#I've got soul

[whumpookies]

Day 8 I've got soul, but I'm no soldier;

prompt: outnumbered.

[sometimesraven]

Inciting Events

Whumptober No. 8: “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier.”

Fandom: The Truth Saga (Original Novel) POV Character: Lydia Moore Whumpee: Lydia

Many years before the events of Reckless Truth, there was an eighteen year old at her lowest point. Fate had other things in store for her than the hospital bed she lay on, however.

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She woke up. Great -- already a bad sign for how her day was going to go.

Or was it her night? As the fog in Lydia's mind slowly cleared in favour of a dizzy, aching headache, she realised with a sinking heart where she was.

Dad was asleep in the chair beside her bed, shadowed by the dim light of the hospital at night. He looked dishevelled, like he'd held on to consciousness for as long as he possibly could. Flashes of his desperately frightened eyes assaulted her memory; the feeling of being cradled on the bathroom floor. She didn't wake him. She didn't want to be having that conversation right now.

Her wrist felt tight, sore when she moved. The fresh stitches were ugly; a reminder of yet another of her long list of failures.

Did Elyan know about this? Probably not. She doubted he knew anything about the outside world while they had him in psych. Good. He couldn't handle something like this -- hopefully he wouldn't see her when she ended up there too.

I'm so sorry, I-I've been lying to you.

Lydia glared up at the ceiling, her father's words coming to her in the same muffled haze they had while they waited for the ambulance.

Your brother is right. Josh was-.. he was taken. There was no car crash, princess I'm so sorry-..

Her hands closed into fists, ignoring the uncomfortable pulling and stinging it caused in her wrist. Her whole life, she'd been lied to. Elyan had been lied to. She should have listened to her big brother. Josh had been kidnapped and nobody was doing anything, this whole time. Only Elyan even tried and they made him think he was crazy. Fuck, she needed a drink.

"It's a difficult thing to believe." A new voice. One of the nurses? Lydia blinked the tears out of her eyes, frowning at the man who came into focus. This wasn't a nurse. The young man was dressed more like the police or military or something-- shit, were they taking her to psych already? "That your brother was taken by paranormal military forces."

"How d'you know about that?"

The man smiled, and there was something dull behind his eyes -- like he wasn't quite present; just a vessel for something more. But that was fucking ridiculous, so Lydia chalked it up to the meds she was on and continued to glare at him.

"Let's just say there are parties invested in your situation. I can help, if you're willing."

Every instinct in her gut told her to hit the alarm and scream. But the man's smile was patient; almost sympathetic, and nobody else had helped her family for the past fourteen years. What did she really have to lose? "How?"

"You will work for us. We will provide you with funding and equipment to travel and learn. You will be given training in assault weaponry and close combat."

So she could go looking for him... "What's the catch?"

"You will be working as an arms dealer and gun for hire. This means you will lean to kill. We have many private contacts in need of our services, and you will provide."

Shit. Killing people for money. Lydia glanced at dad -- still sound asleep like not even the dead could wake him. He wouldn't be happy if he ever found out. She'd have to leave home, probably. Would she tell Elyan, when he got out of hospital? Maybe. He deserved to know she believed him now, at least.

For a moment, she almost wondered if she could handle this -- if she was cut out for it. But what else was she really good at? School wouldn't have her. She couldn't write to save her life. No qualifications. She spent what time she did spend at school getting in fights and drinking behind the bike shed. She didn't even have to look after Ely anymore. What else was she really good at, beyond violence? And if this gave her a chance to find and save the brother she never knew, whose loss tore her family apart before she was old enough to know it...

"I'll do it."

The smile he gave told her this may have been a mistake. "Excellent. We'll be in touch. Oh, and-.. Don't worry about this little... mishap." He gestured to her in the bed, eyes somehow free of judgement and judgemental at the same time. "It's taken care of. You'll be released as soon as possible, and then we can begin."

Three years later, Lydia swiped the blood from her top lip, rolling her eyes as it immediately dripped into her mouth again. Elyan sat quietly, blood on his hands -- shell-shocked. His first kill, to save her life. She'd have to take care of him for a while, probably. Just like old times. Sometimes she wondered if this was worth it. They still had no answers, and Elyan was suffering for it.

Still, she was in too deep now. If she was no good for anything before, she had no chance now. For better or worse, Lydia was a killer now, and Elyan was too deep into his indie-detective work to quit now. Neither of them would find a regular job after this.

So, with a grunt, she stowed her gun and dragged her brother to his feet, guiding him out in silence.

She didn't see the flash as the bodies she left behind were transported away, nor the scorch marks they left behind in the blood-soaked fabric of the rug.

[mblue-art]

"…heh. you ran all the way here? can't resist free treats, huh." "Pff, hah. Of course."

🎯 >>

[starry-bi-sky]

DPXDC CFAU Headcanon: Ghostspeak Edition

Ghosts in the Infinite Realms who saw Jason and Danny together called them "luzdra", a term in ghost speak that directly translates into the words "shared soul". It's literal definition is; "two ghosts with a bond so deep that it was as if they had split their souls in half and given one to the other", but in general it just means two ghosts with a profound, indescribable bond.

Luzdrus is the singular form of the word, and refers to only one ghost in the bond. While "luzdra" is plural and either refers to both of them together, or the relationship as a whole. It depends on the context of the conversation and who they're saying it to.

There is no romantic, platonic, or familial connotation behind the word. It just means "someone who shares a deep bond with someone" and can be between anyone.

It also does not mean soulmate, and if you say that you'll be corrected. Soulmates implies that their bond was destined by the universe, luzdra are two people who developed and built that bond themselves. It's a relationship forged between two (or more) people.

Some of Danny's rogues -- like Kitty and Johnny, who might've seen the two together and are possibly luzdra themselves -- still call him 'luzdrus' even after Jason's disappearance from the Zone. Danny doesn't know how to feel about it.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

The Quest Continues...

(part 1- part 2)

[blackfire5561]

And these shadows keep on changing

I've had Alan Wake 2 on the brain all month, send help

[sketchy-tour]

Okay listen I got distracted while working on my ask doodles. BUT LISTEN THIS IS SO SELF INDULGENT cause I was listening to an early 2000s playlist on spotify and realized... Reboot Wally would so be a blink 182 fan. And you SO know he would sing that mess at karaoke. A dork. I love him.

Reboot AU belongs to @/bloodrediscream (Man I do not need to tag them for just my silly doodles.

I WILL HOWEVER tag @kawaiialeisha because I feel like you'd appreciate this

[stuffy-just-doodles]

Hehehe see wut i did in the first one :)))

[aquanutart]

Nyaha~! Caught in my electroweb! ♡

[butterflysonnets]

yes i'm rooting for m*leven breakup because byler is neat but mostly? i'm rooting for m*leven breakup for the sake of el and mike.

to me, their romance was always a puppy love born out of a combination of social pressures, naïve curiosity, and a lack of true understanding regarding intimacy and romantic love and what it really is. it was real in that they do truly, deeply care about each other and they are close friends, maybe even shared an attraction, but a maturing romance is so much more than that. they've grown up and out of being boyfriend/girlfriend, and that's okay! i think television/film needs to show more often that most of us don't have definite "soulmates" or first childhood loves that we spend our whole lives with. it doesn't mean these relationships meant nothing and didn't impact us, it just means they've run their course and that something else is in the cards, and this is part of life!

i've always felt el was at her best and most confident self when broken up with mike, discovering who she was and what she liked alongside another girl her age instead of just relying on mike for mentorship on how to live in the real world. she deserves more of an opportunity to find herself, her autonomy, and her independence, and to love who she is, and she's made it clear she's felt insecure in the relationship with mike because she isn't being loved and understood the way she wants, needs, and deserves from someone who is her partner.

also, it's okay if mike doesn't love her in "the way he should". he is not obligated to love her romantically and stay in a relationship with her just because she's a girl, because she "needed someone", or because he cares about her a lot. he shouldn't be pressured into a romance if it's not truly coming from his heart. he deserves freedom to find out and honour who he is, too, instead of just staying in his non-functional first relationship — one he got into as a child, essentially — and defining himself that way because it's what's expected when a boy and a girl are close. he loves her in some way, yes, but it's okay if he doesn't feel comfortable or secure being her boyfriend anymore, for whatever reason that is. he's felt insecure too, and that's valid and it matters.

they are their own people and are steadily growing and changing every day. they need time to figure out who those people are, and it's become clear (at least in my opinion) that those people aren't meant to be a couple at this stage.

they deserve freedom. they deserve to grow up and be authentic to themselves and not feel like they need to lie for the sake of a relationship. they deserve to move on from this version of their relationship that isn't making them happy and rekindle the best part of their bond: their strong, beautiful friendship. they don't have to be a couple if it doesn't make them stronger and better and happier people.

i think it would be healthy and wonderful for a show, especially one consumed frequently by young adults, to show a relationship starting, progressing, and ending on good terms in this way. sometimes things don't work out, and that is okay.

[cy-fi-theansweris42]

Ghostbusters Frozen Empire spoilers ahead

I've seen some criticism over Phoebe's actions in Frozen Empire, more specifically over the point when she separates her spirit from her body, calling it "a dumb decision", that "she's smarter than that", that it's "out of character for her", and just like.

First of all, remember she's 15??? She's a teenager??

But also I want to argue that it does make sense for her character, especially after everything that happened in Frozen Empire leading up to that moment.

Before we talk about Frozen Empire, we have to remember her story arc from Afterlife.

In Afterlife, Phoebe is uprooted from where they were previously living, and we know she has trouble making friends. Trevor tells her to tell him some of the jokes she's been practicing, her mom tells her to "not be herself" (jokingly/affectionately, but it's still said), and we know that Phoebe struggles to make friends. She struggles to connect with people.

Then she finds out her grandfather was a scientist, like her. He was a Ghostbuster, something that she connects to. She compares herself to Egon and is upset when she finds out her mom didn't tell her that her grandfather was a scientist like her. Then, most importantly here, her mom says that Phoebe "found herself" at the farm.

During Afterlife, Phoebe's story is about finding herself and connecting to who her grandfather was, a scientist, a Ghostbuster.

Flashforward to Frozen Empire.

Now they're in New York, and from what we see even though it's been 3 years since the events of Afterlife, it doesn't seem like Phoebe has really made any new friends in New York, she's still friends with Podcast, but he still lives in Summerville and is only there for the summer. She has her family, but she doesn't have any friends there. Her focus seems to be on being a Ghostbuster because that's where she found herself, that's what she wants to do.

And then it's being taken away from her.

She's suddenly told that she can't be a Ghostbuster because she's too young, and all the while the rest of her family is continuing to go out on busts and leaving her behind. There's things going on, and she's told she can't help, which just throws the fact that the thing she loves, the thing she wants to do, has been taken away from her.

And then, while upset from this, she makes a friend, Melody. It's someone she can talk to, that she seems to enjoy being around. She doesn't know that Melody has an agenda, that Melody is going to use her (not hating on Melody, that's just literally what happens). To her, Melody is a friend and someone she can talk to that distracts her from how another part of her life has been taken away.

Now I don't know if anything has been confirmed, but Phoebe comes off as neurodivergent (honestly I would not be surprised if she was intentionally written that way). One thing when you're neurodivergent and struggle to make friends is like, when someone acts like they want to be around you, to be your friend, you might not catch any signs that something's up.

So with that in mind, remember that Phoebe had no reason to suspect anything was going on with Melody. Before separating her soul from her body, Phoebe just thought she was finding a way to exist on the same plane as her friend. It was a way to just be with her friend for just a couple of minutes. Remember, it was just for two minutes.

So, during a time when Phoebe had something important to her taken away, a part of her identity taken away, she made a connection with someone she trusted and believed to be her friend. Of course she'd trust her, of course she'd try to essentially hang out with her friend for just a couple minutes.

She didn't know what was going to happen next.

[meteor-moon]

there was a boy with stars in his eyes

[taonpest]

Opening my slideshow in front of the exam board, crying: *sniff* this is all I got

[jontaro-kun]

Whoops I tripped and my hand slipped and all of a sudden this Sonamy art just kinda spawned outta nowhere haha that's crazy

I'm not gonna sugarcoat it this is almost entirely inspired by a specific Slowed & Reverbed rendition of Ariana Grande's "Into You" and 90% of it just came from the gif they used for the chorus vdsbfvjhkbfdv

I saw it and thought "Okay how can I make this about Sonic. Hm. This song feels Sonamy-coded, and Sonic feels like the type of guy to give a girl a motorcycle ride but like romantically. Oh but he doesn't have a motorcycle. That's, like, Shadow's thing. He has a hoverboard though. And letting someone else ride with him on a hoverboard would arguably be even more dangerous than on a motorcycle...so it's right up his alley." all in the span of like 2 seconds.

Of course this also meant I needed to finally design my own Amy, usually when other artists draw her they choose one of 3 options: they draw her normally, they give her long hair, or they give her Sonic's hair; as you can see I couldn't make that choice

So why am I yapping so much about all this? Idk I just think it's neat hdbfsvjhbhvbd

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

This one is for all my fellow "My gender is 'I have a job and I can't worry about that right now"'. I see you.

(part 1, part 2)

[leupagus]

I firmly believe Stannis is the Westerosi equivalent of the dad who hates cats, doesn't want to get a cat, makes a big deal about not liking the cat, and ends up being the cat's absolute favorite (except instead of a cat it's a huge fuckoff direwolf with boundary issues)

x

The door to the workroom opened and Ghost bounded inside, snuffling at Stannis's hands. Lady Stark, following behind, narrowed her eyes at him as she closed the door.

"You fed him something recently, didn't you?" she said. Ghost, finding nothing, gave a disapproving huff and flopped down by the fireplace.

He had, but that was besides the point. "What are the Knights of the Vale doing here?"

"Just don't give him chicken, we had a terrible problem with the henhouses when they were puppies," she said absently, and circled round to sit at her chair on the far side of the work table. "I brought them here for you."

Stannis, still standing, paused. "For me?"

"Yes, for you. I can't bend the knee, Your Grace. Not yet. But I'm not entirely useless."

"Of all the adjectives I've thought to describe you with, 'useless' has never been one of them."

She smiled at that and looked down at the papers strewn across the table. "Littlefinger — Lord Baelish," she corrected, "had plans for the North. Marrying my Aunt Lysa and becoming Lord Protector of the Vale wasn't enough for him; he wanted more."

"How much more?" Stannis asked as he took his seat again. He was already well able to guess the answer.

"Everything," she answered, a distant look in her eye that Stannis did not like. "He wanted to marry me off to the Boltons. I think the plan was for you you to come sweeping down from the Wall and either take Winterfell or kill out enough of the Bolton forces to weaken them. At which point Littlefinger could come riding to my rescue with the Knights of the Vale. He'd have a ward at the Vale who looked to him for approval, and a new Lady of Winterfell who'd be grateful to him for saving her from monsters twice over." She nodded at his moue of distaste. "Yes, well, he always did consider me one of his cyvasse pieces, to be moved around the board as needed."

Stannis had avoided Baelish at King's Landing, insofar as he could while both of them served on Robert's Small Council. But he well remembered how Baelish spoke of women, how effortlessly he used them and used them up. What damage had he inflicted on a young, friendless girl while he'd had her in his custody? No wonder Lady Stark had fled from him at the first chance of escape.

If that's what had truly happened. The story from the Riverlands was that Baelish had been killed by his own men, and there was no reason to doubt it — such a treacherous man would have succumbed to treachery sooner or later. But Lady Stark had proven herself capable of surprising things, these past months.

It didn't bear thinking of too closely. He cleared his throat. "The Vale, the North — if Baelish wanted the Iron Throne, he'd have needed more than two kingdoms at his command."

"The Riverlands probably would have been next," said Lady Stark with a frown. She pawed through the papers and pulled out a book. "I've been going through the maester accounts, such as they are, from the time my father left Winterfell until now," she said, flipping through it. "There are gaps, obviously, but Maester Wolkan's been keeping remarkably faithful records. Including copies of every raven scroll." She passed the book over to him, tapping at a particular passage. "This was sent to Roose Bolton from the Twins, only a few days before we began the siege."

"'The Blackfish traitor has stolen Riverrun from us. In the name of fellowship among the new Lord Paramounts and the victors over House Stark, we ask for your aid in catching this damned fish and roasting him on a spit.'" Stannis set the book back on the table with the peculiar urge to wipe his hands clean. "Walder Frey was always a craven. Wanting everyone else to fight his battles for him."

"He didn't even have the courage to murder my brother himself," said Lady Stark, taking back the book and closing it with a snap. "Though I've been told it was his son who murdered my mother. A great warrior family, clearly. Plus he doesn't know it's 'Lords Paramount' and not 'Lord Paramounts.'"

Stannis had seen flares of temper from Lady Stark before (on any number of occasions), but the icy rage in her voice gave him pause. Not for the first time, he considered how very merciful she had been with him, in the end. A man responsible for his own brother's murder, when she herself had lost her brother to the very basest of treachery — what might she have done to him, if he'd been anyone other than the rightful king?

Even as he wondered, he knew that his titles had not been what had stayed her hand in judgement. The Starks had never been particularly pragmatic, mostly to disastrous ends, and for all her intelligence Sansa seemed to have inherited a fair helping of the Tully pig-headedness on top of the Stark romanticism. King Stannis would have had no better luck against her judgement than Lord Stannis or Ser Stannis or even Goodman Stannis; it had been for some other reason she had spared him. He wondered when the bill would come due, and if it would ever be in his capacity to pay it.

Lady Stark had continued on. "I haven't found any record of a message sent back to the Twins, but I doubt the Boltons sent one. Lord Bolton were never much for rousing himself for anyone else's interests, even before he betrayed my family. I sent a raven to House Mallister of Seaguard; he sided with Robb during the war, and the Mallisters have always been loyal to House Tully." This time she handed over a scroll, flattened out but still curling slightly at each end.

It was only a bit longer than Walder Frey's, and about as useful. Blackfish holds fast; they have supplies within to last two years or more, and the siege set by the Freys will not last half a season. Brynden has not called the banners of the Riverlands, for Lord Tully is still hostage to the Freys. But if Lady Stark should call, Mallister will answer.

"'If Lady Stark should call,'" he repeated wryly.

"Lord Mallister bounced my mother on his knee when she was a babe, Your Grace," she said, equally wry. "All the oaths of fealty in the world can't replace the bonds of family and friendship between the northern Houses, even those not in the North itself."

"So I am beginning to understand," he said, handing the scroll back. "So the Twins are undefended at present."

"Most likely — Lord Frey is still there, but the bulk of his army will be at Riverrun." She leaned forward. "I've spoken with Lord Royce; he swears to me that Lord Arryn will bend the knee if you lead the Knights of the Vale and your own army and take the Twins. From there, you'll be able to break the Frey's siege at Riverrun — you'll have both the Vale and the Riverlands in a matter of months."

It was a fine strategy, but Stannis couldn't help but feel vaguely offended by it. "Do you mean to tell me that because you refuse to bend the knee, or promise any of your own army to my cause, you've delivered the Knights of the Vale and a promise of House Arryn's fealty as a...consolation prize?"

Lady Stark shrugged. "I suppose so," she admitted. "But a prize, nonetheless. I've only known Lord Royce since I was a guest at the Eyrie, but he seems an honorable man."

"He's an able commander, which is more to the point," Stannis contradicted absently, frowning down at the desk as he mulled it over. Two thousand men was no very great sum — but the Knights of the Vale were one of the best cavalry forces in the kingdoms, for all that they rarely strayed outside their mountains. With the Knights, Stannis's army could divide and take each half of the Twins in a pincer. It would be over nearly before it began.

"Of course, how foolish of me to consider such petty things as honor," grumbled Lady Stark.

Stannis ignored that. "Which leaves the Iron Islands to deal with. Has Lord Greyjoy sent any word?" Even the honorific stuck in his craw. Balon Greyjoy, the only other "king" to survive the war. Stannis had regretted the man's existence ever since the Greyjoy Rebellion.

Lady Stark shook her head. "Nothing. We've beaten back the last of the Ironborn holdouts, but I doubt they'll begrudge us that. My father always said the iron price never spent well. And they rightly blame the Boltons for whatever might have happened to Theon."

Which was still a mystery, so far as Stannis could tell. Theon Greyjoy had not been found among the dead at Winterfell, nor at the Dreadfort. If he'd escaped, there'd been no sightings reported. "No doubt you'll wish to execute him yourself, if he's found, but it would be better—"

"Execute Theon?" she said, her brow furrowing. "I — no. I don't wish that."

He leaned back in his seat. "You surprise me, my lady. I wouldn't have thought you squeamish after all this time." Perhaps that was his answer: she'd spared himself and Lady Brienne not out of principle but cowardice. In a way, it might be a relief: or at least it would be easier to understand.

She looked away. "Father did always say that whoever passes the sentence should swing the sword."

"That's not an answer. Your kindness does you credit, my lady, but if you show too much your people won't fear you. Which means they won't follow you, when the time comes." He'd said the same thing to her brother, more than a year ago when they'd argued over the fate of the wildlings and the drawbacks of mercy. The Lord Commander hadn't heeded the advice; was it a Stark family failing?

It must be, for Lady Stark sighed in frustration and said, "I don't want to be feared, Your Grace. And though you've failed to notice, I'm in no need of anyone following me anywhere. I'm staying—" She broke off and shook her head. "This always happens," she muttered, an odd smile tugging at her mouth.

He frowned. "What always happens?"

"This," she said, gesturing vaguely at the distance between them. "We can't go five minutes without arguing about something."

"That's not true." She sighed again and he reconsidered. "Perhaps if you didn't contradict everything I said."

"Perhaps if you had sisters, growing up," she countered. "My mother always said Arya and I were more trouble than all five of the boys put together." Her expression darkened and Stannis followed her thoughts — Theon had been one of those five boys. Raised alongside the rest of them, within these very walls.

"I thought you would want him dead," he admitted. "More than anyone else in the North."

She got to her feet and went over to the window, resting her arms on the sill as she looked out onto the courtyard. Stannis rose and joined her: down below were a dozen carts piled high with hay. All around them men and women were busy unloading the bales and stacking them up in a corner, where more workers took them away in a brisk line deeper into the Keep. Each cart was in the courtyard only a few minutes; when it was empty, the driver mounted up again and drove slowly out through the great gates, replaced by another cart yet more heavily laden. Supplies from the Northern Houses, to lay in for the oncoming winter.

"I don't want Theon dead," said Lady Stark after a long while observing in silence. He glanced over to her, but she was still looking down at the carts. "I don't want anyone dead, Stannis — there's been so much death. And more coming, if what Jon told you about the White Walkers is true."

She'd never called him by his name before; indeed she didn't seem aware she'd done it. "I believed him," he replied. "I still do. Your brother didn't seem the sort to make up stories."

"He always was honest to a fault," she said, turning to look at him at last. Her blue eyes were bright — tears, unshed. "I wish he'd come with you."

So did he, he realized. Not for his skill in battle or his perception or bravery: but only so his sister would not look so devastated at his loss. "He took an oath to the Night's Watch," he said, cursing at himself for his clumsy words even as he did so.

"I know that," she huffed. "Five minutes without arguing, is that really so difficult?"

"Evidently," he conceded, and she laughed. A watery sound, and she pressed the heels of her hand to her eyes quickly as she turned back toward the table, but laughter nonetheless.