#I just made this additional version and I wanted it in it's own post rather than as a reply to the OG hehe

[mrkida-art]

Children of Durin

[velocitygirl5]

Akane Civilian Character Sheet - Terukane Miraculous Au

See below for more additional information about au!

Additional Character Info:

I've made a general playlist of songs that remind me of him in this au.

Akane and Aoi's relationship is a bit different in this AU. Aoi's engagement changes how Akane approaches his romantic feelings towards her. If you are interested in reading more here is an excerpt I've written:

Akane Aoi has had a deep crush on Aoi Akane since they were children, though he never confessed his feelings, despite how obvious they were to everyone around him. When Aoi’s mother arranged her marriage to Teru Minamoto, Akane felt an overwhelming sense of regret, as though he had lost his chance to be with her. This regret fuels Akane’s intense involvement in Aoi’s life, as he desperately seeks to help her escape the marriage and find her own path. While Akane genuinely wants to give Aoi the freedom to choose her future, his romantic feelings cloud his judgment. Deep down, he isn’t just trying to save her from the marriage—there's that small part that wants her to be with him, not Teru. His love for Aoi makes him biased, and his actions are often driven by a desire to win her heart before it's too late.

---- Author's Note

The first thing I wanted, while I developed these versions of the characters, was the Teruaoi engagement. It's literally my favorite part of the newest arc. I love writing Aoiaoi's relationship and I love writing the sunflower trio going through it. I don't want to frame Aoiaoi as bad in this au but rather they lack the communication from their canon counterparts. There is more to Aoi's engagement that I haven't brought up but as I post more I'll touch on it more.

With writing terukane it's so difficult to actually make it realistically happen LOL. I had to put pressure on both Aoi and Akane to make them have to split in this au.

[pookie-mulder]

July 2024 fic roundup

Here are the highlights from this month! I really love doing these. It helps me be more engaged with what I’m reading and actually remember individual fics once I’m done with them (rather than stuffing them in the collective “fic soup” in my brain, where they’ll combine together until there’s no hope of remembering details). Anyway, I highly recommend doing some sort of fic journal! I’d love to know what you guys are reading.

🦆👧 Temporum VI by Emily_M1013

This is the third installment of a wonderful Emily AU, The Mallards series. I love how it puts its own spin on canon events, and I’m delighted every time I see an update in my inbox!

🤫🪪 Snakebitten by @onpaperfirst

My favorite thing about this fic is the way it adds to canon without rehashing what we’ve already seen in the show, building on season 5 so seamlessly. (The motel scene is 👌)

👰‍♀️🤵‍♂️yesterday’s future by @thursdayinspace

This fic answers the question I posed in this post: What if Mulder and Scully got married right after William was born? I loved it so much! The angst and the longing and the overwhelming love were just perfect.

👓😩 spectacular by @thursdayinspace

Scully has a thing for Mulder in glasses. Mulder has a think for Scully in glasses. They bang about it. (And who can blame them, really?)

🌳☕️ Suncadia by @sisterspooky1013

A banger from the great sisterspooky! It’s a casefic set in the weird post-Millennium era where they kiss sometimes but haven’t established the terms of their relationship yet. Pining and yearning abound!

🏥👰‍♀️ Something blue (and something pink) by @sunflowernyx

Mulder and Scully get married during the cancer arc. It’s sweet, angsty, adorable, and tender. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

🐶🪤 A Change of Seasons by Jo-Ann Lassiter

Still making my way through @lilydalexf’s survival fic recs! This one is a one-shot; perfect for when you want a bit of hurt/comfort without all the peril and drama.

🌨️🌲 Frozen by @dashakay

Classic, cozy, cabin-in-the-woods fic where our two favorite agents get snowed in and finally admit their feelings for each other.

🏥👻 Finding Rokovoko by prufrockslove

An instant addition to my holy grail list! This is the first fic I’ve read by this legendary author (I think?), and BOY HOWDY do I see why they’re so revered. I finished this fic in one sitting, reading late into the night (yes, I was very tired at work the next day).

I think it’s best if you go into this one mostly blind. All you need to know is that MSR are teetering on the knife’s edge between UST and RST, there’s plenty of cancer arc angst, and they go on a spooky adventure that will give you the creepy crawlies.

📝📱 Belphegor’s Prime by prufrockslove

Another absolute banger from the legend themselves. This fic is as close to perfection as humanly possible. The way everything comes together is just incredible. If you haven’t read it yet, do it now! Shirk all other responsibilities and devour this fic in one sitting!

One of my favorite things about this fic is how ruthless Mulder is. I don’t think I’ve encountered a version of him quite like this anywhere else. His intense love for his family and his innate sense of duty are intensified to the point where he skirts the boundaries of what’s morally acceptable. He’s so desperate to protect his loved ones and fix the world that he will do anything, even if he risks becoming his father(s). It felt so organic and natural for him to become that version of himself under the extreme circumstances.

Anyway, if you’re a fan of time travel, DILFs, or characters whose greatest strengths become a curse, this is the perfect fic for you!

🎪🎡 More Than a Feeling by @sisterspooky1013

A s6 casefic where M&S go undercover at a traveling carnival. I love how fleshed-out the OCs were — it really raised the stakes of the story and made you care what happened to them. Such a fun read!

🐞🩺 Inspection by @ingridgradient

Our favorite agents use tick checks as an excuse to touch each other. Need I say more? Things get hot! (Thanks for the rec, @is-on-its-way!)

P.S. If you like this one, check out let’s have a look by girlfromnowhere (thanks for finding it for me, @randomfoggytiger!)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿✝️ Hiraeth by prufrockslove

This is one of those fics that leaves you gobsmacked that someone wrote this for free and posted it online for anyone to enjoy. The amount of detail in this story is truly unbelievable. I don’t even normally like total AUs, but this one won me over!

Mulder and Scully’s medieval counterparts are so far removed from anything in canon, yet they still feel exactly like the characters we know and love. This fic is an absolute master class in characterization. I am now a prufrockslove stan account.

———

Special shoutout to @skelavender’s latest installment of fall into place, which isn’t out yet but I had the pleasure of beta reading. Guys, you are in for some serious shrimp emotions. It’s got everything you could ever want. I can’t wait until everyone gets to see how awesome it is!

[bitethedevil]

Hello, hope you're having a lovely day ♡ Very important question regarding Raphael science for a Raphael scientist: He has lived for thousands of years, which makes me wonder—does he have exes? What kind of people were they to get his attention to that extent? Or maybe he's not the settling-for-one kind of guy?

Thank youuu! You too <3 And thank you for the ask

Raphael and Love

I’ve made a post about devil’s when it comes to sex and love before. The more human-like a devil is, the more they are able to crave sex and even a selfish form of love. They might not be able to love back, but they can want to be loved and adored.

Cambions are solitary creatures. They are disliked by mortals and devils alike, so they are often lone wolves who in some cases even prefer to stay alone. Raphael is no exception. I’ve said this before and some people are like “but he sees people all the time. And what about Haarlep? What about Hope?”. It doesn’t count in my opinion. He doesn’t see mortals as equals and it’s the same concept as you seeing people at work. You don’t bond with them and there is no connection. Haarlep is essentially a sex slave, so again, they serve a purpose. Hope is more prey than anything else. They are not ‘real’ connections but rather tools. Raphael is a loner.

Since Raphael is pretty human-like for a devil, I’d say he does crave love and adoration, for sure, but specific to him I don’t think he would be caught dead admitting it. Raphael needs no one but Raphael. In my mind it ties to Haarlep’s form too. It might be just as much be due to a feeling of security as it is just pure narcissism.

Let’s do a bit of psychoanalysis here. We don’t know how Raphael has grown up but we know that his mother is likely dead and Mephistopheles is…well…Mephistopheles, so loneliness is no stranger to him. Kids who grow up like that often become self-sufficient, but they also won’t trust others to care for them. I think Raphael is no different (hence Haarlep taking his own form). Also, as a sidenote, people who has had a shitty childhood and upbringing sometimes cling to the past to gain any semblance of control and Haarlep is wearing a younger-looking version of himself. Have fun with that one.

I think that if Raphael was to have a relationship with anyone, it would take a fucked-up power dynamic. He doesn’t trust in others so he would need someone he can control completely, and he would not be caught dead being vulnerable with such a person. When it comes to romantic relationships, he is not the type, I think. When it comes to sex? Oh, for sure. He has fucked plenty and it’s all about power, not love. You see this with the deleted “thousand mistresses thing” and while that seems to refer to Haarlep, I think that’s a later addition. Raphael is not that much of a cringefail loser to make a comment like that if it refers to Haarlep in my mind.

He's a complicated dude. I’ve played around with the idea that he has loved before in fics and stuff, but I think it would take very special circumstances for him to actually do so. His love would also not be what we think of when we think of the concept. His love would be obsessive and toxic and there’s clues to this with Hope. The chase might excite him. He likes people who are puzzles and he likes defiance, but he’s like a dog chasing a car. He’d have no idea what to do with them if he actually succeeded, and if he did, they would once again revert to being tools. Tools that are just there to adore him and for him to control (like with the debtors and all those rules he has in his house). 

[oladthepancake]

HELLOOO EVERYONE!

✦ · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

HERE

LOOK

I put off publishing this post for a long time because I was too lazy to write all the information that I want to put here, but here I am, showing you my two models for vitubing, created entirely by myself with my own hands on my laptop!

✦ · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

but before that I think it’s worth starting with an idea! And the idea came mega spontaneously:

This handsome man and I watched a couple of videos with Neuro-Sama and suddenly this dialogue appears:

- How about we become VTubers?

- seriously?

- yeah

- Let's go.

✦ · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Even though this decision was mega harsh and rather profane, it charged me with motivation and allowed me to get out of the art block a little

After all, I REALLY love learning new programs and things for myself.

✦ · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Time:

• 5 days to draw both models

• A week to animate them

Programs:

Krita (drawing)

life2D + his brother (animation of models and adding additional emotions)

Vtube Studio (Launch models)

Obs (video filming)

Energy Source:

God knows

✦ · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

So who were my victims of this experiment?

As expected, my avatar was my alter ego Temmie, and for our mega partner/boyfriend we chose his alter ego Sans from Freedomtale!

Since the path is completely new and unfamiliar to me, I desperately searched on YouTube for all kinds of videos and tutorials, as a result of which I found the most understandable and enjoyable series of videos from Lazu-Tan, which I mainly relied on when making avatars

Next, having found it on the Internet and installed the necessary programs on the laptop, I scribbled sketches that would later grow into models:3

after this stage there is a boring process of drawing the models directly, grouping a bunch of layers (a separate layer was needed for each moving object, such as separate layers for each strand of hair and grouping into a common group with hair. This was an unusual thing and made me really strain my brain)

Having saved both files in .psd format, I put them into a new program called Life2D! I needed this program to create animations of the very layers that I had distributed and grouped earlier. head turns, hair physics, eye blinks, additional emotions - this is all the merit of the great Life2D and those 43 days of the trial of the full version, which he so kindly provided me with for creativity... in fact, I thank you for the conditional “deadline”, because without it, God knows when I would have finished this project under other circumstances

When working, there were a lot of problems due to insufficient knowledge about the operation of the application, which is why sometimes I felt like a would-be programmer who couldn’t find an error in his code for several days (I tried to program, I know what I’m talking about)

It would seem hurray, everything is ready! however, here the finishing touches await us.

Those additional emotions (like blush, stars, tears) that should be activated by assigned keys must first be configured through a separate program that is installed with Life2D

in general, the procedure is not complicated, and I even found it somewhat pleasant

After this, the models can be considered ready, they just need to be put into the files of an application such as Vitube Studio, after which you can play your character at the camera or use them for streaming or making videos!

I published videos demonstrating the capabilities of my models on my YouTube

It was an ultra-mega interesting experience, and I will not hesitate to say this, and I am proud of the results:3

for streaming, however, all that remains is to turn my little potato into a more or less tolerable laptop, but I think sooner or later I will be able to solve this issue

@thefreedomskeleton

✦ · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Thank you if you are reading this and wish you a wonderful time of day!

[erikaogrady]

Just watched the premiere of My Adventures with Superman and I have some thoughts.

I enjoyed the first season a lot when I watched it initially but I’ve soured on it since reading a lot more Superman comics and reading JESNCIN’s posts critiquing it (which you should all definitely check out, they explain all of their points much better than I could).

The first big issue I have is them having Jor-El reveal that Krypton was a conquering empire. The first season hinted towards that interpretation but I assumed/hoped that was just going to be a misunderstanding to make Clark conflicted about his heritage, but having Jor-El come out and confirm it means that’s just what Kryton was like. There’ve been a lot of interpretations of Krypton, some of which portray it as sort of a dystopian society, but it’s always been isolationist rather than a conquering empire. And if Krypton is a colonialist entity then you cannot effectively portray Clark as a refugee which this show really wants to do. Sure, they make it clear that Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van didn’t send Kal-El to Earth to invade it, but Krypton is dying due to the their own colonialist actions. Clark isn’t the survivor of climate disaster or genocide trying to find safety in a new world, he’s the last of a conquering people trying desperately to distance himself from Krypton’s legacy.

Another big concern I have is in making Kara Zor-El a baby when she leaves Krypton. One of the most notable and interesting things about Supergirl is that she, unlike Clark, remembers Krypton and lived through its destruction. While Krypton and its culture are all theoretical to Clark they are Kara’s lived experiences. Removing that history from Kara feels like a huge missed opportunity to explore more immigrant experiences, which this show is trying to do. If Kara had retained her history we could have seen a different side of Krypton from her perspective that could have served to flesh out the planet’s culture and perhaps shown that there are people on the planet who don’t agree with the planet’s colonialist history. But the show seems entirely disinterested in portraying Krypton as anything other than unsympathetic, which just doesn’t work if Kara and Clark are meant to be refugees misunderstood by Earth.

My third issue is Jimmy’s exchange with Lex about finding his own path. This could have been worked if Jimmy didn’t know anything about Lex and just saw a guy looking down and wanted to help him, but Jimmy knows that Lex is actively against Superman simply for being an alien, so why would Jimmy want to help someone he knows is actively publicly racist towards his best friend? That in addition to Lois telling Clark she’s not sure if they should find his cousin because she doesn’t trust Kryptonians other than Clark, feels like another example of these versions of Lois and Jimmy being weirdly insensitive of Clark’s experiences of allegorical racism. Which is weird when they’re both supposed to be people of color.

Overall it feels like the people behind this show did not think about the implications of any of the changes they made to Superman lore. In general I’m not somebody who cares to much about changes made in adaptation, I just want a good story, but every change made here actively works against what they’re trying to do thematically. There are so many comics that handle Clark’s status as a refugee and an immigrant in really compelling and effective ways (like Superman Smashes the Klan) but My Adventure of Superman feels like it’s working against itself.

Anyway, go check out @jesncin ‘s tumblr, they have a lot of great analysis of the show, and also go read Superman Smashes the Klan if you want a modern Superman story that handles immigrant themes better.

-https://www.tumblr.com/jesncin/737954867195314176/a-failure-of-asian-lois-lane-pt-2-my-adventures

-https://www.tumblr.com/jesncin/747518315382063104/i-hope-superman-fandom-as-a-whole-will-one-day

-https://www.tumblr.com/jesncin/749324579544186880/my-response-to-the-potential-of-exploring-an

[welshoot]

Twisted Wonderland and The Black Cauldron

This theory honestly seemed so far-fetched when I first came up with it before Twisted Wonderland got localized, but I felt like writing this so here we are.

There might just be a connection between Twisted Wonderland and  The Black Cauldron (film or novel). Before I get into the wild theorizing/analysis I would like to say that this post will contain major spoilers for the book and film of The Black Cauldron as well as for Twisted Wonderland, so proceed at your own risk. Also, this is going to be very long, so be forewarned

This entire theory comes completely from this image:

This is the mirror chamber from Twisted Wonderland, a room we seem to keep coming back to in terms of potential lore importance. I don’t really know why, but when I saw this image for the first time my mind immediately flew back to this:

I guess it’s something about the green stuff coming out the thing up top that reminds me of the titular black cauldron from one of Disney’s worst performing films, The Black Cauldron (1985). 

Now, The Black Cauldron (1985) is a bit of a dark spot on the history of Disney’s animated movies. All in all, it is generally forgotten and most everyone likes to pretend it doesn’t exist because of how poorly it performed when it came out compared to the amount of money Disney sank into it (at a $44 million it cost more than $40 million budget of The Little Mermaid [1989]). But, notably, The Black Cauldron (1985) also contains one of Disney’s most terrifying villains. The Horned King. 

Now, if you’ve never seen the movie or read the book, the Horned King intended to use the titular black cauldron to unleash an undead, immortal army and intends to become “A god between mortal men” (quote from the disney wiki page for the man himself). Interestingly, considering he’s wanting to amass an undead army, the Horned King is quite skeletal himself. Outside of that, there is very little known about this character. He is very mysterious, very evil, and is implied to have magical powers though he hardly ever uses them. An additional point of interest for the sake of this theory is the fact that the castle of the Horned King is in horrible shape. Sort of ramshackle if you will.

The film version of this villain is very different from the book version. The book version is not the primary antagonist, rather he is the antagonist's champion warrior until death. With that said though, he is still quite ominous. No one knows his name and his title comes from the horned mask he wears. In the book he doesn’t seem quite human and is rather bestial. Another potentially interesting point is that, in the film, his goons are identical to Maleficent's and he is connected to dragons.

Now, for this theory, the Horned King may or may not come into play, but the black cauldron itself is important. In both the book and the movie, the only way to destroy the black cauldron (and it is evil and needs to be destroyed so that the undead/immortal army can’t be made) is for a willing sacrifice to go into it and die. While in the movie, the sacrifice is saved this is not the case in the book.

Now, the whole undead immortal army thing makes me wonder about the overblot monsters. We know from Ignihyde that the blot monsters can exist after the death of their host which makes them a sort of undead immortal monster. They also seem to be wholly obsessed with magic, and the magic mirror of NRC is suggested to be incredibly unique and very magical. So, if the green thingie under the mirror is the cauldron, it might be possible that the overblots are happening to form an undead/immortal army that will obey whoever holds that mirror simply because they themselves want the magical power of the mirror. In such a case, the only way to stop such an army would be to destroy the cauldron (i.e. give it a willing sacrifice). The only question is, who?

In the Disney film, the willing sacrifice (who was brought back to life because it is a kid’s move, albeit a sort of creepy one) was Gurgi. He sacrificed himself so that the protagonist (Taran) wouldn’t sacrifice himself to save his friends. Gurgi was, simply put, an ever hungry, greedy about food, cowardly, and cheerful but annoying sidekick to the lead. It’s never really explained what, exactly, Gurgi is but h had blue eyes and was small and fluffy. Here’s a picture:

Now, we have to consider Grim here. Small animal companion, constantly hungry and greedy for food, fairly cheerful but with a penchant for being annoying, has blue eyes, and we don’t really know what he is. If the theory that each character in Twisted Wonderland has two inspirations (one heroic and one villainous) is true, then Gurgi may very well be part of Grim’s inspiration. And if that’s the case he would be a likely candidate for the willing sacrifice. If that is the case, the situation would probably have something to do with stopping the Prefect from sacrificing themselves (or something).  

In the book version of things the sacrifice is the jerkish, second prince Ellidyr. He is not revived and he sacrifices himself as a way of making atonement. Character-wise, he is the edgy character for the book, though notably he is also a more complicated character for the series. He is also incredibly strong for unexplained reasons, has a deeply hidden sense of honor, and if he sets himself a goal he will see it through. And, as a final character note, he is the foil to the protagonist of the tale.

Now, Ellidyr’s character can match up with several different individuals in Twisted  Wonderland, making it hard to say who any other potential willing sacrifice candidates might be. It could be Leona, a rather jerkish second prince, but he would need a specific reason. It could also be a tie-in to whoever’s hand the player took at the start of the game. However, there is one final option who is present simply due to the virtue of their placement in the story. The Prefect.

While everyone else has shades of villainy, the Prefect is implied to be the most upstanding person at NRC, though they may manipulate others if they feel forced (Octavinelle Chapter and forcing Leona’s hand into helping). As such, their position as outsider in a world with no identifiable way home and resident nice person does unfortunately put them squarely on the chopping block as a sacrifice. Especially since it is implied that they are becoming friends with the various characters at NRC.

There is also the idea of: does someone even want to create any army of overblot monsters? And, to be honest, I really don't even want to consider the implications of such a thing or go into to trying to figuring the who and why of that question, plus this post is already pretty long.

In the end, this is just a wild theory that I thought was rather intriguing since I personally think it would be very amusing if Twisted Wonderland made use of Disney’s black sheep movie in such a pivotal way for the plot. With that said, I highly doubt such a thing will come to pass, though I would find it incredibly amusing.

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results -- Narngreg

All right, time to look at this week's critters. (Sorry it's a few hours later than normal, it's been a busy few days and I'm behind on everything.) This one is not only breaking the bird streak, but it's also one of the handful of animals that gets a color scheme. The entry our artists are working from is here, if anyone wants to check:

As per usual, the art is under the cut in roughly chronological order.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has again demonstrated their ability to create these with an impressive turnaround time: this went up the same evening I posted the entry. I like the design -- the high, muscular back there gives it a good silhouette and a threatening appearance, and the way the black fur is patterned looks really cool -- but what really caught my attention was something in the linked post's description of their design rationale. Apparently binturongs smell like buttered popcorn?? Learn something new every day.

@sweetlyfez (link to post here) has given her Narngreg an interesting low-slung design, like if you built a hippopotamus on a crocodile frame. (She's also provided her own alt text, thank you.) We can see the characteristic claws, and also the fun decision to give the creature an extra-large mouth for its scented breath.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has again done some fantastic medieval stylization. I really like the decision to go literal with the "eye-shaped circles" description -- makes me wonder if this fur pattern just coincidentally looks like eyes, or if it's meant to ward off predators. Which raises the question of what this friend-to-all-other-animals, dragons-are-scared-of-it beast is trying to ward off. Also, if you check out the linked post, in addition to discussing design decisions, coolest-capybara has another version of this art where a number of the other beasts they've drawn for this project are indeed gathered to follow the Narngreg's scent -- except for the Choglaem, which is hidden in a cave in the earth.

@karthara (link to post here) notes that big cats are probably the sort of beast that can hold their own against dragons, and they fit the physical elements of the description, so here's a big cat species for you. I really like how the coat pattern turned out; the stripes on the end of the tail are a nice touch. Excellent cats all around.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has taken an interesting (and very cool-looking) direction here. (And has also provided alt text, thank you.) In their explanation of their design decisions, which is quite detailed and worth checking out in the linked post, they explain that a lot of the influence on the design came from trying to reconcile "gentle animal" with "dangerous claws". What kinds of animals have large claws but aren't predators? Well, there are a few, but the ones they are primarily drawing on are the extinct chalicotheres and ground sloths -- large herbivores that nevertheless possess sharp claws. I think it's a clever direction to take. Additionally, I appreciate the stylized eye spots. And the mane-plus-goatee situation. They've also included some previous Beaſts following the Narngreg's sweet breath, and the Choglaem hiding from it in the upper right there. And, of course, Stylized Plants that they made sure to point out to me. :)

@pomrania (link to post here) had a similar thought to cheapsweets: what creature is gentle but has large claws? a sloth! And since there's no mention of it being arboreal, it can be a ground sloth. (Ground sloths are cool and I like that they came up more than once here.) This little guy is frankly adorable; I love the ear tufts and mane. I can see why other animals would be friendly to it -- it just looks like it would be pleasant to be around. There are a number of non-sloth influences happening here, which pomrania lays out in detail in their post, so go see that.

(P.S. Pomrania: I have no idea what, if any, pattern there is to whether the bestiary authors cite sources for a specific fact. I kind of suspect that the difference is "whether they know where that information came from" and possibly "whether they think a particular source is prestigious enough to be an impressive citation".)

@strixcattus (link to post) is also of the opinion that the Narngreg is clearly a feline, or at least similar to a feline -- they also note the "sleeping in caves" thing as inspiration for the "feline equivalent of bears" approach they took, so we might be drifting back to the binturongs again. Anyway, let's all take a moment to enjoy the incredibly cute scene here. Now, go read the linked post. Strixcattus's practice of turning the bestiary entry into a realistic modern naturalist's description of the animal is on point as always, and you owe it to yourself to read this and the other entries they have written. They're fascinating, especially in the context of the Bestiary Telephone situation.

They also express a suspicion that the cave thing is a Biblical allegory, and... ding ding ding!

On the third day the [Narngreg] rises from its sleep and gives a great cry, emitting a sweet odour, just like our Lord Jesus Christ, rising again from the dead...

Granted, bestiary authors turn pretty much everything into a Biblical allegory. You may also be interested to know that dragons retreat from it because the dragon represents the devil.

Anyway, the Aberdeen Bestiary version, which I have to say is particularly nice this time around:

Yep, this artist had the same idea as coolest-capybara and cheapsweets: the drawing should show other animals following it and a dragon... um... hm. Let's just assume that dragon is supposed to be hiding in a cave.

(I assume the critter is blue in this image because painting it black would make all that shading more difficult, so we're using a dark blue to indicate "black".)

And everyone who thought "feline" was indeed correct, because this is the panther.

Some of you may be thinking, "hey, I don't remember learning any of these facts about panthers."

Some others of you, who are up on your taxonomy, may also be thinking, "hang on, panther isn't a species. what animal did the medieval bestiaries think they were talking about?"

I am delighted to inform you that the answer to that question boils down to Bestiary Telephone! See, classical authors wrote about leopards, as you might expect from people who were kicking around northern Africa and southwestern Asia back when there were still leopards there. But Latin had two different words for "leopard", and as a result people from Europe assumed those were two different animals and panthera must be a separate, non-leopard thing. (How would they know, after all? It's not like they have any Leopard Experience.) The confusion created by this simple mistake continues to reign even to this day: the existence of a "panther" as a distinct species of big cat remains a common misconception, and I bet at least one person reading this was in today's lucky 10,000.

(This is not the only etymological absurdity that comes out of medieval Europeans dealing with What Is Big Cats, but we'll get to that when we get to it.)

[nekoannie-chan]

Cost

Title: Cost.

Fandom: Marvel, Captain America, The Gifted.

Ship: Steve Rogers & Clarice Fong (Friends).

Word count: 556 words.

Square: B1 “Short term gains at a long term cost.”

Rating: Teen.

Summary: Steve asked Clarice for help.

Major Tags: Mention of betrayal.

Additional tags: This is my entry to @marvelrarepairbingo, @marvelrarepairs Marvel Rare Pair Round 3 2024. MRP-066.

Links: Wattpad, Ao3, Spanish version.

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

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DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

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2016

Clarice looked strangely at the message that had just arrived on her mobile phone; it could only mean one thing, and perhaps all the peace of mind they had had so far could be interrupted.

Clarice arrived at the place at the appointed time. She had not stopped having that strange feeling; she simply wanted to know what was going on. A few minutes later, out of the shadows, Steve came out.

“What's going on, Cap? “she asked, and she could immediately see the concern on his face.

“Clarice, I need your help, rather than that of the mutants in the underground," Steve said in a serious tone, sighing before continuing to speak. “The Sokovia Accords are affecting all superheroes, but especially the mutants; several are being locked up, and you know exactly what will follow."

Clarice frowned. This time the situation looked bleaker; they didn't want to be on the run again, being chased by the Sentinels again.

“I'm with you, Cap, but I'll need more detailed explanations. How can we help?"

“I need to get Bucky to safety, and then we can plan a good strategy to make it clear to Congress that Ross is completely wrong," Steve replied.

“Marcos and John can handle that; maybe they'll need Lorna's help. We could use Esme to convince them.

“No, no powers; it has to be with arguments," Steve asked, still hoping that he could convince them that Bucky wasn't the culprit.

“Cap, sometimes humans can be complicated. No offense."

“What I need is for Bucky to be safe; he's not."

“I know, Esme told us, but you should be careful with Stark; he won't hesitate for a second to betray them," Clarice warned.

“Could you also help me get the evidence?"

“We could try; I can't say for sure."

Clarice made some calls; they had to come up with a plan fast. For all they knew, everything was moving too fast in too short a time, and they were sure that in less than a week, they wouldn't be safe anymore.

“Cap, no matter what happens, just remember that the cost they will have to pay if they make the mistake of approving them will be very large in the future because they will never be able to call or assemble a team in time," Clarice said.

2018

Steve looked around, trying to understand what had just happened. He didn't understand how it was possible that they hadn't been able to stop Thanos; they just hadn't had enough time to put together an effective plan, but it really wasn't their fault.

He turned to look at the group of mutants. He could almost hear them repeating to him what Clarice had told him a few years earlier. He had no reason to feel guilty now.

“How is it possible that they didn't stop him? How are we supposed to deal with this whole mess?“ Ross snapped.

“That's none of our business. A few years ago, someone told me that the cost you would have to pay in the future for approving the Accords would be very high, and so it is. Hold yourself and all those who approved them responsible; since you failed to detect a threat in time, find a solution," Steve said, then stood up and left the room.

[psychiccent]

Finally finished editing my old posts so NOW I can keep haunting these tags lol

Ever seen a clingy Ko? In the final Peacebreaker showdown in Providence, Kogami and Akane (and Co.) have miraculously survived the assault on Peacebreaker HQ. Up until this point, Akane has kept Kogami at a distance by being more reserved in their interactions. Ko feels/knows this, and you can see the tension carried in his body in a lot of scenes that feature Akane and himself in a room together.

If you ever need a hint, keep an eye on Kogami anytime Frederica is in frame. Frede, to me at least, always serves as a reminder to be observant of the subconscious tells a person gives off through body language, namely Ko. We see that through this unspoken language, Ko wants to be close to Akane, to reacquaint himself with this new version of her. I can't blame him; they have been separated for quite some time and Akane is not the rookie from season 1 or the woman running at his heels from PP the Movie. She's now a top dog in her own right and he's heard some things (Thanks Frede!).

When we have Ko and Akane coming down from the adrenaline high of that final encounter with the leader/bad guy in Providence, Ko has Akane formally place him under arrest. It is symbolic in a way and shows us that Kogami is not running from his actions (Or Akane), and that he is prepared to stay and face the consequences. That's not the only message I see reflected here though. To set the tone, after years of separation and hardship, Kogami has FINALLY made his way back home, and has even managed to worm his way into the CID building due to a joint investigation. Through this, Ko is finally able to reunite with Akane, under totally justifiable circumstances (ALLEGEDELY - Gino would say lolololol or rather "Screw you!" if we are going by the movie script - The man literally told Ko to stay away). When Ko DOES manage to get in physical proximity of her, the emotional distance is vast, and he sees how others have come to surround Akane during his absence. It's a tough pill to swallow for him (though obviously he refuses to admit it).

Then we have the risky business during the raid on the Peacebreaker HQ. Akane is really putting her neck on the line here, a fact Kogami brings up before they officially set out, and the audience is treated to an anxious Ko. He understands why things are falling in place as they are, regarding the mission, but Ko can't help but warn Akane away from doing anything excessively dangerous/risky while on her own. We even see Ko's anxiety spike when Akane admits that she cannot make any promises to him. Akane figures she is already out of the pot and into the fire and there could be no greater risk taken at this point and time. She is resigned to what fate has in store for her and is facing it head on. She even jokes that Kogami should be quick if he does not want to worry (DON'T DO THAT TO THE TEAM AKANE LOL, HE ALREADY LIKES TO SPRINT AHEAD INTO THE ACTION LIKE A MAD DOG). The next time Kogami sees Akane, it is with a gun planted to her head, and a maniac rambling above her. When the danger has passed and they both have a moment to BREATH, they have an emotional exchange.

From this point onward, clingy Ko has been activated. The man HAS to be cuffed to Akane in this moment and it is purely selfish in nature. Any reason to cut away the distance between them, Ko takes. This is why, despite still being in enemy territory, Ko handicaps himself with a physical connection to Akane. This would arguably put them both at risk, with Kogami restricted in how he can respond to any additional threats; this leaves them both quite vulnerable. Logically speaking here, they could have managed just fine WITHOUT the cuffs attached but Ko will have none of it. It's not like Ko is ignorant to the danger they are still in either, taking off his bulletproof vest, Kogami has Akane wear it instead...*just in case* (I'm not swooning, YOU ARE).

The handcuffs are an assurance that Akane won't easily be taken/snatched away from Kogami and offers him the best excuse to stay as close to Akane as possible. In the Providence Blu-ray edition photos, I am in LOVE with two photos in particular. One features Gino, Ko and Akane making their way through the aftermath and rubble of the raid/assault. Ko still carries Akane in this scene but get a good LOOK at Gino here. The man looks troubled/perplexed/bothered and is solemn in his guardian role for the two here. Something about Akane and Ko is triggering Gino, but what could that be? More on that later.

Akane is awake in this photo, and it looks like everyone is having it out with their inner demons individually. Sure, they are moving together as a group, but each person is dealing with a different internalized conflict. I'll have to break that down more in a future post because there is PLENTY to take from that. The next photo, which I tend to favor more, shows the crew waiting on evac to go back home. Frede, though largely unseen, has her shadow playing in the outskirts. I took this as another reminder/hint to analyze Ko and BOI HOWDY. This man is getting his FILL of Akane and Ko's position and demeanor tells us this CLEARLY.

Akane has passed out by this point and is sleeping soundly. Next to her, Ko's body language is telling us something grand. Kogami's head is tilted slightly away from Akane while a lit cigarette hangs from his lips. (I HC here that he is trying to be considerate of his sleeping beauty by keeping her air mostly clear lol) There's a small smile peeking out here as Ko stares back out to the audience. He looks SATISFIED. Why wouldn't he be? Everyone who needed to live has survived and anyone who died had it coming. This is a victory through in through as far and he is concerned, and we see Ko settled into a relaxed position absolutely BASKING in it.

A few things stood out to me here. First, that injured leg Ko was moving on throughout mission was not fully healed, yet here we see Kogami bending that same leg awkwardly to the side to rest along Akane's. You could argue that Ko is just using his leg as a minor support to keep their hands level and comfortable, BUT there is no way Ko is not feeling some kind of strain or discomfort with that abused limb, ESPECIALLY after all the action that took place prior, PLUS having to carry Akane out of the smoldering remains of that HQ. That leg has GOT to be throbbing by now and for comfort, Ko SHOULD be mirroring Gino's stance nearby with his leg outstretched in front of him. But. Ko's leg is flush to Akane's, their hands teasing one another in the shadows. GOSH. WOW. On the opposite side of his body, closer to the dominator, his leg and arm are drawn up and holding a small bit of tension (My shipper goggles have me seeing this as another symbolic showing of how Ko often tries to shield Akane, but I digress).

The STAR here is Gino. He STILL looks troubled. His body is tense and drawn in, despite being on standby to finally go home. He is still triggered by something, and you can see him looking off to the side, pointedly AWAY from Ko and Akane. What's happened, you ask? Gino has scented Ko's BS " I do this because of that" clause again and he is NOT impressed. He knows Ko has a profound effect on Akane and her psyche, and he also knows his best friend as a person and what Ko's habits and actions tend to mean. Gino has seen this before with these two...that SPARK they seem to share, and it becomes apparent that Gino's prior warnings/threats from earlier in this movie and past installments have ultimately fallen on deaf ears (Cuz Ko gonna do what Ko gonna do at the end of the day, then reason it out to his advantage later lol).

Not to mention how OBVIOUS Ko is being in the moment. They are technically all candidates for arrest, it's not just Ko. HE pulled the trigger, yes. But so did literally everyone else. They ALL went in guns blazing with no approval. NO ONE has to be in cuffs, and EVERYONE knows it, Gino especially. But Ko clings on. In the novel, we see Ko's intent is to get her handed to a medical bot/professional as soon as he can, and I find that super sweet. Ko won't hand his girl off to ANYONE when she's injured, not even his best friend. The only person who could get Akane away from Kogami in that moment is Akane herself and you cannot convince me otherwise.

[licncourt]

begin again COOKED as a post-qotd fix-it (fave fic! <3) but i need to know your thoughts on prince lestat/how you would re-do it in the correct way. to this day i still think LESTAT becoming prince monarch of all the vampires is one of the craziest decisions made during the novels. to me lestat is a prince in the same way that jack skellington was king of halloween (that includes the running away to cause delusional hijinks that ultimately jeapordize everyone)

Aaahhh thank you!! That fic is my child that I birthed so I appreciate it more than you know! It's actually BA's one year finished-iversary next week, my baby's all grown up.

I've talked about that before actually in this post about how I would rewrite the whole series, but I can expand a little here!

Firstly, this could've been two books instead of three. There was nothing going on in there that required three entire novels

Things that have to go entirely: aliens, test tube clone baby Viktor, Atlantis. Sorry, not salvageable

I think rather than the Amel thing, it would have been cool if the sacred core had started corrupting Lestat and altering his behavior as host, maybe changing him gradually into a animalistic, violent folklore-like vampire, making him slowly lose his mind like Mekare, or erasing his sense of self to become a blank host. Then it's a race against the clock and vampire magical biology to save him. This could be the first PL book

Ideally, I think this book should be narrated by Louis and focus a lot on his growth as a character as he finishes his personal. It would bring some happy ending closure to the IWTV version of him without being a jarring change. I also think having his POV for the best of his and Lestat's relationship would be a nice full circle moment from seeing him describe their worst. The idea of Lestat losing himself to the core and them potentially coming together too late would add good drama as well. Maybe this is Louis' follow-up memoir describing how they fixed things

The Rhoshamandes conflict can stay for the second PL and final VC book, but I think it could've been less boring if the drama between him and Lestat had been better fleshed out. They have a lot of similarities that weren't used to their full advantage. It would really highlight Lestat's growth to have him defeat what he could've become

When Lestat reunites with Louis, they would actually have some long, hard conversations about their past, ones that continue throughout the PL trilogy

Hopefully an explanation for why Lestat has made this 180 is included, even if it's just the crushing realization of his own loneliness and longing reaching critical mass after twenty years of who the fuck knows what

The cast is pared down to the strongest written and most interesting characters so the story isn't spread so thin, probably Lestat, Louis, Armand, Gabrielle, Marius, Pandora, and maybe a small handful of new characters with significance in the story. I think Seth, Fareed, Sevraine had the most potential to be good additions to the primary roster if she wanted to add on

Cool characters from the original like trilogy like Maharet and Khayman are expanded on rather than killed offscreen to make room for more Anne Rice NPCs. If we're going to kill someone from the trilogy, please God let it be David Talbot

This goes without saying I think, especially from me, but Louis would be restored to his former glory as a true main character alongside Lestat instead of relegated to lobotomized housewife. There was so much potential for him in an active consort role. We also don't get to see how he got to such a peaceful place at the end of PL, so I would like to see him work through some stuff on the page

I would either cut the Rhoshamandes/Benedict storyline because of how redundant it is with how it mirrors the Marius/Armand dynamic or do something to differentiate it as its own relationship. At the very least, maybe the similarity could be highlighted to become a character beat for Armand

As far as Armand in general, I would make him a much more prominent player. I think he's a great fit for a court setting and could create a lot of intrigue as well as adding coolness factor. I'm always torn about whether I like the reveal of his romantic feelings for Lestat, but in the interest of keeping SOME things intact, I would just play it differently. Primarily, I think he becomes way too agreeable (similar to Louis) in how he submits to and idolizes Lestat, so I would love to see him come into more conflict with Lestat in spite of those feelings. Maybe we can see him make some peace with their history and let go of that intense emotion for something healthier

If we're going to keep the sex injections (IVs, whatever), I think we should do more with it than have Lestat prematurely ejaculate into a random woman. I think there's potential for a very interesting new dynamic with Louis and Lestat. It would be cathartic and maybe an interesting part of their healing process and of becoming a real couple for the first time

That's what I can think of for now, but I might update later!

[hazbinned]

Important notes for my personal portrayal of Valentino - Background and Headcanons. Because this has been his story forever, and yet I just realized I had never compiled these in a post and that nobody knows any of this unless you read through all his threads in search of crumbs or have discussed it with me in IMs.

TW: Era-typical homophobia + abuse + Valentino topics. If you continue reading, you should know what to expect.

Valentino is of mostly Puerto Rican heritage and was born to immigrant parents in 1940, in the East Coast of the United States (Florida) as the second eldest of four boys (brothers being Pablo, Francisco, and Denzel). He grew up in a rough neighborhood, as his father was involved in some crime and petty gang activity that, for the most part, Valentino and his siblings were excluded from. Valentino spent most of his childhood and teen years left to his own devices, causing trouble with his brothers and friends for the fun of it. He was haughty, leaned toward being a bully, and never faced the consequences of his actions right from the start.

(His parents hardly paid attention to him, so he could do whatever he wanted— he did, however, learn some cooking from his mother, and some very basic firearm skills from his father.)

Valentino was always feminine in many ways, which his family mostly just commented on or tried to ignore, until he started getting older and it went from a 'quirk' to something they saw as a problem. In his early adulthood, he was caught with a man, and fallout ensued. Val ditched his family and then the state, and eventually, in the 1960s, wound up in LA, where he was almost immediately reeled in by a pimp (who was also his dealer/sugar daddy/eventual film director).

They had a genuine friendship for a handful of years, both of them being in it for the money and other benefits— Val wound up living in the guy's mansion and starred in adult films for him, and felt like a real celebrity. During this time, Val adopted his signature heart glasses into his look (though he mostly wore them as an accessory on top of his head), and was gifted two exotic birds by his pimp: a green rose-ringed parakeet and a red parrot, which he named Ferrari and Versace respectively. (He was extremely attached to both of the birds, and both of them outlived him.)

Good things never last forever, though, and Val's pimp started wanting him to film things that he was just not comfortable with— when Val voiced this (and the fact that he'd rather star in dominant roles), the friendly and mutually beneficial side of their relationship withered up and died, giving way to disrespect and physical abuse (often with the strike of a gun). Val was told he could leave anytime he wanted, but that his pimp wasn't going to help him— he'd essentially be broke and homeless. Feeling trapped, he opted to stay, and put up with a couple more years of that... until, finally, he knocked off his pimp and took control of the mansion and the entire operation.

It was during this that he started wearing his sunglasses over his eyes, and truly grew into the version of 'Valentino' that everyone knows. He became a pimp himself, and continued starring in films (of his own volition and creative direction) until he died at age 38 to a shot to the head.

Val, for the most part, landed on his feet in Hell and immediately just started doing what he was best at in life. He performed a lot more in the beginning, and his natural charisma (plus his new addictive pheromone) made it easy for him to start accumulating souls. Minus a few setbacks (such as his pheromone lending to some uncomfortable encounters here and there) he was on the easy road to success.

He and Vox met and the two of them immediately hit it off, and started supporting each other (financially and otherwise-- friends, to business partners, to unstable life partners, to lovers). The rest is history.

ADDITIONAL HEADCANONS.

Val does not perform much anymore. He still can, but he prefers just sitting around and making other people do things now. He hasn't appeared on stage in person for years, and hasn't starred in any published films for even longer. It has been since the early/mid 2000s, at least.

Val's eyes had started failing in the last few years of his life, and this carried over into his Hell-form. He finds it humiliating and refuses to get help.

Val has never faced lasting consequences for any of his actions, which is in part responsible for him being the way he is. He thinks he can get away with everything because he can get away with everything.

Val's communication style is extremely physical. Even when he's not trying to be controlling, he kind of still is if he's manhandling someone.

He's very paranoid about a second, more permanent death (or even a fall from grace), as he loves his life in Hell and does not want to lose it. He's scared that Angel will continue the cycle he started and kill him, or that he will somehow wind up with the tables turned and find himself in Angel's shoes. He will do anything to keep this from happening.

Sometimes, when he gets really worked up or emotional or high, he unintentionally lets out a more vulnerable side of himself-- closer to how he was during life. He hates that, it gives him the ick... especially when Angel is privy. (This is NOT the same playful attitude he sports around Vox and Velvette and other people he likes. It's very similar, but it's different. He doesn't mind as much when Vox or Velvette are witness to it.)

Val was never innocent, kind, or a 'good person,' although he can seem this way to those he is manipulating, as well as to his loved ones (as he is generally fun to be around if he likes you. Bad people typically aren't bad to everyone, and Valentino has his own circle of people he likes and respects-- namely Vox and Velvette.) His arc was not one of a good person becoming a villain. He was always villain-adjacent, he simply went from 'toxic' to 'awful.'

Valentino stood at an extremely tall 6'7" during life.

The last one is suggestive ala the read-more:

Val is a dom. He just really doesn't enjoy not being so, although there are some exceptions where he is genuinely chill with switching it up, like if he's in a certain mood or if it's a special occasion and Vox really wants that, or if his partner is someone he views as more powerful and cooler than him (ala 'celebrity crush' like Asmodeus-- not just anyone with power). He can kinda get into it then, but he has to LOVE you, respect you, trust you, AND find you attractive. Generally, though, he doesn't like relinquishing control ever and his partner would have to be someone who is okay with that. A teeny tiny bit of this is a trauma response but it's primarily just who he is.

[sinnabee]

hey guys! i’ve got a bit of a (big) life update for y’all.

unfortunately, i’m having to figure out a new living situation pretty unexpectedly. my roommate and i talked, and basically he’s wanting to live on his own again. so i’ve got about two months to get moved out of here and find a new place. (i’m working on it! luckily i recently reconnected with a friend who’s a real estate agent, so who knows - maybe i’ll get my own damn house >:D)

for anybody that follows me on ko-fi, you might have seen the update i put there. this is a more detailed version of that.

basically, this means (and i am so so so SO sorry about this) it’s going to be a while before i can get a lot of these charm orders out.

i’m going to try my best to get out what i can in-between packing, but don’t be surprised if your order takes several months to ship. again, i’m so sorry - i know it took me ages to even get them listed.

one of the other things this is going to effect may be sticker orders and new stickers.

sticker orders:

i try to include free doodles with my sticker orders, and i am going to continue to try and do that, but some of you may not receive a doodle, and for that i’m sorry.

if you would rather get your stickers sooner, and don’t mind missing out on the doodle, please message me, either through tumblr or through ko-fi. (ko-fi will help me keep track of who’s who a bit better.)

if you REALLY want a doodle, and don’t mind waiting, then let me know and i’ll move yours to the back of my list. this way, i can prioritize anyone who doesn’t mind going without a doodle and start cutting down on my workload.

if you don’t message me either way, i’ll try and get your doodle done, but there’s a chance i may just go ahead and send it without one. luck of the draw.

some of you have ordered stickers AND charms! (omg, what the heck! y’all are amazing!) despite being in the same order, i may try and at least get you your sticker orders, unless otherwise requested. (i have a few people that have already spoken to me about having their items shipped together, so no worries if we’ve already talked.) for anyone that ordered stickers + charms, i wasn’t going to do a doodle anyway, since the main reason i have those is to do something with the cardstock i use to keep the envelopes flat. this way y’all will at least get something sooner! (again, message me if you’d rather i’d send it all together. don’t worry about shipping if i send them separately, i’m not gonna apply a charge for that, it’s fine.)

new stickers:

i had intended to start printing and eventually list my new halloween dca sticker design by october first at the absolute latest. but with the whole “ideally be moved out within two months at the latest, earlier if possible,” thing, that may not be happening.

i’m still gonna try, though!!!!! i’ll try and save my sticker making things for later in the packing process, and maybe try and get that stuff figured out before the end of this month. we’ll see if i can juggle it with everything else - i really think it’s dependent on me catching up on my other orders, first.

in addition to all of this, i’m still out of work on FMLA for my back problems. on the bright side - my appointment is FINALLY coming up!!! yippee!!! but that also means i have to take a lot of breaks from packing and working on stickers because… back hurty. but it ALSO means i have the time to do all this stuff, breaks included, because i’m not working. so…silver linings, am i right? :D

also just wanna say thank you to everybody again - i have made SO many friends in this fandom, and i’ve had a blast being able to make stickers and finally charms!!!! half the reason i’ve been able to bounce back so quick after getting this news the other day is because i’ve already had some of my pals who saw my kofi post messaging me and wishing me well. and the money from the charm orders is gonna help ease the moving/shopping process a lot, so - thank you all so much!!!!

again, i’m sorry everything is so delayed. but i WILL get it out to you eventually, once things settle down a bit. but y’all are amazing, and i appreciate you lots, k???? don’t forget it!!! <3

[bakujho]

TWST common headcanons mistaken for canon

I Made a thread on twitter about some of the common headcanons/misconceptions/misinfo about some of the stuff in twst, so thought I could maybe post it here too. (I am working on a few more posts but those will be longer and come later- this is just the simple stuff.)

“Floyd gives fish nicknames as a sign of affection”

Nope! When it is brought up in Ep 4-24 he refers to Kalim as Sea-Otter which Grim is confused about, and Jade goes on to say that he prefers to give people sea-creature themed nicknames. The addition of “sign of affection” was not in the original version!

“Herbivore is only used for Yuu (and used as a sign of affection)”

Nope! Leona calls several characters besides Yuu/Grim Herbivores, it seems to be his “go to” insult. (Ex. rival magift team members etc)

“Cater used to be the Heartslabuyl Dorm Leader”

Nope! He and Trey had been roommates for 2 years, and dorm leaders get their own rooms so they wouldn't have had to share. Also, Riddle mentions that it’s one of Trey’s “upperclassmen” rather than “classmates”.

“Floyd threw a fit first year because he (or Jade) got sorted into a different dorm”

Nope! This one was theorized due to one of Jades home voicelines, but in Floyd’s Beans Day personal story, he clarifies that he teased Riddle during the ceremony until he got blasted with magic.

“Azul and the twins are childhood friends”

Er, Sort of. Depending on where you draw the line for ‘childhood’. They’ve known Azul since elementary school, but weren’t friends with him at the very least until middle school, and only then did he change from Tako-chan to Azul.

“Floyd only calls people he likes/respects by their real name.”

Maybe, but not confirmed. The only characters he calls by their names are Jade and Azul, and Azul’s changed after X amount of years on his radar as Tako-chan. Everyone else, including the staff, have fish names.

“Child-of-man is specifically used for Yuu (and a sign of affection)”

Nope! He refers to the entire VDC group as ‘children-of-men’ in 5-67, as well as humans in general (as in 6-52)

“Malleus redecorated Ramshackle for Yuu after the STYX incident”

Nope! It was fixed by STYX and the VDC gang! (6-84)

“Ortho is a sweet baby that would never hurt a fly”

Nope! Ortho has threatened to destroy the school on multiple occasions (Ghost marriage, halloween, fairy gala) with his proton beam. Not to mention humiliating the Dia mob characters in his Dorm SSR story. ****SPOILERS FOR EP 6*** DO NOT READ THIS ONE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED** YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!*** and definitely wanted to destroy the world but you know. I personally think Ortho should be allowed to fire the beam, just once, as a treat.

“The Leech Family are Mafia”

Let’s be real there’s a GOOD fucking chance this one is true, but I think one that’ll stay HC because of that Disney label. The information about the Leech family status and business dealings leads pretty pointedly towards fish crimes, but as Jade assures in his first birthday card, it is all ‘VERY normal’.

“X character is __ sexuality”

Schrodinger's canon, all of it is canon and at the same time none of it is canon. All of them are up for interpretation (and will likely always remain so to rake in $$$). The only thing mentioned is that Ace had a girlfriend in middle school. Some characters seem more “coded” (gay, bi, ace, etc) than others, but outside of that one mention of Ace’s ex, nothing has been confirmed.

[faux-ee]

A Theory about Abilities in BSD, and why Fyodor wants to rid the world of Ability users

Originally, I want to delay making this post until I finish reading irl Dostoevsky’s Demons, because I personally find a lot of parallels between BSD’s Fyodor & Nikolai and Pyotr & Stavrogin in Demons, and I truly wish to elaborate on that. However, I just finished the 2014 TV Show Demons and let’s just say I’m moved to the core and nothing except writing about BSD Fyodor could give me peace. I will still be discussing briefly the connection between BSD fyolai & Demons characters in this post, but that discussion wouldn’t be so detailed because I tragically haven’t finished the book yet. 

Sorry I’ve rambled a lot. Anyways, here we go. 

In addition to the theory that Ability symbolizes trauma response, I want to speculate that Ability also translates one’s negative perception of themself into physical existence. In fact, in irl Atsushi’s work, the Tiger is none but a representation of the self, plagued by vanity and inferiority, that a person has to fight in order to not hurt people around them. Dazai’s ability No Longer Human is portrayed in the 15 manga as a hollow, dark being that only wears his skeleton — that is what dark era Dazai see himself as: non-human, empty, a walking ghost. Sigma believes that he is used as a tool by different ppl, so his Ability was information exchange — a tool for procuring info. 

I can list out much more, but basically, I think Ability is an outward manifestation of how BSD characters pessimistically perceive themselves (that’s why Ranpo doesn’t have an ability: he’s confident and in many aspects a child having not yet lost his innocence, protected and loved by Fukuzawa and the ADA). Or rather, the sad, violent, unpredictable self other ppl told them to be. Like Kyouka, who was told that her Ability made her a natural killer. This is why Ability is a pain: it’s the dark side of oneself; it makes Ability users believe that what makes them powerful, useful to other ppl, is this Self that wallows in existential despair, in its own insufficiency, and in the guilt of causing death. 

In Dead Apple, our main characters have to fight their own Abilities to achieve growth. In the ADA, Fukuzawa’s Ability keeps all other Abilities under control, creating an ideal environment for ADA members to grow into the better version of themselves. All of these point out Abilities to be trouble rather than strength. 

And Fyodor sees that. He sees that for people, Ability represents a past and ongoing pain. No, I’m not trying to justify his cause by presenting him as an all-knowing being. I’m referring to his uncanny ability of seeing into the heart of people’s struggle — his empathy with Sigma, Goncharov, Gogol and even Karma attested to that. And he thinks the only salvation from such darkness is Death. 

We already know that Crime and Punishment doesn’t prevent Fyodor from touching ppl, which means he has no reason to hate his own ability to the point of wanting to eradicate it. It is actually just the opposite case. In Dead Apple, Fyodor declared that he himself is the embodiment of both crime and punishment, which are a pair of good friends. He has made peace with the dark version of himself, has accepted his Ability as part of the truth of what he is. Inseparable with his existence. This is why he wants to kill ability users, rather than simply writing away Ability (if that is the purpose he can come up with a convincing story on that one page he already has): his Ability is inevitably linked with his existence; therefore he thinks the only way to take away this twisted, suffering side of oneself is to end their lives. 

Now, the second question is that, are Abilities an entirely bad thing? Like everything in BSD, it isn’t a black-and-white matter. We have seen many times our Stray Dogs use their Abilities to protect themselves, and the people they care about. We have to accept that there’s a side of us that feel insecure and unhappy from things we experienced, but this is also the side that help us sympathize & establish in-depth connections with people who are also suffering (see Lucy, Atsushi and Kyouka; Akutagawa and Atsushi; even Teruko’s understanding of Fukuchi may be a result of that). 

One of Fyodor’s traits that contributed to his extremism personality is that he doesn’t, or rather refuses to, connect with people. He sees people as mindless chess pieces who live under the lies they tell themselves, easy to manipulate once you grant them the fulfillment of their desires. See? On the surface level he’s on better terms with his Ability — his dark side — than anyone else, and thats why he seems to understand the desires and conflicts in everyone he comes across. But in truth, Crime and Punishment stood with their backs to each other; what seems as reconciliation is actually Fyodor refusing to come face to face with himself. He exalts his pain. He celebrates non-existence. He attributes all his actions to the god — yet as we can see in the two-page spread before his confrontation with Ace, “if god doesn’t exist, then I am god”. He turns his back on his human self, and instead chooses to obsess with the image of a god that is actually how others perceive him to be: the bringer of fear and death, murderer of children, dangerous force of destruction. He takes it in and flips it around, worshipping his darkness, his human suffering, as a source of power. 

I’m not saying, however, that Fyodor feels any pain or guilt I have implied here. He is not taking his revenge on the world because he is pained inside, no, let’s not go into that YA dark haired emo boy stereotype. Instead, he is wreaking havoc in the world precisely because he cannot feel this pain. Next will be some spoilers on Demons: one of the main characters, Stavrogin, confessed to a priest about causing a child’s death (won’t go into the nasty details; I’m still shaking from that), and yet he didn’t do it out of guilt — he did it because he wanted to feel proud and noble again, exposing his own sin to let others punish him with their malice, since he didn’t make an effort to repent and couldn’t forgive himself. Stavrogin doesn’t want to move on and trust his own ability to become a better person; instead, he tries to set the whole world against himself, in order to keep avoiding confronting his own conscience and continue to adhere to the false belief of his righteousness. [Spoiler Ends]

This might be a little confusing, but in simpler words, it’s similar to what Fyodor is doing: he doesn’t feel guilty for killing ppl; he hardly feels anything at all. He is a psychopath beyond redemption, that is what others see him as and what he willingly believes. He is excluded from the human world, he has fused himself with his Ability, turning himself wholly into an unfeeling, murderous monster. He forces himself to believe he is doing the right thing in destroying the world because he’s a coward. (Remember that Fyodor is supposed to be a foil of Dazai, and in No Longer Human Dazai calls himself a coward who’s afraid of happiness?) If he steps back and looks at what he did, all the children he killed, he would be forced to feel guilty, which he fears; so he frees himself of his humanity as well as his conscience to avoid accounting for his own darkness. He views the rest of the world as a sin because he doesn’t want to see himself as a sinner. 

OK let’s talk a little about Gogol here then because I’m fyolai trash: “In opposition to god, you’re fighting to lose sight of yourself” what does this mean? 

This is not actually a very accurate translation. The direct translation from Japanese should be: you are fighting to oppose god and lose sight of yourself. This line also kind of implies Gogol being associated with the military, since the word used for “fighting” here is heavily implied to be war-related. [Spoiler Again] Now, in Demons there is literally a character that resembles Gogol in every way: Pyotr Stepanovich is greatly fascinated with putting on an act, is a master of faking different, often ridiculous personalities to achieve his goal, and he is raising hell all over because he wants to uproot all previously established social systems, calling for a revolution that leads people into decadence and depravation. (AND he even also places the blame of somebody’s murder on an innocent person - while Pyotr is the murderer - as part of the plan!) [Spoiler Ends] This character in Demons is abandoned by his father, so he was always plagued with the belief that he was born wrong, and when his father sought him out only to exploit him further, he lost all belief in god and believed that chaos was the only answer to his empty, unloved existence. This shall provide an answer as to why Gogol thinks human feelings is a thing he ought to transcend: for some reasons his humanity might have been exploited to put him under the control of someone else. Even the person he’s closest with, Fyodor, sees him as a chess piece and he is well aware of that. AND the most deadly thing is that he is comfortable in this relationship because he is used to not receiving anyone’s good will. 

Gogol is many things, but perhaps the one thing that draws him constantly to his demise is the fact that he is unloved. He wants to free himself from humanity for an entirely different reason: he feels the constant need to prove that it’s the world that’s wrong, that what he sees is the truth - his actions are controlled, he is trapped by human feelings that never get acknowledged or responded, and these morals/feelings give people power to walk all over him, to use him as a tool. His Ability, which connects spaces, means that his dark side is exactly this need to escape deterred by his fear of being forever trapped by his own limitations. 

If I were to put this in a more religious light, since we’re talking about god and russians here, I would quote something from Nietzsche: The demand to be loved is the greatest of all arrogant presumptions. To want god’s love is to give yourself nonexistent sins for Him to forgive — this self-assigned sin is what controlled one’s actions, made one feel guilty. The futile outcry for love, and specifically for god’s love and forgiveness, is what makes people crazy and absurd in Nietzsche’s view. Gogol is sane, and is trying desperately to convince himself that he is so, by seeing through the lie that is called love. He denies himself faith and love in exchange for full control over himself. Why pursue something that he has only known to chain him down? Fyodor understands him, and plays along with his jokes, his games; he isn’t afraid of Fyodor’s understanding, no. He is afraid that he will grow to love his dear friend more until he is consumed by this human lie and forgets how much of a danger it is to his freedom. He trembles in his adoration of the man-god.

I have earlier put out a crack theory that Gogol is a foil of Chuuya. However, in this context, Gogol truly is similar to Chuuya seeing how they are constantly being used by other people, Gogol in a more literal sense since even his speech was pre-written; Chuuya allows himself to forgive and forget, and carry on with life focusing on the present, while Gogol becomes haunted by his hyperawareness of his situation and inability to be free. Neither of these attitudes are healthy and I say it’s no coincidence Asagiri decided to put Dazai, Fyodor, Chuuya, Nikolai and Sigma in the same arc. I look forward to everyone figuring out their problems with equally mentally ill enemies in prison. 

[missmaywemeetagain]

PINK SCARF AND LIFE UPDATES

Hello my babies! I wanted to jump on and give you some updates since I know I’ve not been posting/responding much since PS ended…

The long and the short of it is that I’ve been rather overwhelmed. Life is being A LOT. One of my sisters is very, very ill with late stage cancer and we are currently gearing up for her to (hopefully) get a stem cell transplant within the next month. This process is very involved and complex and scary and it’s one of those things that could just as easily kill her as make her better. This coupled with the family dynamics involved as we all try to navigate the situation has been emotionally exhausting.

In addition to that, I started temping back at my old job a couple weeks ago which is not what I wanted to do, but I gotta pay the bills, but it means my time is more limited and I’m way tired cuz my stamina is for shit lol.

And whilst all that’s been happening, I did some research and discovered that there is no way I can publish Pink Scarf as is. *sobbing* Turns out after Elvis died, Tennessee had to create a law specifically for him to protect his rights and image posthumously. This includes using not just his image, but his name and likeness as well. All this meaning I could get sued if I publish, and I DEFINITELY do not want to invoke the wrath of EPE.

Needless to say, this made me very upset cuz I know how much y’all want Pink Scarf on your bookshelves.

HOWEVER, before we all slide into the pits of despair, I think I have come up with a bit of a solution/compromise. I’m planning to rework PS into something just slightly different, changing some things that make it too specific to Elvis. I’ll likely have to change the title, too. But the plot and much of the writing will stay the same. But at least this way, I can still get it out to y’all in paperback form! (And lord knows I certainly can’t help who y’all picture in your heads while you read, soooooo…😉)

I know this is disappointing, y’all, and I’m so sorry I can’t make PS happen in published form as is. I am hoping that this new version is good enough for y’all to still want, and I’m gonna make it the best I can for ya. Honestly, I am thinking having something really close is better than having nothing at all. And of course, PS will still be online in its original form, so it’s not going away!

So, in the midst of all this insanity, I’ve started working on this newer version which is a project in its own right, but it’s taking time and my energy has been zapped with everything that’s going on. 💗🧣💗

For those who have asked about if there are any new Elvis fics in the works, the short answer is yes! I have a post-army fic that I am verrrrryyy slowly working on. The vibe is different from Pink Scarf (more of a slow burn), but I hope y’all will still enjoy it!

Anyway, thank you as always for your support and I’m sorry I haven’t delved into answering all your wonderful asks and comments. I very much appreciate them, I’m just a bit depleted at the moment. I’m still lurking around, just maybe not as active for the time being. But maybe I could jump on Discord or something next weekend if that would be fun for people!

Love ya always 💗🧣💗

Madisyn 💜