#and when it does that. in context of silva.

[simplegenius042]

Music Monday, Ship Traits Meme & 5 Songs Game

Tagged by @josephseedismyfather @imogenkol @inafieldofdaisies @voidika and @cassietrn

Tagging @socially-awkward-skeleton @direwombat @adelaidedrubman @strangefable @strafethesesinners @rhettsabbott @g0dspeeed @josephslittledeputy @carlosoliveiraa @wrathfulrook @icecutioner @softtidesworld @shallow-gravy @derelictheretic @aceghosts @turbo-virgins @shellibisshe @red-nightskies @starsandskies @ladyoriza @florbelles @skoll-sun-eater @cloudofbutterflies92 @afarcryfrommymain @titiagls @la-grosse-patate @minilev and @thewanderer-000

A song for The Silver Chronicles, ship meme for The UnTitledverse, Life, Despair & Monsters and A Radioactive Calamity Of Love, Bombs & Gore, plus listing five of my favorite songs below the cut:

Out of all the songs in Disney's Wish, the only one which really touched me was "At All Costs". In the context of The Silver Chronicles, it can be viewed in two ways; either Kamski Neon is declaring is promise that no matter the cost, he will protect Silva as she is the closest thing to family he has left, and her returning this promise, OR, Silva is reminiscing on Paul's past promise to protect and love her as a parent should, and echoes these words to Azriel in the present. [Fun fact: I did not enjoy Wish. I enjoyed very, VERY few things in it, and personally wouldn't recommend watching it, but you can do you.]

"If happiness was a tangible thing It would be you If you'd have told me the feeling you'd bring I'd think it untrue And people search for a wonder like you All of their lives You still amaze me after all this time

You pull me in like some kind of wind Mesmerized by the hold I'm in Leave you here, I don't wanna I wanna

Promise as one does I, I will protect you at all costs Keep you safe here in my arms I, I will protect you at all costs At all costs."

"What's pain, when I look at you? No way I could explain you, even if I tried to I'll never dream like I used to do If someone tried to hurt you, I don't See how that could happen I'd fight for you in ways you can't imagine Felt this, no, I haven't, I hope It would be all right to stay right here beside you."

"And promise as one does I, I will protect you at all costs Keep you safe here in my arms I, I will protect you at all costs At all costs

If you're ever feeling like you're lost I'll come find you Man all fronts, there's no ocean I won't swim across To be right by you And not just once, here and now, I swear on my response I'll remind you

And promise as one does I, I will protect you at all costs Keep you safe here in my arms I, I will protect you at all costs At all costs."

Rules: bold/color the themes that apply to your ship, and italicize the theme if it’s one-sided, within your story.

MARIO EMMET x CHARLIE EMILY (THE UNTITLEDVERSE)

height difference (6'3" vs 5'4") / mutual pining / first kiss / wedding / in-jokes / lgbtq+ (Charlie is Bi and both her and Mario are polyamorous leading to their future relationship with Elizabeth Afton) / family disapproves (Henry doesn't approve of his android-copy of his dead daughter romancing a shapeshifting alien that is carnivorous, but if Abigail was alive, she'd approve because she loves her boy and Charlie's a catch) / would die for each other / would kill for each other / fake relationship / arranged wedding / cuddlers / pda friendly (Mario is really touch-starved, while Charlie isn't) / and they were roommates / holding hands / secret relationship / opposing worldviews / getting a pet / have kids / want kids / grow old together (originally the plan before they eventually go from "android x shapeshifter-alien young romance" to "gods of the new world") / relationship failures / rests head on shoulder / share a bed / relationship doubts / they have a song / first date (for Mario) / sharing a blanket / mutual interests / study buddies (Charlie attempted this but Mario is not helpful whatsoever) / bathing together / crash into hello / accidental nudity / laundry / same hobbies / cooking for each other (Mario cooks the bigger and flavoured dishes while Charlie is more of a simpler easier food kind of person) / big fancy gala / forehead touches / hair stroking (Mario doesn't have hair) / sitting on each other’s laps / sexual tension / can’t be together / battle couple / Friends to Lovers / Enemies to Lovers (initially Mario thought Charlie was a rival apart of his species since her body that housed her soul was different from regular humans so he attempted to eat her) / Lovers to Enemies / KEEPING SECRETS (misunderstanding: Mario thought Charlie was apart of his species because of her physical forms difference from the rest of her friends leading him to believe she was trying to steal his territory/kill him in general while Charlie eventually thinks Mario knows something of her origins and eventually thinks he knew she was an android before she figured it out, which was far from Mario's deduction) / love after loss / exes / declaration of love / flirting / love triangle (Charlie had the choice between her gentle and supportive childhood friend whom she has great chemistry with but doesn't feel the same way for and stops her from doing impulsive dumb shit or the alien shapeshifter who initially tried to eat her mistaking her for someone else and is more likely to go along with her impulsive dumb shit) / destructive romance / envy (Mario was jealous of Charlie's integration in human society not realizing she was an android and not another of his species) / “I Don’t Want to Ruin Our Friendship” (especially considering Charlie was an android who thought she was human and Mario is a shapeshifting alien, neither had thought their feelings would be reciprocated) / shared values / slow burn / does not end well / happily ever after (at the very, very end of the series, they ascend to godhood because positions were open so... I guess?) / love letters

HAOYU ANABUKI x ICARUS GALATOS (LIFE, DESPAIR & MONSTERS)

height difference / mutual pining / first kiss / wedding / in-jokes / lgbtq+ (Haoyu is non-binary attracted to men and Icarus is ace and doesn't mind who the person is as long as their personality is worth hyperfixating on) / family disapproves (nah, Monika's happy for her half-sibling and Icarus' fam are just glad he's got a partner) / would die for each other (more accurately they'd risk their lives for each other but would avoid actual death at all costs) / would kill for each other (Haoyu doesn't like to kill but Icarus would let Hatter do the killing) / fake relationship / arranged wedding / cuddlers / pda friendly / and they were roommates / holding hands / secret relationship (mostly on Icarus side of things, but eventually he reveals Haoyu to his family) / opposing worldviews (Icarus believes personal satisfaction comes from doing good to others while Haoyu believes upholding self-interest is satisfying enough) / getting a pet / have kids / want kids / grow old together / relationship failures / rests head on shoulder/ share a bed / relationship doubts (Icarus side of things considering he (plus his alters) are Hatter's avatar/s) / they have a song / first date / sharing a blanket / mutual interests / study buddies / bathing together / crash into hello / accidental nudity / laundry / same hobbies / cooking for each other / big fancy gala / forehead touches / hair stroking / sitting on each other’s laps / sexual tension / can’t be together / battle couple / Friends Mutual Allies to Lovers / Enemies to Lovers / Lovers to Enemies / KEEPING SECRETS / love after loss / exes / declaration of love / flirting / love triangle / destructive romance / envy / “I Don’t Want to Ruin Our Friendship” / shared values / slow burn / does not end well (will neither confirm nor deny both of their fates in the ending of the series) / happily ever after / love letters (a gag that happens; Icarus attempts this and Haoyu opens up a portal to his universe and tells him face-to-face their feelings)

MARISSA "RESS" BISHOP x PIPER WRIGHT (A RADIOACTIVE CALAMITY OF LOVE, BOMBS & GORE)

height difference (6'2" vs 5'7") / mutual pining / first kiss / wedding / in-jokes (from to each others expenses to flirtatious teasing) / lgbtq+ (Piper and Ress are both Bisexual women) / family disapproves (Piper's little sister Nat thinks Ress is cool. But on Ress' side of the family, her deadbeat evil father Arcane Urias thinks humans are a regression to evolution and should be treated as livestock more than anything and if Ore, Ress' half-brother, was alive at the time, he'd approve her choice, but Ress human family members, the Bishop Crime Family, might not like the idea of her being with a JOURNALIST of all things) / would die for each other / would kill for each other / fake relationship / arranged wedding / cuddlers / pda friendly / and they were roommates / holding hands / secret relationship / opposing worldviews / getting a pet (Dogmeat!... and whatever Ress keeps bringing home to freak out Piper and make Nat think she's cool) / have kids / want kids / grow old together (God Ress wishes she could do this with Piper) / relationship failures / rests head on shoulder / share a bed / relationship doubts (Piper has insecurities while Ress wrestles with the fact she'll outlive Piper) / they have a song / first date / sharing a blanket (Ress hogs the f***ing blanket) / mutual interests / study buddies / bathing together / crash into hello / accidental nudity / laundry / same hobbies / cooking for each other / big fancy gala / forehead touches / hair stroking / sitting on each other’s laps (Piper does this often since she knows it will fluster Ress) / sexual tension (oh god, it is so obvious to everyone) / can’t be together / battle couple / Friend(emie)s to Lovers / (Fri)Enemies to Lovers / Lovers to Enemies / KEEPING SECRETS / love after loss (at this point Ress has lost her closest friends and her own brother) / exes / declaration of love (Piper confesses this) / flirting (very aggressive teasing) / love triangle / destructive romance / envy (Piper was kinda jealous that Ress isn't self-conscious and very overconfident cocky attitude until she learned why Ress has this mask on) / “I Don’t Want to Ruin Our Friendship” / shared values / slow burn / does not end well / happily ever after? (at the end of the series? yes. post-canon offscreen though? Ress is likely to outlive Piper, something they're both aware of) / love letters

Now here's a list for my top 5 favorite songs:

Without You - Oh Wonder

Loser, Baby - Keith David, Blake Roman, Andrew Underberg & Sam Haft

Youth - Daughter

I Really Want To Stay At Your House - Hallie Coggins & Rosa Walton

Memory Reboot - Narvent & VØJ

[gayseriea]

Whats all this my friends have been telling me about Paolo Maldini and his gay escapades with his teammates😭

I AM UNFORTUNATELY NOT FAMILIAR! I know that Maldini has been "followed by gay rumours" for most of his career because 1) he was so fucking pretty when he was younger and 2) allegedly a journalist made a big deal of him "being single and wearing pink" when he was first starting out. and it kind of. stuck.

I feel like @toxicoldmanyaoi or @kvaradonaa might know more? or if anyone does pls feel free to chime in. All EYE know is that various ex-teammates talking about him get pretty starry-eyed. Italy nt Baggio waxed poetics about him being the best defender who ever lived blah blah "worth like fifteen men put together" whatever that meant. I remember a Shevchenko interview that was also like. very eyes emoji. Also this Thiago Silva out-of-context quote is fun.

tldr: I actually don't know! But I wouldn't be surprised if he had gay escapades frankly. I bet more men wanted to hit that than they'd have liked to admit

[drewharrisonwriter]

I just watched Strange Way of Life

I think I get it now, when people who've seen it says that it's lacking, the acting weren't that good, and that it's too quick.

Well, not that my opinion matters, and I am CLEARLY NOT A FILM CRITIQUE nor am I trying to be lol but I just need to get this out lol

It IS too quick, considering it's only a SHORT FILM. Though it was never said it was a full length anyway.

But I'd have to argue that it didn't feel 'lacking', or that the acting was either exaggerated or the opposite. To be honest, it was easy for me to catch on to the depth of the background of each characters with what the film has provided. From snippets, you can tell so much about why they did the things they did.

There is so much we can see through context. It's art. It's not required to spoon feed us, and most certainly not tailored to suit our tastes the exact same way.

Jake alone poses this archaic (for the lack of a better term atm) ways of dealing with his emotions towards Silva and his principles. Also, can we talk about how well Ethan Hawke presented this character? I have always been in awe of him since I've first seen Before Sunrise 20smthng yrs ago. I thought he expresses his lines as naturally as possible, and he does it so well with Jake. Even the injured part was convincing and all the exasperation his character seem to have by default. And you see him trying to loosen up but quickly putting his guards back up. It's so well played.

What's not convincing is the way Silva cleaned him up but then again, we're not really pointing out medical errors here. LOL

Going back... (sorry, my ADHD brain is catching on)

In Silva, we see a duality in the man, and they happen in split seconds, too. Which Pedro is too good at, again, in my own opinion. You blink and you miss it, but Silva really grappled with his true agenda and his true feelings for Jake, and you seem him slipping between the two.

To me, this film is a perfect glimpse of how people in this particular timeline views same sex relationships. And boy, did Silva really played his cards with all the blackmailing.

Goes to show how well aware both men were of the consequences of their love affair, but one really knows how to use it well to their advantage.

(Sidetrack: Tell me it's not just me thinking that this is Joel Miller???)

Also, Silva's son is a dick. What more can I say?

OVERALL...

I liked it. Did I like it because Pedro starred in it? Sure. But, truly, even if Silva was played by someone else, I'd still like it. (Believe me, I've brain-stormed other possible Silva's with my bff)

It's a good film, all in all. The cinematography in particular is really good, with the wide angles and natural lightings and all. I'd also like to point out the carefully curated set and the artworks that hung on the walls, even the clutters and fabric textures. They add so much more depth and color into the lives of the characters.

The plot, at least in my opinion, is not hard to decipher nor is it too shallow. In fact, (again, it's just me lol) I believe that the lack of more flashbacks or more detailed context was alright. What was presented gave me enough understanding as to why these characters spoke and moved the way they did.

Well....(sighs) aaanywaaay...

I enjoyed it and just wanted to come on here to talk about it even if it doesn't make so much sense. LOL

[medusanova]

Finally getting around to sending this prompt: I'd love to see a mash-up / fusion of Fate and The Shadowhunter Chronicles. Particularly in the context of Sky and Riven being parabatai and how that works in the Fate universe. 👀 (or any of the characters as parabatai would be v cool too- like, Bloom and Aisha maybe?)

There is nothing I love more than the complexities of a parabatai bond — and I could never pass up on a sky/riven moment, especially when I found these as inspiration..

It’s been three years since Sky laid eyes on an Elapid demon. Not since the portal to the dark realm had been closed for good.

Or so they thought.

For a few seconds, it’s the only thing that takes up his vision — a swarm of scaled creatures crawling around Alfea, neither serpent nor insect, their jagged claws buried into the spines of his fellow specialists and tearing them to pieces — before the rune on his neck tingles and the image fades.

Just in time for Sky to duck and roll away from the snap of its teeth.

Amber-colored venom drips to the ground, sizzling into the cobblestone where Sky had been frozen in place just seconds ago.

The demon’s cobra-shaped head turns in his direction, red eyes bleeding violence and hunger, only to stumble back with a piercing shriek when an arrow gets embedded into its neck.

“That sword in your hand? It’s to defend yourself from things like that,” a low voice taunts from behind him. Sky turns in time to see Riven aim another marked arrow, sending a shockwave of an angry yowl through the village when the sharp tip grazes the top of the demon’s head. “Would be bloody helpful if you used it right about now.”

The sardonic words make him smile despite himself, sending the unsettling flashback to the back of his mind. Shaking his head in amusement, he pulls the seraph blade from its scabbard, letting it illuminate his hand with a soft, divine glow.

Running toward the demonic creature, he arcs through the air, dodging a taloned arm, and slices through one of the demon’s legs — just in time to sidestep another one. Taking advantage of his crouched position, Sky pierces his blade through the underside of its belly. It explodes in a shower of burning ichor.

He turns to face his partner. “Two!” he calls out, breathless from the headiness of adrenaline.

“One and a half,” Riven shoots back with a smirk. He plants an arrow into the head of the third and final Elapid and doesn’t even stop to make sure it’s fully banished to the demon realm when he stows his bow away, strutting in Sky’s direction. Cocky bastard. “I helped you with the first one.”

The lightness in Riven’s voice, however, doesn’t match the intensity of his eyes as they absorb every detail about Sky. Gaze determined and evergreen. So intense it never fails to feel like Riven’s hands are slowly checking over every inch of him.

Like it always does, Sky’s heart pounds against the prison of his rib cage at the sight, sending a pulse of warmth down his spine.

It took years for Sky to understand that look. That unwavering stare. Intended to painstakingly ensure the soul bound to Riven’s was uninjured, unharmed. But once he did, once Sky allowed himself to feel the full weight of Riven’s attention, well, it’s been a steady descent since.

Sky does his best to shrug it away as they head back to the institute, tucked away behind a First World trinket shop in the middle of Blackbridge. “But I was the one to kill it.”

“I knew your hero complex would go to your head one day, I just didn’t expect it to be so soon,” Riven teases, bumping his bicep — inked with the rune identical to the one on his neck — into Sky.

“Weren’t you the one who told Silva we didn’t need a team for this patrol?”

Riven scoffs. “Like I could’ve predicted an Elapid nest? I know a higher level of demon activity has been reported, but where the fuck did those even come from?”

It’s a good question, actually. They weren’t even supposed to be on a mission today, just an ordinary patrol. One they’ve done countless times without encountering Elapid-level demons. It’s relatively uneventful most of the time, but today they stumbled upon a swarm of them for the first time in years and Sky—

He thinks of lifeless eyes, of blood-soaked grass squelching beneath his boots as he surveys the loss of his fellow warriors. Of the cries of pain and sorrow pervading through Alfea.

“Sky!” Riven warns urgently, pulling him out of his daze.

His body responds before his mind can even process the words, flattening to the ground as a demon flies through the air just a few feet above him. Sky’s palms sting from the cut of the cobblestones when he clambers to his feet, scanning the area around them for the nearest source of danger.

An Elapid demon comes at him seconds later, swooping with a visceral screech. Sky grunts as he blocks its leg with his seraph blade and pushes it back, his teeth gritting together with effort. From his periphery, he sees another leg loom over him, ready to spear through his body, only for it to get pierced with a marked arrow, exploding in a splash of ichor.

The demon howls and Sky strikes, swinging his sword through its neck. Black-green blood splatters onto him, biting at his exposed skin, but the thrill of killing the demon, of sending it back to the hell it came from, is much more powerful.

He turns to face Riven with a grimace. “Thanks for having my back.”

“Always,” Riven replies easily, and the smile he sends Sky is devastating, entirely out of place on a battlefield. “Except for when it’s Silva. Demons I can handle. Silva’s lectures? You’re on your own, mate.”

Sky’s about to tell him that Silva’s lectures are pretty much exclusively reserved for Riven when he hears an all-too-familiar scuttling sound. He barely has time to lift his sword when there’s a blur of movement, a sickening squelch, and—

Riven screams.

Sky’s body is hollow as he stares at the claw that’s run straight through Riven’s thigh, blood glistening on its black shell. It starts to shudder as though it’s about to jerk upwards – three, two, one, – and tear Riven in half.

Sky moves without thinking, spinning past his parabatai to sever the leg off at the back, thrusting his sword through the demon’s belly with an anguished, vengeful roar. He doesn’t even care to watch it be banished to the demon realm, and just turns to catch Riven as he collapses backwards, sinking to his knees. Two bound souls on the ground.

“Always the bloody white knight…” he gasps, sounding half out of it already. Sky fumbles for Riven’s hand, his fingers sliding in between his. “A lot of blood, Sky. It’s- my thigh. There’s too much blood.”

“I know,” he says, catching his voice before it cracks. “It’s okay, just- just let me get my stele, okay? We need a healing rune and-“

“N-no. Won’t work. Too much blood.” Riven exhales a short, mirthless laugh. “I don’t- it’s not going to work.”

“It will, okay? You’re going to be fine. Where I go you go, remember?”

“Sky don’t... I’m fine.”

But it’s not. It’s not fucking fine because Sky can feel their parabatai bond weakening by the second. Can feel the life-force that constantly exists within him, the axis of his whole world, fading away.

Riven just rests there on his chest. His breaths shallow, his fingers trembling against Sky’s neck, and his eyes trained on Sky’s face. He flinches when something wet drips onto his cheek, but he still doesn’t look away.

And Sky knows, he knows that a healing rune on Riven’s body isn’t going to be enough to fix him.

He knows that there are some wounds that are fatal wounds — heads crushed by stone, stomachs pierced by swords, hearts stopped with lightning — that are just too big, too permanent to heal. A femoral artery ripped apart by a demon is one of them.

But there’s nothing in this realm, nothing in this world or any world, that can stop him from reaching out with a bloodstained hand to draw one on anyway.

It’s not his best. He’s too shaky, too frenzied to make it his best. The lines aren’t sharp or precise and he can’t even breathe much magic into it like he usually would—

But then the rune glows. Steadily brighter and stronger than he’s ever seen. An iridescent blaze of light that beams through the village and nearly blinds everyone in it.

When it fades, any remaining demons are gone — expelled in a series of cataclysms that reverberate through Sky’s knees — and Riven has stopped bleeding. There’s a spiked claw on the ground next to his thigh and the skin where his wound should be is whole, unmarred. As if he wasn’t just on the brink of death. His puddle of blood is nothing more than a rusted stain that’s faded into his black gear.

Sky feels their parabatai bond flare against Riven’s palm on his neck, red-hot and electric. The rune on his bicep grows as hot on Sky’s chest as the liquid fire in his gaze. He breathes Sky’s name, hushed and reverent.

They haven’t looked away from each other.

Sky doesn’t say anything in reply. He just stares back at Riven, droplets of sweat and pain still caught in his lashes. His chest feels warm, his body heavy. Like he could stay here forever. Riven held close to chest, their feelings burning like heavenly fire through their bond, the rest of the world a universe away.

Sky and Riven. Just Sky and Riven.

There’s a sharp crunch of boots and Silva falls to a crouch beside Sky, startling them both out of their reverie.

“What,” he says in complete bewilderment, “the fuck was that?”

[amchara]

i love the specific situation when i see you reblogging things and i immediately think it's tsc without looking at the context and then immediately spiral into a tornado of confusion and/or horror before the moment of clarity washes over me and i realize it's fate the winx saga

you have no idea how many times i've seen fairy-esque discussions on your blog or drama-adjacent things and I'm like "WHAT HAPPENED TO MARK AND KIERAN WHAT DID I MISS oh wait-"

Hahaha, I do feel a slight pang of guilt sometimes for TSC fans who followed and are still here. I mean- I am still into Shadowhunters! But I mix it up a lot more these days.

But more importantly- you made me spiral with your question of WHAT HAPPENED TO MARK AND KIERAN... that I had to think, what does happen to Mark, Kieran and the Blackthorns and Emma in a Fate universe context?

SO- buckle up, we're going fusion with Fate and The Shadowhunter Chronicles.

I'm going to stick mainly with The Dark Artifices characters for this but I do have to do a shout out to the fact that we do have some direct parallels but mainly TMI related.

Sky = Herondale with Jace's weaponry skill and daddy issues, James' gentlemanly behavior hiding a dark side, and Kit's jacket + sarcasm. That boy suffers beautifully, as all Herondales must.

And Bloom = Clary Fairchild, independent red-head discovers hidden world of magic and finds a close knit group of friends who help her save the world. Though the narrative punishes Bloom a lot more than Cassie ever did to Clary.

Therefore Bloom/Sky roughly equals Clary/Jace

Fate: The Winx Saga actually fits the mold of original flavour TSC quite well even if the other character archetypes don't exactly align with the Fate characters.

But... if we get to The Dark Artifices and the more morally grey Blackthorns and add in the Unseelie Court, this is where I had to stretch the imagination. Not because it can't be done but I had to shift a couple things to fit into the Fate context.

So, first of all- Emma is clearly a Specialist in this 'verse. Trains all day, weapons fan and a drive for revenge? Absolutely she'd be an awesome Specialist. Her background in Fate is that her parents were killed by Burned Ones - and they were also part of Rosalind's elite squad and so as a consequence she's brought up at Alfea by Silva, alongside Sky. She's Julian's Specialist partner.

Julian is a Mind Fairy. I considered all the other elements and nope, we've got to acknowledge he'd be a fucking powerful mind fairy, and he'd be a protege of Headmistress Farah Dowling. When Rosalind inevitably returns... she'd sense his power and there would definitely be attempst to push him to give in to the more manipulative side of his powers.

The Blackthorn's 'dark secret' in this 'verse is that Mark and Helen's mother was a Blood Witch, in a time when there wasn't as much division between fairies and Blood Witch.

We keep Julian's dark past in that he had to kill his own father when he was younger, who was possessed by a Blood Witch trying to get revenge for the Aster Dell massacre. In this battle, Julian protects his younger siblings but Mark is taken by some of his mother's relatives and goes off to live with the Blood Witches. Helen is a Specialist and has been banished by Queen Luna to the wilds of Eraklyon to check the Barrier (and her fairy partner Aline goes with her).

Anyway, when our story starts, Mark's just been returned to Solaria, through some backroom negotiations by General Bavani, and he's causing a stir at Alfea, as most people don't trust him due to his background. Oh, and he's an Air Fairy nominally but learnt it through Blood Witch practice, which makes his magic super erratic. He and Julian are trying to get back to their old bond but it's hard and there's the whole point of Julian trying not to admit he's in love with Emma because... okay, there's no parabatai issue but let's go with the idea that Mind Fairies can't be in relationships with their Specialist partners because if they get hurt/their partner gets hurt, it makes the magic go Kaboom or something, so it's Highly Frowned upon). But obviously Mark has no issues with this so we can keep the Emma-Mark-Julian triangle from the first book.

Kieran, as some kind of son of an important Blood Witch clan- maybe even still a Prince, shows up undercover (ala Beatrix's background), but in this 'verse, clearly Mark knows. So he's trying to out why Kieran is there without getting Kieran in trouble. So he and this other Specialist he's been getting close to- Cristina Rosales - are investigating and trying to figure out Kieran's ulterior motives. And of course, the OT3 still develops. 😌

Whew... going to stop here before I write a full-blown AU but thank you for spurring on this ridiculous fusion post. Hope you enjoyed and once you've watched the pilot, maybe even know some of the names I've been throwing around. 😀

[anoddopal]

✨🐇 NIMBOSTRATUS 🐇✨

Two of Bun-Bun Silva's [Insert/Sona] beloved pets!

General Info

There are those who assume they represent the “Bun-Bun” portion of Silva's name.

Both are a subspecies of Lapin [Lapahn], similar to those found on Drum island. Though these two in particular have far more lagomorph-like attributes than their arctic counterparts.

Technically omnivores; they mostly eat hay/vegetation but won’t turn their noses up at meat.

Their unique anatomy allows them to be both bipedal and quadruped; they can move about much faster when down on all fours.

While still classified as animals, they’re much smarter than most people anticipate. All communication they have with humans/humanoids can only be inferred [though Silva can speculate what they mean better than anyone]. However, they can speak directly with other animals, Zo.an Type De.vil Fruit users, and Tony To.ny Ch.opper!

Nimbus

Strongly resembles a Netherland Dwarf. [Stands at roughly 5’ on hind legs; not including ears!]

The oldest of the two, yet somehow he’s still referred to as the “Baby Brother”.

Prone to making the silliest of faces, usually in the form of scowls and grimaces. Silva jokes that he ate the “Frown Frown Fruit”, and that’s why he has such an adorably sour expression.

Is Stratus’ shadow, essentially. He follows her everywhere. It’s only on rare occasions that he leaves her side.

Like Stratus, he loves his ‘Mama’ very much, but he also tends to find Silva’s fussing embarrassing.

Is a bit of a menace, but he’s much more discreet about it when compared to his ‘big’ sister. No rope or nautical knot is safe from his teeth. The little guy can’t help but slice through the damn things…

Nimbus is very particular about the appearance of his loved ones, and will take it upon himself to groom them to perfection! Be warned- your eyebrows WILL be on fleek by the time he’s done with you!

Much more content to fade into the background. Doesn’t care to be in the spotlight, but he does love attention from certain individuals.

Overall a standoffish, suspicious little guy. But this means having his trust/favor is all the more impactful. Nimbus is loyal to his core.

A very good judge of character! …. For the most part…

Stratus

Strongly resembles a Rex. [Stands at roughly 6’ on hind legs; not including ears!]

The brains, muscle, and leader of this outfit.

Wears a mummified “lucky human’s foot” around her neck, it’s a twist on the belief some humans hold that a severed rabbit’s foot will bring them luck. Hey! She’s just evening the odds!

TOTAL MAMA’S GIRL. LUFFS HER MAMA SO MUCH!

A criminal. Has a bounty on her head that rivals that of many notorious pirates. Said bounty only continues to increase over time, with the most significant increase occurring when she successfully broke into Im.pel Down [assisting in the  catastrophe Mo.nkey D. Lu.ffy orchestrated that freed hundreds of prisoners or wait, was it Bu.ggy who cooked up THAT part of the scheme? Whatever- her true intent was to go after Sir Cro.codile regardless] and when she fought on Wh.iteb.eard’s side at Ma.rinef.ord [though her primary goal was to help protect her mama]. There is debate as to whether she’s sentient enough to warrant such a large amount of berries…?

Needs attention. DEMANDS attention! Positive attention? Yes!!!! Negative attention? YESSSS!!!!

Is capable of feats that are… unexplainable, or have no context beyond a simple explanation. Silva insists Stratus knows all the secrets to the universe. Hell, she probably somehow knows where the One Pi.ece IS. But will she ever tell anybody? LMAO, of COURSE not!

Probably has some form of Haki.

An agent of chaos, yet she’s also an entity that embodies comfort and love. For as much discord as she causes, she also brings great peace of mind. She’s an imperative regulator of Silva’s mental health. ESR: Emotional Support Rabbit.

[loosesodamarble]

2, 6, 18 and 23 for Black Clover and if you know it, Fairy Tail <3

Okay okay! We've got some more attention for Fairy Tail coming in! Thank you for the asks, for both fandoms!

2) Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?

BC: I can ship YamiNacht but more as a crack ship. I take it 30% seriously... I'm more for the BroTP of those two.

FT: Erza x Minerva. I've seen the ship. I know I'm not hallucinating that. But I prefer them as enemies to friends.

6) Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?

Oooohhhhh... That's... I don't think that's ever happened to me before. I've learned to like ships that I first thought didn't make sense. But I don't think I've ever gone from distinctly hating a ship to enjoying it.

I mean, I used to really hate Kyoujurou x Akaza (not BC or FT but it's the only example I have) but now I can kinda enjoy and laugh at it. But only when it's discussed by very specific people in specific contexts. So I can't genuinely say I went from hating to enjoying Renkaza, I just learned to like when certain people write it.

Sorry if the answer if dull and underwhelming. That's just my experience...

18) Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased?

Not shipping something popular doesn't mean you're in denial. It just means that you don't happen like what a lot of people do like.

For a non-shipping example, I don't like nuts/nut flavored snacks. I'm not allergic. I just don't like them. But nuts are very prevalent in snacks and desserts, super popular. It's not that I'm in denial that nuts are good and people like them, they just don't appeal to me. I have tried eating nut-based products but I just keep reconfirming that I don't like them. It's the same thing with shipping, it's about how a ship appeals to a person. And sometimes the most popular thing won't appeal to someone's tastes.

As for biases, I can't really write that off because everyone will always have a bias/opinion about everything. I will prefer the "childhood friends to lovers" ship over the "fling that became more" ship; that's my bias. And if a person's bias happens to be against a "popular" ship, telling them that they're wrong for having their opinion is not going to do anything except cause trouble.

PSA: if someone doesn't like a "popular" ship that you happen to like, that's fine. It's their opinion and you do not have to devote your energy to disagreeing with them/convincing them to like the "popular" thing. It's as simple as telling yourself to not care about it.

23) Unpopular character you love?

BC: SOLID AND NEBRA! THE MIDDLE SILVAS GET SO MUCH FLAK BUT I LOVE THEM AND WANT THEM REDEEMED!

FT: There are unpopular characters in Fairy Tail? I'm distant from Fairy Tail so I'm not quite sure which characters are unpopular or just... very minor characters that don't get much attention. So my answer for this will be the Oracion Seis group. Erik, Sorano, and Macbeth are a little popular I think but not Richard or Sawyer. But let me tell you, Richard's backstory episode made me cry when I rewatched the Oracion Seis a while ago. Soft spot in my heart for Richard!

[acacia-may]

Hi if you're feeling in a mood to comment on some OC ships could you maybe talk about Nozel x Helena and Gabriel x Vanessa?

(the second one I'm still working on developing better, but after Erika's comment I'm determined on them getting a happy ending even years after Paper Hearts)

For platonic relations what about Yami and Finral?

Of course, Lola! Thank you so much for the ask! I would be delighted to ramble about your ships (though I know we have discussed a little before so I apologize in advance if I repeat myself a little bit here). 🥰

Nozel x Helena

I'm sure that you know already, but I absolutely adore this ship. There are a lot of good pairings out there for Nozel (both with canon characters and OCs) but I think I personally vibe with this dynamic for him the most. I think Helena and her sunny personality are just so good for him. The grumpy one x sunshine one trope is my sister's favorite ship dynamic of all time, so even though it's not always my thing, I think that's given me a real appreciation for it. Regardless, it just works so well in this case. Nozel is so serious and so uptight, and Helena is so warm and so kind. I love the fact that she is sunshiny but more reserved about it. In my personal interpretation of Nozel, I think I see him more as a person who would get kind overwhelmed by a big personality, so I love that Helena is just so sweet and gentle with her positivity and kindness. Her big heartedness and her ability to see the good in people is really admirable, and after getting to discuss your work with you and getting to read your post about your inspirations for "Paper Hearts," I came to love and appreciate her even more. (Also, her character design is absolutely gorgeous).

I love that Helena is not just there to be Nozel's love interest but also to encourage to turn over a new leaf and heal his relationships with his family (because, I'm sure it goes without saying, but that's my jam! Next thing I know I'm going to go all in for the dysfunctional Silva Bros too, okay? I'm just waiting for it to inevitably happen lol). Jokes aside though, as soon as I started reading your work, I knew that there was more to this story than just Nozel finding love, and I love that. I'm not the most romantic person, but I do appreciate when love stories are integrated into the bigger context of someone's life. Nozel has been through so much, and it really does warm my heart to think of him turning over this new leaf, being happy, and finding love someday. That said, I am just bonkers about this idea of combining all of that with him rebuilding his relationships with his siblings. JUST YES!! It's everything I ever wanted. I'm not if I've ever talked about this but my favorite Nozel x Canon Character pairing is probably Nozel x Dorothy for this exact reason. I like that she has this bond with Noelle, and we see her kind of encouraging Nozel and Noelle to repair their sibling bond, but I think it is more of a jump to combine the Silva Siblings bonding and the romance in that particular case, so when I found your "Paper Hearts" I'll admit I kind of went a little bit feral over it because those two things are so seamlessly and beautifully integrated together in Nozel and Helena's story. And when you shared with me that that was part of your plan and something you wanted for your work all along, it just all came together and made perfect sense for me. It's so compelling, and I think you've succeeded in that so well. I can't wait to see how everything plays out!

Needless to say, I am all in for this ship. I absolutely adore it, and it's probably my favorite ship for Nozel. I say this even as after I have already paired him off with Dorothy in my Future Problems next gen series, but there's totally a world (probably several worlds) where he marries Helena now. I need it to happen. I really need it. They're just so good!

(Bonus ramblings: I love the title of their story "Paper Hearts!" It's very clever given Helena's magic so I love it for that, but it always makes me think of one of my favorite songs "Paper Hearts" by The Vamps too).

Gabriel x Vanessa

I am so here for this pairing! It has really piqued my interest and is quickly becoming one of my favorite Vanessa ships. I think I mentioned before that I do like or am a least neutral to a lot of Vanessa pairings, but none of them really fit Vanessa's own admission about the kind of person she likes in the Assorted Questions Brigade in the manga, so I love that Gabriel really fits that for her. She deserves a man that's her type (at least in some universe).

I'm sure you also know that I just adore Gabriel as a character (and not just because I'm biased because I also have an OC named Gabriel. Though it is an awesome name, objectively! 😁). I love his relationship with his sister, Helena, and that he is strong while also being empathetic. Even though he is confident, I think he has such a kind heart, and I love that about him too. Gabs is really a sweetheart, and I think his more adventurous side and willingness to explore other points of view (i.e. not just doing things the way they've always been done to keep with traditions) would really endear him to Vanessa. I also really love the idea of them bantering with each other. That's really fun!

Plus, with Helena being so close to her brother and also so close to Vanessa as a friend, I think there could be some really fun interactions there with her (good-naturedly) teasing them a little about their feelings and relationship, and I eat that stuff up (honestly, I think most of my attempts to write romance involve someone's close friend or sibling making those kind of shipping jokes about them. It's a very fun concept to me).

Overall I'm just really excited to see them interact and how their relationship develops! I think it's going to be great!!💖

Yay! Platonic bonds too! Thank you for this! You're the best. I love when people let me ramble about my favorite friendships and family relationships. 🥰

Yami and Finral's Friendship

This friendship really warms my heart. It goes without saying that Finral has serious father issues, so the idea of him having this strong, male role model that believes in him really means a lot to me. I know that when we see them in the series, they're both in their twenties where Yami being older isn't as meaningful, but Yami let Finral onto his squad when he was a young, 15 year old boy who had never really had a father, and even if Yami wasn't intending to step into that paternal role and/or even if Finral saw him more as an older brother than a dad, the end result is the same. For the first time in Finral's life, there is this older male figure who he really looks up to and who believes in him. Yami gives him a chance, gives him the opportunity to join his squad, and sees something special in him and his supposedly "weak" magic that Finral has been told is useless his entire life. And you can really see throughout the series how much this means to Finral and how much it inspires him and allows him the chance to flourish and to learn to believe in himself too. (A/N: On a similar note, I love to imagine William and Langris have a similar bond with each other and that doesn't get talked about enough, so I wanted to do a quick shout of to it here).

I do love that they build this friendship with each other over time, and getting to see Finral kind of being "the responsible one" on the squad is really fun to me. As my sister and I often joked while binging the anime, it's a sad day when you realize that Finral is "the responsible one" out the Black Bulls, but it does make for some really great and really funny moments. Also, I have always had a major fascination with the early Black Bulls when the squad (at the least the members that were around) were just Yami, Finral, Vanessa, & Gordon. It's just such a fun dynamic, and I loved getting to write about their misadventures. ^^

[quietblueriver]

17 and 29 for the ao3 wrapped ask please 💚

Hi!! Tysm for the ask. Rambling answers below. 💜💜

17. Favorite character to write: Ava Silva (Warrior Nun) by a hair.

Imogen (Critical Role) and Beatrice (Warrior Nun) are super close to my heart bc I identify with them v strongly—Southern lesbian with a religious background and ofc the familial/societal pressure, etc.

Ava appeals to the happiest parts of me. She’s so full of joy and optimism and gratitude and feels her emotions so freely and unapologetically. She’s also very funny and it’s fun to write that.

29. Favorite line/passage: Going for funny over serious, I genuinely made myself giggle while writing Tell Me You Don’t Know Me. For context, it’s a story about Beatrice running into her parents in London. When they see her holding hands with Ava, they deploy the homophobic parents’ toolkit to explain the behavior away, assuming she’s on an undercover assignment for the Church. This passage is my favorite, I think:

“I don’t...Part of my...work? Getting to...getting to know her?”

Ava is only really used to seeing Bea this inarticulate when Ava’s trying super hard to make her that way, but she can’t blame her because, from what Ava can put together, Bea’s mom thinks the Church has sent Bea undercover as a...butch dyke with a pink-haired girlfriend? She thinks Bea is, what? Pretending to eat pussy? For Jesus?

For the record, Bea’s definitely not pretending, although Ava would say it’s a religious experience. Also, okay, fine, Ava does sometimes bring Jesus into things but only in the super blasphemous way, thanks very much.

[simplegenius042]

Late Music Monday + 2 Quizzes In 1 + Hozier Song quiz

Tagged by @inafieldofdaisies @onehornedbeast @josephseedismyfather @adelaidedrubman and @voidika

Tagging @socially-awkward-skeleton @strangefable @strafethesesinners @shallow-gravy @direwombat @jillvalentinesday @cassietrn @chazz-anova @minilev @deputy-morgan-malone @wrathfulrook @josephslittledeputy and @g0dspeeed

So I went through my activity history and found I had been tagged by @onehornedbeast for two quizzes which were for OC's heart and OC's path. Not to forget the Hozier song quiz.

The rules for the Music Monday below are: Post a song that is relevant to your WIP or inspires it. Can include lyrics.

Specifically this is for my currently unnamed Far Cry 5 WIP (though the titled might just get named after one of the lyrics of the song) which has some inspiration from Bioshock Infinite. Some context I will give is that it involves Silva and Paul, alternate realities, both Priestess Lillith and the Tarot Card Holder being vague shits, and the Seeds having to deal with a depressed father-daughter duo who know how to use a knife and gun. Also Ernesto "if you can't dropkick Mohammad off the mountain then might as well bring the mountain down on top of Mohammad" Stallone is stirring things up.

"I was scared of dentists and the dark I was scared of pretty girls and starting conversations Oh, all my friends are turning green You're the magician's assistant in their dreams

Ah ooh-ooh-ooh, ah ooh-oh-ooh And they come unstuck

Lady, running down to the riptide Taken away to the dark side I wanna be your left hand man I love you when you're singing that song And I got a lump in my throat 'Cause you're gonna sing the words wrong."

Now for OC quiz results!

First the 'What does your OC's heart look like?' quiz for Leslie Who (from The UnTitledverse).

And here's the "What does your path lead to?" quiz for Denise Redwood (who's making appearances in Life, Despair & Monsters, Far Cry The Silver Chronicles, then finally The UnTitledverse).

And finally the 'Which Hozier song is your OC?' for Jezebel Ba'al (from Wings And Horns).

[lizzxrd]

So I came up with this little silly idea at work to briefly distract myself from The Horrors (mental illness)...

and it wasn't supposed to be anything more than that but I just keep rotating it in my mind now..

Like I just keep thinking abt the canon blade eaters and Silva (my oc, who'd probably be a bit of a special case bc he got a full core crystal that was modified to replace his heart)

I think Torna wouldn't rlly have any moral qualms abt letting Mik occasionally munch on some people and they'd probably even let him sap some energy from their core crystal collection so he wouldn't die. Mik probably wouldn't exactly love it but he's like kind of "whatever" about it. He's working towards destroying the world anyway. Doesn't really matter when these people die.

Zeke would probably despise Amalthus for having him turned into a blade eater and he'd probably despise himself for what he has to do to survive to an extent too. He'd still be happy about him and Pandoria being able to continue to live alongside each other but ough the misery. That one scene where Zeke talks to Amalthus in Indol would hit so different too. Him telling Amalthus he thinks those who kill others are weak and then the realization slowly kicking in. He'd probably be awful at coping with it. Zeke is such a silly goose in canon xbc2 so it feels weird imagining him in any even remotely angsty situations but Idk I kinda vibe with this. Also I'm not a huge fan of PanZeke as a ship usually. They just have such oomftacular bestie vibes to me but I think I like it in this context. PanZeke angsty hurt/comfort. Pandoria comforting messed up vampire-ish Zeke, reassuring him he's not an awful person and also being his source of ether. And also she feels kind of guilty because it's a part of her core that turned Zeke into this so he also comforts her, reassuring her it's not her fault at all and he always makes sure to be extra kind to her bc of how much she does for him and how unbelievably much he cares abt her. [Explodes]

Rex would not be affected. He's not really a Blade Eater in the way the others are. Aegis cores are weird and special. And he's technically kind of dead already so even if they weren't he probably would be unaffected. U cannot convince me that Jin's attack somehow left him barely alive. He's basically a walking corpse and only tethered to the world through that part of Pythra's core and the conduit.

Amalthus would have absolutely 0 issues with being a fucked up vampire/cannibal Blade Eater. Both in terms of morals and getting ether and blood/flesh for sustenance. Tbh he'd probably get a kick out of doing fucked up vampire things even. Indol has a massive amount of core crystals he can sap energy from and nobody will truly notice/care if occasionally a few of the refugees go missing. (And even if people care, they wouldn't really be able to do anything about it. Enough people in positions of power in Indol and in Indol's military force have a cult-like devotion to Amalthus and revere him as some kind of deity. Trying to pose a genuine threat to him would be akin to commiting suicide.)

And last but not least I get to be cringe abt my oc. :3 Normal Blade Eater Amalthus and Silva are, like, two awful guys who hate but tolerate each other because of Circumstances. Silva is such a repressed but very desperate loser type of gay guy that he occasionally has Thoughts but he'd rather die a thousand deaths than actually admit anything to Amalthus or even himself; he just represses it further.

In Blade Eater vampirism AU they are awful guys who hate each other who are soo codependent and toxic. Cannibalism as a metaphor for love, enemies AND lovers, they're tearing each other apart (literally), neither of them has a normal understanding and concept of love, etc. Do u understand.. (I am,, so very Normal about them).

Silva's core was specifically modified to function as his heart since his original one was more than just a little faulty. The technology used to achieve this and research regarding it was lost like almost everything about Judicium upon the devastating attacks on Temperantia during the Aegis war. But anyway despite being a very early Blade Eater experiment - from far before Indol started dabbling in making Blade Eaters - he turned out surprisingly well. The physical link between his organic cells and his core are strong and deteriorate at a much slower rate; the only thing that got really messed up by this was his mind. He's still a fucked up vampire like the other Blade Eaters. He just needs to consume ether and blood/flesh far less frequently. He also has some of the regenerative abilities of blades. He's able to recover faster from wounds than non-blades but not quite as fast as blades and he still grows scar tissue on wounds that are severe enough.

Having a singular guy who's a source of both ether and organic material for sustenance and can regenerate is very convenient for Amalthus and far less suspicious that what he was doing before! Especially because Silva cannot exactly do anything about it. He stumbled his way into becoming Amalthus's blade and acting against him would be awfully unwise (AND being an important asset to Amalthus also grants him easy access to ether and blood when he does need it). Also while Silva is stuck in this situation Amalthus does let him get away with a lot more things than he really should (including but not limited to: verbal and physical threats and letting him bite him as well)

:33 giggling, squealing, kicking my feet, etc. They're so bad for each other but they deserve each other so very much. I love thinking abt them. They're my horrid old men babygirls ❤️

[anendoandfriendo]

11 and 18 for the ask game

Context.

11. What does switching feel like to you, if you switch at all?

Well, this one is way more perplexing than it used to be, because we used to just have one singular way we would switch, where everyone would have a slow kind of changing where we were one person, and the we were some other person in the next fuve minutes...or similar.

Now it seems to have variations within the polyplex, with the additional fun of it being completely random (seemingly) on who switches in what way.

They all take time, but we've had people that just push to front by giving us all headaches in the morning (unintentionally so). We have people who just slide in gently and pick another fronter up like a wet kitten before plopping them in the ground (Shado is...extremely guilty of this one when it comes to some folks, and it seems surprising until you realize it's not). Most of us still have this slow-changing minor paradigm shift. We have people who tag themselves out. We also have situations where people act as how most systems define "gatekeepers" to the front — but for us it seems this is more because if someone has asked to front, and can't make it before the previous fronter leaves, welp, someone needs to take the body for a bit, right?

It is rare but sometimes Diluc/Silva can take executive control of front in situations that require specific types of action and quick thinking. It seems that Raymond also does this or can do this, but I am not certain most of us have witness it (as compared to Silva/Diluc, who is well-known in the system for having protected us during our years at [REDACTED] awhile back). Raymond tends to be more in the category of an analytical thinker rather than someone who will just do things, so I am rather interested to see the situations that may have arisen for this to happen.

(Although I hope the day never comes either.)

18. Are there differences between systemmates surrounding sensory things? (For example, one person likes the taste of one food and another doesn’t.)

Oh yes, there are absolutely variations in this. This used to be how everyone discerned who was fronting, that was before it stopped working; there is a point in time where more context clues than simply sensory queues must be taken into account, no?

We even have differences down to the sensory toys we stim with during work shifts, if the call load permits it. Some of us like them closer to the computer and some of us prefer the pineapple over the, uh, bubble square (I do not have the word for it).

[A squishy pineapple with sunglasses sits on top of a tricolor silicon square. The square fake popping bubbles embedded in it that are meant to be pushed. Both of these sit on a worn, white "desk" that is more of a refurbished old dresser.]

We used to have this even squishier cake stress "ball" but we actually used it so much the item got halved into pieces. Over and over, until we just had to throw the whole thing away, bit by bit. If I ever fund out where it came from, I'm definitely getting another one.

We also have differences in taste (we mean this as literally as much as we do our taste in food), sight, and hearing (this one is...not as obvious? In general the body is sensitive to sounds that are not caused or controlled by us specifically). We just don't bother with those as much since changing those as often as we do fronters would mean nothing would get done (if we even survived long enough to initiate a task, in a neutral way. I'm speaking practically here).

I hope this is a detailed enough answer? This was enjoyable and I hope others send in asks.

- 👁

[the-silver-chronicles]

Does anyone have any ideas on how to write in f***ing Nancy's POV?

[Context: Nancy is the Hope County Sheriff's Department's dispatcher, who sells her colleagues out to Eden's Gate (having been a member of the cult) and told journalists (in a newspaper) that reports of conflict between the locals and cultists were "exaggerated"]

I'm writing a Far Cry 5 fic, sometime pre-game events, at the Sheriff's Department itself, and I'm writing from Nancy's POV, where she has a harrowing encounter with Inquisitor!Silva in a little (kind of) non-canon AU (kind of) separate from my main AUs.

Anyway, I have the main ideas that I know Nancy should have in her POV, but I could use a bit of help on how to properly carry this out, and if anyone has any idea of Nancy, or even how they write her or help me write from her POV, that would be greatly appreciated.

The main points her POV should have so far are:

Feels pity towards her colleagues for not seeing Joseph's Word as true, but hopes they'll see it soon.

Internally praises "the Father".

Observant enough to notice when someone is "off" or deceiving her (given she is a mole and has worked for the Sheriff's Department for some time now).

Might direct complete strangers towards Eden's Gate?

Would she able to be coerced (have her life under threat from a gun being pointed at her) into giving police files on the Seeds to this strange woman who just attempted to pass of as a special agent or would she rather die than give any information on the Seed Family to an unknown (probable) enemy? Given she's a mole for Eden's Gate, would she give the files to keep undercover and stave off suspicion or would she risk her life and her mission to not betray the Seeds, causing Eden's Gate to have to send somebody else to replace her (if she was killed)?

[onemistressandnomaster]

darcey and stacey and dove cameron

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about darcey and stacey--and dove cameron.

for anyone who doesn’t know (and that would probably be for the best), darcey and stacey silva are reality tv “stars” who currently have their own show on TLC. they had been trying to become store-brand kardashians for years. they filmed a pilot for a reality show called “the twin life” that was never picked up, founded a fashion brand, and languished in obscurity until darcey appeared on the first season of a 90 day fiance spin-off titled “90 day fiance: before the 90 days.” as the title would suggest, it was about couples who had not actually gone through with the k-1 visa process that would bring the foreign half to the united states. instead, it was about couples who were thinking about maybe possibly applying for a k-1 visa at some point in the future, with varying degrees of seriousness in their relationships. darcey was in a relationship with jesse, a dutch man 18 years her junior. she was one of the breakout stars of that show for her desperation to get married, her obvious plastic surgery, and her weepy histrionics. I believe in the second season we were fully introduced to her twin sister stacey, who was vaguely hinted at as being in a relationship with a younger foreigner as well. after darcey’s relationship with jesse ended in dramatic fashion, she stayed on the show with a new boyfriend, this one an english dude named tom who was only six years younger than her. the show also officially introduced stacey’s boyfriend and future husband, florian (who is 17 years younger than the twins). when TLC could no longer justify having darcey on a show about fiances without one of her own, they greenlit a spin-off aptly called “darcey and stacey” that would basically just continue their quest for (younger, european) love.

I’m not proud of watching reality shows. they are so often described as a “guilty pleasure,” and I think that phrase fits. I know how exploitative reality tv is, and yet, there is something satisfying about watching the people who agree to be on these shows because you can say to yourself, “I would never be this stupid. I would never act this way for so many people to see. things may be bad for me, but they could be worse!” when I watch anything from the ever-growing extended universe of the 90 day fiance franchise, I can feel that, while I may be working in a job that I hate, I could be coming across as the worst kind of crass american stereotype buffooning my way around a foreign country. but with “darcey and stacey” in particular, I feel this kind of mixture of superiority and pity on another level, because I think these two women exemplify so much of the problem with female socialization in this country.

the first thing that comes to mind while watching their show is the palpable desperation of the titular women--desperation to be famous, desperation to be sexy, desperation to be youthful and trendy and cool. all of the things which girls are taught from a young age to value. going on a reality show does not speak to a particularly healthy state of mind, particularly when the reality show is about dating. making something intimate and vulnerable into something public and exploitative is a fool’s errand. and to see how darcey in particular makes the same mistakes again and again, but constantly assures herself that this time it’ll be different, is pathetic. and I mean that in both the colloquial sense of it being cringeworthy and the older sense of it evoking pathos. I was struck by the irony in a recent episode where darcey was crying in her talking head about how she didn’t want to be like her mother. for context, her parents divorced when she and her sister were 11. her father, mike, remarried twice, to successively younger women, but neither of the marriages lasted. her mother, nancy, did not remarry at all, and presents as the polar opposite of her two daughters. nancy has aged naturally. she looks like a normal middle-aged woman. she wears bermuda shorts and puts her graying hair in a bun and doesn’t wear make-up. she doesn’t have a man in her life, but nothing about her behavior on the show (admittedly meager though it may be) suggests that she feels some kind of gnawing emptiness in her life. but to hear darcey talk, particularly in that talking head, her mother is deeply, agonizingly lonely, and darcey is terrified at the idea that she could end up, single and loveless, like her mother. except it really seems like darcey is just projecting. somehow, despite nancy’s seeming normality, darcey and her sister are obsessed with their looks. to the twins, being without a man beings being without value. for all their talk about empowered womanhood--and they bring it up constantly, almost to the point of parody--they are desperate for male approval. specifically, youthful male approval. it seems impossible for darcey to square the circle of her mother’s contentedness when darcey cannot handle being undesirable. and at the same time, her father’s singleness seems less upsetting to her; she did not weep in that talking head over his multiple failed marriages or his currently living as a bachelor. but to look at it from her logic, it is his right, I suppose, as the bestower of value not to see anyone worthy of that gift; but for nancy, a woman, to seemingly find value in her self, is a paradox that darcey’s mind can’t handle.

this talking head that struck me in such a particular way stemmed from a storyline on this newest season about darcey going to see a matchmaker. see, when this show started, darcey of course started dating another younger european guy--georgi, a bulgarian masseuse. that relationship spanned the first three seasons of the show, with darcey ultimately ending their engagement at the end of the third season. and this was a big to-do because she and stacey were supposed to have a big twin wedding extravaganza (even though stacey and florian had already gotten married during the height of the covid pandemic), and then darcey was no longer engaged, but stacey still wanted to go ahead with a big vow renewal for herself and florian. the twins, whether because it gives good drama or because it’s their genuine dynamic (or both), are constantly competing with each other, and the fact that stacey is married while darcey is not is a point of contention. if darcey cannot define herself as being identical to her sister because she’s not married, and if she cannot define herself as desirable to a man because she’s not married, then what is left to her? enter the matchmaker. but from the start, the matchmaking experiment was doomed to failure. the pictures darcey sent to the matchmaker were filtered within an inch of their life. it’s hard to build a dating profile when your pictures are so obviously edited. then, of course, darcey sought younger guys, even though the matchmaker pointed out that she had had no success so far with having a lasting relationship with a younger man. the matchmaker attempted to match darcey with someone around the same age (late 40s), only for the relationship to sputter after a couple of awkward dates during which darcey was constantly trying to signal her “sexy empowered womanhood.” it was as it became clear to darcey that this guy didn’t want anything to do with her that she gave that talking head about her mother. and funnily enough, if anything, she should be more worried about being like her father, given that they have both had multiple failed relationships with younger partners. but the real horror is her mother happily living alone. and even when the matchmaker pointed out that darcey, at 48, is acting immaturely and insincerely, that her shtick is at best tiresome and at worst pathetic, and that perhaps she needs to go to therapy, darcey refused to listen. and as a viewer, I could merely laugh at her. but I also want to reach through the screen and shake her, tell her, “you are a grown woman, not a teenage girl! grow up, develop some self-respect, stop worrying about what men think, get a vibrator, read a book! look to your mother as an example, not a warning” I feel like choice feminism and the conflation of empowerment with sexual desirability and all the other brain rot that gets funneled into girls from birth has dealt irrevocable damage to these women, and it continues to damage others as we speak. the brainless bimbo thing isn’t cool, nor is it feminist, nor is it fair. because the problem escalates to generalizing all or most women as being like this. the world tells girls to act this way out of one side of its mouth, then scorns them for being oversexed and overwrought out of the other. it’s a finger trap, and those caught in it need to realize it, for the sake of themselves and the sake of others.

and I have only touched on the plastic surgery addiction. I mean, the biggest storyline of the third season was their trip to turkey to get basically full body plastic surgery. they’ve already had so much plastic surgery as to make them virtually unrecognizable, and they still had to get more--to get “snatched,” as they termed it. and it looks horrible. they look swollen, stretched, strained. their breasts look both painful and comical as they swallow the entire torso. the filler in their cheeks and lips gives them a permanent duck face. they do not look beautiful. they almost do’t look human. and you don’t want to be that kind of person who springs to criticizing someone’s looks, but it is ludicrous to me to pretend like the way they look now is an improvement over the way they looked before all of the surgery. the emperor has no clothes. these over-the-top surgically modified faces and bodies look wrong, and our brains know that. and so often, what surgery has ruined, only surgery can fix. so sure, you may think that you are following the beauty trends by getting eye lifts and lip fillers and botox and breast implants. but when the insta baddie aesthetic goes out of style, and some other body type takes it place, what can you do but go under the knife again? and again for the next trend, and the next one? when do you realize that there isn’t a point to it anymore? when your nose has collapsed in on itself or you’ve lost feeling in your breasts? every effort to become more desirable only makes them more repellent. that they attract some men who are interested in their (father’s) money and reality show fame and the promise fo a woman who will do (almost) anything for love is not to their credit. to a well-adjusted person, they come across as grotesque--and given that they are on a channel that is like the modern equivalent of a freak show, whatever point they may think they’re proving to the “haters” is lost in the general disgust and ridicule they excite.

look, I know what it’s like to look in the mirror and hate what I see, and I suppose I’m lucky that some part of my brain recoils at the idea of, say, cutting into the flesh of my face, breaking my jaw, inserting some kind of plastic or filler, and then sewing it back up, even if I wish to god that I had been born with a stronger chin. I remember once lamenting the fact to my mother, who shared the same trait. really it’s a family trait from her side--round peasant face and weak chin. and she said that there were surgeries for that kind of thing, but that you couldn’t eat afterwards with some of them, because they might wire your jaw shut. and I think that idea horrified me so much because it reminded me of the pain I had felt with palate expanders and braces and wisdom tooth surgery. those, or at least the first two, had been cosmetic fixes to an extent. I got the orthodontics because I had a misalignment between my top and bottom teeth, and perhaps that would’ve caused a more serious problem down the line. the wisdom tooth surgery, though, had been necessary because I was in real pain as the wisdom teeth attempted to grow in. and afterwards, my jaw sore and tender, I had cried while trying to eat because it was agony and I was hungry. and to think that I would experience that again, except this time for reasons of sheer vanity. if I were only measuring success by marriage, then clearly weak chins had not stopped my mother or grandmother or great-grandmother or whoever else in my family from marrying. and then, too, I imagined the horror of it going wrong somehow, how much worse it would be to have disfigured yourself. and then, too, I imagined that even if it went well, what if I couldn’t recognize myself? my face was my face, the continuities obvious in the photos of my childhood. it was a face like other people in my family. it was the face I had been born with. in some ways, I think this is not a strictly healthy way for me to think either--god knows I have a tendency to hoard and a pathological aversion to change, but in this case, it’s a benefit. this is my face. this is my body. this is me. who would I be, if I changed all of that, if I threw that away when I could hardly bear to part with an old t-shirt? what worth was there in the face I had since birth?

which brings me to dove cameron. again, for anyone who doesn’t know, dove cameron is a disney tween star turned model/actress/singer/influencer. she’s best known for being the titular characters on the show “liv and maddie” (about twins, so it fits!) and one of the main characters in the “descendants” franchise. she also has a pretty clear case of severe body dysmorphia. if you google her, you’ll probably see stuff about the work she has had done, or you’ll be struck by the difference in pictures of her from a few years ago versus pictures of her now. apparently, even before she landed her roles on the disney channel, she was already getting plastic surgery to give her a more “hollywood” look. her mother actually wrote a book about how to turn your child into a “star,” with a heavy emphasis on achieving the most marketable look. so dove cameron probably went under the knife when she was a middle schooler--and then never stopped. most recently, she’s had buccal fat removal, which gives your cheeks a hollowed look. and there is something so annoying about people, especially women and girls, who will preface even the lightest criticism of her plastic surgery obsession with, “if this was her choice, I wouldn’t care! it’s her body, it’s her right, do it to make yourself feel good and sexy! if I had money, I’d do it too! but if you’re just following trends...” or “if you’re suffering from dysmorphia...” but what other reason is there for dove cameron’s plastic surgery if not to appear trendy, if not to fit the ever-shifting beauty standards, if not to make herself feel better by making herself feel consumable? what if “doing it for yourself” cannot be extricated from the wider culture in which you live? what was wrong with her face the way that it was, all the way back when she was a child? and then the counter is that everybody famous does it. well, isn’t it dystopic to think that every celebrity you see has had some kind of work, and every female celebrity especially must feel some kind of pressure to look beautiful? look at justine bateman, an actress who has recently had to defend her decision to...age. a natural process! and she has to defend a lack of action. I read internet comments that say they love the little enhancements a celebrity has gotten done, or they love the “face” they had when one plastic surgery trend was predominant. “oh, I wish kim kardashian would go back to her 2015 face, she never looked better.” am I crazy in feeling like we should only have one face? maybe I’m naive, but one face, untouched by an surgical attempts to enhance it, should be enough. imagine looking in the mirror and seeing the imprint of a surgeon staring back at you. or you see a thousand other people who have all gone under the same knife as you, and you have become like a car, only one in a line of identical models, value depreciating by the second. maybe in the end, the issue is that we think, because we may technically have the ability to “transcend” the material world, that we should as our right and our destiny. but I think an acceptance of both the possibilities of human ingenuity and the boundaries of human physicality would be more conducive to happiness. maybe the human body isn’t a problem to fix--certainly not if the idea of fixing it is just making it “sexier.”

[sensoryled]

@skullkxd from here.

[ TEXT ] you think Silva is ok? [ TEXT ] she messages me sometimes and she seems fine but. Idk. [ TEXT ] it’s probably dumb 2 worry about but … I mean … you know her better than me. [ TEXT ] … hey… did … they hurt you? When … nevermind. Sorry. 

[txt:ree] typing . . .

[txt:ree] typing . . .

[txt:ree] read 5:25pm.

marcellus does not know how to respond to the first question. the truth is, until recently, he had thought that she had died when the weapon failed. it had been a relief to find out that she had not, but . . . he has not been linked to her for quite some time now. he has no idea where she is or how she is doing. what he does know is that she is probably grieving lysandre.

as for the second question . . . even though ree had not completed it, he is fairly sure that he knows, from context, what they are asking. it is not something he is typically open to talking about -- he is still somewhat paranoid about the remnants of flare. this is ree, though. ree can know. as a treat.

[txt:ree] Physically, she is probably okay. She is very strong. But she is probably mourning Lysandre, so I don’t know about her emotional state.

[txt:ree] You want to know about my time with Team Flare, right? I’m willing to tell you, if that is what you were going to ask.

[gunmetalgrey]

PSA

Unless specified otherwise, the “Moriarty” on this blog is an unknown figure named M. No gender, no face, just M.

He is usually only referred to by Alex as the “boss”. She has met him though will never confirm this. He is a LOT more sinister than he lets on, and trades in blackmail largely. Alex has met him in person on four occasions between 2014-2018 when she believes he may be dead but has no real confirmation.

Don’t fuck with him.

Main inspirations for context are De Silva (From Skyfall), the Joker (Heath Ledger), Blofeld (Spectre/No Time To Die), Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs), John Doe (Seven).