#and many of them either have the same name. similar names. or multiple names/titles

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, Chapter 1

Pairing: Platonic Steven Grant x Reader (for now)

Rating: T

Word count: ~3150

Story Summary: Steven meets a beautiful woman in the Egyptian exhibit at the British Museum...

...Too bad she's his new boss.

Tags/Warnings: Canon Divergent since Steven still works for the British Museum post-canon, No Jake Lockley, developing friendship

A/N: Welcome to the start of my first Steven Grant story! This will be multiple chapters (not exactly sure how many, although I don't expect it to get too long.)

If you'd like to be added to the taglist for this (or any of my other writing), please let me know!

Title from the song of the same name by The Police.

Steven Grant whistled cheerfully to himself as he ascended the steps of the British Museum. He had managed to successfully translate the hieroglyphic code he had been working on for the past week, gotten a full night's rest, and had even caught the early bus to work.

He checked his watch. Eh, I've got a bit before I have to clock in. Might as well pop by the Egyptian exhibit to see if they changed the placard for Mekhet yet.

He headed over to the exhibit, sighing with disappointment when he noticed that the placard was still incorrect. It's been three months. The least they could do is place a temporary sign until a new, permanent one came in.

He was just about to go put his bag in his employee locker and clock in early when a woman walked up next to him and began reading the placard on the statue.

“You know, that's actually wrong,” Steven said.

The woman glanced over at him. “Excuse me?”

Steven placed her accent as American, but couldn't pinpoint the region. Must be on holiday. He pointed at the placard. “The placard. It says that this is Menhit when it's really Mekhit.”

The woman looked at the placard, then back at the statue. “Oh, is it really?”

Steven nodded. “Menhit was actually a solar goddess, representing the brow of Ra and depicted by a reclining lioness, while Mekhit was the goddess of war, which is why she's depicted as a roaring lioness.”

The woman smiled at Steven. “Well that makes sense.”

“She was also known as the ‘Eye of Ra’,” Steven continued, encouraged by her friendliness. “It was said that the Eye left Ra and transformed itself into a lioness, after which it was hunted down and returned by Onuris, then it transformed into Menhit, which explains the similar names. And there's also Mehit, with no k or n, who was associated with the moon and was also depicted as a reclining lioness, but with three sticks behind her.”

The woman chuckled. “Imagine someone in Ancient Egypt accidentally praying to the wrong god or goddess because of a spelling error. Like, ‘oops, sorry, I meant for Mut to help me, not Nut ’.”

Steven grinned. “I've been trying to get my bosses to fix it for months now, but honestly I shouldn't be surprised. Took them ages to correct the banner depicting the Ennead. Only seven of them were on there when there were supposed to be nine.”

The woman glanced over at the banner, which now included all nine of the Ennead. “Oh, so you work here?”

Steven nodded. “Oh, er, sorry, yeah. I'm not just some nutter chatting you up in the Egyptian exhibit, I promise.”

The woman laughed. “Well either way, you're very knowledgeable about Egyptian history.”

“Oh, I love history, especially ancient Egyptian history. I find it fascinating.” Steven bit his lip. “Is it alright if I show you my favorite exhibit? It's just right over there.”

The woman nodded. “Sure.”

Steven led her over to the statue of Hathor. “This is Hathor -- Egyptian goddess of music, joy, pleasure and love.”

The woman grinned. “I see why she's your favorite. She gets all the fun stuff.”

Steven chuckled. “She was also goddess of beauty and the protector of women, and she was considered one of the most powerful of all the gods and goddesses. Early cosmetics and mirrors were left at her temples as offerings.”

The woman smiled. “She sounds pretty amazing.”

Steven nodded. “Oh, she was. In fact, it's said she--”

“Oy! Stevie!”

Steven startled at the sound of Donna's voice. “Oh, bollocks,” he muttered. ‘I'm sorry, I've got to run.”

The woman nodded. “That's quite alright. It was nice meeting you… Stevie, was it?”

Steven shook his head. “Actually, it's Steven. With a ‘v'.”

“Nice meeting you, ‘Steven-with-a-v’.”

“You too.”

Steven tried to hurry away but was accosted by Donna, who immediately began to give him an earful. “How many times do I have to tell you, don't bother the visitors!” she hissed loudly. “The new museum director's coming in today and the last thing she needs to see is employees faffing about.”

“But I’m not -- wait, new director?” Steven vaguely remembered Donna mentioning a few weeks prior that the museum board had finally hired a new director. “Who is it?”

Donna shrugged. “I dunno, some poncy American. Anyway, as I've said before, you're not a bloody tour guide. Your job is to sell overpriced rubbish to whiny little brats and their caretakers. Now, I want the gift shop fully stocked and in tip-top shape by the time the new director arrives. You should've been doing that already instead of dawdling.”

Steven glanced back at the woman, who was now studying the hieroglyphics on one of the nearby sarcophagi. “But I'm not -- I was just --”

Donna rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, flirt on your own time. Not like she'd be interested in the likes of you anyway, innit?”

“But I wasn't --” Steven sighed as Donna stalked off. “Okay then, good talk.”

He trudged over to the staff lounge area, stashed his messenger bag in his locker, and clocked in before heading to the gift shop.

He cringed when he saw the state of it. Clearly no one had bothered restocking after the gaggle of families and tour groups had blown through over the weekend. This'll take me all bloody day. Luckily Mondays are usually pretty quiet.

He quickly pinned his name tag to his shirt and began to straighten and organize the various plushies and knickknacks between customers, making note of what he needed to grab more of from the storage room.

He was organizing the Seshat figurines several hours later when Donna walked out of her office. “Oy, Stevie, the new boss lady wants a word with you upstairs.”

Steven swallowed nervously. “Me? What for?”

Donna shrugged, a slight smirk on her face. “You know, I heard that there was a bit of a shakeup coming with the new regime but I thought it'd at least be a few days before you got sacked. Guess not.”

Bollocks, Steven thought. Hopefully there's at least a decent severance package. “Okay. Well, off I go then.”

He set down the last figurine and headed out of the gift shop towards the lifts. “Maybe they'll at least let me finish my shift before they give me the boot,” he wondered aloud as he pressed the button to call the lift.

“Why are you so worried?” Marc replied in his head. “You don't even like this job.”

“I do like it,” Steven protested, catching Marc's face in the reflection of the shiny metal doors. “Well, sort of. And anyway, we can't afford our flat without it.”

Marc was quiet for a moment. “I got some money,” he finally said as the lift arrived. “From Dad, after Mom… Well anyway, I've never touched it so that should keep you afloat for a little while until you find another job.”

The ride up to the 5th floor was one of the longest of Steven's life. He stepped out of the lift, nervously trying to tame his wild curls but ultimately just making his hair more messed up. Oh, bollocks.

He walked down the hall to the door marked Director and knocked.

“Come in,” a voice said.

Steven took a deep breath and entered.

He froze. Standing behind the museum director's desk was the woman he had been talking to in the Egyptian exhibit before Donna had spotted him. “Oh, erm…” Just my bloody buggering luck.

The visitor from earlier (the new museum director, you bloody great twit, he corrected himself) smiled warmly. “Hello again, ‘Steven-with-a-v’.”

“Er, hello, Miss.” Steven could see his employee file open on the director's desk and began mentally going over their entire interaction from earlier, trying to figure out what exactly he had done in order to get sacked so quickly. He hadn't been on the clock at the time so it wasn't like he actually had been dawdling instead of working, and he hadn't really complained about his job beyond mentioning that the display placard for Mekhit was incorrect and about how long it took for the banner depicting the Ennead to be corrected.

The director motioned to the chair in front of her desk. “Have a seat.”

Steven sat as the director took her seat as well. 

The director folded her hands in front of her and placed them on her desk. “First of all,” she began, “apologies for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Y/F/N Y/L/N, and I'm the new director here at the museum. I'm sure you're wondering why I've called you to my office, especially so soon after starting my tenure here.”

“Er, yes ma'am,” Steven replied nervously, glancing up at the framed Ph.D hanging on the wall before once again looking at his open employment record.

Dr. Y/L/N slid Steven's file over to her and studied it for a moment. “You work in the gift shop, is that correct?”

Bollocks, here it comes. “Yes, ma'am.”

“You've never had any interest in becoming a tour guide, have you?”

“I'm sorry, ma’am, I wasn't trying to --” Steven blinked rapidly as her words registered. “Wait, what?”

Dr. Y/L/N looked up from his file. “Tour guide. You ever thought about it?”

Steven nodded. “All the time, actually. It's what I dream of doing.”

“Then why haven't you ever applied for an open tour guide position?”

Because Donna keeps telling me that there's no way it would ever happen, so why bother? “Well I, er…”

Dr. Y/L/N leaned back in her chair. “We actually have a current opening for the Visitor Engagement Specialist position… if you're interested, that is.”

Steven was speechless. “Visitor Engagement Specialist? But that's -- that's the head of programming and tours.”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “Yes, that's right. I'd like to offer you the position.”

She gestured towards his employee file. “I've read over your CV, Steven, and you're more than qualified.”

Steven was still processing. What the bloody hell is happening? 

Sounds like you're not getting fired, Marc answered. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Steven shook his head. “Even if I applied for the position, wouldn't I need to interview for it as well?”

Dr. Y/L/N’s lips turned up in a small smile. “Oh, but you already have.” 

Steven’s brow furrowed. “I have?” 

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “The museum’s visitor numbers have been declining lately, so over the weekend I took a few tours to see how they could be improved, and to be quite honest I learned more from speaking to you for 10 minutes in the Egyptian exhibit than from taking 3 separate hour-long tours throughout the entire museum. You certainly had me enraptured during our conversation about Mekhit and Hathor this morning.”

She gave Steven a warm smile. “I would consider that enough of an interview to offer you the position, wouldn't you?”

Steven huffed out a nervous chuckle. “I -- I suppose so, ma’am.”

“The current tours are stale and boring,” Dr. Y/L/N continued. “And the guides themselves could use some, well, guidance  from someone with your knowledge of and enthusiasm for history and folklore. I think you could plan some wonderfully engaging tours.”

Steven rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I do have some ideas on how the current tours could be improved… So, er, what exactly does the position entail?”

“You'd work closely with the Curatorial department to develop programming and tours based on what we have on exhibit at the time while concurrently managing the Programming department. Of course, that would include being on the regular tour rotation as well as handling any specialized tours -- large groups, VIP guests, and the like. I know it would be a lot of work, but the position also comes with your own office as well as a sizable increase in pay.” Dr. Y/L/N quoted a figure that was more than double what Steven currently made. “Plus benefits.”

Steven’s eyes widened. With that sort of salary he could afford a bigger flat closer to the museum. “That's -- that's quite generous. I don't know what to say.”

Dr. Y/L/N nodded. “I know this is probably a bit of a shock, so feel free to take some time to think about it. Think you could give me an answer by the beginning of next week?”

What's there to think about? Marc chided him. You're being handed your dream job on a silver platter. Say you'll take it, dumbass.

Steven ignored Marc. “Yes, ma'am.”

Dr. Y/L/N closed Steven's file. “By the way, I put in an order for a new placard for the Mekhit exhibit. Thought you'd like to know.”

Steven grinned. “Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”

“And one other thing…” Dr. Y/L/N paused briefly. “Does your current supervisor often speak to you the way she did this morning?”

Steven was taken aback. “Donna? Well, actually, er… well, she's a bit prickly, yes.”

“I see. And have you reported her behavior to anyone?”

Steven shook his head. “No, ma'am. Don't want to cause a scene or make things worse.”

“Mmm. Well, this 'poncy American' is going to have a private chat with her later on the way we treat our subordinates… and refer to our superiors.”

Marc chuckled. I think I'm in love.

Yeah, me too, Steven replied. Too bad she's my boss.

He really hadn't been flirting with Dr. Y/L/N earlier, although if Steven had been more confident he might have actually considered it. As it was, however, he was glad he hadn't. Most likely would've gotten sacked in that case.

Dr. Y/L/N stood. “Alright, Steven, thank you for coming in. Please let me know as soon as possible what your decision on the Visitor Engagement Specialist position is.”

Steven stood as well. “I will, ma'am. And no matter what I decide, thank you either way for the opportunity.”

“You're welcome. And thank you for such a stimulating conversation this morning. I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Steven smiled. “I did too.”

He headed back down to the gift shop, where Donna was standing behind the register reading a book.

She looked up as Steven approached the counter. “What, still here? Figured you'd have cleared out your locker by now.”

Steven shook his head. “The new director just wanted to introduce herself and speak with me about something. Guess she's doing that with everyone.”

Donna rolled her eyes. “In that case, when you get done with restocking there's a new shipment of items that need to be unpacked and sorted.”

As if she couldn't have been working on all that shit herself while you were gone, Marc said as Donna headed back towards her office. Would you seriously rather be stuck with that than be the head of tours and programs? You know she's just going to make things more difficult after she gets reprimanded this afternoon.

Steven sighed. Yeah, I know.

Being a tour guide is exactly what you've been wanting to do since the day you started, and being the head of the entire department? Just think… you'd actually be in a higher position than Donna. Wouldn't you like to rub that in her face?

Steven chuckled to himself as he thought about Donna having to answer to him for a change. Yeah, actually, I quite like the thought of that.

Then what are you waiting for? 

You know what? You're right. Steven straightened. I deserve this position.

Damn right you do. Ever since we figured out how to work together you've been able to hold down your job just fine and haven't even been late once. You'll be great.

Steven moved over to the phone and pulled up the staff directory before dialing Dr. Y/L/N's extension.

“Yes, may I help you?” Dr. Y/L/N's voice said briskly over the line.

“Er, uh, Dr. Y/L/N, this is Steven… Steven Grant, from the gift shop?” Steven stammered out, suddenly losing his bravado.

Dr. Y/L/N's tone warmed immediately. “Yes, Steven, what can I do for you?”

Steven took a deep breath. “I've decided I don't need the week to think about your offer. I accept.”

“Wonderful!” Dr. Y/L/N sounded pleased. “I'll have HR start on the transfer paperwork right away so we can have you in your new position by next Monday. There's a couple of new Egyptian artifacts on loan from the Cairo Museum arriving on Thursday afternoon and we're wanting to have them installed by the beginning of next month, so hopefully we can have you settled and able to rework the tour to include them by then.”

Steven nodded even though he knew she couldn't see him. “That shouldn't be a problem. Thank you again for this opportunity, Dr. Y/L/N. I really appreciate it.” 

“You're welcome, Steven. I honestly think you'll thrive in your new position and I'm glad you accepted it.”

“Me too.”

“The museum board is introducing me to some benefactors in ten minutes so I'm afraid I've got to run in a few, but I'm looking forward to hearing your ideas on how to improve the current tours. Maybe we can talk more on Friday? I'll be meeting with the Curatorial department that morning to discuss placement of the new artifacts.” Dr. Y/L/N paused. “You know, actually, now that I think about it since you're going to be involved with that anyway I'd like you to sit in on that meeting as well, even if it's just to observe and check out the new artifacts for yourself.”

“Certainly, ma'am.”

“Ok, great. I'll let Donna know that I've scheduled another meeting with you and that your shift needs to be covered on Friday. What's your current schedule looking like for next week?”

Steven rolled his eyes, grateful that Dr. Y/L/N couldn't actually see him. “Donna has me doing inventory all next week.”

Dr. Y/L/N hummed. “Ok, well then it shouldn't be a problem to find someone else to cover that.”

“No, ma'am.”

“I'll see you Friday morning, then. Goodbye, Steven.”

“Goodbye.”

Steven hung up the phone. “Wow,” he said under his breath. “Wow, wow, wowee wow.”

Marc chuckled in his head. You've hit the big-time now.

“I get my own office. I get my own phone extension.” Steven's eyes widened. “I get my own business cards. ‘Steven Grant, Visitor Engagement Specialist’.”

Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

Steven nodded. “I still can't believe it.”

Believe it, buddy. Life is looking up.

Steven grinned. "It is, isn't it?"

He knew one thing for certain -- he couldn't wait to prove to Dr. Y/L/N that she had made the right decision.

[codmw2019-2022]

COD MW [2019-22] - Relationships part 1 of ?

Just wanted to preface before I get into it that I did struggle with writing this. It's my first time since high school writing something like this so it's been a bit of a struggle to get back into it.

I've also haven't added any romantic relationships to this, unless the characters have kissed or are canonically married ( like Laswell ) it falls more into head-canon territory. I may also come back and edit this in the future, I'm just getting down a general idea of how I currently view their relationships.

!! Just adding this is all my own interpretation of these characters. !!

Relationship Chart

Explanation : So this cube shows character relationships following both MW (19) , MWII (22) , and MWII Atomgrad Raids storyline. (Yes I am ignoring MWIII, no I will not elaborate /hj)

With this I can confidently show who has and has not interacted and what their relationship is from there. Since I'm not speculating if relationships are romantic or not I've decided to focus on how close the characters are. For instance Alejandro and Rodolfo are both shown to care about each other, same goes for Laswell and Price.

I was going to add in characters like Hadir and Valeria, but with Valeria her relationship with Alejandro and Rodolfo is very cut and dry; and Hadir's relationship is something I'll focus more on when I write about Farah. Their relationship is more complicated and interesting than most other characters.

Character Relationships

Farah :

Her relationships are mostly focused on trust or admiration. She's more close to characters who have stood by her side in tough times, such as Alex and Price. With this though as soon as her trust is betrayed she is more resentful and hostile towards them, like with her brother Hadir.

You can see through most of MW before Hadir's betrayal that she does care about her brother, but as she says to Alex during the cutscene before Hunting Party.

Farah's relationship with Hadir changes instantly after his betray, no matter how much Hadir and Farah care about each other she will never see him as her brother again. This is shown more during the 6th and 7th cutscene during the Atomgrad raids. Hadir does care for Farah and even admits he personally wont kill her, but he will still stop her since their beliefs are so different.

Quotes :

Gaz: You'll be hunting your own brother. Farah: He is not my brother. Not anymore.

Farah: It is impossible that we share the same blood. Hadir: I love you, Farah- Even if you hate me… Hadir: In that way we are not the same. Farah: One of many…

Hadir: Sister… Together we can stop them, like we did before… Farah: Believe me… I will… Farah: My way… with those I trust.

Price :

He keeps a wall of professionalism between most of his close relationships, the exception being Laswell. We see this on multiple occasions where he goes from calling Laswell by her last name and instead calling her Kate. Usually when she is either in danger like what happens during Recon By Fire, or during moments of stress/anger.

Price does show genuine care for those he is close too especially when they could be hurt or in danger, but it's just not shown the same way his care for Laswell is. Same with Nikolai their relationship is best described by the mission title when we first see Nikolai, 'Old Comrades'. They're close but not in the same way civilians are, both being a hardened solider has changed the way their friendship can be viewed from the outside.

Laswell :

Similar to Price she keeps her interactions more professional, while still also bantering with Gaz or Price on occasion. She does however verbally show more care about those she is close too, for instance telling Farah to "Take care of them." ( in reference to Gaz and Price ) at the start of Atomgrad raids.

Alex :

With rewatching both MW and the Atomgrad raids I've realized that Gaz and Alex's relationship is a lot closer than the fandom makes it out to be. Both of them check in with each other, sharing banter and jokes. Alex's relationship with Gaz is more familiar and close, where as Alex's relationship with Farah is focused more on him being supporting and committed to her and her cause. He's willing to sacrifice himself for Farah, where as Gaz and Alex are equals leaving room for more friendly banter.

Quotes :

Gaz: If it wasn't me- I'm glad it was you. Alex: Too bad we couldn't kill him twice.

Alex: I'm pretty sure everything we do is illegal. Gaz: Only the good stuff. Gaz: You got friends nearby. Alex: You too.

Gaz: Told ya you had friends nearby. Gaz: Man o' steel. Alex: Titanium…

Gaz :

Out of all the characters Gaz is definitely the most open about his feelings. He outwardly more caring and emotional, we can see this with how he treats the other characters, he barely knows like Farah and offers her a drink after Hadir's betrayal and also willing to make his own support for Farah known when her liberation force is put on the foreign terror organization list.

Unlike Price, Gaz isn't as hardened by war yet, we do see this change over the course of the series so far. But compared to Price, he seems more friendly this may be because he is a good judge of character or might be because he is just more friendly. This doesn't mean he's quick to trust though.

AN:

Thank you all for waiting for this to come out, I've been struggling a bit with working on this blog. I will keep working on it but I'm just not as confident with my character analysis as I am with research gathering and collection information which is important to the story and characters we love.

I'm going to spend a bit more time working on the next part to this focusing on the character introduced during MWII, but in the mean time I'll see if I can get something else out.

PS: I've also spent some free time working on my cod oc and because of this I might be redoing the character ages post, not sure yet whether or not to edit the post or make a new updated one.

I'm also wondering if you all are interested in learning a bit about my cod oc and the mixed matched cod universe I've put them in. I'd make a separate blog for zem but curious to know if this is something you want to see.

[bigsharkking]

My Thoughts on Linked Universe Pt 5! The Hero of Hyrule!

Here we are with my 2nd fav Link, Roolie!!! He's so cute I could just squeeze him to death 🤗. Unfortunately the Traveler does not have much lore. So most of this this will be my speculation and what I think on him. LETS GO!!

__________

Okidoki, I know most new Zelda fans haven't played the og games but, I did sooooo call me a nerd is ya want but they were actually pretty good. REALLY hard but I enjoyed them, both Zelda 1 and Zelda 2. It took me so long to beat them but it was so worth it. They are some of those games that when you beat them you feel so good and smart. there's not much to talk about them in terms of game play and mechanics so right into the story.

Zelda 1 follows a young boy on his quest to save the princess of his dying kingdom. His quest starts off with him meeting an old man who gives him a sword and tells him of his destiny. The young boy, whos name is Link goes off to many dungeons and trials. Though out it all facing many monsters and bosses. Link eventually fights Ganon one on one and wins. Puting an end to cycle in the Downfall Timeline (almost). The Taveler is most likely about 10-12 in this game and is one of two heroes who doesn't wield the master sword.

Zelda 2 The Adventure of Link follows the same hero from Zelda 1. The Traveler is probably about 14 or 15 in this game, so a descent amount of time has passed. This adventure is very similar to his last only now he has to prevent Ganons return. He also must wake a princess from her ever lasting slumber. The Traveler also gains a blood curse placed on to him by Ganons minnions. If you die in game a screen will flash saying " Game Over, Return of Ganon." Link also has assassins chasing him all over to kill him and bring Ganon back to life.

Both games though have incredibly hard puzzles but have relatively easy fights and bosses. The Ganon fight in Zelda 1 is super easy. When I played it for the first time I though it would be a somewhat long fight with multiple stages. But it took like 4 hits with the Silver Arrows and he dies. Like damn, not only did this man fumbled in ALttP he fumbled in this games too. How you going to let a kid beat you twice, when you killed the Hero of Time smh 😒.

Anywho, I think these easy fights are the souce of Roolie's insecurity with the Cain. He even says in the comic that he 'must of had it easy.' I don't think he has much confidence in his abilities or his accomplishments as a Hero of Hyrule. Speaking of the title the heroes all share. That might also be a souce of his insecurity. He doesn't have another title like the others. He might not think that he is worthy of standing next to the others.

The man needs to cut him self some slack cause his magical prowess is leages above anyone else of the Chain. He's got that cool sword beam and his lightning attack is probably one of the best amoung the group. I would go as far to say that his magical ability is better that his skill with a sword, which is by no means weak. He is worthy of his title and to stand next to the other heros, he just needs to see it.

Some more of his magic is his ability to transform into a fairy! I already talked little about transformation magic in the Old Man's post, but I'm going to reiterate some of my thoughts. For starters to me transformation magic is really powerful. I mean it changes the shape of your body for a prolonged period of time. Anything that does that can't be weak. As we've seen with the Smith, Old Man, and Rancher, it will leave a mark. Either an actual physical marking on the boday, or permanently changing your form is probably up to the user and what type of transformation magic it is.

The Travler does not have a lot of realationships, we could argue that he has a very nice relationship with Both Zeldas, but it's probably nothing more than him being their protector. His Era is not the best. It takes place after the Downfall of Hyrule. This period most likely happens millennia after the Era of Legend. There arn't many settlements, and those that are there have a limited population.

Speaking on the Downfall of Hyrule, it probably had something to do with their ecomony and agricultural practices. I know theres a recuring joke about The Traveler and Champion eating anything they can get there hands on, but this most likely a survivle habit learn from their post apocalyptic Kingdoms. I actually really like the headcanon of Roolie being able to eat almost anything because of his ability to transform into a fairy. It suits him and opens a lot of funny opportunities for him to feak out his brothers

To expand on the Downfall of Hyrule I feel like traveler would speak about his home. Not in great detail but he would talk about the state of his kingdom. I also think that the Veteran would be absolutly horrified to learn what his predecessor had gone though. Traveler would reassure him that it was nothing that he could stop and that the events that lead to the Downfall happened a really long time after he dies.

__________

Thats all I got for Roolie! I'm not really going to talk about Echos of Wisdom cuz I think it might get a little complicated. Anywho the next hero I'm going to talk about is the Hero of the Twilight!! THANK YOU FOR READING!!!!!

<-prev next->

[twistedtummies2]

Top 15 Disney Animated Movie Villain Songs

Earlier in the month, in honor of both the Halloween season - Disney’s Season of the Villain - and the fact this year marks the 101st anniversary of Disney as a company, I talked about my favorite portrayals of Cruella De Vil. I’m still in a Disney Villain mood (which, to be fair, is far from uncommon with me), so to continue our Halloween series of lists, I think it’s time I discussed a subject that I’ve actually had brought to my attention several times: Disney Villain Songs. While Villain Songs have existed practically as long as musical theatre, in any of its formats, existed - from the opera to Gilbert & Sullivan’s operettas to beyond - I think most would agree that Disney has effectively “cornered the market” when it comes to these particular parts of many musicals. Whenever people talk about great villain songs, you can be darn sure that not only are you going to see at least one Disney bad guy number in the list, but it’s honestly quite likely you’ll see multiple entries.

This is what made making such a countdown properly REALLY difficult. Because, just as there are numerous Disney Villains from all sorts of mediums and properties, there are all sorts of dastardly musical numbers related to them. So, I decided to apply the same basic rule to this list that I’ve applied to other villain-related countdowns: I’ll only be including movies, and therefore songs, from the core sixty-something movies in the Walt Disney Animation Studios catalog (with one film’s exception, and I doubt that film’s title needs to be named; you’ll find out which, regardless, in the rundown). I’ll probably do a second list for other villain songs from Disney that DIDN’T fit those criteria, but for now, that’s going to be our focus. Also, I’ll only be including one song from every movie, because some of these films actually have more than one villain song. The only exception to that rule will be reprisals of the same tune. With that said, let’s waste no more time! Sing along (most deviously) with me, as I present My Top 15 Favorite Animated Disney Movie Villain Songs!

15. Heffalumps & Woozles, from The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh.

I initially considered placing either “Pink Elephants on Parade” from Dumbo, or possibly “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Encanto, in the bottom spot. In both cases, I felt neither song was really a VILLAIN song, so much as just…well…sort of spooky and weird. They have the VENEER of villain songs, but Bruno in the latter film is decidedly NOT the bad guy, and that’s revealed within about five minutes after the song takes place, if even that. And in the case of Pink Elephants…that’s literally a trip-out scene about a small elephant being drunk. Everything about that sequence is INSANE, but it’s hardly a VILLAINOUS scene in the strictest sense. It was at that moment I remembered this number: “Heffalumps and Woozles” is actually pretty similar to “Pink Elephants." It is a very strange and surreal number with a lot of cartoonish and absurd imagery, and takes place in the form of a sort of dream sequence. However, the titular monsters that silly old Pooh Bear imagines are much more overtly villainous, and the lyrics paint them as such, describing them as bizarre and frightening beasts who will steal and devour everything you care for most (in Pooh’s case, this primarily means his precious honey). Later spin-offs of this compilation feature would actually feature Heffalump and Woozle characters, and often (though not always) they were, in fact, evil creatures. So at the end of the day, it counts a bit more easily than the two that might have been. Plus, it’s VERY catchy.

14. Prince Ali (Reprise), from Aladdin.

I’m counting this one low on the list because it’s extremely short, as it isn’t so much the villain’s OWN song as it is just a sort of “dark reprise” of an earlier number in the story. But hey, it’s become as iconic as many of the other “proper” villain songs, and when people think of Jafar getting a musical number, they usually think of this sequence first and foremost. This song is a pure celebration on the villain’s part; Jafar has just gained control of the Magic Lamp, and with it, he’s made first a wish to take over Agrabah, and then another to dub himself as the most powerful sorcerer in the universe. Jafar is on a power high like no other during this whole scene, unhinged with glee as he toys with his victims, revealing Aladdin’s true identity to Jasmine before sending the street rat rocketing into space. All the while, he’s giddily dancing and prancing about, and the scene ends with him letting out the mother of all evil laughs: easily one of the greatest bits of diabolical, utterly deranged cackling EVER put to the screen. Jonathan Freeman’s exuberant performance, and the power of the animation, sell every second, and while the scene is short and goes by pretty fast, it still makes a BIG impact. Jafar would get his own TRUE villain songs, all his own, later on, but his mocking reprise of “Prince Ali” is still more than worthy of a spotlight here.

13. Shiny, from Moana.

Tamatoa might be one of the best villains to come out of Disney in recent years, which is funny because he’s really only onscreen in his respective feature for…what, five minutes? Under ten, tops? But what he lacks in screentime, he makes up for in personality, and a HUGE part of that comes from his villain song. This musical number actually does quite a lot in a rather limited time, and yet it never feels bloated or overpacked with information: it sets up Maui’s origins, establishes his rivalry with Tamatoa in a more direct fashion, explains exactly who and what this monster is and what he’s all about, provides a malevolent counterpoint to the titular protagonist’s philosophy…and it does all of this with interesting visuals and a glam rock style directly influenced by Jareth the Goblin King-I mean, David Bowie, and performed by Jemaine Clement. Like Tamatoa himself - and, indeed, like a LOT of the greatest Disney Villains - the song fluctuates between campy humor and dark, half-crazed menace throughout, both lyrically and in its instrumentals. Speaking of, the song is the work of the mighty Lin-Manuel Miranda. If that doesn’t earn it a few points just right off the bat, I don’t know what else will.

12. Gaston, from The Beauty and the Beast.

This may be the single jolliest of all the songs on this list. It almost doesn’t sound like a villain song at all, and I think that’s the point. “Gaston” is a pretty simple number, but that’s exactly what makes it so catchy and memorable. There’s not a whole lot that happens: basically, Gaston needs a pep talk after being rejected by Belle, so LeFou and the other townsfolk in the local pub all begin singing a song about how awesome he is. Gaston - being…well…Gaston - quickly buys into the hype over himself and soon begins bragging in-between bouts of praise from the rest. It’s literally just a comical ode to the character’s own narcissism, not much else. However, one could argue it also establishes an important factor in the story: Gaston is NOT going to change his ways. Any chance of him re-evaluating himself or his approach to things is quickly squashed by everybody else singing his praises, and he’s certainly not going to complain or look into changing on his own terms under those circumstances. It’s only moments after the first take on the song that a reprise occurs (so soon after I wasn’t even sure if I should name said reprise directly in the title), and it’s at this point Gaston goes from just being sort of an annoying jerk to a true villain, as he plots to send Belle’s father to the madhouse and force her to marry him. From this point on, it’s clear who the bad guy is, and the fact we were just enjoying watching him flaunt his own silly superiority makes the moment a bit more tense. Very well-written storytelling there.

11. Mother Knows Best (and its Reprise), from Tangled.

Like “Gaston,” this song also has a reprise, but since the latter takes place much later in the story, I did feel I needed to address it separately in the title. (And I did want to include the Reprise because, in some ways, I like it more than the earlier, fuller rendition.) This song is sung by Mother Gothel to her adoptive daughter, Rapunzel. Years before the main part of the plot, Gothel kidnapped Rapunzel from the palace of the King and Queen of Corona. Why did she do this? Not because she wanted a daughter of her own, but because Rapunzel’s hair contains magical properties that heal wounds and restore one’s youth. Fearing age and death, Gothel obsessively uses the power of Rapunzel’s golden locks to effectively make herself immortal. Not wanting to lose her “medicine,” nor have her crimes revealed to the world, she forbids the captured (and unknowing) princess from venturing out in the outside world. In the first iteration of the song, Gothel tries to convince Rapunzel to stay by singing a song about all the dangers out the outside world, not-so-subtly demeaning the teenaged girl in the process by claiming Rapunzel would never survive if she left their tower. There’s a grand string of irony in the song, brought on not only by the fact that Rapunzel has shown she’s extremely intelligent (albeit admittedly naive) before this fact, but also in the tone the song has, as the melody is spritely and playful, contrasting hilariously with lyrics that literally include mentions of cannibals, quicksand, and the Black Death. (Yikes.) Later in the story, the song takes a much darker, more vicious turn, as Gothel tracks down the escaped Rapunzel and tries to convince her to return home. When Rapunzel refuses, Gothel flies off the handle, starting off slow and passive-aggressive before plunging into a snappy tantrum, deriding the girl as a fool and saying that if things go wrong, she shouldn’t come crying to her. This is all just further manipulation, but it’s dramatically intense, and is heightened by much more foreboding instrumentals. One interesting thing I noted in the reprisal is that you can actually hear what sound like church bells going on at points, and there’s a sort of ticking-clock quality to the melody in both renditions; perhaps foreshadowing of Gothel’s steadily deteriorating state. That, or it just sounds spooky and cool, which…hey, I’m all for that.

10. The Headless Horseman, from The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad.

This is one of the more underrated songs on this countdown, although I have noticed it’s gained more and more of a following over the years, fittingly and especially around this time of the year. Much like “Heffalumps and Woozles,” this song isn’t so much a song BY the villain, so much as a song ABOUT the villain: it’s a description of the antagonist put to music, told by another party. In this case, the song is a musical retelling of the legend of the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, iterated by Brom Bones as a means of scaring the heck out of Ichabod Crane. The song is both upbeat and sinister at the same time, with a sort of jazzy beat that’s contrasted by eerie wailing and the spooky story the lyrics tell. It’s arguably the best and most catchy song in the movie, and it’s only made better by the fact it was originally performed by the crooner himself, Bing Crosby. (Proving he can be just as much the voice of Halloween as he is Christmas.) The song has been covered more and more frequently over the years, the most famous probably being the one by Thurl Ravenscroft. It works great within the context of the story, but it also makes for a fun, jaunty, yet appropriately creepy Halloween ballad on its own terms: versatility is always appreciated, in music as in other things.

9. Trust in Me, from The Jungle Book.

As a couple of songs so far have shown, sometimes the best tunes aren’t the ones that belong to the main baddies. In fact, in cases like this, sometimes the main baddies don’t even HAVE songs: Shere Khan is the main villain of Disney’s Jungle Book, but he never really gets a song in the original film. Instead, musical kudos goes to the secondary and tertiary antagonists of the movie: Kaa and King Louie. While Louie’s song is a lot of fun, I think most agree that “Trust in Me” is a real standout among bad guy songs. The tune happens during the second encounter Mowgli has with the hungry serpent, as Kaa successfully hypnotizes him, and sings this lullaby-like melody to help keep Mowgli in his power. All the while, the python toys with his prey before coiling him up, ready to lazily consume his victim. The tune is as slinky and serpentine as Kaa is, and is one of the surprisingly few in the film that holds the sort of Indian styling the setting would allow for. Sterling Holloway sells the music with a dangerously mischievous lilt, giving the song both a sinister, almost seductive quality, while also injecting humor into it, given his vocal mannerisms and choices. It’s the closest Kaa comes to being a real threat in the movie, and I’m pretty sure it’s the main reason so many people remember this snake the way they do. Heck, one of the biggest upsets I hear people complain about with the live-action remake is that, despite including two of the songs from the film in the form of “Bear Necessities” and “I Wanna Be Like You” (both of which sort of just come right the heck out of nowhere and interrupt the story, anyway), “Trust in Me” was cut from the film and relegated to only playing over the end credits. Thank goodness the original will always be around on its own terms.

8. Cruella De Vil, from 101 Dalmatians.

This is the last song on the countdown that’s more a tune ABOUT the villain than anything else, and it’s arguably the most famous of the lot. The context of this famous, blues-y ballad is pretty simple: Roger Radcliffe, one of the main human characters, is inspired by the appearance of Cruella De Vil at the home of his and his wife, Anita’s, domicile. While Cruella annoys Anita downstairs, Roger - who very clearly does NOT like Cruella (and who can really blame him for that?) - begins to compose this mocking tune that describes Cruella with a series of utterly deplorable lyrics that frankly would make the Grinch a bit envious. What’s funny is that, while the song doesn’t really do much for the story, and is meant to be an exaggeration of a humorous nature…the song actually ends up being sort of an anthem for Cruella, as it’s quickly made clear she is, indeed, just as nasty and wicked as the song (somewhat inadvertently) describes her to be. Much like with Kaa, I’m frankly convinced that this song is a big part of why Cruella is so well-remembered, as the song and the character almost seem to go hand in hand with each other when either one is referenced. Indeed, many would argue people remember this song more than they remember the character or even the movie in general. That fact alone easily earns it placement in the Top 10 for me.

7. Be Prepared, from The Lion King.

Of all the choices on this countdown, I am pretty sure placing “Be Prepared” so low in the ranks is going to be one of the most controversial. Just as most people would probably name Scar as one of their Top Three favorite Disney Villains, I’m pretty sure “Be Prepared” would be in most people’s Top 5 Disney Villain Songs. Heck, it would probably be in most people’s Top 5 Villain Songs PERIOD. Well, I am not “most people”: just as I love Scar, but simply don’t love him AS much as other Disney Villains, I do love “Be Prepared,” but I just don’t love it as much as other Villain Songs. Do not misconstrue this, however, to mean it’s a bad song in ANY way: this mincing, malicious, and quite ominous song is, in my opinion, the moment where I think a lot of people figured out Scar was going to be a GREAT Disney Villain. Sure, he had some fun scenes before this, but “Be Prepared” is the point where he ascends to the ranks of such characters as Maleficent and Chernabog: a truly iconic baddy. The tune occurs as Scar spells out his plans of domination to the hyenas, and offers to give them all the food they desire if they join forces with him. The song once again has a sort of playful edge to its evilness, but also has a haunting, dangerous quality; it’s a tune that both revels in its own dastardly side, while also sort of acting as a warning of things much less enjoyable still to come. And considering it’s not long after this point that - spoiler alert - SCAR KILLS MUFASA? Yeah, I’d say that’s an accurate description of the situation, if nothing else.

6. Poor Unfortunate Souls, from The Little Mermaid.

This is another song that I’m pretty sure most people would put in their Top 5 Disney Villain Songs, and which only barely misses that mark on my own personal list. Once again, don’t take this to mean I dislike the tune, because I absolutely do not. The song is performed by Ursula the Sea Witch, as she offers Ariel a deal that will allow the mermaid princess a chance to romance the human Prince Eric. However, if Ariel cannot fulfill her end of the bargain properly, then her soul will belong to Ursula, and she will be transformed into a deformed polyp in the Sea Witch’s most unsettling little undersea garden. The song never lets up on its darkness; the first half is a sort of waltz-like tune, very smooth with swooping moments of grandness, as Ursula tempts and lures Ariel by presenting herself as a well-meaning, misunderstood figure, who really only wants to help. However, once Ariel is “hooked,” the song intensifies, getting louder, faster, and more aggressive in its lyrics and orchestrations. This culminates in the glorious, eerie climax, as Ursula casts the spell that will transfer Ariel’s voice over to her own power. As the song goes on, not only does the music intensify, but so does Ursula herself. Her movements become sharper and more sudden, and she forgets all about personal space. Her expressions become increasingly deranged and frightening as she clearly gets a rush out of what she’s doing. My only problem with this song, and it’s the reason it doesn’t make it into the top five, isn’t the song itself…it’s Ariel. And it’s kind of a problem I have with the movie, to be honest: I know everything Ariel has gone through by this point, and I know she’s absolutely head-over-heels and clearly naive, but…considering everything within the film itself, disregarding even spin-offs and such…why does she NEVER turn away from this deal? She’s clearly uncomfortable and unsure, but it’s hard for me to buy she’d see this incredibly scary lady and her incredibly scary lair and NOT try to run away at SOME point. I guess she’s just that desperate to know what sand feels like between her toes. Spoiler alert: not as good as everyone makes it sound, my dear lady. :P

5. The World’s Greatest Criminal Mind, from The Great Mouse Detective.

Before Ursula and Scar essentially reinvigorated the villain song formula, there was Professor Ratigan. And just as it’s a little surprising that this movie, in general, often seems to be overlooked by Disney fans, I’m kind of surprised this tune is, too. Especially since it’s really one of only two proper, full-out songs in the film. That, and it has VINCENT PRICE SINGING. (pauses) Honestly, having said that…I don’t think I need to say anything else about why this musical number is awesome. IT’S VINCENT PRICE. SINGING. AS A RODENT VERSION OF PROFESSOR MORIARTY. Any other arguments about why this should or should not be in the Top 5 become automatically invalid at that point, so let’s move along…

4. Oogie Boogie’s Song, from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Yeah, you all knew this one was coming. Anytime I make lists like this, I ALWAYS make an exception in the rules for TNBC. This is partially because the film has sort of been “adopted” in to the core canon, in a way…and partially because it’s a strong candidate for my favorite movie of all time, as well as, by extension, my favorite Disney movie of all time. Keeping these facts in mind, it’s no surprise that Oogie Boogie’s Song gets high marks on my countdown. Inspired by the work of jazz singer and musician Cab Calloway (in fact, there’s a direct quote from a Calloway music number in the sequence), this menacing, almost ragtime-esque tune presents the menacing Oogie to us in lurid blacklight, as he taunts and torments his captured prey: Santa Claus himself. Oogie laughs in Santa’s face, deriding him as a joke, literally throwing his weight around as he shows off his casino-themed torture chamber. Oogie has been teased a few times before this, so his entrance is appropriately as gigantic as he is, creating one of the broadest and most fun Disney Villain songs of all time, while also having the weight, power, and sense of cruel brutality that make it one of the freakiest introductions to a Disney Villain, as well. The imagery is wild and in-your-face, matching Oogie’s bullying and somewhat mercurial personality. If any moment in the film indicated Christmas might be doomed beyond all others, this gambling boogieman teasing Santa with how he’s going to torture and eat him is probably your best candidate.

3. Savages, from Pocahontas.

Pocahontas is far from the greatest of Disney Movies, and its central antagonist - the greedy Governor Ratcliffe - is, in turn, hardly one of the company’s most lauded villains. Indeed, many consider him to be one of the weakest bad guys in the Disney film canon. But, for any faults the character may have, you have to give him this: he had not only one, but TWO absolutely fantastic villain songs, just in his first appearance. The first one, “Mine Mine Mine,” is a fun enough tune on its own terms…but it’s the latter, much more menacing “Savages” that takes the cake. This song takes place after the Powhatan Tribe of Native Americans capture Captain John Smith. They plan to execute Smith at dawn, before declaring war on the “pale-faces” who have invaded their land. Meanwhile, Ratcliffe - who wishes to exterminate them in totality, after finding out if they know where the treasure he seeks may be found - rallies his men to plan an assault on the tribe at the same time. After a brief interlude, where Pocahontas officially decides to intervene (so brief I’m not even sure if the second part of the song counts as a “Reprise” or not), the two factions march towards each other, still spilling their sadistic vitriol. This is one of the most bloodthirsty, vicious, and yet strangely tragic songs of the entire Disney canon: the Powahatans are retaliating largely due to a massive misunderstanding, but they’re just as much at fault here as Ratcliffe and his cronies. It’s the moment where Ratcliffe, himself, goes from a generally comical, pompous figure to a genuine threat. The war-mongering hatred both sides express as they march towards seemingly inevitable, mutual doom, makes for probably the darkest part of the entire feature, and one of its most memorable sequences.

2. Friends on the Other Side, from The Princess and the Frog.

While the soundtrack for this movie is, generally speaking, somewhat “meh” (none of the songs are BAD, but I wouldn’t say most of them are among Disney’s best), most people agree the best tune in the movie - and, indeed, probably the best part of the film in general - is this one. Occurring early in the film, “Friends on the Other Side” is a bit like “Poor, Unfortunate Souls” in storytelling placement, among other elements, yet I would argue is even better. The tune takes place when the evil voodoo master, Dr. Facilier - a.k.a. The Shadow Man - lures Prince Naveen and his servant, Lawrence, into his shop. He offers to read their fortunes, and in the process, tempts Lawrence with a chance at a revenge the butler has always craved, while also tricking Naveen into making a sort of Faustian deal at the same time. You can’t really blame Naveen for being fooled, because a.) it’s established in-universe that he isn’t exactly the brightest bulb to begin with, b.) he’s a stranger in a foreign land who has no idea who and what Facilier really is, and c.) he doesn’t even fully realize he’s entering INTO a deal with the Shadow Man in the first place. It’s all a con game, and it’s one that’s displayed in glorious fashion. All throughout there are not-so-subtle hints to Facilier’s true, evil nature, but it’s not till the pair shake hands with the witch doctor that things go totally off the rails, visually, musically, and in terms of the plot. The song is catchy, vibrant, wild, and has that wonderful balance of fun and fear so many of the best of this sort do. It’s once again a huge part of what makes Dr. Facilier such a well-remembered villain, and in my opinion, there hasn’t been a villain song in any Disney movie since that’s topped it.

1. Hellfire, from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

For once, my opinion seems to align with the popular vote: most people seem to agree that this is the greatest Disney Villain Song of all time, and I see no reason to dispute that. In fact, it’s not only my favorite Disney Villain Song, but one of my top three favorite villain songs IN GENERAL. This haunting, forbidding, almost operatic number is performed by the corrupt Judge Claude Frollo, as he reflects on his sudden feelings for the Romani dancer, Esmeralda, and muses on how he feels he may be going mad as a result of them. He vows by the end to capture the beautiful young lady - no matter the cost - swearing that if he can’t have her, then the fires of Hell can instead. Gothic in style and thematics, with a Latin choir chanting meaningful prayers between Frollo’s frenzied spiel of denials, inane questions, and promises of retribution, it is one of the single darkest and most risky scenes in any Disney film. It’s yet another example of a song that’s become so well-known, I think more people know about the tune than the film itself, or even the villain who sings it. There are more covers and even analyses of this scene, this song, than perhaps any other Disney Villain song out there, and it’s not without good reason why that is. From the animation, to the orchestrals, to Tony Jay’s divinely devilish vocal performance (it was NOT an easy song for him to perform, and he knocks it out of the park by a nautical mile), it is perhaps the ultimate Disney Villain moment, at least in terms of musicals, there has ever been. In fact, the song has become something of an anthem for the Disney Villain lineup, as various live shows at the parks tend to use this song as a musical synonym for evil itself, even when Frollo isn’t involved at all. For these reasons and many others, “Hellfire” more than earns its place as My Favorite Animated Disney Movie Villain Song.

HONORABLE MENTIONS INCLUDE…

We Don’t Talk About Bruno, from Encanto. (Hey, I said it didn’t count for the main list, doesn’t mean I can’t count it here. It may not ACTUALLY be a villain song, but lyrics like "he sees your dreams and feasts on your screams" definitely allow for an Honorable Mention, in my opinion.)

Mad Madam Mim, from The Sword in the Stone.

The Elegant Captain Hook, from Peter Pan.

Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee, from Pinocchio. ...And no, "This is the Thanks I Get" isn't ANYWHERE here, because - like most people - I don't like that song very much. I used the screenshot as a banner just to make you all panic. It's almost Halloween, give me a break. XD

[speedytheporcupineaucorner]

Speedy The Porcupine AU: Yandere Himiko.

(Sketch not done by me)

The offical equivalent to Sonic.EXE in the Speedy The Porcupine AU. For more information about the AU as a whole, click here.

Yandere Himiko a self-aware version of herself who acts like... a typical yandere. Acting friendly and normal at first before revealing who she really is.

There's multiple interpretations of Yandere Himiko, but the most recent interpretation is that she ocasionally wanders around cosplay conventions and other places similar to that, going under the alias of "PixelLovely". Once she sees a potential love intrest, she'll act casually, greeting herself in a friendly manner, after hanging out with them for a while, she'll give the love interest either a Speedy the Porcupine cartridge or disk.

The game on this cartridge/disk has her torture Mr. Benedict in several ways until the player gets to the end, where Yan-Himiko will reveal herself, telling the player that she is their "girlfriend", in other words, that they love her. If the player declines their confession. She'll get mad, and claim that she is their soulmate. And then, she'll trap the player in the game, it's unknown what she does to them after this.

The other common interpretation is that the game will play exactly the same as the first game, execpt when the player gets to the end, where the game will glich out and Yan-Himiko will reveal herself.

Yan-Himiko's (in-universe) origins came from a creepypasta known as "A Young Girl's Game" written by a user called MC The Weasel. The story follows a man named Ryan, who recives a mysterious cartridge from his friend John. I actually did write this in-universe creepypasta too, it can be read here:

The creepypasta wasn't very well received, and was often mocked and criticised for it's poor quality. A fangame based on it was also released shortly after the story was made, said fangame was also slightly criticised, but regardless, it was pretty popular.

Despite the criticisms, it didn't stop people from making their own takes on Yandere Himiko, and their own Yan-Himiko fangames too.

The official (in-universe) takes include:

Koibito

A creepier version of Yan-Himiko that made her debut in Speedy PC Edition. Featuring red eyes with heart pupils, a messy version of her OG outfit, an X-shaped version of her bowtie, and a grey version of her red suspender skirt.

2011 Yan-Himiko

The current version of Yandere Himiko, and Koibito's past incarnation, the only notible difference between this one and the OG is that this one has a grey suspender skirt like Koibito does.

"Himiko"/2017 Yan-Himiko

Originally made for a remake of the OG story before the character became under the ownership of a different user. This one is a rather off-looking Himiko. Having a porcelain-doll like body, blanked out eyes, and missing a lot of her acessories. Leaving her with only her white shirt and skirt.

You better love her and believe she's the real Himiko, because if you don't, there will be consequences.

Another popular peice of media was a mod for the rhythm game Rap Jam Saturday titled "VS. Yandere Himiko". Where the protagonist of said game must battle against the tutual yandere and other characters. The mod inspired a few other Yan-Himiko mods to be created. The most notible one was a bait-and-switch mod called PorcuPop/Himiko Legacy, featuring the current incarnation and the "Himiko" versions of Yan-Himiko.

Misc. Info

Yan-Himiko's canon voice is "distorted, and uses a much slower, creepier cadence."

The most noticible difference between normal Himiko and Yandere Himiko is that Yan-Himiko has freckles.

She wouldn't hurt her animal friends. She may be a Yandere, but that doesn't mean she'd suddenly kill everyone.

Many takes set within Speedy's world have her fall in love with Speedy himself, though a lot of people do it in the platonic sense.

Anyone is welcome to ask questions about the AU or do concepts for the AU of course.

[chit-chat-bluejay]

MY SHIFTING EXPERIENCE!; Shooting dramas that don't exist in this reality

summary; i am posting this to motivate those who have not shifted yet. i noticed there is not much things they could possibly be motivated by, as shifters don't share too much of their shifting experiences. so i decided to share memories of my favourite drama i have got the honour to be a part of! <3

to start of, i would like to say that the cast for the drama already exists in another high school drama in this reality, but i will not be naming any of the actors or actresses! this is to respect privacy as well as; while they might know me in that reality, they do not know me in this one and so coming upon a post like this - even if by accident - could possibly make them uncomfortable! as well as not everyone understands what shifting is. either way, i would like to thank you for your understanding!

so! to start off, i should probably explain that; the dramas that i will be talking about do not exist in this reality, but regardless they are my favourite ones i have starred in due to the friendships i have got to make through them! of course, the story is fascinating as well. which i will try to explain~

so, to start of! i looked it up, and unfortunately, the director does not exist in this reality. it saddened me a bit; i figured he would make a lot of interesting dramas and movies here as well! but unfortunately that is not the case. either way, he is one of the most creative people that i have ever came across. the dramas i will talk about - and which he directed - are really supposed to serve as one big drama split in two halves! if that makes sense to anybody. one half being 'to hold you' and the other half being 'while dying'.

they are supposed to be a mirror of each other, or rather a parallel universe? i have heard it be described in multiple ways, so i am not quite sure how to explain it perfectly but those two terms do it quite well.

to be clear these two dramas; are set in the same place, with the same characters, with the same cast & director, same school, same family ect. the things that differ are; the genres, dynamics and storyline.

the softer, sweet version is "to hold you"! It's a rom-com that's also a slice of life kind of thing? everyone is happy, yet still has their own struggles and there are many life lessons along the way. there isn't a 100% match of dramas in this reality in terms of vibes, but I would say the vibes are similar to reply 1988 and reply 1994!

the darker, more stressful version is "while dying"! while the title doesn't make much sense, it does once you watch it. not my character, but another actress', let's call her h! sets chaos between their friend group by deciding to send a text in a large group chat involving the friend group + everyone else involved detailing everything messed up or illegal the friend group did since she believes she is dying because of us. - this happens at the end of episode 1 - in terms of being dramatic and emotionally distressing I would compare this side more to penthouse? just not with adults; but rather highschoolers! so, for example these things would be my character being abused by her boyfriend, me being the reason why another characters - in the friend group - sister is blind, that person secretly taking pictures of another girl in the friend group to sell online, and that girl secretly stealing stuff to sell to be able to buy dangerous substances and so on. - there are so many characters it would take long to list it. -

so, as you can see! the two dramas serve opposites of each other. let's take a character, junho! - yes, these are k-dramas! and before you accuse me of anything, i am asian. - you see, he is a gentle giant in 'to hold you'! always protecting girls, being there for each main character, the ideal son, helpful, sweet and kind. however! in 'while dying' he is the character that secretly takes pictures of people to sell on the internet. it starts of with a girl in the friend group and slowly escalates to more people he looks at as deserving of it. or for my character for example! in 'while dying' she is the reason why junho's sister is blind! she did it because she saw the abuse junho goes through but was ashamed to own up to and refused to hit back. so jia - my character - impulsively acted out. later in the series, as secrets start to unfold bit by bit we find out that she is abused as well by her boyfriend! but! in 'to hold you' jia is friend's with the sister, happy, extroverted, loud and really an overall cheerful and happy person, and the boyfriend is the 'ideal husband' type. as in they are a power couple!

the point is; no matter which one you watch first, you will become insanely emotional!

either way! the reason why i chose this one is because i have spent about 8-10 years in that dr - i forgot when exactly my first shift was, probably around 2018 there! - , and i shifted there last week, on tuesday! it made me insanely happy to be able to work on such a nice project and I formed such beautiful friendships - which i mention an annoying amount but oh well! - that I just want to share it! maybe this will be the motivation that will finally help someone experience the amount of joy and excitement they very well deserve!

also, for reference while 8-10 (probably 10!) years went by there, only 1 hour passed by here! so i will let myself "rest" for a few more days before attempting to shift again mid week-ish! unless you benefit from it, you should never push yourself over your limits! <3

anyway! one interesting thing i would like to mention is that i have actually became friends with person h! - as i said i won't be naming anyone for privacy's sake - she is a really kind and lovely person, and I actually had no idea she exists in this reality as well! even her name is the same! it just shocked me because i have never searched her up or gave too much attention to her in this reality, yet she was a side character in multiple things i have watched! i guess this is due to my subconscious remembering her; i just didn't. i just thought about mentioning it because it is soooo fun!

another person i have became friends with is person b! actually, a lot of people hated him for portraying the bad side of his character so well, while some people idolised him due to the good-natured side of the character. it was very funny to see, i remember watching edits together with him and laughing at some comments! - which i had to sometimes translate - it was people arguing about his character! to me it really shows that he is an amazing actor! he played my boyfriend in both dramas and became my best friend in real life! i never interacted with the actor in this reality so i cannot say they are 100% same! however in that reality he is like the best person ever. 'brings you snacks at 2am just bc you said you were craving them' type of friend!

and person c! junho's actor! he seems to be a sweet and shy person in both realities so that's that! we actually had a lot of fun on set and often times had to retake many shots. not because we are bad at acting; we just couldn't stop laughing at random things! looking back at it i really appricate the patience everyone else involved in production have had. we actually became really close as well! the type of friend you don't need to interact with everyday but still have an extra strong and meaningful bond with. we also acted in many other dramas and movies as well! he is a sweetheart, really.

this was also the first project where i got to try out fake blood as well! i had to bite down on a little thingy in one scene to make it look like it's pouring out of my mouth! i think it was cool, but i was a bit worried since i am a clumsy person lmao! everything went well tho <3

either way! these are the most motivating things i could think of for this post, but i could later make a part two or add to it. i also like answering questions,,, either way, next story time will be about my very first time shifting! mwa, thank you for reading sweet angel!

[angelicxboi]

LO critique / rant

(I haven't read LO in a while, this is based off memory.)

One thing of many things I didn't like about LO is that the fantasy world of the gods and mortals isn't explicitly explained or understood? Why do the gods need the mortals and vice-versa. How are they gonna tease Thetis and Achilles and then not really explain how and why that came to be. Why are most of the gods one dimensional, they have multiple titles and 'purposes'. And those with epithets don't clearly abide by those epithets (See; Artemis in LO. even Persephone herself. I'd argue everyone in LO...just is similar to the greek gods in name alone.)

And on the topic of 'powers' because I'm pretty sure that's how they describe it in the comic-whats the rules here? Why do some gods 'gain' different powers or titles, why do they get epithets if they hardly interact with mortals? Are other gods giving them their titles?

I understand that LO is, supposed to be a romantic, consenting re-telling of Persephone and Hades, thus these things shouldn't be my main strife but since the author added all these weird plots and plot-lines about succession to power (Apollo becoming..king?) and constantly having scenes where the gods just sit around in legit business meetings yapping about nothing- I think it'd be nice to at least have a consistent line of rules and thoughts to go along with these plots.

Also since Hades is 'king' i feel like there should be alot more discussion about that. Not just how his realm works but like, his relationship with mortals. He's a king, but unlike Zeus he's kinda a king of dead mortals, which once again. Why aren't mortals really discussed in LO? Gods without mortals are just...guys.

But even if I poke and prod at the romance aspect, its... alot. Alot wrong. Here's how I'd re-write LO.

I wouldn't model the characters entirely off real people I know. These Greek gods have literal centuries worth of characterization I can choose from, or include all of it. Ex. Persephone herself is described as 'girl' a child, her titles include the same ones as her mother, 'fruit-grower' 'lady of the harvest' etc. but she's also known as 'mad/dread Persephone' just based on titles alone this is a good basis to further develop this character.

Make it more campy and anarchic, and play into it. Or, make it completely serious. Having one panel or one chapter discuss themes of emotional abuse and dominance only to be followed by a scene where Hades dresses Persephone up as Marylin Monroe and calls her "kitten", is like whip-lash. I'd either try to make it as Barbie 2023 as possible or just not add the comedy at all.

Characters, (especially the main ones) need to be fleshed out. I cannot tell you any redeeming qualities Hades has by himself. He is a shitty partner to Minthe and creepy towards Persephone early on. (Full-grown god thinking about Persephone, a goddess not even half his age...WHILE he is still dating Minthe.) I don't know his personality other than his trauma, and that he apparently loves Persephone but...why?

^ Going off this point. Obviously, characters need to change, having Persephone as a 'blank slate' in the beginning of the story as we follow her while she grows up and discovers her strengths and boundaries is fine. But we also need that from Hades.

Hades in LO is kinda written as a guy who doesn't want to look like he's in the wrong, but by being wishy-washy he's just a really worse guy. I'd write him completely differently.

Maybe the real villain was the patriarchy...kinda like the original Hades and Persephone myth. I would cut the nonsense and villanification of Apollo, and instead give that to Zeus if we were to demonize anyone in the story.

Demeter... I love Demeter and her and Persephone's relationship would be rewritten and reworked so much.

Expand on mortals. Mortals can be the backbone of this god society, they can be envied or treated like dirt in the eyes of the gods. but regardless they are interwoven with the gods and shouldn't only be mentioned just to mass slaughter them off.

Expand on nymphs. As is, I'm not really a fan of LO's deception of them. But, big fan of Hades (game) nymphs.

TLDR; I initially thought LO was fun because of the...different character design and the premise was funny to me, Persephone being a broke college student just like me. But...then the story went on and the plot holes became bigger and less meaningful and i remember reading a panel where Hades called Persephone 'kitten'

All this to say, LO was good if you have no previous knowledge of greek myth. It was a nice way to dip your toes into it- otherwise if you are familiar with greek myth and start reading LO expecting a cool new spin or reimagining of these figures. You will only get mad.

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

Got any facts about Siamese Algae Eaters?

I have a juvenile in my larger tank that decided to join up with my rummy nose tetras and behaves like them as opposed to an algae eater and even though it’s starting to outgrow the tetras in size the tetras seem to have accepted their weird group member.

First time I’ve ever seen a fish join a different species and act like it’s one of them. My theory is that because I got this one as a baby it may have thought the tetras were the same species because at that time they were the same size and the rummy nose tetras have a similar body shape and silver color plus the black tail stripes matching the black stripe along the algae eater.

Awww!!!! You hear about animals growing up around other animals and then acting like them and animals "adopting" members of other species but I really haven't ever heard of fish doing the same either! The algae eater thought it was a tetra too... my heart....!

Anyway, you'll get your fact! But uh, this one is a tad different.

Fish fact #593

"Siamese algae eater"!

What specie or species the "Siamese algae eater" name refers to is a whole conundrum and a half. Very often this name is attributed to Crossocheilus oblongus, which is a synonym for C. siamensis, but it is now believed that very few or no true C. oblongus individuals actually appear in the aquarium trade! Instead, multiple other species are referred to as Siamese algae eaters and/or mislabeled as C. oblongus/siamensis, notably C. atrilimes, C. langei, C. nigriloba, Garra cambodgiensis ("false Siamese algae eater"), and Epalzeorhynchos kalopterus ("flying fox"). Interestingly, FishBase gives out the title of "Siamese algae eater" to Gyrinocheilus aymonieri and instead calls C. oblongus by the common name Siamese flying fox.

All this to say, the common name Siamese algae eater encompasses many species! What you're getting might not be C. oblongus at all, but a different kind of fishy friend instead.

[akysi]

Hey Do you have any tips on making a logo because ive been looking to make logo for Ask blog and was wondering if you had any tips?

Hey, thanks for asking! :D I can be very wordy about stuff I’m passionate about so my apologies for the length of this answer ^^’ That said though, if you have any further questions feel free to reply or send another ask :) Here’s a few tips, I hope they help!

1. Choose a font (or draw one yourself) that fits what you want the logo to represent Similar to how specific choices are made to convey the intent in character design, font choice in a logo design can affect the overall “feel” of it, so try to pick ones that fit whatever you’re making the logo for. In other words, logos can have their own “character” too! Many character design principles, such as shape language and colour theory, can apply to logo design as well. If this is for a fandom/pre-existing media, try looking up those logos first if you want to match their look for your own. Also try studying logos you like in general to figure out how they're constructed, and use anything you like from them in your own design!

There are a ton of styles and combinations out there, but one of the biggest distinctions between fonts is serif versus sans serif.

Though not the case every time, serif fonts tend to look more old-fashioned/traditional, while sans serif usually appears more modern/digital.

While you can use any font for inspiration if you intend to draw your own, if you just want to type one out, then be sure to look up the usage permissions for it first. Not all are free for personal use and may be stolen even if they're listed as free online. If you’re unsure, search the font name and find the license or usage permissions directly from the creator/font foundry if you can!

2. How “fancy” you want your logo to be is up to you, but make sure it still works as a flat image as well This is less applicable if you’re only using the logo for one thing, but generally speaking you want your logo to be versatile enough to still be readable without all of the fancy gradients and drop shadows added. Those should be extra details, not the main component that's holding up the whole design, so to speak.

I recommend starting with the flat or black & white version and refine the design enough in that stage first before moving on the final clean/fancy version. Here's a comparison between the flat and full version of the logo for my comic project, Starglass Zodiac (original post here):

Even without all of the shiny stuff on top/underneath, the flat colour version still functions as intended. 3. Make sure the width/length/size of the logo works well for what it will be used for For example, if you want to use the logo on the banner for your ask blog, make sure it'll can be read well in that format. You can do this by either making the logo in a file that's the same dimensions as your banner, or testing the rough design for the logo on the banner first before committing to the final design.

Also make sure that the logo doesn't blend into whatever background you intend to put it on, especially if the logo itself doesn't have a background. Adding a black or white (or both) stroke around the logo can help it appear on more background colours.

4. Make sure the most important words are largest or are the focal point otherwise Similar to the last point, make sure that a viewer will get the gist of your logo even if they look at it quickly. This is most relevant for logos for things that have long titles or have a subtitle attached to a main name. If your logo will have multiple words, having a hierarchy of importance in size and/or colour can help the viewer see the most important part first.

--------

Now for some general additions/effects to consider for your logo!

Gradients - Your best friend, one of the easiest ways to make even the simplest logo look fancier than the flat version, if the overall style you're going for calls for it. These can allow you to have colour shifts over the whole design, or add highlights in parts of it to tie the whole thing together. You can also add edge highlights/shadows on top of these too.

Textures - Similar to gradients, textures can add a lot of flair to a design very quickly. Even gradients themselves can be textures already, like mimicking shiny metal or the like. They can also be used to represent something about what the logo is for, like adding a rocky texture for a logo involving mountain climbing or ancient ruins.

Strokes - These are outlines around your lettering that can help them be seen on multiple background colours, or to make specific letters pop out from the others. You can use multiple strokes on different areas of the same design as needed, but make sure they don't impede the legibility of the lettering itself! Many of the Kirby logos use several strokes at once, like this one below.

Backgrounds - Any colour/shape underneath the text to serve as a base for it. Similar to strokes, they can help the lettering read properly on multiple colours/shades. They can also provide additional information about what the logo is for or represents, like putting a sunset in the background of a logo that has "Sunset" in the name.

Drop Shadows and Outer/Inner Glows - These are often paired together, as they generally serve the same purpose; emphasizing the part of the design they're applied too. Drop shadows can help "lift" some parts of the design off the base, while glows can outline something instead, like a soft version of a stroke. It's very easy to overuse these though, so use them sparingly!

Bevels & Edging - Adding these to the lettering or other parts of the design can make them stand out more, especially if you add shading to it! One of my favourite examples of this is the main Spyro logo, both classic and modern :)

Blocking - Basically a way to make the letters or the whole logo look more 3D by adding "blocks" underneath it, which can also help add another colour to the logo's palette! Spyro's logo above uses shaded blocking.

There are a ton of other effects and ways to combine them, so feel free to experiment with a bunch of them! As one final example, here's a breakdown of the logo design I made for The Zodiac Experiment (Original post here) so you can see how these effects can work together on one piece!

Have fun designing! ^_^

[tetrakys]

this was never in the history of forever ever gonna happen and i understand why it didn't and why it won't but i would've died 1000 deaths for a male mc in mcl. not even just in new gen, i would've loved to be gay asf in hsl, ul and ll too:') this isn't like a critique or anything but a guy can dream right😂😂?

lol anyway, just wondering if maybe you have any recs for otome with male/gn mc? or if not if you know someone who might? mcl is the only one I've ever gotten really into so i don't know about any other games like it 🙃

I'm sorry, friend. I really wish you and everyone were able to play the game as you wish and wouldn't have to "adapt" to what is available. Unfortunately some features like a male MC or multiple f/f routes are too expensive for a small company like Beemoov.

Tbh I haven't seen many otome games with a male MC around, otome by definition have female protagonists. There are lots of BL games around though (BL = boys love) where the MC is gender locked as male and all the crushes are male. I've never played one so I can't recommend any but if you look for BL games I'm sure you're going to find a ton!

Other than BL/yaoi games, there are games with no visuals of the MC so you can assume they are whatever gender you prefer (oten they let you choose pronouns). Generally these games have no illustrations or they do but only show the crushes alone without the MC. A few names I can think of are Arcana, Obey Me, Touchstarved (only the demo is out at the moment), When The Night Comes and other games from the same company (iirc there was some drama around it but I'm not informed). Again, take a look around because there are many! I think these games are generally referred to as Amare games, because they have the same formula of otome games but aren't strictly aimed at a female audience.

The only otome game with visuals I can think of which attempted to have both female and male MC and also multiple routes (5 male and 5 female) is Sweet Elite. However, I would say that it failed in this attempt, because in 12 episodes of the first season, there is only one episode with 1-1 illustrations with the crushes, then there is one episode where there are illustrations of the crushes alone, and everything else is group illustrations, max 2 or 3 per episode. (To me it ended up feeling more like a friendship game than a romance game.)

So, clearly, it's even more proof that when games have a big visual component and also offer customisation, it's basically impossible to have two genders MC. Unless it's a huge company producing them, but I'm not even sure that's the case because Is It Love? games for example were produced by Ubisoft and they didn't even offer look customisation, let alone gender customisation.

Another suggestion I can give you, is to check out mobile apps such as Chapters, Choices and Episodes. These aren't exactly otome games, but more similar to romance books translated as games. They have huge libraries and several titles are either gender locked yaoi or you can pick your own gender. You can even customise the looks of the MC and the crushes, but of course there are no CGs.

Oh, and one last thing that comes to mind, another option for you could be to check out dating app simulation games, basically fake tinder apps, they have lots of crushes each one with their own story, you can choose pronouns but your avatar will never appear in game or in CGs. A few names I remember are MeChat, Love Link, Love Verse, but I'm sure there are more. The stories can be quite entertaining so I suggest you check them out. (I remember MeChat had both a Lysander and a Castiel lookalikes).

So really, there are SO MANY games around that there's no need to stick to one where we have to adapt to game features we don't like. Ultimately MCL's main target audience are straight, cis women (with a very small offering of f/f routes) and I wouldn't stick to it if I weren't one. I remember when I started playing 11 years ago and I was looking for more games in a language I could understand and I could find very little, now instead there's so much competition that there's something for literally everyone.

Good luck with your search, let me know if you find anything you like! 💕

[iamnotcreativeijustplayitontv]

Notes regarding 229401

Just a quick note: I realize this post is coming much later than planned, so I apologize for that. It's also a little long, but there are multiple parts. This post will very likely get edited in the future, but if I don't post it now, I may not ever.

After the initial "Before the Beginning" part of S 2 E 1, Good Omens 2 opens with Aziraphale receiving a note from his record-shop tenant, Maggie, owner of The Small Back Room.

The note is written on an invoice slip, and we see the number printed in red in the upper right-hand corner is 229401. We know details in this show are demonstrated/indicated for a reason, so I decided to do some Internet-digging. I'm sure these are reaches, but it was fun, so here it goes.

(found here, posted by HereBecauseOfGoodOmens)

Another note: this post (other than the tartan bit later) is specifically about 229401, not the note itself. There may be more about that in a future post, but I'm not sure yet.

Since the invoice number is the only part of the page in red compared to the rest in greens/blues on a white background, I Googled the number to see what I could find.

One result was this interestingly-shaped shelf support:

which looks a bit like the design on Crowley's tie in the 1941 minisode:

(GIF by gothamstreetcat)

I also checked hex codes, and got this interesting, grassy shade of green:

Comparing the color on my laptop screen to the color on my TV while watching, it most looked like the cemetery grass in S 2 E 3 when Aziraphale calls the bookshop from the stranger's mobile phone, but doesn't match when I compare them both on my laptop screen. It is also similar to various greens from The Scottish Register of Tartan's PDF of Tartan Register Colour shades, but it also seems so specifically familiar and I just can't quite place it.

EXTRA-REACHING SIDE NOTE: CLAN MACDONALD TARTAN COLORS In that same scene, right before Crowley answers the ringing phone, we see him toss a stack of books he had been carrying. The books were varying shades of blue, green, and red. We know that David Tennant is proud of his Scottish heritage, so out of pure curiosity, I did some Googling and found this, "the oldest recorded version of the clan sett" (it says it is dated 01/01/1819, prior to the launch of The Scottish Register of Tartans), the same colors:

Also also, I couldn't make out the title or the rest of the names on the book, but the second book from the top of the stack definitely says "David" on it.

Yes, I do know that his family name was McDonald and not MacDonald, but when I first did the search, this is what it showed me. It's probably (definitely) a reach, but hey, it was fun!

And finally, I am completely new to numerology, but added the digits together and got 18, so here's some numerology related to 18. I realize it is written to sound applicable in general, like horoscopes, but why not go for it?

According to affinitynumerology.com:

The numerology essence of the number 18 has to do with humanitarianism, independence, and building something of lasting benefit. The underlying idea of the essence of the number 18 is the welfare of humanity. 18 is tolerant and compassionate, mixing easily with others, including planning and executing projects, yet tends to do the actions of what it considers the most important either by itself or as the leader — at its own determination.

Could this possibly be representative of Aziraphale going to Heaven at the end of S 2? Maybe it would have something to do with action he takes regarding the Second Coming.

According to numerologistpro.com:

In imbalance, the number 18 is conflicted, angry, choleric, and fanatic. Many with 18/9 energy seem happy, light-hearted, and open on the surface, but there is nothing light about the inner life of 18/9. There is a lot of guilt, shame, fear, and insecurity. For example, there can be a lot of internal conflict with a shifting attraction and repulsion to money and power. In balance, the number 18 has energy, focus, willpower, and drive.

This can be applied to Aziraphale, as well, especially as he gets better at lying over time and in S 2 E 6 after he finds out that he will be leading the Second Coming. It will be interesting to see what happens with Aziraphale as Supreme Archangel, having to try to balance his responsibilities/duties to humanity, Heaven, and of course Crowley.

[lockedtowers]

im supposed to be getting ready for work so heres some run ons

aka brina rambles, also this is not rebloggable for a reason. this is shit ive worked on for ages. across blogs i have deleted and everything. i dont want random ppl rbing it without permission and taking info and i want it set up so if the info is taken it can still be traced back here. esp with how long ive been deciding on names for those courts lmao. they’re not the most ingenius or anything but i still put work into it yknow.

so anyways basically cassies bio dad vas is ofc a full blood fae, and a hybrid of the two main ‘courts’ by wonderland standards bc ofc im going with the basis that is shown both in syfy canon and ouat canon of wonderland denizens have a very different physiology to other realms, Jefferson in ouat remembered everything in his original life and just had the new memories shoved into his head too which drove him upending, i write that into cassie she has her old memories because of her physiology but the new memories didnt really settle in her head at all, so she only has vague understanding of it all. her twin brother has all his old memories but he also has the new ones so he very much so leans into the ‘im gonna fuck around and see what happens cause this is great’ bc hes a clown, but anyways. and yes i play it as jefferson is from wonderland, i write my jeffy on my sideblog, i also write grace, ima do what i want, but abc kept going back and forth with it, they mention his home in ouatiw but then in ouat they imply hes not from there so they didnt give a shit either, i can do what i want

but again main point, there’s no reason why other realms faeries would have the same physiology as wonderland faeries would, and ive played it into threads too before, the general descriptions of cheshire cats generally lean heavily faerie like, cassie is the cheshire while her twin brother is the dormouse, in syfy verse those are more titles than actual being. but shes a faerie she has an animal transformation which makes that also an actual being, and while her title is generally just ‘cat’ to most people, she is aligned with and technically a cheshire cat, she has the grin they associate with cheshires and she often times acts as a sort of guide, but also a very annoying pot stirrer in multiple ways, and a main thing that i play on a lot is how she guides ‘oysters’ aka humans to hatter, which is something people dont bring up a lot. in aaiw the cheshire cat is essentially toying with alice and leading her on to where she should go, and while alice is following the rabbit, the cat is manipulating the system in its own way as well. im actually gonna go buy another crappy edition of aaiw just so i can annoyingly tab it and stuff and im debating a cruddy paper one or a good hardcover— anyways

so like obviously creative liberties here, faeries arent really canon to wonderland at all but like fair folk magical aspects are still present, like the pig turning into a baby and shit, all the wildcarding that happens. creative liberties, its free media now to do whatever the fuck you want. i know many people hate adaptions and im sorry they hate fun im gonna do what i want.

now most commonly people separate fae by seelie and unseelie, or ‘good and bad’ faeries is often how they describe seelie and unseelie. and whilst im sort of doing similar (but giving them new names bc again, wonderland is not the human land, theres no reason that they have to have the same names) im also adding to it, adapting it, etc etc. Even in the separate courts, there are subtypes, but the royal families of each court would have at least a basic gift with all the powers of the subtypes, which is essentially why they’re the ‘royal family’ despite their own powers being so much weaker than an individual only showcasing one subtype of magic. more equals greater, despite the obvious issues with that, more or less.

The two ‘courts’ or ‘good and bad’ as the ‘good’ would have one believe, the current names i have going for them would essentially be translated to Deyreins, the ‘good’, and Bludveils, the ‘bad’ (i still have to fix the spelling on my bios on the sideblog tho lol). Bludveils centuries ago were cursed by the Deyreins to an eternal binding of honesty, which means they have to be truthful in words, but they can use twist the truth through twisting and confusing tales, purposefully manipulating it to sound like something else while theyre still being truthful, and basically just using loopholes to get their way. And the results of that curse is used against them to frame them as massively villainous, cruel, and evil creatures. What the Deyreins did not count on was the Queen of Hearts using this to further her own gain, and villainizing both sides as a way to essentially wipe them out from the face of Wonderland. Those that are left on Wonderlands main plane hide their species, and the rest had to escape to an astral plane to protect themselves from her.

But a large portion already had to escape because of Cassie’s father. Most will only recognize him by one of two names, the White Knight who destroyed the house of black and gave reign to the Reds and Whites, or as the monster, the creature of everyones darkest fears, the creature accused of slaughtering villages for fun and embarking on chaotic destruction for the thrill, The Jabberwock. By all accounts, he is both. His animal transformation is the monster itself and he was always the one taking the head, but never the one given the crown. Which is ironic given his existence is due to a romantic tryst between a noble of the Deyrein court and a royal of the Bludveil court. The twins didn’t get equal parts of the bloodlines the way he did, Cassandra inherited a lot more Bludveil than Deyrein, the curse affects her too, but Mason got almost nothing from it. It’s recessive in his body, but the curse doesn’t act on him. he has nothing to worry about, she does.

They’re only have fae though, the other half is Witch, their mother is the Queen of Spades and an extremely powerful sorceress, and trysts like that are not meant to happen according to the Deyrein courts, they are not supposed to exist. they’re essentially not allowed to because that threatens the order the deyreins built for themselves centuries ago and regularly slaughter bludveils for trying to fight against. no matter which way its sliced or diced, they’re in danger from just about every single point. if their family bloodlines got out, from the hearts for threatening the fact they stole the crown from the rightful heirs, from the deyrein fae for threatening their control over the other plane because its proof they can coexist in ways other than treaties and threats and submission.

and ofc jack is just a bitch whos mad cassie didnt bend the knee to him, is obsessed with her anyways due to her fae magic, and doesnt want his crown threatened that he never earned in the first place. he’ll say otherwise like ph i played my mother and i worked for the resistance, bitch you stole that land you stole that crown get fucked, anyways.

thats all my rambles on that bc funnily enough this was supposed to be about what blood does to cassie lol and i never got there.

[wisdomrays]

The All-Beautiful Names of God: Past 3

Some others among the Sufis have opined that the All-Beautiful Names, Which we know and recite, are in fact the titles of the real Names, while the truth of Names lies beyond them. They have approached the matter of the Names, saying like Yunus Emre: “There is Süleyman within Süleyman,” and asserted that there is a relation between the Names we know and the real Divine Names that are behind existence which is similar to the relation between the corporeal heart and the spiritual heart and that which exists between the spirit and the body. They have stressed that the real Names can only be realized through a profound spiritual experience and the ecstasy of feeling God’s holy Presence.

No matter what their true nature is, the All-Beautiful Names Which God Almighty has taught us in his manifest Book are each a mysterious key for a certain sort of relationship with Him in the heart and the spirit; through these we can traverse our distance from Him, advancing toward nearness to Him, something that we are aware of in our conscience. They are each a mysterious word which gives an answer when spoken. Those who possess these keys and regularly recite these luminous words are not left unanswered even when they attempt to purchase all the worlds, and are not turned back with empty hands when they become customers for the realms beyond.

Experiencing and knowing the All-Beautiful Names with their own depths is a Divine favor for servants and a pleasure which will richen their spirits, and in respect of their outer and inner senses or faculties, it is an awareness of “seeing,” knowing, and experiencing Him, and being seen and known by Him. Those who reach this horizon work for God’s sake, begin every task for God’s sake, and do whatever they do for God’s sake; in the words of Bediüzzaman, they can make the seconds of their life as fruitful as the years of other people by moving and stopping “for God,” “for God’s sake,” and “for the good pleasure of God.” Why should this not be possible, as the servants are His servants, the Names are His Names, it is He Who is called by these Names, and the door to which the servants turn is His door?

Some scholars have asserted that God’s Names are only those Which God and His Messenger have taught us as Divine Names, and it is not acceptable to derive Names from certain Divine Acts or to attribute them to God as being among His All-Beautiful Names. However, it is a fact that many Divine Acts are mentioned in the Qur’an in a way that will lead to different Names. Moreover, God Almighty has not taught us all of His Names. As our master, upon him be peace and blessings, stated in his prayer that begins with: “O God, I am Your servant, and the son of Your male servant, and the son of Your female servant,” in addition to the All-Beautiful Names Which are mentioned in the Qur’an and certain Prophetic sayings, God has Names Which He mentioned in the previous Divine Books or Which He particularly informed some of His servants about or Which He keeps concealed with Him. However, we cannot know any of His Names unless He teaches them to us. We can know only the Names Which He has taught us either in the Qur’an or in the Sunna. Abu Hurayra, may God be pleased with him, narrates 99 Divine Names from the noblest Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. Even though these same Names are narrated from the Prophet by Salmanu’l-Farisi, ‘ Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas, ‘ Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, and Caliph ‘Ali, may God be pleased with them, these narrations have not been authenticated. Some assert that the number 99 was used as a symbol of multiplicity in the hadith related by Abu Hurayra, therefore we cannot say that God’s All-Beautiful Names are restricted to 99.

Those who have maintained that the All-Beautiful Names are only those which we have been taught by the Qur’an and the Sunna do not deem it proper to attribute any other Names to God Almighty. Furthermore, they do not approve of mentioning God with any names that do not seem to be in keeping with the Qur’anic concept of Divinity when used singly. Therefore, they tend to mention such Names as the All-Requiting, the One Who gives harm, and the All-Constricting together with certain other Names, such as the All-Glorious with irresistible might and the All- Requiting, the One Who gives harm and benefit, the All-Constricting and the All-Expanding. Based on the fact that physical causes have been established as veils before the Divine Power’s involvement in insignificant-seeming affairs, it is possible to say that believers must always act in self-possession and with respect, care, and sensitivity with respect to how they approach the Divine Being. God is the Creator of everything, and therefore believers must mention Him as the Creator and avoid making specifications, such as the Creator of snakes or the Creator of vermin. However, we must also avoid going to the opposite extreme while taking care that nothing improper for God is attributed to him and claiming, like the Mu‘talizis, that God does not create evil or ugly things or events. For it is He Who creates both good and evil, and a thing or event is evil not with respect to its creation, but with respect to its doer and cause. This attitude is required by both the necessity of considering God’s Attributes correctly and observing the acts and effects of Divine Essential Characteristics, Attributes, and All-Beautiful Names. God is both the One of absolute grandeur and glory and the All-Merciful and All-Compassionate; He is both the All- Overwhelming and the All-Wise, both the One Severe in Punishment and the All-Patient. He is both the All-Majestic and the All- Gracious, and the All-Just and the All-Clement. We must always view Him in the light of the general meaning and content that is formed by the totality of His Attributes and Names.

The acts and designations attributed to God or mentioned in connection with Him must be considered from the perspective of His absolute Sacredness and Purity and His absolute exemption from any defect or resemblance to the created. For example, concepts such as making schemes, plotting, mocking, disgracing, or the like must be viewed and used in a style proper for the truth of Divinity and the essential characteristic of Divine Lordship. This is because respect for the Names and observing a style that is in keeping with God’s absolute exemption from any defect or resemblance means being respectful for the All-Sacred One Who is called by these Names. Not only should the All-Beautiful Names be considered with appreciation and without imputing any faults or defects to them, also the Divine acts and all works or creatures of the Lord, which are mirrors, results, and the arena of the manifestations of these Names, must be treated the same on account of their being indicators or witnesses of God Almighty. Those who rightfully approach the matter from this perspective remind us of an important point: we must always be appreciative of Divine Acts, hold the Divine Names as being absolutely free from any defect, and exalt the All-Sacred Divine Being.

[mysoulspiralbound]

My best writing advice is always just go for it. You can't improve without practice.

But more helpfully, here's a couple of more general tips I have (based on things i've seen as a reader) are as follows

It's okay to use a character's name a couple times in the same paragraph. If you're writing with multiple characters using the same pronouns set, this is going to happen at least once, and I promise it's less distracting than it feels writing it.

On the other hand, epithets like "the taller one" or "the older one" or "the greenette" (genuine thing i have read) probably should be used sparingly. If a character doesn't know someone's name, they might refer to someone by an identifying feature.

Epithets can also work well if you want to emphasize a specific character trait or role. Calling a main character "The Prince" or "The doctor" feels more natural because those are roles that double as titles. You could just as easily say Prince [ name ] or Dr. [ last name ]. If your protagonist is loosing themself you might want to call them "the warrior," or if they're acting scared you might refer to them as "the kid" to call attention to their age.

In a similar vein, advice about avoiding the word "said" can absolutely be taken too far. Words like growled, yelped, shouted, cried, ect. are all okay on their own, but if overused can become distracting or make the story sound silly. Generally, the dialogue tags you use should serve a purpose. "Whispered" can be particularly important to note in a conversation, but generally most emotions can simply be written as emotions. My personal favorite dialogue tag is "lied," since it actually does convey information, and for bonus points it's kind of funny.

You want enough dialogue tags that you always know who's speaking, but generally in a two person conversation, there are lines where it's safe to kind of skip the tag, especially in a back and forth where someone's obviously responding to something the last character said.

Don't write shouting as caps. Most advice on this list has exceptions, but I can't really think of any good reason to do this. It's distracting, and can pull a reader out of the story emotionally or even physically if their eyes jump to the capslock word. Bold text can have the same problem, but I find it's less distracting. Personally though, I prefer italics if I want to put a visual emphasis on a phrase. Exclamation points are also a decent choice!

Do not forget the power of the humble em-dash. I know a lot of writers struggle with run-on sentences or over using parentheses (which I get) (it's fun to have a secret bonus thought in here) (and adding too many comas in the same sentence can get confusing). If that's something you struggle with though, an em-dash looks a little cleaner while still allowing you to add an extra bit of context to a sentence — here I am doing so now. You can also throw in a colon or semi-colon while writing. You'll probably get the best results by mixing up your punctuation.

On that note, mix up your sentence structure too! When a story goes on and on it can be hard to read. Sometimes, a shorter sentence or two can make the pacing work better. It's also worth noting that block text can be a challenge for some readers, so make sure your paragraphs don't go on forever either. I know in particular that folks with ADHD often have problems with this. The overlap between people who fixated enough on something participate in fandom and people with ADHD is not zero.

Lastly, tag your stuff! Depending on where you post your fic there might be different guidelines, but generally even if you don't wanna tag stuff that might spoil your fic, you should still give some kind of heads up if you're planning on including common triggers or explicit scenes. It's technically more of a courtesy (with the exception of AO3's archive tags, which are required), but it's still the polite thing to do.

Do any of my moots have tips for writing fanfics to give me? I have come up with an idea that I need to be real, but there's no way anyone has done it before, but also I've never written a fic before and am a little nervous to start lol

[anamariamauricia]

read this book (in a fruitless attempt) to better understand the details of the thirty years’ war and the author gets her digs at these people at every chance she gets:

“In the Louvre the King [Louis XIII] lay on his huge bed day after day, but his unhealthy body, which had for the last years never seemed truly alive, was unable to die. The pulse beat obstinately on in the wasted skeleton. Day after day he lay almost motionless, sometimes sinking into troubled sleep, sometimes half-conscious, sometimes speaking, while his wife cried noisily at his bedside.”

“Richelieu, though never popular, had evoked a certain apprehensive admiration. The people did not feel the same about Cardinal Mazarin. The dapper little Sicilian with his petty personal vanities, his childlike ostentation, his delight in craft and cunning, had few impressive qualities. Equally he had not the comprehensive genius of Richelieu; he never understood or managed to control the internal politics of France.”

“Philip IV, having lost both his wife and only son within a few weeks of each other, began, with indecent haste, to seek out a young bride; he was not a very prepossessing husband, old and glum for his forty-odd years, dumbly stupid; as a ruler, a useless idol. He was devoted only to his one remaining child, the scatter-brained little Infanta who was despite the formalities of Madrid and the splendours of Versailles remained through life a foolish, impulsive, perpetually sweet-tempered schoolgirl.”

[blindbeta]

Do they make braille embossed pills or pill containers? I'm disabled (sighted) and I have to take a lot of pills and I was just thinking about how a lot of them have similar shapes and sizes, and how that could really be a problem for blind people, even color-blind people.

Accessible Pill Bottles

This probably contains way more than the asker needed, but here we are.

You’re right to wonder this, as it can be a pain to figure out pill bottles. Luckily there are many options.

If someone has only a few pills, they might be able to tell them apart by size.

One way is to use a Braille or large print pill box, such as this one on MaxiAid. You can get one for each day of the week or one for day and night pills. You can either fill the pill box with the help of sighted people or use accessible bottles to count out the pills on your own. More on making bottles accessible below. With pill boxes, you know what pills to take and when since they’re grouped together. The pills themselves may not need to be accessible.

Another option is something like this PenFriend, demonstrated in this TikTok. Blind people can label each bottle with a voice memo.

Braille labels can be made at home. Large print letters or markings on lids can be made with a marker.

It is also an option to use bump dots. felt fabric, paint, or a sticker to differentiate bottles, if one has good memory recall.

I also found these newly created accessible pill bottles, which feature some of the things I listed and more, though not necessarily using the same technology. From the link:

A lid on “hinges” that flips open, and is, at the same time, child proof

A small, anti-tip, rectangular bottle body that allows a user to easily reach in and pick out 1 or 2 pills

One of 8 distinct textures on the bottle’s flip lid that corresponds with a different medication

Medications differentiated by a different, deep-colored lid that those with limited vision can actually see when it is close to the eye

A “fail-safe” audio button on the lid could be pressed for an audio statement on the medicinal contents

Lastly, here is a blog post on excellent ways to make medication bottles accessible.

If you don’t like high tech things or don’t have much at your disposal, options include: bump dots, Braille labels, and large print labels. As the blog states, these can be requested wherever medication is picked up, or created using a label maker.

For more techy stuff, one option is the Talking Rx. Doctors record the information for each prescription. Apparently you must purchase one per bottle, so this could get expensive for people who need several prescriptions.

The blog post also mentions the PenFriend I wrote about previously. It adds that pharmacists can record names, dosage information, and other instructions upon request. The PenFriend stickers can also be used for other things, and can allow for labeling multiple bottles along with instructions.

The blog also mentions ScriptTalk Station as well as various apps for phones that are helpful.

Final thoughts: there are many ways to make pills bottles and pill boxes accessible. Keep in mind, what someone uses will depend on the following: how many pills they take and when, money or access to free aids, how many similar bottles they have, personal preference, remaining vision, memory recall, ability to read Braille or embossed letters, and if they have medication other than pills such as medical eye drops vs regular eye drops. And more, probably.

I hope this helps.

Here is Molly Burke’s video titled How I Dose Out Prescription Cream Medication As a Blind Woman

And here is Molly Burke speaking about the Talking Rx method.

Thank you to the person who informed me about these helpful videos.