#anyway back to the og point lol

[todayisafridaynight]

journalists underestimate the magnitude of my addiction and how far i'll go for the bit

[sleepyblr-heart]

the culmination of 10~ hours of work. a GUY

also the failures

[lavender-temult]

why do baby otohan’s colors look like fuckign TOOTHPASTE in this version 😭😭😭

[rox-of-iu]

how is a man supposed to odmaturovat when my head is soooo empty but also soso so so full o(-(

[repurposedmeatlocker]

What is the overall verdict among Monkees fans regarding the New Monkees?

[winter-tospring]

The Agni Kai between Ozai and Zuko was one of the smartest, best additions to the show. I see people complaining about Zuko "fighting back", as though that's a bad thing or takes away the victimhood of his situation.

Zuko is prepared to fight someone else. Then his dad steps in. There's already a ton of pressure, and now confusion overwhelms, because wth why would he fight his dad and HOW. He doesn't want to fight him. But this Agni Kai's point is for honor, to prove himself to him, and a) he is firstly DEFENDING himself from his dad who is the one who starts fighting him hard. (throwing fire at him?? Hello??? Is he just supposed to take it??) b) don't you think Ozai would think worse of him if he didn't do anything at all? And don't you think Zuko takes that in consideration pretty quickly as his dad attacks him?

It's clear Ozai will fight. Now Zuko looks confused and scared during the fight, rightfully so, and he tries to figure out how far this will go. My wife keeps saying that he is sparring (and that y'all don't know about sparring, lol), and that doesn't mean you have to hurt your opponent, not the way Ozai intends. Zuko engages defensively, and then fights his father, hoping that's enough to show him that's he's good at this, that he's skilled. It doesn't have to go as far as Ozai takes it, it COULD just be sparring. Zuko COULD jusy try to show him what he's learned and hope his dad is pleased enough. Isn't that what he keeps trying to do anyway? Get his approval? Both he and Azula. Unfortunately, we know that's impossible.

The unfolding of this Agni Kai drives home the cruelty of Ozai in an even more intense way to me. Because no matter how well Zuko fights, it's not about skills, it's about how far he's willing to go, that's what Ozai is judging. The mentality behind it. Zuko isn't willing to hurt his father when he could, he holds back! That is his "weakness". And the way Ozai punishes this by doing what Zuko refused to do - burning Zuko where Zuko could've burned Ozai - that is a horrible reminder of this "failure" to go far enough, and the consequences it entails.

Zuko's scar now isn't just random placement, it has meaning behind it beyond the basic cruelty of Ozai hurting his child. It directly references Zuko's "weakness". Ozai showing him how it's done directly on his face, serving as a constant reminder that he couldn't be the strong one, so he got hurt by the one who was willing to be.

The sequence of Zuko holding back and Ozai NOT holding back but purposefully pausing and choosing to punish him this way was mind-blowing. Such a powerful, terrifying moment that makes Ozai feel even crueler than in the OG.

I don't think Zuko not engaging in the OG is bad at all, it virtually gets the same result; but I also don't think it's bad for him to decide to engage. It doesn't take away anything from the point, for me, the way it plays out in the live action takes it further. It examplifies Zuko and Ozai's relationship and Zuko's efforts - never enough - perfectly.

[campbell-rose]

Alastor Redesign

Omg there’s like over 70 people following me – guys I'm o///O flattered and flabbergasted. 

Anyway, onto today’s main event, Alastor. I hate Alastor’s og design, I hate his twig waist and his shoulder pads and the way you can’t see his antlers next to his ears, and his bow tie ugh viv please and his HAIR what even is that??? Not even mentioning that nothing about his design is really like a focal point. There’s no one thing that’s particularly interesting. At least before this he had that cathedral window looking cross on his undershirt that I found interesting. Nothing about his says he’s from the 1930’s other than dialogue. 

I wanted him to be in greyscale because that’s the coolest aesthetic, and colored photos weren’t a thing until way after the 30s. Recently I saw jjk, and Jogo’s teeth threw me because at some points I thought he was just straight up toothless. But then when I started this design, that colored tooth look spoke to me. Initially his teeth were yellow to look gross like he never brushes them, but then I was like ‘ayo wait, he’s literally a cannibal’, thus his vibrant red teeth to really pop against his greyscale. Initially his undershirt was white, but I feel like that was too much contrast and white is typically innocence, so by instead having a deep red it shows he’s just straight up bloodthirsty underneath his formal appearance. I also considered it being black, but then he looked like a pastor, and I wasn’t too much of a fan of it. The idea of the red on his design is that it leads your eye down his design to take it all in, with his face being the focus. I gave him glasses because I like the way it obscures his eyes a bit and I imagine they do the anime thing where they glow and hide his eyes. I liked Viv’s idea of sinners having marks where they died, and I slicked his hair back to show it off very prominently. His antlers are larger, I gave him cute lil deer ears. Also, under his suit he is lowkey buff. I feel like a serial killer should at least look physically capable of taking someone down not whatever the fuck viv’s nasty twig men can do. Like, in that comic with the cute sheep girl, when Alastor goes demon mode his body looks so snappable I just wanna like grab his waist in my hands and break it like a twig. I also tried to keep his design simple as if this were for animation, I know pinstripes are complicated and so are antlers but other than that I tried to keep his design basic. 

If I were to rewrite him based solely on the pilot, I honestly wouldn’t change a thing. Alastor is a decent character, his voice actor gives him life, the radio filter is cool, and nothing he did made me want to break my screen (ANGELDUST). The only thing I'd change would be his position in hell. Like, viv’s hell is so wack and I hate it, she’s got the princes, then the goetia and the overlords and then sinners and blah blah, it’s a lot to keep track of, not even mentioning the rings and circles thing. I think Alastor should have had dealings with hell as a human, maybe he routinely did sacrifices or something, and he made a deal with the archdemon Alastor and when he died like... uuhhhhhhh. Maybe through connections he’s gained more power? Idk, I just know I hate the idea of his dying and then having like the bestest most powerful demon powers despite not being hellborn. It’s got this mary sue stench. I’ll figure it out, maybe, who knows. 

I’m not gonna start rewriting since there’s nothing to go off of and alter yet, so that’s gonna have to wait until the show actually drops before anything concrete happens lol. 

Also the sheep girl is a sinner that reoccurs in the show now so sorry I don’t make the rules, you can’t give me a cute sheep girl and try to take her away, I’m gonna redesign her and shove her into the plot as someone looking for redemption at the hotel

[maythearo]

" Welcome back to Night Raven College's "Ghostly Gossip"! The school's unofficial main online source for the latest news, articles and trending topics circulating around campus! "

" now introducing our second student entry for the blog... 'some guy I found on my grandma's attic'-- huh..? Wait, who wrote that down?? "

Navigation:

R. Rosehearts - T. Clover - C. Diamond - A. Trappola - D. Spade - L. Kingscholar - R. Bucchi - J. Howl - A. Ashengrotto - J. Leech - F. Leech - K. Al Asim - J. Viper - V. Schoenheit - R. Hunt - E. Felmier - I. Shroud - O. Shroud - M. Draconia - L. Vanrouge - S. Zigvolt - Silver

Messy (but progressively getting better) design notes:

Epel was one of those designs that just clicked instantly with me, I had a vision of the basics I wanted all sorted in my head even before I gathered most reference pics. I don't expect this to happen again to a majority of the remaining cast though 😫

Watching those doll restoration/repainting videos while drawing helped me set the general mood I wanted for him, even though the final result doesn't show much of this inspiration, at least in my opinion... I love the makeup and face painting details these artists put on the dolls, but I was afraid too much of that would make his design too heavy-looking combined with the rest of the outfit. If I ever decide to design alternative outfits for this series, I'll try to show off more of this lost aspect there

For the character in itself now, I imagine him in this AU to be more free to do and act however he wants compared to his og universe counterpart. Still being supervised by Vil, but not in the same level as before. Probably the reason why he got all those scratches and cracks on his body, I like to think he's having a little more fun with being a gremlin and running around all he wants lol. And due to that, his skin care routine baisically consists in Elmer's glue, to stick any broken porcelain shards together. Vil is not exactly content about that, but he lets most of it slide at this point 👍

Epel's totally the type of kid who goes around the gardens to casually collect bugs like he's in animal crossing. Like this video I found on reels, which I don't reccomend watching if you have a phobia of spiders/insects/bugs/snakes/frogs/etc cause, you know. But anyway I think MH Epel holds this exact energy and it's- kinda terrifying! In a good way though. come on let this kid be a kid for once. I also think this more playful part of him fits well with the fact that he's a little doll. OH and the fact that og Epel grew up around the elderly back in his hometown kinda makes sense in this universe too, like, he's the type of doll some grandparents would keep in their old house as a family relic or something. Could very much be the beggining of a horror story.

[welldonekhushi]

Okay guys, I'm back and.. I needed a short break after what happened in the MWIII campaign. Words can't express how shocked I was when I reached the end of the campaign and.. it left me in confusion, denial, depression and anger.

I'm putting a "read more" below because, if there are people who still haven't played MWIII, I'll keep ya guys safe.

Our theories before were constantly revolving that who's gonna die and what worse is going to happen.. it first pointed towards the fate of Price or Gaz. But, turns out we were jinxed. JINXED.

The campaign was.. okay but at the same time I felt it was small. Quite rushed. I did have a light of concern over their release date when MWII was currently trending. I was reading others reviews of how they felt about the game and yes, I agree with the same. But I wanna talk about Soap's fate this time..

Soap, who JUST started his journey, like, the one who only appeared in MWII and hoped we would see him more develop in the further games to be just.. killed off? When were they moments away from achieving victory?

So only because it's called MW3 ✌🏻 and you wanted to give us all a nostalgic experience you'll.. give them the original plot treatment? Both Soaps in the Modern Warfare universes.. died under the hands of Vladimir Makarov but in different circumstances.

This is where I got a bit angry at Price because, why didn't you kill Makarov instead of taking him in custody in Verdansk?! That guy is a walking grim reaper, and if Price took that action before, not just Soap but MANY more lives would have been saved. Soap was a man who was ready to take immediate action but always got backed off because of being bound to orders.

The end scene when they took out his ashes.. it broke me. Like, how unexpected this can be? Well, though I know Makarov already gave a warning that he was going to kill him off in the heli scene, but.. it's just not it? Like, honestly, I was hopeful Soap would survive.. it's disappointing for me, as someone who loves him so much, like anything.

So ScarSoap's now an angsty ship? Because let it be for both universes — OG and Reboot, Scarlet's going to be left behind? Welp, I'm more sad now, lol.

Otherwise, the expectations I had for the campaign were somehow, not met to the fullest but let's talk about the good things.

Price killing off Shepherd. YES, THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. I freaking knew that he was going to die and my prediction called itself right. But, now that Price killed a 4-star General, he's gonna go rogue. You mean, batshit, crazy and unhinged Price on the move?!

Julian Kostov. The man. Bro, like, when he was featured in the reveal trailer, I was just hoping that he'd play the role of Makarov well and guess what? He did! I absolutely loved how he portrayed the man and he looked intimidating and twisted like a true psychopath. Truly, he could compete with the OG!Makarov and it's proven! Hats off to the actor, really <3

Price DOESN'T die. Neither in my beliefs, Farah and Alex. A relief. A pure relief, for real. The trailers showed him passing out but glad he's good in one piece. But, did that happen for the cost of killing Soap? :')

Graves and Shepherd betray each other in the conference, LMFAO! Who knew they were going to turn their backs on each other. Graves really had nothing to do with this, he was just a man following orders.. the problem lies with Shepherd, and always has.

Now, these guys said we're gonna release the "full campaign" on November 10. You mean.. the early access didn't show much of the story? So there's hope? OR NOT? Sigh, I don't want to think about it.. I just don't. I've been delulu, haha

Anyways, these are my thoughts for Modern Warfare III! What do you feel about it, let me know in the comments!

[joys-of-everyday]

SJ and the Pitfalls of Toxic Masculinity

Liking women wasn’t shameful in the least, but treating a woman as your savior, shrinking into her embrace in search of self-confidence—Shen Qingqiu needed no one to tell him how incredibly shameful that was. So he would rather die than tell anyone, particularly not Yue Qingyuan.

- Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu Extra

Hot take: og!SQQ had toxic ideas about masculinity, and it ruined him.

SVSSS is all about the ✨Toxic Masculinity✨ but this seems to be more associated with SY than SJ??? So yeah, lets talk about SJ (my poor meow meow).

There’s actually some subtlety here, because talking about SJ and masculinity naturally involves an interplay between historical and modern views on masculinity in China, which is something that has developed over time and has influences from other cultures (e.g. the west and our views on masculinity). (Interesting thing if you haven't already come across it) I am… not qualified to read the subtleties here.

To note, SJ is coded as masculine… sort of. He’s the head of the scholarly peak, a master of the Four Arts, which is one facet of ideal masculinity in traditional Chinese values. (Fluttering a fan around was very gentleman-like. Although also, expressing your emotions through poetry and copious amounts of tears was very masculine back in the day. 'Traditional masculinity' has and always will be an elusive ideal.) But I get the feeling nowadays ‘scholarly’ has more feminine connotations than ‘martial’, albeit a slightly weaker one than in the west. Also, on the topic of toxic masculinity, certain groups of people Who Shall Not Be Named would like you to believe that Real Chinese Men are stoic warriors and ‘gayness is a western thing’ (my rage is unreal but we will not talk about that).

Anyway, broad strokes, broad strokes.

Arrogance and Insecurity

A big part of toxic masculinity is a need for social recognition, to be the ‘alpha male’ (not an ABO pun and on a side note I literally cannot take anyone talking about alpha males seriously now, for many reasons, but this is the funniest).

SJ is obsessed with his cultivation, but more pertinently, he is obsessed with his reputation. He demonstrates this in a few ways. Firstly, he works his ass off, which is not bad in itself, but he does this to the extent it is detrimental to his health (that grindset lol). Secondly, he projects a certain image with his actions and mannerisms: reading in order to seem intelligent, looking down at people to seem superior etc. Thirdly, he responds to any perceived slights of his ability with violence. (Fighting with LQG is an example, but also drawing a sword on SQH when he pointed out that he was reading an upside-down book.)

Now interestingly, the unanimous vibe that Cang Qiong seem to get from SQQ is that he is ‘arrogant’. When in truth, all of this is compensating for his insecurity.

Shen Qingqiu was overly suspicious, always feeling as if everyone was talking behind his back about how he was still incapable of forming a core, didn’t accept his position, wanted to sabotage him in secret, and so on and so forth.

- Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu Extra

Sadly, SJ is justified in being afraid of other people’s opinion. His comfort and security rely entirely on his status, which in turn rely on other people’s opinion of his competence. Of course he wants to get to the top – he’s been under other people’s power before, and suffered terribly as a result. Why should he not desperately defend what he has worked so hard for? Yet ultimately it works against him, because when he’s in serious trouble, he hasn’t been able to build the human connections he needs to get help.

The problem is with the system. The idea that having strength allows you to do whatever you want hurts not only the people regarded as inferior, but also creates a collective sense of anxiety for those who find themselves ‘at the top’. Anyone can be kicked down and treated like scum. Everyone is afraid.

Dominance and Bullying

The phrase ‘toxic masculinity is fragile’ quite often, but to elaborate, these kinds of rigid ideas of masculinity are by nature constantly under threat. Because any crack in the perfect shell is regarded as failure, it requires constant, aggressive maintenance, which takes the form of bullying the weak in order to elevate oneself.

SJ’s treatment of LBH is complicated, but here I want to draw attention to a different character – Ming Fan.

SQQ (SY) would have you know that MF is not a bad kid, other than the fact he’s a huge bully to LBH. And in part that comes from jealousy of NYY’s crush on him, but what allows it to happen is the way SJ runs the peak. It's interesting to note that so much of SJ's bullying of LBH happens through MF, whether it be giving him the faulty cultivation manual, giving him chores or physically assaulting him. In doing this, SJ creates a system that firmly establishes himself at the top, likely in order to give himself some semblance of security.

But ironically, this is the very system that SJ has suffered under his entire life, recreated to it's extreme on the peak that he controls. When he was completely under the power of others (QJL, LBH) he suffered. When other people were under his power, he inflicted suffering. He encouraged other people to do the same. Again, the whole thing is a scam! He is putting all of his energy into things that aren't helping him, things that ultimately bring him down.

Real Men Don’t Cry – the Dangers of Emotional Repression

SJ has many, very justifiable reasons in life to be upset and angry. The things he went through are both terrible and extremely unfair. Being angry at everything is not a healthy outlet for these feelings, but he hasn’t exactly been taught an alternative either. On the streets, tears would have gotten him absolutely nothing. Anger at least gave him energy to fight back.

And this destroys him. He is angry at the fact he had no one in his life who loved him, his talents were wasted because of QJL/WYZ, nobody takes his abilities seriously… and with no healthy way of expressing this, he goes onto bully LBH. LBH then returns to destroy him, literally. More subtly, he is unable to express his fear and anxiety in healthy ways, so acts standoff-ish and aggressive to his those around him. As his relationship with them deteriorates, his fear and anxiety increases. Feedback loops.

SJ puts on a mask of anger and stoicism to the point that everyone around him (including himself) is convinced that he is unrepentant and evil. Suppresses and suppresses until it breaks him, until he has nothing – not his comfort, nor status, nor the one that he truly cared for:

He had single-handedly facilitated Luo Binghe’s today, and now who had single-handedly created this outcome for him? Yue Qingyuan was never supposed to have an end like this. In order to come to a decades-late appointment, to fulfill a completely useless promise. A broken sword and a dead man. It shouldn’t be like this.

A Note on Ambivalent Sexism

It’s funny because I think there’s a fandom vibe that SJ was the secret feminist of SVSSS. Don’t get me wrong, I love this in fanfics. Badass feminist SJ all the way. But my honest opinion is that I don’t think that was the case.

More explicitly, I don’t think SJ took women seriously. NYY, for example. Certainly, SJ valued NYY. But the expression of this care involved doting on her, hiding his treatment of LBH from her, and not particularly pushing her to grow. And PIDW!NYY wasn’t implied to be the most mature of the lot. Okay, while we don’t know a lot about PIDW!NYY (narrator unreliable), it’s probably safe to say some distance from SJ helped her a lot.

Another point – the Qiu massacre. SJ killed the men, but not the women. And while this says more about his distaste for men, it also indicates (possibly - I will float this idea but I won't die on this hill) that he straight up doesn’t see any woman as an enemy, or capable of being a threat. Which is possibly a natural conclusion he’s drawn from his experiences (QHT was not very perceptive, or very threatening) but also inaccurate as a worldview.

And his attitude towards the women he sees as saviours? Has the same vibe as ‘it’s so embarrassing to be protected by a girl’.

Okay, so being doted on and not being killed are positives compared to being abused or murdered, but this kind of attitude is the opposite side of the same coin to ‘women are incompetent and inferior’. And when it comes to raising kids, not allowing them to grow can be extremely harmful as well. See e.g. Ambivalent sexism.

Although I do want to mention that I do not think SJ was like… actively misogynistic. I think he genuinely liked women more than men. The point is you can be sexist without realising it.

Conclusions

To conclude, SJ had ideas of success and self-worth associated with toxic masculinity which were instrumental in his downfall.

Masculinity doesn’t have to be toxic. While the Cang Qiong family aren’t exactly the healthiest bunch, YQY’s calm and patient leadership, LQG’s steadfast loyalty, LBH’s ability to cry like a maiden and still be the strongest… these are all traditionally masculine traits that can be very positive. These are also people who can have feminine traits and explore their gender identity without being prissy or weak.

It's the great tragedy of SJ that he had many positive characteristics. He was talented, intelligent, articulate, perceptive, loyal, and caring… under the right circumstances, he could have grown into a great person.

And maybe he still had that chance, right until the end.

[getvalentined]

hi! i'm actually really interested in the "is cait sith reeve" debate and was fascinated by your post since you firmly believe cait sith is his own person.

i'm playing through dirge right now so i can't comment fully on what transpires there, but based on rebirth alone i'm having trouble believing cait sith isn't controlled by him. i know your post said rebirth excluded a scene that made it clear cait sith is his own person, but I'm not sure what you're referring to exactly. The only thing I can think of is the original game, where Cait Sith sacrifices himself and says not to forget him even if another Cait Sith comes along...which is a good point, though one could potentially argue that Reeve is just sentimental.

Anyway, what I want to know is: if Cait Sith has a personality separate from Reeve and can move independently while Reeve is busy, then why does Cait Sith repeatedly go offline in Rebirth while Reeve is busy? This is the main argument I see and one of my favorites, so I think answering that could help your own. The only arguments I can think up are either that the devs wanted to give players clear hints that Reeve controls Cait Sith, or that he wants to make sure he's monitoring Cait Sith when the cat interacts with the party. But besides that, Cait Sith really doesn't act like a different person. Sure, he has an accent and is silly, but he doesn't make any comment whatsoever (as far as I know) that indicates he isn't Reeve himself. In fact, the party treats Cait Sith and the Shinra employee controlling him as the same person, and Cait Sith doesn't attempt to rebuke it. (Outside of maybe lying that he's a mere amusement park attraction?)

i do admit, if dirge seriously contradicts this interpretation, it's weird for the devs to go against it...but as someone who once believed cait sith and reeve were separate and changed their mind after rebirth, I just don't think there's enough evidence based on rebirth alone to claim that cait sith is his own person.

on that note, you mentioned cait sith has his own likes and dislikes separate from reeve and i'm actually really curious about that! do you have an example of that? :D It sounds like fun trivia lol (i really like reeve and cait sith...)

anyway thank you for reading till the end! sorry if this is unwelcome

There's a scene in Dirge where Reeve and Cait walk out of the same room together, reacting to one another independently:

Further, Cait Sith only goes into stasis twice in the entirety of Rebirth as far as I can recall? Once at the end of a board meeting that Reeve was active in, but seemingly not for the entirety of the board meeting, as Cait Sith appeared to be mid-conversation and trailed off when Reeve got bad news—this makes sense if he's connected to Cait Sith and has the capacity to control him directly as needed, but not if he had to do so actively 100% of the time. The other time is in Cosmo Canyon, because he's clearly not interested in their woo-woo metaphysical nonsense, and he cites it as taking time to recharge his batteries.

Reeve is still working as Director of Urban Planning during all of this, so I find it super hard to believe that he's spending 99.9999% his time at a computer or mentally controlling and speaking through a doll while also running the department that is trying to put Midgar back together after the plate drop—particularly not since we have official meta stating that he's an Inspire, which I cited in a reblog.

Beyond that, there's this bit in the OG, which Cait Sith says to himself, in an empty room:

There is no explanation for this if Cait Sith is entirely remote controlled. There's no one else here to hear it, no reason for him to express these feelings—or even have feelings in the first place!

In Rebirth it's even more clear, because he expresses physical strain as he's literally holding the Temple up by keeping himself wedged under the platform. He's uncomfortable, he's physically taxed, he's in pain. Again, most of this occurs in an empty room, and would not happen if he was just a toy that Reeve had to control directly like a complex RC car or something.

The concept of likes and dislikes that are independent is less solidly shown in-canon, but they have distinctly different personalities, and Reeve is very clearly not interested in things like prophecies and the Promised Land and all that—he is a scientist at the end of the day, a civil and mechanical engineer—and yet Cait Sith's whole shtick is to tell fortunes! This is also something that he seems to enjoy doing quite a bit, even if he's not very good at it. (He gets better. Kinda.)

Cait Sith is obviously connected to Reeve, but it's equally obvious that he's not analogous. Presumably Cait Sith doesn't care when he's equated to Reeve because he is Reeve's eyes and ears in the field, even when he's not in direct control. The fact that he only really talks about himself as an individual when he's alone kind of implies that he'd rather the others not know, because he doesn't want them to be upset about what's going to happen to him; if he were nothing more than a glorified RC toy, this wouldn't be a concern, because he wouldn't have concerns at all.

[starlight-artbby]

Watched another Great X-Men episode and let me tell you one thing before I go any further, Hagneto must be stopped. Rogue didn't even look happy at all when he made that snarky ass comment to Remy and I am really going to need him to fight back. Put that Hag in a retirement home where he can daydream about Charles Xavier.

ANYWAYS.... I was happy to see that it was Jubilee's Birthday and her Magneto expression was WAY to spot on that I cackled however, Magneto made a good point and I happy Jubilee was able to get that lesson pushed into her head early.

I also enjoyed Jubilee's power display by older Jubilee (love that they got the OG voice actress too) so that was great to see. I also love how Logan gave off some dad vibes for me when he offered Jubilee the cupcakes. It reminded me of Evo Logan (HE WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS TO ME) so I was very happy.

I squealed when Jubilee and Roberto kissed. I felt like they had some great chemistry and the scene was just animated to beautifully that I was really in awe. I absolutely adored what I was seeing and they make such a cut couple in my opinion.

Now onto Storm. I can't be the only one who was deeply satisfied when she slapped Forge. To think that man could've had it all. He made one good point though, Ororo Munroe is a goddess with or without her powers. Now let me tell you something, that nightmare bird we really sent me cause it had no reason to be so terrifying for me lol.

I will say that I did thoroughly enjoy the scene though and someone needs to study how effortlessly Glamorous Storm is cause she makes every look work and I just adored seeing her.

I hope we see Storm get her powers back soon and Can I just say I loved Mojo or at least his sass. He was still VERY disturbing to see but his commentary is funny AF.

I also hope we get night crawler in the next episode.

[justabrowncoatedwench]

So I'm not done lol I wanna rant about how all the god shit in BG3 is connected! Spoilers under the cut...

To preface: all dates are listed in DR, or Dale Reckoning, which is the most commonly used dating of years in Forgotten Realms lore, established with 1 at the signing of the Dale's Compact, creating peace between the elves of Cormanthyr and the human+ civilizations of the Dalelands (notable to current discussions, as Elminster Aumar is equally well known as the Sage of Shadowdale, one such dale in the Dalelands).

So Shadowheart's arc highlights the tug of war between Shar and Selune, but Shar and Selune are ALSO the progenitors of a lot of the other deities INCLUDING the OG Mystryl, born when Selune tore a part of her essence & threw it at Shar during their initial war post-sun creation, wounding them both & casting Shar into the void for a while. Mystryl was that piece of magic torn from Selune and having grabbed up a piece of Shar's as well when she hit, a blending of light and dark.

Mystryl then much later gave her life to save the world during Karsus's Folly in -339 DR. That's how Karsus fucked up magic so bad and so permanently. He almost DESTROYED the Weave, because Mystryl - and in future, Mystra - IS the Weave! And she died - thus also killing him, as she was inside him at the time - to preserve the Weave when he tried to steal some measure of her power!

*And Gale knew this*, knew much of it anyway. How could he not, with his own research that led him to the Orb? And his relationship with Mystra? And friendship with Elminster?

Anywho, Mystryl took time to reincarnate herself using a young peasant girl as her vessel, she then chose to go by the name Mystra instead of Mystryl. Once in this vessel she regained control of the Weave, bringing magic back to Toril (the planet Faerun, a continent, is on), which had been chaotic & largely depowered. After Karsus, she became much more strict/ Lawful in her decrees around magic, banning mortals from using any magic above 9th level spells (Karsus's Folly involved at least one 10th or 11th 12th level spell iirc).

Later, during the period known as the Time of Troubles, which began when Bane & Myrkul (two of the Dead Three) tried to steal the Tablets of Fate from Ao (the Overgod that most mortals don't even know exists). Ao then locked the deities into the Material Plane, forcing them to walk among their followers on Toril. Mystra at one point defied Ao's order, attempting to return to the heavens, and was killed by Helm, who had been tasked by Ao with protecting the gates and ensuring none of the gods disobeyed him. (Good job, Mystra.)

Also during the Time of Troubles the Dead Three got their name in truth, as Myrkul, Bane, and Bhaal were killed (as were several other gods, some of whom Ao chose to resurrect as they perished while fulfilling the obligations of their portfolios, like Torm). The Time of Troubles is also when Bhaal was seeding his Bhaalspawn - including Sarevok Anchev - in the world (the results of which gave us Baldur's Gates 1 and 2).

Anyway, as previously established, Mystra IS the Weave, so killing her fucked magic up again, unleashing the Spellplague (hello 4e D&D and your reduced pantheon & reduced magic). Ao selected several mortals to either ascend into vacated portfolios or rewarded mortals for killing gods who needed killing; Cyric was a mortal who killed Bane, while helping to retrieve the Tablets of Fate for Ao, for example of one such occurrence, who fwiw was the adventuring companion of two other mortals chosen for godhood, Kelemvor and Midnight. Kelemvor took on a portfolio of the dead, and Midnight was who Ao picked to take on Mystra's role and she chose to take on Mystra's name as well. This happened in 1358 DR, and when the Tablets were returned to Ao, he ground them to powder so they'd never be at risk again. This however fucked up the natural laws of Realmspace, which began to unravel, beginning the Era of Upheaval. The Era of Upheavel lasted from its beginning in 1358 DR (BG1 takes place in 1368 & BG2 takes place shortly after) through the Second Sundering (though most mortals only know of it as the Sundering, since the First Sundering happened even before Karsus's Folly by millenia, in -17,600 DR, in the time of elves) which took from about 1482 through 1487 DR. (The Second Sundering and its associated tie in novel series - very good! - brings us from 4e into 5e D&D, in ttrpg terms.) Baldur's Gate 3 takes place in 1492 DR, starting in the equivalent earth month to August, late August specifically.

Considering that Midnight took on the mantle of Mystra in 1358, I'm pretty sure Gale has only dealt with *her*, while Elminster has served Mystra - including being her lover and raising 3 of her 7 daughters - for 1300 years by BG3, which would include both previous incarnations of Mystryl/Mystra.

So in summary, the gods are all Like That, even the ones who used to be mortals (and I'm pretty sure Gale doesn't know his Mystra used to be a mortal, or that any other gods were either, based on dialogue after you get the Tome of Karsus in Act 3).

All the delicious BG3 god machinations are connected and have been for centuries if not eons. The Dead Three like to cause problems on purpose, Shar and Selune are sisters & also kind of contentiously divorced parents who can't play nice & use the kids to fight. Even the Lathander stuff at the gith creche is kind of connected, since the kick off of the big war between Shar & Selune was the creation of the sun to give their first child, Chauntea, the og earth/nature deity, warmth. Lathander (& Amaunator, rip) is the deity of the dawn/sun, among other things, and Silvanus (hello deity of the Druids in Act 1 & Halsin) is the wild nature counterpart to Chauntea's now largely agricultural portfolio. Chauntea has been known to have romantic connections with Lathander, as well. Zariel too - hello Wyll & Karlach's storylines - is connected, because before her fall into Avernus where she became an Archdevil in service to Asmodeus, she USED to be a solar (most powerful type of angel/celestial) in the service of Lathander.

If you've gotten this far, thank you for listening to my lore dump lol. I hope it enriches your experience of BG3 & the Forgotten Realms!

Post-Script: if you're left wondering how the unraveling of the laws of Realmspace got fixed, the Second Sundering began when Ao decided to recreate the Tablets of Fate to fix what he'd broken vis a vis the chaos of the Realmspace.

Additional fun fact: of the 3 of Mystra's 7 total daughters that Elminster raised, Storm Silverhand - renowned High Harper of the Dalelands - was one, and often also traveled with him as an adventuring companion as an adult through the centuries. Another is Laeral Silverhand, current Open Lord of Waterdeep, that big ol' city Gale is from that's right up the coast from Baldur's Gate.

[kathren-is-here]

Ducktales art???? Whoa crazy man anyways

Negaverse Webby has been on the mind since idk forever and!! Time I updated my blueprint! I made one a long time ago but the red Disney logo on the bottom is a little messed up lmao

back to my favorite character ever WEBBYYYY (you will not catch me saying that with og Webby I’m so sorry 😢) I’ll write her out one day but she’s not exactly an evil mean dupe of Webby but more aligns with Og Bradfords ideals and outlook on life

Oh also she grew up with baby Ford (Negaverse Brass my other baby) or something in and out of the mansion

Look at herrrr precious little baby

also I made a blank blueprint just like, point to me if someone asks where u got it lol

Enjoy!

[yanderes-galore]

Hello, can you do og Bonnie with prompts: 24, 36, and 57

Sure! Me and @okchijt had a lot of fun doing this one! This is much different than my usual stuff and this one is strictly platonic! I hope you enjoy despite the different take :) This is more like traditional FNAF than my usual "Sentient AI" takes, plus it leans into more of a horror story. Take it as a breath of fresh air I guess, lol.

Yandere! Bonnie Prompts 24, 36, 57

"Don't you believe in fate? Fate wants us to be together...!"

"I'd hate to hurt you but... if you keep this up I might have to."

"You're stuck with me, like it or not."

Pairing: Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Murder/Child murder mentioned/implied (It's FNAF), Blood, Fear of abandonment, Trauma, Kidnapping implied, Violence, Mind break, Dark/Horror themes, Darling nearly vomits, Forced/Dubious companionship, You're childhood friends.

You recall when you were younger that you played with a boy at Freddy Fazbears. You would always have parties there for your birthday and when you met him he always came to yours. You remember the smell of pizza... the sounds of the arcade... and watching the animatronics sing and dance.

You could barely recall his name but you knew his favorite was always Bonnie. He was confident and prideful, always doing things to impress you. He was always in your fonder moments of the Pizzeria.

One day... your best friend said something weird during a party. He told you to not follow the "yellow rabbit". You found it odd why he was so suspicious... but you followed his warning.

After that and you went home... the Pizzeria closed down... and you never saw your best friend again. Freddy's used to be a place that brought you two together. Now... despite what the media says... you feel it took away the closest friend you had.

Years passed since then, allowing you to become an adult. You could never get over what happened that day. It got to the point that you needed some sort of closure.

Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria was mostly abandoned, except for the occasional Night Guard. You got word that the last one mysteriously quit according to some news. Against your better judgment and wanting to fill your need for closure... you prepare supplies and break into the mostly abandoned building.

Once inside you push aside your fears. You feel like you don't belong here... that you should leave. Yet you keep blaming yourself for the death of your best friend... for not being there... so you trek on.

You walk by with a flashlight through the dark building. You pass the animatronics... still idle and untouched for who knows how long. Your goal is near the back... where you last saw your friend before he was never seen again.

You're oblivious to the sharp pink eyes staring you down as you turn the corner.

Walking down hallways you come across a door near the back. Your flashlight shakes in your hand as you reach out. Something in your head tells you to run... something instinctual... but you open the door anyways.

You enter the room and search around. Your flashlight flickers as you catch strange stains in the room. Even worse the smell of something rotting fills your nose.

You walk in the room and search softly. After sometime you hear the door close shut behind you, causing you to jump with a loud scream. You spin around, only to freeze when your flashlight illuminates a bunny animatronic in front of you.

Bonnie.

You can't seem to explain it... how did it get here? Why was it silent? Why did it seem like it was staring-

"I can't believe it's really you... it's been years! I didn't think it was true but you really are here! You even knew where to look...." The bunny speaks, his voice both familiar in the sense you heard him sing... and something else you have trouble recalling.

Bonnie's talking... Bonnie's talking and he knows you. You're stunned, staring at the bunny with confusion and fear. Then the stench of rot fills your nose again and you get an idea... along with the urge to gag.

Maybe you just want closure... but...

"Jeremy...?" The name feels foreign for a moment, like it was locked away in your mind for years to prevent trauma. It's a stretch... but the bunny seems to perk up at the long forgotten name.

"Yes, that's right! But... I go by Bonnie now. That's my name now." The bunny... Bonnie responds.

Your mind begins to spiral.

"How... none of this can be possible... what-" You whisper to yourself. Was this the closure you needed? Was this what you wanted? Was this a nightmare? Now there's more questions....

"It can't be a coincidence! We first met here and became friends... this place is important to us... and here's where we meet again!" Bonnie's tone is full of excitement, his eyes never leaving you. "Don't you believe in fate? Fate wants us to be together...!"

When his words set in your mind continues to spiral. None of this should be possible. There's no way you're meeting your best friend again... but in a robotic suit. Maybe you're sleep deprived... maybe-

"I-I need to leave... I need to get out of here, this is a trick-" You whisper before trying to gun it for the door.

But it all happens so fast... too fast.

Next time you know you hit the wall. The breath is knocked clean out of your lungs as you collapse onto your hands and knees. You wheeze and cough... all while glowing eyes stare down at you.

"I'd hate to hurt you but... if you keep this up I might have to." Bonnie warns sadly, ears drooping when he sees how hard he hit you. You don't entirely hear what he said, the stress and adrenaline ringing in your ears. You only shake as you try to breathe again.

Bonnie realizes his mistake and shakes his head, deciding to change his tone and try this all again.

"I'm really sorry... I forgot how fragile you can be... especially now." The bunny laughs softly, playing it off as just a playful joke.

You feel sick. However, now that you've seen the true power of the robot... you decide it's best not to make it angry. You go quiet, looking up at the bot. This seems to please Bonnie.

"We have a lot to catch up on! We have all night! Perhaps even an eternity... as I don't plan on letting you go again...." The bunny coos, staring down at his old friend.

You try to protect, going to open your mouth. However... Bonnie's look turns threatening and you quiet yourself. Upon obeying the silent threat you're scooped off the floor in a tight hug.

"You're stuck with me, like it or not." Bonnie whispers softly as he holds his best friend. In response tears fall down your cheeks as you feel your mind slip away. Was it the rotting smell.... or was it because you met your friend again?

You finally cave and hug the animatronic back tightly. You feel his soft fuzz on your skin as you try to find comfort in him. You can barely contain your sobs.

"Jeremy... I'm so sorry..." You whisper. You aren't quite sure what you're apologizing for. His murder? For him losing his humanity? For not coming back sooner? For not dying with him?

Does it even matter anymore?

You have your friend back... you have closure... nothing else matters but your best friend.

[misc-obeyme]

Simeon's Invitation

I'm on a roll lately, so here's another installment of the daily chat scene series. Satan is next.

Okay, this takes place in or after OG season 4 so there are Simeon related spoilers. I think most people know what happened to him by now, but just in case, please be aware.

I love Simeon, he doesn't get enough attention, and what they did to him in season four filled me with inexplicable rage. Er that is to say it gives me a lot to work with when it comes to his relationship with MC lol.

GN!MC x Simeon

Warnings: SPOILERS for OG Season 4, but otherwise nothing because fluff is my thing.

SIMEON MC, if I recall correctly, today is your turn to collect everyone's notebooks in class. Carrying them all to the staffroom all by your lonesome can't be easy. Would you like me to help?

MC I can handle it.

SIMEON Are you sure? I'd like to help, you know. Even if it's just a little. Can I make a request as well? I'd like to walk you part of the way home. So, let's leave together once the notebooks are safely delivered to the staffroom. Promise?

Despite the fact that you had initially told Simeon you could handle bringing the notebooks to the staffroom, you let him help you out anyway. It had been clear from his message that he wanted to and really, you didn't mind the company. You could certainly do it on your own, but why not indulge him and yourself a little, too?

Now you walked down the hallway of RAD, a stack of notebooks in your arms. Simeon walked beside you with the other half of the notebooks stacked in his. You had to admit it was easier to carry them this way.

When you reached the staffroom door, Simeon expertly balanced his stack in a way that allowed him to open it without dropping everything. He did this with a school bag also slung over his shoulder and you were truly impressed.

"After you," he said.

"Thanks," you said with a little laugh, going inside the room.

Simeon set his pile down on the table, then turned to you and took your pile from your arms. He set his arms against yours in order to allow you to transfer them, standing close but not too close, a soft smile on his face. As soon as the notebooks were in his keeping, Simeon pulled away, turning to place them on the table next to the others.

Simeon turned back to you, brushing back a stray strand of his soft hair. "There," he said. "Isn't it better to have someone help out? Now I can walk you home, if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind," you said. "I promised, didn't I?"

When Simeon had texted you that single "Promise?" you had responded almost instantly with your own "Promise." Mostly because you couldn't imagine saying no to him. You didn't really want to anyway.

"Let's go then," Simeon said, leading the way out of the room and down the hall.

The day outside was calm. No stormy weather, but no sunshine, either. Just the usual Devildom darkness. But there always seemed to be a subtle glow around Simeon that followed him wherever he went, even after he was no longer technically an angel. So you didn't feel like you were in complete darkness.

You weren't sure why he wanted to walk you part of the way home. It was something the two of you had done before. At a certain point in the road, the way to Purgatory Hall split off from the way to the House of Lamentation, so that was where you always parted. It wasn't as though this walk was very far, but maybe he just wanted to be with you, even for a short time?

For a little while, you and Simeon walked together in a comfortable silence, occasionally brushing against each other as you made your way down the street.

Eventually, though, you had to ask, "So why did you want to walk me home?"

"Hmm?" Simeon looked over at you. "Oh, can't I just want to be with you?"

You bumped into him slightly. "Sure, but you made me promise and everything. So I thought there must be another reason."

Simeon's smile was as serene as it usually was, but you could see the sparkle in his eyes. "I just didn't want to miss out on an opportunity to be with you."

You gave him a suspicious look, but you didn't question him further. Instead, you began talking about recent school events. Simeon told you all about Luke's latest pastry creation. You talked a little about Lucifer doing too much paperwork again.

By the time you had reached the split in the road that meant you had to part, you hadn't even realized how long it had been that you'd been in conversation with him. You felt a little stab of disappointment at the thought of leaving him, but you knew you had to go home. And likely Simeon had things to do as well.

"Hang on, MC," Simeon said as you were about to say goodbye. "You were right. There was a reason I wanted to walk home with you today. Will you come with me just a little further?"

You threw up your hands. "I knew it. All right, lead on!"

Simeon smiled and took your hand, pulling you off the road and into a small group of trees. You were a little confused, but you let him lead the way.

When he stopped, you found yourself standing on the edge of a little pond. It was lined with brightly luminescent blooming flowers in blues, purples, and yellows. You could see the shiny silver of fish swimming just beneath the surface.

You looked around with wide eyes because the little pond was so beautiful. You turned to Simeon. "I had no idea this was back here," you said.

Simeon smiled brightly. "I thought you probably didn't," he said. "I accidentally stumbled upon it a few days ago."

You moved closer to the pond, watching as a little fish jumped out of the water for a moment.

"I also brought some snacks, if you'd like to take a break here," Simeon said.

You turned back to him. "I think I can take a break before going home."

Simeon was indeed prepared. In his bag, he had a blanket as well as a box of cookies and even a flask of iced tea. He spread the blanket on a flat area next to the pond, just at the edge of the flowers.

It was just like him to plan an impromptu picnic like this. You settled on the blanket beside him, eyes still on the pond and the softly glowing flowers.

"I'm so happy to share this moment with you, MC," Simeon said. He was about to open the box of cookies, but you reached out and took his hand.

Since he stopped wearing his angel outfit, there was no glove to separate your skin from his. You felt the softness of his touch, the slight clamminess of his hand, as though he was just a little nervous.

You leaned closer to him, letting your head rest on his shoulder. "You're such an angel. Being near you is a blessing."

Simeon's breath hitched. You knew what your words meant to him. You felt his arm wrap around your shoulder. "I'm not an angel anymore, MC."

You sat up to look into his eyes. "You are to me. I think you always will be."

A blush spread across Simeon's cheeks and there was something in his eyes that looked both moved and desperate. A mix of pleasure and pain, like you were healing him and tearing him apart all at the same time.

Simeon leaned forward and pressed his lips to yours so sweetly it almost made you want to cry. He was about to pull away, but you reached out, holding onto him to keep him close. You deepened the kiss, thrilled at the way he responded so easily, opening up for you.

Perhaps you spent a little more time on the blanket beside the pond than you had initially meant to. But everything felt brighter and better the longer you were in Simeon's arms.

others in this series:

Mammon | Barbatos | Solomon | Lucifer | Leviathan

Asmodeus | Diavolo | Beelzebub | Belphegor | Satan

masterlist | Thank you for reading!