#I thought to start with her concept version :P

[artem1sc0re]

IM FREE OF COURSEWORK FOR GOOD, YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?

ALAN AND SAGA DOODLE!! Specifically their concept versions…

Concept versions:

[fallendev0tionvn]

Im slow.. when it comes to lore of Clive lmao but hey its interesting, so may i ask what's Nietzsche philosophy.. so like i can watch his philosophy, so i can understand! :D

i've been stalking your account to understand Clive but I just realize i am slow when it comes to lore LMAOO, oneee... question that is a Slight NSFW (Maybe..?), is Clive gentle when it comes of Him and MC do it for a first time?

(i just realized i change topic to add one question which is not related to Clive's lore :P)

I'll answer the second question first, Clive is always gentle! He only wants to bring you pleasure, not pain. The only time he gets a little rough is when he's feeling jealous🏃‍♀️.

ANYWAY.

I'm SORRY for the person I'm about to become, but get ready for a LONG yapping session (I was Dostoevskij in my past life) that probably won't make sense (keep in mind that I wanted to be either a comic artist, a psychologist or a philosophy professor...explains a lot). Half of this is from my notes when I was studying for my graduation exam💀

First of all Nietzsche is one of the most misunderstood philosophers. Why? He's either "idolized" by those red pill/looksmaxxing guys without realizing that he actually goes against their morals, or edgy wannabe "nihilists" for the quote "God is dead." (Nihilism is a form of extreme pessimism, in simple terms, it's the belief that there's no true meaning in life, nothing can be known or communicated. But if Nietzsche is telling you to destroy the old meanings of life TO create your own instead of listening to what others say, would he still be considered a nihilist? Sure, active nihilism is a thing- but in my opinion he is NOT a nihilist).

His philosophy has also been used historically for the worst things that I won't even mention. Why? his sister edited some of his last unfinished works based on HER own beliefs when he ended up in the asylum. Many think he was a "....", when- let's be real and study a bit of history- if Nietzsche's mental health deteriorated the year THAT political figure was born (1889), how could he possibly be associated with him? Literally, tf.

The reason for this is because I think many don't read or study his philosophy in the correct order, nor do they know the timeline of his ideas.

To understand the concept of the "Übermensch", you have to start from the very beginning, when he first mentions the Dionysian and Apollonian spirits- the übermensch is supposed to bring back the rebirth of the "tragic spirit". (Übermensch= overman, the highest version of oneself a person can become, the "better" version of you, basically).

What key concepts did I take inspiration from? (I say inspiration because not everything is directly related to Nietzsche, I started from his main concepts to create characters, lore etc.)

ETERNAL RETURN:

(Bad ending: The cycle ends here)

See Clive's necklace? The symbol on his bicep and the main menu? The ouroboros.

It's such a deep concept and it asks: "What if every moment of your life had to repeat itself endlessly, in the exact same way, forever?"

This means everything, every pain, every joy, every regret, would return again and again and again. This NOT about whether it's scientifically true, we don't know if we're destined to relive the same life after death. It's a thought experiment, a way to ask yourself "would I still want to live my life if I knew I'd relive my worst moments forever? How would I act?"

If your answer is no, you're not affirming your existence. If yes, you're embracing life fully. In a way, you'd try to be more yourself and live with fewer regrets, right?

DIONYSIAN VS APOLLONIAN:

(The intro of the game, Silas and Clive's conversation)

To simplify it: Think of the two hemispheres of the brain.

Right brain = Dionysian (chaos, passion, music, imagination, intuition, emotion). This side is emotional, creative, raw, deeply human. It's the spirit Nietzsche believed humanity lost.

Left brain = Apollonian (logic, structure, rules, order). This side is rational, clear, less human.

Why did Nietzsche use greek gods to describe this? Because he rejected the "classical and elegant" image of Greece we learn about in school. To him, archaic Greece was the perfect society because it embraced chaos, suffering, and the tragic. (That's why I added greek mythology :3)

He also saw greek tragedy (a form of ancient drama/theatre that expresses human suffering, fate, and moral conflict) as the perfect fusion of the Apollonian and Dionysian. This fusion created a form of art that embraced life in all its beauty and suffering.

With Socrates (ancient greek philosopher), the Dionysian spirit was killed. We began to exalt reason over everything, meaning everything had to be explained, justified, or made logical. This made humanity obsessed with truth and control, disconnecting us from the fullness of life.

"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."

Clive tried to force himself to lean more towards the Apollonian, he suppressed his emotions, tried to follow "moral rules", and tried to look "normal".

To explain the change between his younger self and current self there's an iconic quote:

"Become who you are" In the sense that in life, we constantly follow models that are necessary- because we grow through imitation. Children grow by watching, by imitating. But then, we must detach from this imitation and become who we truly are, a process of self reckoning.

After his "death", Clive starts being himself. There's a balance now, but you can still influence him to lean more towards his Dionysian or Apollonian side.

To live a full, healthy life, we need to embrace both sides:

"The tree that grows to heaven must send its roots to hell."

GOD IS DEAD:

(Who helped Clive?)

Nietzsche's most misunderstood quote.

Saying "God is dead", as he writes, implies that God once existed, or at least, that he was once central to the way humans explained the world. After all, only something that has existed can die; things that have never existed don't die. That's why Nietzsche has this declaration spoken not by an atheist, but by a madman. The atheist and the believer ARE part of the same system aren't they? One says "yes", the other says "no", but they're both within the same structure of thought, a world where God is STILL a reference point.

The madman on the other hand, speaks from outside that system. When he says "God is dead", he's not just denying the existence of God- he's saying that the world is no longer ORGANIZED around God. There was a time when everything was explained through God, when God gave order and meaning to existence. But today, that's no longer the case.

We must understand that Nietzsche, often read in an oracular and overly dramatic way, is actually a profundly coherent philosopher. His thinking is rigorous; If churches are now empty, if they became museums, tombs for god (visiting them for the "Affreschi", example: "La cappella sistina"), it's because he is dead. We killed him, or more precisely, we forgot him- because already with the scientific revolution, and even earlier with Renaissance, man placed himself at the center. We no longer live in a world explained through God, but through human reason, science and self determination. (That's why I chose literally the "forgotten God" from greek mythology. If you figure out who he is, you'll learn he actually died.)

Now if you want to learn more about Nietzsche:

His philosophy goes through THREE major phases;

- The youthful phase: Influenced by Schopenhauer (another amazing philosopher, highly recommend reading about him too), celebrated ancient greece, wrote "The Birth of Tragedy", Introduced the Apollonian and Dionysian spirits.

- Enlightment phase: Distanced himself from religion and idealism, embraced critical thinking, dismantled traditional values, wrote "Human, All Too Human".

- Mature phase: Developed his core concepts -> eternal return, übermensch, death of god, wrote "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" "On the genealogy of Morality" "Ecce Homo"

[berrytheicecream]

“Baby Steps” - Young Zaun Siblings fic

(In which Vi attempts to teach Claggor, Powder, and eventually Mylo how to read. She likes her new family. She just wants them to feel safe).

(I’ve briefly talked about this scenario in one of my other posts, and this is kinda like fleshing it out. I love it sm. In order not to make this beginning part that long, my yap is at the bottom of yall wanna see it. Like my last fic, Vi is 9, Clag is 8, Mylo is 7, and Powder is 5. BUT!! I’ve changed a few of my hcs after listening to what others thought. Thinking back on it, having the boys being found like a few DAYS after the riot feels WAYY too quick. So now, Claggor was found two weeks after the riot, and Mylo a month and a half afterwards. Not too long bc any longer and they probably wouldn’t have survived out there on their own.).

(ALSO!!!! A lot of the concepts in this fic are based off of the official spinoff game “Jinx Fixes Everything” in Act 2, including the book Vi uses. You can watch it here!)

(if you wanna connect these fics story wise, this takes place a while before the Claggor cooking fic. Anyyyways, I just rlly like thinking of how the younger version of the siblings would’ve initially gotten along and started to trust each other and see each other as family. god this fic took way too long to make for literally no reason 😭😭)

The muffled, incoherent shouts and footsteps from upstairs had yet to stop. It kept the basement quiet, even with the four of them in there. Even after the riot had ended, people were still seeking refuge at the bar. From injuries, or attacks, or infections, or the Grey, or starvation—anything and everything that sprung from that one, singular event at the bridge.

She hadn’t even properly talked to Vander that morning. He’d been too busy attempting to keep things in order upstairs, to take responsibility over all the chaos. But people were confused, and angry, and they were fighting and lashing out and it was just so loud. So unbearably loud, lasting so uncomfortably long.

Vi felt Powder scoot closer to her, gripping onto the fabric of her clothes tightly for comfort. The pink haired girl held her in her arms, staring at the door leading to the one place she could consider home.

The Lanes was her home, but never once had it felt safe like homes were supposed to. She’d felt safe with her mom and dad, and she was trying everything in her power to feel safe here, as well.

And yet she still found herself on edge, even if she’d known Vander before. Still found herself cautiously protecting her baby sister despite them being in their own little corner of The Last Drop.

Though it wasn’t necessarily just theirs anymore.

She had brothers now.

Two boys, both just as lost and concerned as she was. The elder of the two, Claggor, sat on the sofa, flipping through the pages of an open book while glancing up at the door in the same way she had. Fear or sadness didn’t strike his face, but the apprehension was visible in his posture. And the younger, Mylo, lay on the other bed Vander had just assembled for them—because he hadn’t expected to bring in more than two children—on his side and facing the wall while hugging his legs.

They were desperately trying to feel safe, too. She knew that.

“Vi…?” Powder whispered, and she jolted from the sound. She looked down at her sister’s doll-like eyes, heart swelling with a sense of pity. “What’s going on…? Where’s Vander?”

“…Vander’s busy. There’s just a lot of people who need help up there, Pow-Pow.” She grimaced, her hold on her growing tighter. “It’s a bad time for everyone.”

The blue haired girl’s voice was reduced to a whisper as she looked up at the ceiling, flinching at the thuds from what were likely wine bottles slamming against tables. “…Why are they so angry?”

Vi hesitated, feeling anxiety course through her veins. “They’re not…angry.” She shook her head. “They’re confused, and scared, and hurt, and aren’t themselves cus…cus they’ve lost a lot.”

“…Maybe they need a hug.” Powder spoke softly.

Sometimes it was painful to be the one to fully comprehend what was happening. Sometimes she wanted Powder to understand, so she wouldn’t be alone.

But she was too young. So instead, she said, “Yeah. Maybe they do.”

“Well, I…-!” The yelling seemed to ease as only faint mumbles and murmurs were heard from outside, and Vi felt a sigh of relief leave her mouth.

“See? Vander’s takin’ care of it.” She tried her best to put on a hopeful tone, and Powder’s nervousness seemed to fade, if only a little. She smiled at her older sister.

Claggor stood up at the silence then, the look of worry from earlier having eased slightly. “…Um,” His voice was shaky, attention slowly turning to him. “V-Vi…?” The name left his mouth as if he’d struggled to remember it.

“Yeah?” Claggor had been with them for a few weeks. But clearly, he still wasn’t fully accustomed to his situation. While he was definitely calmer and quieter than her other siblings, he would stammer and freeze up a lot. He’d avoid going upstairs when the bar was crowded, and sometimes he struggled to even speak at all with Vander, instead just remaining quiet when the man was nearby.

He’d started growing a little more familiar with his new life recently. But it was still far from comforting.

The brunette finally walked up to her, outstretching his hands to reveal a book in his grasp. “…Can you read this story for me?” She blinked in confusion at the sudden request, taking the book from his hands. “M-My mom was the one that…she read to me when I got stress-y.” He glanced back at the door, flinching at every loud noise from above. “I-It’s just really hard with it being so loud up there. And I don’t…know if Vander can come down right now.”

Vi looked down at the cover, the corners of it damaged and harsh against her fingers. The illustration was chipped and covered in dust, clearly an old book Vander must’ve found laying around and gave to them.

A rat lay illustrated right in front of her, the title spelled in bold letters.

“Sump Rat Dreams”

Something clicked in her mind then—or at least, whatever bits of it wasn’t clouded with a constant whirpool of stress from the past month. She glanced up at her eight year old brother, then to her sister.

They were desperately trying to feel safe, too.

And maybe she could do something about it.

“…Do you know how to read, Clag?”

He picked at his nails, gaze dropping to the ground. “Um…no, not…not really.”

“Mm.” Vi turned towards her sister. “And I know you don’t,” She pinched Powder’s nose, making her giggle. Vi turned to both of them, forcing an enthusiastic tone onto her voice. “Okay then. We’re gonna have a little reading lesson.”

Interested sparkles grew in their eyes, with Claggor taking a small, more open step forward . “…Y-You know how to read? Like, really read?” He spoke with amazement, and she nodded. “How…?!”

“…My mom taught me,” Vi forced down the way her heart stung with pain, refusing to let her face and posture falter. She shook the thought off, moving to sit on the ground against her bed to leave more room for her siblings. “Come on,” Powder was quick to follow her, crossing her legs and sitting beside her while Claggor did the same, just on the opposite side.

The eldest opened the small, mostly illustrated book, skimming through the words. She quickly realized it wasn’t exactly beginner-friendly. Definitely easier than other books, but not her first choice for teaching. She would’ve used the books her mom had if she could’ve.

Admittedly, she wasn’t even that good at reading on her own. But she had to teach them how to read. She knew she had to. To get their minds off of the commotion upstairs, and to help them grow while Vander was busy.

If they really were going to be her new family, she had to help all of them in someway. Even if it was as small as reading.

Her family.

The pink haired girl’s eyes subconsciously drifted to Mylo. He was the newest—only having arrived three days ago—the most agitated, and arguably the most distant. He hadn’t really engaged in conversation unless he needed something, but his actions said enough.

When Vander found him, he’d bitten his finger out of defense. And now, even with a roof above his head, he shoved them all away when they got close. Snarled at them angrily when they did anything. Jumped at the littlest sound. Readied himself in case he needed to fight.

But a part of her didn’t blame him, though. 

He’d been out on the streets longer than she had in the aftermath of the riot. Had seen things she hadn’t. When Vander had brought him in, he’d looked horrible. Sometimes she’d get frustrated at him, but that thought always creeped back into her mind, and all that remained was pity.

“…Wanna join us, Mylo?” Vi offered, and he flinched at the sound. He glared back at her for a few moments before sneering, choosing to face the wall once again, now hugging himself. “…No. Alright.” She returned her attention to the book. “Um…so there’s different parts to this—wait, where should I…” She flipped a page and turned towards the brunette before placing the book in his lap. “Clag, tell me if there’s anything there you understand. Then I’ll know what level you’re at with this.”

“Wuh-? Oh, uh…” He squinted, looking at the words for a few beats before letting out a sigh of defeat, refusing to meet her eye as a look of shame crossed his face. “Um…I-I dunno. I mean, I’ve seen some of the stuff here on signs around the market, but…I dunno what it means. S-Sorry.”

“Hey, it’s alright. That’s why we’re learnin’ this. No one’s born knowin’ everything. Let’s just start at the beginning.” She forced a comforting smile to form on her lips for the boy, and the shame and discomfort seemed to seep away as he smiled back. Vi took back the book from his lap, clearing her throat, pointing at the page. “See these words?” The two nodded, eyes glued to her finger. “Each symbol is called a letter, and they have sounds connected to them. You can put a bunch of letters together and make a word, and then you can put a bunch of words together and make a sentence. That’s the order—letter, word, sentence. Got it?”

Claggor’s eyes lit up with curiosity. “…So like building blocks?”

“Yeah.” Vi smiled softly, ruffling her brother’s hair, pleasantly surprised by his small laugh. She placed the book down on the ground for them all to see. “But you cant immediately go to sentences. To understand that, you gotta understand words, so you gotta understand letters. Let’s start there.” 

“I remember mom teachin’ you that.” Powder observed, tapping her hands on her knees rhythmically. “There’s a lot of them, though. Is it hard?”

“No, but you gotta actually try.” Vi snickered softly. “Okay. Letters come together to make the alphabet. Do you know the alphabet, Clag?” The boy shook his head. “Okay. So, the alphabet’s all the letters together.”

The boy raised an eyebrow. “But I, um…thought the letters together were words?”

“That’s different. Cus…with words, you’re puttin’ specific letters together to make something. In the alphabet, they’re all still their own thing, just kinda organized. Um…” She looked around her. “Pow, pass me your chalk.” The blue haired girl eagerly stood and rushed to her small stash of belongings, digging through them to find a single pink chalk.

Vi flipped open the book, looking at the blank inner cover, opening her palm for Powder to place the chalk in. She slowly began to scribble down each letter, trying to make her sloppy handwriting comprehensible for her siblings. Eventually, she reached “Z,” and so she stopped. “…That’s the alphabet. All 26 letters.”

Powder blinked in confusion.“…How much’s 26?”

“We’ll…do numbers next time,” The pink haired girl reasoned, dreading the thought of it. “Just know that’s all of them. And they all come with a sound.” She pointed to the first one. “A—Say it with me.”

Claggor and Powder look at each other, mouthing “…Aeeee…” slowly just as Vi had pronounced it.

“Yeah! Good job, you two!” She smiled softly at them, and they both returned the look. A look of bliss and innocence and joy.

It was nice to know she was the one bringing it to their faces.

“Wait, and…and they all have a different sound…?” Claggor winced. “That’s, uh, a lot to remember.”

“Yeah, but…you’ll get the hang of it. Just takes some time and practice.” She reassured him. “But there’s good ways to memorize it! Like…A stands for A-pple. There’s…different sounds for A, actually—I forgot. B-But we’ll get there later…!” The pink haired girl cleared her throat, eyes moving to the next one. “And this one’s Bee. Beeee. Like the animal. Can you-!”

The shouting and commotion upstairs began again.

Vi instantly stopped, reaching for Powder and Claggor, hugging them close. The blue haired girl squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears, while the boy grimaced and made himself smaller. “…It’s okay.” She murmured, looking at the door. “It’s okay.”

She could hear a glass bottle shatter, and if she focused hard enough, Vander’s voice was audible. His words weren’t clear, but the stern and concerned tone in his voice was enough.

He was trying his best to stop it. Stop all the suffering, and the confusion, and all the emotions ravaging wildly through the Lanes.

Somehow, his efforts had momentarily payed off, as the fighting was short lived and the bar stilled upstairs, faint murmurs and chatting returning.

Vi slowly loosened her hold on her siblings—still holding onto them carefully—and looking at them to make sure they were alright. Powder was still tense, eyes squeezed shut. Claggor wasn’t too different, even if he tried to appear to be. “…It’s okay.” She repeated once more, trying to get the phrase through her own head. “It’s gonna be alright.”

“…W-Why are they so scared?” Claggor asked weakly. “Vander said…we have to come together when we’re scared.”

“…It’s not easy for some people, Clag.” She explained. “When you’re scared, it…sucks. And you don’t feel like yourself. So you…do stuff you wouldn’t ever do.”

Powder blinked. “Why…?”

“There’s no real reason, Pow. It’s different for everyone,” She gave them one last squeeze before lowering her arms, ending the embrace. “But it will get better. I promise. Vander’s takin’ care of it.” She forced a grin onto her face for their sakes. “Plus…if anything happens, I’m here. I’ll protect you guys. I’ll take anyone down and kick their butt if I gotta!”

Hopeful sparks shone in their eyes, the tension leaving their body as they looked up at their big sister. And she could read it in their faces, see that their demeanor shifted upon seeing her own smile, her courage.

It made the weight on her heart feel more tolerable.

They felt safe. Even if just a little, her siblings felt safe.

The eldest paused for a few moments, taking a deep breath. “…You guys ready to get back to reading?”

They both nodded, so she reached for the book once more. As she did so, her eyes caught Mylo sitting beside them—quietly, slightly farther away, just out of her sight had she not turned her head. He still hugged his knees uncomfortably, staring at her. “What are you lookin’ at?”

Vi blinked a few times, face softening with care. “…Nothing. Just didn’t hear you. Are you doin’ okay?”

“I-I’m fine. Don’t ask dumb questions.” He scowled, crossing his arms. “I just…got bored.”

“We’re learnin’ to read…!” Powder beamed at him, trying to replicate what her big sister had done, as if her tone and optimism could share with him the comfort she felt.

“I know, idiot! I could hear you from over there. I’m not deaf!” He snarled at the blue haired girl, making her smile falter as the excitement faded from her eyes. Mylo lifted his gaze to see the disapproving look on Vi’s face and the concerned one on Claggor’s, instantly cowering and looking away once more.

The eldest sighed, adjusting the book in front of her so they could all see it. “…You're not an idiot, Pow-Pow. I mean, you’re learnin’ to read—you’re a little genius.” Her sister’s spirit slowly lifted once more, nodding. Vi turned her attention to the younger boy. “…Mylo. Apologize. Please?”

He scoffed weakly, brows twitching with hesitancy. After a few beats of silence, he grumbled, “…Fine. Whatever. Sorry.”

The pink haired girl stared at him, and he refused to look back. Despite her disappointment, she didn’t see his hardened gaze or harsh sounding voice. She didn’t see what the boy wanted her to see.

She saw a scared kid.

“…You can stay, Mylo.” She muttered softly.

“What-?”

“…You can stay,” She repeated. “It’s gonna be okay. You’re safe here. I promise.” A small smile built up onto her lips for the boy, who gained the courage to lift his eyes up at her, hardened and defensive gaze softening slightly. He nodded, scooting closer to them. “Okay. So, C. Cee. C for…C-laggor.” She gave her brother a light tap on the nose with her finger, making him giggle. “That’s…also got different sounds to it. We’ll get there, promise.”

“…When’s my name gonna show up?” Powder asked impatiently, practically bouncing where she sat. “Is it next?”

“It’s a couple of letters away. And technically…Mylos’ would be next.” Vi glanced over to her the younger boy, who lifted his head up at the mention of his name. Powder whined weakly at that, pouting. “But then you’d be next.”

They all looked down at the book, waiting for her to continue, all their attention on her. Eager to learn, hopeful that they’d end up as knowledgeable as her.

They were counting on her. Vi knew that. She was the eldest, it made sense.

And they were her younger siblings. Even if her brothers weren’t related to her by blood, they were still her brothers.

So she would keep going. Keep trying.

For them.

𓍹ׄ⭒ׅ𓍻

“Down in the Sump, where the muck and bile all mix together in a foul, toxic pile, there once lived a sump rat who dreamed of much more.” Vi flipped the page, voice soft. She raised her head for a second to check on the three before looking back at the book. “…She dreamed of wide windows and bright open doors. She dreamed of a chance to get out of this place, to best all of her friends in this great big rat race…” Her voice trailed off as she looked up.

A warm smile build onto her face.

The three were asleep—or at least, finally at peace. Claggor and Powder hugged onto each other, with the youngest having her head resting against her brother’s shoulder.

Mylo kept his distance. He wasn’t even turned to face his siblings, and she was the only one able to see his face.

But that didn’t matter to her.

What mattered was that he was actually asleep. Asleep, and not tense or defensive, not tossing and turning and shivering from fear and paranoia. In the past three days since Mylo had joined them, Vi hadn’t been able to sleep as much as she’d hoped—though that had been a pattern. She didn’t sleep when she came with Powder. She didn’t sleep when Claggor arrived. And now, she was still restless.

They were all for different reasons, but for the past three days, it had been because she was too focused on the Mylo’s breathing, and how even though she slept across from him, she thought she could hear his heartbeat pounding rapidly.

He was even more terrified at night than during the day. She couldn’t imagine what nights were like outside, out open in the Undercity. It was already dark and freezing in the mornings, and she knew briefly of how horrible it was at night.

But she didn’t know it like Mylo did. She didn’t live through it. So he’d always be tense at night, even in the warmth of the indoors, and now he wasn’t. He finally wasn’t.

It was a relief.

The air finally felt still now. Calmer. Quiet. She knew Vander was likely cleaning up, but she couldn’t hear him. The world had fallen asleep.

Yet her head was still wide awake. Yelling. Repeating. Remembering. Every little detail, every sound, every sensation. It just made her heart squeeze tightly with agony, and she slowly set down the book on the desk beside her to look down at her pants.

Her whole body felt exhausted. She hadn’t even done much, but all her limbs were aching and burning. Her mind was spinning, throat closing as she tried to focus on the faint sound of the unstable, rickety ventilation which rung loudly around the basement.

She’s grown used to the sound. She knew she had, she’d been able to sleep through it before.

But now it felt so much louder. So much faster, frantic, as if it would break at any moment.

Vi anxiously lifted her head up to see her siblings once more. Her family, she knew. They didn’t share the same blood like she did with Powder, but they were her family. Her brothers.

Children. Children, who had the misfortune of being born on the wrong side of life’s coin. Children who were still confused, and didn’t know all the horrible things that the Undercity had to offer. Children younger than her, even if not by much. Children like her.

Children who were counting on her.

The worried expression changed to one of determination as Vi took a deep breath, hands balling into fists. She stood from her seat, gently brushing hair off of Powder’s face. Tilting Claggor’s head into a more comfortable position. Carefully adjusting the blanket over Mylo’s shoulder. He surprisingly didn’t flinch.

And as she took a step back to look at the three, she hastily swallowed back the apprehension creeping through her veins, straightening her posture.

She was their big sister now.

The pink haired girl looked down at her fists, feeling her nails sink into her skin from how firm they were.

They were her younger siblings.

Her body moved quicker than she thought it could, moving towards the two lone candles sitting on the desk beside the book.

She had to protect them.

Vi blew out the candle, darkness surrounding her in an instant.

No matter what.

(foreshadowing/symbolism/metaphors go crazy in this one actually. also did y’all realize the siblings died in alphabetical order or am I looking way too deeply into this…tho I guess powder didn’t actually die at the end lawl)

(Anyways…Vi’s definitely felt a need to take care of her siblings, especially at the start when they were all still scared and weren’t used to this new family. As the eldest, she felt responsible over them, even if it was a lot of pressure for a literal 9 year old. Of course as she aged, this hasn’t left, but slightly evolved. Idk how to exactly word it, but her responsibility over her siblings has changed from when she was little compared to what we see in the show, mostly thanks to Vander and her own desire to fight. Her hatred for Topside only fueled this need to take care of her siblings).

(But as for the reading stuff: Felicia probably realized that there was a chance she could die at any moment, especially in a place like the Lanes, and taught Vi to read and write when she was 7-ish, and even then it took a while because she didn’t have a lot of time or resources to do so. She was literally ABOUT to start teaching Powder, and planned to do so more after the riot, but…that never happened. As for the boys, a similar thing happened with them—their parents just didn’t rlly have the time or energy to sit down and teach them bc of their jobs. Also yes, kids naturally learn to speak and understand words out loud without education while reading/writing has to be taught, it’s human brain stuff idk).

[billiethepumpkin]

All Mine: Shoto Todoroki

Kinktober Day 1

Warnings: Rated X. This content is intended for audiences age 18 years and older. If you are a minor, do not interact.

Contains: Possessive boyfriend. Groping. Hickeys. Biting. Marking. Voyeurism (sorta). Oral sex (receiving). Vaginal sex.

Author's Note: All characters are written to be aged up to 18 years or older because I am an old fuck :)

“Damn, you really got lucky with her.”

Seven words. That was it. Seven words stuck in Shoto’s head on his way home to you. He and his colleague had been in the car on the way to the airport. He’d been sent away on a mission. He was the muscle, the other guy was supposed to be the brains, although that concept seemed laughable to him now. He’d been looking at his phone, apparently stalking Shoto’s social media. He turned his phone to reveal a photo of you and Todoroki at an event you’d gone to together last year. Shoto really couldn’t blame this other hero, of course. In that picture, you had been wearing a dark gray dress that hugged your body just right, sexy but still classy. You’d looked stunning, although Shoto was fairly sure you looked stunning waking up from a four hour nap. 

“Damn, you really got lucky with her,” this man had the audacity to say to Shoto after they had just completed their mission. “What I wouldn’t give to have something like that on my arm.”

Did he just call you a “that?” What could he possibly have meant by that? Shoto continued not to say anything, as if staying quiet would somehow make the other guy disappear. He had to ride all the way back to the agency with this guy. Shoto now wished his hero uniform was equipped with earbuds. He hadn’t thought to get them out of his bag before he got in the car. So Shoto just pulled out his own phone and scrolled through his own social media posts. All he could think about, though, was you.

You belonged to him, he reassured himself. That picture, in the silver dress, the one with the slit that went almost to your hip, the one with the too-low neckline, the one that made you irresistible to him and everyone else at that party. That picture was the version of you that everyone else got. Shoto got to see you in your pajamas, with your hair sticking straight up when you first woke up in the morning. He got to see you wrapped in a towel or in a robe when you’re fresh out of the shower. He got to watch you get dressed in the morning. You were his.

And by the time he actually got home early the next morning, he was aching to see you, to touch you, to make sure you were actually his. More than four weeks apart. Actually, it was thirty two days, but who was counting? 

He was.

It was early. You were making yourself breakfast. Although, when you heard the door knob shift with keys in the lock, you dropped everything. You didn’t close the bag of cereal, you just ran to your boyfriend in the other room. “Shoto!” you cheered, throwing your arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. He relished your body pressed up against his, wrapping his arms around your waist and breathing in the fresh scent of your conditioner, your hair still damp from your morning shower. 

“I missed you,” he said into your neck. He pulled away, and you held his face, caressing it with your thumb as you looked up at him. 

“I missed you, too,” you agreed before reaching to press a sweet, prolonged kiss on his lips. His kiss, in return, was languid. He must be tired, you thought

Shoto was tired. He hadn’t slept very much on the plane, and that idiot was droning on about different women most of the ride back. But truthfully, it took everything Shoto had to restrain himself from sitting on the couch with you in his lap and taking you then and there. 

You felt Shoto’s warm hands spread across your back, pressing you into his body even further. You sighed into the kiss, whimpering as his hands started to wander lower. The lock clicked behind Shoto. Now you were, truthfully, alone. 

With one smooth movement, Shoto flipped your positions, and he pressed your back against the door to the apartment. His hands tugged at your hips, and then, when you were pressed up against him so closely, was when you realized how needy he was. His hardness pressed into your lower belly, and you felt something of your own shift below the waist. Your breathing now labored, you ground your hips into his. His strong hands grabbed your wrists and pinned them above your head. Shoto’s heterochromatic eyes stared into yours, something darkening within him as he asked, “Who do you belong to?”

You felt something darkening behind your own expression, and it took you a few seconds to come up with the answer you knew would be adequate. Those few seconds were too long for Shoto. One hand pinning your hands to the wall, the other came to firmly wrap around your throat. “I said, who do you belong to?” he asked again. 

He waited again to allow for a response. After a deep breath, you finally answered, “I’m yours, Shoto. I belong to you.”

“That’s better,” he responded. He let go of your hands and your throat, and he connected his lips to your jawline. His hands wandered to the hem of your shirt, traveling underneath to rest on your bare waist. His kisses wandered lower, too, down your neck. They slowly became hungrier, more fervent, as you began to give yourself up to Shoto and his desire. You felt his teeth scrape against your skin, and his hands squeezed your hips and kneaded the fat beneath your shirt. “Take it off,” he demanded, stepping away and starting to strip himself. You didn’t know what he meant, so you assumed he meant everything. You pulled your shirt over your head, and you pushed your sweatpants and panties to the ground. 

That was when you got a glimpse of him, muscled all over, bruised from his most recent battle, and hard as a rock. Your hunger settled in the pit of your stomach, your arousal leaking from your pussy like a faucet. Shoto looked at you, too. You were perfect. Too far, he thought. He was much too far away from you. He closed the gap between you and kissed you, much harder than before. Lips and tongue and teeth gnashing at yours, breath heavy as he inhaled your scent. His senses couldn’t be filled with you fast enough. His mouth trailed down your body, starting at your ear and traveling to the base of your neck, almost to your shoulder. You felt Shoto’s teeth against your collarbone, your flesh sucked between his teeth. Shoto’s hands slid over your body, coming to rest on your ass cheeks. His palms kneaded the fat that was suspended there, his grip so ardent you were sure you’d have his handprint there for the rest of your life.

You sighed hard and closed your eyes as you took in the sensation of him. When Shoto finally pulled away from his attack on your collarbone, he admired the mark that was left there, already starting to bruise. He looked you straight in the eyes again, and he growled, “Mine.” You felt your cheeks heat. Shoto’s lips left a trail of kisses down your body, starting just below your neck. “Mine.” A kiss between your breasts. “Mine.” A kiss on your stomach. “Mine.” A kiss below your belly button. He continued until the air could no longer find your lungs, his lips so close to giving you the relief that you so desperately craved. 

Time slowed down as Shoto hooked one of your legs over his shoulders. “Say it,” he commanded, staring deeply into your eyes, looking right into your deepest wants and needs. 

You swallowed hard, reminding yourself to breathe. “I’m yours,” you uttered. 

He gripped your outer thigh with one hand and your ass cheek with the other. “Again,” he commanded, placing a kiss on your inner thigh and tracing gentle shapes on the other leg.

“‘M yours, Shoto,” you gasped. “‘M all yours! Please touch me.”

“That’s my girl,” he praised with a grin before wrapping his lips around your clit. His tongue lapped slowly at your most sensitive parts. You rested your head against the wall, letting out a loud sigh. Shoto dragged his tongue between all your creases before lapping at your clit and staring up at your beautiful face. His hands returned to their places, kneading the fat on your ass and your thighs. God, you were beautiful, he thought staring up at you. He thought about that guy in the car, on the plane, at the agency. He got to see you in that dress, but he didn’t get to see you like this, legs spread wide, head thrown back, and mouth hanging open in pleasure. Like this, you were all his. You were only for him.

Your hips started to quiver, and you could feel your knees get weaker as you got closer and closer to the high that you had been craving for weeks. You had touched yourself to the thought of him while he was gone, but there was nothing like the feeling of Shoto between your legs, lapping at all your most sensitive places. 

And then all of a sudden, he moved. He stood up, making you whine at the loss of his touch. “Sho, please,” you begged. 

“Oh, I’m not done yet,” he reassured you. Shoto grabbed you underneath your ass cheeks and lifted you, wrapping your legs around his waist and pushing you against the door for additional support. He stroked himself, and he placed the tip of his cock at your entrance. “You want this, baby?” he asked as he teased between your lips with his dick. 

You felt yourself clench underneath his touch, your pussy aching to be filled by him. “Yes, please,” you whimpered, nodding. 

Shoto looked you straight in your eyes, his forehead pressed up against yours, and he pushed past your entrance. You gasped as he entered you, inch by inch. He was as desperate as you were, longing to just shove himself into you. But this wasn’t about him. 

With every centimeter of his cock that entered you, you whimpered and gasped for him. And when he was buried inside you to the hilt, he rested there for a second, listening to you whine for more pleasure. “Please fuck me, Sho,” you pleaded. “I’m all yours. I’m all for you. Please, fuck me.”

He smirked as he started to move, his thrusts slow at first. He didn’t have much balance where his feet were planted on the floor, but he couldn’t stop looking at you as he thrusted, your eyes rolled back, your mouth pursed shut in an attempt to hold in your moans. Shoto kneaded your ass again, and he said, “Don’t hold back, baby. Whoever’s out there, I want them to hear that you’re mine.” 

In response, you let out another extended whine, much louder than you had been before. Shoto said, “Good, baby,” and started to thrust into you much faster. 

It wasn’t difficult to bring you to the edge of your next orgasm. It had been so long since you’d felt Shoto’s body pressed against yours, since you felt him inside you like this. “Sho, ‘m gonna–”

“I know,” he interrupted, wrapping a hand around your throat. “Say it again,” he demanded. 

“I’m yours!” you cried. “I’m all yours. Nobody else’s. I belong to you, Shoto!”

And just like that, you were cumming around him, your orgasm pulsing through you like tidal waves. Your moans might have concerned any passers-by on the other side of the door, but you didn’t care. You didn’t even think about that as Shoto pressed into you three more times before unleashing a flood of his release into you. Groans and growls and heavy breathing left you both wordless, eyes closed as he held you close. 

Shoto carried you to the couch, and he sat down. He was still buried deep inside you, but he pulled you close to him anyway, your chest pressed against his. Your breathing was heavy as you laid against him, his lips pressing against yours softly and sweetly before you laid your head down on his shoulder. 

Your eyes closed, you weren’t sure how long you laid against him before his fingers began to ghost over your back. “All mine,” he whispered again, pressing a sweet kiss to your forehead. “I am so lucky.”

His warmth and cold enveloped you, and your relaxation melted into each other. “I love you, Sho,” you muttered, pressing a long, sweet kiss to his jawline. “You’re all mine, too.” 

Shoto felt his cheeks heat at the thought.

You were his, and he was yours.

And that was all he needed.

This work was written by Abigail "Billie" Rothenberger. Please do not copy this work on Tumblr or any other platform.

[elizabethwydevilles]

Padme, during RotS development

One thing to understand is that for the first several months of pre-production, George Lucas is still writing the script (pre-production started roughly around late April of 2002, with the first draft of the script finished in late January 2003. To quote Paul Duncan: 'before the script was written, the design team were given the freedom to imagine possible scenarios', and Rick McCallum: 'usually no one would go off and spend millions of dollars without understanding what the very foundation of the film they're making is, but we break that very rule of film production'.

Sources for this post are The Art of Revenge of the Sith by J. W. Rinzler (2005), The Making of Revenge of the Sith by J. W. Rinzler (2005) and The Star Wars Archives, 1999-2005 by Paul Duncan (2020).

It's also going to be a long ass post, so see under the cut.

June 7-21 2002(?): Ryan Church painted a battle scene: 'What if a bunch of bad guys were attacking Padme and the clones who were trying to get back to their ship?'

August 2002: While revieving costume designs, GLucas indicated that Padme will need senatorial, casual and action wear.

October 12th, 2002: 'For the first time, it is rumoured that Padmé might die in this film. She might be seen last on Alderaan.'

October 25th-31st, 2002: In response to GLucas requesting a new locale for a Padme and Anakin 'love scene', Erik Tiemens designed several Naboo sceneries. Upon viewing them, GLucas moved the scene to Coruscant; some design elements are used for Kashyyyk.

October, 2002: Iain McCaig designed costumes for Padme. Note the bird of prey.

October 2002: While designing the world of Kashyyyk, Erik Tiemens painted a scene of Padme walking with wookies. (Note: Image is a cropped version of the full art work)

November 1st-8th, 2002: Iain McCaig: 'George said there might be a scene where Padme's doubled over in agony and Yoda is there unable to help her'.

November 22nd, 2022: Erik Tiemens designed a set of new locations for Padme and Anakin 'love scene' on Coruscant.

December 19th, 2002: Erik Tiemens: 'I was brainstorming with Iain [McCaig] and he thought that Padme might have a dagger in her hand'.

December 20th, 2002: Derek Thompson illustrated his idea of having Vader find Padme and the children, who are being protected by Jedi.

January 31st 2003: GLucas delivered the first rough draft to his producer Rick McCallum. The outline given in the book is brief, but Padme's basic storyline in the 55 page script appears no different. However, Anakin's nightmare about Padme features her consumed by flames, and Padme goes to Mustafar with her handmaidens and Captain Typho - who are gunned down by clones on arrival.

February 6th, 2003: Erik Tiemens designed a piece of concept art for Padme's funeral procession.

April 12th/13th 2003: GLucas presented the first official draft of the movie script. It's 111 pages long. Padmé and her entourage are still attacked on their arrival on Mustafar, but this time by droids whom Anakin defeats. In regards to Padme's death, Palpatine tells Vader that a Jedi murdered her.

May 5th, 2003: Iain McCaig's designed Padme's funeral outfit.

May 24th, 2003: Erik Tiemens illustrated Padme and Anakin's farewell before he leaves for Mustafar.

May 29th, 2003: Erik Tiemens illustrated Padme watching the Jedi temple burn.

June 13th 2003: GLucas presented the second official draft of the movie script. It's 135 pages long. Anakin's nightmare of Padmé is changed from her being consumed by flames, to her dying in childbirth. There is now a scene where Palpatine suggests to Anakin that Obi-Wan is meeting with Padmé secretly. In regards to Padme's actual death, Palpatine tells Vader that he [Vader] murdered her, just as in the movie. Just like the finished movie, it is noted that Padme dies of a broken heart. Padme's final smile at Leia is noted to be the smile that Leia remembers in RotJ.

June 26th, 2003: The fourth draft of the script is completed, consisting of 129 pages. Padme is no longer accompanied to Mustafar by Typho and her handmaidens.

June 30th, 2003: Principal photography begins.

July 2nd, 2003: First Padme scenes are shot, both located in her apartment (Her and Obi-Wan discussing Anakin, and Padme with the other senators).

July 3rd, 2003: Revised script for the scene in which Obi-Wan tells Padme he knows about her and Anakin.

August 12th, 2003: Last day of principal shooting for Natalie Portman.

September 17th, 2003: Principal shooting finishes.

December 21st, 2003: Iain McCaig designed a practical costume for Padme.

March 9th, 2004: All but the last ('thunderous applause') of Padme's political scenes have now been cut from the final film.

August 23rd - September 3rd 2004: Reshoots

August 23rd, 2004: Additional scene scripted for reshoot the following day.

January 31st, 2005: One last day of filming for Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen.

Script excerpt (unknown date)

Art (unsure dates)

Padme's apartment layout and colours

[randomsufff]

I’m back Michie girlies and this has been on the dome for a while but I’ve been seeing people mention it and at least one fic has executed this idea (“I once was his tutor” I salute you 🫡) but I need to just present this idea anyways because it has COOKED for a while-

I think it would be absolutely fucking hilarious if Max had started treating Richie the way he did Grace. Like the whole, dumb himbo act where he laughs real hard at non-jokes and tries to rizz Richie up as he’s going to class.

In my head- this is connected to the “Richie tutors Max” universe, so in my mind- Richies been helping him out and he’s been getting to know the guy, Max either: 1) eventually realizes how much of a capital P Prude Grace is OR (the funnier option I think) 2) Grace, in her want to get thoughts of Max Jäegerman out of her head, goes so far in the opposite direction that she somehow accidentally sleeps with a woman and is no longer “forbidden fruit” as Max puts it. (Insert side story of Grace battling internalized homophobia as she developed a friends-with-benefits turned maybe actual relationship with…. idk Deb or Alice or someone.) Cue Max looking at Richie and being like “I can totally seduce this nerd, my skills aren’t lacking just because I couldn’t get Grace.. this is 100% not me subconsciously really liking the dude and wanting to genuinely date him and knowing no other way to outwardly express this”

ANYWAYS- point is I need Max to try to flirt with Richie in that himbo way that he did with Grace-and I need Richie “This projects on thermodynamics… what the fuck are you talking about???” Lipshitz to just be constantly confused on what’s happening to him.

AND THEN when he finally realizes that Max is trying to get with him, I need Mr. Richie “has definitely never been with or slept with anyone and is just as unhinged and horny as Ruth (need I remind you she said Stephanie was the object of both their sexual fantasies)” Lipshitz to look at Max, really debate over it, before going “I may not have standards but I, unfortunately, have morals” and that he couldn’t do anything with Max since he was… well…his and his friends bully for years.

Boom, kick start the redemption arc that starts with Max just wanting to sleep with Richie but shifts to genuinely wanting to date him and trying to open up/clean up his act.

(Also- to add to that ‘“Dirty Girl Soup” Richie version’ concept that I’ve seen somewhere- I think it would be so fucking funny if Max’s equivalent to this, scandalous, forbidden, sexual fantasy was just Richie being the most supportive, understanding and healthiest boyfriend ever. Just accidentally fantasizing them in the most domestic situation ever (you know, because it goes against his Literal Monster persona). Like Richie’s, i don’t fucking know, holding his hand as they get coffee together and is just so understanding and calming when Max attempts to bully this fantasy Richie, and Max-who is just swimming in toxic masculinity (but is super ok in knowing he’s bi. As people say- he’s an actual asshole but he will bully you using your correct pronouns damnit)- is just like “NO, what are these feelings??? Why do I feel like this??? This is so wrong… but why does this feel… actually nice???” Yeah… funny shit)

[amethyst-marshmallow]

Skulldog skulldog!!!!!!

Feel free to suggest a name :P

Character concept-y stuff:

coooool (bonus + inspos under cut)

Yo so this was supposed to be a sort of combo of some old ocs????????????? here they are

Momo, Ruby, and an unnamed oc :P clearly i didnt know how to draw skulldogs there either lmao

I also made this momo ref later

I actually stole the name from teh google doodle halloween cat because shes so cute lmao but i wanna change it-

i also drew these ruby outfits

It looks a little better but she still looks more like a wolf than a dog lol (to be fair teh new one kinda looks like a wolf a littel bit too...skulldogs kinda looks like wolves in general, don't you think?)

I swear i had more olf ruby art but i can't find it??? prolly cuz i forgor her name lmao and i had another oc named ruby so i had to change it... I tried to get suggestions for it but none ever came in xd

Anyway, I took the fur color from the unnamed oc, specifically the one from the lighter grey half, and I took a lot more from ruby; the colors, the species, basically everything lol

I didn't take a lot from momo, i think ill take more from her lore-wise instead of looks-wise

so anyway i started designing

I sketched a version with a poncho cape shaul thing? I cant find it but it was inspired by these i saw on pintrest

mostly the first one

anyway i thought it looked dumb so i changed it

I was inspired by these BEAUTIFUL pants I saw on pintrest (again) and i cant find it but just imagine it lol

they were like shark tooth pants or something???/ they had a lot fo zippers and pockets idk

ANYWAY i added something similar onto the oc and then i played with colors

Idk whats going on in the third one

the second one i used a website to make a color palette

then i made the one i actually used

after that i just cleaned it up a bit and colored the lines :P

anyawy the end

[rainydayz-nstuff]

Could we get a continuation of the enemies to lovers Scarab x Reader? :eyes:

Of course!

I just saw little snippets of the last episodes and…. It’s perfect.

After the whole frozen in the ice situation, you just dipped and said “screw it, I’m messing with Prismo”

As much as you liked Scarab, you wanted to see him throw a tantrum because, and you’re honest about this, you actually want Fiona’s world to be legitimate.

You have no reason to harm her and her friends, but your job is to make sure Scarab does his job in a legal manner.

Will you report some of his mistakes?…. Nah, you’ll just tease him.

Like when he got split up into mini versions of himself.

You almost pisses yourself laughing. Prismo didn’t know what you were doing, and you couldn’t help him because Scarab had some weird feature that prohibited anyone from the outside to help him.

You lifted him out of the hot tub to show him it all.

You took pictures to use as blackmail.

You pulled out your crystal staff and made a portal right into Fiona’s apartment.

Ellis P. was inside and he screamed when you just appeared. You blew a small dust in his face which made him pass out.

You bent down and teasingly stuck a finger close to the kennel one of the mini Scarab’s was in.

“Hi sweetie. Having fun?”

You spoke in sickly sweet way that made him try to bite your finger. You pouted while pulling it back quickly.

“Don’t be like that. I thought we had something…” you pretended to be hurt before you cackled and stood up.

“Well, I’ll be leaving. Have fu-“ You were cut off by a flash of light behind you.

You slowly turned, your face frozen in shock as you saw a giant and disfigured version of Scarab. He was pissed.

You started to stutter before he cracked open the kennel his last form was in. It merged in with him before he turned back to his normal self.

“Uh….. can we talk about it?” You shrugged while your breathing quickened.

Scarab grabbed your neck, making you gasp, and he nails dug into your skin. You weakly smiled before he lifted you up and pulled you close.

“….you’re going nowhere.” He spoke with venom in his voice.

He pulled you forward and his face plates opened up. He kissed you deeply while gripping onto your skin.

You tried to grab his wrists while leaning into the kiss. Even though it seemed like he was going to kill you, you knew he wasn’t actually going to do it.

He was giving so much passion in the kiss that there was no doubt he was in love with you.

He just… sucks at the concept of love. So showing dominance over you is his way of saying ‘I want you to be mine, please like me back’.

He pulled back, his lips barely grazing yours while you panted. He studied you flushed face while you slowly opened your eyes.

“Scarab…” you whispered.

He then dove right back him, his grip around your neck disappearing as it wrapped around your waist. His fingers dug into your hips, pulling you closer.

Your one arm wrapped around his neck while the other grabbed his tie to pull his head down closer.

You had a 10 minute make out session in Fiona’s apartment.

Once he remembered what he was going to do, he looked at you before snapping his fingers.

HE PUT YOU….. IN A CUBE!

This mf put you in a tiny cube and he picked you up. He inspected it before placing a small kiss on the surface. “This is only temporary darling. I could never leave you trapped in here.”

You pounded on the walls of the cube in anger. Your vocal chords were starting to hurt because of how much you screamed.

He put you in his pocket and you couldn’t see anything. But your could hear it all.

You could hear the blows he endured and the game he was trying to cause.

Suddenly the whole world shifted and you heard him muttering small ‘no’s, each one getting louder each time.

You suddenly fell out of his pocket and you fell back in the cube. Fiona picked you up and saw tiny you inside.

“Hey kid, take me to Scarab. I gotta yell at him.”

And she proudly did. He got so flustered and embarrassed while you just screamed at him. You breathed heavily at the end since your throat was now fried.

You were let out of the cube and you crossed your arms angrily. He tries to reason and apologize, but you keep turning away from him.

He huffed before wrapping his arms around you, his chest pressing into your back. He tilts his head so he can nuzzle it into your neck.

He attempts to whisper sweet words in your ear as a way of apologizing. Your face grows flustered and you finally caved in.

“Ohh….. fine. But don’t think this will be swept under. I’m using blackmail baby!”

Okay I think this was pretty good. Think I’m getting the hang of things.

Thanks for requesting!

[phightingaus]

Heeeey, been a while since I popped in for a yap session.

Funnily enough this isn't a gear swap ramble, oh no no no. I GOT A NEW AU SUCKERS!!

It started with me drawing silly fusions of the phighting characters and then my brain said, "Hey we can make an au out of this." And so I did!

There's no story, it's more like an alt version of the Inpherno. Similar rules but a few differences. For example:

The Spawn works more like this: It takes two gears, doesn't matter if one or both have been used before and the inphernal spawned will have those two gears. The only rule is that there are no repeat mixes, so let's say there is an inphernal with a Skateboard and Sword gear. The Spawn wouldn't be able to create a new inphernal with those two gears until the inphernal dies.

Names: Instead of using the names of their gears inphernals pick a name they think suits them, mostly based on vibes and what they think is cool.

Anyway here are the characters I have in mind so far (not all are designed):

Agave: (Scythe + Vinestaff) Lone wanderer of Lost Temple and Thieves Den, while she isn't a part of the COTTE she does mercenary work for them. For a price of course. While to most she is an intimidating presence, to those that are close know her to be very kind but definitely snarky and a bit rude at times but that's part of her charm.

Sonic: (Coil + Skateboard and no not the hedgehog): Chill dude that's made his home in Playground, occasionally gets mixed with other gangs but he doesn't stay for long. Also he probably smokes weed.

Mal: (Medkit + Broker): Medic from TF2, they can and will steal your bones. Mal is short for "Malpractice" and they are 110% guilty of it. He is good at medical stuff, he just chooses to mess around and do things that most doctors definitely wouldn't do, that's how he lost their medical license. :P

Scourge: (Subspace + Darkheart): Menace to society, absolutely Bastard tm. They can and will curse you without warning and/or reason. Fun fact: I hc that Darkheart has four eyes like Windforce so all his fusions would have that design choice. Double fun fact: Scourge was spawned with three of his eyes on the left side of his face. But yeah, he's a bitch, not much else to say.

Frostburn: (Icedagger+ Firebrand): Very isolated, due to their contrasting elements their magic is very unstable. Their ice is unmeltable and their fire is unimaginably hot, because of this they stay far away from civilization in their tower. They don't mind because they're a massive introvert (just like me fr) but they do sometimes wish they could see other people purely because they haven't done it before.

Nova: (Rocket + Illumina): Overseer of Playground and honestly just done with everyone's shit, they don't interact with many other people and when they do they keep it short. Only one person has actually been able to keep a conversation with Nova but that's because they are a nosy little bitch that wouldn't stop bothering him.

Void: (Coil + Darkheart): The nosy bitch in question, he also oversees Playground but he's more like a local cryptid. Sometimes you'd see him sitting atop a building or in the corner of your eye, he very much enjoys messing with people but also keeps the peace by breaking up fights when they get too out of hand.

Lyric: (Valk + Rainbow (my OC)): Hermes from Epic the musical, gay little laugh and everything. Celebrity whose shows are always sold out, when they put on a performance they go 100% not much else to say but they are just Hermes.

Wave: (Boombox + Biograft): Literally N from Murder Drones, sweet lil guy that could absolutely kill you in a heartbeat but would rather not.

That's all I got so far, others I either haven't thought of lore and names for. :P

Oooo, I love this concept

Also glad to see another person who's both a MD and Phighting fan lol

[unkillable-gays]

9-1-1 "Sick Day" liveblog (final thoughts)

aaaaand that's the episode!

honestly, I feel like the writing was pretty weak, but I imagine they were really constrained by the need to make The Stakes as high as possible, and the fact that they've already been raising The Stakes for 8 seasons now.

and I'm NOT just saying that cause there was no Eddie! (apparently that's an accusation going around??) I really don't even like Eddie that much tbh; my favorite things about him are Buddie and Christopher. Like I'm not saying I'm glad he wasn't there, just that that wasn't the issue.

Like, honestly, I usually find "contagion" storylines pretty fun, and this setup HAS potential, but there were just so many inaccuracies and inconsistencies that it was kind of distracting. Like, inaccuracies alone can be chalked up to "that's just how things work in the world of the show", but there were also inconsistencies with what had already been established onscreen?

I wonder if the ep would have benefited from not squeezing the bus accident in at the beginning? But I did appreciate that Ravi got some development. His little rebel moment was very fun!

Buck was great, loved him. Love this new "spymaster" role he's taking on.

I continue to struggle to find anything to like about Athena. Like, she's a cop, and she's tough, I get it!

They did Hen dirty TWO episodes in a row; I will not forget this...😠

tbh i could probably be way more forgiving of all the inaccuracies if the ep wasn't a multi-parter...like, if it's a "monster of the week" situation, everyone ends up MOSTLY fine by the end, we get to move on with our lives, that would've been easier to disregard. But no, you want me to take your fake science seriously! :P

Moira is a cool concept for a villain, and I think with just a little tweaking to her dialogue to sound less "fairy tale evil queen" and more "jaded but ambitious (and secretly quite unhinged) woman in STEM", she could've been all the more compelling and believable.

thoughts and prayers for Chimney Han!!! 😥🙏💙

AND Hen, too, jeez, hope they gave her some morphine or something!

in the perfect version in my imagination, they would NOT have operated on Hen, the army would have gotten them out, (and Hen to the hospital) and THEN Chim would've started showing symptoms, and they would have learned about the incubation period. And then the guys could've still been quarantined! If it's that important, I'm sure they could've even managed to still have the guys trapped in the lab-- as soon as they get Hen out, have the ceiling collapse or something, they love to do that!

[dullyn]

Arthurian Retelling Book Review III

Far From Camelot by River Hale

This is an incredibly explicit book, rated R if we're following the movie scale. Therefore, this review is 18+ as a forewarning.

Also ignore the language I use for certain explicit stuff, I am trying to avoid angering tumblr, so some word choices are goofy.

Here's the spoiler free version if you wanted to actually read the book (I don't recommend reading it, you could read better 18+ stuff on like ao3 for free (and without having to read Merlin/Mordred sex scenes)).

Mordred kills Arthur due to Morgan's manipulations, Merlin is upset he failed to save Arthur. The Lady of the Lake teleports Merlin to like a different dimension that's just our world, he lives in this world for 1000 years. 200 years later, The Lady of the Lake teleports Mordred to this same world.

The two meet up in modern day in a dive bar because Mordred is in a punk rock band (he also has tattoos, piercings, edgy style, the whole nine yards), while Merlin is a bookstore owner who is friends with the owner of the dive bar.

They hate each other, they have sex about it, it is the most toxic and cringey thing I have ever read. The dialogue? The way the author describes their body parts? They also have sex every single time they have a conversation, like they will talk about their feelings about Camlann and then suddenly they are freaking nasty style. All of the dialogue reads like shoddy 80s p*rno films, and there's a weird BDSM-esque dynamic that is oddly reminiscent of the inaccuracies and terribly unethical stuff in Fifty Shades of Grey. Not safe or sane, sometimes not even consensual.

It seems like Merlin has a thing for Arthur for most of the book and then sleeps with Mordred as some weird stand in thing. Mordred in turn sleeps with Merlin about some weird daddy issue thing.

Morgan is Mordred's mother in this, she is so flat as a character. She is the most 2D villain I have seen in a long, long time. Her dialogue reads like a kids cartoon, all of the men in the story call her a "witch" or a "b*tch" at least once. Mordred and Merlin refer to her as both of those things constantly. There are only four female characters in this entire book, two of them are side characters that are reduced down to lesbian stereotypes, one of them is evil mother Morgan, and the last is the Lady of the Lake who gets four pages of booktime total. It feels misogynistic and stereotypical. Also Morgan is not Arthur's sister in this, so Mordred is not an incest baby, a small win I guess.

The conclusion of the story is a big battle, obviously, the whole Once and Future King Arthur thing plays out. For the entire final battle Merlin and Mordred are just thinking about how hot each other look or actively making out. Guys please stop.

Literally this is horrendous. The sex scenes aren't even good. There is such potential in the plot, and there are some parts where it's like "Yes! This writing is good!" and then it immediately devolves into shoddy sex again.

1/5 ⭐

Here is a content warning for you all, I pulled it straight off of the author's website:

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

FULL REVIEW WITH SPOILERS BELOW

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

Strap in, this is a doozy.

We'll start with positives, there aren't many.

The way they go through the lake portal thing is actually pretty cool, its like going to the bottom of the lake and then the world flips and they can walk out of the lake back to Camelot from modern day. I thought it was a neat spin on the concept. There's an unreliable narrator view of Arthur is kind of interesting. Merlin thinks he's wholly good and a just king. Mordred hates Arthur's guts because of how he treated him and rejected him as his son. MORDRED GETS TO PULL THE SWORD FROM THE STONE!! This is because of the whole the true high king of Britain is the one who can and since Arthur is dead and Mordred is his only son (even as a bastard) Mordred can pull it out! Give that man a sword, not this version of that man, but like another one.

"'I think if I was a son he could've loved, he would've been a good father'" (p 309), Mordred talking to Merlin about Arthur. Thought this was a pretty good line, if only the rest of the book was like this.

Merlin names his pets after knights of the round table because he misses them. He named his cat Percival, and Percy the cat is the best character in this and shouldn't have to deal with those around him. This was kind of sweet and the only redeeming part of Merlin's character.

Also for a period of time while he was in the modern world, Mordred went by the alias of Lancelot, which is just a funny concept.

Now it's the bad stuff:

Worldbuilding

Somehow Camelot has not developed at all in 1000 years, permanently stuck in the early medieval era. This makes absolutely no sense nor is it ever explained. It is literally confirmed that time has passed and generations of knights have lived and died and yet they are still knights and horses and castles and peasants.

Merlin built Stonehenge and stored his magic in the rocks. The way he gets it out of the rocks is by doing the nasty against them with Mordred (I am not exaggerating this is literally what happens).

Concepts

This book is so weird about lesbians. Like it leans so hard into the cliches and stereotypes and its like the author gave the two girls no common sense.

"I kept my promise and spent nearly the entire day with the band yesterday - with the addition of Ava's new girlfriend Willow. Lesbians work fast" (p 79). Mordred thinks this to himself.

"She shrugs. 'One month is like six in lesbian years'" (p 239), Willow, Merlin's friend/Mordred's bandmate's gf says this line.

I just hated the way the author handled this. It seemed like these two characters had nothing else going on other than being lesbians, and therefore the author also made them impulsive to fit with the "U-Haul" stereotype.

Characters

Everyone keeps saying "bang it out" like literally every character has said this line. I hate it so much.

Okay back to the Morgan thing. She's portrayed as being like beyond evil, and while she is not related to Arthur, she does claim she is at some point to try and justify ruling Camelot. Therefore, everyone in Camelot thinks Mordred is a child of incest even though he isn't so that adds to the reason why he left? I think? I only say I think because this entire plotline was only addressed ONCE right before Merlin and Mordred start freaking it nasty style. Morgan tricked/magicked Arthur into sleeping with her to conceive Morgan (a la Uther/Igraine, Elaine of Corbenic/Lancelot, Claire/Bors, etc). She then uses Mordred as a pawn in her schemes and is a terrible mother to him. Adding onto the villainization of her, Morgan used to lock Mordred in the dark as a child to punish him, this is then revealed when Mordred refuses to let Merlin put a blindfold on him during sex.

You will see that everything important is mentioned immediately before or after, or sometime in the middle of, sex.

Mordred has a lip ring, and a tongue piercing, and nipple piercings, and 5 peener piercings, all of which are brought up frequently. He also has a massive shlong, which is also brought up frequently. Every time they mention it, it is in the most horrific dialogue possible. Mordred also is a full blown sorcerer and is immortal. He has so much magic, he can teleport, turn invisible, turn objects into other objects or even give them sentience, most of this is then used for sex reasons. Mordred has the most insane daddy issues i have ever seen, his fascination with Merlin seems to come from this on account of the fact that Merlin was part of the reason that Arthur denied Mordred being his son and heir.

Merlin and Mordred are such a rancid pairing. Like I can get behind toxic relationships (Sebile/Morgan my beloved) but this is just like creepy. They literally start their sexual relationship with Mordred convincing Merlin to give him a bj while Merlin is actively having a panic attack. There is so much weird cliche bad boy possessiveness, it is rampant. Genuinely they both remind me of like the "dark romance mafia boss" novels that are all over social media. Here are some examples:

"I'm the only one who gets to hurt him" (p 110), Merlin about Mordred.

"My voice comes out somewhere between a groan and a growl. 'You've been avoiding me and denying me this sight for two days'" (p 162), Mordred why are you growling?

There's also the insane amount of just weird and bad lines surrounding them. Here are some more examples:

"'I think I'm starting to love hating you'" (p 145), Merlin says this to Mordred. Then like two paragraphs later we get the line of Mordred going, "I give him my signature smirk."

"'Please, Merlin. Show me how much you hate me. Take it all out on my a*s'" (p 166), this is the only line you need to know exactly what this book is about.

Merlin calls his semen "his hate" when he's screwing Mordred. His pet name for Mordred is "little monster" I am disappointed in myself for finishing this book, it is in fact worth it for the ability to write this review though.

"'Now can you hurry? It's cold as balls out here.'" ; Turning his head towards me, he smirks. 'Are your balls cold, baby?'" (p 264), this is Mordred's POV. I hate this.

Mordred ties Merlin up with snakes during sex and the snakes bite Merlin and he likes it, (p 214). I cannot describe the absolute astonishment I faced during this scene.

There's a whole scene that involves Mordred asking Merlin to knight him with his wiener and then Merlin calls him "Sir C*cks*ut" (p 285).

I wish I was making that last one up. I'm not. It is a real scene that happens in this book.

Since the book is in first person it reads like the character speaking to the audience, that's just the style of the POV kind of. However, there are some scenes that feel like they explicitly break the forth wall or it's like things are stated way to blatantly and like, no one thinks to themselves like that? Examples:

"To be clear, I still hate him more than I've ever hated anyone. And that's why this is all sorts of complicated and fucked up" (p 152), Merlin thinks this. It's unnecessary for this line to exist the audience is already aware that their relationship is messed uppp.

"Look at me being all mature and shit" (p310), Mordred thinks this. It feels so random.

"That's just great. I'm officially so fucked up that anything deviating even slightly from pure animosity from my father gives me the ick" (p 312), Mordred thinks this to himself. I don't think I ever actually was immersed in this novel enough for any line to take me out of it, but this was just jarring.

The End

They go back to Camelot to resurrect Arthur and kill Morgan and save the kingdom and whatnot. Mordred gives up Excalibur and the chance to kill Morgan by himself to prove to Merlin that he loves him, BOOOOO. They pause resurrecting Arthur for exactly an hour, to freak nasty in a cave. They are in the middle of battle and Merlin is talking about how sexy he finds Mordred.

Mordred is in the middle of being tortured with magic by morgan and he gets like locked inside his body and so merlin breaks into his mind and they start confessing their love for each other. Odd choice. During this it is clear that Mordred has no internal self value, he only thinks he is finally worthy of redemption because Merlin loves him and he thinks Merlin is wholly good. LAUGH. Merlin? Wholly good? LAUGH.

In the middle of the last battle, Arthur proclaims Mordred his heir, there is literally no discussion of this, it is only done for a "potent quotable" soundbite and dramatic shock value. Especially if you read to the end because Arthur doesn't even make Mordred his heir until the end of the second epilogue, which happens years after the end of the book. In fact, Arthur still doesn't really like or trust Mordred very much even after the end of the final battle.

Mordred and Arthur kill Morgan together. Literally they both stab her with their swords at the same time. It is dumb. After this, Arthur gets recrowned king and is taking the throne for the first time in 1000 years and Merlin and Mordred are making out on the floor of the throne room.

The first epilogue is 20% Mordred showcasing his competence as a potential prince, 80% Mordred and Merlin doing the nasty in an pillory. In the second epilogue, Mordred gets crowned prince of Camelot, him and Merlin freak nasty beforehand. Then they watch Mordred's old punk band perform a show via magic, which is so so so random to just chuck in at the end?

Uh yeah. That's the book. This was a long review, there was a lot to point out I feel. Yipes.

I give it:

1/5 ⭐

[the-dye-stained-socialite]

Number 10 for Marigold :3c <- Guy who totally doesnt know how it ends and def isnt writing anything related to it 2 for Elias becase i always love to hear about the process... and 7!

10: What is their main character arc in the story? Where do they start and how do they develop? Do they get a happy ending or is their story a tragic one?

ohhhhh marigold ;) Their main arc is going to be them slowly coming to shake off the Princess' abuse. That they've lived through so many tragedies, and unfortunatly they must live through another. Finally finding a real bright spot in their life and feeling the warmth it emminates, and the stolen joy they get from it, and realizing their other bright spot is cold and dim in comparision, and that while neither light can sustain them forever, they must make a choice about which light they want to feed, which light they want to die with. When we first meet Marigold they are fully under her thumb, actively enjoying her torturing them without consent. Over time... well. for a long few year they're still unable to find fault in her, but in those last few months, they turn more towards "damning with faint praise". Eventually, they'll leave, but they'll never be fully rid of her influence, and they'll bear the marks of her abuse for the rest of their days, from their tattoos, to the loss of their vision and memories, to the ways they flinch when a voice is raised near them. Marigold's ending is bittersweet.

2: How long was the process before the character reached its final version? (or a version that would be clearly recognizable as the character?)

OH GOSH OKAY UH so Elias started as a vampire character with their partner, @the-insouciant-scientist's mad scientist! that is. about the only resemblance dfjvkdsjbdkvbk they were originally turn of the century edwardians, or just getting into the roaring 20s? we played around with the time period somewhat. this was back in, i believe, 2019, long before i got into TMA and heard how brits Actually pronounce 'Elias'. Elias' whole thing was they were a vampire who had turned recently, but not too recently. like a few months ago, so they're kinda used to it but also still working out a lot of the kinks ;P then i had my accident, and whenever i became a (basically) full-time wheelchair user, so did elias after that, Rye got into TMA and heard The Ad, and we decided to put our funny little victorians in the game!!! this was also whenever i started playing with elias' gender and presentation and made them very femme (as i was figuring out my own stuff) the first year/year and a half Elias was mostly a name and incredibly loose concept, i was just exploring things i thought were fun and cool! it's only within the past two and a half years that i would say elias has become Elias Leroux, chemist, dubious royal, Gonfaloniere, and sweetheart of half the city!!! once i transferred from the reddit side of the fandom to the tumblr side, and got over my anti fears, accepted that i like gothic horror, gothic romance, and gothic tropes, they really kind of bloomed into what they are now!!! my early concepts for them were a lot fluffier and sweeter which... is nice, but not so much my thing all the time, ya know? i wanted elias to go through difficult horrors and make choices from fear and i really wanted to do stuff with blood and giant monsterous bats (especially after heavily playing sskies and seeing the chiropterous hoarder <3) and that's what i've been focusing on mostly!!! a lot of it what honestly kicked off when i went "hey, i wonder what the consequences of this would be" for abandoning light fingers, and also there was a huge turning point for elias becoming their own character whenever i played the Swan Bride ES and they became gonfaloniere, and i got the chance to dive into toxins and- so... about 3 years!! 7: another favorite appearance aspect: okay, i'll finally let myself gush about it a little: ELIAS' WHEELCHAIR!!!!!! it's so fucking prtty if i say so myself!!!! the wood color is gorgeous, the heart back (based on that historical example) is inspired, the way it also kinda looks like a throne? how comfortable elias is in it? the fact that i can have their spokes decorated in flowers of ribbons, or all the scientific add-ons they can have for it? the secret compartments? it's such a fantastic chair, and every day i am so jealous that elias gets to have a HEART SHAPED wheelchair!!!!!!! i love their chair so much!!!!!! and it being a possessive and manipulative gifts from happles where it can easily control their chair? ough j'adore!!! it's a fantastic chair and it makes me so happy to draw and write about :} ask game here

[myloveforhergoeson]

hold on.... just thought of an online songs au where daisy put in the link to a performance by brand new day instead.... out of the three which would daisy be most enamored by and what would her dynamic with each of them be?

oh... oh wow.... my friend i love you and your big beautiful mind... this is such a cool little concept. a foray into original fiction LMAO

first, to share something slightly on topic, roxy exists in the os universe lmao. she's with james because i made her and i said so!!!!!! in this world, the thing with bnd still happened, so they're not together anymore, she moves schools and she's focusing on her own thing :)

so au of an au, daisy accidentally finds a brand new day video. right off the bat i think the music is entirely too much for her unfortunately; even though kendall sings pop punk music too, she's kind of micro-dosing with his acoustic versions. it's going to take some time for her to be like "oh wow, okay this is cool" because like all the music she listens to comes from her grandparents and church...

if she were to find herself interacting with roxy, mag, and dani i think her dynamic with each of them would be pretty different!

roxy and daisy would be friends, i like to think, but the two of them don't really have much in common. they both like to read, so that's a nice start. roxy doodles in her notebook sometimes and daisy loves to draw. but other than that... rox is super into pop culture and the latest happening and daisy lives in a completely different world. so i think their dynamic would mirror the one she and kendall will have in online songs when they first start seriously talking; just kind of showing her the ropes of tech and pop culture and whatnot. i don't think either of them would be romantically attracted to the other, but i do think secretly they'd each think the other was so cool and sweet and nice in their own special ways. daisy has traits roxy wishes she did and vice versa!

mag and daisy... look. i'm a sucker for good girl x bad boy. gotta be one of my fav tropes. but... bnd's music is still too much for dais right off the bat so i think that mag wouldn't really fuck with her after he learned that lol. his one goal in life is breaking the music industry and he's not really wasting time interacting with or talking to people that don't really slot into the future he's set up for himself. but i mean he wouldn't be dick to her or anything. i can see him like joking around with her about her lack of pop culture knowledge and telling her the crazy celebrity conspiracies he def believes in. maybe if they were older and mag mellowed out a bit more, he could find himself attracted to her if they had more in common. i don't see a world where daisy ever really finds herself attracted to him though.

dani and daisy is interesting to me... she'd probably find herself enamored with them more than the other two. there's still the music barrier i fear, but, dani comes from a pretty traditional and religious family like daisy does. i think that despite their religious upbringings being different, they could relate to each other on that front! i do think she'd find the drums more interesting to play than guitar just because it's so much more animated - so if she found a really good clip of dani drumming i could see her watching that a lot like she watched kendall's video :) i also imagine that of the three, dani is most chill. they're slightly more introverted than mag and roxy are so their energy level would also be way better for daisy to handle!! i think given time they could find themselves in a little something-something :p dani is pretty fond of nature too, just like daisy is too. they can have some sweet hikes all around minnesota and virginia

idk what do yall think? maybe i just don't like mag so much i'm not able to see his similarities to kendall lol. because, i mean, daisy is going to learn that kendall has a mean streak eventually so... hm. interesting!! tysm for this cross-over question i just ADORE IT <3

[interfacefox]

strange magic

god this movie was my whole childhood. i love it sm but rewatched it a couple times recently and, being older, saw all the things wrong with it, unfortunately.

i am aware that i have never posted about this and likely will never do so again, and i'm p sure this is rly niche and there are abt 2 other ppl in the world that have watched it, but i have THOUGHTS and i am going to TALK ABT THEM

Some of the main things i find criticisms on are the pacing and song choices, and the songs being unnecessary, not advancing the plot, etc. Now i do agree with those but they don't bother be that much.

what DOES annoy me, especially as an aroace person, is that the message of the movie seems to just be "if ur not in a romantic relationship ur miserable"???? idk, it just seemed to me that it was framed that there was something wrong with marianne and the bog king until they fell in love and were "fixed." don't get me wrong, the bog king WAS miserable and needed companionship, but why did that have to be romantic? if anything, he wasn't in a good mindset to be having a romantic relationship at the time, he still hadn't healed from his last one! According to this post, in an earlier version, dawn was meant to stay single i think that this would have been much better. (go check out that post, it's rly interesting!!) I think that in movies like strange magic that are so romance heavy, it's really important to ensure that it doesn't make out that romance is THE most important thing for everybody, it doesn't have to be "in-your-face" about it, just something. and i think dawn recovering from the love potion but remaining single would have been perfect for this.

Also the way it was like, a girl wears darker colours and learns to use a sword, oh no! a tragedy! i wouldn't have an issue with this if it wasn't for the fact it was framed as if marianne gaining independence and her own fashion sense was awful and the only reason for it could be because something horrible had happened or there was something wrong with her. (mariannes dad: you're a.... unique..... girl😃....)

don't even get me started on how morally questionable (at the least) the concept of a love potion is and how the movie just. ignored that.

and despite the animation being absolutely beautiful, icl i do find all of their eyes extremely unsettling

there WERE things i liked tho, like how the bog king was "ugly" and just allowed to be that way. there was no magic curse to break to fix him and make him attractive, he was just loved the way he is. i loved how in the beginning, the dark forest was terrifying to marianne, but by the end she had given it a chance and ended up finding it beautiful.

idk tho, i am open minded. feel free to lmk if u think smth i said is completely wrong.

[seven-thewanderer]

Okay I’m not gonna wait too long, I just wanna share it now.

so as I said a bit earlier, my “Dandy’s World OC”, Lexi the Lemon, is no longer a Dandy’s World oc

“but why is that?” You may be wondering…

Well… it’s because during that moment of issues with a… certain person… and when I was hearing a lot of people get mad at people for having DW ocs, I (after making 3 more) thought “screw it, imma do my own thing”

So here’s the 4 characters that were made before I made my own thing

So you guys already know Lexi, but then here’s also:

Conner the Camera Doppio the Coffee & Sherri the Cherry Blossom

(Out of these 4, one of them is a main, guess) (I’ll say at the end of this post)

And not all of the rest are fully drawn out, but here are the rest I made after deciding I was making my own thing!!

We got:

Sugar the Cotton Candy (friends with Zilch - who is next to Sugar in the image) Zilch the Candy Corn (only friend is Sugar - who is to the left of Zilch in the image - since everyone else hates Zilch) Puffs the Marshmallow Lilac the Soap Bottle Squeaker the Water Balloon Butters the Popcorn Asa the Medicine Teds the Bear Somni the Bedbug Morti the Jack ‘O Lantern Aria the Snail Loaf the Bread Wallace the Water Bottle & Deedee the CD Player

And while I’m still working on the names, the name of their location is called Edupark!!

it’s a large, educational park where kids can both play and learn!! It’s kinda like both a playground park & an Amusement Park in one :3

And if it was a game (which I’m not sure if that’d happen, cus 1 I’ve never made a game, and 2 I’d need someone to work with me who knows how to build in Roblox, and I’m too nervous to trust Roblox Builders I don’t know personally after… that incident that happened in DW that is why my thing even exists :P), it’d be called Sketchie Escape!!

because instead of Toons, mine are called Sketchies!! Like a little Sketch :3 (…and their Twisteds are instead called Drafts)

I’m imagining it’d kinda be like, a weird combo of games

cus obviously it’d be inspired from Dandy’s World (with my own characters, of course, I don’t wanna be copyrighted & plus I don’t really wanna ref other things in my thing :T)

but it’s also a bit inspired off of games like Piggy (in the way of being like. A teamwork-puzzle-survival game), and like an escape room thing (also I could just say ‘inspired off of Granny’ but I specifically am discussing Roblox games)

Also, the Drafts aren’t just evil version of the playable characters, but are instead other characters!!

since, as an artist myself, I know sometimes when you’re making a character, you sometimes get little concepted versions of them that once you make the character how you like, the previous version(s) tend to fade away, go to waste, so that’s kinda what the Drafts are!!

some of the Drafts, however, are actually characters that used to be in the spotlight, but were basically thrown away…

But I don’t wanna say too much here!! I’m considering making a sideblog to talk about my lil idea…

But!!

I’ll only do that if yall are interested!! If not, I’ll just keep my silly lil idea to myself (ill still keep building on it, im not gonna throw it away just if yall don’t care to see it, it’s mainly just whether or not you get to see me working on it, or I work on it and yall don’t get to see)

so…

Also, as I promised:

the answer to the question at the top, about which of the first 4 was a Main Sketchie (which I still need to change the name of the Mains, instead of calling them Mains), is….

Lexi!!

Not just because of her being the oc that started this all, but mainly because of her lesson!!

in the park, she teaches kids to keep determined, and never to give up!!!

and here’s a lil bonus:

The other main Sketchies are:

Lilac, Somni, Wallace, and Aria!!

Lilac teaches kids to stay clean Somni teaches kids to not be lazy (despite Somni’s strong fatigue..) Wallace teaches kids about putting stuff away (like putting something in the trash, or putting toys away, or putting the milk back in the fridge so it don’t go bad) Aria teaches kids to open up, and not keep themselves in their “shells”

Now I don’t wanna give too much away, so imma stop right here :3c

[cynopter]

Orange Peels on Fire: aka Townsend lore

because someone asked: here's a big dump of stuff about the story Townsend is from, i.e. the narrator of Choker!

Major TW for suicide/hanging, and obviously OCD.

Also, heads up that it's a really silly, REALLY emo story about ghost hunting lol.

Townsend is the deuteragonist of a (really extremely unfinished) story I had, that was provisionally called Orange Peels on Fire (opof). I started working on it when I was watching a lot of Demon Slayer, and it was basically my attempt to create a cast of shounen anime characters who were all girls but look exactly like the typical shounen anime protagonists. (I mention Demon Slayer because I took a LOT of inspiration from that - at times I described it to people as a shitty lesbian Vietnamese Demon Slayer knockoff... wow it's like it was made for me!!!)

A lot of lore is super wishy-washy because I did like the OG concept art in 2021, then I just kinda fucked around until 2022 when I revamped it for a screenwriting class. I don't really consider either version more canon, but I did a lot more work on the screenwriting version so I'll just describe that :P

Setting

It's set in post-apocalyptic US (either Virginia or like California but I couldn't commit because I've never seen California). A lot of the human population is gone - old civilization is being reclaimed by nature and the surplus oxygen means that there are also giant bugs now who take a lot of the niches previously held by mammals (like mice, dogs, deer etc). The oxygen is also how I campily explain away people being able to do epic anime jumps and stuff lmao. This, plus global warming, also means that the middle of North America now has a sort of tropical climate.

The part that actually matters is everyone in the US lives in tiny villages created out of suburban neighborhoods, and they're constantly having Ghost and Monster Problems of some nature because society has forgotten how to properly bury the dead --- and also because that apocalyptic event 100-or-so years ago caused so many ghosts to be created.

Phượng Lê

The protagonist is Phượng Lê, an 18 year old girl who can see ghosts. She's a triplet, with a living brother (Thanh) and a stillborn sister (the titular Cam / "Orange") who she's always seen as just a normal sister because she's a ghost that lives with them.

(All three of these characters are from a depressing realistic fiction short story I wrote, which I personally consider to be their "true" versions, but I imported them into this because I thought it'd be stupid and funny to turn a story like that into a shounen anime lol)

This is what Phượng looks like! (modern on left, old on right)

She's struggled with depression her whole life, partially because everyone thinks she's a sad and delusional pyromaniac for acting like she has a living sister (whose bones she keeps in a box) and for burning stuff to send it to her. Because of that she puts a LOT of stock in Cam's happiness because keeping Cam's ghost kind of cost her everything (including her parents abandoning them etc).

Cam's remains get stolen one day and long story short, Phượng and Thanh end up traveling around the country trying to solve ghost problems, scooby-doo style, in pursuit of the person who stole them. There's like a different category of ghost every time, based on Vietnamese folklore. (And if you're wondering, Cam's bones are valuable because stillborn baby remains can be used for evil magic, which is of course what the evil people in this story want to do).

That finally brings us to...

Townsend! (aka May Hoàng)

Townsend has pretty different lore between 2021 and 2022, but again I'm going with the latter because I've spent more time on that.

In the story:

She's a self-proclaimed "evil ghost" who haunts a tree at the edge of town. Phuong comes to her to ask if she's seen Cam; Townsend is surprised to meet a human who's friendly to ghosts.

She lightly antagonizes P & Th (in what is later revealed to be an attempted suicide-by-cop type thing) and runs away from them a few times before finally deciding to join their team. (In some versions she has to pretend to be human to deceive Irene, the secretly evil lady helping P & Th out).

Originally I had her birth name as Townsend - in the most recent iteration, this is a nickname Phượng gives her through this miscommunication:

She's the only member of the team who can actually, you know, touch ghosts? (Except when Phuong goes all danny phantom on their asses but I don't need to get into that).

Despite this, and despite the fact that she constantly threatens to kill people*, she basically bursts into tears at the thought of enacting violence on people/ghosts, so she ends up just serving as their strategist **(as the only one who isn't kind of dumb lol).

* Her catch phrase is basically "Don't touch me, i'll kill you." This is really emo lol, but what you find out eventually is this is actually a warning and not a threat.

**Specifically, because Thanh is the only one with absolutely no ghost powers, he has to use weapons made by Phuong, and because Phuong is like the main character, Townsend and Thanh have to work together to strategize & fight in the background. That's a whole arc because Townsend is a coward who doesn't want to be in fights, and Thanh doesn't trust Townsend because she constantly threatens to kill him and Phuong. Fair, I guess.

Townsend's backstory:

She's supposed to be this fundamentally irrational character, who eventually becomes a love interest of Phượng (they're both lesbians) but still never brings herself to stop antagonizing her whenever they get too close. After months and months of working together, Phượng finally gets Townsend's backstory:

She was originally a 17-year-old girl named May Hoàng, who lived in a town next to Phượng's. She suffered from something that we would in modern times describe as OCD, but had since been forgotten by society because of the apocalypse (rip). Her family was Catholic, and they didn't think much of her earlier obsessions (except that she was being annoying), but when she confided in them about her newest obsession about dropping and strangling her baby brother, Meri, they confided in the church - and eventually all the townsfolk came to believe she was being influenced by the devil.

May's parents kept trying to work with her, but eventually she ran away to hang herself.* In some versions, instead of going through with that, she conveniently gets attacked by a hangman ghost (which is how I really loosely translated ma thần vòng) right before that, who strangles her and she still dies. Fun!

*This is what's described in the beginning of Choker. In the original version, she runs away on the back of a giant-giant american millipede, as depicted on the cover, and that becomes kind of a faithful steed that they can all ride around on later.

Either way, what she didn't realize (I guess because she's Catholic) is that if you hang yourself and nobody finds your body, you turn into a hangman ghost, and can only pass on if you strangle a living person to take your place.

So..... obviously that's not going to happen.

Phượng & Townsend

May died about a year before the story starts. She was kind of hoping Phượng could just exorcize her, but because it takes about 3 seconds to realize May isn't actually a threat, Phượng refuses to do that.

Instead they kind of fall in love (shipname Phuongsend if you're wondering lol), and they eventually figure out she's just mentally ill and reinvent ERT or something.

Meanwhile, because of both Cam and May, the whole team is looking for a way to turn ghosts back into living people. I never decided if they actually succeed, but honestly I don't think they ever will. May committed suicide and that's just not something you can undo.

As foils

They both care a lot about each other, but that's despite (or maybe because of?) some very conflicting values. There's a little undercurrent of each trying to change the other's morals.

Phượng's mother abandoned her and Thanh because of her obsession with her sister, Cam, who was stillborn and never even got a chance at life. She's only leaving home now to find that sister and maybe even bring her back to life.

From Phượng's perspective, May HAD a shot at life, and somehow thinks she has the right to get it back even after squandering it. May also loves her baby sibling to death, but her idea of protecting him was to run away forever --- and to Phuong, that's just about the worst thing you can do to someone you love.

They were both treated as heretics, but Phượng reacted by getting a superiority complex and starting to hate everyone, while May still thinks everyone is fundamentally good, except herself. Phượng is (technically) a younger sister and constantly pushes back against Thanh's overprotectiveness, something May sees as disrespectful and scary, as an older sister who spent years obsessing over Meri's safety. Finally, Phượng's violent tendencies/occasional anger issues are something May sees as a big moral problem.

And.... that was a LOT. I'm not sure if I'll keep this post up honestly because there's still like a TINY chance I'll adapt this into something. But for now enjoy the lore dump :P