#anyways lets see if this readmore works

[jadewritesficshere]

18+only MDNI

Eddie had just pulled up to a red light when he heard a noise that was very evidentally not Dio. The beeping on his right caused Eddie to look over at the man riding in his passenger seat. Steve looked tense and his watch was going off. Eddie figured it was because a few minutes before he had slammed abruptly to avoid hitting a dog, throwing his arm out to protect Steve. The seatbelt did more to protect Steve then Eddie's arm did, but Eddie had kept his hand in Steve's space, eventually placing it on his knee. Eddie moved his hand from Steve's knee now,"You alright?" Steve startled at Eddie's words. "Huh? Yeah m'fine why?" Steve looked over at Eddie, face filled with confusion. Eddie cleared his throat and nodded at his watch," No reason..You got a message..one of your friends need ya?" Steve mumbled an oh and immediately started messing with his watch," Sorry about the noise...nah all is fine." Eddie nodded and focused back on driving.

This wasn't the first time Steve's watch had went off without Steve noticing. In fact, it was a very common occurrence. Steve never realized how loud it was as he had it turned down to the point he couldn't hear it anymore, but everyone else still could. Eddie watched as the kids gave him shit for it, but Eddie didn't care. He had been there the day Steve actually had his watch on silent. The day no one heard his watch go off. The day Steve missed getting texts and calls from the kids about an emergency. The look of panic on his face and the way he couldn't speak when Jane had ran into work and was crying. It all was fine, but Max had fallen off her skateboard and broken her wrist. The way Steve had felt so guilty and scared, Eddie didn't want him to have to go through that again. Eddie was fine with the noise of the watch. It was a little annoying, sure, but Eddie would rather get a lil annoyed from the noise then have Steve in pain.

Eddie would often just notify Steve his watch was going off. It seemed to be happening constantly now though, and Eddie couldn't help the envy he was feeling. He never had anyone text him first, he always had to start conversations. The only people who he had consistent conversations with and didn't always have to text first were Jeff, Gareth, Steve, and most surprisingly Robin (she sent him the best memes that made him cry from laughter). Hell, the time his phone was the most active was when he had been dealing and he hadn't done that for almost a year. Sure, maybe it was hard to text him because he either responded immediately or didn't respond for days on end... but Steve seemed to always have people texting him. Last week, they had been out to the diner and were eating milkshakes and sharing fries. Intermittently, his watch had went off all meal as they had laughed and joked around. Then this past weekend, Eddie was showing him a new song he wrote. Eddie could barely focus as the watch kept going off (not Steve's fault, but he kept wondering if Steve was just being nice and listening when he wanted to be elsewhere the way he kept messing with his watch).

Yesterday, everyone had been hanging out at Steve's. Everyone had been drinking, some weed was being passed around, it was just a good time. Robin was telling a story and half leaning against Steve; Steve had his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Eddie should have been paying attention to Robin's story and how animated she was, talking with her hands and having everyone else laugh. But Eddie was thinking about how he wanted to be the one to lean against Steve. Eddie had rolled his eyes, knowing he needed to get his jealousy under control. He had sighed and looked down at his beer, wondering what it would feel like for Steve to lean right and wrap an arm around his shoulders. No! Steve was straight, he shouldn't think about Steve this way. Eddie had been glaring at his drink when Steve had tapped his knee. "You ok?" Steve looked concerned. Eddie had batted his eyes and went," Awh, you concerned for me Sweetheart?" Steve had just blinked at him and went to say something when his watch had went off, causing Robin to grab his arm and attempt to tap the watch (missing terribly because she was drunk). Steve had jerked away and fumbled with his watch before standing up and leaving the room. Eddie frowned as obviously whoever texted him was more important then hanging out.

Eddie scowled at the memory, pulling into Steve's driveway. He knew he needed to get his jealousy under control. Deep down, Eddie knew he didn't care that Steve had more friends then him. It was the fact that Steve would always divert his attention. That Steve would always make faces or be awkward after silencing his phone. Fuck, maybe he was joking about Eddie? Talking shit behind his back? He was King Ste- no. Steve isn't like that anymore.

"You okay?" Steve asks hesitantly. Eddie hadn't even realized Steve had left the car and had opened Eddie's door. "Just peachy," Eddie rolls his eyes. Steve's brow furrowed slightly and Eddie exhaled a deep sigh. "I think I'm just gonna go," Eddie looked down at the steering wheel, clenching and unclenching his fists around it. "What? We were gonna watch that movie you've been talking about," Steve shakes his head, "literal weeks you've been talking about it man." Eddie isn't sure why he's so upset; he knows he got in his own head, he can't even remember the drive here. Eddie feels a burn deep in his chest, he almost feels like he could cry. "Eddie?" Steve gently rests his hand on Eddie's shoulder. "Its fine! Just go hangout with your other friends or whatever," Eddie blurts out. He knows he isn't even really thinking, having worked himself up into a frenzy.

"Huh? What other friends?" Steve asks as Eddie brushes Steve's hand off. Eddie glances at Steve and has to look away at the hurt look on his face. "The ones who keep texting you." Eddie sighs. He shouldn't take this out on Steve. Steve hasn't done anything wrong. "No one's texting me?" Nope okay Steve has done something wrong. Eddie's head snaps to look at Steve's so quickly Eddie is pretty sure he gave himself whiplash," You're a liar and a thief Steve! A liar! I hear your watch go off all the time. I know I'm dumb, can't even graduate fucking high school, but I'm not that dumb!" Eddie is breathing hard as he stares into Steve's eyes. Steve looks as uncomfortable as he feels- which Eddie feels is pretty justified as really this was all Steve's-

"It's my heart rate."

-fault really, none of this was Eddie's fault and wait. Eddie blinks at Steve," what?" Eddie has never seen Steve blush. Get flustered? Sure. Embarrassed? Maybe once. But Steve's face has flushed red. "It's my heart rate...when it gets too high it alerts me." "Why?" "I dont know it was a setting and I don't know how to turn it off an-" "no, why is your heart rate going so high?" "...seriously?"

Eddie feels more dumb than ever as Steve gives him a look that he knows is Steve's are you shitting me right now? Look. "Yeah?" Eddie wishes his voice didn't break right then, he sounds as pathetic as he feels. Steve huffs and runs a hand through his hair. "Seriously? Dude c'mon, don't make me say it!" Steve's blush spreads from his face down his neck. Eddie can't help but trace it with his eyes, wondering how far it spreads. The silence between them grows. "So uh you gonna tell me or-" "It's you!" Eddie pulls back at Steve's exclamation. "What did I do?"

Steve glares at Eddie. "What did you do? What did you do??" Steve throws his arms in the air and stalks away from the vehicle. Eddie scrambles trying to leave the van and getting caught by his seat belt. "Shit," he unbuckles and runs after Steve," Steve wait! I didn't do anything!" Steve turns on his heel and points a finger in his face," You didn't do anything? You flirt with me constantly!" Eddie winces as the realization hits, Steve has been uncomfortable this entire time.

They both open their mouths and start to speak over each other, "Steve, I'm sorry I didn't realize you were-" "Flirting with me making me fall for you and you have the audacity to-" "-so uncomfortable I just couldnt help it you're so attractive-" "- act like nothing is happening? I fell for you and you-"

Eddie and Steve both stop speaking and stare at each other. The air seemed thick around them. "I wasn't uncomfortable." Steve drops his hand. "Did you just say you fell for me?" Eddie blinked, mouth falling open. Steve looks away and nods slowly. "Holy shit..." "That's all you can say?" "Give me a minute i just found out my crush likes me!" "...you didn't know?"

Eddie chuckles slightly before shaking his head."I'm dumb remember?" Steve scowls at his words," You aren't dumb quit saying that." Eddie gently cups Steve's face with his hand," This okay?" "Yeah..." Eddie leans in slowly, letting his lips hover in front of Steve's. Before he can ask if it is okay to kiss him, Steve leans forward and their mouths meet. Eddie's eyes flutter closed as their lips slowly move in tandem. Steve grabs Eddie's hips and yanks him closer, making him gasp. Steve takes the opportunity and licks into Eddie's mouth. Their tongues intertwine, and Eddie is pretty sure this is his new favorite flavor. Steve pulls away to catch his breath and Eddie leans forward, kissing his cheek and trailing kisses down his neck. He kisses Steve's pulse and hears Steve gasp. "You like that?" He asks as he nips at Steve's neck. A beeping noise reaches Eddie's ears causing him to laugh. Eddie isn't jealous about that noise anymore. In fact, it may be his favorite noise in the world.

[princeofallhallows]

[hinkeljenkel]

Pokemon sv has definitely been a lot more fun and engaging than I was expecting, also the character designs are ?? amazing ???

it's been really cool, but admittedly I've been feeling a little sad over not being able to utilize the multiplayer option bc I just . don't have anyone to play with lol

and anyone who I know has the game already seems like they have their own group going on-- or they're just simply busy

it's not rly essential to the gameplay and I like just running around playing as my oc, but sighs, things are just a lot more enjoyable when you have someone to enjoy it with 😔

[cor-lapis]

I decided to have a go at doing my own redesigns because these three are my favourites and I love them very much. further notes + sources under the readmore (warning: lots of text). I did my best with the research, but if there's anything I overlooked, I'd really appreciate people letting me know :)

Tighnari:

My main source for Tighnari was this excellent thread, from which I looked up each item of clothing individually. Since djellabas tend to be quite long, and Tighnari needs mobility for forest ranger activities, I figured he would cut and re-hem the lower half. He also has a lot of clothing pieces that are traditionally multicoloured, but to keep his design cohesive I decided to use the same colours across different items, but using a larger palette of colours than I would usually. I like the bright colours on him a lot though!

There are also some minor details I just changed because I wanted to. The flower on his chest is now a nilotpala lotus, because I thought it was nice to include his acension material/the material he asks you to help gather. The dirt stains/scuff marks are because rainforests are muddy and I wanted the design to emphasise Tighnari being very practical and hands-on with his work (see also, the specimen belt).

Finally, I shrunk the magnifying glass on his back (because I'm pretty sure it's meant to be his first magnifying glass toy and that thing is very large for a child to handle) and gave him an undercut because it seemed right. Also, I merged his front and back trailing cloths into a scarf type of thing that he could wrap around his nose and mouth to prevent inhaling spores from mushrooms.

Collei:

COLLEI my beloved. I had a mild nightmare trying to figure out a specific source culture for her design, but nobody seemed to know specifics and her outfit wasn't matching with any traditional dress I looked up, so in the end decided to keep the overall look the same. Just in case I assigned her something else, but then it turned out I missed her actual inspiration.

Anyway, I made her shoes simpler (no fur, heels, and open toes in the rainforest seemed reasonable to me), and gave her shorts. I liked the green colour because it's pretty unique under a dark dress, and pairs nicely with Nahida's white dress + green undersides. Amber's tie stays, but I made most of her jewellery smaller since it felt a little clunky for a trainee ranger.

Her earring and necklace(?) are allusions to the Evil Eye and the Khmissa/Hamsa, both symbols of protection. Especially considering the fact they're meant to ward off evil, and very common across multiple MENA cultures, it seemed fitting for Collei to have them. Also, she has Eleazar scars, and I used the design for her stockings as inspiration for the combination knee braces (similar to those used for arthritis, since Eleazar also causes stiff limbs and I HC that people affected would probably still need some recovery support)/knee pads (in the case of a fall). I like the idea that Kaveh would have helped make them for her (tangent but the fic Here is the House explores similar ideas; it's really really good, I heavily recommend it). Finally, she has curly hair because I thought it would be cute.

Cyno:

Here's the thread I found for Cyno. The main critique was to do with the eras from which each aspect of his clothing drew inspiration, but I admittedly wouldn't be able to do much about this without a lot of research. One thing I did try and verify was the small strip of cloth on the left of his chest, and I found a few wall murals where the people seem to be wearing similar strips of cloth? (example here; rightmost figure) Therefore, I didn't remove it, but if someone wants to explain Ancient Egyptian clothing history to me I'd be really interested to hear it 6.6

I might iterate on the design in the future, but for now the changes are mostly HC territory. Cyno wearing his hair in locs (a protective hairstyle) makes sense for someone who does a lot of hiking after rogue scholars, and I also gave him quite old and faded top surgery scars because healthcare is canonically free in Sumeru (thanks for that information, al-Haitham)(though tbf Cyno makes bank anyway). I also adjusted the colours a bit, since Genshin tends to use desaturated shades for metallic elements.

I also considered giving Cyno more scars, but figured that it could indicate Hermanubis' presence that someone you'd expect to get injured a lot is relatively scar-free (i.e. some sort of godly healing factor/resistance to damage). However, we know next to nothing about Hermanubis, so Cyno having a lot of scars also makes sense. This paragraph is mostly just a cry for help cyno story quest 2 literally any more elaboration about the nature of Hermanubis' pact and the Temple of Silence.

Conclusion

I wasn't intending to write one when I started the explanations but this got REALLY long so if you made it this far, thank you so so much ToT please check out the links; the threads especially were a great resource, and I'm grateful that people take the time to make them <3 genshin's character design department are cowards but I'm glad I learned some new things through the redesign process

[opal-owl-flight]

in an au where someone else were the agents, what would the agents life be like instead? (for eight, Octo expansion still happens but like she quits agent work after that)

This is a very interesting ask! This is a "things go well despite someone else filling in their roles" situation. Only got 3 and 4 so far bc I know who'd replace them EJDJE

Under readmore bc long! Also bonus Alt!3 art under there

4/Rain remains in the turf leagues after highschool. Sometimes working Grizzco for the cash, but once she went pro she left. A huge bitch to everyone, teammates and opponents, yet somehow making it work. Shes proud of where she is. She made a great life for herself here in Inkopolis and shes not going to let ANYONE forget. Doesnt help that the squids in that particular community/rank are also rude as fuck. Shes imitating the common attitude to fit in. Find SOME place she feels she can belong.

Marie called to her from the sewers to be Agent 4, but she declined the offer. Because...

...of 3/Tanara.

This snooty bitch of a squid also made a good life for themself after escaping from an oppressive home. Hows Rain any special? Worst of all, theyre one of the few who can go toe to toe with her on the field, snarky comments and everything. Rain's sure that they enjoy seeing her stumble (they do).

Proud of their progress and skill, they tend to (literally) look down on anyone that doesnt impress them. Their prior training as a squidling really helps them dominate matches, in both combat and strategy... Tanara lives for the sport. Their life is sport. Its the life theyve always wanted -- a life of play and fun and fresh vibes forever! If its too easy, wheres the fun? They seek hard fights.

Rain impresses them, for sure. But they also just LOVE messing with her. Rub in her face how much better they are. Its exhilirating to see all that bluster crumble! Yes! The bitch is down!! Eat your words!! Type of shit.

As for the other two...

John would still be great as an Agent 3 — remarkably, he doesnt get sanitized bc he takes care of himself and doesnt crash headfirst into a blender. he kicks it instead. doesnt get knocked out.

Hes kind as always. very supportive of a terrified all the time Sun. Hes like…a silly agent 3. hes goofy hes a lil stupid hes John

John does get war hardened but its not as intense a time as 3 had. Hes still smiling a lot! probs the fact that he had a good home life and a good support system in his team. (Tanara is in his team!! Hes the one usually reining them back from emotionally wrecking opponents. Hes also the one who makes Tanara's soft side emerge! They have one. Its just buried under their desire to be Cool)

and Sun? he never got into Grizzco. he became Agent 4 and saved the world! barely!! he keeps running from the troops until Marie has to drag him back by the ear! John carries Sun around like luggage a lot. its comforting for the nervous wreck.

------

3 was just…theyve already been dealt a bad hand, and the universe kept expecting more from them. theyre under so much pressure, all the time!!

at least here, they dont have to worry about anything but their win streak and how 4 is annoyingly cute

Anyway. More Alt3!

[homoquartz]

i have been considering what would happen if the boys were offered life again

there's a couple ways the story could cut it. but here's my thoughts. under a readmore bc i like to blab.

i don't think edwin is interested in being alive. he seems pretty content with being dead, compared to charles. he seems very satisfied with the type of work they do, too. i don't know if he'd want to give up his job to return to living, especially because he has spent so long being dead.

i think he would insist that charles take the offer without him. but i don't think charles would accept any future where edwin wasn't with him.

charles would give up a chance at life if it meant they had to be separated, imo. but i also think edwin would try to prevent him from making that sacrifice by talking it out. edwin would rather see charles happy than dead with him, but charles would rather be with edwin no matter what or where.

edwin seems principled enough that he would not be willing to give up his work to keep them together in life, though. like, he'd make the sacrifice of (trying to) let charles go because it would be the "right" thing to do

on the other hand, i think if edwin had charles, AND maybe a promise that people would still be helped in some way (maybe via Crystal and Niko, for example), he could maybe be persuaded to live

in sum i think charles would make certain they were together, whether alive or dead. * i don't think this is contradicted by his telling the night nurse she can "do whatever" with him as long as edwin is safe from hell. one, because he planned to outwit her anyway, and two because the option was hell vs something else, not life vs death

most of my opinion is based on the whole hell subplot. but also the ongoing skirmish about crystal, who, imo, represents (in part) the concept of life. and also charles's multiple instances of declaring outright he and ed are a unit.

(as an aside, i think it was very important that edwin was the one to say he'd never let them get separated at the start of the pilot - to establish he is equally committed, even if he vocalizes it less)

[hexhomos]

oh god I'm freaking out now. I did not watch the leaks, but I had read some (similar) opinions and choose to ignore it because I don't trust the general media analysis capabilities of like 70% of tumblr. But I do trust you and I like reading your vikjayce and doomreed thoughts... is it really that bad? Isn't there anything salvageable?

Don't click readmore if you don't want vague spoilers.

I genuinely have no emotional investment in much, if not majority of what happens in s2. Maybe this is because I'm an industryperson and not exactly awed by the idea of 'inversion' for pointless inversion's sake, maybe because the past year of publicly televised USA-backed genocides have made arcane's fraught politics more detestable than ever. I abhor how married this show is to the message that every atrocity, no matter how vile or senseless, is 'committed for love' as an easy way to sidestep discussions of capitalism, exploitation, imperialism, and all the systematically-enforced evils that make up the reason Why this world is so brutally unfair. They literally took a guy whose entire deal is building human centipedes in his basement, making weapons of war, and inflicting as much pain as possible for the sake of a laugh and said 'oh... he does this for love,' and i felt like throwing rocks at the screen for how stupid that shit is.

The episodes I've seen feel shallow, limited and empty in their writing; the world has a raindrop's depth. There are maybe 10 people total in these cities and everyone else is a nameless, vapid NPC, functionally indistinct outside of how they rack up morale for a certain character. The animation is still kinetic, the music videos are still certainly a big part of the flashing lights, but i feel nothing for any of the characters onscreen except for contempt or mild disinterest.

It feels like a first draft put to animation. It's to the point where i believe season 1 should have closed without continuation and let You decide how the uncertainties pan out. (Have you ever seen Wicked? Do you know how everyone tells you that it completely falls apart in the second act so best pretend act1 is the whole thing?) The 'twists' it tries to pull aren't clever. If you're a game fan, you're left confused as to why some of this shit is included in this show and not some other region's show, if you know nothing of the game, you're going to be namedropped on lore buzzwords that get little explanation, give you no reason to care, but are placed as if they are a big deal anyway. Kind of feels like you're cheating both demographics. Parts of this season feel like backdoor pilots to greenlight a Noxus show -- the region who most thrives in the edgy aesthetics of cool awesomesauce grimdark fantasy imperialism -- and i just want all of these characters to die. But they end up getting all of the sob-story justification screentime while the poor people are either stupid kids or drug addicts. every single main undercity character is a drug addict of some kind, war-on-terror propaganda style, and the one who isn't has been surgically removed from the plot for majority of the runtime. I have to laugh.

The things some people were looking forward to - the gay romances, the gay divorces - will probably make more than a few fans go on to say threats of terrorism, but i still felt like i could see right through the script's flaccid bullshit. You're not getting a rise out of me like this. You barely fucking tried.

'Salvageable' is a dangerous word around me I'm notoriously obsessed with taking shit that sucks and recycling it to see if it can be improved like 'there is always hope' and all that gushy heart bullshit but like... that is between you and god. that is magic that happens inside your mind. it's work that you put into it, and that I predict people will be putting into it, out of their own volition. Or as a way to ignore what just happened.

[foundfamilyhq]

Welcome + Rules

Welcome to the Tumblr Found Family HQ! Here, we present your blorbos to the masses to have them vote upon whether they should be added to the collective tumblr found family or not. Submit your blorbos here:

See which blorbos have already joined the found family HERE! To avoid seeing the results posts, mute "ff results" The rules are: 1. Play nice; be respectful to others 2. Blorbos can be of any age, since a found family can be just that. So feel free to submit a one-day old infant or a ten thousand year old tree, if those are your blorbos 3. No Harry Potter (or other titles associated to this series or the author) 4. No real people (might make an exception if it's funny) 5. "No real people" includes no individual tumblr users, youtubers or streamers (this might seem obvious, but there were still a lot of them submitted) 6. No OCs. All your OCs are great and I'd feel sad if they got rejected from the found family F.A.Q. under readmore:

Q. When are submissions opening? (Pinning this one to the top, because it's by far the question we get the most) Short answer... I don't know, sorry! Long answer... Because of the way the blog is set up, it's very hard for me to figure that out. Basically, each fandom gets one poll a week, but as there are often multiple characters from some fandoms in the submissions form, it's a pain to figure out exactly how many characters are left to add new polls for when you factor out the repeat fandoms (and also, if a repeat fandom's poll would end before submissions are opened, then a new character from that fandom will be polled before submissions are opened, meaning I'd need to work that out as well). There are often about 200 characters in the submissions form, so you can understand this is too much for me to figure out manually, especially since I'm a full-time shift worker, so my schedule doesn't give me a lot of free time. I don't even like to give a ball park estimate to this question, because with being a shift worker, if I have to do a lot of extra work at short notice and can't meet when I said I'd open submissions, I feel like I'e let you all down and that feeling sucks However, when I do open submissions I try to vary it so that one round will be open at roughly 7-10am GMT and the next round will be open at roughly 7-10pm GMT, to try to catch as many people possible. I know that's not ideal for everyone and people have expressed disapointment about this in the past, but those are all the hours I'm able to give :(

Q. How does this work? A. A post featuring a blorbo shall be made, stating who they are and their source material. A poll will be attached set to one week, asking if the blorbo should join the tumblr found family. At the end of the week, based on the result, I will announce if the blorbo has joined or not Q. What is a found family? A. A found family is a family you find for yourself. It is a term often used in fandom to describe a group of characters who aren't related by blood (although a few members might be) but have come to think of each other as a family through circumstance. Alternatively, they might not be officially recognised as a found family in canon, but wider fanon regards them as such Q. Is this a tournament bracket? A. Nope, blorbos aren't competing against each other, they're only here to be judged by you. We are here enternally submitting blorbos (at least until I run out of steam or pass away lol) Q. I'm not sure if my blorbo counts because of ___ reason? A. If it's not any of the reasons mentioned in the rules, then feel free to send an ask. Or just submit them anyway and I'll decide Q. I submitted a blorbo and they haven't been posted. Did you get them? A. Again, feel free to send an ask. I don't have a regular schedule for posting these. Somedays there'll be batches of polls, others there'll be one or none Q. My blorbos are a duo/trio/etc., who cannot be separated. Can I submit them as a group? A. While I would prefer to stick to individual characters, if you have some who absolutely cannot be separated, I might make exceptions. Most likely, I'll make a poll asking if they should be judged as a group or individually, since there's a lot of media I won't be familiar with Q. My blorbo didn't get voted into the found family! Fuck you! A. Friend, as a fan of Theseus from Hades Game, I understand what it's like to have your fave hated by fandom. Anything decided on this blog can never affect your personal headcanons, so go in peace with your middle finger held high Q. What are your icon and header? A. The icon is of the Pokemon Bouffalant and Natu, based on a series of trading card art where Bouffalant finds two Natu and rescues them - the true spirit of found family. The header is a group of characters called the Black Ravens from the Professor Layton series - a group of ragtag working-class kids who make a black market together Q. I wrote some propaganda on the submission form, can you post it or send it back to me? A. Submissions are deleted as the polls are posted, so I can keep track of how many I have left to post, which means I can't do this. Please save your propaganda for the post and not the submissions form Q. Did you know you used fan art on ___ poll? A. Unless I'd mentioned getting permission from the artist, then please assume that I did not know and let me know. I hate art theft and wouldn't want to partake in that, but I'm just not familiar with a good 80% of the series submitted, so sometimes it might slip through the cracks Q. Can I submit a character who isn't my blorbo? A. Also fine! I enjoy it when people submit controversial characters to see how they'll do Q. What happens if there's a tie? A. The blorbo in question becomes an occassional family member who appears with our found family for some important cutscenes, but isn't officially considered part of the found family

Q. No, but seriously, my blorbo got ditched. Do they get another chance? A. At the beginning of each year we host a Redemption Event, where any past blorbos who were submitted get another chance. Because of the high volume of ditched characters, to be included in the event, your character will need to be submitted with propaganda via a form that will be released about a month before the event Q. I think the image used is a big reason why my blorbo got ditched. Why did you use that image? A. If an image hasn't been submitted, I will just grab one from an image search result in most cases. You know your blorbos best, so if you have a specific (non-fan art) image that you think shows them in their best light, please do submit it when you submit them Q. Did you mean the book version or movie version of that character? A. Whichever version of the blorbo that gets submitted, that'll be the one I use. If no specific version is mentioned, I'll just post that blorbo in general and use whatever image is most common when I look them up, unless an image has been submitted or a book cover has been requested to be used Q. My blorbo is a character played by a youtuber and/or streamer, not the youtuber or streamer themselves, is that okay? A. If it's a character, then it's fine. But please mention this on the submission. Because if I look them up and the result looks to be just some real person, that won't be included. I am largely unfamiliar with these kind of fandoms and will always err on the side of caution about their inclusion Q. What counts as a "sweep"? A. Any character who gets 90% or higher in either joining or not joining is counted as a sweep. This doesn't give them anything extra, it's just for bragging rights Q. What counts as a "close call"? A. Any character who's poll results are within the 49%-51% range for join/don't join is counted as a close call Q. How many characters can I submit at a time? A. There's no hard rule, since the form doesn't track emails, but please be considerate to others and try not to submit more than 10 characters per submission period. See next question for more details Q. How many characters from the same series can I submit at a time? A. Four (4) characters per series per submission period. I'll be lenient for if they've been submitted by multiple people, but from my experience running this blog, it's only the current Hot New Thing that'll be submitted by multiple people and anything else is usually one person submitting one character after another. I used to allow more, but people took this for granted and submitted 50+ from the same series, so now 4 is the cap Q. You missed a tag from that poll! Can it be added? A. Sure! Tags are either provided by the submitter or where left blank, I'll use my best guess. At minimum, you'll get the name of the character and series as they've been submitted. If you know more, let me know and I'll add them to the post during the voting period. Please note: The polls themselves cannot be edited after being posted, only the tags Q. Can fictional characters based on real people be submitted? A. Fictional characters that are inspired by real people (e.g. Steven Universe being inspired by Rebecca Sugar's brother) are generally fine. But characters that are basically just some real celebrity making a cameo somewhere (e.g. Simon Cowell appearing on the Simpsons), are a no. Q. I don't understand what this blog is A. Don't worry about it, friend. Just keep driving and whatever you do, don't wind down the window. We'll be safe soon :) Q. Didn't this blog used to be called the Found Family Adoption Agency? A. It did, but I were made aware that the language used on the blog could be seen as potentially harmful to real life adoptees, so I changed the name of the blog and made some edits to try to avoid using such language. Posts made prior to 5th May 2024 will still contain references to adopt/ditching, so tread with caution on older posts

[jounosparticles]

this feels really odd to ask but but what do you think the hunting dogs' thoughts are about death? specifically if they die and how? cause I feel like all of them share a variation of "I will go down guns blazing and with glory"

fukuchi definitely feels it and I feel like jouno as well. they've both had rough and violent lives so I feel like they've always thought death was just right around the corner.

I don't know about the rest of them though. teruko I feel shares the thought but not as intense as the other two, and I dont know about tecchou and tachihara.

anyway. it's a neat thought to me :3

ohhh i’ve been thinking of the best way to answer this for DAYS. this analysis will be long so ill put it under a readmore.

the hunting dogs and death - analysis

overall, it is shown that they can die. i assume due to their abilities and bodily enhancements that they do not die of injuries very easily. it makes me wonder how disease hits them? partially mechanical bodies may not respond to illness as well as natural bodies would? or maybe the opposite and they can heal more so internally? anyways here's my thoughts on how each hunting dog perceives dying!!

fukuchi

i see fukuchi as fairly self-preserving up until the end. he can't die in battle because he needs to make sure the decay of angels plot carries out.

remember that he was warned of this at nine years old. he had to spend his life preparing for this. he likely grew very wary of living recklessly and became great at fighting very fast and young; i assume that's why he went through dojos to fight as a child.

under no circumstances could he die until the world was safe.

i imagine he put on a selfless face and was willing to take serious harm in order to protect the peace, but i highly doubt he was ever willing to sacrifice his life until his plan worked out.

here we see his thought process and how things need to fall into place. his participation was essential because in no other situation would fukuzawa be the one able to get access to the one order. if fukuchi had died beforehand, the war would play out as the amenogozen warning claimed.

he had to leave the world to fukuzawa, the man he could trust most before facing his own demise.

of course, at this point in the series he has been killed since that was the final goal of his plan. a noble death for a fantastic hero.

jouno

im actually a little conflicted on his perception of death. i believe jouno is willing to sacrifice his life if absolutely necessary but is probably more self-preserving than the others. i believe he likely uses his confident and slightly arrogant attitude to hide this self-preserving mindset. someone who comes off as intimidating or nonchalant during battle is more likely to throw off the enemy whereas appearing nervous or angry will make them seem vulnerable. i believe jouno also sees himself as very strategic and able to get out of situations easily if needed. he's a quick thinker from what we've seen thus far.

lets look at when he confronted fukuchi.

he starts off very confidently accepting the offer. we know this is a facade but him immediately trying to throw fukuchi off guard seems so show he's pretty confident in his next move.

but when this doesn't work, he immediately tries to flee. this is fairly unique for a fight in bsd, many characters will often fight until they either get what they wish or they're too injured to move. despite jouno having an ability that could dodge fukuchi's, he still chose to try and escape instead of continuing to fight. this is a very normal human reaction to have but not one you see as often.

and at a disturbance, he begins to panic and needs to ground himself by reassuring himself instead of fighting back. he's not willing to put his life on the line to stop a global terrorism and his own escape is seen as a victory, which i see as him being more self-preserving. this all took place before the sword was set on fire, so it wasn't as if he had that threat to escape yet.

however, there's a chance he just didn't know how to fight the amenogozen; but his ability was definitely one of the best to fight against fukuchi with.

still, he's smart and made sure to plan adequately in case he was injured in the battle against fukuchi. he wants to keep himself safe, but he's still smart enough to take precaution.

i think jouno has probably been through a lot in his life and wants to spend a while living happily, making him more afraid to die than the others. this is even shown when he took teruko being angry as a threat while fukuchi laughed over it.

(as a small note, fukuchi's line in the anime was "haha. it seems our gremlin is angry today" which makes more sense in this context).

so tldr i think jouno would only go down if absolutely necessary and otherwise is fairly self-prioritizing.

tecchou

i believe tecchou would sacrifice himself if it brings justice.

however, he seems to see himself as one responsible for judgement, so i imagine he gives every single fight his all.

regardless of him acting as judgement, it's been shown that tecchou is willing to die if he fails at his work.

here he promises that if he were to fail he would commit seppuku (killing oneself via slicing through your stomach--an honourable death for a samurai fighter (which lines up with irl tetchou coming from samurai lineage)), which is an incredibly agonizing way to die. regardless, he is fully willing to do it if it is for peace. this shows a confidence in death and commitment to his sense of justice to an extreme manner.

and when he found himself in a situation where he was in the wrong, he immediately admitted defeat and asked his opponent to kill him.

he admits defeat, says his wrongs and is willing to accept the consequences.

he even jumps to the harsh conclusion that he isn't worthy of his title as a hunting dog. the stark white in his eyes show that his mind isn't corrupted and that he is doing what he believes is proper justice. incredibly noble.

luckily he was spared-and likely learned a lot about justice not always being as black and white as things appear.

overall, tecchou is a very noble fighter and is willing to put his life on the line for justice. he doesn't seem to fear death and will embrace it if he feels it is earned or deserved.

tachihara

i have less to say about tachihara than the others. i see him as the type that will go down over what's right and that's shown during his fight with fukuchi.

he isn't willing to fear death or beg for forgiveness. he will go down if it is worthy.

we also see that he keeps a argumentative spirit towards the enemy despite the circumstances. he will put down his opponent even in the moment of death, he just has the confidence to.

this panel also shows that he's more willing to die than to be defeated. he doesn't want to harm anyone and be controlled so he tries to kill himself first.

overall, he's a strong fighter who isn't afraid to sacrifice his life for what he believes in. his orders make him who he is, and if the orders are to win he either will or he will die trying.

(of course that last part doesn't really count when he was posing as a mafioso because he couldn't blow his cover by easily surviving everything).

teruko

much like tachihara, teruko seems to be very willing to put herself on the line to keep people safe. this is shown almost immediately in her introduction.

if ordered, she is willing to die. she's incredibly dedicated to her job and would go down if it saves people.

she's willing to go to drastic measures to keep herself alive as well, destroying her eardrum and continuing to try and fight sigma despite being under the directed resonance guns (which were made to destroy people like her). she didn't run, and she did absolutely everything she could have done in order to win.

she seems to also pride herself in fighting and being hurt in battle, likely to show her resilience and ability to do whatever it takes if it saves people.

she even goes on to call the hunting dogs "society's servants" and refers to the enhancement surgeries as "searing order into their own bodies."

this immense dedication makes me strongly believe that she would have no problem sacrificing herself if it is for the best. she killed fukuchi despite really caring for him, so i can see her being willing to put herself into that situation as well.

tysm for the question!!!!! this was super fun to read through the scenes again and try to piece together a logical guess on them all.

[fleet-off]

Because it’s come up with both @lu-sn lu and @theflowergirl Lily now, and because my dentist just sent another form letter expressing deep concern for my oral hygiene should I not schedule my biannual teeth cleaning posthaste, have some wacky fic idea-adjacent nonsense:

Vegas does Pete’s dental cleanings for him.

Pete did not particularly go to the dentist before he got the job with the main family, but the main family keeps one on retainer, and Pete hated going to see him. He found it horribly exposing to hold his mouth open like that, and he really did not like how much he wanted to bite down on the dentist’s fingers. He put up with it, because that’s what Petes do, but he always dreaded it.

Neither of them much likes medical professionals at all, actually, but Vegas sees to his own teeth pretty religiously. (He has to, he’s had veneers since he was eighteen. A smooth, even smile can work wonders.)

Vegas likes Pete’s teeth. He likes Pete’s smile, and Pete’s bite, and the specific way Pete chews his food. He wants Pete’s teeth healthy for as long as possible.

At the same time, Pete shouldn’t have to be uncomfortable except in those carefully orchestrated ways Vegas makes him uncomfortable, which are generally to their mutual benefit.

Vegas would not enjoy watching a dentist clean inside Pete’s mouth. (Pete would let him stay in the room, right?) The inside of Pete’s mouth is a sacred sort of place.

…Anyway, Vegas would be very jealous of the scraper tool.

Vegas does know teeth. He’s yanked a lot of them, albeit not for the benefit of the victims’ oral hygiene.

Why shouldn’t he clean Pete’s teeth himself?

note: doing dental work without proper training is a bad idea, but has that ever stopped VegasPete?

also here comes a readmore for non-explicit dentistry-adjacent kink Whoops

The dental mirror arrives in the mail first, and Vegas coaxes Pete into a practice inspection at the kitchen table that very evening. He realizes at once that they’ll need brighter light and a reclining chair—but though the inside of Pete’s mouth is dimly lit, and though his breath persistently fogs the mirror until Vegas thinks to warm it on the inside of his cheek, this first foray is enough to spark a thousand dark ideas in Vegas’s mind.

There is something to seeing the backs of Pete’s teeth—inspecting what is literally hidden behind his smile.

A vulnerability in the pink semicircles of his gums, maybe. The perfect fit of the teeth penetrating that clinging tissue.

And:

Pete’s jaw stretched wide.

The damp heat of his open mouth against Vegas’s fingers, perfectly exposed and made to stay open.

His tongue twitching like its own creature when Vegas presses it down with a gloved finger.

The slow build-up of saliva—throat muscles working to hold down his gag reflex before Vegas taps his chin and lets him swallow.

Pete’s eyes have dilated; sweat shines on his brow, and the mirror begins to fog worse with every warm-shallow breath.

The next time Vegas caresses the tops of his teeth, Pete bites down hard on his fingers.

…They abandon the mirror for other, more familiar pleasures.

Vegas buys a headlamp and a dental loupe online later that night.

To his credit, he does research teeth cleanings at this point. It’s not the equivalent to years of practice and training, but it’s something.

Then the curettes arrive with their fine metal handles and delicately angled hooks on either end; then the sickle-shaped scaler. Vegas has never held either, but they feel familiar in his hands. He’s always had a knack for instruments.

Pete looks at them in his focused grip and shivers.

His hate for dental cleanings may not be such a problem after all.

(Of course, all of this culminates in Macau walking in on them mid-cleaning in the kitchen. Vegas and Pete are actually pretty good about not doing literal sex things where Macau might see. However, many typically non-sexy things have a way of becoming weird sex things when Vegas and Pete do them.

Macau doesn’t know how this is a weird sex thing, but he knows it is.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t quite manage to nope back out before overhearing just how nice Pete’s gums are.)

[providencehq]

Reverse Robin AU where Duke was the first to be adopted by Bruce and Dick was the last. Explanation + alt versions under readmore:

Flats:

Lineart:

Bruce Wayne aka Batman

Emotionally distanced father figure to all of his kids.

Due to his first few children being more or less child soldiers, he sometimes has a hard time recognizing them for themselves and not what they were molded into.

Handles grief by going on patrol more.

Duke Thomas aka Lark

Primary weapon: Modified escrima sticks

His parents were Jokerized when he was young in one of the Joker's senseless attacks. Due to this, he was placed into foster care.

He runs away a lot in order to get revenge on the Joker and kill him. Bruce steps in when he gets dangerously close to the Joker's hideout one day.

Bruce ends up fostering, not soon after adopting Duke, in an attempt to show him revenge is not the way.

Duke ends up training under Batman to more or less channel his frustrations and to learn. He never took on a name but he was dubbed Batman's shadow or Shadow.

He becomes the first leader of the Teen Titans when he is an older teenager.

After growing up and having a less than stellar relationship with Bruce, Duke leaves for Bludhaven to become his own hero. He takes on the mantle of Lark (named after specifically western meadowlark).

Him and Bruce primarily fight about Bruce's inability to be a father and relying on his adopted children to more or less raise each other, causing a lot of in fighting and eventual death.

He struggles with maintaining the hero life, effecting him in his relationships and teams as wears on him.

In addition, Duke rarely will interact with Bruce one on one since Damian died, each time a sibling or friend died he grows more distant.

His powders develop soon after and he struggles with them but learns to handle them quickly.

He becomes a beloved hero and is commonly seen helping the Justice League.

He is a very caring and gentle older brother however he also supports his siblings doing dangerous things since it "builds character" and "we're vigilantes, who cares about laws anyways."

Does not quite agree with Bruce's mission and feels he is too lenient on criminals

Damian Wayne aka Magpie

Primary weapon: Katana sword

Damian was raised in the League of Assassins since his birth. He was given to Bruce in order for him to further his training.

Bruce refused to let Damian go back to the League and takes him permanently. He comes a little under a year since Bruce has taken Duke into his care.

Damian ends up taking up the name Shadow as well while under Batman, training and working alongside Duke.

Struggles finding himself when he only sees himself in Batman's shadow.

After Cassandra is adopted next, he leaves Batman and returns to the League of Assassins in an attempt to understand his place among both family lineages. He tries to reform the League but fails, leading his mother to assume control.

He ends up dying due to Talia, the first of Bruce's children but he is resurrected by the Lazarus Pits. It is unclear who resurrected him however his current goal to is to find out who and why.

He returns to Gotham and takes on the name Magpie (specifically the Eurasian Magpie). He operates generally alone.

Cassandra Cain aka Shadow

Primary weapon: Fists

Cassandra is initially discovered by Minhkhoa Khan (Ghost Maker) after she escapes from David Cain in an attempt to find herself and own path.

Khoa offered to train her and she accepted. However gifted Cass was and how well she fought alongside Khoa, their morals were too drastically different. Cass refused to kill under Khoa despite understanding why he does it.

Khoa ends up realizing Cass is a lost cause for himself and rather than letting such talent go to waste, he takes her to Bruce since their morals align and he can take up such a child.

Cass is then under the care of Bruce however she is primarily raised by Duke and Damian as Bruce still struggles with balancing all aspects of his life.

She is the third adopted child of Bruce.

Cass never officially takes on any name however most people call her Shadow like previous Batman sidekicks.

She is close with Stephanie when she comes into the family both times.

She fights with Barbra a lot, having a complicated relationship with her.

Stephanie Brown aka Black Mask

Primary weapon: Guns

Stephanie is never adopted by Bruce.

She comes to a part of the bat family through Cass. Cass tries and stops her as she is currently going out in Gotham as Spoiler to stop her father Clue Master.

Cass helps her stop her father and is more or less taken in by Bruce.

She ends up training under him and takes on the mantle of Shadow as Damian is gone and Duke has recently become Lark.

Due to simple bad luck, she ends up causing a massive gang war in Crime Alley. All attempts to stop it go horrific, leading her to eventual death by Black Mask.

Steph is somehow brought back to life a few months later (unclear as to how, however it is suspected to have some connection with The Black)

She realizes that Batman has done nothing for change to how he raises children or sidekicks as Gotham is even worse than before her death. She ends up killing Black Mask as revenge, leaving his severed head to be found by Batman personally.

She ends up taking over Black Mask's name and is primarily protecting Crime Alley.

Steph ends up meeting Bruce's newest kid not soon after, Tim, the newest Shadow. However Tim is able to convince Black Mask to reform so Batman doesn't strike down on her. Tim discovers that Black Mask is in fact Stephanie and is able to convince her to not only change her ways but return to the family. She however does not leave the name behind.

Tim Drake

Primary weapon: Bo staff

His parents weren't around much due to travels however that didn't stop Tim from finding his own path. He primarily travels to inner Gotham in attempt to learn more about it's protectors. It's more so a passing interest that leads him to finding out their identities.

Tim notices that Batman has begun to act erratic in Gotham soon after he figures out his identity. He discovers that his second oldest son is missing (currently resurrected by not yet returned) and that his newest sidekick, the third Shadow has died.

Tim attempts to help Batman however in his search to get Batman better without him knowing, he is caught up in a situation with the rouge Captain Boomerang. He flees back to him home but Captain Boomerang follows and ends up killing Tim's parents to get to him.

Batman is too late to the scene to help Tim's parents but saves Tim himself.

He adopts Tim but doesn't reveal his identity. Bruce continues to act more erratic as Batman and Tim reveals he knows he's Batman and needs a Shadow or else Gotham will fall to chaos.

He becomes the next Shadow and soon after discovers Steph is alive as Black Mask. He helps her return to the family.

Damian also returns to Gotham finally, him and Tim however have a poor relationship and tend to have violent fights due to Bruce's differing treatment between them.

Tim ends up taking on the name of Red Hawk when Jason is adopted after him.

Tim primarily operates in Gotham however he is not overly close to any of family members other than Stephanie and Cass.

He ends up spending time with the League with Damian for some time after he becomes Red Hawk in order to find Bruce who is lost in the time stream. He has a strained relationship with the League.

Jason Todd aka Shrike

Primary weapon: Knives

Adopted by Bruce after he attempts to steal the Batmobile tires.

Jason ends up thriving under the care of Bruce and getting to live the childhood he was deprived of. However Bruce is struggling since Jason is the first of his kids he doesn't have help with raising. All of his other children have left the mansion and have become their own heros.

Jason does know that Bruce is Batman after being told by his siblings but has no desire to follow in his footsteps. Steph and Tim, backed by Damian, encourage him to become Shadow to better bond with Bruce but also to help stop Bruce's deteriorating mental state. He begrudgingly accepts.

Soon after he discovers his birth mom is alive. Jason tries to get his siblings to help him with his personal mission but they either ignore his requests or state that he is Shadow, he will be fine.

He leaves without any backup and ends up falling in a trap set by the Joker. He is tortured and then later murdered by an bomb set by the Joker. Bruce is too late in tracking him down and cannot save him.

Jason is later revived by Superboy Prime reality altering punch. He is soon found the League of Assassins and is placed into the Lazarus Pit. He is kept at Nanda Parbat and trained there.

Ra's al Ghul tries to use the possibility of Jason being alive to lure Damian and/or Tim back to the League to be the next heir once Jason is fairly stable.

Side note, Tim and Damian do in fact meet Jason in the League but he has not been put into the pits yet. They are currently there is search of Bruce who is lost in the time stream.

Jason escapes the League and takes on the name of Shrike when he returns to Gotham. Named specifically after the Masked Shrike. The name is chosen because the birds are unassuming but violent and stab/impale things. Jason is primarily proficient in knives.

He sets out to hunt down and either harm or kill each of his older siblings, his anger is directed mostly at them. They were the ones who forced him into the role of Shadow which killed him, they were the ones who didn't help him.

He is captured by Cass, Tim, and Damian and brought back to the cave in order to identify him as he knows their league names specifically which means they are compromised. They discover Shrike is their dead brother.

Jason escapes and they are currently playing a game of cat and mouse as Jason both hates and fears his siblings but refuses to get their help.

Currently is making a mess of Gotham while his siblings try to corral him.

Dick Grayson aka Robin

Primary weapon: Escrima sticks

Most recent of Bruce's adoption.

Was originally the missing son of two circus performers, he was found nearly two years later under the control of the Court of Owls.

He was being trained to be the next Talon was making rapid progression with his training. He was only discovered as the bat family was taking down the last of the Court when he tried to kill them.

Dick was tasked specifically with taking down rogue Talons however, he will take down any threat to himself as well meaning that Bat family in this case.

He wasn't fully turned and the bats were able to get him under control. They learn soon he was the missing circus child.

Bruce takes him Dick since he cannot function in a normal environment. He struggles with the family is more or less terrified of them.

He is very strict and obeys every thing he is told. Damian ends up primarily taking over raising him and getting him out of his conditioning from the Court of Owls since he has a similar up bringing from when he was in the League.

They make progress by allowing him to train among each other. He takes on the name Robin after his parents nickname for him, forgoing the Shadow mantle.

He becomes Damian's sidekick rather than Bruce and Dick ends up mostly living with Damian as a result.

Dick struggles with his emotions and reactions, tending to either be autopilot or an angry child. Damian struggles controlling him but over time he learns to help Dick express emotions in better ways.

Barbara Gordon aka Code Breaker

Barbara is no adopted by Bruce.

Her spinal injury is caused by the Court of Owls (unclear if it was Dick specifically) who harmed her as a message to Commissioner Gordon and Batman to leave the Court alone or else those they love will suffer.

She befriends Cassandra and Dick as a family friend first as Bruce offers to help with all medical costs for Barbara.

She quickly learns that Bruce is Batman and ends up forcing herself into the family to help protect them in any way she can. It's her way of returning the favor from Bruce.

She takes on the name Code Breaker and primarily uses her computer skills to get information.

General ages:

Bruce - 46 Duke - 28 Damian - 27 Cassandra - 25 Stephanie - 24 Tim - 21 Jason - 17 Dick - 14 Barbara - 15

[basilone]

I want to hear your thoughts on fandom and the recent influx of the term content creation!

Well, anon, you are in luck! (Or not, depending on your definition of luck. 😉) I just so happen to have many Thoughts & Opinions™ about this. I will get wordy, this will get lengthy, and I will be social and put most of my thoughts under a readmore cut.

I personally try to avoid the terms ‘content’ and ‘content creation’ when talking about fandom works and a fandom’s creative pursuits nowadays. Occasionally, sure, it happens that it slips out anyway – it’s a term we’re all really used to using! – but I want to be as mindful about its use as possible. This is a personal decision on my account and I won’t get uppity about other people’s use of these terms, though.

But, Killy, you might say... why would you avoid using these terms? For me, here’s why:

Content is not synonymous with art;

Content creation indicates something different than art creation;

Fandom should not be subject to consumerism;

Fandom is about connection.

If all a fandom puts out is classified as content, that fandom is going to die.

Yeah. I know. Melodramatic much? I’m on my fainting couch here, folks. 😂 But let’s dig in, shall we?

You know, maybe it’s just the archivist in me that balks at the term ‘content’. Content is a data entry field in the archival system we use at my real-life job: literally speaking, this data entry field is where we put a brief summary of the document attached to that specific archival file. It contains information that tells you the key takeaways of what the document is about, but it will not contain the full text of the document itself. Content is one of the points of access for our archival search: I know what I’m looking for, so I put a few keywords into our search and it pulls up the relevant file. But what do I need, really need, in my line of work? It’s the document itself, not the data entry field. The document tells me the whole story that I need to be able to truly do my job well. The content-field is a cliffnotes edition of that story.

It’s the same way with the art we create in fandom. I’m gonna take myself as an example here, because I create a fair bit! (Shocking, I know. Local Tumblr cryptid sighting, more at 11. 😎) I spend hours writing fic. I spend hours sorting through screencaps before screeching at Photoshop for a lengthy amount of time. I spend days pouring over quotes, books, documents, photographs, tutorials, and other things that will help me create something cool. I apply color theory, art framing/perspective, narrative focus, and many other theories and techniques to my writing and my giffing. If I were to put my finished work or any of my WIPs in that same archive system, it would be the document within the archival file. The tags I use on my posts? Those are markers similar to the content-field. They tell you who my gifset depicts and from which show it is. They tell you which OC of mine my fic is about. My work contains these things I tagged.

But my creative work is not content itself.

Content is marketable, easy access, blurb-y stuff. Content is something you absorb within one minute flat. Content is the highlight reel. It’s what fills a page, something you’ll scroll past in a heartbeat, something that barely stands out in a long long long list of stuff. Content is what you consume on a lazy Sunday afternoon without ever being forced to read lengthy pieces, take in the details of what you see, pause mid-scroll to ponder the meaning of life, whatever else have you. Create content and you create a flash in the pan, a quick laugh maybe, before it fizzles back out again. Create content and it’s here today and gone tomorrow without anyone mourning its absence for too long.

Art should last longer than that, don’t you think? 😉

So when I see people put a fic request in an askbox and it’s phrased like “Speirs x spy!reader fluff” and that very same request makes its way into about ten more askboxes before the fandom starts comparing asks? I might be inclined to classify us all as slot machines. Put an ask in and out rolls a fic. Who cares which slot machine it came from? As long as you’ve got your painstakingly crafted fics that you consume the same way you do actual content, right? We, its writers, are just lucky if we get a pat of acknowledgement on our little slot machine head for our troubles, aren’t we?

When I see an overly detailed summary of what sounds like a full-fledged fic in an askbox and the demand is “write this for me”, I recoil from the screen and go “child, who the hell birthed you, were you raised in a barn?” out loud. If you can tell a story in the space of an askbox, consider asking for help to let that story – a story you own, a story that is more yours that it could ever be mine – grow into what it has the potential to be.

When I see fics and gifsets and other creations get likes but not reblogs, I mutter something about the state of fandom economy these days. We exist in a little fandom bubble. Our bubble can’t expand or blow from place to place without a little help from our friends. And you’re my friends, right? I know the follow-button says follow, guys, believe me, I’m not that far gone, but for me ‘follow’ means ‘friend’. 💚 You’re my buddy now. Suck it up. We’ll share a can of peaches. 🍑

When I see fics and other creations get reblogged without tags or comments attached, I die a little on the inside. I feel like a little Victorian orphan child going “please, reblogger, a little penny of thought for its creator, if it pleases?”. I feel like commentless and/or tagless reblogging is giving me nothing, nothing at all, about who you are.

And I want to get to know you! I want to know who’s in my notes. I want to know who’s scrambling through my MotA gifsets like a fat little raccoon inhaling its third helping of a box of jelly-filled donuts. I want to know who is adopting which character and why. I want to know that it’s your birthday, or that you had a bad day and needed a pick-me-up, or that you are locked in an Ikea at three in the morning reading my blog by the bright lights of countless Solhetta bulbs. I want to know that you love my OC Darlene but that you ain’t sure what the hell my OC Lottie’s got to do with anything. I want to know what tickles you – a turn of phrase I used, a color in a gifset, a little detail I captured that made me go !!!!!! on the inside while I was creating too – and I want to know what moves you.

What reaches into the soil of your being and nourishes you enough to blossom into whichever lovely self you can grow to be? What is precious to you? What comforts you in the dark nights of your soul, when all light feels like it’s faded out? What do you love, truly love? What feeling and thought and idea and love love LOVE do you consume – truly consume, head to tail, no takebacks – and what are you consumed by in turn?

Let me connect with you. Let me know the little internet scraps of you that tell me you’re a DeMarco girlie, or that you’re here for Hoosier only, or that you’re as feral and batty about Speirs as I am, or that you actually really can’t stand the one dude everyone else raves about. Let me know that you like angsty quotes on gifsets – feel free to yell at me for making you schedule an impromptu therapy session – or let me know you saw what I did in my fic there and you’ll be demanding compensation from me while you lie down and wail about it. Let me know you’re very into those lovely blues on a gifset (I know, SO good, right??) or that you are side-eyeing me because that close-up of your fave turned you into a little puddle.

Let me know what moves you, because I created these things with love. I created them because they moved me, too. I created them because I have a story to tell, somehow. I created them because the whole world is a string of stories and I want to pass the heart of them on to you. I created them not because I want to jump on a hypetrain that races past all the episodes and all the alternate universes and all the stories without stopping, but because I want to soak up the sun and point at something and tell you “look, isn’t this beautiful?”. I created them not because I am looking for a quick fix or a distraction or an escape, but because I want to give you something that nourishes you as it has nourished me.

That’s so much more than that quick flash in the pan, yeah? That’s so much more than what content could ever hope to be. That’s something that lasts beyond the clicks and gives you an ever-expanding horizon that leaves you wondering just what in the world is next.

Let me repeat point five: if all a fandom puts out is classified as content, that fandom is going to die. Because content doesn’t sustain you. Connection does. And connection? That happens with meaningful interaction. That happens when you stop getting followers and start getting friends. That happens when you treat all forms of art as something unique that can be precious to someone, rather than something to like today and forget about tomorrow.

Can I do a lil mic drop? Yeah. I think I’m gonna. Just this once. 🎤

[mintmoth]

Your oc's are so cool!! It's such a surreal feeling to get back into a fandom and wake up up find that one of my favorite artists is also there. Say, quick question do you plan on making executions for your oc's or do they survive? Well whatever you do I hope you'll have fun with it and as always remember to be well hydrated and take breaks, I hope your doing well mint.

BXDISBSK OH HELLA!! Also thank you 😭😭 I'm glad you're enjoying my silly dr2 art and my oc planning lmao

Honestly I was originally planning on having only 2 ocs specifically because I wanted one to kill the other in order to maintain the same group of survivors in the end lmao. I'm still trying to fully work out the setup and inevitable execution because the plot writing for dr2 is really tight and well progressed imo, so I feel like adding anything would weaken it-

BUT I'm also just having fun and being silly so I know it doesn't have to be perfect it just needs to let me have fun really lmao

I'll add a readmore but I'll ramble about each of them a little if anyone has any interest

First up is the first one I made, Haruka (forgive all of their basic bitch Japanese names, I can't do the fun wordplay to the level I wish) they're the ultimate ballerina, and by extension also nonbinary kind of feminine leaning androgynous but can be masc if needed because they can do any kind of role required of them for a performance

When they're tossed into the dr2 mix they'd probably be found being a third wheel to the dynamic duo that is Akane and Nekomaru, since they're also technically more athletic and would be stretching and practicing every day. I want to sit down sometime and draw them and Akane engaged in a flexibility battle and Kazuichi walking in on them and screeching because they look so creepy

Haruka is planned to be a murderer and I'll definitely get some drawings out once I flesh out my concepts for their execution more

Next up is Nao! She's the ultimate sharpshooter and yes that is a little vague but it's because this includes bows and such on top of typical guns. Hell, she probably even does well with throwing stuff if there's enough focus

With the dr2 cast she'd be mostly a friend to Ibuki and Kazuichi, their eccentricities are endearing to her, plus if either of them just want to ramble about something they're working on she's gonna listen for hours. Honestly they're such a movie night squad to me. Also post game I feel like she's like a girl in the same way I still see Kazuichi a guy, like in the vaguest terms cuz they're both just Themselves and are gonna have fun with it now since they're apart from society. Ibuki isn't included only since I feel like she'd struggle less, but this is the bi/pan gender fuckery trifecta of the group to me

Oh yeah and Haruka kills her. I've got the death already planned out and ideally I wanna do a cg style emulation for it but idk if I can swing it lmao I'm not very good at style emulation tbh

And last but not least is Tōru. I didn't plan on her existing so idk how I'm gonna get rid of her in time for the end hmm. But she's the ultimate tattoo artist and has the most fleshed out backstory of the three but it's embarrassing and I know it LMAO

Basic run down- and stick with me here- she lives with family that work under the Kuzuryu clan, so she's done a lot of sick yakuza tats, partially because of her skill and mostly because this shit is so good that her tattoos have like, an "aura" that influences the viewer a little. So these dudes have extra intimidating tattoo bullshit going on- BUT ANYWAYS so things start and she can recognize Fuyuhiko and Peko and knows what's up with them, but neither of them have officially met her so she's like "oh thank fuck they have no idea that I know who they are I'm gonna avoid these assholes like the PLAGUE"

But of course that won't hold forever but it just makes me laugh like chapter 3 Fuyuhiko trying desperately to be kinder to everyone like "yeah, maybe I'll see if you're good enough to tattoo me some day" and she's choking on her drink because Haha About That-

But yeah hopefully I can rope one of my friends into having their oc knock her off because I think that would be funny like, getting down on one knee please kill my oc tragically

[bonefall]

Now this had me thinking... Would Willowpelt die in the same way as canon (although to another creature im assuming since bb!badgers aren't as dangerous as they are in canon)? If she's getting kept around longer, maybe Cricketclaw is the one who sacrifices herself instead? That sounds like a fitting way for her to go, considering she couldn't protect her own siblings?

I feel like I should add a TM to anything that I'm working on in my drafts that has significant progress and is blog-plot-relevant, that will explain something exactly like this LMAO

Forgive me I am, at heart, a bear that eats half a salmon and then forgets I had a fish at all

Willowpelt's brush with death is staying, and is actually a bit plot relevant in Firestar's Quietus! I have a very specific scene which is actually totally written out-- actually fuck it, I'll just post it here

Context and narrative purpose of this scene:

Firestar is informed of a boar on the territory, and gathers a little scouting patrol to try and figure out what sort of hog it is.

VERY IMPORTANT SEGWAY. Because of how Willowpelt gets bitten here and Firestar loses a life saving Sorrelpaw, they all end up in the Cleric's den where Ferncloud is telling a story both to practice her new job as upcoming Educator and to comfort everyone.

The fact Willowpelt is not dead is how I get Littlecloud away from Runningnose and Firestar

Runningnose has a hunch, in this moment, that goody two-shoes little Firestar might be the perfect person to help Brokenstar, and teases the visions and revelations he's about to have

Establishes that boars are the new Big Bad Beastie of BB

Presents Sorrelpaw's epilepsy and demonstrates how it is a danger to her safety

(this is a lot of buildup but this is actually pretty short lmao)

So anyway before I let you go on to the readmore and a preview of Firestar's Quietus, no one takes Willowpelt's death here, and Willow is going to hang on for longer. I wanted to make sure I have a good amount of cats to kill off in the carnage of the White Hart's destruction.

Wherever Cricketclaw dies, it will be for a purpose. Either to show how bloody the TNP conflicts are, or in a greencough epidemic because I'm trying to make sure those aren't just "Kill a bunch of randos offscreen" disease anymore.

WILLOWPELT'S BOAR

The patrol is Sandstorm and Sorrelpaw, Willowpelt, Longtail and Sootpaw, and himself. It's just supposed to be for scouting, hence why the apprentices are coming along.

Unfortunately the hog has other plans, lunging out of a bush and going for Sootpaw

Willowpelt jumps in the way and gets bitten instead

Sorrelpaw acts quick, slashing its sensitive nose, drawing its attention and bolting as fast as she can

RIGHT as she crosses the Thunderpath, her body goes limp and she falls to the ground

She is having an absence seizure, and fallen flat on the road

The hog is hot on her heels, bowling after her, when a monster screeches to a halt out of nowhere

The hog is frozen in the headlights, Firestar bursts into action to pull Sorrelpaw out of the road

(i hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums) BUMP BUMP

The boar and Firestar have been hit by, have been struck by, an automobile

When he sees StarClan, they're about to greet him with love. But their faces turn to shock and fear, the scenery becoming sinister and trees falling down.

A fifth oak tree is crashing down towards them. Firestar stares at it, dumbstruck.

Just before it strikes him, his eyes snap open

Firestar resurrects with a burst of energy, dragging Sorrelpaw off the road and into the safety of a fern on the ShadowClan side

The humans are coming out of the car to examine the boar they struck, but Firestar doesn't have time to consider that or his vision.

Littlecloud's head pokes out of the foliage and he springs into action, checking them both for injury. Breathless, Firestar points behind him and rasps, "Willowpelt!"

Littlecloud nods and bolts across the road.

Runningnose saunters out from a different angle-- one where he would have been able to see the road. Everything that happened.

His gaze is unsettling as ever, pausing, eyeing the leader up and down.

He starts tending to Sorrelpaw, then mumbles,

"Brave of you."

"It's what any leader would have done."

"No. It's what you always do."

Firestar doesn't know how to respond to that, but he's glad Runningnose isn't staring at him anymore.

But continues, "You will learn terrible things in the days to come, Firestar, and StarClan will not answer the questions that find you. If you seek the truth, meet me by the mothermouth on the night after the next gathering."

Sorrelpaw is leaning up now, her eyes dazed and confused, as if she's trying to figure out what happened.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

This one is so long I'm putting most of it under a readmore to save your dash

Anonymous asked:

AITA for stabbing a kid?

(this is less Am I The Asshole and more Was I The Asshole, bc it's really just a story from high school that I - as an adult in my mid-20s - was remembering recently and thought could be fun to toss to The People in as objective of a form as I can. anyways, all names are 100% made up to replace actual names, and everybody involved ends the story safe and alive)

I (16ish F then, 20s NB now) was trying to prep for an upcoming speech and debate tournament (yes, I was insufferable as a teen) with a group of other students in our debate coach's classroom. specifically, I was working with a younger student, Tammy (14ish F then), on understanding this specific type of debate (LD for my fellow insufferable teens out there) and brainstorming with her on some of the main components of her own case. as we were trying to work, another student, Tony (15ish M then), kept butting in to pester Tammy, making it impossible for Tammy or me to focus. in hindsight, I'm like 74% sure Tony had a bit of a crush on Tammy in that moment and expressed that feeling by being an annoying little shit towards her (as teens often do). that was at least how I would characterize the general vibe of Tony's actions and how he seemed to really need Tammy to be paying total attention to him. from my perspective and based on my basically decade-long memory at this point, Tammy (maybe?) asked him to leave her alone. she at least seemed frustrated and annoyed with him, or just generally flustered in a way I read uncomfortable. (take all this with a grain of salt here bc, regardless of how Tammy really felt, I was for sure super annoyed and that fact would almost certainly impact my interpretation and memory of the situation.)

idk if any teen girls out there (former, current, or future) have tried to teach or learn while a teen boy is flirt-bugging you or the person you're with, but it got old real fast for me. so, almost immediately, I asked Tony to knock it off so me and Tammy could work. he refused and kept bugging her. I continued to tell him to quit and he continued to ignore me, and this went on for a while. so, as one does, I figured it was time to threaten him with physical violence. I told him that if he didn't back off and let Tammy work, that I would stab him.

now, to give a bit of context for what the fuck I was thinking in that moment, I had learned a particular lesson earlier in my time as a supposed teenage girl dealing with supposed teenage boys in the 2000s-2010s: don't make threats you aren't willing to follow through on. so when I threatened to stab him, I 100% meant it. to provide a tad more context, I did also have a bit of a casually violent streak in high school for this reason (but maybe those stories are for a different AITA submission at another time, but they were all in a similar vein as this one in terms of cause and severity). also, does it help or hurt to add this was in a rural public high school in Texas? either way. to be fair to Tony, that's still undoubtedly a deeply unhinged and disproportionate thing to actually do, but would be a semi-common hyperbolic empty threat to make as a teen to another teen.

as you can assume based on the title here, Tony did not quit despite these threats. so, true to my word, after us arguing back and forth for a bit more, I stabbed him in the arm with the pen I was holding. he was obviously upset (to be clear, it did hurt him but did not injure him to the best of my knowledge beyond leaving a light mark for a bit of time that afternoon*) and he complained about having been stabbed. I said I warned him repeatedly that I would stab him before I actually did, to which he replied that that was an insane thing to actually do (fair enough, ya know?). the teacher was in the room, but if she saw any of this she ignored it. tbh, I don't see how she could have not noticed a kid loudly complaining about having been stabbed by another kid. so, I assume she chose to ignore it, possibly bc I was a bit of a teacher's pet (ie. president of the speech and debate team she was the coach of (I told you I was insufferable)). actually, now that I think about it, that was not the only time I stabbed another kid in her classroom in almost identical circumstances... maybe we are both TA....

anyways, in conclusion:

reasons I think I'm NTA: he was being an annoying dick to the friend I was mentoring at the time, and I did warn him that I'd stab him if he didn't quit being an annoying dick several times before actually following through (and it was only with pen and did no serious harm, but I think it does still count as assault regardless (?) and also I love the classic AITA storytelling technique of Being Dramatic, so feel free to ignore this point and *any other times I brought up that he was ultimately okay when considering how you wanna vote).

reasons I think I'm TA: I mean... I fuckin' stabbed a kid just bc he was being annoying and I fully got away with it bc the teacher liked me, plus I was a repeat offender of doing lowkey violence like this in response to other kids being Kinda Annoying and Shitty™. pestering other people on purpose bc you possibly have a crush on them is a very normal thing for a teen to do. stabbing another teen with a writing utensil just bc they did so though?... perhaps not.

(also, as an endnote: just to be clear, I do not stab teens at all in any context whatsoever since growing up. out of AITA-writing-character here, I think I was a kid who was just sick of guys around me crossing boundaries and dealt with that in a myriad of very unhealthy ways that were also informed by my general redneck upbringing that - understandably or not - sometimes saw some violence as a valid way to assert personal boundaries if it seemed they weren't being respected. that doesn't make it okay and is not at all a defense against being TA in this story, just trying to assure folks that regardless of whether you think I was TA I am now also a somewhat well adjusted adult who at least channels their overwhelming fury into organizing/activism stuff and mutual aid rather than stabbing annoying teenagers. while this isn't some stressful conflict that I feel torn up about or anything even close to that, I am interested to see what folks think, so thanks for reading if the mod(s) found all this worthy of posting for y'all!)

What are these acronyms?

[kukurykunapatyku]

[I.D.: Drawing of Usopp and Vinsmoke Niji from One Piece. They're both seen from the side, circling around each other, Usopp is aiming his slingshot and Niji is brandishing an electrified sword. Usopp wears sniper king mask, red cape, green pants, brown shoes and blue-white arm warmers. Niji wears black cape with blue '2' on it, blue costiume and yellow-blue boots, he's smirking. /End I.D.]

Vinsmoke shipping week day 4: Red string / Hero x Villain

The neferious Germa group is terrorizing the streets, but fear not, because the great Sniper King is here to save you!

Strawhats are semi-superhero team. Luffy doesn't care about crime, it just happens that bad guys usually target his friends for some reason. Nami somehow convinced him to at least cover his face when they beat up guys on live television.

Niji gets a crush on two people at once and tries to deal with it in completly normal matter - by proving they're actually the same person (he's right).

⬇️Fanfic under readmore⬇️ also on Ao3

Niji carefully pinned the photo next to the others. He frowned, adjusted two more to fit the rest better and stepped back to admire his work. Photos, bus schedules, discarded papers, shard broken off the Sniper King mask, piece of fabric - all gathered together. There was just one thing to do and his board would be complete. He grinned, pulled out a ball of red yarn and began connecting the pins until they formed one massive web of evidence. And like a spider ready for dinner, he finally found that one fly that was pulling at its strings, and come to the single possible conclusion.

"And why, pray tell, do you think one of your regular customers is part of the superhero team? The one that always thwarts father's plans no less?"

"Don't you see?" Niji slammed the board. "It's all here!"

"All I see is an, admittingly ambitious, art project made of coincidences and stalking tendencies."

"Listen, it's too much to just be a coincidence, at this point it's proof."

Ichiji sighed and closed the book he was reading.

"Fine, lets indulge you. What proof?"

"First of, they drink the same coffee - both take exactly two sugar cubes, one puff of cream and two pumps of caramel syrup."

"Why do you know how Sniper King takes his coffee?"

Niji looked at him like he was stupid

"Because I asked him? He's my nemesis, I need to know those things."

"Your nemesis?" Ichiji stuttered. "Since when??"

"About two months ago; we were picking them, don't you remember? You took the witch."

Ichiji tapped his fingers on the table. That didn't sound right, he was sure if something like this happened he would have remembered. If they did it there must have been a purpose, but what? Battle strategies? Did father know? Was Ichiji supposed to tell him? And he picked the Weather Witch? What on earth could Niji be talking about-

Suddenly very tired, Ichiji put his hand on his face and slowly pulled it down.

"Niji. We played 'Fuck, Marry, Kill' about the Strawhats. How did this turn into nemesis thing?"

"Ain't that the same thing? Anyway, we're getting off track." He pointed at the blurry photo of a dark alleyway. "See?"

"See what?"

"Argh, do I have to do everything here? Look, here, it's Sniper's cape!"

Ichiji leaned forward and squinted. True, in the left corner, near the bins, there was something that could be a fragment of red fabric. Or an unlucky rat.

"I followed Usopp one evening and I lost him somewhere here," his finger followed one of the red lines until it reached a cutout of city's map, with big circle drawn in the middle of it. "But I'm sure he didn't walk much further, because he was carrying four of those babies." He tapped on the stock picture of an ice-cream package. "There were other shops on his way and he only stopped to buy them here." Next map had a red cross slapped on it. "Which means he was probably coming closer to home. Other stores in the neighborhood are over there, there, there and there. Since he didn't visit those, he must live somewhere before the road could reach any of them, or he would have just buy ice-cream there."

Niji looked at his brother expectantly. "See now?"

Ichiji blinked a few times. That was impressive recon work, and he could probably agree with him... If he knew what point he was even trying to make.

"So... you think the coffee guy lives somewhere between these streets." He pointed at the marked portion of the map. "But what does it have to do with your theory?"

"Everything! I just showed you, I found a piece of Sniper's cape next to the houses there, it's evidence!"

Ichiji massaged his temples and counted to ten. Did he have to do this? He could just leave. Maybe call Yonji so Niji could bother someone else.

But then, a voice in his head said, you have no excuse if father suddenly decides he wants an audience to hear about another freaking death ray.

If he had to listen to his family's ramblings...

"It's just red fabric, it doesn't necessary mean anything. Plus, your guy could be going to his friends house, or a party. Four boxes of ice-cream is a lot for one person."

Niji waved him away.

"Oh no, I know Usopp will eat it. He once told me he can do even five if he puts his mind to it. Calls it his 'depression repression' meal. And!" He pulled a clipped cloth Ichiji failed to notice before. "Sniper doesn't use any shabby materials! His cape is waterproof, fireproof, really hard to rip and can even withstand acid for a while. And guess what? This piece I took from the alley is exactly that!"

Ichiji sincerely hated that he actually started to consider this. "Still, you can't be sure. A lot of people live there. Plus, if I was trying to hide my identity, I wouldn't throw damming evidence with my garbage. It's more likely, if it even is the same material, that it was thrown there by somebody passing by."

Niji sneered, annoyed that the argument actually made sense.

"We all are hiding our identity; why 'if'?"

"Father's hightech company is one letter away from just spelling his evil codename, we lost a member around the same time Sanji, very publicly, left the family and we barely cover our faces when we go out. Are we hiding our identities?"

"It's different, we're rich. We can do whatever we want and so one will accuse us."

"That just proves my point. I doubt Sniper can afford being find out, so he's probably more cautious handling his leftovers."

"Maybe he's rich too, you don't know that. I mean, he's not since I know it's Usopp, but. Well. Doesn't matter, because I have even more evidence!"

He gestured at another portion of the board, with two papers on it. One seemed to be a photo of Sniper taken in the middle of battle, even more unfocused than the others. The other was a printed selfie of darkskinned guy around 20 years old, with long curly hair and wide smile. But the first thing that caught attention was his- Oh no.

"As you can see," Niji gloated, "they have the same nose!"

Ichiji slammed his forehead on the table.

The twin bang could be heard across the city, in an unkempt apartment (that on paper was shared by five people, which really downplayed how many actually passed by it).

"For the last time Usopp, your favourite barista is not Dengeki Blue just because the hair match!