#and everyone in these settings being morally questionable to put it nicely

[daemon-in-my-head]

PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT BLOODBORNE AU

I knew this would catch one I mean of course I'd gladly talk about the fun AU shenanigans.

I haven't poured as much thought into it yet as I did with the Hellsing AU but I have been pondering where or who would resemble my beloveds closely (and which fits they'd absolutely slay) and so far I've got the following trains of thought (it escalated apologies)

Gortash; kinda split here. On one hand if I talked about an orphan who was recruited into a grand scheme and conducts horrible human experiments under the guise of progress of the human race you couldn't differentiate if I'm talking about a choir member or Gortash, on the other hand he's just giving me massive Laurence vibes. Learning from the previous generation and setting out to do better only to fucking fumble it? Subconsciously (allegedly) fucking over his friend and partner and dooming him to something worse than death? All of that under the misguided belief of progress and stemming from the geniune wish to help out humanity in a very twisted way? Yeah well that's Gortash too. That's very much him. Especially the strong connection to the first Hunters and Gehrman........ On the other hand there's also Micolash but I'm feeling the vibes less with him or the school in general cuz they're rly just scrupulous nerds who fuck around for the fun of it, they don't have that "doing it for the greater good" vibe yk?

Fine; unfortunately (or fortunately?) the same issue that I have with Gortash applies to him too except he'd definitely belong to the non church hunters. Ignoring the fact that Gehrman's lament, for lack of proper title, was a major source of inspiration for that guy, unwillingly getting locked in a horrible situation and lacking all autonomy is just his thing AND the connection with Laurence and Flora? Then again, hunting with purpose and loosing all his reason but still being painfully aware of his familial bonds even in that state aka Father Gascoigne is also very him. Especially the blindfold and recoiling when you play the melody to him.... I mean he sort of shares the same fate as him too so hah. And both have insane fits. How am I meant to make decisions when I have such great choices?

Nil; okay well she's actually easy for once, not only cuz I still have a crush on Lady Maria but a remorseful hunter who actually tries to do good AND presumably the offspring of vilebloods aka very not human creatures who just so happen to have a matriarchy? Seeing the faults in one's way and trying to do better, throwing away bloodstained weaponry as they realise? Yeah that's Nil and I'll take any excuse to stare at Maria's armor for hours on end.

Ketheric; another hard one tbh. He's very Father Gascoigne but also very not him? Like Gascoigne is (presumably) a legitimately nice family guy and Ketheric is decidedly not. On the other hand this "doing what must be done" kinda vibe does apply... Also non of the main factions do apply to him. On second thought though I can see him being associated with the fishing hamlet? Like clinging despreatly to Kos while cursing everyone else for the misfortune they had to experience. Being nothing more than collateral damage on some other maniacs hunt for insight and progress... That does kinda fit I think?

Orin; Fake Iosekfa. Positively delusional but actually getting results done after everyone else fumbled it AND getting fucked over by that random guy who just couldn't stop themselves from barging in and getting involved? The whole impersonation thing? "Artful" human experiments? Yeah I do see her pulling a Josekfa. Also her being vaguely associated with the church but taking their research and running with it is quite similar to her being a Bhaalist but instead of doing it like Durge she returned to the roots of the faith and takes no nonsense from nobody already works well but considering in this case it would be Gort and not Durge associated with the Church this gives the whole thing another level of spice and her dynamic with Gort, who's very similar to her, is notoriously not explored enough so that's an added bonus. Then again unorthodox ways and a lot of resentment is also very vileblood/queen Annalise as is the very "looks human but is absolutely not". And being stuck in a position of presumed power while actually having none whatsoever is also very Orin... Plus I do like her fit.

Yeah so overall still needs a lot of pondering and the only vague sketch I have is Nil my beloved cuz everyone else is just, not there yet.

[eelhound]

"The idea of reforming Omelas is a pleasant idea, to be sure, but it is one that Le Guin herself specifically tells us is not an option. No reform of Omelas is possible — at least, not without destroying Omelas itself:

If the child were brought up into the sunlight out of that vile place, if it were cleaned and fed and comforted, that would be a good thing, indeed; but if it were done, in that day and hour all the prosperity and beauty and delight of Omelas would wither and be destroyed. Those are the terms.

'Those are the terms', indeed. Le Guin’s original story is careful to cast the underlying evil of Omelas as un-addressable — not, as some have suggested, to 'cheat' or create a false dilemma, but as an intentionally insurmountable challenge to the reader. The premise of Omelas feels unfair because it is meant to be unfair. Instead of racing to find a clever solution ('Free the child! Replace it with a robot! Have everyone suffer a little bit instead of one person all at once!'), the reader is forced to consider how they might cope with moral injustice that is so foundational to their very way of life that it cannot be undone. Confronted with the choice to give up your entire way of life or allow someone else to suffer, what do you do? Do you stay and enjoy the fruits of their pain? Or do you reject this devil’s compromise at your own expense, even knowing that it may not even help? And through implication, we are then forced to consider whether we are — at this very moment! — already in exactly this situation. At what cost does our happiness come? And, even more significantly, at whose expense? And what, in fact, can be done? Can anything?

This is the essential and agonizing question that Le Guin poses, and we avoid it at our peril. It’s easy, but thoroughly besides the point, to say — as the narrator of 'The Ones Who Don’t Walk Away' does — that you would simply keep the nice things about Omelas, and work to address the bad. You might as well say that you would solve the trolley problem by putting rockets on the trolley and having it jump over the people tied to the tracks. Le Guin’s challenge is one that can only be resolved by introspection, because the challenge is one levied against the discomforting awareness of our own complicity; to 'reject the premise' is to reject this (all too real) discomfort in favor of empty wish fulfillment. A happy fairytale about the nobility of our imagined efforts against a hypothetical evil profits no one but ourselves (and I would argue that in the long run it robs us as well).

But in addition to being morally evasive, treating Omelas as a puzzle to be solved (or as a piece of straightforward didactic moralism) also flattens the depth of the original story. We are not really meant to understand Le Guin’s 'walking away' as a literal abandonment of a problem, nor as a self-satisfied 'Sounds bad, but I’m outta here', the way Vivier’s response piece or others of its ilk do; rather, it is framed as a rejection of complacency. This is why those who leave are shown not as triumphant heroes, but as harried and desperate fools; hopeless, troubled souls setting forth on a journey that may well be doomed from the start — because isn’t that the fate of most people who set out to fight the injustices they see, and that they cannot help but see once they have been made aware of it? The story is a metaphor, not a math problem, and 'walking away' might just as easily encompass any form of sincere and fully committed struggle against injustice: a lonely, often thankless journey, yet one which is no less essential for its difficulty."

- Kurt Schiller, from "Omelas, Je T'aime." Blood Knife, 8 July 2022.

[xnoctifers-eveningx]

Death Work: Animal Remains

In my practice, I use remains, mainly animal bones, to connect with spirits, connect with Death, and in magical workings. Just recently, I’ve taken 3 more animals under my wing, and I thought it would be nice to detail my process of finding, handling, and working with remains as I actually initiate that process. Beginning first with finding remains and initial contact. As a death worker, I strive to honor the deceased and aid them in their transition, as well as bond with Death and use death and decay in magical practices. I have been doing spirit work for as long as I can remember and have begun learning under a few entities how to properly assist and tend to The Dead. As such this is not a “how-to”, just me sharing my beliefs but I’m open to questions and discussion :)

Finding Remains

If setting out with the intention of finding remains, it’s important to be prepared. It’s not a fun experience finding something and not being able to take it then, only to come back and it’s gone. Nor is it a good idea to grab things barehanded. I always have a bag with me packed with disposable gloves, trash bags/old shopping bags, and a mask (death reeks!). And if you don’t end up finding anything you can pick up any trash you come across !! I also make sure to bring offerings so I can leave them where I find remains, as well as personal ritual items used in funerary rituals. A hagstone has also always seemed to bring me luck on my searches :)

Where animals live, animals will die. Forests, wooded areas, creeks, wetlands, large areas without much human activity. You typically won’t find much in areas with heavy foot traffic or human presence. It’s good to find areas with lots of game trials, typically I find remains a little bit off from them. If the area has a lot of deadfall, fallen leaves, or snow, it’ll be a lot harder to spot remains. I’ve also had a lot of luck finding small bones and fossils on the banks of rivers, ponds, and lakes. Be wary of fresh or actively decaying corpses, there is a lot of bacteria and the animal itself can be carrying diseases. Always use protective gear when handling remains until they are completely sanitized.

Code of Conduct

While everyone holds varying ethical and moral beliefs, there are a few important issues I believe people should be aware of.

It's important to try you're best to not disturb other animals while searching. Respect the living as well as the dead. Personally, I don't hunt or otherwise intentionally kill animals but I understand the use. However, I do believe that the whole animal should be put to use and not left to waste. In death work, more often finding animals dead than not, this translates as never taking things that animals/bugs could eat or that you will not use. Nothing should be thrown away in the trash, I believe it is really disrespectful to chuck something like that into a garbage bag when leaving it outside would require minimally more effort. The nutrients of every organism deserve to go back to the soil.

Laws

Many places have laws that protect certain species. For example, the remains of native birds are usually legally protected in the US. Many endangered and at-risk animals are also protected. Even retrieving roadkill is illegal in some places! However, many places fail to impose proper protections on many animals that desperately need it. Always do your research on your local laws and the status of species in your area. Do not trophy hunt irl or online!

Sourcing

I haven't ever bought remains and don't plan to any time soon. I believe that if I'm meant to find it, it'll find me one way or another. Purchasing remains can be fine and ethical, but there are many situations in which it is not. A lot of remains, especially bones and furs, are not ethically sourced. Meaning mass farming, mass trapping, poaching, and cruel killing methods. It's important to know how remains were sourced, especially if one intends to bond with the spirit. Foxes, reptiles, cats, dogs, and skulls (in general) can be easily found on sites like Etsy, The Bone Room (avoid this site!!), and many real-life oddity expos where they 100000% source remains in either illegal or highly unethical ways. If a site sells illegal or endangered animals (bats, wolves, native birds, etc), cheap animals in bulk, or human remains then it is probably best to steer clear! Some Etsy shops will even title their listings as things like “man’s best friend” to try to get around the legality of selling dog remains among other species.

Initial Contact

After first finding remains I intend to collect, I introduce myself and state my intentions. I then leave offerings and ask to relocate/remove their remains. I approach this in a sorrowful, empathetic manner until giving them a burial and cleaning the remains.

I feel it's very important to ask the spirit before doing anything with the remains. However, if it's roadkill or in a vulnerable area with lots of people, then it's more respectful to relocate it to a quieter place. After doing spirit work for a while, instead of verbally asking and then divining, it’s more of a vibe check for me. When asking a spirit to take their remains, you should state your intentions whether that be art, bonding with them, or magical workings. I do not believe that the shade of an individual is permanently attached to its remains, nor do I believe that the shade is trapped wherever its remains are. However, I also believe that every being should have the opportunity to rest undisturbed if it so pleases. If a spirit truly does not want you fucking with its remains, I believe it will let you know through nightmares, bad luck, illness, and reoccurring thoughts of guilt among other things. You should be willing to leave the decreased alone if it comes to that, but in my experience, there have been few times in which a spirit is both still “connected” to its remains and dislikes the idea of me possessing them. I reckon that animals hold little use to their physical remains after passing, dissimilar to humans who tend to still want autonomy. There have, however, been times when I’ve forgotten about remains (either waiting to be processed in bags or actively processing in a bucket) and get a wave of guilt and think “oh fuck I should pull the deer out of the tub.”

I believe it is very important to leave offerings for The Dead, especially if you are disturbing their remains. Offerings act as both an honoring act for the deceased and payment for the remains. Offerings left out in nature should always be biodegradable and should not be anything that could harm any creature that comes across it. Typically, I make small bundle-type offerings from rocks, shells, plants, and sticks. They can also be food/drink (that is commonly safe for the deceased animal you are offering to), written poetry, or drawn art (on safe paper with graphite).

In addition, I always promise The Dead a burial. A burial does not have to be a grave 6 feet deep, but in some fashion, a piece of the deceased should be given a quiet and safe resting place away from humans. Even if the shade isn’t “contained” in the remains, I hold the belief that it can act as a tether for a part of the soul (hence using remains for spirit communication), and the individual should have the option to rest in a quiet place rather than sitting on a shelf. A burial also ensures that the nutrients contained in the remains are given back to the Earth. Life is a gift that must be returned to where it came from for the cycle to continue – thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return. Along this line of thought, no part of a being should be wasted. Meaning returning unused skin, fur/feathers, bones/fragments, guts, and anything you have no use for. Even with water maceration, the nutrients in the water can be returned to the soil and eaten by bugs. The location of the burial should be somewhere in nature, away from human activity and off footpaths. They don't necessarily need to be buried, they could be placed in high grass or in thickets. Scavengers, bugs, and fungi will take it from there. Death and decay remain important aspects of nature that continue to nurture other critters and the soil itself.

Cleaning Remains

Cleaning is a devotional act really. I won’t go into the actual cleaning process here because it’s long and varied, but another time maybe (I mainly use water maceration). During cleaning, I follow several rules to ensure respect for the deceased. Most importantly, I don’t treat remains as a toy or something to gawk at. At one point, these were living individuals and my respect for them doesn’t stop as soon as their heart stops pumping. The remains are cleaned thoroughly and well taken care of to prevent damage. I make an effort to never mix bones from different individuals to maintain a level of autonomy and the practical reason of being able to keep track of who's who. With displaying, I try to give everything its own space. My twin fish are kept together in a jar (they r in luv) that serves as their spirit home, sometimes I will set offerings or candles beside it. TOO, I find it important to spend time with the remains if one aims to form a relationship with the spirits. Just a few days ago I took a few armadillo bones out with me for a walk in the rain, which may sound a little crazy to some but I can only hope that I can feel the rain and hear the thunder after I've passed.

The cleaning process is a long and hard one, it's a good time to bond with the remains. As you hold them in your hands, feel every inch of it. Feel the grooves, the textures, the weight, the temperature. Does it feel cold and hollow? Does it feel like a pit is forming in your stomach? Does it feel like a bright light is radiating off it? Do any memories, thoughts, or emotions arise? It is a good way to get to know the spirit/energy of the remains.

Working with Remains

I don't work with the spirit of every bone I find. That would be very difficult, and many don't have spirits attached to them much anymore. Remains can be used in magic, divination, offerings, and art. If I'm using remains as ritual tools, I will first bond with them, consecrate, and then continuously feed them. Just some of the ways remains can be used in death work and magic;

Connecting with Death

Connecting with the individual spirit or species archetype

Conjuring The Dead: I find that bones can be excellent wands used to call upon spirits. They can be really good tools for directing energy, especially for the earthly deceased.

Offerings to Chthonic / death associated entities: many of the bones I have, I've put on my altars for Hades, Hekate, and Lucifer. Not only because they represent death and are aesthetically fitting, but to place the deceased under the protection of those entities.

Bindings: I believe a hollow bone could be used for a good binding by placing taglocks and ritual ingredients into the hollowed center and sealing it up tight. Bones are strong and hard to break, whatever you put in them will have a hard time finding their way out. They take a very long time to decay, so if you buried it after binding someone, I reckon they'd be there for a long time. Bones are a physical representation of death so there could also be an opportunity for some nasty effects.

Spirit vessels: in a similar line of thought as bindings, bones are excellent for containing or homing spirits. Typically these are entities associated with the species the remains belong to.

Ritual tools and instruments: bone athames, wands, offering dishes, flutes, whistles, drums, containers, osteomancy sets, the list goes on.

Additionally, specific parts can represent certain things and can be useful in certain workings.

Teeth: teeth from predators/carnivores represent power, defense, and protection. They are well suited for protection talismans, wards, and asserting dominance over others.

Claws: similar to teeth, claws can be used as strong protection charms.

Skulls: I would say the skull is the defining bone of an individual. The seat of the mind, consciousness, and all perception. Skulls can be used to bond with spirits or keep away spirits, similar to how a jack-o-lantern works.

Rabbit feet: rabbit feet are popularly considered lucky charms. You can also use them to help you navigate situations quickly and bring about fertility and abundance.

Chicken feet: chicken feet are commonly turned into protective amulets. They usually have long, sharp claws perfect for scratching back at anyone who tries to harm you.

Tongues/eyes/ears/brains: these structures supply us with our sensory perception and are vital parts of most species. They can be used to draw upon psychic abilities (eyes for clairvoyance or visions, brains for claircognizance). They can also be used to dampen the senses, such as tying, binding, or pinning a tongue to shut someone up.

Heart: often used to represent emotions like love. Can be used in love spells or to hurt someone emotionally.

Liver: a common form of divination in the ancient world was to slaughter an animal and then interpret patterns and markings on its liver. This is actually something I find fascinating, look into Mesopotamian liver divination and hepatoscopy!!

Shed skin: shed skin from snakes, reptiles, and bugs can be used to represent change, renewal, enlightenment, and letting go by "shedding your old skin".

Antlers: antlers often represent strength and power as animals will use them to fight with each other and assert their dominance over their territory. Small ones could be fastened to bags and be used as protective charms. They can also be made into wands or protective pendants.

Shells: I've always associated shells with protection since that is their purpose. I often use a powder made from ground shells to pour along the edges of rooms or windowsills.

Scapula: Interestingly, used in many belief systems and cultures for divination. Scapulimancy is the divinatory use of scapulae by interpreting post-mortem markings, or markings/cracks on the bone made by holding it over a flame. Another divinatory use found in old necromantic manuals, specifically the Munich Manual, is using the scapula as a scrying mirror by anointing it with magical oils and conjuring spirits in the reflection.

Turtle plastron: used alongside scapulae in Chinese divination, the querent would paint or carve their question into the bone, drill evenly spaced holes, and then hold it over a flame and interpret the cracks or burn marks.

[anonymousredactedconfessions]

This is so long but I completely agree with that other anon- Erik is trying way too hard to absolve Porter of his role in the murder, and it’s honestly ridiculous. I used to like this storyline bruh. But now single character is stacked against William, even though Porter was the one who actually carried out the assassination with zero personal incentive. He wasn’t manipulated (being nice and asking someone do to something isn't manipulation Jesus Christ), threatened, or forced. He just did it for a simple “good job” or a bit of approval. So why are Vincent, and especially Sam (seriously, Sam is so disconnected from the clan), so quick to side with Porter but not William? Both of them are equally responsible! Open your eyes!!

And let’s not forget how slapdash Porter’s character is. I honestly like him, but he's such a hasty, last-minute addition to the story, shoved in there just to give Vincent some kind of narrative purpose and to set William up as the antagonist. But there was no prior build-up or incentive for William to go down this path. It feels totally out of character and unearned. Morally grey, sure, but this is crazy. Then top of that, Vincent- and especially Sam- don’t even have any established connection with Porter!?? Sam, in particular, is so far removed from the clan dynamics, but then he's suddenly willing to extend a hand to Porter out of nowhere? It feels so forced. And the fact that Porter isn’t even on the official timeline just makes him feel even more tacked-on.

Then there’s the question of why Sam, of all people, would ever offer goodwill to Porter. Like girl let's be real here: this is a guy who put Sam’s pack in danger, put his mate in danger, hit on Sam’s mate right in front of him the first time they ever met, and even choked out Sam’s best friend- for absolutely no reason other than just being a general jerk. Please Samuel, wake up? Why would he ever extend a hand to someone like that? The idea that he would suddenly forgive or trust Porter just because he’s supposed to represent some vague concept of “general goodness” is lazy, dull, and honestly insulting to Sam’s character. Keep him consistent or don't use him at all.

And then there’s the ridiculous idea that William somehow “owes” Porter a father figure role. Why should William even entertain that? Porter isn’t his responsibility, he's a grown-ass man, and the narrative trying to guilt-trip William into taking on that role makes no sense. I don't even fuck with William that heavy, but the guy’s been demonized by literally everyone around him, yet he’s expected to stick around and shoulder blame for everyone else’s issues? A bunch of whiney bitches. Honestly, if I were him, I would just take all his money, pack it up, and retire somewhere warm and tropical where people actually give a fuck about me. I'm living it large in a penthouse and I'm snatching my credit card back from that smarmy little ingrate. Get a job Vincent, you loser.

The thing is, I wouldn’t even mind this kind of villain arc for William if there were any real build-up to it, but there isn’t. It’s all just being made up as it goes along, and it’s painfully obvious. It’s reminding me so much of Daenerys’s descent in season 8 of GOT- where the writers clearly wanted a specific endpoint, but didn’t do the groundwork to make it feel earned. They skipped all the character development needed to get there and just expected the audience to go along with it. That’s exactly what’s happening with William here. His “descent” is less of a gradual, compelling arc and more of a poorly-planned shortcut to make him the villain for the sake of the story. And without that proper foundation, it just feels hollow and frustrating.

.

[bdafic]

Have you played Veilguard? Do you plan to?

If yes, what is your opinion on how Solas and solavellan was handled? :)

I did! I actually posted about it, encouraging people not to read reviews and posts and just play the game for them. I chose not to go into any depth other than I liked it. I'm cool with going into it now, though I want to make really clear to anyone reading that I have zero interest in seeing, inviting, or participating in the "everything must be criticized hard and moralized" discourse. The level of hostility around this game is off the charts and I'm super not into it.

(I am very into being hostile as fuck about layoffs, crunch, and execs sabotaging projects, setting impossible "goals" and whipping up anger to justify dissolving studios though. We can do that all day.)

Anyway, back to your question.

Overall, my feelings on how Solas/Solavellan was done mirrors my feelings on the game as a whole: I loved 85% of it, and the other 15% I didn't so much 'not love' as much as I wished it could've been more. That last 15% felt like being a kid finding out there's a whole other floor of your house you've never explored, and once you finally get all prepped to go spelunking you find it in the midst of being demolished. All those little tantalizing peeks you got are gone or waved off like "you can make do with what you have". Technically that's true. You've got a nice house that's pretty and isn't falling apart and everything connects and has all the right things in it... but you can't help being really sad for the loss of experiences you could've had on the mystery floor.

I loved all the insight we got into the history of the Evanuris, ancient elves, and Solas himself. It confirmed a bunch of theories I'd discussed with others for years -- and that felt awesome! I love it when fans are rewarded for noticing the details and putting shit together. (If you're also into that, go watch Severance). There's so much of what we saw in his memories and experiences that deepen the sense of sadness and loss in his character. It made people who hate him, hate him more, and people who love him, sympathize with him more. I think he's honestly one of the most well-written characters I've ever encountered in any media, anywhere, and not just because I'm a sucker for beautiful tragedy.

I'm happy they didn't shy away from Solas' edges, either. I'd predicted Varric's death at his hands during The Missing's run, though I thought it'd play out differently. I think that and the war crimes were good additions to his story. It reinforced his position as an antivillain to the series. Solas is a living, breathing, 'sunk cost fallacy' of a man. He (almost) says it himself: to stop now would make all the horrible things he'd done be for nothing. He has to keep going.

He was Wisdom, twisted into Pride. He wants to still be Wisdom. It's how he sees himself, though he's smart enough to know it isn't true deep down. The planning, the arrogance, the failures, the devotion, they're all aspects of that change. Of course he keeps failing. Of course he keeps trying. And of course falling in love without any of that being known would absolutely caboodle his noodle. One of the things that first drew me was realizing how much of him was only revealed upon romancing. It makes a ton of sense for his character, and gave him a depth and longing that was incredibly compelling. A character who lays it out for everyone regardless is just an NPC, but that made him feel like a person. It speaks to his loneliness; how badly he wants someone to find a way to change his mind, and how resigned he is to the belief that nobody can. Wisdom and Pride.

I'm very pleased that a Solavellan ending even exists, because that's a pretty big nod to fandom and the impact of his character. Of course I'd have loved to see more -- Solavellan hell is eternal and I'll never escape -- but I can be happy with what we got. And I understand why it felt truncated.

(And honestly, my biggest complaint with Lavellan's inclusion is that we cannot modify her appearance later if we fucked it up. My kingdom for her eyeballs to've worked properly in my first run.)

I am a bit sad about how 'well' a lot of it got wrapped up, not just because of the loss of mystery, but because it's pretty clear that was a reflection of the (rather prescient) fears from devs/writers about the future of the franchise. The game's impact and mood suffered from that sense of impending doom. Edges were shaved off, things glossed over, middles discarded so threads could be tied up neater, and that probably really sucked for the people who have lived and breathed this world for the better part of 20 years. It needed more time. Chill time. And freedom to fuck about. People say that audiences don't like it when things end on an uncertain note, and honestly after seeing the discourse this produced as is I'm gonna say that the things I personally wished were included would've probably started much bigger fires and resulted in much more smoke. (People like to jump in here with, "it was going for ten years" but that's kind of disingenuous. It was ten years between releases. The game was scrapped twice and the final iteration was only going for three-ish, and writers and devs kept getting fucking laid off.)

Anyway, there's a lot of stuff it's clear they wanted to go into more and simply weren't able to. That isn't their fault, and I grieve with them. People forget the writers were the original spelunkers. They're also people who have to roll with punches in a way that fans never, ever, have to.

That was a lot of words to say, basically, that I think Solavellan and Solas' story were handled well, and I'm satisfied. I wish there was more -- I'll always mourn whatever was on the mystery floor -- but that's what fanfic is for. It's in our hands now.

[devilfic]

Saw the previous Matt Murdock post and I can’t help but think of him as college professor dynamic???!

LIKE HOW WOULD HE BE?

❝criminal law professor!matt murdock❞

cw: law school professor matt being everyone's wet dream, brief mention of alcohol, brief suggestive content. words: 1.3k.

AHHHHHHH criminal law professor!matt who never set out to teach but got invited to a lecture held by an old lawyer friend of his and built up such good rapport with the students that when one of them came up to him after class and told him they'd sign up for any class he'd teach, the cogs started turning

only teaches one class a semester, probably one class a year

one of those professors that almost everybody wants to get in with but is prone to several dropouts after the first two weeks because of his teaching style

he's very casual most of the time but very much hands-on and will not let up on you for a second if he thinks it's a teaching moment

he's relentless. he is not an easy A but you will come out of his class better than you went in

his favorite part of the job is getting into ethical debates with the students

likes to do a lot of mock trials and very regularly stick his students with cases that test their moral judgment

it's not to make them feel bad or play at having the higher moral ground if they make a "wrong" decision, but more so to force them to consider what they're willing to compromise on to win a case

and whether winning cases is the best thing for them or for their client

he's the type of professor who will gladly stay an hour or two after class just chatting it up with students over cases he's done in the past or answering questions about practicing law professionally

he grades hard but he always offers ample feedback to make his students do better next time

has a saying that he'll never turn down a coffee from a student trying to butter him up

and immediately follows up with "it won't make me change your grade but it will help me remember your name"

this motherfucker definitely likes to sit on the edge of his desk while teaching, too

undoes his tie a bit when he gets passionate about a topic, rolls up his shirt sleeves to his elbows, has to stop himself from pacing the room without his walking stick when he feels particularly excited about a discussion

does not care about late work like at all

as long as you get it to him before the end of the semester, you'll be fine

you'll be panicking, emailing him about how you're so sorry but your laptop got stolen on your way home and that you'll have to rewrite your entire paper from scratch in the school lab tonight so it'll be a day late and you'll get a response back in 4 minutes that just says "No problem, stay safe - Sent from my iPhone"

and... your laptop is mysteriously returned a few days later. apparently whoever stole it had a serious change of heart. you also got a 98 on your paper

(he may not be swayed to change your grade with coffee but he is a bit of a softie when it comes to stuff like this)

he's also just the hottest professor on campus. do I even have to say it at this point

comes to class everyday in a nice button-up, very form-fitting trousers (none of his students have ever seen him in a pair of jeans nor will they), glasses perched on the tip of his nose, a leather messenger bag at his side that is mysteriously well-stocked with first aid supplies, and a loose red tie around his throat

do you see the vision

cancels class often because of daredevil business and treats these as days to work on papers

tries not to cut class short because of daredevil business

it actually makes him a bit sad when he has to, and so he makes it an open invitation that if students catch him out in the wild or walking around campus, they can bother him as much as they want

his TA is a little (a lot) exasperated with him but he makes up for it by buying them food. it has actually put a dent in his budget at this point but their appeasement makes it worth it

he has an office on campus but he very rarely uses it for office hours, you can pretty much find him anywhere BUT his office

he likes to meet in coffee shops or lecture halls or parks on campus because he feels like it's less daunting for students to just sit and talk out in the open

he's very popular on valentine's day

students and faculty alike will shower him with chocolates and mini bottles of wine and roses and proposals to go out for drinks sometime and he always accepts the gifts graciously

and then passes them onto his TA, karen, or foggy

although he'd be lying if he said he didn't keep some of the wine for himself

he has a strict rule against dating within the university, he'd just rather it not be awkward

now,,, a one night stand with a fellow professor maybe? no strings attached? he's not opposed to that

let's just say that tie and office are getting put to good use-

if you're a student and want a piece though, you're gonna have to wait until you've gotten your degree, sorry

he happens to like his one class a semester/year and he'd very much not like to deal with the legal repercussions of getting caught with a student. repercussions of which he is well-versed in

but alright. I mentioned that he sometimes has to cancel class because of daredevil business and so I MUST tackle the big question: does anyone suspect him

yes and no

it starts out simple. sometimes he shows up to lectures with cuts and bruises, some bandaged but fresh, and swears that it's nothing to worry about. you might catch him wearing the rare sweater on those days, even

when he gets questioned about it, he sort of spins some half-baked lie about boxing being his part-time hobby

and then people start noticing that he's never around when there's a daredevil sighting

now, he doesn't always cancel class for daredevil business. sometimes it's because he's got a client to take care of!

but he also loves to invite his students to sit in on the less serious cases so. what gives

one student starts a rumor and then it kind of becomes a joke in class that professor murdock is secretly daredevil

most of them don't take it seriously because how could their sweet, chill, blind professor murdock be a crime-fighting vigilante? it just wouldn't make sense!

and you know what this bitch does? he feeds into it

student: yeah, professor murdock is daredevil. that's a good one

matt: what do you mean?

student: oh, it's just a joke! we know you couldn't be daredevil

matt: but I am

student: hahaha that's funny

matt: no, I really am daredevil. haven't you noticed? same build, never in the same place at the same time, devilishly handsome

student: uh-huh, sure thing professor

matt: is it cause I'm blind? that's pretty insensitive, don't you think? you don't think blind people just read braille all day and get walked across the street, do you? is that what you think?

student: well I mean no but like... I mean.... uh....

matt: nahhh I'm just fucking with you. I am daredevil, though

student: hahaha for sure man, definitely

matt:

he does fly too close to the sun one day though when one of his students tries to debate him in class about it for shits and giggles and accidentally comes up with such a compelling argument for why he could definitely be daredevil that he sort of just nervously laughs and stops making jokes about it for the next four weeks

also keeps a flask in his desk drawer to pour into his mug after a rough night on patrol. but if anyone asks, no the fuck he didn't. mind your business. you have a C in his class

taglist: @yikes-buddy @alexxavicry @theclassicvinyldragon @marina-and-the-memes

[agronzky]

⠀⠀⠀𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐎 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐀 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐑𝐏.

⠀⠀⠀Anyone who knows me or has rp with me knows how much I love building ambiguous — or grey, if you prefer — characters or villains. The drama, the chaos, the complex plot… It all makes everything more interesting, especially once you get bored of characters who are exclusively nice, naive and suchlike. Even so, it's a construction that needs to take several factors into account and be very delicately written so it doesn't become a trigger rather than a character.

⠀⠀⠀For this reason, below I've provided some tips on how to create villainous characters for rp, taking into account various traits, setting and also demystifying the fact that not every villain is a soulless monster. Anyway, on to the guide.

Deep and personal motivations.

⠀⠀⠀Convincing villains usually have compelling and understandable motivations, even if their actions are highly questionable. It's the premise of them being right in their quest, but using the wrong means to achieve it and ultimately losing their reason. This brings a sense of humanity and it's even possible to feel connected to what led this person to become a villain. You can truly see how they lost the way.

⠀⠀⠀Another point is the fact that not everyone wants to conquer the world, nor do they have the ambition to have a lot of money or power. Think of plots about revenge, twisted love, the quest for justice or fear. Generally, a character's deepest motivations give them more determination to fulfill their goals because it comes from something much more internal and traumatic. Give them a proper reason and make them lose the way, this is gonna make everything feel real, convincing and interesting to developed.

Moral complexity.

⠀⠀⠀The simple truth is the days of people liking completely cartoonish characters are long gone, and nowadays many people don't like those who are evil simply for the sake of being evil. This is because it's too out of touch with reality. Obviously there are people who are like that in real life, but the vast majority is more complex than this. Humans, in the end, are very complicated and, probably, will never truly understand why we are the way we are.

⠀⠀⠀To get away of this cliché and cartoonish form when creating your character, try to develop moral nuances and internal dilemmas which can explain their actions. Put a small fragment of morality in the character, make them question themselves a few times as to whether they're on the right path… Remember yin yang: there's a little tiny good inside the evil. This tip can be used for any character, when you think about it, but it's very important for those who want to create villains.

Human traits, personality and vulnerabilities.

⠀⠀⠀Like any human being, provide your character with traits unmistakably human, such as fears, insecurities or personal relationships that will impact them, to make them more realistic. Just because someone is doing something morally wrong doesn't mean they've lost all touch with their humanity, especially since not every villain is a psychopath who has no empathy for anyone. It's always very interesting when a character believes they're doing what's right or good for someone else, and this is their motivation. 

⠀⠀⠀Also bring some weaknesses to the character, whether physical, emotional or psychological. This provides room for development and also ways for other characters to access them in a more specific way, either to get to know them better or to retaliate against them at some point.

⠀⠀⠀You know that line "Do you like my personality? I created it especially for you!"? Well, consider how the character behaves and bring in more layers when making the personality. Take into account how they behave in different situations and with different people.

Charisma and a magnetic nature.

⠀⠀⠀The fact is that bad guys aren't unbearable one hundred per cent of the time, they need to know how to live in society and captivate people. So define unique and appealing traits for the character, whether they're genuine or merely a façade. It's always interesting when, within the plot, most people don't know about the evil or wrong side of a character because it gives them more room for development. Maybe make them ashamed of what they're doing and try to hide it as best they can. And just think about real life: do we truly know the people around us?

Connection with other characters.

⠀⠀⠀Nobody lives completely alone since we're in a society and this makes us having connections, for more simple they can be. Thinking about that, create connections with other characters to bring more motivation and drama to your muse, such as an old rivalry, a complicated personal relationship or a surprising connection which generates tension. You can also create connections that actually bring their good side to light, you know? It's also always good to add a certain complexity, to have troubled moments, wounds that haven't healed fully, secrets being revelead, etc.

Questions for creating villains.

What are the character's main motivations?

What is the character's origin story? What led them to become what they are today?

What are the past traumas or events that have shaped their worldview?

How does the character justify their actions morally? Does they believe they are doing the right thing?

What are their weaknesses and vulnerabilities?

How does the character present themselves to the world? Are they masked, manipulative or showy?

What do they want to achieve through their actions?

What are their emotional reactions to obstacles and challenges?

How do they justify their actions to themselves? Is there any sense of internal validation?

How do they relate to the authorities or the law?

How do they see themselves? Do they see themselves as the hero of their own story?

How do they react when their plans fail?

What do they feel when faced with the possibility of redemption or change?

Other small (and important) advice!

Corruption arcs are also super interesting, leading a good character to become bad over time and through traumatic situations. Redemption arcs are also sensational. The point is: nobody was born a villain and nobody has to die a villain.

Leave clues indicating your character before fully revealing your motivations. Also try to leave some motivations completely secret, using them when the plot calls for a surprise. In the best "surprise, bitch!" style.

Think about how environment and culture can influence beliefs and actions.

A villain doesn't have to be a psychopath or murderer. There are arcs of revenge and corruption which can be created without going to such extremes.

It's obvious, but always respect other players and the limits they impose. As I said, a villain isn't always doing evil and being a complete asshole, so make sure you know what kind of approach the other person will prefer.

Always be careful when approaching topics which are triggers and avoid them as much as possible. As I said, it's not necessary to go down this route, but if you do, always keep a firm grounding when writing, because triggers are complex real-life situations that always need to be handled delicately.

The end, for now.

( Be with Morgana, my good girl gone bad ♡ )

[kiyosbrokenmirror]

Oh my God I am finally at that part of the trial where Korekiyo freaks out (I can die happily)

But truly the whole "I am not the culprit" thing confuses me a bit because he is not genuinely trying to manipulate them into believing himself, he tried so plenty of times before and that's not how he generally manipulates others.

(he tends to try and put the blame onto anyone else who isn't him, and point out various different sometimes pointless details in which he couldn't be the culprit but someone else is)

The whole "why is everyone looking at me like I am" feels like he is actually panicking rather than just trying to grasp at their sympathy and I get his life was on the line so maybe he was just panicking about dying, but it just strikes me as odd to do when all the evidence points against you, you basically said you didn't care if you died (kiyo's ftes) and admitted to the other's murder that easily.

Perhaps it's more about a lack of control and a lack of being able to spin the story as he likes that bothers him but damn I wish it was more obvious

I have seen the theory in which it was his sister's ghost not him to kill Angie but I don't know if I like it as a plot twist, even though it makes sense with Korekiyo's whole thing with her, it's hard to explain specifically why, maybe I am just not a fan of blaming a ghost for a murder (not hate to those who like the theory, it's a interesting theory who offers some answers and it's nice thematically wise)

His sister's ghost also consequential answer is well, I feel validated because I found it creepy then and I still do, it's just how she words it (there is a thing with Kiyo Imo where wording entirely takes you on another route with his Backstory) maybe it is just localization, I am not fluent in Japanese so I don't know what the Kodaka's intention was.

Buut "calm yourself" and "you must not... Etc etc" are commands not comforting words, this has been said, but she is not trying to comfort him, she is trying to set out rules of behavior in which, even in a situation like this, he has to follow, even his response is fascinating, the simple "y-yes" and immediately returning to his stance, then again, it feels as though he is following a order rather than calming down or feeling comforted

I know this has been said to hell and back though, it's nothing new, I am just sharing m thoughts ddrxfd

(Also she calls all the drv3 cast ugly which will always be funny to me)

Anyways this trial would have been more interesting if there were two actual killers in the cast, I will always think this, because this trial for me lacked the moral dilemma others have in drv3 and frankly, while I enjoy Kiyo's plans and break down A LOT (he is such an asshole it comes back to be entertaining) the who question was genuinely... Obvious and plain, I don't care that Kiyo is irredeemable and unsympathetic but make me feel the same kind of dilemma I felt for other blackeneds for the whole game!!! This could be resolved by making one of them the blackened and it would have made the trial so cool!!!

[lyss-sketchbox]

(To start, I've been enjoying reading your and folks' various perspectives on Natlan, it's interesting to see different breakdowns/thoughts)

I do have a theory on the flippancy though, and I may very well be horribly wrong, but I suspect it's intentional. The whole nation is being taught, more or less, that this war they're fighting is a game. It's fine if you die, we'll bring you back. It's fine if you fight the Abyss, we do it all the time. And yet. We see that folks' Ancient Names can be lost and not recovered, that you can't fully recover from Abyssal corrosion, and that hey, actually, Kachina is a terrified kid when we see that projection of her. It may even be part of why the nation is struggling so much with creating their Contending Fire. I also think Mavuika plays into this narrative.

Primarily, I think (or maybe just hope) her overconfidence is going to be her hubris. Traveller expresses concern about the time she has to gather the warriors and she's non-plussed, "eh, I trust the Wyob". She's got A Plan and it's going to work, according to her. But I dunno about that ma'am. She also says weirdly definitive statements that I don't think are fully accurate like "humans can't know their fate" and "the only thing that unites the Fatui are collecting the gnoses" that lead me to believe she puts full stock in her conclusions as soon as she feels she has an answer and doesn't exactly question any further.

Honestly? It would be nice if they set up this whole thing of the nation being so casual and Traveler buying into it only to tear it, crashing down, around everyone. How long can the nation avoid taking things seriously before everything comes to a head? (Perhaps why Capitano isn't interested in brute-forcing things overall? Or maybe I'm giving him too much credit, lol)

What an interesting take, genuinely

So Mavuika

It would definitely play the part of being a pyro archon and how pyro vision holders are often extremely confident and high spirited. It would make sense if the pyro archon embodies that kind of value.

This also lines up with what the previous anon said about how she wanted to be reincarnated because its HER plan and she wanted to see it through even if it means offing herself early.

(I dont remember the ending dialogue was i did it all at like 4 am so yeah please fight me on my takes)

She also seems very quick to make MASSIVE decisions like using a good chunk of her power to keep the Contending Flame alive right then and there even with the concerns of some people. Then she was just as quick to burn all the mementos gathered for centuries when the group sent to find Kachina didnt make it.

I feel like maybe she couldve waited before keeping the Contending Flame alive. And while the Contending Flame IS more importang than a single girl, based on the time we spent in the Night Kingdom. It doesnt... feel all that long. She couldve waited. Use her power to save us. Rest for a while then fan the Contending Flame. Saving us from the Night Kingdom didnt feel like a permanent loss of power while keeping the Contending Flame alive does.

To be honest, she IS human, WAS human before archonhood. Shes been human TWICE now due to her reincarnation. I can understand humans wanting to prove to higher powers and beings such as fate that they CAN hold power over themselves. But being human, being NATLANIAN means she has worshipped to Wayob as well at some point. Hence putting her faith more into them and their ancient names.

The Plot of Natlan

I will admit here that i am biased and there is only 2 acts so far. For all i know theyre still setting up the chekovs guns and they may pop oh so beautifully in late acts and i am too harsh on the set up acts.

But i can understand if the people of natlan has been trained their entire life to numb themselves of the true horrors of war. Because they live constantly in it, if they are in constant fear, it is not good for morales or the ancient name holders either.

And if they were written to be so chill so that hoyoverse can pull the rug under us even harder then well good on them because i will be COMPLETELY honest.

I cannot see them pulling this without making it cliche or shallow.

Because we all already know SOMETHING is gonna go wrong. The abyss will reach natlan. The contending flame will die. The 6 heroes will reawaken and help Mavuika fight off the abyss for good. We know it will happen. The only issue is how to get there and how to not make it cliche as fuck.

Because for one they pulled the anime training montage for Kachina where we get told she is actually really good, she has been training so hard with Mualani but we literally dont get to see or feel it. But oop she defeated mualani.

They pulled the power of friendship when Mualani talked back to lector in the night kingdom.

They already spoiled how Ororon was the traitor because HE WAS STANDING NEXT TO CAPITANO IN THE TRAILER.

It feels way too messy for me, way too unserious and uncoordinated both in game and advertisement materials. I almost feel like capitano, 1st of the fatui harbinger, probably shouldnt have been responsible for natlan because dude can out espionage them (or maybe natlan and capitano are both as equally uncoordinated who knows).

Well for NOW i think they have a generic base plot. I would be very willing to declare how wrong i was about natlan if act 3-5 managed to fucking mindblow me. But yeah as you can see i am not hopeful that hyv have half the brain you have about the plot.

[sanctus-ingenium]

What are some of the other countries in the alt-history your Inver stories are set in? Is Armorica roughly where modern day Brittany would be? :0

Because our concept of countries is very modern & constructed it's not quite that Armorica or Hibernia were Countries as we might understand them. They were mostly made up of smaller fractured kingdoms and cultures which were always fighting one another. Armorica was a region which was roughly here (map and history ramble under the cut SORRY i basically didn't answer your question i got carried away)

(this map is from the 1860s! not Finbarr's time.. I still need to make a map of that)

but it was never a country, just a region alternatively ascribed to Inver or Aquitan. It fell on the northern side of the Inver border with Aquitan whenever it was established but the border was put there rather arbitrarily and cut across the region without consideration for the people who lived there.

So there IS in fact a whole other history which doesn't even concern Inver at all. There is a small city-state on the southern coast of Aquitan called Suzette, which was founded by the pseudo-Catholics of this world and used as their main base of operations. It's basically just the Vatican, but an early actually-Catholic historical figure called (Saint) Alexandre led a schism with the church and was successful. The schism dealt with the legality of using magic to advance the church's position, Alexandre argued that it was a moral imperative to preserve the ability to use magic within the ranks of their holy knights. Alexandre became a very polarising figure but his most famous follower was military leader called Renzo who, in the renaissance period, basically upturned and reshaped the entirety of the Mediterranean region.

At the time, Aquitan was a kingdom with an absolute monarchy and the same werewolf-based religion as the nobility of Inver (the winners of Finbarr's war were the Aquitanian werewolves and it became the dominant religion in Inver as well). Renzo led a religious crusade against the monarchy of Aquitan, to wipe out all that pagan werewolf stuff. He blindsided the queen of Aquitan, who had been running her own campaign of expansion against the king of Notte [placeholder name], on the far-western coastline of Iberia. When Renzo began winning substantial victories in the southern countryside of Aquitan, the queen immediately turned around and ""allied"" with the king of Notte, by mounting an invasion against the city of Notte and forcing him to surrender and play nice. She sent him off on an enforced holiday under house arrest, aware that her play relied on not martyring this king while she ruled his country in all but name. With the combined might of these two kingdoms she was certain she could crush Renzo, and this began a decades-long war.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, the king of Notte was killed by bandits who didn't even know who he was, before he ever reached his holiday home. The nondescript carriage was ambushed and there were no survivors. The queen, in a panic, chose not to publicise his death.

Well guess what Renzo was doing with his holy knights' blood magic. With each victory his army grew, because he raised the dead to serve him. Resurrection and immortality were key themes of Saint Alexandre's teachings and although Renzo's war crimes would result in his own religion banning the practice of this type of magic, it was kind of a-ok back then (the Church of Suzette would later go on to be pioneers of medical innovations such as antibiotics, germ theory, and safe anaesthesia). And you'll never guess whose dead body Renzo's knights found one day, dumped on the side of the road. Renzo alone recognised what had just come into his possession, and he formulated a counter-play against the queen by using the dead king as his own pawn. Using the king, he got the entire Iberian peninsula to turn on the Aquitanian monarchy, so instead of it being 2-on-1 against Renzo, it was suddenly the queen who was dangerously outnumbered and deeply unpopular.

The monarchy of Aquitan was finally defeated by its own people sixty years after the war began, and a theocracy based on the teachings of Saint Alexandre was founded there, along with the city-state of Suzette. The final execution of the monarchists had severe ripple-effects that reached Inver, which had been pretty insulated from the war by virtue of being a kinda pointless place to invade and housing a population of faeries outnumbering humans 10 to 1. The monarchy of Inver took pride in its links to the Aquitanian nobility and now that was gone. The result was a death spiral for the Kingdom of Inver, as the werewolf monarchists, fearing their imminent extinction, began to fight one another to grab as much power and wealth as possible before the Suzettes reached them, too. They banned the church at the border, only allowing the harmless priests of Suzette's poor Austerity sect to build their hospitals, though they were forbidden from holding religious services and actively converting the public, you have to willingly join.

The final Hibernian families who bought into the monarchy of Inver included the descendants of Finbarr, who had largely betrayed everything he would have stood for by assimilating into their enemies' ranks. And, as anyone might have predicted, their assimilation did not protect them when the nobles of Inver chose to prune their own ranks to concentrate power. One of these families was the noble and now extinct Mercier family, the family of one of our protagonists of Said the Black Horse (bowman lol). The other two protagonists are a second-gen immigrant Hibernian and a war orphan originally from Notte.

[localsharkcryptid]

Well don’t leave us hanging! What’s the superhero au?

(This is officially my first ask!)

Well first off thanks for the first time ask ^^

And second, to actually answer the 'question'! Long story short I don't have much currently aside from 'vibes' and a vague plan for how it'll play out.

I'm going to be taking some notable inspiration from Creature Commandos (which I just finished last night with my qpr and good god does James Gunn know how to write a show) and probably DC in general - since overall idk I vibe with it better and from what I've seen it tends to be darker/more accurate with what morally grey means (to me), which works a bit better for the DSMP.

Everyone's allowed to have their own AUs and ideas ofc, I'm a big "to each their own" kinda guy, but for me the whole 'good vs evil'/heros vs villains narrative just DOESN'T work for the DSMP if you're gonna do a superhero plot, the story is morally grey and messy - so sorting people into the roles of hero and villain just doesn't vibe with me. Thus this AU concept, I dunno if you could call it a 'superhero' AU at all actually but it's set in that sort of world, is leaning heavily into that idea of the messy nature of the characters n all.

I'm unsure of the roster, but with whatever characters I choose (Dream, Sam & Wilbur are the only decided ones) the idea is that the main group of them will be a part of a task force like deal - taking notes from CC here - mostly due to them being dubbed 'monsters' and thus not human so they could be effectively exploited to do whatever. It's a lot of vibes but my vague idea plot wise is that it is probably going to end up going down a very... Anarchistic route, admittedly I'm pissed at the world and venting about my issues with my government rn through an AU sounds very nice. That's also important cause I'm playing with the idea of Techno being put in charge of this 'task force' - and notably being the one of the only people who actively goes against people dehumanizing the group n that sort of thing but I'm not sure. Again this is very very fresh so I don't have too much aside from, anarchistic plot probably and general themes with how society treats those who are 'othered' amongst other stuff- also Awesamdream cause I'm on a kick I'm not sorry at all I'm making the content with them that I wanna see.

[dianaladrislovebot]

wow! reading every gone fic worth reading is an accomplishment! do you have any thoughts or recommendations on what you read? any observations on what common ideas and character interpretations present? i’m excited to hear your thoughts!!

hi anon i know it’s been a million years since you left this question and i sincerely apologise for taking so long to answer it but i’ve been attempting to find links !!! w a fandom as old as this one it’s a bit difficult to track things down but ive managed to compile a few of my favourites finally ! thank you so much for asking !

fayz trials by trudirose

an incredibly interesting look at the legal side of everyone’s actions that i think portrays all the characters it includes very well for the setting they’re in. a lot of people write a lot of the characters sort of ooc but this one is very true to who they are and how they’d react post fayz and i quite enjoy that.

finding asylum by onlyifyouwishit

this is probably my favourite gone fic of all time. beware, it is technically drake/diana but the writing is so incredible you can almost ignore it and truly, they almost make you believe it. the main premise is drake attempting to get therapy after the fayz while being in a psych ward and also being forced to confront things about diana when faced w her years after the fayz and it’s an incredibly interesting look into him as a character, and it encases exactly why i like him so much. i don’t enjoy him because of what he does or because he’s a senselessly violent villain, i like him bc he’s so much more than that. there’s multiple facets to his personality and his morality and his motivations than just causing violence for violences sake, and i think this fic portrays him and the way he thinks while under the influence of a mental illness really well. i want to study him under a microscope like a bug

irony’s a bitch by nymphofgreed

most of why i like this one is bc i believe caine got to take the easy way out in the main continuity and i don’t think he should have died, not bc he’s my favourite character, but bc he didn’t deserve such an easy ending. yes, he’d made progress from the beginning of the fayz and he admitted to everything to get everyone else out of legal hassles, but im not sure he truly felt any guilt, any remorse for what he’d done to anyone at any given point and simply knew he’d be incarcerated the second that wall came down. this fic forces him to face things he’d been avoiding. it puts him into the worst possible position he could ever imagine and then he has to attempt to survive it with nobody but himself for assistance and it’s ridiculously compelling. he retains a lot of his character while also doing a lot of self reflection that i feel he simply didn’t do in canon.

words spoken silently by royalty over reality

i really enjoy the switching between the fayz residents and the parents pov and showcasing how it affected the parents of the fayz kids outside the dome knowing their kids were right there and just slightly out of reach and how they coped w it. it’s a much different take from most fics i’ve seen and i find myself coming back to it a lot.

sandcastles by kur8kami117

a very basic fic that, to put it simply, just makes me happy. long before the trials and tribulations of the fayz and the forced maturity the characters must endure, a simple beach day when they’re children is very refreshing and a nice break from all the trauma.

silence by museflight

a take i find really interesting and wonder why nothing like this happened sooner. in which penny gets her revenge on caine much sooner than she does in canon and in a much more permanent way. i know that she was a tad indisposed due to her legs being broken and that’s why her retribution came so late in the series, but it’s still fun to think about.

hypocrisy

this fic is incredibly special to me, as someone who used to identify as ftm and currently identifies as non-binary, i very much enjoy the trans!caine hc almost as much as i love simply making one of the twins a girl. i can’t explain why i love it so much besides maybe just shared lived experiences, but this fic never fails to make me cry.

redo by deadinderry

in which upon his death in fear, howard gets shunted back in time to just before the fayz and has the opportunity to change the outcome w his regained knowledge. i never thought ready anything from howard’s pov would be as interesting as this is but watching him scramble to fix things before everything goes south is both comedic and captivating to read. and hey, as far as i can see, it’s still being written !

[jonathanbrandisarchive]

Jonathan Brandis—Is He In For A Bumpy Ride? The Behind-The-Scenes Scoop On His Own Private Waterworld!

Nineteen-year-old Jon predicts this is going to be seaQuest 2032’s best year yet! Plus! Win His Signed Tee!!

Superteen, 1995

Is the quest over? Has Jonathan Brandis' futuristic sub finally run aground? Well, that's the question lots of Hollywood insiders are asking now that seaQuest 2032 (how 'bout that for a title change!?) has sailed into its new season in uncharted waters. Now seen at a different time—Wednesdays at 8:00 PM—the seaQuest is light a few crew members. Roy Scheider, who plays Captain Nathan Bridger, will appear in only a few episodes; Mario Sanchez, Sensor Chief Miguel Ortiz, will not be returning at all, nor will Rosalind Allen as the Doctor. What's more, one of the more seasoned actors has been telling reporters that morale on the seaQuest set is at an all-time low.

S.O.S.?!

Even Jonathan has made a comment or two about the direction of the series when it went from being sci-fi to fantasy, observing, "I think we went a little overboard with some of the shows last year." And to top it off, when the remaining cast—and newcomers Michael Ironside as the new captain, Michael York as a recurring villain and John D'Aquino, who returns after a year off, as Benjamin Krieg— returned to the Orlando, Florida set, they were faced with a shut-down due to Hurricane Erin! Not a very good beginning!

The Positive Side!

Don’t despair! seaQuest still has a lot going for it (Jonathan Brandis, for one!) and Jonathan thinks things will turn around. First of all, your fan mail to Jon and the rest of the cast helped bring back the series for another season. And Jonathan is determined to reward your loyalty. Last season he wrote "The Siamese Dream" episode and he's hoping to not only write but direct an episode this year. "Writing and directing are both really my first loves," he explains.

Jon would like to see his character, Lucas, grow up a bit this year. "I'd like to see him wear a uniform, maybe have a little more com-mand—and get a girl once in a while," he says. On that note, Jon is giving his all to seaQuest and sees everyone else on the set responding in kind. Since there are whispers that this may really be seaQuest's last year, Jon urges: "It would be nice to put in a good season before we go out."

JON TEE-SHIRT CONTEST!

Get up-close-and-personal with Jon—win one of his very own super Radio Aahs tees (they're from Jon's favorite kids' radio network!). The tees are autographed by this blue-eyed babe, and SuperTeen has two to give away! All you have to do to enter is fill out the coupon above and mail it back to us. We'll choose two winners at random and their names will be announced in an upcoming issue! Good luck!

[youreavicioustrollop]

S5 E6: Brawl in Cell Block 9-1-1

i love this song so much. great music cue for putting us in a prison. love the attempts at quip-i-ness for this as a workplace.

setting a fire in a prison after you disable the fire suppression system seems like a Bad Idea for all parties involved. like i know you need a distraction but c'mon. fuck around with fire and you're very likely to get burned!

ah, we're back to the morality question that firefighters Help Everyone no matter their guilt!!! it's a good one. everyone deserves care! ooooh, buck and eddie being the first two out with an injured prisoner and are told to wait for the escort! (and then they get one? if it is really police escort?) oh, getting to the infirmary within the prison is also good! the shackled guy isn't a prisoner, it's a guard! dun dun daaa! so where are those prisoners? HMMMM? maybe in the ambulance with buck and eddie? well, if he's pulling a gun on buck trying to answer the radio, probably not a proper escort! dun dun DA again!

this is the dude that was outside looking up at the sky! i'm assuming he's our Main Plot Man. buck being the one who acts out when he brings out the picture of chris is SOOOOO!!!!!! it's so HIM <3333. he is not cut out for a hostage situation like eddie is. Stoic Eddie. :(

athena i know as bobby's wife he's your first priority but him being in the prison is not the worst thing right now! buck and eddie are literally being held hostage!

oh okay, bobby proving me wrong. "i have been a firefighter for nearly three decades, and trust me when I say there is not a locked room anywhere that the right tools and enough time can't break open." that's a mic drop!!!!!!!!

ooooh, the transponder (and their cell phones and stuff??) is on the side of the road here!

"i kept him alive" okay, so the dude doesn't want to be a killer? but according to what athena and elaine are saying they've both literally killed people? hmm. the plot thickens. helpful neighbor!

Ravi volunteering to go with bobby! they're gonna make him look like not a firefighter!

aww, hen chatting with the doc about chim. he's complimenting her! talking about med school! yes you CAN, hen!

intubation! buck is surprised they're actually at an ER. so am I, frankly, even though i've seen clips from this episode and know they end up here. "pretty boy stays with me" eddie getting called a pretty boy???? please tell me this is not the only time this happens. he IS a pretty boy. calling buck the kid, though... :( only bobby can say that in a nice way.

buck talking back is ALSO not surprising. "Just go, or i'll shoot you. or better yet i shoot him, then i find his kid and i shoot him too." saying this without even Knowing it's literally buck's weak spot. or, well, he did speak out on the side of the road immediately when the picture of chris came out, so maybe he intuited very well! (he rolled a nat 20, if you will) Eddie's little "buck" with the appeasing look! so good in tense situations. they make a good team. :)))

oooh! this is a fun surprise! an empty ER! and they're getting accosted by police! poor buck. "he's still in the ambulance. with Eddie." oooh, at least athena figured out! "guess this wasn't part of your 27 step plan" "how'd they find us so fast?" i mean, even though you took the transponder out, it is a very unique ambulance that has 118 in very large letters on the side and the roof. also athena figured out your motive.

his son is in the ICU! aww, eddie assumed he'd force his way up the list at gunpoint, but he wants to give him his own heart!

Ravi in bloody prisoner clothes. :(((( and you know bobby knows that ravi will fit in better being a person of color. :(((( which is why he can just walk away.

"just like they taught you in home ec class" "i took shop" beloved lesbian henrietta wilson. <3 and she did an excellent job! laughing gas is working! which, this is a kind of bananas plan, but i'm glad it worked! smart!

mitchell is still forcing the issue! buck saying it's a technicality and athena saying it's a law. i mean, Morally!!! i am assuming this is true about prisoners not being able to be organ donors and that's so fucked up. i wonder if it's just a california thing or if it's in lots of states. HMM. i can see how learning that would influence a writer to put together this episode! love this woke shit!

sassy eddie!!!! stop moving around, the police will think the ambulance moving means shit's going down and will breach. shut the hell up.... so i can help you. DAD TO DAD!

bobby like ... but if buck is there than eddie must be next to him???

eddie brainstorming buck will help! by getting his girlfriend to help! but mitchell is saying he doesn't want the public knowing his son is his son! the cycle of sons taking after fathers, and breaking the cycle! love this squaring up between mitchell and eddie. a kind of promise between them that they both mean it!

AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! buck's crazy run outside!!!! eddie's frantic compressions to keep his heart pumping!!! aaaaaahhhh! i love everyone outside this ambulance!

eddie talking to the mom!!!! eddie you're the Best.

what the fuck is a commutation? okay, i looked it up, and i'm not sure i properly understand, but Okay, Sure.

hen is changed and eddie's still in his turnouts???? okay, sure. love them all waiting around in different spots.

bobby's gonna take ravi out for breakfast because it'll be loud!

taylor hugging buck when he gets home!!! she's such a good girlfriend. properly worried but not freaking out about it.

eddie coming home to christopher!!!!!! that's soooooo sweeeeet.

[occulthours]

Can you rate some bonnie ships

Sure! This is just based on my personal preference, combining what we got in canon and the potential Bonnie stans explore in fanon.

This is pretty long so I'll put a text breaker (or whatever that's called) here. If you wanted me to go in-depth for a certain ship, feel free to ask! I apologize in advance for any misspells, grammar mistakes or errors.

1. Stefonnie and Bonkai

I have a few posts dedicated to my love of Stefonnie, but I’ll say it again, out of all of Bonnie’s ships, they had some of the best foundations based on canon alone. Same with Bonkai. There easily could’ve been a smooth transition into a relationship for both ships.

Season 5 was the perfect time to set Stefonnie up instead we got the blandness that is Ste.roline due to how similar their arcs were up to that point and how the main conflict of that season affected them two the most out of the main cast.

Anyone with eyes could see that Bonkai had a similar setup to TVDUS “dark romance” ships like DE and KC. The whole “bad boy x good girl” trope combined with the “evil guy is willing to change to earn the heart of the morally rich girl” trope was very on brand for Julie and Bonkai did it in a way that, again in my opinion, subverted from the norm. Bonnie held Kai accountable in a way that Elena and Caroline simply didn’t when it came to their highly questionable boyfriends. On top of that, I loved how Kai brought out the more vengeful side of Bonnie that had been somewhat watered down in seasons 3-5. Bonkai had one thing that was missing from all of Bonnie’s canon ships; passion. Out of all of Bonnie’s ships, canon or otherwise, Bonkai had the most electric chemistry. You can feel the emotions from Kat and Chris through the screen and they played off each other so well.

2. Klonnie

Bonnies ship with the most wasted potential. Klaus and Bonnie had everything in place to be a well-done ship. Not only did Kat and Joseph have great chemistry, but they were the biggest captains of this ship when Klaus was just getting started in TVD. They individually had the most interesting lore of all the TVDU characters and given how intertwined the Mikaelsons and the Bennetts were, should’ve interacted far more times in canon. Klaus was said to always have a witch by his side but wouldn't want to seduce Bonnie into joining his team after nearly reaching the damn near impossible feat of killing him? As a "novice" witch at that!

Additionally, Bonnie would've THRIVED in The Originals. TO was a very witch-centric show with a lot of characters I would've loved seeing Bonnie interact with. No offense to Hayley, but there's no denying that Bonnie being Hope's mother would have made more sense than what canon gave us.

3. Bonora

If Julie and Co didn’t want Bonnie to date one of their precious fan-favorite white men, fine. Bonora was there and would’ve been such a nice ship for Bonnie. Kat had been advocating for Bonnie to be bisexual for a long time to no avail instead we got Fr.eelin which, no shade, is basically shein Bonora despite Kat having great chemistry with women as well as men. If you had put Nora in Enzo's place in the later 2 seasons of the show very little would’ve changed. In fact, Bonnie’s arc would’ve significantly improved.

4. Kennett

Kennett has somewhat slipped down my ranking due to how disgusting the actor who plays Kol is, but for the ship's sake let’s just imagine Daniel Sherman was the one to start off playing Kol, okay? Okay <3

Kol was said to have a love of witches very early on in the show. The most consistent thing about his character was how he stayed connected to magic despite no longer being able to practice it himself. Bonnie was undisputedly the most powerful witch he had ever come across. Why wasn’t he more interested in her? Bonnie was the one solving everyone’s magical issues as a 17-year-old self-trained witch. Kol would’ve loved to dissect her mind, watch her do spells, and even share his own 1000 years' worth of knowledge about magic with her.

5. Tonnie

I honestly don’t have much to say about Tonnie, but I do think they could’ve been fun in the later seasons. Julie said that her shitty alternative ending for Bonnie was her ending up with Matt and having children with him, which sucks ASS by the way, and while I had the idea of Bonnie getting an even more half-baked romance than she got with Jeremy and Enzo, I would've sucked it up if it were with Tyler. Bonnie and Tyler were childhood friends and should've gotten even closer when Elena and Matt started dating considering they were their best friends. I can definitely imagine Elena trying to force Bonnie on a double date with her, Matt, and Tyler.

While Forwood is one of my favorite canon TVDU ships, Tyler and Bonnie bonding early on over their supernatural heritage would've made a lot more sense given that witches and werewolves traditionally get along significantly better than either species do with vampires.

6. Bamon

If you had asked me this in 2020/21, Bamon would've topped my list. I don't by any means hate them, but I'm admittedly not as fond of them anymore. I feel like Bamon is most serious Bonnie stans first, and/or most beloved ship. And it makes sense! Bonnie and Damon had excellent chemistry, a large amount of focus on their relationship in season 6 and onward, and a lot of romantically coded scenes despite the writers' hopes of dissuading the fans. My biggest gripe with Bamon is that, like most dynamics including Damon, Damon benefits from having Bonnie in his life significantly more than Bonnie benefits from having Damon in her life. Additionally, given how they wrote Steroline in regards to Stelena, how Bamon would play out in canon in regards to Delena sounds like a nightmare to me.

7. Bonenzo

Bonenzo is Bonnie's best canon ship but lord knows that's not saying a lot. The ship felt as if the writers took bits and pieces from Bamon and Kennett/Kolvina and said "Here, damn!" in hopes to shut Bonnie fans up. I honestly wouldn't dislike them nearly as much if they were actually endgame. Enzo's presence was merely to give Bonnie a romance, and he didn't even fulfill the means that justified his existence.

8. Beremy

He cheated on her with a ghost. Enough said.

[melonmaw]

another OG post

General Lore (True for both AU’s)

Who wants me to do a Young Logan AU? So far, this is what my brain has dredged up:

16 year old Logan shows up the way he does in the 1st X-men movie, but without Rougue (this is still up in the air). It's probably more like a X-Men Evolution setting, but still, the X-Men movie meeting is feasible. This WILL be a Short King Wolverine (as all my Wolverines are), but him and Sabretooth are NOT related in this AU thank you very Little.

I'm probably not going to focus on Sabretooth a crazy amount, but this is Important for Lore reasons. So!

Basic turn of events:

Logan is 8 when his powers manifest (poor baby), everyone dies, he runs away and spends three years in the wilderness running around the borders of the US and Canada. Then he gets temporarily fostered by a nice family that he runs from after they realize he's a mutant, and is finally ""recruited """ to the Weapon X project. He meets Sabretooth there.

In this au, Sabretooth is 1 year older. He's 10 when he Loses His Mind on his POS father and also spends years in the wilderness! Joins around half a year before Logan. They become best buds, but Wolverine is firm on what he believes in and is essentally Sabretooth's Moral Compass. Not that they always follow it, the boys are Feral after all. So when 'soft little Lgan' is selected to undergo the Adimantium process, Sabretooth goes a little bonkers. He's the fav, the best at taking orders, taller, and they pick the runt?!

The process is actually (accidentally) interrupted by Sabretooth in this universe, also similar to the X-men movies, with Wolverine hearing his voice and the conversation he and Stryker have. He busts out and spends two more years in the wilderness before finally being captured by meeting up with the X-Men.

Also, the reason Logan is so short in this universe is explained pretty simply: He was in the middle of puberlty when it was put on him. This also means he is a little lither than he is when he gets older, and I am keeping his OG kitty hair.

As for the X-Men themselves, I am debating if I want to make this a Reverse AU, where all of the X-Mmen are full adults and he's one of the only kids, or if I want them to be in highschool with him. (The high school thing comes with its own set of questions such as: do I want the X-Men to be older or younger or his age? Which X-Men do I want to be hanging out with him? Etc etc. All problems for a later date.)

Send asks!!!!! Please my brain is bubbling