snakestarr

[lif3lessb0dy]

Hii can you write some hcs on what Sylus’ type would be, like personality/vibe

hiii!!! thanks for this request, much love for u!!!

ᯓ★ sylus

╰┈➤ ° ᡣ𐭩 . ° . headcanon! sylus' type

cw; sweet sylus, swearing

he really doesn't give a fuck if you're tall or short

the same with weight

he would carry you in his arms no matter what

he would find it interesting if your native language is not known to him

„I have no clue what you're saying sweetheart but I hope they're all good things” and the characteristic smirk

this man would love to have a talkative partner, his job and life aren't so sweet & cute so having a private yapper would be a nice thing

tbh he doesn't really think about the physical appearance of their „future” partner

I would even say that until he met you he hadn't thought about it sm

sylus wants someone who will trust him 100% and be honest with him

at the beginning he could have some kind of trust issues, maybe he would even try to push you away when things started getting serious

despite being a dominant flirty guy he really likes intelligent people, I don't think he would fall for someone only bc of their looks, they have to be somehow interesting in his eyes

he wants a partner that sees him for who he is, not like a walking wallet or dangerous leader of onychinus

deep in the heart he wishes for someone who would appreciate all of him, not only the dominant/bossy/sarcastic side. someone who would love him even on his bad days and with who he doesn't need to be always the „strong one”

what can I say, falling in love would be the most unexpected thing for him

you're insecure? he would do anything to make you feel better

„that's because you never had a professional stylist who designed special clothes for you sweetie. your body looks amazing and those will accent that” or „I don't think that this personality trait is so bad, it also has good sides or at least in your case it isn't that bad, we can work on it if you want this”

he would try to change his negative traits to become a better partner and wants the same from you (he'd love to have a great communication between you two cuz he knows that due to your differences in life you can have a different perspective)

he would try to help you if you're mentally struggling; finding the best therapist, buying all the necessary stuff, spending time with you, everything.

THIS MAN LITERALLY DOESN'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT MOST OF THINGS. HE JUST WANTS A PARTNER WHO WOULD COMMUNICATE PROPERLY AND WON'T BE FAKE

[littlelostmoth]

The Final Double Exposure Post

Okay, the game is out now and just wanted to share some final thoughts about Double Exposure and the big problems with it. All spoilers below the cut.

Ultimately, even outside of the brutal murder of Pricefield, gaming's most classic wlw couple, the game is just very poorly written. This post will acknowledge that breaking up Pricefield is terrible writing and they do not do it in a way that makes any remote sense whatsoever. While everyone can sit and say "It makes sense they broke up," it didn't. These characters are characters, ones designed to tell a story. Characters who exist as a bright spot for sapphic and queer people playing video games in 2015.

It's the same thinking as everyone used to say "Well if Nathan just had therapy, he'd be better." And to which it would be answered, "No shit, maybe he would have been better with therapy, but it's a story and he rejected going so no he didn't get better and won't get better because that's not the point of the story." Point being, you can self-justify the Pricefield break up with real world logic all you want, but the fact that even Dontnod is sad about the state of it should be telling. That in addition to the leaks about Square hating Chloe and the D9 narrative team hating her, and it was not done as a good faith way to tell a story. Ultimately, the game encourages you to choose the "Kill Chloe" ending of the original game so that Max can retain her memories of her in a pure way, while also removing her from story. If you choose what the D9 devs believe is the morally evil choice, you get horrible Chloe.

There is SOME good stuff in here, but it's not enough to justify the game's existence. Here are the short amount of pros we compiled for the game: the music is well done, the environments are very nice, and the side characters are fine for the most part.

That's it. Everything else is a con: the story, the handling of Max and Safi as characters, the entire mystery of the game basically being shafted in favor of... making the most important thing about Life is Strange the superpowers. It just seems like this game misunderstands what Life is Strange is or was at any point.

Max is so horribly out of character in this game. Why? Why does she do the things she does? Sometimes she feels like a natural adult version of the original game's Max, while other times she's overly horny to the Nth degree. Max has the ability to cheat on her two love interests, and both love interests reject her in the appropriate timelines of pursuance. Within the text of the game, she uses her powers to circumvent the fact that they've rejected her.

Remember the original game's ending? Nightmare!Max accuses Max of selfishly using her powers to manipulate others to her own selfish end. Ultimately, we're left with the fact that Max used her powers to help get others to like her because she didn't have many friends and was a target of bullying. It's morally dubious, but she wasn't doing any of it for like selfish personal gain. It was an extension of her anxiety.

This game goes around this and makes Max purposefully use her powers for selfish gain. The entire first game revolved around the concept of whether or not she was using it for selfish gain. She wasn't. Now the game forces Max to go through the same exact arc, but this time she is actively being awful instead. Not only cheating, but using it to get around being actively romantically rejected.

Then there's how the game handles its story. Like what the hell is going on here? How does any of it make sense. Spoilers again, but the mastermind is Safi, and Safi is a shapeshifter. She wants to take over with world with Max and collect her own superhumans to form a what? A Legion of Doom? Why? Why is Safi a villain? Her villain arc literally comes out of nowhere and the game does little to sell how she goes from wanting a book deal in the beginning to "I have godlike powers, let's take over the world together." Like honey, WHAT? WHY? And the fact the final choice is to join or refuse her??? LIKE WHAT? WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? WHY WOULD MAX, WHO EITHER HAD TO MAKE THE CHOICE TO SACRIFICE A TOWN OR HER LOVED ONE AND IS ETERNALLY TORMENTED OVER BOTH... SUDDENLY ONBOARD WITH BECOMING JUST A GENERIC EVIL GIRL?

And that's it??? Nothing else in the game matters. The romances go nowhere, thus making breaking up with Chloe pointless since it's not like the game allows Max to pursue a relationship seriously any further. Or just the mere fact she's shitty for doing so. None of the plot points of this game matter, and the mystery the game is built on doesn't matter.

It's like... Here's a murder mystery! Without the murder or the mystery! And then... the game just ends. It just ceases to exist and stops without any sort of... ending that feels satisfying. We get an AVENGERS LEVEL END SCREEN OF "MAX CAULFIELD WILL RETURN."

We think about the endings to the other game's endings. They all have some sort of conclusion that feels like its own self contained experience. You get this long and depressing ending of Chloe dying and her funeral... You get this wistful drive out of Arcadia Bay as Obstacles plays. You get Sean surrendering himself to the police so Daniel can live to grow old and not suffer for the sins of those older than him, and how Sean comes out after. You get to see how Chloe and Rachel grow as time passes to the first game. You get to see how Alex chooses to live her life on her own terms after so long of feeling like she was trapped. You get all of these different endings for the game and here you get... what amounts to the exact same ending depending on your choice which is to be horribly evil supervillain when the time comes or not, and then sequel bait with Diamond and Safi. Why? Why does she have a bleed from her nose? Since when did that become a common occurrence for superpowers? Or storms when powers are overused along with nightmares?

In the original game, the nosebleeds are a result of Max twists reality around her as the epicenter. It's the physical damage she gets for what her powers are physically doing to existence. The storm? The point is, we don't know why the storm comes.

When did Life is Strange become about superpowers and taking over the world? When did it become all of these things? Like True Colors isn't a perfect game by any means, but for fuck's sake it at least knew the scale of what a Life is Strange game should be. Small town mysteries with a colorful cast we love and hate. To this day, I still think that the Jed stuff is some of the most morally fascinating questions to be raised in the franchise. To have that final choice be to either forgive him or not? It's an incredible final choice that is so intertwined with the game's themes. To leave or to stay afterwards? They're both extremely meaningful, dual choices.

This game does nothing. That's ultimately it. What did we gain from Double Exposure? Nothing. It doesn't continue Max's character in any meaningful way. It does little to build upon the actual lore of the original game. It doesn't actually use any original characters except Chloe and that's solely to drive it in how much they despise her from a writing perspective.

Regardless of how well each game did at telling their stories... They all had something meaningful to say in some way. Even if Before the Storm is not a game that I'd necessarily say is amazing, there is some thought and thematic purpose put to that game. It's still 1000 times the game this will ever be.

When I was first exposed to the game's ending... the emotion I felt was pure and raw bafflement. Not anger. Not sadness. Bafflement and bewilderment. I had no idea what the fuck I just played or what I gained from it? What does Max as a character gain from this story? What do any of the characters in this game gain from the story? Nothing. The game starts and then it ends. And we all gained absolutely nothing from the experience. (And in BtS the ending is fine, because it's a prequel that has to have a clearly defined ending to lead into the first game. You can't break Chloe and Rachel's relationship, it always has to be what it is.)

For a long time I really hated the Life is Strange comics. It felt like a kick in the head to the original game's story. But then after it ended and this came out, we can view it as a more honest and genuine follow up to the games as opposed to... whatever we got here.

The comics focus heavily on Max's perceived guilt over what happened to Arcadia Bay. She comes to believe that she, herself, is the problem in reality. That she makes everyone around her unhappy, including Chloe. While Chloe reassures her this is not true... she ends up displaced and removed from reality... and punishes herself by sending her to a world where Chloe is happy with Rachel.

The rest of the story is Max and Chloe apart for years, as Max wrestles with her guilt... while Chloe waits for her. Chloe waits and knows Max is out there still. Max eventually realizes how wrong she was after self-reflection and being around the alt!Chloe and Rachel helps her realize she was wrong.

Chloe builds them a home.

Chloe comes to move past her own grief, just as Max did.

Chloe helps rebuild Arcadia with her own hands. She decides she has a home. This town, with Max. And then they're together... And that's what matters because... like Michel said: "They have each other."

And that is what Life is Strange was about. These two young women, who were best friends... they grew apart through tragedy and life circumstances... And then they found each other again, fell in love, and even in tragedy had one another to rely on.

I am who I am because of Life is Strange.

I met the love of my life because of Life is Strange.

And no matter how bad Double Exposure is... It can't take away Life is Strange, Max, or Chloe from me.

No.

It can't take them away from us. From all of us who cared enough to stick around this funny little 20$ adventure game from a decade ago.

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

I have a concept in my head of season 3 of OFMD being like...Ed needs to learn to be bad at things, and Stede needs to get used to being good at things.

It's going to be a huge adjustment for Ed, I think. He is so accustomed to this sort of massive success where he must be hyper-competent at absolutely everything that the learning curve is going to hit him hard. He's going to have crying breakdowns because he didn't manage to properly seal the roof on his first try. He's going to realize that it was maybe a bit ambitious to decide he wanted his first ever woodworking project to be intricately carving designs into the baseboard. He's going to have to learn that it's okay not to have an angle, and he's safe to just go out and fish not because he Needs that to be something he's Amazing at, literally life-or-death stakes, but just because it's something he enjoys.

And Stede. Oh boy. Stede is so used to being seen as a failure that it's integral to his self-perception, and at this point he's just accepted that Stede Bonnet Is A Failure. In some ways, this is actually going to help - Stede's used to trying, fucking up, and then trying again better. He's used to having to improvise and think on the go. In that way, he's a perfect fit for Ed's struggles, because he'll tackle all those little homemaking tasks with unfettered enthusiasm and a willingness to try and fail until he gets it right.

But because Stede is so convinced that he's a fuckup, he tends to just passively accept blame for everything. He won't even defend himself. Ed in s2 is already getting so much better about being able to put his fears and worries on the table, and if Stede is just blaming himself for everything, it's going to quickly become very one-sided. Ed's had a lot more growth here than Stede has, and getting feelings out of Stede will be like pulling teeth. I can easily see Ed starting to worry that Stede just isn't listening to him, and getting annoyed when Stede clearly doesn't like the furniture they picked for the living room even though he said it was fine. Stede's going to just roll over on most domestic squabbles and spats because he just assumes that Ed's right and he's wrong, and eventually Ed's going to catch on and worry that Stede just doesn't want to talk with him and compromise. When Stede just accepts full blame for things and assumes he's entirely at fault, it also means he's denying Ed needed explanations for why he did or said certain things.

I can so easily see the main challenge of the season being that Ed is ready to get married, he's excited to make this commitment, he knows they're it for each other and he wants this. Their wedding was super clearly foreshadowed, it's something Ed clearly wants very deeply. But Stede's first marriage was such a disaster, and he felt like a failure of a husband, and he's going to be terrified of that happening again. And that's just going to build and build until something gives and Stede realizes that he's hurting Ed by just assuming ahead of time that Stede is going to be a failure of a husband to him.

Just...Ed getting to learn that he's okay to not be perfect at everything he does, and the world won't fall apart around him. Stede slowly starting to see that he's genuinely not fundamentally a fuck-up, and he needs to have a little faith in himself for his relationship with Ed to be healthy. And both of them getting to be secure in knowing that they've got the other right there with them for support the whole way.

[sirianasims]

The Don Diaries

Don will not have time to correct this mistake and tell Dani how he feels though - because Kyle Kyleson, Slacker Extraordinaire, has arrived! *cool electric guitar riff plays in the distance*

Dani is immediately smitten and OH HI MIRACLE.

And also HI GRACIE. Man, all of Don's past mistakes are out in force today.

Kyle and Dani are hitting it off though. Kyle is perfect - he's got the physique of Don but not the personality or issues of Don. Great choice, Dani.

Uh, Don? What are you coming out here for?

DON THIS IS NOT THE TIME NOR PLACE AND IT NEVER WILL BE

Fucking hell, Don. You're in love with her, just talk to her about it like a normal person.

Oh, wait, that's right - you can't. You fucked it up, Don. It's too late. Go back inside and call Cali Girl.

I don't know who at EA designed Kyle but they had a sense of humor. He's a lazy slacker who will randomly call you and pretend he's a long lost friend who needs to crash at your place for a while, but one of his traits is Genius. Talk about an underachiever.

Dani immediately invites the buff himbo upstairs under the guise of teaching him how phones work or something. Or maybe she's trying to prove some sort of point to Don.

Don knows very well what is about to happen in Dani's room, so he goes to finish his latest dating app and leaves Herbert to supervise Matteo's lunch for a moment.

As Don predicted, Dani is about to get to know Kyle a lot better.

And so, while Don rocks the dating world with yet another hook-up app...

... Kyle also rocks Dani's world.

Don tries to keep his distance to Dani after this. Has he truly lost her for good?

Maybe there is such a thing as too little, too late.

Don't think I can't see you, Bob. I've given up on you. I hope you're suitably ashamed.

HELP US HERBERT YOU'RE OUR ONLY HOPE

[markrosewater]

The G/R color identity beast legendary (Baloth by the looks of it) in Foundations/Jumpstart, Slinza, screams "this could have been a legendary Kavu" in a way that whispers "WotC isn't ever giving us Kavu support, they're going to get the same treatment as Cephalids and Viashino as WotC culls most of their unique creature types in favor of generic types and any statements to the contrary are dishonest".

In years past, when you were asked on your blog about Kavu getting more print and being fleshed out as a kindred mechanical identity in addition to their clear lore/flavor identity, you pointed out correctly that they only exist on Dominaria and we'd have to return there to see more.

When we did go back Kavu were clearly shown as being present on the world still, even integrated into Yavimaya Elven society. But there were more cards showing/mentioning Kavu than there were actual Kavu cards; the Kavu that were printed in Dominaria were direct call backs to popular nostalgic Kavu from Invasion block like Titan or FTK, so it's clear WotC knows they have an unique identity and were popular/impactful when first introduced. And yet they still felt like afterthoughts, and their presence on Dominaria in the lore included just as a nod, or maybe a hedge so they were set up as being present if WotC wanted to tap them later.

The next time we went back to Dominaria, people asked about Kavu again and again there were ~3 printed, none with any intra-type synergies or support and no legendary. I think this stung a bit more because the plot of story at the time involved another outright Phyrexian invasion of Dominaria, which canonical was the reason the Kavu kicked into high gear and started flooding the surface of Dominaria. This is also true of following sets covering the Phyrexian multiverse invasion. So the fact they weren't a prominent creature type in multiple sequential sets that presented clear in world rationale for them being not just present, but everywhere, felt disappointing and felt like Kavu were just going to be ignored in favor of more generic fantasy creature types with wider appeal and better profit potential.

Given the near completely lack of Kavu printed when you had the opportunity to, and the lack of *any* kindred synergies on any Kavu that has been printed since returning to Dominaria, it feels like w/e you've said in your answers here before, the truth is WotC just isn't interested in fleshing out Kavu mechanical identities or designing legendaries for them. That WotC would prefer if players just forgot about them because you're just going to print beasts from now on. I have loved Kavu since seeing them in Invasion and I know I'm not the only player that feels that way. I personally think WotC is overlooking a free win with long time players in terms of nostalgia and food will, etc, by repeatedly making the conscious choice to not flesh out an existing Magic IP unique creature type.

And that's disappointing. But I'd rather have someone be *honest* with me about something and be disappointed with the answer than be strung along with dishonest or misleading "maybe :)"(s) and "we'll see te-he"(s) because you don't want to deliver a feel bad answers. Being told maybe when the answer is no, over and over, is far more feel bad, and only adds to the overall player perception of erosion of good faith and good will by WotC.

We're not anti-Kavu. We're just not looking to make every slot that could possibly be a Kavu, be a Kavu. We will make them now and then when appropriate, but it's something we do in moderation. There is no Kavu ill will.

[h3lfaerie]

Random: "I'm just saying, Hiccup Haddock wouldn't be muscular."

Me: *cracks knuckles and puts on glasses* Let's do this shit.

---

*AHEM*

Okay, first of all.

Nutrition.

As we all probably know, the more nutrients and the better food you get when you are a child the more fit and taller you will grow as an adult. Usually. Now looking at How To Train Your Dragon, consider that Hiccup was very short and scrawny when Berk was still being attacked by dragons. And then once the dragons stopped attacking and the village suddenly had more food instead of it being stolen all the time, Hiccup went from scrawny and tiny to a WHOPPING SIX FOOT TWO.

And yes, that is his actual height in the last two movies.

And that is largely on relatively little sun and poor nutrients from limited amounts of grains and meats and root vegetables (plus mildew's cabbage).

Training.

Whether you have watched Race To The Edge or not, you know this little shit can fight. Good. You think you get that sort of technique by not spending arduous amounts of time in the sparring ring?

While Hiccup is definitely more strategic in his fighting style as opposed to people like Astrid and Heather (who are both distinctly heavy-handed imo), he is agile as fuck... and highly proficient with a range of weapons (largely leaning towards swordsmanship). One, that takes years of practice, two he's doing it with a prosthetic leg. Consider the amount of pain and hindrance that would cause him throughout training. He is literally disabled. He needs to work twice as hard. His pain tolerance alone would be through the roof.

Sparring-wise the constant footwork and quick directional changes would vastly improve his balance and leg strength, while wielding a sword would build his shoulder, arm, and core muscles.

In addition, the need for precise strikes and defensive maneuvers refines hand-eye coordination and grip strength, which would explain why he is such a good shot with things like his shield-crossbow contraption. And also sparring develops cardiovascular endurance due to the rapid movements and bursts of action, in other words - stamina. He's got plenty. He worked for that.

Now, here you may probably think "But his design for the Inferno is hollow. Isn't that because he can't lift a sword?"

NOPE.

That design was entirely afforded to him by Viggo Grimborn in Race to the Edge. It was a strategic decision.

Have you SEEN the prototype of that thing:

Like first of all that is VIOLENT. That is a serrated blade. It's meant to GUT people. (Go on and tell me Hiccup doesn't have anger issues, I dare you.)

Secondly, I'd argue that has more metal than a normal sword.

And thirdly concrete proof of Hiccup's physical strength can be seen in the following moments (I wish I had GIFs, I'm sorry I do not. Those are all moments from RTTE):

Exhibit A:

Knocks Astrid off her feet during sparring.

Exhibit B:

Knocks Savage off his feet while being chased.

Exhibit C:

Catches AND STOPS an axe going for his head held by someone thrice his size.

Exhibit D:

Knocks Snotlout's tooth out with his non-dominant hand.

Excibit E:

KNOCKS TOOTHLESS (A WHOLE ASS DRAGON) OFF A FUCKING CLIFF BY HIMSELF.

Shall I go on?

Blacksmithing.

Blacksmithing is a highly physical craft that builds strength, endurance, and coordination. Hammering hot metal requires po-wer-ful arm, shoulder, and chest muscles. Lifting and maneuvering heavy materials cannot NOT strengthen your back and stomach if you've been doing it for weeks, let alone years.

Also, the repetitive swinging motion of the hammer builds forearm and grip strength, which is essential for control and precision. And working in the heat of a forge is ... For one, a glorious sweaty bonus, for two, it basically serves as a sauna after an excruciating amount of physical labour. Ever wondered why people go to a sauna after a workout? The heat can help repair muscles that were damaged by exercise and it can reset your thermoregulation thresholds. In other words, hot temperatures feel less severe. And I wonder why HE of all people, would be in need of THAT.

TLDR; Blacksmithing is a FULL-BODY workout that not only builds physical resilience but also sharpens mental focus and discipline.

And Hiccup started doing it as a CHILD.

As a substitute for dragon killing.

And last but not least (in fact probably the most important).

DRAGON RIDING.

Have you ever been on a horse? Have you ever seen equestrians? I'm really grateful to have had the privilege to ride a horse and let me tell you ... The strength and balance that requires is immeasurable.

-> Core strength.

The constant flexing and contracting required to stay balanced in the saddle works your core muscles like there's no tomorrow, including your abs and obliques.

-> Inner thighs and pelvic muscles.

Speaking of maintaining-your-balance-and position-while-riding... it destroys your inner thighs and pelvic muscles. Can confirm you walk like a penguin afterwards. It's grueling.

-> (I'm not gonna include the posture and trunk exterior muscles here because Hiccup rides like a hunch-back, therefore those benefits would not be applicable to him, the lil' gremlin.)

And lastly, staying in that saddle is NOT easy. You need to have built your body in a certain way to keep your seat if you want to move onto galloping (much like a dancer can't go en-pointe until they've strengthened their ankles). Until then, you're stuck with trotting for weeks. And trust me it still leaves you sore.

TLDR; Horse riding can: improve your balance and coordination, increase your flexibility, burn over 400 calories per hour, serve as yet another FULL-BODY workout, and improve your reflexes.

Now change that to dragon riding.

Now change that to riding canonically the fastest, smartest, and rarest of the known species of dragons in this universe?

Just the FACT our boy wasn't done flung off in that Test Drive Scene in HTTYD 1 is a cause for a standing ovation.

In conclusion:

Realistically, Hiccup Haddock wouldn't be a fishbone. HE WOULD NOT BE BULKY EITHER. THAT IS AN ATROCITY.

But considering all that we've listed, if you wanted to consider realistic expectations given his levels of physical activity, nutrition, and his growth spurt in response to that, he would, at the very least, be tall as fuck, and absolutely built.

And as a bonus: Have you seen his parents? The genetics are THERE.

THAT SAID, everyone's allowed to have fun with Hiccup's design! That's just my interpretation. It does not and should not invalidate anyone else's.

I'm well aware that Hiccup Haddock is a huge representation for the disabled community. Particularly those with chronic illness, neurodiveristy and limb difference. So, I'd like to finish this off with: I simply decided to go on a deep-dive, but really it's not that deep. This was just the result of my three-hours-long hyperfixation.

We love all and any renditions of Hiccup Haddock the Third, because is just that lovable.

If you disagree with mine, that is absolutely okay ❤️

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[fanfic-scribbles]

Spooky Scary

Fandom: MCU Captain America/Avengers

Summary: Bucky tries to bond with you over your love of horror. It goes well, just...not how you'd expect.

Quick facts: Romance – Bucky Barnes/Reader – Nondescript Reader

Warnings: Reader loves horror but is also scared of it, short and very fluffy

MCU Timeline: Set some nebulous time after CA:TWS

Words: 1226

A/N: Please enjoy this short piece of Halloween fluff. For regular readers: I am having a bit of A Time right now and I don’t know if I’ll be able to update in November. I’m a little bummed; I’m very proud of having been able to keep my monthly update schedule, but I’ll be traveling for Thanksgiving this year and I recently had a set back that hit pretty hard. So right now I’m thinking I’ll take November off, *maybe* December if I have to, but we’ll see when we see. Nothing is abandoned, I just need a minute, so enjoy what’s here in the meantime, and I will see you later <3

~

You are on a date (not a date) with your crush (best friend) right now (right now!) and you are terrified.

In more ways than just one.

~

“You’re okay with a haunted house?” you ask, looking over the advertising placard. The overall layout is very ‘graphic design is my passion,’ but some of the photos look…unsettlingly good.

“It won’t bother me,” Bucky says with absolute confidence. “Clint says I’ll be fine. Something about the makeup being good but overall it’s pretty cheesy.”

~

You don’t know what you did to Clint, but a few Robin Hood jokes are not enough to warrant this.

A gruesome Jack-in-the-box pops out, telegraphed from a hallway down, and yet you still jump. You’re glad you picked Bucky’s left arm to grab– hopefully it isn’t pressure sensitive.

“You all right?” Bucky chuckles, his breath in your ear. Despite the ‘blood’-stained, grimy hall, you relax a little, and even smile at him.

“Doing great,” you lie.

You have a reputation. A deserved one, admittedly– you love Halloween. Horror movies and the macabre are for year-round, in your opinion, but there’s something about the energy in October that just makes it even better. Your friends know this.

They don’t know that you’re actually kind of a scaredy-cat.

So, yeah, horror movies are great– on a screen, when you’re alone at home and no one can see you flinch, jump, or peek out between your fingers.

Or gasp and jump out of your skin when a shadow runs past your open side. You’re gripping Bucky’s arm hard enough your hands hurt, but it’s also kind of…thrilling, being able to be so close to him. Or rather, being forced to, even if only by your own nerves. You might need some help unlatching your fingers by the end of the night.

But Clint, via Bucky, was right– the scene work could be better, you think, but maybe that’s a good thing, because the actors are great, in costume and performance, with one of the most terrifying being a woman following alongside you, unnoticed until the perfect moment. But no one comes close to touching you, and it doesn’t hurt that you’re in the company of someone who could stare down Jason and punch out a Xenomorph, so you actually start enjoying yourself.

You’re so distracted by everything that you completely miss what’s going on with Bucky– until he gently bumps your side and you jump almost clear off the floor. He lets out a heavy sigh and jerks his head up at a sign. You have to squint a bit, but you make out one of the exits, and after a few seconds, it clicks. Bucky needs to leave.

Just like that, you snap into crisis management mode, like any time you’re out and Bucky has a bad moment. It doesn’t happen too often, but you know how to handle it: get to a safer spot, wait a minute for him to calm, and if he can’t, walk him home.

Easy peasy, but when you get out and to the side of the building, Bucky turns and looks…fine. Composed.

“What’s wrong?” you ask. He looks surprised by the question, and he looks you over. And then he goes quiet– thinking, you assume. It takes him a little longer, sometimes, to figure out how to speak his thoughts. Right now, he’s looking a little frustrated, and nothing’s coming out.

“It’s okay,” you say and squeeze his hand. Thankfully, he squeezes back. “Take your time. You wanna get dinner?”

He hesitates, nods, and leads the way– still firmly holding your hand.

~

“I’m sorry.”

You’re halfway through a bite of pizza when he speaks again. And maybe it’s a good thing your mouth is full, because it gives you time to think about what he might mean. Then you realize– he must be talking about the haunted house. In your rush to swallow and reassure him, you almost choke. He immediately leans over to hit your back, but you manage to get it all down, and you take a quick sip of your drink before you say, “There’s nothing to be sorry about. I told you– if you ever need to leave a place, then we leave. Simple as that.”

He squints like he doesn’t understand. “You needed to leave,” he says, like he’s explaining to you. “You were scared.”

You duck your head. “It was a haunted house,” you say. Mumble. “The makeup was really good, and so were the actors.” You can feel him staring at you still, so you admit, “I’ve never been to a haunted house before.”

Bucky blinks. “But you love Halloween,” he says, almost accusingly.

“I do!” you say. “I love Halloween, and scary movies, and scary things…because they’re scary.”

It’s your first time admitting that out loud. You’re not ashamed, necessarily, but the way Bucky looks at you makes you wonder if you should be. “You like being scared?” he says.

“Sort of.” You push at your crust. “I know it’s not dignified, and you guys are really brave, and maybe you’ll think less of me, but–”

“It’s not that, and no I won’t, it’s just…” He rests his head in his hand and watches you. “I never knew that. That the stuff you like actually scares you.”

“It’s a safe kind of scared. Like roller coasters– scary, but I know I’ll be okay in the end.” You match his gaze. “But yeah, not exactly something to brag about, and I know you don’t like horror movies.”

“Yeah.” He ducks his head. “But I wanted to spend some time with you, and when I was asking for things you might like, it made sense that–” His head snaps up. “Wait, so you didn’t want to–”

“Stop.” You gently rap your knuckles on his forehead. He cracks a smile, ridiculous as the motion is to him, and you smile too. “I don’t really like people seeing me scared, so I don’t do anything that might make me jumpy in public,” you say. “I’m glad I got to try it though. It was kind of fun.”

“And I made you leave,” he huffs, the smile fading.

“I think it was sweet, that you were keeping an eye on me,” you say. “Though I was probably denting your arm by how hard I was squeezing.”

“I didn’t mind,” he mutters.

It’s your turn to blink. “…Really?” you ask. You like to think that maybe things have been a little flirty from time to time. Natasha certainly thinks so, and acts long-suffering about it, but you’ve never had anything concrete. Now, though, Bucky looks a little shy, and then he…nods.

“Well…” You creep your hand forward on the table, and when he takes it, you dare to hope this is different. “I have plenty of Halloween movies that aren’t horror. Ones that are just fun.”

“Yeah?” He runs his thumb over the back of your hand. “Can I have you on my other arm?”

Your mouth curls into a smile. “You sure you want me clinging?”

He stands, and crooks his arm in your direction. “I can take it,” he says.

You stand, and slip your arm into his. You won’t pick anything that would upset Bucky, but it wouldn’t hurt to find something with at least one good jumpscare. Just for fun.

[always---wrong]

I think I know why I like Greek Mythology so much. It's one of the only religions that I know of where all the godly beings are very obviously nuerodivergent.

The greeks knew it too. They knew they're godly deities were weird as fuck. Their godly deities who could look just like their neighbor or their doctor or someone they pass in the street.

The gods in Greek mythology are so human, especially compared to other religions at the time. It was the first one that designed its gods on humans, one of the first ones where it was okay to laugh at the funny situations the gods got themselves in. The only religion at the time where, though if you got them angry they may kill your entire family, you could interact and be friendly with them.

They were so human. They had a home, a place to live. They went to parties and had their hobbies.

On top of it all, the Olympians are the embodiment of a crazy dysfunctional family. They are a mess, from the cheating husband (and fucking weirdo) in Zeus, to the bitter and jealous wife in Hera. They have kids (mostly Zeus) some who Zeus likes and some where he could literally couldn't care less. There's scandals and messy situation ships. There are betrayals and tragedies. The gods all have their different morals and lines they won't cross and it depends on which god.

They're based on humans. They are so human. (Which is something I don't see often in religions at all and it heals some part of my religious trauma) Yet, they are also weird as fuck, in ways that I find familiar.

They each have their special little things. Things that they care about a mighty deal. Things that are specific especially to them.

Ares with his fighting and war. Hephaestus with his creations and the forge. Hera and her single-mind on Zeus and his disloyalty- that woman is relentless on those poor mistresses. Poseidon and his odd love of horses and other things. Apollo and his music.

It's almost like those things that they focus solely on is some kind of... Special interest perhaps?

It's also the way the act and react to things. They will take things that are said or done that seem small and trivial to another person and blow it up. They will get really upset and make it a whole ordeal.

Like when Athena made a flute and was laughed at cause blowing into it made her look funny so she freaking cursed the flute and it's next player with a terrible fate and threw it off the mountain for no good reason. Or when someone found that flute they played it so well that the bragged that they would even be better than Apollo so he came down, challenged them and then SKINNED them alive after he won. Like dude, calm down.

And I haven't even gotten into how Rick Riordan characterizes them cause I have never seen so many neurodivergent characters in one place then I do in those books. Like, all the campers are neurodivergent because they are demigods, heavy on the god. They got their neurodivergences from them right so it stands to reason that they are also neurodivergent.

Anywayyyyy,

Im reading a Greek mythology textbook right now so I'm going to continue this train of thought as I keep reading but so far, from what I can tell, these fuckers are soooooo nuerodivergent. Argue with a wall if you disagree

[mymanyfandomramblings]

For TOH:

Which is your fav character?

What do you think of Belos as a villain?

How does TOH compare to Amphibia and Gravity Falls in how it handles it themes and character arcs?

What are some things TOH could have done better?

Which is your fav character?

Gus! Closely followed by Willow and then Hunter. Honestly, there's very few characters I don't like in this show.

What do you think of Belos as a villain?

He was a great villain, A+ villain design--he was powerful enough to prove a threat, intimidating in design, he had a sense-making motive, but not one that absolves his actions in any way. His defeat could have been done better (couldn't Hunter have been there, instead of Raine--as lovable as Raine is, they had zero thematic reason to be one of the very few characters at the final defeat scene), but Belos is a great villain for the themes.

How does TOH compare to Amphibia and Gravity Falls in how it handles it themes and character arcs?

TOH is a good show, but it is nowhere near as good as the other two shows with handling its characters. It's written as though Dana Terrace was afraid of ambiguity or giving good characters flaws/bad characters strengths. This isn't to say that all the good characters have no flaws, but the show seems scared of actually acknowledging those flaws.

Luz does have an external arc of going from 'naive girl who wants to learn magic' to 'less starry-eyed girl who is very good at magic', but her internal arc doesn't make as much sense--the show seems like it's deconstructing escapist fantasy at the beginning and Luz needing to have an arc about seperating reality for fantasy, but that kind of gets lost along the way, in favour of a 'you're perfect just the way you are and people just need to understand you' arc, and giving her quirks, instead of flaws. Similarly, Odalia is made into a cartoonishly evil character, so that Amity is absolved of all blame for the way she treated Willow, which I think does all three characters--Amity, Willow and Odalia--a disservice. Compare this to Amphibia, which pulls absolutely no punches when it comes to the main characters being horribly flawed and accountable for their actions, or Gravity Falls where the characters flaws very much drive the action, in a way that they don't in TOH.

The other way I think that GF and Amphibia write their characters and themes better than TOH is by making key character moments tie in with their themes. The best example to talk about this through is by comparing Anne's fake death to Luz's. Anne's entire arc has been about one main thing--learning to do the right thing instead of what is easiest--and her main character flaw from the beginning is that she prioritises her own comfort over doing the right thing for herself and for others. Anne sacrifices herself for Amphibia--doing something incredibly hard, but for other people, which is the perfect culmination of everything she's been learning. Luz's fake death results in her becoming the Titan's Chosen One, which contradicts the arc shaping up in S1 where Luz had to learn that there are no Chosen Ones and that the Boiling Isles aren't a fantasy world. To be totally clear, this does make sense as part of her arc--harnessing the power of the Titan is the final piece in Luz truly becoming a witch, but her entire arc is external. Her internal character doesn't significantly change over the course of the show, because it can't because her flaws are all written off as 'quirks' and the show's big thesis is that weird people should be able to be weird. (This is coming across as really complainy, I'm sorry. I promise that I genuinely really enjoyed the show.)

What are some things TOH could have done better?

Write the Blights better. Escaping Expulsion was the best episode for the Blight family dynamic, with Odalia being awful, but not cartoonishly evil; Alador having a conscience but also being a pretty checked-out and neglectful parent, and Amity seeming actually influenced by her mother's influence

On that note--let Amity take at least some accountability for the way she treated Willow

Put finding Phillip Wittebane's diary, Amity's hair-dyeing, and the first Lumity kiss in any episode other than one of the only Gus-centric episodes in the whole show

Allow characters to be more morally grey and let redemption arcs take some time

Reduce King's-ego-trip subplots by AT LEAST 50%. I didn't actually enjoy him all that much until Echoes From The Past because I found his whole trying-to-take-over-the-world shtick a little annoying

I think that's all

Once more, I actually really, really enjoyed the show and had a great time watching it, I just have lots of feedback

[raindropren]

Some Hermit(+rats) sketches(+Plus the rambles I'm required to write about them)!

going from the ones I like the most to the ones that look more like doodles then sketches lolsie

A Joel! I wanted to try my hand at a S!10 Joel! I've been watching him for quite abit now and He's become one of my favorite hermits(an unsurprisingly long list ngl) :3 Also I found the Animator PerryRata a bit ago and I love how skrunkly they draw everyone, especially Joel, lol. I also have a ton of Joel headcanons from back during empires! He's made of clay and he can form his own body like you would a clay sculpture :D It's my headcanon for why his physical body changes without the use of outside "mods" He's also just a funky silly guy, and I really like how I drew this. Also the tanuki headcanons really fun, to me it's more, raccoon, but it can be either at this point :P

A Jevin! I'll admit I haven't watched him much, but I really wanted to try my hand at drawing a slime character who actually,,, like,,, looks like slime,,, instead of,,, really human with slime bits, lol. I also had a certain body type in mind so ya! I have few headcanons for him but I've thought alittle about how his slime body would work in my AU, so that's fun!

A Non-Hermit! A Garbage Rat Oli! Specifically season 2 Rats tho, lol! I very clearly just wanted to try my hand at drawing a rat on two legs, Garbage's very all over the place in the sketch. The lines are messy and that was kinda on purpose(Garbage whole look and personality is messy and I wanted to kinda,,, feel that in the art and design,, lol) also I was completely going from memory at some points :p

A non-hermit! A Rat Shubble! I don't remember what her like, thing was(like the titles most rats seem to have) but I do know she's lovely and I missed her. I was at my sister house, taking a break from craving pumpkins, and thought about the fact that Oli thought she,,, turned into,, a pumpkin, so I decided to draw her lol! I was trying to keep her cuter then Oli, alittle more put together, and I think I conveyed that at least alittle bit, :3 (also her outfits are so easy, Shubble please never change your outfits from the sweater + overall combo, Complicated outfits are my downfall LOL /lh)

A Etho! This was probably one of the better Etho sketches I did while trying to figure out what the hell his design's deal was ;w; I was having a very hard time but I think the eyes saved it on this one, it looks cute compared to some others! lol! also I gave him a little braid for no reason other then "cute!" lolsie

A second Joel! Secret life specially! I just wanted to draw him in a hoodie, I like drawing hoodies :] I'll make a slightly more complicated design later, but I like how he's just, in a hoodie, that season lol

A second Jevin! Frogger time!!! :O It's Jevin in that frog costume(drawn from memory instead of actually looking so it probably looks really wrong lol) I just really wanted to draw him again :]

A Gem! I was drawing newer peeps so I drew gem as like, a easier thing to doodle :'3 Also I had forgotten her hair buns in past sketches,,, oops

A Pearl! This ones much older than the others(as in, It's on the same page as the meme's with Pearl and Tim Drake lol), I just didn't find it good enough to post sadly ;w; It's a first try at Postmaster Pearl, from memory of course xP She's very cute but I don't think I tried even slightly on this one. you can tell cause I forgot a surprising amount.

and, Lastly, two more Etho's! I think these are cute, I'm just not proud of them at all, might not even look like Etho! but I still like them more then some of the others on that page,,,, They're silly, but not very good ;w;

Welp! That's it! I've been basically collecting my mcyt doodles to post, cause I don't deem a sketch or two alone, good enough to post :'] A hand full amount of doodles is enough for me tho, lol.

I'm real glad I've been expanding the number of hermits i've drawn tho! Yippeee!!

[chocottang]

day 4: HALLOWEEEEEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

originally, this was just going to be cami and gold wearing matching customes of a witch and her black cat (got changed to gray because otherwise you wouldn’t see the marks) BUT it snowballed into an au. so if you’re interested in the random lore i made up (+explanations of the drawings), it’s under the cut

okay lets begin with explaining the drawings. so, about the two drawings with the red background: gold has the ability to change to cat form or humanoid form as he desires. he usually stays in cat form out of personal preference (+witches aren’t supposed to have humanoid familiars, i mean its not technically prohibited but it is an extremely weird thing to do) BUT he involuntarily switches to humanoid form while asleep, because it’s his “original” one. he likes falling asleep in cat form though (because he’s stupid) so he can end up in awkward positions.

about the drawing on the left with the purple background: in this world, witches are seen as both dangerous and helpful to people. they can help you with magic, but for a price, and if u don’t pay, you can get your ass cursed, or worse, they are said to also wreck havoc out of rage. because of this, there are certain people who see them as menaces to society and hunt them down: witch hunters! so, witches live in isolation and have a “territory” they oversee to make sure no hunters get near them, and they’re pretty protective of them. i imagine the drawing is what cami and gold would look like before Destroying a hunter. gold usually stays in his cat form though, as he doesn’t really fight unless cami needs the backup. he also can’t do magic (besides his own physical transformation), so he’s just a physical fighter, hence the claws.

about the little gray doodle, it’s just gold thinking about cami. since they’re together all the time in their territory, when they Have to separate to do their own thing, gold misses cami a lot and won’t stop thinking about her. he’s a kitty cat with separation anxiety

the other two drawings were just to figure out their designs and gold’s cat form design

okay lore time. so, gold used to be fully human, but his dad made a deal with a witch and failed to pay his part. as punishment, his firstborn was cursed to become a beast. gold didn’t know the reason why he turned into a beast out of nowhere. he didn’t have a good relationship with his family, and then his dad saw him and wanted to hide him from everyone, and everything became too much, so he ran away while in cat form. aaandd he stumbled into a coven composed of a witch and her pupils, one of which was cami. cami and him got along very well and her professor told her he could be her familiar. gold decides “hey, i have literally nothing better and these people are nice to me while they think i'm a cat so yea sure”. but alas, when he falls asleep he turns back into his humanoid form, and cami is the only one who saw it. gold explained what happened and cami figured out he must’ve been cursed somehow, after some research she figured the exact curse that was put upon him. when gold learned it was all his dad’s fault he was LIVID, and the only way to revert the curse was to complete the deal his dad made. they figured that if they are able to find the witch who cursed him and repay them themselves, they could convince her to lift the curse. thing is, they couldn’t, for the love of god, figure out who it was. with time, gold kinda got used to the curse, so they started working less and less on figuring out how to lift the curse until they kinda just… stopped.

i don’t have a lot on cami, she was a very cold and isolated kid, she didn’t have any friends and her family was Not… Good… she was always interested in magic, so when she had the opportunity, she joined the aforementioned witch coven. it's pretty common for witches to take in girls as pupils, creating the rumor of them “stealing and eating kids”. in reality, they are not kidnapping anyone, they are almost like a refuge for weird little girls. also, when gold and cami met they were like 12, in the present they would be in their early twenties, so they’ve been together for quite some time. and also yes they’re dating. what can you expect from me. 

fun fact: fred and freddy are here! freddy believes fred is the product of some sort of curse, and he goes to cami to try and strike a deal to get rid of fred. cami is sure fred isn’t a curse, so he must be some sort of bound soul, but isn’t sure if fred is a ghost, an angel, or a demon. so now freddy and cami are trying to figure out What The Hell is this guy. fred is not happy at all OBVIOUSLY, he doesn’t want to disappear. i don’t have a whole lot more on them than that (not even i know what the hell fred is lol), but i like the idea of cami sending freddy off to get her some stuff for a ritual they’ll do, while she herself goes get a different item that is way more dangerous to get, and she tasks gold to help freddy so he doesn’t die (and thus doesn’t fulfill his part of the deal (unsure what the deal will be)). gold is NOT happy. he generally hates anyone who isn’t cami, and now he has to be with this guy 24/7 without cami there, while she’s off in a dangerous mission, and he just has to be worried sick about her until they see each other again. he’s not having a good time, he’s very cranky. he does warm up to fred and freddy eventually. when they have to sleep, gold wouldn’t even sleep during the first nights. he would just stare at freddy from the other side of the room because he didn’t trust him enough to fall asleep. then he gets more comfortable (and tired) and starts falling asleep in a couch or just a blanket on the floor. when they become friends, gold would start sleeping at his feet (remember, he falls asleep in cat form, although he turns humanoid while asleep, so sometimes he’d fall asleep before freddy and just look extremely silly all curled up at the end of the bed in humanoid form). also yes freddy eventually realizes he doesn’t want to get rid of fred and they make up.

also golden is here too! him and gold are twins, but gold is the older one, so only he got cursed. when gold disappeared, their father told golden that an evil witch kidnapped gold, and they weren’t able to find him. so golden became a witch hunter LMAO. in freddy’s voyage to get the ritual items, he meets golden and stays at his mansion for some time and its Very Awkward. freddy actually starts believing that maybe cami is Actually Evil and kidnapped and cursed gold. but no, and gold does tell him, when he feels like it, because he’s a cat and he does things only when he wants to. gold will tell golden eventually, well, rather than “tell” he’ll turn into humanoid form so golden sees him and goes “holy shit that’s my brother” and THEN tell him what happened. idk when or how but i’m cooking, maybe. i also want golden and cami to meet because i think it would be funny, golden would definitely hate her at first. cami would just look at him and be like “wow you look like gold but less cute. have u tried using bells?” (she gave gold those bells cuz she thinks they look cute) 😭

i want to add the rest of the characters too, at least the animatronics and villains, sooo maybe ill post more about this au? idk

i think that’s all the rambling i have LOL happy halloween i guess? does this count as halloween themed? halloween themed au? if you’ve read all of this thank you. i love you. i hope you have a great day and fhs week

[quibbs126]

Season 4 was peak Garmadon in my opinion

[tubbytarchia]

got an urge to design ponies oops

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Bonus 8: How met your mother (CSSR design by @qourmet!)

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[paintedcrows]

Assorted Gravity Falls doodles!

[shiraoyagi]

hot take ??

the only reason people say that "mafuyu and tsukasa have nothing in common" when presented with mafukasa parallels is because they equate mafuyu and tsukasa being similar to "tsukasa has depression" because the fandom equates mafuyu's personality to being depressed and nothing else.

it doesn't help that people (primarily younger people in the fandom) who DO believe in mafukasa parallels end up making the mistake of portraying tsukasa as depressed because as of right now he is not (although it's possible he was in past because of his Very Unclear Middle School Backstory but that's irrelevant)

anyways, mafuyu and tsukasa are narrative foils because their core personalities are built off of the concept of wanting to make the people around them— especially their families— happy.

they both developed personalities at a young age based on someone they looked up to. for tsukasa, it was seiichi amami's performance that inspired him to be a star— a hero that could cheer anyone up. for mafuyu, it was her mother taking care of her that inspired her to be a nurse— and you can see the similarities from there.

for mafuyu, her identity would first come into conflict when her mother expressed her want for mafuyu to be a doctor— suddenly, "everyone's" happiness didn't match what she wanted to do, leaving her in a state of disorder and eventual depression.

for tsukasa, his identity was something he nearly forgot in its entirety at the start of the main story— becoming arrogant and fully absorbed in a hero persona, forgetting the kind person he truly is. furthermore, his current character arc seems to be foreshadowing that what "being a star" to him is going to be called into question— maybe it is something more than just being the main character that saves everyone.

their insecurities are incredibly similar.

in mafuyu's first mixed, mafuyu feels insecure towards ichika because unlike ichika, she feels as if her lyrics have no genuine meaning to be expressed to other people— despite them being her very real feelings. this is brought up again in her second mixed as well.

in tsukasa's third focus event, something similar happens. when watching seiichi's performance, he thinks that his acting is "real" and feels inferior towards him, which is ironic because tsukasa has been method acting this whole time. when tsukasa is acting out rio or bartlett or really anyone at this point in the story, it's not just those characters— it's a reflection of his traumas.

just like mafuyu, tsukasa undermines his passions he's poured his feelings into because someone else's work is more genuine in his eyes.

now, then, foils have many similarities and parallels (and i could honestly list a lot more), but how i define them is that they usually have some kind of major branching difference that MAKES them foils.

for mafuyu and tsukasa it's pretty straightforward.

mafuyu's people pleasing behavior comes from external expectations and pressures— her mother's demands.

tsukasa's people pleasing behavior comes internally, from himself— if he can't meet his own standards, if he can't be the perfect big brother or the perfect star, then he is nothing.

and even then, there's some overlap.

tsukasa's behavior was indirectly encouraged by his mother praising him for being a "good big brother" over the phone instead of asking him if he was okay while home alone.

mafuyu's terrified to be herself around other people because she doesn't want to worry or bother them— she doesn't want to be a burden— and projects her mother's expectations onto them, not realizing that they would prefer the real mafuyu if they knew the truth.

and the concept of mafukasa being foils is most perfectly and blatantly portrayed in these two cards.

mafuyu, the marionette, sitting limp on the floor— puppeteered by her mother's demands and donning a mask to hide her true self.

tsukasa, the jester, standing above everything else— puppeteering silenced plushies— his feelings. he's not being completely honest with himself, and he doesn't even realize it.

mafuyu has cut her strings and ripped her mask in half. she has acknowledged her true feelings and expressed them to her mother, even if she had to run away in the end.

tsukasa has not yet cut his.