and that the more powerful she becomes the less she seems to actually be seen.

- This then means that very few living runners have actually seen her. In the earlier days it was more common - she seemed to actually conform to the idea that having a physical form means that you had to exist somewhere at all times, so seeing her around the zones was rare, but possible. Many of those ‘joys who did see her wandering across the land however were ghosted, and those who do claim to have seen her in the later years tend to say that she can just appear at will, and so this lack of knowledge and sightings of her, paired with the frequent stories of the impossible things she can just do really gained her her status as big fucking mythical cryptid across the zones.

- Know I included this in my last Phoenix Witch headcanon post but it’s a headcanon I am willing to Die for - She is Doctor Death Defying’s twin. They were raised together and although they don’t see each other very often cause like. crazy zone happenings. they are still incredibly close and look out for each other. They also fuck around and indirectly make each other’s lives extremely difficult on purpose to piss the other one off because even if your sister is essentially a deity you can still make sure that she wakes up to her least favourite song playing on the radio once every week, and even if your brother is the most revered killjoy in the zones you can give him weird fucking intense dreams that fully convince him that yes, he is in fact a large marsupial, at two in the morning.

- Her ability to shape shift was something that kind of just happened. very suddenly. She was kind of just sitting there one day, thinking about how inconvenient it was to be a human person with like arms and legs and a torso, when suddenly she just wasn’t anymore. It was pretty surprising to say the least, to no longer have to exist in corporeal form, but both personally and practically it was pretty awesome, and after some practise she worked out how to change into a raven, which while also looking totally rad allowed her to go and sit outside Doctor D’s radio station at ungodly hours of the morning and shriek really loud before making a quick get away.

🌐 - One of my OCs

Okay lets talk Grenade. My fucking weird dumbass bitch oc. Love her.

- She has never lived in the Battery - she’s originally from around London, but when shit Went Down in the UK her family moved as far as they could - into the area that later became the zones. Her mother moved into the City in the early days but Grenade’s apprehension to follow proved pretty fucking lucky after Better Living started dropping bombs on the zones and their true nature was revealed. During this time she spent a while running with this group of aggressive dudes and trying to convince herself that she was totally straight™, but she quickly realised that this group were actually pretty awful morally, and left, later realising that girls exist and reassessing her entire world view.

-  She is pretty covered in tattoos (notice the running theme in my headcanons for most female killjoys, I’m gay sue me), with her favourite being either the snake around her forearm or the large floral pieces over her hips and thighs. Her time being a general nuisance to Dracs has proved a little detrimental to the larger pieces on her body - a particularly violent run in left most of her chest piece totally unrecognisable, but the scarring itself still has meaning to her so it doesn’t bother her too much.

- She is often seen running around under the full moon, titties out, praising the Goddess. Just cause you live in the desert doesn’t mean you can’t still do your crazy witch shit and Grenade is definitely extremely spiritual. Due to this she also makes charms for runners she meets - getting her hands on actual supplies for spell bags is hard, but she makes do with what she can find and invests a lot of time into sigil magic to make up for it.

- Her and Lithium (@neon-rat’s OC) were the first members of their group, and met shortly after Better Living stopped dropping pig bombs when the two of them ended up trying to kill the same annoying SCARECROW agent together. They got on amazingly mostly because they are both fucking batshit crazy, so the idea of spending three weeks hiding in the City and just repetitively stealing all the fruit from the previously mentioned SCARECROW agent’s house before setting it on fire was one that made perfect sense to them both. They were originally gonna call their group Dykes! but realised that DOGS, or ‘Damn, Occult Girls are Sexy’ is funnier, and sounds like it should stand for something way cooler than it does.

[storytimefromthecreed]

Vigilante AU: Sonny Carisi

(Part 3)

Detective Dodds flipped her over his shoulder, and the resulting action of landing on her back momentarily stunned her while her lungs fought to expand after the air was knocked from them. Dodds kept his distance, unsure of her state. When a gasp racked her body, practically lifting her midsection off the ground, he slowly made his way to her. 

“You-you’re,” Dodds huffed, fighting for his breath. Both fighters were drained. “Under arrest.” Dodds pinned her on the ground with his knee on her back. Cuffs clinked around her wrists. The cool feeling sent a rush of fear through her spine, and she tapped into the reserves of her energy. Dodds pulled her up, (Y/N) dead weighted the whole time to make him struggle, and he groaned when he had her in a standing position. Finally, The Vigilante was captured.

(Y/N) threw her head back, and heard the soft crunch of cartlidge. Dodds cursed aloud and released her. Still cuffed, she swung her wrists at the detectve, and he backed up. His fists went up in boxer’s stance, and she swung her foot at the side. He blocked this with a jab at her knee. No bother. She grounded on that foot, and caught him on his opposite hip as he raised a punch. The blow weakened Dodds, herself too, but she needed to end this. (Y/N) leaned her body back, jumped in the air, and kicked his ribs with as much force as she could muster. It was an impractical move, but she needed the space. Dodds was a close encounter fighter. She needed to either be extremely close to him, or far enough away that she was outside his range. Right now, she chose the latter. Falling to the ground, weak and still cuffed, (Y/N) crawled to a standing postition and fleed the scene. Dodds lay on his back, cursing.

....

Opening the door was hard with her hands still stuck together, so she just knocked. Imagine taking a shower and changing under those conditions. She did the best with what she was given and had raced home. Late. Sonny would be worried. (Y/N) had thrown her jacket over her hands, looping it at her wrists and giving the illusion of it being held.

“Sonny bunny,” Sonny’s blue eyes made her relax and she pushed her way into the apartment. The bag she held twisted between her fingers fell to the ground with a thud. Blood rushed back to her strained figures. "I'm so sorry for being late." She paused midway of showing him the cuffs when she saw they had guests. The whole squad gathered in their living room, some poked their heads out from the kitchen. Dinner was tonight? A knocking on the door diverted their attention, and Sonny opened the door.

“Sorry I’m late.” Dodds walked in and shook Sonny’s hand.

Sonny pulled him into the apartment and walked him over to (Y/N). He proudly threw an arm over her shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, Dodds. We get it. This is (Y/N), my wonderful girlfriend. (Y/N), this is Dodds.”

Darks eyes held hers when he grinned and extended a hand. (Y/N) stomach turned to lead. Jacket still covering her wrists, (Y/N) stuck her hand out as much as she could and gave Dodds a firm handshake. “Please, call me Mike.”

“It’s great to meet you, Mike.” The name sounded sour in her mouth. As if they hadn’t mutally kicked each other’s asses not two hours ago. 

“I’m sorry, but have we met before? I swear you look familiar.”

“I work at the hospital, you might have seen me there.”

“Maybe.” 

“Please make yourself comfortable, Mike. As you can tell, I forgot dinner was tonight.” (Y/N) smiled and gently looked up at Sonny.

“Sonny, can you help me with my gym bag? I can never get it on that tall shelf.”

Sonny looked confused, “But you usually leave it-” He nodded and took the bag from the floor. “Sure thing. Mike,” Sonny pointed towards the table. “There’s beer on ice on the table. Help yourself.” Sonny placed a hand on the small of (Y/N)’s back while they ducked past the squad.

Greeting the rest of the group and laughing about how they had seen her in such a ghastly state, the two excused themselves to their room with (Y/N) laughing, “I just came back from work. Ignore my face!” This got everyone laughing.

“Carisi’s about to get an earful.” Fin yelled as the door closed.

“What’s going on? Your gym bag?” Sonny put his hands on his hips and waited for her explaination. (Y/N) dropped the jacket and his eyes widened. Tears edged her eyes and her face pulled down in a frown. Panic rose in her chest. “What the-” He looked over his shoulder and lowered his voice while he crossed the room quickly. Sonny lead her to his side of the bed and fiddling through his desk. (Y/N) sat down, holding her hands to her face. Embarrassed. Finally finding what he was searching fun, a pin, Sonny began jumbling with the cuffs. “Where did you get these?”

“The store!” She said sarcastically. Sonny took her hands away from her face and lit the lamp on his table. “I really wanted to shake things up in bed and didn’t know how to tell you- How do you think! Baby, Dodds almost got me tonight.”

“Dodds?! As in the Dodds in our living room?!” Sonny’s blue eyes widened and (Y/N) crumpled. The weight of the events she had lived through so far in the night finally took her.

“Yes! I think I almost broke his nose. In my defense, he threw me across an alley. But still! I’m so sorry, Sonny. I totally ruined your evening. I’m so sorry.” The last sentence was a groan. Her eyes opened to face Sonny’s wrath. Sonny looked up at her sternly. Then a grin spread and he burst out laughing. He quit fumbling with the cufffs. Trapped between fighting to keep his laughter down and not being able to, tears ran down his face and when he finally composed himself long enough to look at her again, he returned into a fit.

“Sonny!” His laugh was infectious, and she found herself giggling. “This isn’t funny! Get me out of these! They’re gonna think we’re doing weird stuff in here.” (Y/N) cast a worried look at the door. 

“I just- you-” Sonny clutched his sides and wiped the tears at the corners of his eyes. “Phew. I love ya, doll.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.” The click of the cuffs sounded her release, and she rubbed her wrists when they slipped off and into Sonny’s hands. Sonny stashed the cuffs in the drawer. 

“Are we going to return that? Should I drop them in his bag?”

“No, we’re keeping these.”

“Sonny,” Sonny kissed her wrists, tracing the lines where the cuffs had cut her. “That’s against the law.” 

“I’m your bad boy.” He winked.

“Go entertain. If you’re good, I’ll use the cuffs on your first.” (Y/N) purred. Sonny kissed her deeply, pulling away quicky, and headed for the door.

“I plan to be really bad then.” Sonny closed the door behind him, but (Y/N) heard him say, “Hey Dodds, what’s going on with your nose?” (Y/N) rolled her eyes.

....

When the night was over and all was cleared away, Sonny dropped like a rock beside her. The bed bounced at his added weight. 

“I can’t move a muscle.” Sonny’s voice muffled against the pillows. 

“Aww, my poor Sonny.” (Y/N) rolled off the bed and went to his feet. She pulled off his shoes and then his socks. 

“Thanks, doll.” Sonny muffled.

She tugged off his pants, and Sonny popped up his hips to allow her to do this.

“You’re the best. Now put on my green pjs.” Sonny wiggled his butt. 

“What if I like you like this?” She spanked his butt.

“Hey! I need you to love me for me than my body!” Sonny laughed as she mounted him. Sitting on the small of his back, her fingers slid under his shirt and scratched his back. Sonny groaned. “I thought you were trying to sex me up not put me to sleep.”

“I thought you wanted me to love you for more than your body.” She teased, and he grew silent. “We don’t have to do anything, love Just wanted to love on you.”

“I do too.” Sonny said slowly, but she sensed his hesitation. 

“What’s wrong?” (Y/N) rolled off his back to face him. He looked up with an innocent expression. His light brown hair puffed in front of his face, and she moved it back to look him in the eye. “We really don’t have to do anything if you don’t wanna.”

“I do. Promise. I just,” he looked embarassed, “I’ve never really, ya know.” He made a face, nodded his head side to side, and gestured vaguely. 

“I don’t understand.”

“I’ve never, really, done....” Sonny rolled to his side and traced his fingers on her captured hands. “My sex life has been relatively vanilla. I don’t want to do it wrong.” His confession was sweet, and he looked up at her for approval. 

“Anything you do is perfect to me, so don’t worry. Also, we really could wait until you’re more comfortable.”

“Thanks.” Sonny gave her a kiss and she winced at the movement. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. My back’s probably bruised.”

“Lemma look.” She turned around and pulled up her shirt. A hiss escaped his lips. 

“Mike did that? To you?” Gentle fingers traced the bruises.

“Not just him. Not that big of a deal. I think I have more.” (Y/N) turned over and lifted her shirt up and over her head. Sonny watched silently, taking in the black to green bruises covering her arms, stomach, and back. “Are you mad?”

“At you? For what?” Sonny lowered his mouth to the bruise on her forearm and kissed it. “Never. Just promise me you’re being careful.”

“Promise.” Sonny kissed every bruise on her body that night. And she swore they healed faster because of it. They fell asleep like that, half naked and tangled into one another. 

A click awoke (Y/N). Sonny’s gentle breathing lulled beside her. His body warming her. 

In their bedroom, Mike Dodds aimed a barrel at her.