#BUT APPRENTLY BRAIN SAYS NO

[whumpasaurus101]

[shuffleoflove]

i'm so sick of seeing stupid takes in the heartstopper tag. you are all banned from watching it until you develop some critical thinking <3

[slowlysoluminary]

Still working on that chapter. Don't worry, it's coming along! Yesterday i was trapped at a party for 10 hours and, being the introvert i am, decided to take a break from drawing for an animatic by trying to draw for this au instead. don't know why i didn't just do artfight lol

FULL KING REFERENCE PACK + SIFFRIN DUO POSTGAME REFERENCES

Notes and details under the cut

sooooo howsabout postgame content?

the original post talking about postgame can be found here but it doesn't go into too much detail

So post-game resetfrin and gloop. they go with the party, kinda like a lot of twohats aus? resetfrin goes with the party because they know mirabelle and kinda know isabeau from when he would get apprenticed by the king (long story), but also because resetfrin acted so much like the old siffrin they used to know that it felt odd to leave him behind.

gloop, however, WAS the old siffrin! the party knows this, they found it out in the last loop, and they've formed such a bond with them that it's as natural as it is in the original game. the only issue is: gloop has changed SO much. physically, mentally, even a pronoun change - the party wants to help her out, but they want to explore who this New Siffrin is, too. Isn't it ironic that the new addition is the one you know far more of than the old addition?

resetfrin stays siffrin because... uh. because he's always been siffrin? there's no conflict there. gloop, after getting their memory back, ALSO goes back to siffrin, because that's who they really are and they acknowledge that loop is their own person. they don't want to be reminded of their time as gloop, either.

so... they're both Siffrin. And they're both technically the same person. do you see the issue?? the two of them didn't. the party did.

there's a comic I'm thinking about making to explore the processes and conversation that happened to initiate the name changes. the long and short of it is they can't BOTH be siffrin, but neither of them want to be siffrin if the other one can't also be siffrin, so they go on separate journeys to find a new name. they come back together with the party afterwords and they both ended up picking the same name so it's back to square one.

they talk to the party the second time and after a lot of brainstorming land on Orion for resetfrin and Lux for gloop. it helps the party distinguish between them and helps me establish the difference between postgame content and in-game content

(plug moment but these names were suggested by @the-bitter-ocean who gave me like. a whole list of things i could choose from. oh the life saver. i didn't even think about what names they would've picked until xe helped. and ohhh theyre so good. he also has some amazing aus including a miraloops au that you should go check out. pretty please)

the hair thing is SUPER IMPORTANT i originally only did it because they needed a way to separate themselves from eachother, but i realized they would also have done it to separate themselves from the old people they used to be. very poetic. 10/10 thank you brain for the excuse

the colors for orion's alt outfits are just a limited color pallete, they're not actually the colors afaik. (<- says the creator) but Lux's colors are 100% the colors, yes. their star body is different from loop's, where loop's body is solid black and lux's seems to glow on it's own. do you see where the name lux came from.

it's really dysphoric. imagine being turned into a ghost against your will and losing your memories, and them after gaining your memories back you turn into a completely different body AGAIN and it's STILL not the original body you had. i would cry.

gloop/lux's eye is still blind. even as a ghost they lacked depth perception. L. since resetfrin wasn't with the party to lose his eye they don't have any vision impairment

actually, about that. funny little thing. if siffrin wasn't there to protect bonnie, who did? haha hehe. hey why does odile have her arm in a cast...

KING TIME

okay i got a lot of questions about it so i double-checked on the original post and. yeah it DOES say the king's name. both in the text and on the image. but you'd be forgiven for missing it because it's pretty small on the image and there's a lot of text to read through

anyway pre-madness king's name is Lazare!! he originally looks like the lithe dude on the left. he's scholar-ish, came to vaugarde on vacation before losing his memory, yadda yadda... a lot of his information is on the original post so I won't repeat anything that's already been said

he picked Lazare a few days after losing his memory. he never told his name to anyone in the town he was staying so all he got was "travelling one" and he really genuinely thought that was his name for a hot second until he realized that Vaugarde really likes adding -one to titles

i made his hair curlier! after drawing the king for the chapter cg i realized i did NOT makw his hair curly enough when drawing Lazare. his hair type is almost exactly mine, though mine has more define curls, so drawing it is a BLAST!!

Defender arc Lazare! He bulked himself up to come off more physically and mentally strong. is this a trans allegory? is the King trans or was the body craft just to match his perception of himself? not sure. At this point in time he's already travelled with siffrin for a bit so i like to think he's a teensy bit protective. somewhere between friend snd father figure. cool guy

you know who's not cool? this guy vvv

this is where the King becomes the King :3 his hair is OBNOXIOUSLY long, almost rapunzel-like but nowhere near as bad. it always covers one eye but it doesn't really matter which one.

the crown happens like... VERY shortly before he makes the wish and starts freezing people in time. hes lonely and isolated and its something like coping with his delusions about everyone being out to get him

that's not the way he thought in the original loop, but after the reset his descent is much faster and harder than the last. when Siffrin starts climbing the tower, yearning becomes animosity as he thinks Siffrin finally betrayed him like he "always knew they would." or something.

hey 16yo sif jumpscare!!! wasn't he on the original post too?

.

anyway!!! that's it! that's all! i swear it's all. inevitably I'll have to make gloop and resetfrin full references but I'm happy with the ones i drew in the original post which I'll probably end up pointing people to if they want to draw either of them. the king was the one i worried about most because he's so different from canon, and same goes for the postgame designs. even coming up with new names was worrying because they're practically not even the same person from canon anymore

but that's the fun thing with aus, isn't it? lol

cya

[bonefall]

There are some scenes in BSD you could have fun with actually

A doctor becomes the leader of an organization by killing the last one, making it look like natural causes somehow with the witness being an apprenticed aged guy telling him to say that the former leader said that his successor was the doctor

Like that would be cool as shit in bonewarriors. Evil medic that gained power in a way that people can’t question but also like… should? Would be a hell of an exploration I think

Ok but like, that's Good writing. Good writing isn't as much fun to fix. From what you're telling me, Bungo is a Good series

If there was any anime I was going to beat with a hammer until it's a good story it's Naruto. That is the kind of anime that's so close to being good its ending will fold a protein in your brain wrong and become a prion disease

[autisticandroids]

rarepair fic recs

slipping in my rarepair recs within hopefully like an hour of the deadline. for @spnficrecfest. i'm basically taking rarepairs to mean "anything but The Big Two" so like. if you wanna quibble with calling, say, megstiel a rarepair, that's the definition i'm using.

i actually have a bunch of other rarepair fics on my other lists: casjimmy, samlucifer, sastiel, samruby, and annamary here. crowstiel, deancaslisa, deancasmeg, daphne/emmanuel, and cas/rachel here. draowley here. dagonkelly here. raphael/naomi, deanpala, deancassie, sastiel, mary/naomi, megjo, and rowena/ofc here. samlucifer here. and megstiel on i think literally every list i've made so far. i'd also like to point you in the direction of a dark femslash reclist i made earlier this year.

anyway, rarepair fics in order of wordcount:

i could be kindly by anti_ela, .5k

deanalastair. well, it's exactly what you think.

the replacement by ravenspear, .5k

meg/nick (yes lucifer's vessel nick). meg won't kiss him until his mouth is cold enough.

buy you a round by nevcoleil, .5k

deanhenriksen. they meet again after jus in bello.

vessel by transgenderism, 1k

deancasmeg in season seven. and Gender.

wherever they roam (the sum of our influences) (orphaned work), 1k

deancasmeg. dean and meg met in hell. dean and cas met there too. all three meet again, topside.

aching everywhere by discoxena, 1k, chose not to warn

sammegjo. a seduction, rather than what we see in canon, and that makes it worse in the end.

another perfect moment (that doesn't feel like mine) by lesbiansailor, 1k, chose not to warn

alex jones/krissy chambers. munchausen's by proxy in a wayward sisters setting.

last call by angelszn, 2k

cassie/cisfem dean, in season three. one last phone call.

the pain in the end is all in your memory by filthyfealty, 2k

crowley/transfem dean. an exploration of what it's like to be a demon, and a girl, and dean winchester.

always sere, never blooming by smilla, 2k

deanvictor, after a hunt.

baby steps by angelszn, 2k

missouri/cisfem sam. sam has brain damage, so dean takes her to the only other psychic they know for help. i'm kind of obsessed with sam's characterization in this one, not gonna lie.

and the devil makes four by vaguesurprise, 2k

destiel, crowstiel, meanstiel, oh my! cas likes demons.

new religion (bring you to your knees) by electricskeptic, 2k

megstiel. meg realizes just how faithless cas is in season six.

the wrong game with the wrong chips by a_diamond, 3k

endverse cas/risa. they talk about being dean's discard pile.

the thing about glass slippers by krisomniac, 5k

deanhenriksen. dean allows himself to be temporarily transformed into a woman in order to go undercover and seduce henriksen. she likes it.

end of days (orphaned work), 5k

megstiel and deancasmeg in a pacific rim au.

one night by reapertownusa, 7k

deanhenriksen. a last encounter, three weeks before the deadline.

proxy by bleedingink, 8k

samcasmeg. three people in two bodies, and enough tension to cut with a knife.

grace by nerdylittleangelenthusiast, 13k, violence and mcd

crowstiel. a season twelve mpreg story. cas is on the run with kelly, and crowley is so sweet on him. abandoned but i would rec it anyway.

masters by twisted_slinky, 15k, noncon and violence warnings

deanmeg and megstiel. a story about meg from season three to season seven, as recounted by the demon herself. remember when meg said "i apprenticed under alastair in hell, just like your brother, so dean, can i make crowley do whatever i want?"

the passenger by hansbekhart, 34k, violence and mcd warnings

deanhenriksen. victor survives jus in bello, but just barely. when he's back on his feet again, he goes to meet the winchesters.

[peppermintstarsonamintyway]

been crunching down on thoughts for a crk modern au for a few weeks now, so here's a drawing I did of Butter Roll, Grape Ade (oc belonging to @pinkvaquita :3), and Espresso

crunched down thoughts and headcanons under the cut alongside close ups n stuff

Butter Roll!

-Held back in high school and college a few times, still trying to finish his biochemistry degree -Apprenticing at a blacksmith for extra credit to complete his degree and some pocket cash (he tried retail work one time, got fired real quick after making a threat to someone for being rude) -Left boot keeps getting stolen by the workshop pet, he's given up on getting it back and has just come to live with it -Always wearing the oven mitt, says it's cause he has a better grip with it, truth is he's a dumbass and had grabbed a metal rod, that had been in the furnace for two hours moments before, without it and got a particularly bad burn, he's equally embarrassed about the scar itself and how it happened so he just stopped taking it off unless he's at home

Grape Ade! (Oc by @pinkvaquita, all these thoughts are purely headcanons from my end! :D)

-Performer (undercover security) at the local club -Good friends with the owner of the club (it's Jelly Donut), often times has full access to the club even if it's closed that day (Jelly gave her a key and said "go wild") i don't actually have that many thoughts for grape ade (or i do i'm not sure the brain is numb rn) soo- yeah that's all until further notice

Espresso!

-Workaholic college professor/high school teacher and known researcher -Only working as a college professor/high school teacher because he needs money for his research (and having people to bounce his theories off is actually quite helpful) -Not a morning person, period -Five seconds from collapsing at any given moment -Glasses break frequently (it's not that they're badly made or anything, they just aren't meant to take punches to the face to protect students from whatever hellfire they get into), he has like fifty pairs on standby in his desk -Hair clips are an old gift from someone, he started wearing them because his hair was hard to put up comfortably

aaand that's all for the moment!

[hauntedhokage]

more tattoo shop!au stuff because my brain literally will not stop

More about Diavolo and the boys than Barb, but here we go.

Diavolo’s father is still asleep, tucked away in a private room in at the family home where he’s not to be disturbed except by Diavolo 

Diavolo apprenticed under Barbatos as a tattoo artist, occasionally takes on a client to keep up appearances but he’s more into running business with Lucifer

Their group doesn’t have an official name, but they’re often referred to as those devil boys - which has led to them all having a devil related tattoo on their body 

Diavolo has two devil horns that peek out along his hairline. They blend in with his red hair nicely except for the gold tips

Lucifer has the cliche pitchfork along his forearm next to a tattoo of a peacock - it almost looks like the peacock is holding the pitchfork

Mammon has ‘$666’ tattooed behind his ear

Levi has an anime devil girl on his bicep, pinup style. It’s something he drew himself but has Diavolo clean up before it’s permanent 

Satan is the funny one, he literally just has “devil boy” tattooed on his wrist in typewriter font. His name is Satan, after all. 

Asmo has a heart with horns and a tail on his shoulder blade

Beel has a goat’s head on his shoulder. It’s positioning almost looks like its staring at the pizza slice he has on that same shoulder

Diavolo and Lucifer have the appearance of being upstanding citizens, do a lot of volunteer work and donate excess funds to community programs but they’re absolutely getting into things they shouldn’t be to upset the House of Lords and Michael’s family. (Diavolo still wants to unite his family’s work with Michaels, and is trying to get Solomon more involved in the effort but that guy is slippery)

Mammon is still a model, but does a lot of work listening to what the others around him are saying. Acts as a plant for a lot of parties to get information for his brother (and Barbatos)

Levi is a hacker. There isn’t a system he can’t get into (after a couple failed attempts. He’s not the best but nobody can do better than him right now)

Satan handles most of the organization of information that comes through. Nothing happens that he doesn’t hear about, and he’s an excellent information broker. 

Asmo knows everyone. Mammon is always at the parties but Asmo is always hosting them. He’s in charge of one of the clubs in town, the one that is under Diavolo’s ownership but is rarely around. 

Beel is the muscle. Lucifer’s first line of defense always, but spends his free time at the underground fights. He’s undefeated.

Simeon is Michael’s right hand, technically opposition for the brothers but he’s very interested in their quick ascension to power in town. As long as they stay out of Michael’s way, he won’t have to intervene.

Luke is Michael’s adopted son, notorious for escaping Simeon’s watchful eye to sit at Barbato’s shop and learn more from the artist about his various crafts. 

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

If the M6 had any mental disabilities (OCD, Autism, ADHD...) What do you think they would have?

Brainrot's Arcana Essays: M6's mental health conditions

@hewwo-its-floof .... this probably isn't where your ask was heading, but here's an essay! XD I've actually been turning this concept over in my head for several months now, so you'll see what I could see each of them having but you'll also see why I haven't unpacked it much ^.^

(cropped because this is long and addresses each character)

I'm going to be totally honest and say that I'm extremely hesitant to focus on diagnosing fictional characters beyond lighthearted headcanons. From my own experience of having multiple diagnoses at different times, people and characters tend to be fairly complex in the way their nature, nurture, and mental health interact with each other. So while it's really fun and in many ways healing and validating to see our experiences and habits reflected in a loveable character, it's easy to fall into a trap of confining ourselves or a character to the diagnoses we're focusing on.

Asra, Julian, Muriel, and Lucio, for example, all have the kind of lived experiences that you could fully expect would result in CPTSD. Asra's parents disappeared while they were a young child and they experienced the extended trauma of growing up homeless on the streets. Muriel experienced that same abandonment and homelessness, and then that gets layered with his experience in the Coliseum. Julian has clear memories of the trauma of being shipwrecked, losing his parents, and trying to care for his sister as a young boy, plus the apprenticing he did as a teen treating soldiers on active battlefields. Lucio has a similar traumatic background with the amount of time he's spent in combat and the kill-or-be-killed world he grew up in. Portia doesn't have any memories before the grandmothers at Nevivon, but that doesn't erase her body's memory or the chances of second hand trauma from her closeness to her brother. Nadia didn't exactly have an easy childhood, but we aren't aware of any traumatic incidents before adulthood.

All that to say, there's multiple ways to interpret behavior that reflects a mental condition that doesn't match what's considered "normal." Asra can seem ADHD coded - we've seen them fixate on curious puzzles, completely zone out and forget what they're doing, and turn their living space into a cozy state of chaos. That looks a lot like ADHD! But, that could also be the trauma coping mechanisms of someone who likes to live with the luxury of having a space covered in their things without fear of them being removed, or focusing solely on things that make their brain happy in an unpredictable world. Or maybe Asra's just a naturally curious person who finds chaos comforting and spends a lot of time in their own head. Maybe it's a combination of all of the above feeding into each other in different ways!

The same goes for the other three - does Muriel like a more isolated lifestyle because of the trauma from crowds in the Coliseum? Does he like to keep his own heavily guarded space and set routines from living on the streets? Or are those autistic traits, seeking out a space that isn't overstimulating and doesn't require masking? How much of that is natural introversion and a general preference for calm, ordered spaces? He could be a combination of some or all of those things, but he's still himself regardless. If we were to focus on just one, we'd risk leaving the rest to fade into the background.

Julian has one of the stories in which MC plays a very direct role in addressing his mental health. He depends on them heavily to help him find new purpose and a new way to live. You could almost say that MC helps "fix" him, but this doesn't involve losing a lot of the things that make him so messy - it mostly involves helping him dial it back enough so that it's no longer unhealthy. (for example - he drinks as a coping mechanism, but the solution isn't for him to never touch alcohol again. he still drinks and has a fun time, it's his need to self-isolate and self-destruct that really needed to be addressed) He can still be loud and flamboyant and entertaining without having to pin his worth on how much validation he gets from it. Could those super high highs and low lows be signs of bipolar disorder? Maybe, but whether it is or not, Julian's wide range of emotional expression is core to who he is.

Lucio is his own special case (I mean, the story starts out with him as the villain). The plot of his route is his transformation. It could be easy to read narcissism into a lot of his behavior, and if that's a diagnosis his character was built around, it would make sense! It could also be easy to argue that his tendency to idolize himself is a response to growing up in a world where he had no control and felt constantly unsupported and ignored. But the focus isn't on bashing how he sees himself as much as it is on teaching him accountability around what he does with that. Lucio at the end of his story still has a sizeable ego, still sees himself as a protagonist, and has no qualms about being good enough for MC. However, he's gained experience acknowledging his own flaws and mistakes and it's enabled him to seek out a fresh start.

We could unpack Portia and Nadia too - is Portia's super competence and hard working nature born out of the pressure to be strong and steady for her traumatized older brother? Did that cause the hyper responsibility that kept her adventurous spirit in Nevivon way past her childhood? Does her annoyance with her older brother's struggles come out of frustration at never being able to process her own difficulties in favor of playing therapist for everyone else? Are her loudly cheerful attitude, tendency to fill her day with work, and love of escaping into books all masking techniques for chronic depression? Maybe all of that is true, but it's accompanied by a conscious decision to be optimistic and a genuine love of caring for other people.

We could speculate about the source of Nadia's insecurities for hours - what did her old dynamic with Lucio look like? Where did her hesitance to get involved and try to fix a broken system come from? What caused someone with such a focused personality to make firm decisions and express deep doubts at the same time? Does her quest for influence come from a desire to implement improvements or a need for control? Maybe her love of precision, good omens, and controlled environments are a result of OCD, or maybe she's just discovered what it's like to have her confidence shaken and this is what it looks like to move forward.

I've processed my own share of eating and mental disorders, dysphoria, neurodivergence, disability, and trauma. Some of my diagnoses only lasted several months, others took decades to work past, and a few of them I know will be with me for the rest of my life. They help explain a lot of how I function, experience the world, and interact with others as a person. But those conditions and experiences are only part of the amalgamation that makes me who I am, who I've been, and who I'm becoming. I don't care to completely define myself by certain parts when the sum of who I am is what's going to decide my story, and I like extending that mindset to the stories, people, and characters I interact with as well.

I hope that makes sense, and sorry for the unexpected essay!!

Cheers, friend -

brainrot

[darknight3904]

Jotunheim

Masterlist / Main Masterlist

Asgard 2011

Thor's coronation had, by all accounts, been a disaster. The day had started fine, the palace was buzzing with excitement as Asgard prepared for a new monarch. Of course, nothing ever went as planned and the triumphant day was interrupted by Jotuns, Frost Giants, breaking into Odin's weapons vault. The Destroyer Odin kept had stopped them but from what Astri heard from servants gossiping, they had been trying to steal back the casket that Odin had taken from them over a thousand years ago.

Now, Astri could hear Thor's angered shouts through the castle as she sat in her room. Her slightly too-tight dress was pinching at her hips. She had spent a lot of the past two weeks with Loki who was still unhappy with the AllFathers decision. Of course, she couldn't listen to Loki's complaints without something to eat and had gained some weight since Thor had been named heir. Loki had told her it wasn't even noticeable this morning when she had confided in him. 

Maybe he was right but her clothing was starting to say otherwise. The book in her lap was beginning to bore her, she rose and placed it neatly on her shelf. Her eyes scanned the many bookcases she had in an attempt to find something more interesting. Perhaps Loki would want to visit the castle's well-stocked library with her or maybe he was off trying to calm down Thor, a task Astri had never been good at. 

Astri closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. She and Loki had been trying to mentally link themselves together for short periods, a technique Frigga had told them about but was never able to master herself. It proved to be incredibly hard for both of them and Astri understood why Frigga had given up on learning. Not only was it mentally draining, it physically exhausted her as well if she pushed too hard. Not to mention, there was no way to even get into Loki's mind if he did that thing he did where he closed his brain off to her. According to Frigga as long as the other's mind was open, and they were both strong enough to receive the bond they'd be able to briefly link their minds together. The idea was so that they'd be able to communicate and see each other's surroundings. 

She could feel his presence as she concentrated harder. Thor's voice was muffled as the link slowly established. The fuzzy image of the castle's hallways formed as she tried to see Loki as well. A harsh bang on her door pulled her out of whatever progress she had been able to make. She groaned in annoyance as she pulled her chamber's door open to be met with of all individuals, Loki. 

   "Good try with the mental link, Astri." He said when she met his eyes 

   "Oh please, like you could have done any better." She scoffed crossing her arms

   "I couldn't have. Why do you think I said good try?" He smiled reaching out to gently tug at her long hair 

   "Stop it." She said batting his hand away 

   "Get ready, we're going to Jotunheim, " Loki said 

   "Excuse me?" Astri balked, her eyes going wide 

This had to be the most reckless, crazy thing Thor had ever dragged Astri and the others into. Sure, there was that time he had tried pranking  Heimdall with her and Loki's help but that was an entirely different game. Speaking of said man, Heimdall stood at the entrance of the Bifrost ready to most likely send them all back home. 

   "Leave this to me," Loki said as they dismounted from their horses

   "Oh this'll be good," Astri mumbled as Loki confidently sauntered up to the Bifrost keeper. 

   "You're not dressed warm enough," Heimdall said 

That was not what Astri had expected to come out of his mouth. Apprently neither did Loki since he seemed rather surprised as well.

   "Do you think you can deceive me?" Heimdall asked Loki 

   "You must be mistaken..." Loki smiled 

   "Enough!"Thor's harsh tone shut his brother up and wiped the smile from Astri's previously amused face.  "Heimdall may we pass?" 

   "An enemy has never slipped past my watch until this day. I want to know how it happened." Heimdall said 

There was no way in all the realms this was happening. Was it too late to return to her room and books? 

   "Tell no one where we have gone until we've returned," Thor ordered before walking past him and Loki. 

   "Whats the matter? Silver tongue turned to lead?" Volstagg smiled nudging Loki as he passed.

The Bifrost roared to life as Heimdall placed his sword into its holder. 

"If your return threatens the safety of Asgard, the Bifrost will remain closed. You'll be left to die in Jotunheim." He warned 

Astri tugged at the soft cloak she had dawned before walking out of her chambers with Loki. The Bifrost glowed a dazzling brightness before she was swept into it. 

Jotunheim

When they had stepped out of the Bifrost's glow, Astri was shocked at how truly barren the land was. Heimdall had been right about their clothes. The wind was harsh and it stung at her face when snow hit her. Snow crunched under her boots as she followed Thor. They passed under huge rocks or maybe they were buildings that dripped in ice and snow. 

   "Stay alert and close to me," Loki whispered, his voice barely cut through the wind despite him being directly next to her. 

What Astri presumed was King Laufey's castle was fully in their view before she knew it. It was smaller than Asgard's but it was monstrous. Before they could take another step, a bone-chilling voice overtook the harsh winds and snow. 

   "You've come a long way to die." the voice said 

   "I am Thor Odinson," Thor said

   "We know who you are," it said 

   "How did you get into Asgard?" Thor questioned 

   "The house of Odin is full of traitors." 

   "Do not dishonor my father's name," Thor yelled 

   Suddenly, the horrible voice had a face as Frost Giant, most likely King Laufey, rose from an opening in the castle. More followed, almost appearing out of thin air. Astri's hand immediately dropped to her sword, ready to pull it from its hilt.

   "Your father is a murderer and a thief." Laufey said "And have you come here to make peace? You long for conflict. Crave it. You're nothing but a boy trying to prove himself a man." 

More Frost Giants emerged, this time flanking them. So much for getting in and out. 

   "This boy has grown tired of your mockery," Thor said. 

   "Stay on guard," Loki warned her quietly before approaching an angry Thor "Stop and think, we're outnumbered." 

   "Go, while I still allow it," Laufey said 

Thank you, Laufey. At least Astri wouldn't be going to Valhalla today. 

   "We will accept your generous offer," Loki said with a slight bow 

Astri's eyes widened as a large Frost Giant stood in front of Thor. Loki motioned for her to turn and she did but not before hearing the Frost Giant's words, 

   "Run home little Princess." 

   "Damn." 

Loki's voice was the last thing she heard before Thor smacked the giant with Mjolnir, sending him flying backward. All bets were off as the Frost Giants quickly swarmed them. With her sword drawn, Astri quickly blocked a large hand encased in ice that came crashing towards her. She spun around, kicking at its large legs to bring it closer to her height. Her sword found a home in its stomach and she kicked it away. Another Frost Giant came running towards her, his ice sword at the ready. She met him blow for blow and her heart pounded in her ears when she sliced at his neck, bringing him down. 

   "At least make it a challenge for me!" 

She turned to see Thor and Loki right beside him. She could hear Loki's words about staying close in her head as she took a few steps towards him. She was met with a blur of blue and ice as a Frost Giant jumped to the ground from who knows where. Another two joined him and cut Astri off from Loki. 

   "This one is rather small even for a female." One said 

   "Easier to kill." Another snarled 

The third just laughed before swinging at her. Astri's sword went flying from her hands as she felt his ice make an impact with her armor. She was back on her feet before she could even blink. Another blow, this time from behind and she swore her back popped with this hit. She reached for her knife as she pulled herself up. 

   "A small weapon for an even smaller girl." One of the giant's words fueled her anger as she stood. 

No more waiting for their blows. Astri made the first move and ran at the one who spoke. She ran and lept off one of the ice chunks that the giants had manifested. Her knife made a sickening sound when it made contact with the Frost Giant's face. His glazed-over eyes told Astri that he was indeed dead as she tried pulling her knife out. One down two to go...if she could just get this damn knife out. Ok, it wasn't going to budge. Astri turned her gaze to the other two she had yet to kill and saw them running towards her. Looks like they didn't take kindly to her killing their friend. Screw the knife and screw her missing sword. It wouldn't take much to blow these fools away. She could practically smell the fear on one of them when her magic went flying them. She quickly lifted them into the air, ready for her next move. A loud angry cry hit her ears and she turned to see another Frost Giant coming towards them. It was rather comical the way they all fell when she sent the two she had flying at the third. She watched as they hit each other and then fell off the cliff behind them. 

   "Astri! Let's go!" Sif yelled 

Astri's eyes widened when she saw Volstagg and Hogun were holding a bloodied Fandral. 

Loki rarely felt truly fearful. Sure, there was the time he had cut a chunk of Sif's hair out and then that other time when his mother got so angry with him about something he did to Thor that she ran out of words to yell at him. But, all of those fears didn't amount to what he was feeling when he saw Astri surrounded by three Frost Giants. He was desperately trying to work his way across the battlefield to where she was but the enemy seemed to be never ending. The moment he cut one down, another sprung up like they were in some endless queue. 

   "Don't let them touch you!" Volstagg had warned 

The warning seemed to slip past his mind as he killed another Frost Giant. Astri's safety was still on his mind when the large blue hand met his sleeve. The cloth and metal fell away and a sudden coldness took Loki's entire arm. His eyes widened when his skin began turning blue instead of blistering like he expected. The Frost Giant in front of him gave him an almost knowing look before Loki killed him. His hands shook as his skin turned back to normal. What kind of cruel joke was this? A loud yelp from about fifty feet to his right broke his trance, he watched as a Frost Giant smacked Astri hard enough to send her flying. His feet quickly began moving towards her. His daggers found homes in the throats of each Frost Giant who dared get in his way. Fandral's loud cry stopped his warpath. He had been impaled by a long spike of ice. Loki looked over at Astri whose hands were now glowing their blue hue, ready to end the Frost Giants who had cornered her. She'd be fine without him for one more moment. He quickly killed the giant who had been ready to kill Fandral and then turned to Thor who seemed to be having fun. 

   "We must go!" He yelled at his brother 

   "Then go!" Thor yelled back 

The ground rumbled as ice fell from what Loki had thought was a giant statue. A horrible-looking monster sprung to life as he ran after Sif, Volstagg, Hogun, and Fandral. A loud crack was heard behind them as Thor brought lightning down on the Frost Giants that were surrounding him rapidly. In the flickers of his brother's power, Loki saw Astri's sword lodged in a chunk of ice. He reached for it as he ran past and pulled it out rather easily. 

   "Astri! Let's go!" Sif yelled to the girl who was watching three giants fall to their deaths. 

Astri couldn't believe what she was seeing. Not only was Fandral draped over Volstagg but a huge monster was hot on the friend's heels. She quickly began running as fast as she could beside Sif. The monster's heavy footfalls and sharp claws began breaking apart the ground they were running on. Suddenly, Fandral let out a victorious-sounding cry and Astri looked back to see the monster falling into one of the cracks its heavy weight had caused. They never slowed and ran on until they reached the cliff they had arrived on. The ground rumbled once more and to her horror, the monster had somehow managed to beat them to the edge of the cliff. This is not how she wanted to get sent to Valhalla. There was no way to turn around. Frost Giants were rapidly approaching as she looked at Loki who looked fearful for once. She reached for his hand and grabbed it. His skin was like ice and his eyes seemed desperate. 

   "Let's enchant it!" Astri yelled over the monster's growling, there was little chance of her plan succeeding since neither she nor Loki could enchant anything but they could try. 

Before Loki had a chance to say anything, Mjolnir flew over their heads with Thor in tow and right through the monster. Thank you Odin for that magical hammer. The loud thuds of footsteps reminded them that they weren't alone. Behind them what seemed like every Frost Giant on the planet had gathered to kill them where they stood. 

   "Here," Loki said presenting Astri's sword to her.

   "Thank you," Astri said taking it and dropping Loki's hand.

So this was it. Astri could feel her palms sweat as the first Frost Giants made their move. She did originally have plans of living much longer but things were now looking rather bleak. Shimmering light from up above stopped her dark thoughts as suddenly the AllFather was in front of them, mounted on his horse. 

   "Father! We'll finish them together!" Thor smiled 

   "Silence." 

Odin's tone sent a shiver down Astri's spine as her king talked to Laufey. Astri couldn't quite hear what they had said but before she knew it a burst of light came from Odin and Laufey was sent flying back and away from them. The BiFrost opened once more and before she knew it, she was standing back on Asgard, Heimdall staring at them. 

   "Why did you bring us back?" Thor angrily asked 

   "Do you know what you've started?" Odin asked 

Oh boy, this was not going to be a fun conversation. Astri looked at Sif, Volstagg, and Hogun who were leading Fandral away and to their healers. Astri immediately made motion to follow them, she had no desire to listen to another terrifying AllFather talk. 

   "Stay," Odin commanded, a harsh slam of Gungnir on the ground was all it took for her to freeze and scurry back to her spot next to Loki. 

   "I was protecting our home," Thor argued "You stand here giving speeches while Asgard falls. Our enemies laugh at us while you do nothing." 

   "You are a vain, greedy, and cruel boy!" Odin yelled back

   "You're an old man and a fool!" Thor countered 

Astri kept her gaze glued on the floor. She had always hated when others argued a fought in front of her. Frigga once said that it was her subconscious reminding her of her past. What part of her past? Astri wasn't sure yet. 

   "Yes." 

Odin's suddenly soft tone had Astri's head snapping back up to look at the scene in front of her. Loki stood by her side, rather close while Odin and Thor argued. 

   "I was a fool to think you were ready," Odin said looking down 

   "Father..." 

Odin shut Loki up with a loud shout and a point. 

   "Thor Odinson," Odin said "You have disobeyed the command of your king. Through your arrogance, you have opened the peaceful realms to war." 

The Bifrost roared to life as Odin placed Gungnir into it. Astri looked at Loki worriedly. He avoided her gaze and kept his eyes on his father and brother. 

   "You are unworthy of these realms, your title, you're unworthy!" Odin yelled, ripping Thor's armor and his cape. "You're unworthy of your loved ones." 

Astri's eyes widened, suddenly she had cause to be worried about Thor, the little blonde boy she had grown up with who was pretty much untouchable when it came to being in harm's way. Now, she was watching as he stripped of everything even his family. Of course, nothing could have prepared her for what happened next. 

  "I now take from you your power." Odin said as Thor's armor vanished from his body "I, Odin, Allfather cast you out."

Astri gasped and grabbed onto Loki as Thor was sent huddling back into the Bifrost which glowed as it took him who knows where. 

   "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor." 

And so we've begun the first Thor movie. I was talking to a friend about this book recently and they said that Astri reacting the way she did to Thor's banishment didn't make sense since this is a Loki fic. I beg to differ. Astri was raised with both brothers yes she gets along best with Loki but she cares for Thor as one would care for family. Thor is a big brother to her in the same sense that he is Loki's. 

I'd like to take a moment to say not to be a silent reader! I love getting comments, likes, and reblogs, stuff like that keeps me writing! Hope you are enjoying This Love so far :)

Taglist: (To be added comment below)

@buttercupcookies-blog

@666-gothic-bat-666

[rowanisawriter]

glass slipper

patrochilles / fairy tale AU / ch7 of 8

In the tiny kingdom of Phthia, a golden prince is cursed with invulnerability except for a vulnerable heel. An exile apprenticed to a shoemaker is commissioned by the palace to create a shoe the prince can fight in.

A fairy tale about a curse, a magical shoe, a war, a doomed hero, an exile, destiny, and love despite everything.

Achilles takes his shoes off and digs his toes into the sand. “We should take a trip,” he says.

Patroclus takes his eyes off the shoes, already identifying a stitch that could be redone. “Hm?”

“You’ve been working too hard. Too many shoes. I bet your hands hurt.” Achilles takes both his hands and presses his lips to the backs of his knuckles. His mouth is hot, sunkissed. Patroclus leans into the touch.

“I like being busy,” he says.

Achilles’s lips move against Patroclus’s hands. “Busy or distracted?”

“Busy. Busy.” Patroclus’s voice barely reassures himself, sounding fake to his own ears. He sighs. “Distracted too, I guess. Briseis is taking on so much work, it leaves me with more time than I really know what to do with.”

“Perfect time for a trip,” Achilles says. “A few months back, I found myself at the mouth of the river. Right where it spills out into the ocean. The way the light hit it, it looked almost like a mirror. And nearby, a forest. I imagine there would be a clearing in such a forest. I didn’t have time to check. But I do now. We both do.”

Achilles kisses his hands again. The sunlight hits his eyes, perfect green, like grass. Patroclus wants to let his imagination take him to this new clearing. Would Achilles run again, like he used to? Would Patroclus? So much time has passed. They’re both a little older and a lot more tired. And Patroclus’s hands have more blood on them than they did before, an ocean of blood compared to the offense that brought him to Phthia. He hasn’t accompanied the Myrmidons on a raid in a long time. But he still remembers the fighting, how good he was at it, the way the pride mingled with the shame when he leaned on his sword and looked out at the blood on the sand. He can’t reconcile this with more running around in a clearing. Even thinking about it feels as though two separate parts of his brain are at work, two images superimposed on one another, the image of his bloody armor over the image of Achilles running, so that it looks like Achilles is in armor, covered in blood, his feet swift upon the grass of this imagined clearing.

[raventhedracovis]

tell us about wordgirl bestie!

Will gladly use this as an opportunity to talk about a few headcanons that are canon in mine and @c0de-0f-the-clans reboot!

I'll stick with the characters we've done line ups for for now. Which would be: Becky/Wordgirl, Huggy, Tobey, Dr. Two-Brains, Chuck, The Butcher, Charlie, The Other Henchman, The Whammer, Invisi-Bill, Big Left Hand Guy, Ms. Question, and The Coach.

Becky/Wordgirl (or course we're starting with the girl herself):

Bi. She just is. I don't make the rules. Yes I do >:3

Non-binary but uses she/her pronouns. Comes from noticing in the show how casual she is with referring to herself as "mister". Even lampshaded in the Thanksgiving episode when she says "no more mister nice Becky! ... Or miss Becky. Either one :)".

She's got two birthdays, the day her parents adopted her and the approximate date she was actually born. Her birthday is always celebrated September 28th, but her actual birthday is closer to December 16th.

Part of the reason Becky sucks at art so much is because she sees way more colors than humans can perceive. A color combination that looks good to her just looks ugly or like the same shade of brown. Though even without the whole "painting with colors beyond human perception" thing she just generally sucks at art.

Becky is autistic and stims by pulling and messing with her hair. We also decided she has a bee necklace and she fidgets with it too.

Her full name is Rebecca but goes by Becky.

She's currently 4'5" and the shortest in her grade. When she's all grown up she's going to tower over her friends at around six feet (or more).

Bob/Captain Huggy Face:

Captain Huggy Face is not his real name (or title but I'll get to that in a later post). It's just the name Wordgirl came up with on the spot.

Just like Becky, Bob is only his nickname. Robert is his full name in the family.

Pan.

Non-binary as well. Just his vibes.

By Lexicon standards, he's considered colorblind. By Earth standards, he's not fhdh.

In his late 20's, but part of the reason is for a different post.

Chuck the Evil Sandwich-Making Guy

Trans man <3

Demi pan.

Chuck's full name is Charles Edward Guy.

Chuck is in his early 20's, a headcanon we pulled thanks to a flashback in the show where Tim and Sally are clearly around the same age they found and adopted Becky but Chuck is oh so small.

Dr. Two-Brains

He stands at 6'5" but slouches a lot and therefore looks more like 6'3".

Technically has three birthdays! One for Steven, one for Squeaky, and one for the day the two fused.

Pan. Can and will flirt with anyone and everything.

In his late 30's.

The Henchmen

The other henchman is Joey Meatball. We both had different ideas of what his name was and thought the combined name was funny.

The two are romantically involved <3

Charlie is 6'7", the other one is 5'2".

Both are in their 40's.

The Butcher

He's 6'9". Big man.

His full name is Jack Edison Shepherd Jr. He went by Butch for a while as a kid, and it kind of stuck.

Bi

The reason he struggles with words so much is because he has an expressive language disorder.

In his early 40's.

Tobey

While he was the tallest kid in 5th grade, he's only gonna be 5'4" all grown up, and it's going to make him so, so mad jhkdg.

We have also hit him with the autism beam.

He had braces at some point, as evidenced by a retainer that can be seen by his bed in most episodes. We have however, just given him braces in our reboot.

Tobey has anxious attachment style. Something I can literally talk about in paragraphs (and have. Twice.) and will probably share another day.

His birthday is reverse pi, 4/13.

The Whammer

The Whammer is half Greek, half Texan, and 100% professional wrestler. His father is a Greek immigrant who got into the professional wrestling career where he met The Whammer's mother, a professional wrestler from Texas.

His real name is Adam Minos.

Was supposed to follow in his parents' footprints and apprenticed under his dad. Unfortunately, his powers where deemed illegal for use in the ring.

In his early 20's.

He's 5'8".

Gay.

Invisi-Bill

He is romantically involved with Big Left Hand Guy. :]

In his early 30's.

He has ADHD.

Stands at about 5'11".

Gay.

Big Left Hand Guy

He is romantically involved with Invisi-Bill. :]

He's related to one of the reoccurring bank security guards.

Has anxiety.

In his late 30's.

He's 5'1".

Gay.

Ms. Question

Trans and non-binary. She's non-binary in the sense that she dodges any questions about her gender. No matter what, she will make you second guess yourself when you try to give her a label.

She's Afro-Latina.

Bicurious, because she's also dodge the question jdfkgh.

Her civilian name is Anne Neasia.

In her early 30's.

Very tall woman. Stands at 6'.

The Coach

The Coach has dwarfism. He stands at 4'8".

He's related to Timmy Tim-Bo. It's why he keeps him around.

In his late 40's.

[rippleclan]

RippleClan: Moon 23

Rattlepaw touches noses with Rabbitjoy, wondering if being an artisan is the right path for her.

[Image ID: Rattlepaw faces Rabbitjoy, who says, “You’ll be great, Rattlepaw.” Under Rattlepaw, it says LEVEL UP! RATTLEKIT -> RATTLEPAW.]

There was a lot Rattlekit didn’t want to get wrong. She didn’t want to make Carnationspeckle mad (because what if all the selfless reasons Parsley suggested weren’t true and her mom didn’t want her for something she did). She didn’t want to scare visitors to the camp when they saw her (because for some reason she couldn’t understand, not having fur seemed like a tragedy to others). She didn’t want to look dumb in front of the cats who took the time to talk to her, like Graythroat and Fennelspot and James (because she heard Downstar and Weedfoot question if she was too fragile to fight and if she couldn’t use her claws her mind had to be sharp). 

Most of all, she really wanted to choose the right path at her apprentice ceremony, because what if she got half-way through her training and found she hated everything RippleClan asked of her?

“You can change your path at any point,” Carnationspeckle promised her as her soft tail dusted sand off Rattlekit’s skin. “I heard Puddlespeckle was about to graduate as a caretaker when he decided to be a warrior instead. He turned out fine.” But he had fur. He had no expectations that he couldn’t do anything he wanted. Rattlekit ducked her head as Carnationspeckle finished grooming her.

No one had told Rattlekit she couldn’t train to fight. In fact, Rabbitjoy and Scrubmask had each told her not to let her odd appearance stop her from doing something she enjoyed. But how was she supposed to believe that when Oilstripe and Burdockcreek had no stories of a furless cat in the Clans? How was she to know that enemy claws wouldn’t slice through her with more ease, or that the summer sun wouldn’t cook her brain? How could she know anything?

“I promise, Rattlekit,” Carnationspeckle cooed, tucking her tail under Rattlekit’s chin, “you’ll be alright. I’m with you, every step of the way.”

“All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather below the Shiprock for a Clan meeting!” Downstar’s voice rang into the nursery. Rattlekit held her breath. Her paw slipped into the dawn light, but Carnationspeckle’s tail tapped her flank.

“Before we join the Clan,” she said softly, “I have something to ask of you.” Before, Carnationspeckle had to crouch a bit to meet Rattlekit’s eyes, but now Rattlekit was the same height as her short adopted mother and could easily stare into her currently nervous eyes. “I know I wasn’t here for the first half of your kithood, but when it comes to the second… did I make it happy?”

“Of course,” Rattlekit said. It wasn’t even a question in her mind, but from the way Carnationspeckle’s whole body fluttered at the quick response, she knew there was more behind the question than she could see.

“Alright, let’s go,” Carnationspeckle purred, pressing her nose against Rattlekit’s chin. She walked alongside Rattlekit, protecting her from the expectant stares of RippleClan. She led Rattlekit to the front of the crowd and, with one last lick to Rattlekit’s head, she stepped back. 

“It’s always a good day in RippleClan when a kit reaches the age of six moons,” Downstar purred. “I’ll admit, we had to guess your age somewhat, Rattlekit, so we could be a day or two off. I think StarClan will forgive us, however. Rattlekit, have you decided where your paws are taking you?” Rattlekit lost her voice for a moment. She coughed and shivered as a dozen eyes traced her spine.

“An artisan,” Rattlekit croaked. “I want to be an artisan.” She could have sworn Carnationspeckle told Downstar that earlier. Maybe they wanted her to say it aloud? Were they worried the Clan would think it was forced upon her if Downstar spoke up?

Downstar nodded and said, “Rattlekit, you’ve reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your caretaker name, you will be known as Rattlepaw. Being as we only have the one artisan…” Rabbitjoy stepped up before Downstar finished speaking. “Rabbitjoy, may your courage and strength infect Rattlepaw with all she needs to be a great artisan.” Rabbitjoy touched Rattlepaw’s nose with the sort of excitement that was more expected of an apprentice. Rattlepaw tried to breathe as she returned the gesture. RippleClan cheered her new name, but she couldn’t hear it over the sound of her own heart.

“You’ll be great, Rattlepaw,” Rabbitjoy promised. Rattlepaw nodded softly.

She really hoped that was true.

(Rattlepaw: 6, female, artisan apprentice, insecure, plays with prey)

(Carnationspeckle: 25, female, caretaker, compassionate, talented swimmer)

(Downstar: 82, female, leader, adventurous, trusted advisor, very clever)

(Rabbitjoy: 60, female, artisan, charismatic, master weaver)

Halibutdusk is glad to have a brother like Shadowdrop. While on patrol, they run into an odd kittypet.

[Image ID: Halibutdusk and Shadowdrop stand to the side. A long furred, black sokoke tabby tom with blue eyes sits in the corner. Under him, it reads NEW PLAYER: FROGGY, 92, MALE, REBELLIOUS, MAINTAINS THE TERRITORY, GREAT SPEAKER.]

---

“I was so close to getting on the horse’s back,” Shadowdrop insisted as he and Halibutdusk walked through the territory in the cozy glow of afternoon in the depths of spring. “Those creatures spook so easily.”

“Why would you want to?” Halibutdusk laughed, shaking his head.

“It would be fun!” Shadowdrop said. “You say that like you wouldn’t have joined me.”

“When we were apprentices, maybe,” Halibutdusk admitted. 

“One of these days, I’ll convince you to join Graythroat and I on an adventure again,” Shadowdrop sighed, looping to the other side of Halibutdusk.

“I’ll be happy if you stay alive,” Halibutdusk scoffed. He intended the line to be more serious than it sounded, as he sneezed right at the end and earned an eye-roll from his brother. Shadowdrop jogged ahead as Halibutdusk rubbed his nose. As his nose cleared, he caught an odd scent on the wind. Halibutdusk looked left just in time to see a black tabby pelt move through the thick spring growth.

“Duskkit?” he gasped despite himself.

“Huh?” the cat in the shadows muttered. Deep blue eyes met Halibutdusk’s. Shadowdrop hurried to his brother’s side as a long-furred tom stepped into view.

“Who are you?” Shadowdrop asked, ears pinned.

“Don’t mind me,” the stranger chuckled. “I’m not staying long. Just needed to clear my head for a minute.”

“Clear your…” Halibutdusk muttered. “Do you know where you are?”

“The forest,” the tom said casually.

“That’s not what I meant,” Halibutdusk groaned with a thrash of his tail. “This is Clan land. We don’t allow outsiders free reign on our territory.”

“Now I’m just here with my humans,” the stranger sighed, flicking his tail behind him. “They like to set up camp around here and kill deer. The female stays at camp all day and likes to bring me with for company. Only so long I can watch her play with string, though. A tom needs to wander, as I’m sure you know.”

“You can’t wander here,” Shadowdrop sighed. “You could scare off prey we need to feed our Clan.”

“I’ll leave,” the tom laughed, “but I’ll just come back again. It’s an endless cycle. I won’t be hunting, so you might as well just relax and spare a moment. You can call me Froggy. What can I call you?” Froggy sat and groomed his paw.

“I’m Shadowdrop,” Shadowdrop explained, “and this is my brother Halibutdusk.”

“Huh,” Froggy hummed. “I heard of a Halibutkit once.”

“I used to go by that name when I was young,” Halibutdusk muttered. He inched closer to the odd kittypet. “Where did you hear that name?”

“Oh, ages ago,” Froggy scoffed. “My humans were all busy preparing a deer carcass so I stepped out for a while. I found a small black kit caught in a bush of all things! I helped her out and calmed her down. We talked for a little bit until she remembered the way home.”

“That was my sister…” Halibutdusk muttered. The small, lively kit that still lived inside him ached as he thought of Duskkit and all she could have done. As the moons went on, Halibutdusk was more and more certain that she had been the best of them.

“You look a lot like her…” Shadowdrop huffed. He walked around Froggy, who squirmed under his intense gaze. Shadowdrop sneered and asked, “You don’t know a gray and pale ginger tortoiseshell, do you?”

“I met one moons back,” Froggy admitted with an awkward laugh, “but that’s not a story for polite company.”

“Oh, StarClan,” Shadowdrop groaned, rejoining his brother. “Halibutdusk, I think this is our sire.” Halibutdusk stared at Froggy, whose eyes bounced between the two toms. He really did look just like Duskkit…

“Well,” Froggy laughed, “I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting kits that I sired before! To think I met my daughter and never realized! I’ll have to meet her again before my humans head home.”

“You can’t,” Halibutdusk gulped. “She died not long after you met her.” Froggy’s clean, fluffy fur deflated.

“Oh,” Froggy sighed. “Poor kit. She seemed like a bright one. You had another sister, didn’t you?”

“Graythroat,” Halibutdusk groaned, “but she… might not react well to you. She gets a little defensive when strangers enter our territory.”

“Speaking of which,” Shadowdrop huffed, “while it was nice to meet you, we do need to escort you out. Those are the rules of our Clan.”

“So be it,” Froggy sighed with a dismissive flick of his whiskers. “I’ll be seeing more of you, though. I’ll pop by when I can. Maybe you can convince that sister of yours to see me.” 

Shadowdrop said something about Graythroat and escorting Froggy to the border, but Halibutdusk couldn’t stop staring at Froggy’s fur. All he could think was that Duskkit’s fur might have grown to look like that had she lived.

(Shadowdrop: 15, male, codekeeper, sneaky, eloquent speaker, good teacher)

(Halibutdusk: 15, male, warrior, gloomy, great storyteller, clever)

(Froggy: 92, male, kittypet, rebellious, maintains the territory, great speaker)

Downstar heard an ugly rumor about Weedfoot.

[Image ID: Puddlespeckle and Weedfoot chat in the distance. Fennelspot and Downstar sit together.]

---

When Downstar woke up that day, Rabbitjoy entered her den and essentially said “Rattlepaw is cooking today and no one is going to say anything bad about it,” albeit in more polite terms. Downstar had no qualms with it, of course; she had done a similar thing while training Carnationspeckle and Clammask. But neither molly had looked utterly terrified beside a smoker, placing each fish on a row like at any moment the entire structure would burst into flames. As such, it took a while for everyone in the Clan to get their fair share of food.

When it was Downstar’s turn to try Rattlepaw’s cooking, she grabbed two smoked fish and took them to Fennelspot, who watched Rattlepaw like a mother watches a kit at play. Downstar balanced the fish between her shoulders, for they were so tender that if she held them in her mouth, they would surely fall into the sand. She crouched in front of Fennelspot so he would notice the fish. He snapped out of it and took a fish off Downstar’s back. Downstar settled next to him with her own fish laying across her paws.

“If she keeps flinching like that, she’ll burn herself,” Fennelspot sighed.

“She just needs practice,” Downstar muttered, biting into the fish. Rattlepaw may have cooked them a bit too long, but it was still good.

“I thought you were going to eat with Weedfoot today,” Fennelspot noted. The gray deputy ate with her father, who wasn’t snapping at her to get away for once. “Didn’t you want to discuss trade with AshClan over a meal?” Downstar took a big bite of overcooked fish to avoid answering. Fennelspot kept staring at her until she had to swallow or choke.

“I wanted to eat in peace,” Downstar muttered. “She’s the deputy. She can figure out the trade agreements without me. She has Rabbitjoy to help.”

“But you’ve worked through these issues together since we founded RippleClan,” Fennelspot huffed.

“Apparently Weedfoot thinks she can do a better job than me as leader anyway,” Downstar grumbled, her skin itching under the stare of the sun and her cleric. She heard her, she was certain of it. She and Oilstripe had been talking just outside her den. They wondered if AshClan could have been handled better if Paleshade was in charge, if Weedfoot was in charge. They agreed that Downstar would be leader. They trusted her judgment, didn’t they? Why would they doubt her? She handled AshClan as best she could. 

“That’s not true,” Fennelspot said.

“Fennelspot, I didn’t sit with you to debate,” Downstar snapped. “Can we eat, please?” Fennelspot jumped at Downstar’s sharp words. Downstar turned back to her fish. 

Why in StarClan was she snapping at Fennelspot? He was trying to help. The fish flopped in Downstar’s belly as Fennelspot scooted back. Maybe she needed some space. So much had happened since the Clan came to be… maybe she needed to reevaluate some things. She didn’t know. All she knew was that she couldn’t stomach another bite of her smoky fish.

(Downstar: 82, female, leader, adventurous, trusted advisor, very clever)

(Rabbitjoy: 60, female, artisan, charismatic, master weaver)

(Rattlepaw: 6, female, artisan apprentice, insecure, plays with prey)

(Fennelspot: 80, male, cleric, insecure, valuable insight, incredible runner)

(Weedfoot: 72, female, deputy, charismatic, very clever, formidable fighter)

(Puddlespeckle: 149, male, elder, strict, good hunter, good kitsitter)

[doritopaw101]

Firethree AU

Idea from @brackenfur and this post as well

The three being raised by Firesand. I love this idea so many reasons because my goodness are family bonds just cardboard for the most part.

But I have two other ideas.

1. Firestar raises them as a single dad

So basic thing is that Sandstorm was taken by twolegs.

Firestar finds out and questions them she they didn't go to him. Leafpool expresses her frustration. He's Firestar, how could she tell him? How he's so distant that he didn't realize she'd fallen in love with Crowfeather. That sometimes she's surprised if he sees her as just her. How she wishes he had just been her father, not firestar, just her father.

This makes Firestar reflect deeply and guilt sets in. He failed his children but he will do his best to do right by them, to help them like he should've. He offers to take the kits. Firestar even leaves for a few days before LeafSquirrel comes back.

He returns to camp with kittens in his mouth and the clan questioning what is happening. Firestar only says their his kits and asks Ferncloud to nurse them which she agrees.

Hollykit and Jaykit are already named but he gets to name Lionkit.

He refuses to sleep in the leaders den and sleeps in the nursery til the three are apprenticed. Firestar does more self-reflection regarding Jaypaw’s blindness and thinks of how he viewed Cinderpelt’s injury. He saw her living as a tragedy instead of the happiness she found. He won't do the same to his son.

The clan doubts his youngest son, he won't. He makes himself Jaypaw's mentor. Bias be damned.

Sandstorm comes back and is stunned when she meets the three and vice versa.

2. Firesand actually had a second litter when they take in the three.

Similar thing from the previous idea with Firestar's reflection and wanting to do better at being a parent.

Firesand had another kit: Antkit. Despite their tragedies, the clan thinks they're blessed with such big litters.

Lionkit and Antkit form a rivalry with Berrypaw and Berrypaw has two deal with two bulky kits snapping at his heels.

Siblings' shenanigans and the expectations of being firechildren ensue. Finding out about the prophecy makes them question (all the more interesting since Dove is still the third).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These ideas mostly stemmed from this image in my brain of when Hollyleaf exposes the secret.

Firestar tries to reason with her, placing a paw on her shoulder. Hollyleaf responds negatively and strikes Firestar. He loses his balance and falls from the tree.

A sickening crack hits the clearing just as hard as the ginger leader did with the tree roots. The medicine cats rush over to help but everything slows down for Hollyleaf.

Hollyleaf is horrified, and runs, and her brothers run after her.

[finniestoncrane]

Fluffy Socks for Dano and Gotham Riddlers. We know the canon ones, but what about Finnieverse's? Do they have any extras untold?

Destructive Habits

Riddler Headcanons finnieverse akhkjhasd ;-; ANYWAY yeah i had a few already but it was fun thinking up some more for them (also i did all the beans i had hcs for related to this oops!) request info • prompt list • send me a request • kofi • masterlist minors DNI!! 🔞 cw: some sexual things! mostly just discussions about problematic behaviour and thoughts

arkham

i don't include it in a lot of my stuff, but i imagine he excessively smokes, like an inordinate and "how are you not dead yet" amount

he's got that obvious tendency towards alienating people, pushing them away so he can't be forced to experience feelings

i know he says that he makes himself perfectly nutritionally balanced meals, but that's such a weird thing to say unless you're an idiot who refuses to admit that they forget to eat, which he does, all the time

and he doesn't get enough sleep, on purpose. it's become like a game to him. how long can he go this time?

gotham

he's obviously got a tendency to be clingy and obsessive, but i imagine it could get to a point where it becomes co-dependency, which isn't great when it's someone who doesn't even know you exist

ignoring his mental health is also a bit of an issue for him. like he's either unable to recognise that he needs help or admitting that his very intelligent brain might have something that needs to be fixed would be too difficult

i also wouldn't put it past him to engage in impulsive/wreckless behaviours without thinking them through, just to see if he can do that. he'd usually so proper and organised, which he's been mocked for before. so the temptation to just go wild is there

young justice

oh my sweet beloved, so smart and ambitious. and yet, he suffers from the worst efforts in procrastination, mostly because he's afraid of failure so he'd rather put off doing something that complete it and do it wrong, let it be schrodinger's task

he's also very bad for being negative about himself to the point where those views have been ingrained in his little head and he believes them wholeheartedly

capullo

the man is a walking destructive habit, but let's start with his proclivity for engaging in risky sexual behaviours, so sex with people he barely knows, sex without protection, ignorance towards sexual health and sti testing, practising kinks without the knowledge or patience. it's a nightmare

he's also a fan of forced incompetence, preferring to act like he can't do anything so that someone else has to wait on him every minute of the day

look, i don't like it, but i think he would cheat on partners, especially if he was in a happy relationship. anything to make sure that he's not pleased in life, y'know?

which, related to that, he just hurts people he loves, or that he could love. that purposeful isolation in a bid to avoid all feelings he isn't comfortable with, which are all the positive ones, unforuntately

dano

oh, the sweet baby has been lured in by gambling and gaming, and for him they go hand in hand. he'll get lost in a video game for hours, dedicating his life to it. and he'll waste a lot of money on it, just to get better or to have the newest skins/upgrades etc. and in life, he gamifies everything, to the point where he'll waste time, money and effort on things that he should be able to just leave alone or ignore. and with the lootbox culture, he's found himself also intrigued by gambling, which he's certain you can be good at. it doesn't come down to luck, apprently

he'll ignore happiness in order to wallow in self-pity, because he's more comfortable with that. he knows what he's doing when he's at home, moping around and lamenting about how no one loves him or cares for him. trying to find love or affection is scary, so he won't do it

and, a typical chronically online boy, he is addicted to doom-scrolling. he'll purposefully seek out horrible news and avoid the good stuff, and he'll compare himself to everyone else he sees online just to bolster the self-pity and poor self-image

[hils79]

Hils Watches Misty Creed - Part 1

This was supposed to have been released at the end of October but finally it is here.

I wasn't hugely enamoured with the last movie but I'm always here for my blorbos and maybe this one will address some of the issues I had with the first one.

Okay, let's go!

I forgot these new movies are more horror. So we're starting with what looks like a demon baby

I have a squick about pregnancy anyway so this is going to go well for me

I do love that both movies have started with flashback horror like an episode of Supernatural

Oh, dude, you just abandoned your heavily pregnant wife who may be about to give birth to a demon. This is not going to end well for you.

First scene in the present day and Wu Xie is in trouble and calling for Pangzi to save him *sighs happily in pangxie*

THERE'S MY BOY

Ooh he strong! Holding up a whole coffin by himself to stop Wu Xie going splat. I love this already.

And of course Xiaoge bursts in to help his husbands. God I love all three of them so very much.

Excellent out of context caption there

Wait if Xiaoge could use his special Zhang fingers to punch a whole through the coffin lid to give Wu Xie one of his hairs why doesn't he just make the hole bigger and pull Wu Xie out? Unless there's something else going on beyond 'Wu Xie trapped in coffin'

And then he just ripped the lid off. Why didn't he do that before? Well, it's not DMBJ if there's not plot holes I guess :D

He had a whole coffin plus all of Wu Xie's weight on one shoulder but he's acting like helping Wu Xie stand up takes all of his strength. It's okay, Pangzi. You can admit you just want to keep touching him.

Oh no not more creepy dolls

In case you weren't sure they're a triangle

Wait, what? Oh my god is this an escape room?

IT IS!!! HAHAHA! Incredible! A+ I love this! That is exactly what these idiots would do in an escape room too

Throwaway reference to Xiao Hua there. Love to see it.

Ah hah! So this ties in to the post-credit scene from the last movie. So this is the person Xiao Hua said he was sending to Wu Xie while he adventures in Russia with Hei Xiazi (at least that's where I assume he is)

Xiao Hua's family owes this dude, but he was too busy with his boyfriend so he told him to come and see Wu Xie instead. Xiao Hua isn't even here and I love him.

HAHAHA! God, I love these idiots so much!

Oh shit if Xiaoge feels strongly enough about something that he actually says it out loud then you listen.

I am absolutely losing it over the idea that Xiao Hua apprently has a business running an escape room based on a tomb. He's such a nerd I adore him.

Pangzi is so outraged that Xiao Hua charged them to do the escape room, then billed them for destroying the probs AND they have to go off on an adventure to repay one of Xiao Hua's family debts. I'm sure Words will be had at Pangzi and Xiao Hua's next spa date.

I love that even though Wu Xie is allegedly the brains of their group (did you know he has a degree in architecture?) it's Pangzi who has thought of the practical things that they'll need for a misty environment.

Wait, what happened to Xiaoge's sword? I know he lost the original one during Ultimate Note era but Wu Xie replaced that one.

Ah, okay. Apparently Xiaoge's original sword came from the place they're going so I guess we're ignoring the Ultimate Note replacement so they can find a new one for him here. Who needs consistency when you're NPSS.

I'm losing my mind at 'xiongdi' being subbed as 'mate'. In my head these hunters now all have British English accents.

Is it really Wu Xie if he's not having terrible ideas?

Right, I'm only 20 mins into the movie but I'm at the image limit. Onward to part 2!

[emcandon]

I return from my bg3 stupor with a fresh 2 am question:

was the TAU story and world a concept you were baking for a long time until you had a chance to write it, or was it a more recent creation?

Do you find it easy or hard to build out new story concepts? Like, do you need to sit on them a while until they feel right, or does it just come pouring out of you from the start? Or a secret, third thing?

Just anything about your personal creation process!

lol hi it might not surprise you to learn that i am also steeping in bg3 (i am still stumbling around act 1! i'm not allowed to play until i hit daily sequel writing quota, which is healthy, i'm sure, but does mean i am somewhat behind just about everyone i know who is also playing :P)

(my first Tav is an enormous nb tiefling bard named Faretheewell who is, imo, perfect. very beautiful. very kind. definitely does drag. lying a lot, but mostly just for funsies. has turned astarion into their little purse dog.)

ANYWAY, TO THE ACTUAL QUESTION:

TAU's an interesting case because it was cannibalized from a couple different ongoing projects into something entirely new.

The characters had been floating around in different iterations since about 2013, and their final forms in Archive are quite distinct from the original seed! Imagine Sunai as an exiled diplomat who got involuntarily apprenticed to a cursed king/the last magician in the world; imagine Veyadi as a disowned god-child tasked with murdering the last magician! I'm still probably going to use that world somewhere so I'll mum about it now (it's the one I call "grandma heist.")

((imo that's why you should always yoink characters you like from whatever source you enjoy, be it your own or something else -- they will inevitably change in their new context, often so substantially that they are nigh unrecognizable.))

The story concept also originated in 2013: "Pacific Rim, but the mechs are built out of the kaiju, and pilots must have survived being poisoned by those kaiju." The addition of strange and upsetting AIs of divine power was somewhat inherited from the story Sunai and Adi came from, where divinity was fraught, fractured, and hungry.

Here's a funny. In 2017 I thought TAU would be a nice, simple, clean project. However. I know some folks who turn out gloriously clean first drafts. I AM NOT ONE OF THEM. My brain is a hazardous work environment, very non-OSHA compliant. Basically I do a lot of thought work in the drafting, so the drafts are consequently messy, and there are a LOT of changes from concept to actual workable manuscript.

Which I suppose is to say that story concepts nest in my brain quite often when it is healthy. The frequency with which I land on new and interesting story thoughts is actually a pretty good indicator of how well I am doing ambiently! Right now I'm storing up a lot of them, some of which I am fairly rabid about -- nearly as rabid as I am about Archive, which is the real indicator of a project that is ready to transition from Thought to Work. They are described here as "apocalypse magicians" and other such things. There's one that's going to be kind of an argument with Lovecraftian unknowability via desconstruction of Enlightenment epistemologies + queer identity destruction, and another that's going to be the Le Carré approach to espionage + magic as divinity meets public service + interplanetary empires intruding on your bumfuck planet offering the solution to climate change might still be bad actually. (I want to write that last with my wife and we are making SUCH GOOD FUCKING SHIPS FOR IT.)

How to summarize this? 1) find a story notion/concept about which i can obsess, 2) actually start writing it, 3) mess up spectacularly for a few drafts, 4) finally whittle together something more or less correct, 5) that's my editor's problem now!!