#but they're civilized you know?

[thebramblewood]

Who wants some Vatore lore? 👀

The library is Caleb's sanctuary. Most of the other gaudy, expensive crap in the house is Lilith's, but this is the one space he refuses to let her touch, as it's where he spends most of his time pursuing his many creative endeavors (he's had about a century to pick up a talent or twelve). His bedroom is more spartan, and it's where all the "shabby" furniture has been relegated, but he doesn't mind. It's also where he indulges his guilty pleasure of watching campy vintage horror movies. Lilith thinks pop culture is a cesspool, so he keeps this activity strictly to his secret "man cave" (Lilith's derisive way of describing it), but that doesn't stop her from giving him shit for it anyway.

But Lilith has her own guilty pleasure in the form of trashy romance novels, so she's hardly one to judge (plus, you know, there's all the ruthless killing and stuff).

[catsconflictscopicsandchamomile]

Me: hey brain, can we think normal things tonight?

Brain: PALEONTOLOGIST!DEAN FINDS AN ANGEL THAT GOT BURIED DURING THE EXTINCTION OF THE DINOSAURS.

Me: *quietly* ...what the fuck

Brain: Dean is working on an excavation in a cave system when he uncovers this. fcking HUMAN BEING WITH *WINGS* AND *TOO MANY EYES*. PRESERVED IN ROCK IN THE SAME STRATA AS THE DINOSAURS. And ofc Dean is really freaked out and scared of this thing, but then he notices that the figure is curled forward over something, and as he looks closer he sees the skeletons of a nest of baby raptors that the "human" figure was holding tight to its chest, like it was trying to shield them from something. And he realizes that this... Thing... died protecting them.

Except the "human" figure isnt a skeleton, its preserved fully in the rock. Or perhaps...

[xi-xi-chen]

[hood-ex]

No because I'm mad at DC for covering up our dysfunctional family rep.

Don't give me this:

Nightwing (Vol. 4) #100

Give me this:

JLA #75

JLA #76

[rhaenin-time]

(usually) white people screaming at me that it's hypocritical to see the nuance in and appreciate Valyria and the Targs (which are always weirdly conflated) because I'm native is just as ridiculous as calling me a hypocrite for watching Magnificent Century or choosing to not (weirdly) single out the Ottoman empire as the one true evil above all other empires in the real world.

Excuse me? They didn't colonize me. YOU did!

[whateverafterhigh]

For the Dark Fairy's role to have been stolen by the Evil Queen then the cursing of Sleeping Beauty must have happened some time past graduation, this makes some sense given that Briar hasn't been cursed yet I guess, and we're given an explanation it all going down on Sleeping Beauty's 18th birthday party, which is also fine.

But given the Evil Queen's age isn't in the hundreds, Briar's mother can't have actually fallen asleep for hundreds of years, and Briar's age relative to Raven's suggests that Briar's mother wasn't sleeping for vary long at all? Briar's parents probably went to school together and their friends are likely all still alive. It would even make sense that this is what happened because it explains how the Evil Queen managed to go an extra eight-plus years until the Invasion of Wonderland until she was actually arrested for interfering with stories; if the outcome of the first time she did it allowed Sleeping Beauty to avoid the actual horror of her story unfolding the way it was supposed to.

But Briar's fears are still based on the idea that her mother did sleep for hundreds of years and all her friends are dead and she did end up being married to a man she had never met before. Which, don't work with the timeline. At least let her sit at a table listening to her mother recount stories with her friends during a dinner party and lose her appetite as she realises she won't be able to do the same because the Evil Queen broke script for her mum and isn't around to break script for her.

Or maybe Briar has heard the stories about how hard it will be from her Grandmother, who only had the two children before her husband died in an accident that may have not been an accident, and Briar can't help but think she might be trying to mentally prepare Briar for the worst even as her friends and mentors brush the stories off as the kind of stories old people tell to scare children.

But you have to pick whether Briar's mother did sleep long enough to get that trauma from her, or if the Evil Queen stole the Dark Fairy's role. Because the Sleeping Beauty story has to have happened before Briar was born, and Raven was eight when the Invasion of Wonderland happened. So every year that Sleeping Beauty was asleep for is another year on top of 8-9 that the Evil Queen got away with interfering with a story before everything with Wonderland. And every year Sleeping Beauty is asleep is another year that every other kingdom has decided to let the Evil Queen carry on without being arrested given no one during that period of time knows what the outcome of the Evil Queen's spell would be when the Dark Fairy's spell is meant to be the safe one. And every year that Sleeping Beauty is asleep for is another year added to the age of all the parents, even if Sleeping Beauty herself doesn't age.

I don't think she was asleep longer than a year at most.

We also know that the Snow White story had to have happened before this as well. So imagine being the newly crowned Queen White, who is eighteen. You've pardoned your step mother for her actions against you because they were made for the sake of the story. She's also eighteen, you argue, and she's married to your dad who may be a good man but is at the very least 36 but probably more likely in his 50s (assuming he didn't get married as soon as he turned 18, and that you weren't conceived an born that same year, supposedly the Good King has a naval career, and you might even have older siblings who would later die fighting your step-mother: someone had to be assumed heir to the Good King's name after all) in what was for all intents and purposes an arranged marriage [I like to think it was a genuine arranged marriage the Good King didn't want but also didn't want to go to war with the Evil Queen's father whoever he may be, but the Storybook of Legends is also playing matchmaker here so].

Then she curses someone who was probably your friend in school.

A fair few people are blaming you. If you hadn't let the Evil Queen run free instead of being locked up, or even killed, for her crimes the story would have happened the way it was meant to.

What else can you do but point out that the Evil Queen is still the Evil Queen, and the spell that put you to sleep was able to be broken with True Love's Kiss. There isn't even a time limit.

When Sleeping Beauty wakes up she's overjoyed that it hasn't been that long at all.

When Briar finds out that Raven's page said she'd interfere with the Sleeping Beauty story as well and Raven is refusing to do it, she might well be angry.

[roomba-mangga]

taking a little break from writing for a few days to cool down the brain but first... yaad&thistle au fic preview under the cut. this is clocking in at 12k atm, i haven't finished drafting all the scenes yet, but i am deeply enjoying this one.

[moinsbienquekaworu]

I just spent like 20 minutes thinking about soup

[acidicpenumbra]

Unpopular opinion, not every ship you don't like is forced!

[bumblingbabooshka]

Tuvok-Chakotay dynamic should have gone from two people who are always poking at one another to two people who are always joking with one another - in both cases this is an unspoken thing. They’re playing a game of chicken that gets steadily less hostile. From “I’m not trying to be difficult here.” (lie) to “I’m not trying to be funny here.” (lie)

[daz4i]

you ever see a callout post or w/e where it's like. yeah okay when i see these (hopefully not faked) screenshots i can see why you'd interpret it the way you did. BUT this is also like the worst possible way you could read it if you don't give op any benefit of a doubt because you already decided they're awful. like sometimes someone isn't evil they're just not good at phrasing themselves and if you dedicated even 30 more seconds to reread what they said without attaching your own expectations you will likely be way less angry about it

[brother-emperors]

I'm so sorry if you get tired of answering asks about Pompey and Crassus BUT your response to the anon asking if Crassus let Pompey get away with things really got me thinking! Specifically about the way that Plutarch (I think?) says that Crassus didn't hold ill-will against Pompey for "stealing" his triumph. And how it feels like Crassus just kind of decided to shrug it off and instead asked Pompey for help for the consulship elections. Crassus seems so ruthless and direct while on the field, and I have so many questions about how he and Pompey worked together in Spoletium which will never be answered 😭 But then when it comes to politics I really can't see the pattern!

oh, I love talking about Crassus (and Pompey too, by extension), literally I can't stop. you can ask several people. I'll be talking about one thing, and all of a sudden: Crassus has entered the conversation. it's terrible, I can't stop. mostly, it takes me a thousand years to articulate my thoughts in any kind of way that makes sense.

I actually think that there are two times that Crassus subtextually calls Pompey a bitch, and the triumph incident is one of them!

specifically in that Crassus's comment about it:

Crassus, for all his self-approval, did not venture to ask for the major triumph, and it was thought ignoble and mean in him to celebrate even the minor triumph on foot, called the ovation, for a servile war.

Crassus is also not the first person to hold this sentiment.

Crassus' Ovation in 71 B.C., B.A. Marshall

I think it's important to remember that for Rome as a whole, the Third Servile War was terrifying because of the scale of the threat it posed to how an imperial wheelhouse running on a slave economy functions, but also because it's really fucking embarrassing for Rome's identity.

Crassus is also not the first person who commands the leading role against Spartacus. Spartacus goes through two other commanders before Rome asks Crassus to enter the scene. Crassus specifically is a private citizen when he is asked to step into this role: up until now, Rome's own praetors and consuls have failed to rise to the occasion.

Crassus' Ovation in 71 B.C., B.A. Marshall

Marcus Crassus and the Late Roman Republic, Allen Mason Ward

this is a deeply humiliating moment for the Roman reputation and identity. Pompey taking credit for Crassus' victory is an expected power grab, but it's also kind of cringe that he did it. Crassus was doing Roman's Duty To The State (or, if you like a spicier take on it, may have pulled strings for it. after all, you can't consider a man rich unless he can fund his own army. and the army Crassus brought with him for this was is own)

and so taking credit for that is like. man. this was NOT a "glorious war" that was fought. (Lucullus cites this as a blemish on Pompey's character during his vulture speech, it's very fun!)

so while Crassus may have realized that writing back to Rome and requesting back up was a mistake because whoever showed up would have the world's easiest time taking credit and accepted that it would happen, I do think that he took alternative measures to even the playing field in a 'okay sure, have your triumph, but don't think you're going to have it all,' kind of way because he also does this

Marcus Crassus and the Late Roman Republic, Allen Mason Ward

Pliny, Natural History 15.125

Gell. NA 5.6.23

Cic. Pis. 58

which does not strike me as the behavior of someone who is letting Pompey just run away with it without any kind of pushback.

and now to throw out literally everything I just said about the Triumph Incident, B.A. Marshall (whose article I've cited several times already in this) has an incredibly compelling case to make that there wasn't really as much conflict between the two over this as ancient narratives might indicate (which. seems to be a recurring theme with them)

Crassus' Ovation in 71 B.C., B.A. Marshall

I will stick to my narrative speculation that some of their respective peers probably thought it was at least embarrassing behavior on Pompey's part, because Lucullus has a lot of vitriol to direct at Pompey, and he does cite this incident as something negative to Pompey's overall character) someone who steals credit and glory from other people). so. hm. I think the assumed personal and periodically biting rivalry (in addition to the usual political rivalry) between the two is extremely fun, but so is. this. thoughts! much to think about.

[kristhekrispy]

heard you have ocs? grabby hands...

EHEH. yeah.......I'd say you heard right. ramble under the cut

okay so most of my ocs come from this story that ive been thinking of since I was. 9? I think? still very much so a WIP though, even the name (Imperium Chordata) is something im working on

The whole plot's about overthrowing this long-lived, tyrannical king but if I'm being entirely what I'm most interested with when I'm thinking about IC is the relationships that characters have with each other, especially the main three characters. Aruna, who overachieves and goes to unhealthy lengths to be praised, Sól, who isn't skilled in what's seen as "useful" but is otherwise very talented, and Piper, who...uh. okay I was TRYING to avoid talking to much about IC's world because it's something very subject to change but it is also obviously impacts the characters in it so

basic rundown is that everyone is some sort of regular animal, like a squirrel, dog, cat...OR they are a mythical creature/monster, like a chimera, kitsune, dragon. idea was that more monster-like people tend to have more access to the world's magic, but that any could possibly have access too. Its not impossible to see, say, a weak or powerless enfield, just as its not impossible to see some magically inclined croc

some people can come into it more naturally, aruna and sól being some such people. others may need to put more effort in, but can still manage. and lastly, some people simply lack the ability to do any sort of magic. piper falls under that last category and it crushes her because, for the longest time, aruna and sól were the only people she could lean on/relate to. not being able to do magic made her end up pretty alienated from the other two. im really not explaining this well. it sounds so much better with the Full explanation. best I can give is that all of the main 3 have an intense need to be praised to feel sure of themselves, and it all comes out in different ways for them. for piper, not being able to be in the same sort of "league" as her two best friends, the two people that know her best...even though she genuinely does not care about magic, she still keeps going forward and forcing herself into it. neither sól nor aruna want her to do all that btw. when they realize that they were unintentionally excluding her and pushing her far past where she should've gone, they did their best to...idk, move past it? listen im getting the chance to talk about ocs im writing this off of pure giddy feeling and only barely making this make sense.

[terrorbirb]

Nothing against low level jobs really, but one of our engineering techs was only a food service worker before this. Like an associates does something for you (don't know if that's what he has even he may be a student) I guess, but no wonder these guys aren't ready for engineering.

[chasing-chimeras]

🐺🐺

Drienne breathed out a sigh, heavy with years of regret.

“I will take my leave now,” she said, mostly to herself. “I simply wished to speak with the two of you before you are killed.” Her eyes moved towards Liam’s leg, revealing that she's been aware of the knife the entire time. “Strike true. You will die regardless, but with any luck you might leave the world a better place.”

And then she was gone; before Liam had a chance to consider the consequences of letting her leave with the knowledge that he was armed. It was unlikely to matter either way. His odds of success were slim to begin with—that much has been made abundantly clear to him—and Drienne’s passionless resignation to her fate seemed reason enough for her to let things play out without interfering. Warning the king would do nothing to secure her station; she would remain unable to bear a child and the king’s gratitude—if it existed at all—would not last long.

“I think she likes us,” Theo mused and Liam scoffed in amusement, despite their bleak circumstances.

He might be right.

[inkdemonapologist]

What do you think would be Escape Sammy and CoC Sammy's opinions on one another? (Just asking because I've recently been through the Escape AU again, and that I REALLY enjoy the Cthulhu AU. You all seem to have a lot of fun with it!)

Oh my gosh….

So first off, before you even get into anything supernatural, this would look concerning to Escape Sammy. Cthulhu Sam is still at JDS and clearly close to Joey; I think Escape Sammy could connect the dots that they’re in a relationship, and he knows that when he was with his own Joey, he also defended his overcontrolling lover and insisted everything was fine. Given time alone with Cthulhu Sammy, he’d try to warn him based on that alone – Joey isn’t good for you, escape while you can, flee the Studio.

The more he learns, the worse it seems –

Joey has a near-perfect Bendy running around, so there must be ink machine experiments already, no matter what excuse they have. Cthulhu Sammy is slightly losing his grip on reality, believes he’s seen supernatural monsters, he’s already tasted the ink and thinks that he can just drink a little when he needs it – and it starts to look like it might be too late. You can’t just stop drinking ink. You can’t.

Meanwhile, to Cthulhu Sammy, Escape Sammy sounds like… Prophet. Poor sense of direction, rambling about sheep and ink and a violent Lord. Like Prophet if he had his own body. Maybe he’d wonder if Escape Sammy was made out of ink – his shirt’s usually open enough that it's obvious he's flat-chested, and with the 4 fingers, like Prophet’s inky body had… well, it would make a lot of sense. But Escape Sammy remembers being made out of ink, and unlike Prophet, he hates it. He believes the ink messed up his head. He fears the god and the religion he once served and urges the others to get out before it’s too late. And I think Cthulhu Sammy wouldn’t know quite how to feel about this person that seems like… well, what would’ve happened to him, if he and Prophet hadn’t been split in two; lucid enough to understand the danger, but forever horribly changed by what he experienced. Would it be worth it, to have to deal with those experiences as only one person, if it set them both free?

If Escape Sammy learned about the Masked Messenger, I think that would be the worst possible thing he could learn. It’s hard enough to remember and believe that the Ink Demon was never a god, just a monster; that there was never a god behind the Ink, only a poison that messed up his mind. An omnipotent, cruel, inescapable being that’s really out there somewhere beyond… that would be his worst fear come true.