#he was truly magical and a kind of an alien

[vxnomoxz]

- i love life very much indeed

David Bowie

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Rip Cheato

Debut: Paper Mario

Hello! I am glad you made it. You are just in time, because some guy is here. He's here looking for You! He wants to sell you a Dried Mushroom for 64 coins. Will you buy it? It's not a good deal, but consider this: he has a sort of lamp antenna growing from his scalp. I think that is pretty cool, personally.

He probably makes good use of his lamptenna, since he lives in the sewer. I bet a Sewer Man would know his fungus! Maybe his Dried Mushrooms are impeccable. Maybe he even dries them with his lamp. Don't be judgemental, now. Don't judge someone because his name is derived from "ripoff" and "cheat". Are you the kind of person who would immediately assume someone smells bad, just because their name is Poop Fartley? You better not be. Rip Cheato's name is a little deceiving because while he does sell junk for 64 coins, if you buy what he offers, he'll also sell Star Pieces for 64 coins, and Hoo-Wee! That's a Hot Commodity! I trust him. I think he's just being cheeky for fun.

Name: Chet Rippo

Debut: Paper Mario

Now this guy is whuzzah! What's the deal with this guy! Rip Cheato is weird, true, being strangely human in a game where those are quite limited, but he has a theme going on. He looks like a Sewer Man. Now here we have Chet Rippo, who is some sort of alien platypus clown umbrella? I don't know what he is, but I think it is absolutely splendid. To quote an ancient philosopher:

"Sometimes in life, there is a weird guy." -Opabinia

If I didn't know any better, I might think Chet Rippo would appear from a UFO or circus tent or perhaps a dimensional portal. He doesn't! He just hangs out in Toad Town. He's a weird guy, but a weird guy is still a guy, you know? Except this is no normal guy because he can alter Mario's abilities! For 39 coins he will raise Marios HP, FP, or BP by two points, but- and this is important- he says "heh heh". That means he's shady! For each stat he increases, he will decrease the others each by one!

This makes Chet Rippo far stranger of a guy. Someone in real life could sell you overpriced garbage. But someone in real life altering your stats for a low price? Scary to think about! Imagine someone granting you the ability to remember twice as many bug facts as you currently can, but also making the vision in your left eye worse and making you 25% more sensitive to cold. Frightening magic! But at least the guy doing it is a funny creature.

Chet Rippo appears in The Thousand Year Door as well, but like, does he really? This is a whole different design, and it's not nearly as fun... Eyes In A Void Wizards are fun by default, and so is wearing a barrel on one's head, but this game has a bunch of Eyes In A Void Wizards, and this guy used to be one of the weirdest creatures in the entire game! To hell with this guy. Let's look at his better version again.

Look at him go! Like a flapjack octopus! His arms are even like the fluttering fins! Could he truly just be a big octopus wearing a weird hat? We may never know...

[autistichalsin]

Do you ever think about the fact that Halsin never asks for anything for himself, only for others, EXCEPT for sharing in the player's heart, but he's so used to feeling like he has to be serving the greater good to be "worthy" that he then ends that relationship to go take care of orphans in the end, like it never even occurred to him that he could have both? And how that happens because he has never ONCE been allowed to have both in his LIFE?

Every time he has tried to do something for just himself, it has gone disastrously. He was a young Druid who wanted nothing more than to explore the entire world? He got kidnapped and made a sex slave for three years by the Drow.

Enjoys wildshape? A bear mistakes him for her own and attacks him so badly that he's left with permanent scars- in a setting where magical healing exists!!- on top of his already existing sexual trauma.

Likes honey? People laugh because he's a bear who likes honey.

And this on top of the survivor guilt he has over the Shadow Curse, combined with his desire to genuinely help, combined with how he thinks he failed his Grove, that he was a terrible leader and they'd be better off without him there- of course he feels ashamed if he spends a single moment thinking of himself instead of others.

I've heard a LOT of people who are justifiably upset at the ending and how he leaves, but where they get it wrong, I think, is ascribing selfishness or a fear of actually getting close to the player.

Listen to his voice and watch his face if you tell him "forget the world, stay with me." He says, "I cannot. No matter how much I want to." He WANTS to stay with you. More than ANYTHING. But he has spent so long reducing himself into what he can do for others that he truly thinks it's an all or nothing game, where either he can sacrifice to help others, OR he can be some kind of selfish monster and be happy at the entire world's expense. The idea that he could help AND keep his loving relationship with the player is just alien to him.

That's why the ending needs a way for the player to remind him that he is more than what he can do for other people, and that he can take on all these orphans WITH the player. It shows where Halsin is mentally without forcing them to part ways.

[starsomens]

this is for my ✨ bilingual girlies ✨ I am one which is why this can be grammatically incorrect but whatever

Noah finds your accent ADORABLE. and HOT of course. like, he can listen to you for hours noticing how certain words and/or syllables here and there in your speach sound different from what he's used to hear and it hits the right spot for him;

with that being said, he still jockingly mocks you from time to time trying to do impressions of the way you speak. he never takes it to far though, so it's just an ongoing banter which you gladly paticipate in, intentionally making your accent sound harsher from how you "normally" speak;

and you and Jolly cooperate in making Noah lose his mind with your accents. Hoah goes like "guys, human throats are not designed to reproduce such insane sounds, what planet are you both from?"

you melt when he lovingly says "you're so special, you're out of this world" only to roll your eyes three seconds later when he continues "seriuosly, you're a fucking alien, the more you talk the more I'm sure of it. I won't turn you in though, you're mine now";

he also makes fun of you when you misspell in your texts to him. "darling, are you okay? is everything alright or you having a stroke? should we call an ambulance or an English teacher?":

also, did you know your voice sounds not the same when you speak different languages? no? oh, trust me, HE KNOWS. it never stops to amuse him how suddenly your voice switches to softer and huskier or goes higher and cuter depending of the language. to him it's basically the same kind of "magic" (you call it that) he uses when he sings switching registers, so yeah, your voice is music to his ears. and he loves that more than anything;

sometimes you forget certain words or mix them up and it makes you feel awkward and embarressed. you're afraid that you speak gibberish instead of proper English. especially in front of Noah with his sophisticated way of expressing his thoughts. but not only he ALWAYS knows what you're trying to say, he also makes you feel less in your head about it. for example, he makes up silly stories about him saying the wrong words at the wrong circumstances and embarrassing the heck out of himself (and you're sure it never happened, but he wants to cheer you up so you play along) or he turns your mistakes into something special for the two of you, like an inside joke or a secret code (remember that cringy "I wolf you" line from You? yep, that's what I'm talking about). so when he shows you his new song which is his personal love anthem to you and the greatest thing he's ever written to this day and you say it's terrible instead of terrific, he looks as proud as he only can be and jokingly says he tried his best to make it the worst song in the history of music. from now on all of his song are "terrible". and all about you, of course;

remember when he said that Jolly comes up with the greatest lyrics without realizing it because he thinks in Swedish? same applies to you. it truly fascinates Noah to hear you saying the most beautiful genius things based on some sayings in your first language. he takes inspiration from that and includes it in his lyrics without saying that and you realize it afterwards when you hear him singing it;

he's for sure secretly learning your language just to surprise you all of the sudden. like, you two have a movie night date on your big comfy couch, he brushes his fingers through you hair and says "I love you" in your language and you automatically reply back the same way and then go "wait, did you just..?" and he sits there smiling from ear to ear and being so hella proud of himself, throwing at you one compliment in your mother tongue after another. and you have no idea when or how he managed to learn it all but it makes you love him even more;

which is why the next thing he'll learn from you will be the dirty talk. oh god, help us all lol

ANON SHIT UP RN

COME TO MY HOUSE SO I CAN GIVE U KISSES STOOPPPPPPP OMG MY HEART

So I was born here, but I want to say that, technically my first language was Spanish. I spent a lot of time with my grandmother and I had heard from someone that the way you express your emotions, whatever language you use is your first language, which I thought was a very cool concept. And a lot of times there are words that I don’t know in English so I just resort to Spanish but oh my God literally made me smell so big I’m at work and the noise I let out was crazyOMMGGGGG

I was going to write a small story on this, but you beat me to the punch, but I’m not complaining. I will add onto this later on thank you thank you thank you thank you again.🩷🩷🩷🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[dark-elf-writes]

Percy: *hurt to all hell and using his sword as a cane*

Percy: *uses tattered remains of his jacket to wrap up ludo’s wound*

Percy: *takes up the worms offer of tea because just because he can survive on the water he takes out of the air doesn’t mean he wants to*

Percy: *straight up kicks the doors open for the riddle and looks for the trick step*

Percy: *bobs his head to the all the random singing and doesn’t notice when he starts talking his finger to the beat against the hilt of his sword*

Percy: *randomly announces the castle is cooler than Olympus because at least it has character instead of useless splendor. He thinks it could use a moat though*

Jareth: *deep breath* this is fine. This is so fine. I’m so normal about this.

It’s both easy and hard to pull the boy into an enchantment. Little more than coaxing a single bite of a peach to draw him into Jareth’s power but keeping him there? It is like holding the ocean in his bare hands. Wild and untamed. Sea foam and the scream of horses. A soul never meant to be possessed. A heart Jareth cannot contain forever.

(He wonders, given enough time and devotion if that heart would be given to him willingly. It terrifies him just how willing he is to try.)

Still, the strain is worth it to see the boy at his masquerade. To see him draped in fine fabrics and strings of pearls befitting his status. To see that smile of his catch the many lights bouncing of thousands of crystals and shine so brilliantly Apollo would weep.

It is more worth it to have the boy in his arms, dancing with him alone in a crowd and a sea of crystal glittering like stars.

He is awkward, unpracticed, but he takes Jareth’s direction beautifully. For now. Jareth can feel the growing strain even as the boy looks up at him with wonder and a mischief so near and dear to him it makes Jareth want to bless him, to see what tricks this boy could do if given even a fraction of his power.

Dangerous. This little thing in his arms is so dangerous for all the fine fabric and gems try to smooth his rough edges.

Jareth loves him for it all the more.

“Nice place you’ve got here,” The boy sounds genuine, still grinning up at him. “Better than the last labyrinth I was in anyway. I’ve only been almost eaten like once.”

His hands tighten, drawing the little hero closer to him. Possessive. Protective. A whole host of other alien feelings roaring through Jareth at the thought of him hurt. “An oversight. One that will be corrected.”

The music, his singing, doesn’t stop while he speaks. Percy seems delighted at that little show of magic. It makes Jareth itch to truly dazzle him, but time is short and the tide is already pulling his hero away from him. (No mortal has ever been able to overpower his magic so easily. None have been able to pull away from him when he is trying to keep them. It is as intoxicating as it is infuriating. Jareth wants more. He wants so much more.)

“Nah, I took care of it.” He had, Jareth knew. This little warrior in his arms had the power to fell nations and yet had only caused some minor chaos to allow him to escape. “I broke the cleaner though. I would say I’m sorry but I don’t think you would believe me.”

He wouldn’t. It delights him so much that Jareth laughs.

The swell of the surf grows to its peak and already the illusion is dissolving around them in a wash do salt water and laughter. But he hears the boy still, would hear him even once he was far, far from Jareth’s domain he has been captured so.

“You need a moat. Honestly what kind of castle is complete without a moat!”

[doctorcrowleywho]

December 6. Christmas Cuddles (10th doctor x gn! reader)

25 Days of Ficmas - Day 6

Christmas Cuddles (10th doctor x gn! reader)

Word count -  1537

Warnings - None just tons of fluff

Pairing(s) - 10th doctor x Gn! Reader

Summary - Movie night leads to the cutest moment

Traveling with the doctor made everything a little bit more complicated. There were times that you thought you had died and gone to heaven because surely this wasn’t your life! Surely you weren’t fighting aliens and monsters and everything in between. But, somehow it was your reality and you loved every last second of it. 

You loved being able to save all of those innocent beings, you loved the thrill of running for your life hand in hand with a handsome timelord, you loved the excitement of waking up wondering what new planet you were going to wind up on, and you especially loved your doe-eyed, sticky uppy haired timelord.

That's right you had fallen head over heels with the Doctor. There was something so utterly fantastic about him, that you couldn’t help yourself. He was like the painting museums kept hidden in the very back, not admired by everyone but the ones who saw the beauty in it enough to stay were truly lucky. The TARDIS never took him to where he wanted to go, but only where he needed to go. And, she took him to you- you of all the creatures and being in the universe.  You felt lucky enough that he picked you as his companion, although he would always say that you picked him. 

This was the biggest mystery in the whole entire universe to you. But, you decided to thank your lucky stars she had deemed you worthy of him. 

Your relationship with the Doctor was interesting to say the very least. There would be fleeting glances, small touches, and most importantly…movie nights.  Because, if the Doctor was one thing- he was a sap when it came to seeing you happy.

Nothing seemed to make you happier than having a weekly movie night. A simple time where you two were able to stay in and enjoy each other's company and simply be in the stillness. At first, the Doctor absolutely hated it. He was a time lord for heaven’s sake! He was meant to be running about and fixing things, but you quickly changed his mind. Especially once the Christmas season rolled around. 

There you were in your very fuzzy large hoodie in your absolutely favorite color, or your  “movie night hoodie” as you deemed it. You had made yourself a makeshift fort amongst all the blankets the Doctor seemed to have in his movie room. Even though you’ve spent what felt like years with the Doctor and his little blue box, you still find yourself constantly surprised by new things. The excitement seemed to practically burst out of you as you wiggled in your spot on the very large couch. 

The best part about tonight was that it was your turn to pick the movie. Last week the doctor picked ‘A Muppets Christmas Carol’, which he claimed was an utter classic (and he was absolutely right). It was honestly adorable to see him get so passionate about something for you, something so very human. It warmed your heart to see someone who had the universe at his very fingertips willing to pay attention to you and what you liked. 

Tonight you decided to pick one of your all-time favorite Christmas movies ‘Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer’. This was the movie you were brought up on as a child, and even though your childhood had some rocky patches in it this movie always brought up wonderfully warm nostalgia. 

Slowly your head moved back and forth as the title credits began to play. You could practically feel the Christmas spirit swell up in your belly like some kind of Christmas magic. Funny how pure moments from our childhood can make us believe in magic all over again.

“Please tell me you didn’t start it without me!” The Doctor peaked his head into the room as he carried a tower of snacks with everything from popcorn, candy, and even some perfectly balanced mugs of hot cocoa in his arms. 

Your eyes flicked over to him as they widened with anxiety. “Doctor I swear if you drop any of that-” you sighed as he raised an eyebrow at you before setting everything down on the coffee table. Smugly he gave you a ‘you were saying’ look as you picked up the blankets and he snuggled up right next to you. 

Sometimes you forgot just how affectionate this regeneration of his was, and honestly, you didn’t mind. His ninth regeneration was kind, but never like this. He never curled up to you like a cat desperately seeking warmth. But, ten on the other hand…well he was a completely different story.

“No of course I didn’t start it without you, the opening credits are just a mile long, so I thought we’d get those out of the way,” you said as you kept nodding your head along to the music

“Ah, how smart of you, no wonder I chose you as my companion.” he hummed wrapping one arm around yours and resting his head on your shoulder. When he was this close it made you want to confess every last thing you felt for him. But, something always held you back and you always let it. 

Trying your very best to ignore how fast your heart was pounding you turned your attention to the movie and forced yourself to get lost in it. Everything was going perfectly until- 

“What do you mean they won’t let him be a dentist!” The Doctor exclaimed sitting up straight with concern in his eyes. He looked like a golden retriever who just lost his favorite ball, and it made your heart utterly melt. 

“Well they want him to be an elf just like everyone else is, he has to make toys for Santa, or else no one thinks he’s any use.” you tried your best to explain but it seemed fruitless. 

“NO USE?!?! Y/N dear there’s plenty of use for a dentist at the North Pole! Do you know how much sugar those elves digest on a daily basis?” he said taking a couple of sips of his hot cocoa.

“Oh just watch the movie spaceman.”  you playfully rolled your eyes as you patted the spot next to you again, and happily, he settled back down. This time resting his head in your lap. Oh the things this alien does to you

A little while later you were on the part where Rudolph decides to sacrifice himself if needs be and rescue his hometown. Glancing down at the Doctor a small smile formed on your lips as you saw how intently he was watching the movie. Absentmindedly, you started to play with his hair. Then all of a sudden you heard a soft “Y/N?” and you froze. 

Gently, he reached up and grabbed your hand encouraging you to keep going “No no please don’t stop, I um erm um I like it.” he choked out awkwardly but it warmed your soul nonetheless. So, you kept going and could practically feel him relax into you. 

It was peaceful moments like this with the Doctor that you’d always valued. There was nothing quite like being able to sit on the couch and make the man who always runs relax for a couple of moments. Not every person can claim they’ve managed to tame the Doctor, but you proudly have. Even if it was just a little bit. To you, it meant the entire world- no the entire universe.

There you two laid, a tangled mess of Christmas warmth and love, even if it was just platonic love you were okay with that. For to be loved by the Doctor in any fashion was the greatest kind of them all. As the end of the movie played neither of you dared to move from your spots. Too scared you’d break the magic that seemed to be surrounding you. 

“Doctor-”

“Y/N”

You two blushed a light pink as you laughed at the awkward moment. Slowly, he picked up his head from your lap moving closer to you. His eyes held a mixture of fear, love, worry, and adoration. Somehow you could tell that it was all for you. After a long silence, he finally blurted out something he’d been dying to ask since you bumped into the TARDIS.

“Can I kiss you?”

Without even thinking you quickly nodded moving impossibly closer to him. Your heart was racing faster and faster, and to be honest you were a little concerned that you’d have a heart attack. Then, as if out of a dream, it finally happened. 

His lips collided with yours in a beautiful sympathy, and you knew for sure then that you truly loved him. His kiss was everything you ever dreamed about and even more. Your arms wrapped around his neck as his hand got tangled up in your hair as he smiled in the kiss. 

As you two pulled back for some air you both wore the same dopey love-sick grin. “Merry Christmas Doctor,” you whispered gently.

“Oh merry Christmas my shooting star,” he replied stealing another kiss from you…and another….and another….and- oh you get the point.

[animalinvestigator]

any manga recommendations?

yessss oh my gosh always, gladly. so honored you would ask little ol me about such a thing... i haven't been reading much lately so here's just a little list of things ive picked up in the past few months or things i've liked for a long time..... all of them are on mangadex so just look em up... Im editing this to put them under the cut sorry i didn't do it before ive been on the clock for like 4 hours and im tired Lights cigarette

fool night yasuda kasumi !!! it's currently ongoing and i recently got caught up... if i had to describe it in two words.. "post-chainsawman." it's very similar in a lot of ways, but has very different priorities.. what i really like about it is that it has kind of a tighter focus on the "poverty and capitalism" angle that chainsawman definitely covers but doesn't really devote its full attention to. in a world where the sun no longer shines, plants can't grow, so humans are constantly at a deficit of oxygen... to combat this, government facilities offer a payout to desperate people who can't afford to live if they allow themselves to be "transflorated" -- basically fed on by a magical spiritual plant that will eventually kill them and release oxygen in their stead. one such desperate person undergoes the procedure only to find he has the special ability to communicate with transflorated bodies after theyve passed... and then he becomes a Plants Detective and shenanigans ensue. Super good it made me cry... art is beautiful..... definitely worth a read if youre looking to pick up something ongoing

babel no toshokan by tsubana - stumbled upon this after reading the artist's other work "wakusei closet" on a whim... this shorter story is much preferred and has engraved itself deeply on my heart. a girl with a strange set of beliefs about reality enters a strange relationship with a boy who can read everything that's ever been written just by touching an identical sheath of paper..... seriously so good. give it a go if you want something short and sweet

planet laika & scorched earth of love by mayuri yoshida, this is a short manga and one shot bundled with it that has been one of my favorites for like FOUR YEARS NOW!!! mayuri yoshida's sickly cute animal people + loving intricate lineart combine to create a really unique visual aesthetic. its about the titular laika , as in, the dog launched into space, who has since become the ruler of a planet of dogs, and her plot to take revenge on humanity. also she has a lesbian wife. the one shot is so good too SO DONT MISS IT!!!

anyone who has heard me talk about comics for the past year or so probably knows i've been trying to get Just yknow everybody on earth to read dead dead demon's dedededestruction by inio asano. nothing i could ever possibly say about it could do it justice it's seriously my favorite manga of all time. it's about being in love with your best friend and the end of the world and aliens and politics and the internet and stuff. asano's art is truly breathtaking and unlike anything else on earth, the characters are all infectiously lovable, and it's just like... endlessly life affirming and heals my heart in a way i have a hard time articulating.

and last one... not strictly manga but i have really enjoyed keeping up with wanan's webcomic no home recently... its a long one, but i read about 275 chapters of it in like 3 days, because it's that hard to put down, LOL... extremely inspiring character writing and also just insanely fun, eunyung became an all time favorite character of mine on impact and it has one of those casts where you can't help but have fun watching them be together in literally any situation. it's about a bunch of kids with shitty family situations trying to figure out to learn to live with eachother. its an extremely good example of mundane character drama being written so compellingly that it will make you start slamming your head on walls at work. Speaking from experience.

miscellany... everyone tells you to read witch hat atelier, do it its good... everyone tells you to read dungeon meshi do that its good... Chainsaw man part 2 is getting crazy right now ...... uhhh... i have a billion more so if none of those interest you let me know and i'll share more. thank yew so much for your interest in my opinions and i hope there's something here you can appreciate!!!~~

[alien-hybreed]

Story Master-List

Here you can find a complete list of my monster and transformation erotica that I've published to Tumblr!

You can also find summaries of my Characters on my Character Master-List (coming soon)

Aliens and Extraterrestrials -

They may not always come in peace, but they're certainly out of this world. Here you'll find a plethora of Aliens ranging from the almost human, to the utterly Monstrous.

Overtime: A nine-part series following a group of restaurant employees as their small town is gradually assimilated into an alien hive. Their manager just happens to be the hive queen turning everyone into drones and hybrids...

Contact: He awakes aboard their mothership. They tell him he is special, that's why they chose him to be their connection to humanity. Because he can repopulate their race. But what aren't they telling him?

The Abduction: Abigail's night is ruined. Her heart broken. Walking home late at night, she prays to God for a reprieve from her loneliness. But what answers her plea is something truly out of this world...

The Chimera: Jason has nightmares. So does his roommate Kelly. But is there perhaps a terrifyingly real element to their dreams of Alien abduction? And why are they suddenly so attractive to one another?

Insectoid Infection: A remote jungle planet, an isolated research facility and one very bored, frustrated soldier. But when she encounters an unusual lifeform, she finds herself developing a new appreciation for the local ecosystem...

Revenant: An ancient, alien demigod infiltrates a space station on the fringes of colonised space. The last of its kind, the Revenant is compelled to remedy that. A task it relishes when it imprints on one of the crew and plans to seduce her...

Replication Infestation: You trapped your friend in the room with an alien parasite. You wanted to see what would happen. Now that she has changed, she intends to repay you in kind...

Citation Needed: You know how you find diaries and research notes in a video game that gradually tell the story of how something terrible befell the crew of the empty Research station? Yeah.

The Process: Dreams of alien abduction become a surreal reality for two people experiencing a gradual transformation into alien hive drones aboard the alien ship.

Demons and the Supernatural -

The inexplicable bumps in the night, the entities that exist beyond the mortal coil. Ghosts, enchanted items, the Angelic and Demonic.

The Infernal Coronation: Part of the Demon Queen saga. The Demon Queen Allarielle was once mortal. A Paladin of fearsome remown. Then she was an Angel. So how does something so pure of heart become the Queen of Hell?

Demon Slayer's Descent: Part of the Demon Queen saga. Amelia is a living weapon, raised solely to destroy demonic trespassers and little else. However a chance encounter with an incubus may give her the chance to explore her darkest desires, but at what cost?

The Opening: Part of the Demon Queen saga. A haunted office is the last place you want to be at night. So when Danica and her boss, Glen, are called back in, is it at all surprising they are about to become the pawns of an otherworldly plot?

Ruined: A Relic found in ancient ruins inflicts it's bearer with a terrible Curse as he finds himself transformed into a giant spider-demon. Three women on the same expedition soon find themselves at its mercy, but even if they can escape... will they want to?

Purrfect Match: A late night hook-up takes a supernatural turn when a pair of enchanted collars are worn by a pair of lovers. Transformed into Werecats and compelled to complete an ancient ritual, these two may never be the same again...

Monsters and Mutants -

Not all monsters are born of Magic or in the vastness of space. Sometimes they're creatures lurking in the dark corners of our world or creations of our own science going horribly right.

The Experiment: Ally has been kidnapped. Her memory is shot, she's trapped in some kind of lab and a strange chemical now course's through her veins. But she isn't alone. Someone is in there with her and they're both being watched...

Date Night: It's Valentine's Day and Cam is late for his date. Because something happened to him. Amnesiac and consumed by his instinctive needs, Cam is compelled to make more of his kind.

Sticking Together: An adventurer is lost in the sewerage tunnels and stalked. But what exactly is this slime creature? What possible use could it have for him?

From the Depths: Nobody escapes their past. Especially when it returns from the bottom of the ocean, reborn as an enthralling, predatory mermaid. One way or another, she won't settle for anything less than her happy ending...

The Queen's Pet: Trapped in a giant underground hive, a man finds himself at the mercy of a giant bee-woman. Tormented, teased and coerced by his captor, its only a matter of time until his will to resist her begins to break.

The Willing: A monsterfucker gets the chance to experience her fantasy for real. It's everything she hoped for, it's put a spring in her step, her skin is healthy, people are finally noticing her. But what else is changing? And at what point will it stop changing?

Upgrade: an unauthorised foray into a derelict alien ship sees a pair of researchers hypnotised and converted into androids. But it doesn't stop there, in no time at all, the entire expedition is assimilated and converted... but why?

Into The Meteor-Verse -

Superhero Multiverses are all the rage right now and Captain Meteor? She's the strongest hero there is! Which makes it kinda weird how she keeps failing and getting turned into a monster in every reality she exists in. How and into what... varies...

Lizard Brain: A horrible lab accident creates a monster that only a superhero could hope to stop. But when the mighty Captain Meteor is exposed to the Lizard creature, she finds herself experiencing a change of heart, mind and body...

The Tangled Web: An ambitious anti-hero seeks a forbidden chemical that will give her even greater power. She hadn't planned on sharing it with anyone else, nor had she planned on it having other side-effects. Can Captain Meteor save her team-mates from their own urges while thwarting the machinations of the super villain of the week?

That's a Wrap!: Captain Meteor and Sabre Wulf are locked in battle when an ancient stone statue places a curse on Earth's mightiest Protector! Inexplicably drawn to her former adversary, enemies to lovers isnt the only change Captain Meteor wrestles with as she begins to crave blood...

[a-midnight-rest]

Fixing the T'au empire part 2

So, in the first part I explained how the T'au were fine as they were, because their relatively hopeful outlook on the galaxy shone bright in contrast of the rest of the setting, how that turn the rest of the setting even darker, and how I love the idea that the solution to the Galaxy's problem is a truly different, alien approach to our individualist societies.

However, I have come to realize something, a reason as to why the T'au Empire may not feel at home in the 40k universe, and I thought about it by watching Indiana Jones 4, so sacrifices have been made.

The T'au Empire is not mythological.

The 40k is not a sci-fi setting, it is a dark fantasy setting with guns. And part of what makes the grandiosity of it is how mythologized every faction is. And I do not speak about religion, I speak of myths as in the stories we, right now, tell ourselves are the foundations of the world, the archetypes of what is and is not.

The Imperium incarnates the various mythologies of vast empires. Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, the British Empire, vast swats of lands combining different people united by righteousness and oppression. And also how all those empires fell. It's the idea of "things were better before" (even when they were not). Moreover, the equipment used by this faction is deliberatly old, centuries old, technology is religiously taken care of, weapons are blessed, vehicles are passed down from generation to generation. It is all very old, marked with that myths of the old Empire on its last leg.

The Orks are the Barbarians At the Gate, the savages who relish only destruction, like Attila the Hun, but british. In truth, it's not like barbarians actually existed, those were just foreign countries, but the myth is there.

The Tyranids are the Monsters in the Dark.

The Craftworld Eldars are the Atlanteans, the Utopians, the Babelians, the Old Civilization who fell due to their own hubris, and is now a superior people with no place to call home and no way back their transgression.

The Dark Eldars are the Feys of old, trolls, goblins, fairies stealing children in the night, playing cruel and horrific pranks, eating people. And following them to their home is a death sentence.

The Chaos is the Evil of Man, the primordial sin, the dark part of Humanity that eats itself to death, self destructive and perverse (They should have western dragons, that would fit them).

The Necrons are Death, or at least they try. They are like the Craftworld Eldars in a sense, but in a more Inevitable return way.

But the T'au? They do not fit any myth, in fact they specifically are immune to myths and the Warp. They are no none-sense, they do not play by any rule. As they were written, they would be better as a recurring joke than a faction. Everything about them is bright new, from theme to lore, and it makes them feel shallow.

There is one exception to that, and that is Farsight, who fit the myth of the Virtuous Rebel, an archetype that is not really coined by any faction as far as I know. In a way, he could also be kind like King Arthur, with his magic blade and his knights around him, but the clash of eastern/western reference hide this interpretation of him.

So... how to fix it? Modern problems requires modern myths.

As I said, myths are not about what is actually old, myths are always modern, visions we have right now about the past. So what Myth could fit the T'au Empire? I think we must look to a very modern work of literature: The SCP Foundation. A collective work written like articles depicting how an advanced and secret organization captures, study, and contains supernatural entities. They are much like the Men in Black, or the government in X-Files. They gain they mythology not through what they are, but what they deal with.

I think we should make the T'au Empire's main armies kinda fade in the background and focus on an organisation within the the T'au Empire that would approach the other mythological faction with a saavy appraoch based on tech to contain and use the horrors back at the horrors. A cold scalpel who knows what they are dealing with, knows they are outmatched, and use secrecy, focused efforts, and unconventional tactics to deal with it. The T'au Empire already have the foundation for it, they are technologically advanced, learn from their mistakes, and have authoritarian ruling cast shrouded in mystery.

They could pop up bio/cyber/solar-punks units, highly specialised and modified modern soldiers. Not the WW1 Kriegsmen, not the WWII Cadians, not the Catachan Rambos, not the Angelic Space Marines. People, with modern, recognizable equipment, turning to extremes in order to deal with demons, and civilizations using farming equipment more ancient than their prehistory.

In that perspective, the T'au main armies would kind of become the background, the necessary fight force to win actual battles and hold ground. Their stories could develop nicely on their own until they become established enough to have their own mythos. But the main event would be the Secret Cadre, the Black ops, the Foundation, the Men In Black of the T'au Empire, using not ancient techs and beliefs against demons like the Inquisition does, but developing Reality anchors of their own, sending modified Tyranid viruses into the other faction, using Soul Traps to capture and send daemons to corrupt enemy tanks.

Fire warriors spawned from tyranids biopools, weapons build by engineers trapped in time distortion to produce more advanced stuff faster, ships recycled from Space Hulks...

To mythologize the T'au, the T'au must, I believe, become Myth users to become Myth Breakers.

[haru-sen]

Through the Gates of Horn and Oak

Caught the BG3 Brain Rot AND a deep love of the tieflings, hithero referred to as "my cabbages!" No, seriously, I've been screaming about them like the guy from ATLA.

Anyway, WIP preview, playing with some Tav X Zevlor, which will eventually be some Zevlor X Halsin, and maybe some poly dynamics. Look, I just want to poke sad old men with a stick and then feed them cheese.

This preview has light spoilers for early Act I side quests. I have not beat the game, I'm still in Act 3, so please be mindful of spoilers. This is spicy but not explicit.

“How do you do it?” you grumbled, perched on a crate and resting your forehead on the cool stone table, your eyes closing as you reviewed your day. “From harpies, to bugbear assassins, to evil druid-controlled child-tormenting serpents, how do you keep these people alive? I mean, honestly, Zevlor, I’ve only been at it for like a day, and I’m exhausted.”

Zevlor, the tiefling-wrangler in question, gave a dry humorless laugh. “You assumed it was easy?”

“No,” you muttered. “I’m just gobsmacked by the sheer variety of ways they get into trouble. You have my deepest respect and my most heartfelt sympathies.” You stayed facedown while you spoke, which might have detracted from the authenticity of the delivery, but alas.

About a meter away, Tilses snorted. “Have you met Mol yet?”

“Have I met Mol?” you laughed, and it might have been a sob. “Have I met the future legendary patron of the Thieves Guild, you mean? Have I met a force of chaos constrained in a tiny tief package? Have I counted my purse half a dozen times today? Where do I even start?”

Zevlor groaned, clearly not interested in delving into that subject.

Tilses laughed. “You should have seen the time she-”

“Tilses, it’s getting late: you don’t have to stay,” Zevlor said.

“But-”

“Tilses, it’s getting late: you’re dismissed.”

You didn’t need to use your illithid powers to read the subtext in the room. Small talk aside, Tilses didn’t want to leave Zevlor alone with an outsider. Zevlor, however, didn’t seem worried. It could be that he thought you were trustworthy, but it was more likely that he knew that it didn’t matter if she was here. If you decided to turn on him, her presence wouldn’t make a bit of difference.

You could picture his expression easily, that no-nonsense frown, accentuated by the severity of his hellfire eyes and sharp ridged bones. He wasn’t exactly scary, but he had a quiet dignified gravitas that you and Tilses lacked; the kind of man was used to being in charge. Still, Tilses wouldn’t argue, not with you here.

“Understood, sir.”

Military discipline was a hard habit to shake, or so you heard. You smiled as you as her steps faded in the distance and the stone door grinding open and shut. And then there were two.

“I don’t blame you for Mol,” you said. “Obviously, the circumstances are shaping that one, and it would take more resources than you, me, or the entire Grove has to alter her trajectory.”

Zevlor sighed. “...I don’t think I’m capable of discussing Mol’s future right now.” There came a soft grunt and you didn’t have to open your eyes to know that the tiefling was sitting on the table across from you, just a few handspans away. If you lifted your head, he would probably move away, so you stayed there, the slight dissonance of his aura making your ears ring. You didn’t mind though. Things that might have bothered you a week ago couldn’t really match up to a godsdamned mindflayer tadpole swimming through your brain.

Some tieflings possessed a discomforting presence, akin to knowing you were being stalked by an apex predator, or that feeling of something alien crawling across your skin, or that screaming gut instinct that warned you when truly dark magics were abound. It was an involuntary inheritance, a side effect of being part devil, or at least having their human bloodlines tainted by a Hellish pact. But you knew better than most that biology didn’t override character.

Zevlor was a striking model of an Asmodeus tiefling: deep red skin, sharp features, and a pair of thick black horns twisting out of his skull. From what you heard, that strain got well and truly screwed over by their progenitor devil lord’s plotting.

“Would you like something to drink?” A cork popped and there was the clink of metal cups sitting on the table.

“Is it poison?” you asked. “Because I’ve got some lovely wyvern poison of my own. No need to dip into your personal stores.”

“That would be a poor repayment for all the help you’ve given,” Zevlor said, his tone mild.

You didn’t think he was offended. Hard to say. He was difficult to read, unless you decided to use your illithid powers, but then- People didn’t like it when you did that. You didn’t always like it when you did that.

He poured the drinks, and you slowly raised your head, lured out by your own dry mouth.

Zevlor was standing now, he gestured to the uncorked bottle, which sat beside the cups in front of you, all of it available for your inspection.

“Ashaba Dusk?” you asked, sniffing the common wine.

“It’s not so bad,” he said.

It figured that he liked red wines. You wondered if he smoked a pipe too. “You seem like the type to prefer a Gulthmeran Reserve.” It was a dryer red, complex with stronger mineral taste. Something suited for the palate of a stoic older man.

Zevlor’s lips twitched. “Is that so?”

“Am I wrong?”

“I wouldn’t say “no” to a bottle. But finding one out here might prove difficult,” he said as you chose your cup, pretty certain that none of it was poisoned. After all, they still needed your help dealing with the goblins, defanging Kagha, and rescuing the Archdruid. Logic made rationalization easy, even though you had no logical reason to be here alone with this man.

The wine wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. You drank it though. Today had been long, and you weren't going to turn your nose up at his hospitality.

The two of you finished your cups and sat in an almost comfortable silence. Your shoulders lowered incrementally and you basked in his calm company. You were on your second round of refills before he spoke again. “Was there something you wished to discuss?” he asked, fixing that burning stare on you.

Your stomach flip-flopped, but you just raised your cup and took a drink, buying yourself a few seconds to compose your words. “Just enjoying the ambiance.”

His brow furrowed, and he looked around the cave, clearly trying to figure out what you were referring to. The air in the chamber was cool, there were a couple shelves lined with books, and the candlelight was warm and golden. There were no fleshpits, no bloodstains, and nothing was trying to kill you. Best of all, you could not hear Shadowheart and Lae’zel bickering. To be fair, Lae’zel sniped at everyone, but Shadowheart got so damn shrill about it.

“Look, my...friends are nice and all, but sometimes they’re a bit much,” you said. “I’m taking a break from being mediator.”

“Ah,” he said. He rested his chin in his hand, thoughtfully. “I can lend you the chamber. Would you like some privacy?”

You winced. “No, no, I’m enjoying the company too.”

“I see,” he said, brow furrowing momentarily. He refilled your cup, sitting on the edge of the table farthest from you.

You studied the map of Elturel on the desk, while sipping your unpoisoned wine. And then a thought occurred to you much too late. “Oh gods, I’m intruding, aren’t I?” you groaned. “Look, don’t feel obligated. I’ve found a ton of great hiding spots in the Grove. I can take a dip in the sacred pool. There are some very private corners in the library. Hell, I can even go camp out with Mol.”

“...Don’t do that,” Zevlor grimaced.

“You’re right. She absolutely doesn’t need access to wyvern poison. I’ll go sit with Dammon. Aside from the hammering and the smithing, he’s pretty quiet.”

You’re not intruding,” Zevlor said, forcefully. “My hosting skills are simply rusty. I...welcome the chance to practice.”

“Oh,” you said, a smile tugging at the corner of your mouth. It wasn’t a believable reason in the least, but it did seem that he wasn’t trying to shoo you out. At least, you felt more confident that you were not unwelcome.

Zevlor studied your face. “How do you find Dammon’s company?”

“He’s a good kid and so cheerful in the face of everything that’s happened. I’m impressed by his attitude and his skills,” you said. “He’s helping me keep my tiefling in good shape.” Karlach was a certified badass, but she still needed extra special care. Gods, now that you thought about it, tieflings were like exotic fish, it was a real struggle to keep them alive.

Zevlor nodded. “We’re lucky to have him.” He set the empty bottle down and looked over his shoulder at the worn down storage crates, clearly considering the state of his supplies. He was a lean man, and while the kids were small, it was clear that the adults weren’t letting them go hungry. He likely didn’t have a lot to spare.

“Oh! I’ve got a bottle of Ithbank in my pack – the good kind.” You quickly dug into your bag and pulled it out. You were considering trying to bribe Asterion with it, but honestly, he would probably just turn his nose up at the unimpressive offer. You rummaged around your supply pack and found some cheese wedges, ham, a loaf of sourdough bread, and the treasure you scored while exploring. Looking around furtively, you pulled a small ripe sunmelon out and winked. “I know everyone is eating apples, but I’m sick of things trying to poison me-”

“You’ve mentioned poison very frequently today. How often does this happen to you?” Zevlor asked, looking concerned.

“Well, just this week-” You tried to think back. “The bandits, the goblins, some traps, the swamp apples, Nettie-”

“The healer?” Zevlor sounded alarmed.

“Yeah, because of the whole parasite infection thing,” you muttered, the wine loosening your tongue. Only a select few knew that you were carrying mindflayer tadpoles, and he was one of them since you had to explain to him why you were able to just walk into the Absolute camp without raising the alarm. “Look, the point is, I’m put off apples for awhile.” You pulled out a clean food knife – not a dagger, people applied all sorts of deadly coatings to their weapons – and eyed the cheese.

Zevlor rose and brought over clean plates and more cutlery. There was an economy to his motions, a careful precision to everything, no wasted movement. No tells either. This man tried to keep his cards very close to his chest.

It was very different from the first time you met, when he was shouting orders and coming down from the post-battle fury and the loss of one of his charges. Rage uncoiled all those carefully suppressed feelings and destroyed self control: you understood that feeling all too well. The contrast was interesting, you liked watching him.

You made a nice little plate cubes of cheese and ham, slices of bread, and cut your half of the melon into long wedges. Zevlor made a neat sandwich and chopped his melon into bite-sized chunks. This time you poured the Ithbank while Zevlor watched.

He took a sip. “This is nice. Thank you,” he said quietly.

“It really is,” you smiled, biting into the melon and getting some down your chin. The flavor was honey sweet, the flesh luscious and crisp under your teeth. You happily licked your fingers, slurping down the juice. Fuck, these were so much better than apples, and absolutely worth fighting a bunch of bandits for.

When you looked up, Zevlor was staring down at the table.

“I’m being messy, aren't I?” you muttered, wiping your mouth off. The heady combination of too much wine, sweet melon, and the company was making you sloppy. “Sorry.”

“No, no, you’re fine,” Zevlor coughed and poured himself some more wine, averting his eyes. He carefully bit into his melon cubes. His tongue flicked out and he licked his lips, closing his eyes. “That is delicious,” he murmured, his voice a low rumble, his tail swishing behind him.

Satisfied that he was enjoying his fruit, you devoured your slices too quickly, eating them down to the rind. When you looked up, Zevlor was only half finished, clearly taking his time and really savoring the experience.

“These are better than apples,” he said, glancing down at your empty plate. He speared a chunk of melon and extended his fork. “I don’t know if I can finish all this though.”

A damned lie if you ever heard one, and between Wyll and Asterion, you heard a lot of creative truths. You took a swig of wine and met that burning gaze, your breath catching. “I’ll take a bite,” you said. “But you clearly aren’t eating enough. You really should take better care of yourself, Zevlor.”

You leaned forward, delicately took the melon between your teeth, and pulled it off the tines. You gave the utensil a light parting bite, never looking away from Zevlor’s face.

He swallowed audibly, but his hand did not shake and he did not draw back. He just watched you with narrowed eyes, his jaw clenched, those sharp nails digging into his palms, his tail snapping from side to side. That tension was familiar. You remembered a similar strained look back when he got into a confrontation with that asshole mercenary. Maybe you were pushing him too far.

“Have I offended you?” you asked a little sheepishly. You did just take his food from him while insinuating that he was bad at taking care of himself.

“No,” he said gruffly, his voice an octave lower. “But are you going to claim that you don’t know what you’re doing?”

You smiled, lowering your eyes in amusement. “I’m just enjoying the ambiance.”

Zevlor gave a low exhalation, those orange eyes burning intently as he regarded you. “The situation is difficult enough,” he said, his voice harsh. “Hells, teasing an old man is cruel.”

You blinked. “I’ve seen you fight, Zevlor. I’d hardly call you old.” You met his gaze. “And teasing is only cruel if one doesn’t intend to follow through.” You stood, the wine giving you a cocksure recklessness that you would not possess sober. You leaned over the table, nearly nose to nose with him, baring your teeth in a grin. “I’ll deal with Kagha tomorrow. We’ll figure out the goblins after that. And then, if you’re still interested, let’s do something about it.”

Zevlor stiffened, his eyes widening, his lips parting in shock.

You took a swig of the Ithbank, and slammed it down next to him, lifting one of those calloused hands to your lips. You brushed your mouth against the inside of his wrist and then caught his index finger between your teeth. You sucked it down to the knuckle, tasting the blended salt and sulfur of his skin and the sweet stickiness of the melon. The heat of the digit made you want more than this, but you had to be careful with those sharp nails.

Zevlor’s nostrils flared, those brimstone eyes burning as he gritted his teeth, your name a hoarse curse in his mouth.

“And if you’re not interested,” you said, lowering his hand gently. “That’s fine too. It’s entirely up to you. We can just blame the wine.”

And with that, you turned on your heel and left, before you did something really stupid. It didn’t matter though, the fire was already in your veins and the taste of him lingered on your tongue.

Fic posted on AO3 now.

[scienceandstorytelling]

After seeing @gesamkuns-twerk ’s post about Steve putting his employees in danger I can’t stop thinking about the implications of Steve being a trickster god. He comes off as just this weird funny guy but when you think about it you realize he’s an ancient, borderline immortal alien who survived the vacuum of space and the molten core of the earth. I wouldn’t be surprised if he genuinely doesn’t know how fragile humans are. Even if he’s aware that they’re weaker than him it’s still a very large gap with plenty of room for underestimating our durability.

Slight tangent but I would love to see more of clown society and see how Steve’s general weirdness compares to the other clowns. Thinking about him truly as a trickster alien makes his behavior so interesting. The part where he says “hellooo little boy!” to the guy in the very first episode is obviously funny and absurd but now I’m like. It took Steve 300 years to age from child to young adult(?) and millions of years to age to middle aged. Every human might genuinely be like a child to him. Which just means that this is yet another thing that he has in common with Cesare with both of them being ancient and inhuman, even if Cesare used to be human and is only a thousand-something years old compared to Steve’s billions.

I also wonder how and if the crew rationalizes the magic they see Steve do, because they never seem to react to it beyond an initial bout of surprise and confusion. It might just be for comedic value and we’re not supposed to read into it, but I’m like, what if their brains just go “nope, can’t process that” and sort of censor the memory so they’re aware that something weird happened but they don’t know the full extent of it, like someone being unable to comprehend an eldritch god (which I guess he is). Hence the repetition of “weird vibes on that guy,” even after they literally see him teleport both himself and objects. Or maybe Steve is deliberately doing some kind of magic to make them forget it. Either way, the vibes are all they remember. But I get the feeling seeing Cesare magically slam dunk him is going to stick with them way better. Anyways that’s my borger ramble for tonight.

[izunias-meme-hole]

Top 15 Final Fantasy Villains

(In My Opinion)

Number 1. Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII) - Sephiroth is one of the hardest bosses in gaming and a genuine horror villain. He is a tragic monster born from science, and a loyal “son” fo his alien mother, Jenova, but he’s still scary as hell thanks to his god complex, unlimited strength, ethereal vibes, years of experience, his ability to live off of pure spite just so he can make the lives of his enemies (and Cloud) complete hell. His appearance in of itself is creepy due to how beautiful, yet unsettling it is, thanks to his silver hair, green snake-like eyes, and perfect physique which is complimented by a black coat. However the most dangerous things about him are that he’s completely delusional, his strength is unmatched, and just how far he’s willing to go to distort other peoples sense reality, specifically Cloud’s sense of reality. Sephiroth a tragic character and a phenomenal villain.

Number 2. Kefka (Final Fantasy VI) - Were it not for Sephiroth’s existence, and the fact that this clown’s debut game being at the end of an era, Kefka would definitely be number 1 on here, and get more respect. Aside from that, Kefka is basically what Majora is to the Zelda series. A completely insane, and legitimately funny villain with a desire to destroy everything, however the difference is that Kefka is a mere jester with magic powers that became god! Plus he actually did send the world into ruin, but because of a little group of heros with hope, he was utterly defeated. So while Sephiroth is indeed ethereal, delusional as hell, and a horrifying nemesis, Kefka is the better manifestation of the pure unadulterated evil a person can bring, with the right tools.

Number 3. Ardyn (Final Fantasy XV) - Ardyn Lucis “Izunia” Caelum is the near perfect mixture between Sephiroth and Kefka in a way. He’s got the same “funny man wants to watch the world burn” vibes like Kefka, but he’s also a creepy, vengeful, tragic, and very personal villain, much like Sephiroth. Ardyn was once a messiah, a healer who was going to become a king, before he was betrayed by his brother, Somnus, and the gods, and cursed to be made immortal via daemons. So after centuries of imprisonment, he decides to take revenge upon his own kin, AND the gods. A simple motive, but in all honesty the amount of trolling he does in order to achieve  it, is truly gut wrenching sometimes, and it gives you the motivation to plunge your blade into his chest, but at the same time… you kinda feel slightly bad while doing it too for some reason. He's a villain that you love, hate, and pity in the end.

Number 4. Kuja (Final Fantasy IX) - Kuja is one of the more unique Final Fantasy villains because of his personality. He’s a narcissist that wants to destory, which isn’t new for most JRPG villains, but he’s also flamboyant as hell, and talks as if he’s in some kind of play where the world is his stage. He isn’t funny like Kefka, nor is he as intimidating as Sephiroth, but you can feel that wasn’t the route the writers were taking with his character. If anything he’s a pitiable, destructive, and flamboyant narcissist, but the Dissida series expands upon his character a lot in a way that kinda gets you hooked. So yeah, Kuja is unique alright.

Number 5. Ultimecia (Final Fantasy VIII) - This time manipulating witch is all style over substance, but god damn her style is really terrifying. She also has quite the presence, much like Sephiroth before her, so its not like she's sitting on her ass all day.

Number 6. Professor Hojo (Final Fantasy VII) - Wow, another FFVII villain, and it's Sephiroth's piece of shit mad scientist dad, Professor Hojo. This walking mass of complexes is a perfect example of the "Greater-Scope Villain." Never taking away from the Big Bad's spotlight, yet is responsible for almost half of the shit in the narrative. Though responsible for many things, his most noticeable crimes against nature were his experiments with Jenova, and the creation of Sephiroth, whom he also experimented on throughout his whole life. Pretty easy to see why Sephiroth was doomed from the start.

Number 7. Vayne Solidor (Final Fantasy XII) - A politician who wants to give the freedom of choice back to man, and preserve his family’s status and power. Those were Vayne’s end goals, and his personality is that of the ideal of a politician. He’s charismatic, ruthless, and levelheaded, so he’s surprisingly one of the more sane Final Fantasy villains too, but that doesn’t mean he’s the least evil.

Number 8. Garland/Chaos (Final Fantasy) - The first man to go by the title of Chaos. Jack Garland was seemingly a generic princess kidnapping video game villain, and he was the first boss in the first game. Granted he did have a small bit of backstory that explains that he was a former knight of Corneria who went mad, and wanted world dominations, but it wasn't enough at the moment. A couple of hours of gameplay later, along with some buildup of the entity known as "Chaos," we find out that Garland IS Chaos, and has practically made himself immortal thanks to a time loop he created with the Four Fiends, whom he sent into the future. Granted he's still a very simple antagonist if we're talking about goals, but in terms of how he went about it, he set up a standard for other villains in the series to surpass.

Number 9. Exdeath (Final Fantasy V) - Raw menace, ham and cheese, presence, permanently killing one of the main characters, and THE VOID. Exdeath was just a delightfully evil bastard, and it's all explained by him literally just being all of the evil in the universe that was sealed inside of a tree of all things. Bro really was "born evil."

Number 10. Rufus Shinra (Final Fantasy VII) - This man is the literal definition of a "Magnificent Bastard." Calm in almost every given situation, legitimately intelligent and level headed, smug as shit, and has the occasional "pet the dog" moments. Rufus Shinra pretty much has it all.

Number 11. Emet-Selch (Final Fantasy XIV) - He has gone by several names, led two empires, and lived thousands of lives, one of the most prominent antagonists in the entire game, but this man will forever be known as Emet-Selch, a.k.a Hades and Solus Soz Galvus. While he never appeared onscreen at first, we did know him as the founder of the Garlean Empire, and the emperor in the first 2 parts of the game, until we saw him in the flesh in Stormblood and Shadowbringers, and good lord he's surprisingly good. He does share some of Ardyn’s vibes, but compared to that glorious troll, Emet acts like a worn out and bitter old man, which is very fitting when you remember that he constantly reflects upon his great his old life was, and lived in a replica of his former home with the souls of his fallen comrades. Jesus Christ, no wonder his real name is Hades, the man is constantly surrounded by the dead in both a literal and metaphorical sense. Compared to the top picks he isn’t that great, but considering how well done he actually is, in-spite of how much people kinda oversell him, this is a decent placement.

Number 12. Sin (Final Fantasy X) - Ever wanted to see Jaws in a Final Fantasy game? Well that's what Sin was. Granted, it’s goddamn terrifying, unforgettable, and moves the plot, but it doesn’t really have much to it outside of being this eldirch whale monster that was created to destroy. Still it makes the goddamn most out of what it is.

Number 13. Ultima (Final Fantasy XVI) - Oh god where do I begin? There's a great amount of stuff that the writers of this great game got right when deciding to make their main villain a literal eldritch god, and he's honestly fascinating in some areas. His buildup is similar to Sephiroth's, his terror level is 100% its own thing that's worthy of him, and good god the way he operates is honestly something to behold. Yet he falls off the mark in a lot of ways. He isn't a bad villain, and honestly is overhated sometimes, but good god a fair amount of potential was missed.

Number 14. Golbez (Final Fantasy IV) - The first Darth Vader expy of the series, and goddamn he’s surprisingly good. Keyword good, not great.

Number 15. Caius Ballad (Final Fantasy XIII-2) - Another tragic immortal, however this one is a former time traveling protector. My thoughts on this guy are mixed. On one hand, as the main antagonist of FF XIII-2, he's great on a lot of angles. On the other hand he, much like half of the FF XIII trilogy's cast, suffer heavily from its writing. Still, his stripes aren't unearned.

[buttercupblu]

one day, the clouds parted and an Angel tumbled down, falling all the way from the celestial sphere, but landing light as a feather in a bushel of white roses. she looked up at the sky—brushing off her darkened wings—and with squinting eyes, gazed at a kingdom so bright but so rigid and said with a calm breath, "well screw you, i didn't want to be a part of that snooze fest anyway." and promptly made her own Heavens on Earth.

(in no particular order...maybe)

one punch (OP)

jojo's bizarre adventure (JJBA)

jujutsu kaisen (JJK) (lowkey regret the day i pressed play on this🤭)

record of ragnarok (ROR)

eventually attack on titan (AOT) once i'm finished with it (Levi should've been in the harem 🧍🏾‍♀️)

Angel's Heavens and why she loves them:

🩷Buddha (ROR): this man is my Lord and personal savior—watch ROR if you don't know what i'm talking about. Buddha exudes peace in his every waking and sleeping moment but try him if you want to and earn a first-class trip to Nirvana 😘. his tongue game is BRAZY (you've seen the gif) and he loves to BITE. he makes sure we do yoga together every single morning to start our day and after making sure my back is nice and stretched out, he breaks it 🧘🏾‍♀️. but he always puts me back together with soft coos, humming purrs, and tender strokes. this man is my lock screen, my peace, my husband, my everything. i keep him fed and not just with food; he will never know hunger as long as i am alive 🤍

💜Geto (JJK): mymanmymanmymanmymanmyman. if Sugu asked me to have his kids, i would say "how many baby?" and i am clearly not mother material 🥴. my husband #2 that i would turn my back against the JJK world for in a heartbeat. he could call me a 🙈 and i would say thank you. in all realness, i get geto. i really do. my little alien, my little aquarius, he just wants justice at the end of the day—truly. not power, not dictatorship, just for things to be right, safe. there's something about his maternal instincts that lets me know he would take suchhhh good care of me—he's so careful, so understanding. i'd never have to lift a finger (except when i'm being a brat) and his Suave Commercial locs make me want to wrap them around my fist and pull. he has a face card that will never decline and baby, i keep on swiping 🤧|sidenote: i need his gender pls and ty

💜Choso (JJK): my pookie-wookie puppyboi boyfriend Cho, what would i ever do without you??? idk, there's something about Chosito that sets my motherly instincts on fire 🔥 . i want to love on him, nurture him, care for him, and absolutely reduce him to tears all in the same breath. he's such a family man, so full of love and kindness and security and i adore that about him. my soft and gentle man, i feel like he's a 70-30 sub-dominate switch but gIRL do not be fooled 😩—when that man loses all sense in that cute little pig-tailed head of his, you better have an icy pack and aftercare on standby 🧍🏾‍♀️

💚Josuke (JJBA): oooohmygAWD 😩 what isn't there to say about boyfriend #2, Josuke?? the hair, the moves, the suave looks, the no-bullshit attitude. besides Dio, baby invented jojo-posing like, kneel before your Leo king?? he's so cute and creative and such a quick thinker like omg part 4 had me STRESSED, but he gets his quick wits from his no-good cheating ass pappy 🤭. josuke keeps it real, calm, cool, and collected. he's a bit too forgiving (fk Okuyasu) but that's only because he has a 💗 bigger than his hair, and when im not spending hours styling it and getting him together in the morning, im daydreaming about his love, care, and cuddles i get every night. and if i ever hurt myself, he's quick to heal my boo-boos with magical kisses🤍

💚Narancia (JJBA): my silly little goof ball pup #2, omg he's so precious and innocent and deserves soooo much more 🥺. Narancia is just...pure unadulterated love in human form. he doesn't judge, he doesn't reject, he's a bit quick to anger but it's always deserved because look at him!! how could you be mean to such a precious little thing, he wouldn't hurt a fly (unprovoked). my baby's a little slow but what he doesn't have in genius, he makes up for with his heart. and that boy can dance and dress his ass off, lets fking goooo skintight leather steel-bone corset top 🗣️

🩷Sukuna (JJK): ok listen....hear me out...balance🧍🏾‍♀️. he brings balance. everyone else is muddled and normal, soft, or innocent but Kuna resides in the extremes, is the perfect polar-opposite of Choso, and rounds out the group with good ole fashion discipline 💪🏾 (read Exercising with Sukuna if you don't believe me). he's not my favorite to deal with because the man puts the ass in asshole bUT it's good for my soul to toughen up every now and then. if you want something done and you want it done right, ask Sukuna. he'll grumble and berate you the entire time but sh*t will get done and better than you ever thought it could be. .......he also has 4 arms, 2 dicks, and a stomach mouth—good fkin bye.

🩷Saitama (OP): he makes me laugh, there's not much more to say 🤣. the most normal out of the group and the most nonchalant. Saitama is literally my best friend who never takes anything seriously just like me. our favorite hobby we do together is literally grocery shopping and i will wake my ass up every saturday morning to be by his side as he spends way too much time comparing fruits and vegetables just to get the same things he does every time. he's also the strongest and would deck everyone on this list if it came to it (argue with the manga, not me 🐸☕️)

honorable mention: Levi (AOT) because this short king 👑 cares too much and gives no f**ks at the same time and has the best resting b*tch face/face card i've ever seen 🧍🏾‍♀️

🪽current fav fic written by Angel: God is Fair|Suguru Geto since you were young, you knew you were meant for each other. he comes into your life like a storm and grows closer no matter how distant you seem. he swells and captures your heart every time he's near. so why do you keep fighting him? angel's note: full of backstory, poetry, and tear-your-heart-out angst with one of the sluttiest, smuttiest part twos in existence

🪽current fav recommendation from another author: One, Two, Three (it's not only you and me)|STSG x Reader "what suguru is trying to avoid saying is the whole cliché of 'we saw you from across the bar and we really like your vibe'," the white-haired man says, gaze flickering down your body. he looks back up, making eye contact. "but it's true, so we were wondering if you'd like to join us for some fun," he says casually, blue eyes piercing. angel's note: and it comes with an AMAZING playlist yall wtf 😩🖤

🪽current fav song to write to: Cigarettes out the Window|TV Girl

🪽fav genres: [writing: nasty, slutty, toe-curling smutty smut, thrillers, enemies to lovers, coming of age]|[reading: psychological horror/thrillers🧍🏾‍♀️, silly goofy supernatural/sci-fy like John Dies at the End (an incredible series that will have you in tears from laughter, stg), dystopian fiction, fiction satire, coming of age/young adult, the classics (surprise)]

🪽hobbies: writing, reading, skating, graphic design, being outdoors as much a possible, being at peace

beats me 🤷🏾‍♀️

nah jk.

the real reason will forever remain a mystery, but i think it has something to do with connectedness.

the first major story i wrote was handwritten in the largest binder i could find in the 4th grade and was about fairies with elemental superpowers.

my first fandom was typed out on my mom's typewriter at her job and about 40/50 pages and was about the boyband B5 (shout tf out to you if yk who they are 🗣️).

both of these instances explored hobbies/interests that i was deeply into. i wanted to share my own take on these things that occupied so much of my time with others who also couldn't escape the clutches of favorites and fandom.

i also wanted to "escape" from a life i thought was dull and bland in favor of living in a world that was bright and full of color and literally in the palm of my hands.

now i do it just because i like to torture myself 🤍

i would create an entirely new world if i could, but i'll settle for pouring my heart out on tumblr

💗first and foremost, all of my characters are 18+. i don't really care for writing aged-up minor characters but when i do, it will be mostly fluff but they will be adults at the end of the day, especially when you consider real-world timelines.

💗smut: i know what you came here for 😏. this does include some more controversial dynamics like consensual non-consent (CNC), ageplay, petplay, power exchange (top, bottom, sub, dom, "slave", etc) rough play, but these writings will always come with tag warnings because everyone likes their tea different 😊

💗fluff: ofc everyone loves a bit of fluff. tis good for the heart to remember that you have one (not me though, y'all be safe)

💗angst 😈: there's nothing i love more than stirring the fictional pot. it hurts so good

💗long ass stories that are almost always projected to be under 8k but end up breaching 10k because i have no control over my life 🤠

💗i will write characters outside of my Heavens/top fandoms but i have to be familiar with those characters/show—keep that in mind in case i reject a future request

let's be civil little angels here

🚫hardcore gore/mutilation: love to read it but cannot write it. am baby

🚫unsafe fetishes: i am kink-shaming 💩, race play, STDs (god why does this need to be said), grApe, i n c e s t, necro, actual torture, etc.,

🚫cliche/exaggerated mental disorders: like saying someone who is very tidy has "OCD" or someone with mood swings is "bipolar"; those are incorrect stereotypes AND i am not licensed to give even fictional characters those diagnoses

🚫pregnancy: gasp, ik. but listen, i have no idea what it's like to be pregnant or have kids (other than my stuffies) nor envision that for myself because it does not seem like much fun 😅 and frankly, i don't really care for it as a plot point? i'd consider it maybe for a drabble request but no major plots

🚫anything else i may be uncomfortable with down the line. i don't have a lot of hard nos but people can get weird sometimes 👀

reblogs, likes, and comments = angel kisses and i have soft, plump lips so 👉🏾👈🏾

i'll eventually open up my asks for requests but this gojo fic (teaser here) is balding me and taking up alllll of my time right now. once they do open, i may be slow to fulfill requests but that's only because i care too much about making great content 🥺. until then, you can still blow up my inbox with reviews, recommendations, thoughts, nonsensical jibber-jabber, whatever; Come chat with the Harem

[samble-moved]

(Some of the) Many Lies of Kyubey

Madoka Magica as a whole doesn't always give full detail of a character's life or back story, but one of the more mysterious characters is the antagonist of the story, Kyubey. A supposedly "emotionless and wholly logical" alien who sees humans as disposable, Kyubey is shown time and time again to not only act irrationally and emotionally, contrary to what he and his species supposedly believe in above all else, but to openly lie and manipulate the main cast and other magical girls throughout the series.

Some Kyubey supporters claim he isn't "evil", just entirely unable to understand or feel emotion, thus being so logical that he is cold and uncaring. He thinks only in numbers, nothing else. But not only is he truly antagonistic, he does, in fact, repeatedly show he is perfectly capable of emotions and irrational behaviors. He just lies about them.

I) Kyubey's Emotions

Despite the claim that Kyubey (or Incubators as a species) think of emotion itself as a "mental disorder", or flat out don't experience them, Kyubey tends to show genuine emotion repeatedly. Obviously, some of this is faked for manipulation and blending in with human society/morals and to form connections, but not all of it.

For instance. This goes along with Kyubey being illogical as well, but Kyubey tells Madoka she has enough potential to become a God. But then, when she actually makes her wish (with becoming a goddess/concept as a side effect of said wish), Kyubey gasps and seems genuinely shocked and surprised, if not almost nervous or scared, about this. The transcript for it actually describes the emotion he's expressing as "dismay".

While "fear" can be argued to be not always an emotion (I guess — as you could argue it's more a part of a survival instinct or fight-or-flight in some cases), "dismay" and shock/surprise in this way are.

Kyubey also shows:

Fear (at the end of Rebellion, potentially during Madoka's wish)

Surprise (Madoka's wish, during Rebellion during the LoC secretary reveal parts/when they're breaking out of the labyrinth)

Confusion (Homura's existence as an "abnormality", Homura rewriting the universe, regarding human morals)

Loneliness, if you trust Puella Magi Wiki's article here as a source ("Strangely, Kyubey 'wanted' to talk to Juubey [fake/man-made Incubator]. He wanted to talk to another of his kind, even if it was man-made")

Worry/Anxiety (the whole "we must prevent the heat death of the universe" thing, when in reality that event is billions to trillions of years away — not urgent or soon)

II) Incubators are Irrational - Heat Death and Motivations

For a species and creature who claims to only act with pure, total logic, Incubators actually seem prone to irrationality and overreaction at times. This is shown, firstly, with their main motivation for contacting with girls in the first place — collecting energy to prevent/beat back the heat death of the universe.

Entropy and universe heat death are things that exist in real life. However, these things won't happen for...

Well, the amount of time the universe has before it potentially happens can't even be written out normally.

[Please note that I am a layman, not a scientist, so please don't attack me for not 100% grasping this information.]

On Wikipedia, the amount of time before hypothetical universe heat death is written as "around 1.7×10^106 years", and that's just with the "Big Chill/Big Freeze" hypothesis, the one I believe PMMM uses, and the one (as far as I can tell) is the most probable. The "Big Rip" theory suggests 22 billion years before false vacuum decay. The "Big Crunch" hypothesis guesses at 100 billion years, though this one seems less probable than the former ones.

This means that Kyubey, and Incubators as a whole, make contracts and have caused the horrific, unnecessary deaths of millions of little girls, all because they are worried about something that won't happen for a time so distant and far from now it can't even be properly written out in full.

How is that logical or rational? How is that not considered a major, major overreaction to a species that prioritizes intellect and lack of emotion?

I won't say wanting to survive/live is an emotion or illogical, as almost all creatures have survival instincts and will instinctively fight to live, regardless if they want to or if it's even possible. But being worried over hypothetical heat death in billions and trillions of years from now isn't rational.

If you want to argue that heat death is so far away in PMMM from all the energy Incubators have made from contracting, you're ignoring the canon where Kyubey implies they still don't have enough energy to combat it. That's why they're after Madoka, and still making contracts. Heat death of the universe is so far away that the number of years until it maybe happens can't even be written out, but the Incubators apparently don't think "trillions of years in the future, if not more" isn't distant enough to not be a constant, immediate concern. The fact that they're still contracting and seeking out magical girl candidates to get more energy despite this implies irrational fears, not something that makes sense, like if the heat death was happening a year/decade/century from the present. Billions and millions of years from happening, but Incubators treat it as a constant worry and concern, and believe killing children and ripping out their souls is a rational way to maybe push the date back even further.

III) Incubators are Irrational 2

Despite claiming to be emotionless and only relying on reason to act/think, and claiming to be hyper intelligent an from a very advanced society way beyond humanity's capabilities, Kyubey sure has shown an ability to...not always do those things. He actually has moments of being pretty blisteringly unintelligent.

In Episode 8, he flat out tells Madoka that she has enough magical girl potential to become a God, and easily surpass him in power/influence. He tells her that basically reversing a magical girl contract, something that Kyubey himself can't do, would be "just child's play" to her, and tells her she could theoretically wish to become an "all powerful God".

Except...how is telling Madoka this demonstrating reason?

Madoka doesn't like the magical girl system, which is created and continued by Incubators and magical girl contracts. Knowing this, Kyubey then openly tells Madoka that she can easily overpower him, his system, and become an actual Capital G God.

Telling someone who's against you exactly how they can defy you, alter everything your species has ever worked for, and even easily outmatch you with zero effort...isn't a great strategy.

You can argue that Kyubey didn't expect Madoka to actually do this, but he himself planted the idea in her mind — and, in my opinion, it's highly likely Madoka may have never made her final wish if Kyubey never made this suggestion. After all, we see no evidence she's made a wish like this before. He put it in her head that becoming a God is possible for her. Easy for her, potential wise, even. He said that outright defying his system with her potential is child's play to her.

It's the same thing as walking up to your worst enemy, handing them a gun, then helpfully telling them where exactly to shoot to kill. Then being shocked and surprised when they pull the trigger.

IV) Blatently Lying

AKA "Kyubey doesn't lie", but then openly and obviously lies.

Some people say Kyubey never lies, he just gives half truths. Kyubey himself claims lying is incomprehensible to his species, even. But, uh, that's not true. He lies about not understanding lying. He lies in canon. Repeatedly.

Sayaka asks Kyubey if Witches are different from magical girls. We know that magical girls, basically, are witches. Or, at least, witches yet-to-be. But Kyubey lies and doesn't answer yes to the question, to avoid telling the truth. His explanation is only technically true, but he doesn't actually answer truthfully with regards to "magical girls = witches?" question. He dodges it.

It's claimed he can't coerse girls to contract, but is shown canonically to basically back them into corners, let them fall into life-or-death situations to all but force a contract, and rush girls to contract.

Kyubey also claims he can't suggest wishes, but then suggests wishes to Madoka, as seen in Part III.

Kyubey blatently lies, not denying that bringing a magical girl back from being a witch is impossible, though he knows it is. He answers without actually giving solid answers here. I'm also pretty sure in the final script that the final line is actually "nobody's ever tried it before", and if that's correct, it's even worse — as I can't imagine that not a single magical girl, over millions of years of history, never tried or attempted it. And even if you want to claim him not knowing if it's possible isn't a lie, he's lying to Kyoko about not being able to advise her. He just doesn't want to, because Kyoko trying her plan means she dies, and he gets another obstacle out of the way. A logical, truthful bit of advice he could give here would be "I highly doubt it's possible to do". But he doesn't say this.

Kyubey, the whole of the anime, is constantly and consistently shown manipulating and lying to the girls. But then the next minute claims to not even understand the concept of deceitfulness.

V) Final Word

As Katy @silvermoon424 said, Kyubey is like a "facts over feelings" guy run amok. He claims to be an emotionless creature running solely on rationality and logic, utterly incapable of deceit, but then proves he's lying about all of that. He emotes, he is irrational, he manipulates and lies and all but disproves everything he and his species claim to be with both words and actions.

Sorry that this post is a bit disjointed and rambly. It is based off another similar essay I never wrote/finished, but is also a bit based on this post by Katy that I also suggest people read, as it reminded me of this idea I never wrote out.

[halfetirosie]

✴︎˚｡⋆ I'M not crying, YOU'RE crying! ✴︎˚｡⋆

(Star Message 11 - 14 React-os!)

1) Edmond scaring kids with the intensity of his questioning... 😂

Nah bit, just look at that pretty face! If the kid gets scared, it's his own fault---how could Edmond possibly look scary? My mans ain't even scowling!

2) Ohhhhh, so the metal plate really WAS made by Brahe, then?

Seeing how the metal of the prototype plates were the same, then the message really was from Brahe.....That's a shame; I had hoped that wouldn't be the case, because I didn't want Brahe's bitch-ass son to be correct....

But doesn't this mean that they have evidence of Brahe's intellectual merit?

Even if they never found solid evidence of starscape creatures, Brahe DID invent a new type of sound-record magic circle. (Even if I didn't understand Rei's explanation of it, it's clear that it was more advanced than the usual magic circle.)

3) You know what this reminds me of?

You know how in Minecraft you can find that one disc that has a recording of environmental sounds, and it has a really weird vibe to it?---Disc 13, I think?

That's what this reminded me of... 😅

4) There he is! There's our dude!!! :D

Now I feel like kind of a jerk for thinking that the environment-sounds were creepy... Cuz now that I think of it, yeah, how else are you supposed to communicate with a creature who doesn't speak your language???

5) FUCK, this guy is such a sweetheart!!! (⸝⸝o̴̶̷᷄ ◡ o̴̶̷̥᷅⸝⸝)

He is such a sincere guy... I feel so bad for him, getting mocked by everyone; even his shitty son...

This is so bittersweet.

Sure; in a poetic sort of way, the message did, in fact, arrive in "the right place." It didn't reach the starscape creatures (as far as we know), but it did find its was to Blade/other believers.

This recording is a beacon of hope for people like Blade, and Brahe was truly a pioneer in his area of study.

It just makes me sad that Brahe was so ahead of his time, and didn't get the respect he was due when he was still alive.

6) Dang, so that metal was literally made out of a shooting star?

Does that mean all of the other prototype plates were, too? Are meteors big enough to make that much metal???

I want to know more about the space metal!!!

But anyways, I'm glad Rei had some genuine fun during this event. It's right in his wheelhouse! 😊

7) Edmond, you sly little Tsun-Tsun Cinnamon Roll!!!

I love how he gives professional-sounding evaluations while subtly hyping Blade up!

⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

8) I couldn't have said it better myself, Blade sweetie!!!

Helping like-minded people come together---to realize that they're not truly alone---is what gives them the power to make changes.

9) PFFFFT!!!

🤦‍♀️🤣🤣🤣🤣

Edmond.... My love.....

Out of all the things you could've chosen to lead your message with----

----I just-----

*static*

🎶 We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please wait for us to fix the problem. Thank you for your patience. 🎶

🎶🎶🎶

🎶🎶🎶

*static*

Your character is so consistent, babe, and I LOVE that about you!

---even if your insistence on making aliens follow government procedures kinda throws off the friendly vibes...😅

10) *SCREAMING, SOBBING, ROLLING ON THE GROUND*

EIDENNNN!!!!!! BABYYYY!!!!

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH, BUT LOOK AT YOU NOW!!!!

YOU'RE LIVING WITH A GIANT FAMILY OF HOT GUYS THAT LOVE YOU!!!!!

YOU ARE SUCH A WINNER!!!!

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

11) FUCK, this is SO CUTEEEE!!!!! ♡♡♡♡♡

Back at it again with the poetic endings!

It is so fitting for Blade to carry on Brahe's legacy---now he has another cool hobby to spend his time on!

Plus, considering that he's an e-droid, that means he'll be able to carry out the research even longer than Brahe did, and I think that's pretty damn cool.

Gotta love a happy ending!

🚀 End of report! 🚀

[agitowarrioroftheforest]

Thoughts on gender locked magic. Specifically the concepts of Witches. Discussion of gender essentialism and transphobia.

Ok this is a pretty common thing to run into in fiction. The idea that “Only women can become witches.”

But I have always wondered, but Why though? What is the reason only women get access to magic? What about their soul makes that a thing and why is that gender locked to woman as a gender specifically?

These fictional worlds with such a magic system always come with gender essentialism to me. They were not structured to include trans people. More likely because we weren’t a thought to the author.

Would a trans girl suddenly be able to do magic when she realizes? Would she always have had magic? Likewise, would a trans boy suddenly lose the ability to do magic? Did he never have any? People’s individual transitions are so unique, how would that effect their access to magic and how would that not be exclusionary? What about nonbinary people? What are genderfluid people who are women sometimes going to do? It all gets very complicated the moment you consider trans people and anyone whose gender is not binary.

It just strikes me as gender essentialism to say that only one gender has access to magic. I can never understand what in particular makes a character “worthy” of magic because of their gender, If we are going to look at gender with less binary expectations, then gender locking magic kinda goes against that goal.

Why has this cosmic magic or being that gives magic chosen “being a woman” as their qualifications?

If it’s about the oppression of misogyny, there are trans men and nonbinary people who experience that as well with no choice in the matter of how other people misgender us.

If it’s about a specific kind of physical body or genital, then there is no way to make that not exclusionary. If it’s about the trauma that young girls go through (Example: Madoka magica’s answer to this, where that trauma creates Energy to stop the heat death of the universe.) then that *still* becomes trans exclusionary, because there are people whose childhoods may have looked like that of young girls to society but were not, and were still traumatic in extremely similar, or the same ways. (right now i’m talking specifically about trans men and women who came out after adulthood and didn’t 100% know they were trans as kids. Madoka’s system also has no room for nonbinary people. )

The gender essentialist concept of "women are Closer to Nature and More Primal and have Secret Knowledge" also plays into this, and on top of that being something I don’t believe. I don’t think it’s smart to treat any gender as somehow secretly better than another.

Talking a bit more personally here, I did struggle to come out, and one reason because of people, who called themselves progressive feminists(in actuality this was a mindset from radfems), who treated the possibility of me being a boy as some kind of threat or loss. I’m definitely feminist, I want to make that clear. But I don’t stand for any kind of system that treats one gender as better or treats you as some kind of traitor because you didn’t turn out to be a woman.

I think that is the heart of the issue of why gender locked magic hits a sore spot.

The frustration that the experiences I have had, being treated like facets of womanhood. I know I and people like me don’t fit in magic systems like these, that there just isn’t a place there. So that part is alienating all on it’s own. I don’t have fond feelings for this trope. On top of all this, Trans men just aren’t considered in most media. There’s a sense of invisibility to finding representation. That isn’t just what I’ve noticed. Glaad has some stats laid out.

I feel like i’d be more interested in a world with this kind of magic if the point was about breaking and challenging this exclusionary magic system. Or perhaps, centering a transmasc perspective about losing magic because the system is exclusionary and how truly fucked up of an experience that must be in a society that places your value in magic.

Even in the few cases where a magic system is trans affirming to trans woman, trans men don’t seem to exist in the creator’s eyes. I am not going to name where this came from, but it did frustrate me that in a specific world that called itself queer friendly, cis and trans women and nonbinary people could become witches, but trans men got basically nothing. Didn’t seem to exist. A huge flaw in a world I really wanted to like and now just can not engage in without being reminded that people like me don’t belong. I get enough of that in real life.

My personal feeling is “fuck exclusionary magic!” like anyone in these fictional worlds should have the ability to become a witch. It shouldn’t be locked to a nebulous gendered expectation. (It shouldn’t just extend to magic too. Gender locked hair styles and clothing and pitches of voices in games also fall into gender essentialism. “You can’t be X if you look like Y.” Is exclusionary and transphobic, just on it’s own.)