#i dont usually feel like i HAVE an allegiance but

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

top 3 yaz lines that make me go oh shes my doctor:

tell me

dont lie

make time

[gingersp1ce547]

Town of fobo is so unbelievably hermitcraft-coded to me

[mtsainthelens]

saw the new hunger games

spoilers under cut

that was pretty bad. there were a lot of things wrong with it so i theoretically have a lot to complain about but it was such a dumb fucking movie im not as energized as id usually be to talk about it. ill be quick

this movie had all the elements it needed to succeed and totally fucked it. the goals:

-create a convincing and interesting backstory for President Snow

-show how the games were transformed into a spectacle 

these goals were made explicit both in the marketing and through diegetic speeches within the movie. the premise of the story is that a young Snow serves as a mentor to a singer from district 12. she is the “songbird” to his “snake”…. pretty natural evolution from there to see how snow can make her into a celebrity and give Panem a good show. that had to have been the pitch to get this movie through the board. it’s a shame the movie just… does not follow through with it LOL. like thats blatantly the direction it seems to be going in for the first part of the movie. but the spectacle aspect gets completely buried because the capitol - who INSTRUCTED snow to make it into a show - keeps snubbing him and keeping him from acting. the “press tour” that was such a big deal in all the original hunger games is like two days in universe and about five minutes on the screen. completely overshadowed. there’s no camp or glamour. snow is just not a stunt queen here and i think that’s a shame. 

ok, so if the movie doesnt really show how the hunger games became a spectacle, what does it show?

i really couldn’t tell you. the games themselves are uneventful. the tenth annual games are set in what’s basically a parking garage, LOL. it’s a very dismal and marvel-esque set. there’s a real sense in this movie that the capital is still finding its stride and that a lot of things aren’t working for it just yet. the failing drones and the awkwardness of the announcer (this version’s caesar flickman) are nice touches, i really enjoyed them. but i dont think “the capitol is still finding its footing” is a good enough excuse to justify how shitty this year’s game was. excruciatingly boring, like they have no concept of history or the standard that the previous movies set. we all remember the clockwork arena.

so it’s not about the games, so i guess it’s about snow and his tribute lucy? 

well that sucks! they’re horrible characters, my god.

lucy is the worst offender. i know rachel zegler was a victim of conservative harassment recently so i feel a little bad to be trashing her performance. i genuinely dont know if its the fault of her or the script, but whatever it is, the effect is awful. genuinely reads like a parody of a wattpad protagonist. we are given that she is a singer. there is no substance to her besides that. she’s corny. she feels out of place in this setting and not in any charming way, its just annoying and off putting. kind of a manic pixie dream girl to snow. i think its very misogynist honestly? dont write women this way, she’s barely human.

snow is easier to watch and a more likable personality in my eyes, but he’s no better written. whereas lucy has no internal world, the inner workings of snow’s mind fold in on themselves. the movie swears that his motives make sense, that they aren’t confused, but they very obviously are. his allegiances and morals change on a dime. they cant decide whether hes sympathetic or if he is a young president snow and he can seemingly only be one at a time. i honestly got whiplash watching it go down. in fairness, its not like the movie doesnt try to offer motivation for the switches. theyre just not very good or convincing and its not enough to make me forgive them.

so the movie failed at what it set out to do. what else did it fail at? what did it actually do well? i will leave the rest of this review to explain, as well as some changes that i would have made had i been in charge.

the bad:

-pacing was off. movie did not need to be that long, many shots went on longer than they had to.

-costuming was also pretty bad. some of the tributes were wearing shein and fake jewelry 

-lucy escapes the arena not only alive but UNINJURED? peeta and katniss didnt get that. she was surrounded by rebar and murder and snow walked away w more injuries than her. insane plot armor. really dumb.

-there was a human zoo in this movie. in general im really conflicted about this “aracial” Panem. i know its a difficult subject to breach and im not sure what the alternative would be, but there’s something really fucked up about seeing a human zoo, a black child being hung, many of the tributes being people of color, and all of this being brushed over as if their race doesnt really matter and theres no larger historical context in which this movie exists. also this movie is loosely set in the 50s/60s. likewise making the Gamemaster a black woman. im not sure how i feel about it but i think more care shouldve been devoted to the handling of race in this movie.

-there are a couple scenes where an old analog tv is playing and its really obvious they added the scan lines in post-production. looks stupid as fuck. you couldve just used an actual analog tv.

-the rabies scene. lmfao. also i dont think thats how rat poison works but i could be wrong.

-a lot of the action sequences are very dumb and dont make sense. they build suspense and dont do anything to overcome it gracefully. this is really obvious when snow is trying to get his handkerchief into the snake pit without being seen and so he just…. walks over and does it LOL. and doesnt get caught or have to sneak really cause of plot armor. the arena has a lot of kids wandering around or hiding in places where it makes no sense for them to be, they kinda just wander on screen when its time for their cue and only get killed as needed, because someone else got their cue. no gravity or substance.

-lucy and snow’s performances arent just bad, they come across as anachronistic within the retrofuturist 50s setting. as my friend said they have “tiktok face”. theyre too contemporary for my taste

-snow looks like a skinhead towards the end and i dont like it

-arena sucked

-the hanging tree scene was soooo stupid. so was the katniss namedrop. made me wish i was watching a better movie.

-the movie didnt deserve to go on long diegetic speeches about its own themes. i guess im glad, cause i wouldnt have known what the fuck it was trying to do otherwise, but nothing that happened in the story supported what they were saying. sloppy.

the good:

-lucy’s dress was very pretty

-huge credit to the set designers who worked on the control room and the capitol. i see the retro futurist aesthetic you were going for and i appreciate it. mostly a good job, im sure if they let you into the arena you would’ve gave us something better.

-hunter schafer really sold it. i loved her performance even with what little screentime she had. brought some much needed warmth and humanity to this empty ass movie. my favorite character, easily. release the schafer cut.

-like i said, i thought the announcer’s performance was pretty good as well. i feel like jason schwartzman had a better understanding of the theme of “spectacle” within this movie than anyone else.

-i guess the lab was cool? the snakes definitely paled in comparison to other mutts in the series, but they were cool enough. i liked the scene where his classmate got poisoned.

-peter dinklage constantly sneaking hits of morphine was funny as fuck. 

changes:

if you asked me the one thing i would change to fix this movie, it would be any traces of the romance subplot. remove any traces of snow being a nice person. i would have preferred the mentor/tribute relationship to be shown as explicitly and inherently exploitative, because it is! you know damn well there was never any hope for them to be in a healthy relationship for as long as snow was loyal to the capitol. and the writers valued this relationship so much that to save it, they had snow rebel? president snow? the love story, the conflict that snow feels, its all so fucking trite and overblown. it didnt need to be there. just portray it straightforwardly, with snow being a charming person but never kind or counterculture enough to really risk lacy over the system. he should have been eviler and more clearly identifiable as his older self, because this version does not cut it. i hate a fake sympathetic bitch

-lacy shouldnt have won. doesnt that ruin the continuity established by the past books? just kill her in the arena. that had to have been in the drafts right? everything that happened after the arena was really convoluted and stupid and failing. lucy dies, wow so sad, i hate when girls die, but i sure did learn about show biz. that was my president snow impression, if you couldnt tell. that was from a better version of this movie.

-it wouldve been cool if instead of lucy being essentially a tiktoker, she had the personality of an early hollywood icon. kind of a judy garland figure. wouldve fit into the setting better and been more original as a concept.

ok end review! guess that wasnt very quick after all whoops.

[fan-clan-fun]

So I know you just got back but you DID say you'd be open to talking about naming conventions and culture so I wanted to get some opinions on my re-imagined canon syatem! I don't have allegiances just a bunch of rambling tbh.

So, I actually changed a lot of stuff for each Clan, one of which being none of them have rank suffixes anymore, and their individual traditions for names largely revolve around belief. Also SkyClan isn't included bcuz in this little rewrite/rebuild thing they basically never existed/became ThunderClan. Anyways let me get going lol. (Note all names still have a prefix and suffix bcuz I couldn't abandon that)

RiverClan: RiverClan cats believe that there is only one kind of spirit, cat spirits, who aid the living with wisdom from their collective experiences, Clan or not. They can't see the future or anything but they are VERY WISE and your responsibility in life is to gain as much experience as you can so you can add to the knowledge and guide your own descendants/Clanmates of the next gen after your own death. Their names change at their own accord as much as they want to rlly whatever they want (with a prefix and suffix) as a way of like storytelling your history and life as you accumulate that wisdom until you feel youve found the one thats perfectly you ig? Like you feel fulfilled in your life and dont need any more experiences to name. So they can have tons of names in their lives or just one or two depending on the cat.

ShadowClan: ShadowClan believes there's all kinds of spirits from every animal, and that their ancestors are there to protect them from the harmful ones like vengeful cats or predators. But they know battle is not easy, and see their ancestors as tireless and admirable defenders. So knowing they can't help directly, they instead use their names as tools to hopefully ward some of them away as a way showing gratitude. Sort of like "I know you are protecting me, but let me do my best to help you do it". The uglier, scarier, and more unapproachable the name the more protected you are against evil spirits and enemies, because they will hear your name and be disgusted or afraid of what it means for them if they come near you. They're given at birth and kept all throughout life unless there's like a major brush with death and then it's meant to act as more of a "I survived this what makes you think I'm an easy enemy?".

WindClan: WindClan is kinda fucked up tbh. They only beleive in one spirt: Clan Cat Spirits. Right to an afterlife is earned, your ancestors are above you, and they are powerful, capable of controlling events. They don't predict the future, they choose it. They make it. And your job is to honor the skills they've given you, obey them, and be worthy of your place among them in death. Your job is to be tested by them with hunger and hardship so they can be sure you are ready for the responsibility of their power. You are what you inherit, that is your legacy. That is what you'll be. None of your skills are yours, they are what your ancestors have graciously given you. Your honor is simply being their blood and your purpose is to use what they gave you well. They're names are A. Inherited appearance traits, B. Inherited personality traits, or C. Both together.

ThunderClan: I haven't actually fully decided what I want for them. They beleive in all spirits, but they think that they each ascend to a higher knowledge at death, being able to have perfect clarity of the future and be free of worry because of it, even if they aren't Clancat or even a cat at all. They act peacefully among eachother and are guides to the living, usually the ones they were involved with in life. They guide and care for you as best they can, and you are to listen, serve their messages, and be something to be proud of the best you can. Originally I was gonna keep them with the original system but I've been seeing a lot of discourse abt it/similarities with it and native american tribal naming so I'm trying to not. As far as I can tell, I'm going to do a sort of nickname oriented system. You don't have a true name until you earn it through a display of skill in service to your Clan and Clanmates. Until then, you have accumulated nicknames from your parents, peers, elders, other Clanmates, and then usually the one name you give out to cats who aren't particularly close enough to give you one of their own, which would act as a sort of beacon name until your official one is earned.

So, basically, I'm asking what you think of what I've got so far, any ideas you might have, any critique, even renames for canon chars, etc, anything really. I really like this but I'm not sure if it's offensive in any way or anything like that so yeah just lmk what u think 💀🙏 sorry this is so long

Very interesting, it seems you've combined how the clans view the afterlife with a direct connection to their naming conventions!

I'll address each one individually, so I can give some basic thoughts.

For Riverclan, while the idea sounds really cool, I would suggest maybe name changes be a little more... Structured? So we already have within canon, name changes happening at various points of time in life. I think it would be difficult for the clan as a whole to keep up with the entire clan changing names at will. Perhaps they have special name change ceremonies, which are based on certain achievements or wisdoms or age gained. It would make everything a little easier to keep track of, and make the names still important, even more so as they are celebrated by the entire clan.

I love the idea for Shadowclan. The other clans think they are crazy for naming themselves like they do, but to them it's just normal. I imagine the clan in general is just more comfortable with morbid topics, and perhaps finds amusement in them. It's a nitty gritty life out there.

Oh Windclans belief system makes me flashback to growing up, wild beliefs for wild times. I do like that their names are very much about inheritance and tradition, so many interesting things one could do with that, so many ways that would impact their culture.

I do think it would be wise to tighten Thunderclans a little bit more, again cause of the same issue for Riverclan. A cat having too many names, or changing them to often would be chaos in a group of 20+ cats. That said, having a name which the clan could call you by, and then nicknames different people use for you individually is fair. Kind of how we have our legal human names, but different friend groups call us different things all the time, in those groups. But still have to have that main name you are known by so everyone else can relate to you or refer to you in some way.

I won't offer any suggestions for canon names, mostly cause this is your system, and I think you have a lot more background information than I do for it. Otherwise, enjoy playing with your ideas for your rewrite!

[singingshutin]

Tales of Arcadia

I'm over the moon right now, thank you Niki! And as for my end of the deal~

First Impressions: Trollhunters, Episode 1

I had absolutely no idea what to expect walking into this, but I was still surprised at the open on a fight sequence and death(?) Bro got smashed so-

WAIT A SECOND I RECOGNIZE THE KID IN THE BLUE (my brother has watched Trollhunters, but I didn't make the connection between blue baby boy and this)

We love a Ratatouille moment. Mans is vibing in the kitchen.

I don't trust the teacher. Nice high school teachers in shows are always faking it. I'll eat my hat if I'm wrong.

Not gonna lie, the stool bit in the teacher's office had me aww'ing. Jimbo is a sweetheart.

The armor is siiiiiiiiick. It's giving me King Arthur and Tron at the same time.

YUP I KNEW IT I DON'T HAVE TO EAT MY HAT

First Impressions: Trollhunters, Episode 2

Between Deathblade and Snipersnake, Deathblade is cooler.

OOOOOOOOHHHHHH THE BIG ONE WITH GREEN HAIR HAS A TAIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL I LOVE IT

Auditions, my dude. I feel the awkward back from high school.

THE BAD GUY HAS AN EVEN BIGGER TAIL NOW I DONT KNOW WHERE MY ALLEGIANCES LIE

"I'll drink your blood out of a goblet made of your skull" is this TV-Y7?

Overall Thoughts:

I usually don't spring for plot-based shows (I tend to go for episodic mayhem), but I'm intrigued. Jimbo's a good kid and Toby is a funny little man, quick on the draw with come-backs. Claire's had, like, three lines, but so far she seems genuinely nice. If I had to pick a favorite character so early in the game, I think I'd go with Jimbo or Blinky. I will definitely continue watching (and considering how long my nail polish is taking to dry, I may update this post later lol).

[angstyaches]

for the halloween drabbles thing, idk which characters you were thinking of but elliot and felix are my absolute faves, so maybe felix persuading elliot to go do some halloween stuff with him, they get a lot of candy, elliot cant really eat it bc of his extra vampire-ness but doesnt want to disappoint felix so eats some and gets sick? or something like that lol.

p.s. dont be disheartened, i cant like your posts bc non-kink blog but i periodically check your blog for new stories and i love them all!

Okay, I could absolutely see this happening as soon as I read the prompt, and I wish I'd given myself more time to properly work on it. He'd eat because Felix had gone to the effort of preparing everything, plus he'd been conscious of the fact that someone might notice him not eating.

The last few weeks have been a bit draining, and I thought I could bang something out, but all I've got is a snippet of the aftermath of this scenario. I just wanted to get something out before Halloween ended in the US, where I know most of you guys probably are.

Happy Halloween! Hopefully I'll be in a better head space to write requests soon.

Word Count: 443

CW: food intolerance/ingested food indigestible by species, stomach pains, vomit, slight emetophilia mention.

___

“What were you thinking?” Felix sighed, stooping down somewhere just beyond Elliott’s peripheral vision. His voice sounded like it was coming from behind a wall, and not directly beside him.

The only reply Elliott could give was a deep, guttural retch that could probably have been heard from inside the house. His eyes rolled back slightly as he leaned over the edge of Nancy’s flower bed and waited for something to come up, but his throat just constricted around nothing, like it was being squeezed by a fist.

Felix’s hand came to rest on Elliott’s back, gentle and tentative, like a whisper. Elliott shivered at the touch, though part of him was grateful for the attempted comfort. His own hands were braced against his knees as he squatted, almost curling up in a ball under the force of the pain that was ripping through his belly. It was a wonder he'd managed to run away from the party and make it to the back garden at all. For some reason, he hadn't thought of running to a toilet, even though that would have been closer.

The garden just felt more private.

“Everyone else was… eating,” he grunted, squeezing his eyes shut and huffing deeply through his mouth to try to ride out the ache. He swayed a bit, almost losing his balance as he teetered on the balls of his feet.

Felix blew softly through his lips. “If everyone had been swearing allegiance to a pair of sweaty socks, would you have done that, too?”

“Fuck –” Elliott lurched forward, a mouthful of his stomach contents sloshing loudly from his stomach to his throat, gurgling as it splashed out into the flowerbed.

Chest burning, Elliott just about heard Felix muttering, “Nancy’s going to lose her mind”, and he had to resist the urge to snap and tell him to shut up about Nancy’s flowers. Instead, he gathered his breath, turned his face halfway around to look at Felix, and whispered, “It really hurts.”

The devastation on Felix’s face could have been bottled and distributed. He’d tied his hair up higher than he usually did and was wearing about twenty hairclips of Sanrio characters and Pokemon for his kawaii zombie costume. The makeup on his face was smudged from where he’d inevitably rubbed at his eyes during the evening.

“Oh, darling,” he murmured, his voice higher than it’d been before. “I’m so sorry if I made you feel pressured to eat anything. I’m sure no one would have noticed, if that's what you were worried ab–”

He was cut off by the splashing sound of even more vomit cascading past Elliott’s lips. Tears streamed down his face as his internal organs spasmed and groaned. Throwing up was one of the most unpleasant experiences for Elliott, but right then, he couldn’t wait to throw up even more, and relieve himself of the feeling of his body fighting everything he’d put past his lips that evening.

[dystopiandramaqueen]

Nick and Lawrence S4E3 25:52

YES this is a spoiler go away if you dont want that.

Thoughts on this scene ONLY.

-Nick's June Saving Technique #1: call in a favor. I have a feeling Nick has always operated this way in the shadows. Getting June to the Boston Globe, for example. But the fact that he is helping June now from within the Gilead ranks- is potent. His mission hasn't changed, even if his status and power have. He still calls in favors, bends rules, makes veiled threats to save her and ease her suffering in any way he can. I am SO GLAD WE ARE FINALLY SEEING IT.

-Technique #1 doesn't work surprisingly. Usually, when you save someone from a grisly horrible death, they feel some allegiance and debt to you. Not Lawrence.

-Note this is a formal conversation. Over bourbon in the study. They way Fred congratulated Nick on his marriage. It's both an intimate moment, off the books, when men can speak freely, but also where real binding business is done. This isn't some rushed chance hallway encounter. This isn't a phone call. This is chess. The outcome matters.

-Note Nick isn't drinking. He had a sip as a formality. But his stomach is churning and he's in straight business mode.

-This is the most Nick has ever talked it's overwhelming in a good way.

-Max is in his fucking element man, this is POLISHED.

-Technique #2: Remind person of Hope / Love / Rebellion. Lawrence doesn't crack here either. IDK it's not a great look. But I suppose maybe Gilead has broken him down too far to remember hope or love. And he certainly isn't gonna rebel again.

-"I know Osblaine isn't endgame, I just want her to stay alive." This is like- Nick's motivation in one sentence. When he looked at her thru the window at the end of S2. When he got her out at the end of S1. He never expected to end up with her. He just wants to keep her alive. Like he said at the Boston Globe. We need to make this into a T-shirt for Nick to wear. Or a button he can point to.

-"I can't move on. I can't" Max you are literally killing me this is like- the most beautiful moment dude. The soft broken voice. The shimmering eyes. He can't even playfully pretend he could one day move on from the love that changed his life. Nope. Can't even say it.

-When calling in the favor doesn't work, and appealing to Lawrence's memory of love doesn't work? Threats. Bc !dark Nick, !commander Nick is a fucking BOSS now. So fuck you, Lawrence. Save my girlfriend or find a new house. He doesnt take no for an answer.

-THE BIG DICK ENERGY IN THIS SCENE IS OFF THE CHARTS FOLKS. HERE FOR IT.

[zettaiunmeis]

HI THANKS TO @raventrigonsdaughter LETTING ME KNOW THAT OG GAME CARMEN AND JULIA USED TO BE PARTNERS BEFORE CARMEN WENT ROGUE, LET ME PROPOSE: VILE!JULIA.

details under the cut because this got Long

jules is part of the either the same class the ~infamous~ black sheep

and they don’t? really like each other? like julia is still kinda Serious and she doesnt really appreciate the vile squad goofing around and tossing water balloons or whatever and black sheep finds julia a little too uptight even if she’s interested in a lot of the same things (history, etc.)

black sheep’s speciality is Being SLick, as we know, but julia’s is patterns (and also historical artifacts)

ok but the important part of this is that bc julia’s is patterns, she ends up being like a scout or smth along those lines bc she can analyse patterns and report back to help plan the caper

and that basically means that when she graduates, she ends up in far more long cons than any of the others

anyway, after black sheep gets in trouble for the water balloon thing, the faculty decide she’s far too mischievous, and so, they assign her a partner — julia

(side note: its kind of the same thing that ends up happening to jean-luc and antonio a bit later on, but thats more because they work well together, and less bc either one of them needed a grounding influence)

anyway black sheep and jules again. do not like each other. but that doesnt mean they dont work well together — julia’s got an eye for patterns, and black sheep has every thieving trick in the book ready and waiting up her sleeves (alongside an instinct for thievery)

slowly, as they are forced to work together more and more, they kind of reach a less tense partnership and then one day black sheep makes a history joke and thats how they become friends

like julia is still very pointedly Not friends with the rest of the vile squad bc they’re still very reckless and immature, etc

but shes sort of seen black sheep when she’s been more grounded and less hyper/feral and she?? kind of doesnt mind??

bc grounded black sheep isnt constantly trying to prove that she’s The Best and grounded black sheep isnt trying to prove that she’s more than just the teacher’s pet — she’s kind of just having fun with julia and julia’s been so serious about her training that she hasnt really made any other friends and…. its nice

its nice to have black sheep loudly slip into the seat next to her and and tease julia about whatever recent historical discovery she’s researching and pull her out of her own head once in a while

and its nice to have black sheep glance over in the middle of class when sheena — sorry tigress — whines about something or the other and roll her eyes in the same way julia feels like doing, even if something strange sticks in her throat when carmen does the same with gray

she can’t pinpoint the exact moment, but at some point, she starts thinking of black sheep as her friend and it’s an exciting enough thought that she’s got a little smile on her face next time black sheep slips into the seat next to her in professor maelstrom’s class

and at some point julia stops being just julia to black sheep, and starts being jules because we’re in a school for thieves, but we’ve already got plenty of ~jules~ right here and thats sincerely the worst joke i’ve ever heard and oh really ~jules~? bet i could find an even worse one

and like all the usual stuff is still happening in the background — shadowsan-black sheep rivalry, gray and the Squad being black sheep’s friends, the phone and player, etc.

its just that now, black sheep has a bit of a calming influence and that does help!

and they work well enough that most people assume that julia and black sheep will be partners after graduation 

even crackle acknowledges it — despite the jealousy he feels at the knowledge

so things continue and all this happens, but then comes finals.

things go the same. black sheep gets perfect scores in all of her exams, except stealth 101

julia — now the historian — can’t help but check for whether black sheep graduated too and just as she does, she hears crackle say it: she didn’t pass

and she wants to go to black sheep and ask if she’s okay because everyone knows how much black sheep’s wanted this, how much she’s been working for it, but by the time gray’s been dragged off by tigress, black sheep has disappeared and julia has no idea where she’s gone

so she waits for a bit in the cafeteria and in the dorms and anywhere else she thinks that black sheep would be and she sees… nothing

and about twelve hours after the results, the faculty pulls her for her first mission (for context, this is before the whole,,, hear the true name of vile thing) which is basically being a plant for the morocco mission, by pretending to be an archaeology phd student from oxford who’s come to study the findings in the excavation

and she’s busy enough with that that she barely gets to think about black sheep or graduation or anything other than the near-overwhelming anxiety that comes with the horrifying ordeal of potentially being Known but she just manages to figure out like,,, guard rotations, as well as the exact objects that are at the site for the vile squad to steal

and then she’s out before they even get there — julia’s pattern recognition and historical knowledge made her pretty useful when it comes to planning capers so it meant that she’s always travelling around the world ahead of each caper, but would also make her a pretty invaluable asset to vile, so they can’t afford to get her caught

julia doesnt hear about black sheep nearly messing up morocco until much later, and even then, she doesn’t have all the info

all she can do is wonder why the hell the faculty would fail someone who somehow managed to sneak out of vile island without anyone realising until much later

and yes, maybe a part of her misses her old partner, but she knows that it wouldn’t matter anyway — she was the mole, and she’d barely get to work directly with carmen so.

but then cut to a year later, when a vile counterfeit operation in boston is suddenly sabotaged

cut to the moment when, julia, despite not having seen her in a year, is still able to somehow recognise black sheep’s work

its Slick. its the Slickness that tips her off, and part of her is reluctant to tell the faculty who it is, but her allegiance demands it and she tells the faculty and she hates herself for it when she sees the murderous rage on each of their faces

and somehow, that — her ability to recognise this carmen sandiego — gets her in a new position, as a mole in interpol, passing on the information they get as they try to track the scarlet super thief as well

and then one day, in poitiers, julia sees her

its black sheep. it’s undeniably black sheep under that red trench coat and julia wants to go and talk to her capture her and bring her in to vile but her new partner ~chase devineaux~ is everything that once made her turn away from her interest in law enforcement and he orders her to call for backup while he tries to stroke his own ego

she does, of course, but maybe she delays it a bit, if only because she’d rather let carmen sandiego get away than have devineaux’s ego get any bigger

and the rest of the season goes much the same except after julia ends up in acme, she reports to vile about everything that’s going on, and they no longer suspect devineaux of helping carmen etc etc

and she can’t help but somewhat sympathise with what carmen’s doing — she’s returning invaluable historical artefacts and julia’s always loved history and- it’s just… altruistic. and that’s admirable. and that’s the only reason i feel so torn about helping vile. that’s it, that’s the only reason.

and then comes the chasing paper caper

what was originally the first real conversation between julia and carmen goes completely differently

(note that most vile operative outside of jules’ graduating class do not know of her existence bc she barely interacts with most of them since she’s more a spy/mole who’s out of the picture by the time anyone else gets on the scene)

carmen still needs to be able to spy on paper star without anyone noticing, so she still goes for the seat right in front of the cute short-haired girl sitting alo- and oh my god jules?

and its the first time julia has heard that nickname in over a year and oh God they were just friends this should Not hit this hard what the Heck

and carmen still sits down and just quietly grills her as to what the hell is going on bc she Knows that jules is a always a mole and never an active part of a caper and she doesn’t?? understand??

and jules is kind of in a daze, but she’s been Trained so she feeds carmen her cover story:

she defected from vile when she saw how they were treating historical artefacts — melting down gold, selling priceless works of art to the highest bidder, etc. etc. — and that since then she’s been silently helping interpol with taking down vile ops, etc.

and it takes a bit but carmen kind of starts to believe it — she knows julia loves history with all her heart, and she’s… well, she’s never been the kind of recruit that carmen’s expected to see in vile anyway, so. it’s not out of the realm of possibility, is it, for julia to be a defector working against vile? after all, isn’t she the same?

so she starts looking around, while waiting for paper star to make a move, and she ends up noticing the briefcase in the seat next to her, and for some reason, those initials — clearly chase devineaux — make her want to scowl

“new partner?” “oh… its… well, work. work... partner” “oh.”

uhhh anyway i might actually. write this? idk don’t count on anything lmaooo.

[yeoldontknow]

დ content tag game დ

tagged by the loveliest angel @augustbutwinter to do this fun tag. thank you so much my love! 

1. what fandoms have you written for (but do not currently)?  - harry potter, muse, merlin, supernatural, doctor who, sherlock

2. what fandoms are you currently writing for? - kpop only

3. how long have you been writing? on this blog?  - my first actual fanfic would have been when i was about 8? it was for sailor moon but it was literally only in a journal i had. i presume that counts. so that would put us at 24 years lmao - on this blog specifically, since april 2017

4. on which platforms do you post your stories?  - here and AO3

5. what is your favourite genre to write? - aaaaangst lmao and horror/suspense. i love really dark things, and have always had a fascination in writing things that disturb me? i think its from an analytical or psychological perspective, exploring the limits of humanity and processing for myself why these things make me uncomfortable/where i feel them on my body/what is fear vs disgust idk. also very much enjoy fantasy/supernatural. 

6. are you a pantser or a planner? - almost always i have a plan, however there are some fics that come out of nowhere and i just have to write them. examples of this are enough and love; always

7. one shot or multi-chapter? - i usually try very hard to keep things as a one shot, and reserve series for things that actually have substance enough to extend past 3 chapters. lately, all my ideas have been very plot heavy or come from worlds i am very interested in exploring and/or have aspects of emotion i want to work through. if i cant keep it to a one shot (like...under 30k) i will make it a series and ill be angry at myself lmao

8. what is the perfect chapter length in your opinion?  - anywhere from 5-9k is a solid, average chapter length for me. some chapters, in hero for example, need to be more than this because theyre the heavy plot chapters. i have been trying not to focus on lengths anymore, just want to write until the story is told

9. what is your longest published story? is it complete?  - the longest story ive ever written is 154k in a different fandom and yes its complete. at the moment, hero is breaching 98k and i imagine it will be my longest when its completed

10. which story did you enjoy working on the most?  - when it comes to series, hero and time runner will, and always will be, the most special things ive ever done. i feel at home and myself when im writing them. im in love with writing them. the ideas are so strong, and the characters are so loud and clearly defined it just is the best time making art ive ever had. - for one shots, light sakura was truly catharsis. i needed to write that. its the most personal, vulnerable thing ive ever written and will probably never produce something like that again unless theres another major event in my life. also absolutely adored writing molotov cocktail and empty vessels. those are both the easiest 30k ive ever produced

11. favourite request you’ve have written and why (if any?)  - brooklyn is burning was technically a request and im extremely partial to it

12. are there reoccurring themes in your stories?  - oh yeah. usually my female characters are working through bad relationships or finding their voices, seeking identity and power in worlds that dont necessarily provide that. i write what i feel and what ive lived, the worlds around the characters are just exaggerations of reality and my imagination. theres always a little piece of me in my stories, and usually that piece comes down to them learning to trust which is something i struggle with

13. current number of wips?  - please i cannot share this number, not when im ashamed of the amount lmao

14. three things you have noticed about your own writing? 1. smut is insanely hard for me 2. fluff is almost impossible, and could be considered my weakness. happiness is an external feeling, an outward experience. im a very bodied writer and finding joy or finding small bits of romance is difficult (largely because i live alone) so i will over explain aspects of the idol character or highlight small actions in the effort of holding onto them 3. i am still learning to trust the process

15. a quote you like from a published story.

‘Don’t confuse loyalty with strength,’ you say, as he releases you. You remain still, forehead pressing against the bars to get as close to him as possible. ‘I have no allegiance to you. My silence is not owed to you.’

‘Really?’ he says with disdain. ‘It was given so freely the last two days.’

‘Your ignorance proves you have never truly known a woman,’ you taunt. ‘We are always at war, even if we are silent.’

- from: hero - chapter 3

16. a quote from an unpublished story.

Would it have been easier for you both to survive if you could be a needy, fragile little thing - not ready to die, not ready to leave him on his own?

The night before, Chanyeol held you close, kissed you until your throat felt raw, and made you realize he didn’t want it, didn’t need it. He loved the war in you, handled you like a blade between his fingers, skin unmarred by your sharp edges. He didn’t want it, but you wanted it, at least a little. You wanted him to know there were still traces inside you of the girl you lost.

from: time runner - chapter 7

17. space for you to say something to your readers.

hello beautiful loves. every moment you even click on one of my works an angel gets its wings <3

tagging: @yehet-me-up @kyungseokie @jenmyeons @j-pping @jamaisjoons @yoonia @kithtaehyung @inkedtae @kookdiaries @kookingtae @xiaokoo @sunshinekims @biaswreckingfics @ditzymax @sugaurora @bangtanhome @yeojaa @sahmfanficbts @xjoonchildx @writtenwhalien @jinpanman @cutechim and anyone else who would like to do this <3 as always please only do so if comfy! 

[urmomsstuntdouble]

hi ceros! i saw your spamano post and the part about how the Church used to not trust/dislike the nations got me thinking, do you have any other headcanons about it?

i do, thanks for asking! 

(the post in question)

i think the nations have a complicated relationship with the church (and honestly pretty much all religion..), and the main factors that contribute to that are their immortality and how people interpret and disagree about the bible. usually that relationship was characterized by a mild antagonism on the behalf of the church, as they felt threatened by the existence of nation people. 

where immortality is concerned, i think the nations would have been perceived as relics of the past and something that could undermine the authority of the current leader, particularly in times and places where people believed in stuff like the divine rights of kings. seeing as the nation people don’t age or die like humans do, they would likely have been viewed as celestial or divine, which posed a major issue for political (and religious) figureheads who derived power and authority from claiming to be an executor of god’s will/an earthly extension of the divine. except. oh yeah the divine are among us and they’re all terrible, which kind of makes all political figures look less powerful. and on the note of them being sort of like The Divine Are Living Among Us, the nations might have also been seen as forms of paganism that needed to be eradicated. this takes on a different interpretation of nations than the ones typically held in the fandom, where they’re less of representations of their nations and more like the god of that nation. like you have the god of death and also swizterland, you know? and if they have been seen as lesser gods at some point, monotheists would have definitely had ill feelings towards nations. 

their immortality may have also been seen as a relic of a bygone era. because i dont think the papal states had personifications, the church likely felt threatened by this, believing that people would hold more of an alleigiance to their nation personification than they would to god, regardless of if the nation was religious or not. because yeah nationalsim is a thing, but also it’s so much more tangible when you have nation personifications. like, i am loyal to fuckin. francis bonnefoy or whatever because he’s been here forever and seems more trustworhty on the surface than your bureaucracy and/or monarchy, so. i think allegiance to the nation personification was probably more strong during times of political turmoil, such as the protestant reformation, although there’s no telling how the existence of the nations would’ve changed history as we know it. another way immortality could’ve been a Threat is bc. if they dont die, then they’ll know about all the fucked up shit that happens behind the scenes in the church, like indulgences and corruption and stuff (secondary headcanon, but i think that nations may have been banned or otherwise prevented from participating in religion at times, because its not like you can just excommunicate them or execute them or something. you cannot do anything about nations when they’re not working with you and this was a huge issue for any humans who wanted to cultivate power fast). 

I also think there’s just a natural suspiscion of anything that doesn’t follow god’s plan, which does include death. the nations are the odd ones out and would likely be seen as extra strange or abnormal because of it. 

of course, all this extends to political organizations and entities as well, as most political entities were at some point controlled by religious institutions. i think its also more complicated in the modern day- perhaps the nation avatar would recieve excessive pandering during election years by certain candidates to prove how patriotic they are, or their presence would be requested at debates, and other little things like that. of course, all this applies to religions other than christianity as well (and things like confucianism that aren’t exactly religions). 

theres more i could say about this, but i don’t really have anything in my brain right now, so i hope your day/night/whatever time it is when you read this is nice!

[sokkas-honour]

Black sheep: prologue -mako x reader

pairing: mako x fem!reader 

summary (rlly need to work on this):  they met working for the triads but sadly, leaving the criminal life behind isnt as easy as the brothers or their closest friend thought.

w.c: 1.2k

note: it’s my first time writing in a while so there might be a bunch of mistakes so feel free to point them out! also request for any atla/lok/tdp ship and character are open!! also massive thanks to @biqherosix for helping me out and listening to be spitballing :)

tw: mention of a gang (triad), slight mention of parents death but no details

taglist (always open): @biqherosix @draqondance (hopefully you dont mind)

prologue - part 1 

—————

“Ah y/n, there you are. Did you get the message to Viper?” Lightning Bolt Zolt asked you as you entered their hideout. You nodded, you’d been recruited by the triad a couple of days after the incident that resulted in your parents death which had been at least a year ago. They were surprisingly welcoming and the leader had taken a small liking to you but he’d never say that out loud. You had sworn your allegiance to the Triple Threats meaning you got full protection from the triad, a place to live and even bending instructors. 

The current hideout where you lived was situated under an earth kingdom inspired bar and was dimly lit by a couple of lamps hanging from the ceiling that shone a light in a small circle. The rest of the room was lit by candles that firebenders turned on and off. One of the black lamps sat right on top of a table where elder members gambled and played cards, it illuminated the table just enough for the people that played but barely affected the younger members around who were oh so desperately trying to see what was going on.

Near the back of the room that you first saw as you came down the stairs was a small bar counter where the majority of the alcohol and food sat. Lightning Bolt Zolt also had a velvet seat in front of said counter where he had a clear view of the entire common room. A lamp also hung above the bar counter but he had a couple of candles lit around him in order to seem more menacing.

Once you came down the stairs from the staff room of the bar, a couple of steps into the common room, there was a corridor that lead to a few rooms that only the higher ranked members could use but they had given you the smallest one in order to keep you safe as well as keep an eye on you. The senior members weren’t always there, they sometimes switched from hideout to hideout or lived in their own houses but always had a room in the basement in case they needed to hide from the cops or lay low for a while. Someone in the higher ranks was always on thin ice with the law so you usually had someone like Zolt, Zhen or even Shady Shin sleeping in a room across from you.

“Wanna take a go at firebending?” The leader asked before you exited the room. They were aware of your bending abilities but had noticed that you seemed very reluctant to even use your gift. They usually had a strict bending only policy but they made an exception for you as you were great at relaying messages between members, deep down though, they hoped you’d start firebending again because you showed so much promise in your hand to hand combat training.Occasionally puffs of fire would come out when you really got into your sparring sessions but refused to make anymore than that.

Much to Zolt’s dismay you shook your head. With a sigh, Zolt grabbed an apple that had been freshly bought that sat on the bar counter and extended it to you with a small smile. “No problem, remember Zhen is always available for more hand to hand combat. Isn't that right Zhen?” Zolt turned his head to make eye contact with the older member who nodded slightly before returning to his card game.

You shook your head but gladly took the apple out of his hand, only realising then that you hadn’t eaten since that small bowl of rice you had for breakfast. He excused you with a curt nod. You took that as your cue to leave the room infested with the criminals that had served as your family for the past year and head to the privacy of your room. Your room was quite small, just big enough for a bed and a small sort of hopper widow that gave you a small view of the bustling streets of Republic city. Thousands of people walked by you and the bar everyday and had no idea that the eldest triad were hidden there. You adored people watching even though you could barely see people’s feet. Next to your bed was a small bedside table with a candle that had been turned on by some firebender while you were gone. You only had a select choice of clothing notably three pairs of red pants to honour your fire nation heritage, two plain shirts, a white tank top and a beautiful blue dress that Shady Shin had gotten for your birthday not too long ago so you’d have something fancy in case you ever needed one. A few female members had promised to take you on shopping sprees when you got older so you’d blend in better as you grew. 

You also had a small stack of books that meant the world to you near your bed. They were your parent’s and one of them was your favorite book of Fire Nation legends and you reread whenever you missed them. You had no idea what you’d do if you lost it and you could never buy it again as your mother had even written little notes in it and doodled in it, she had even included a family picture. She had planned on keeping the book when you grew out of it so she could give it to you as a 16th birthday present but unfortunately, that’ll never happen.

An hour or so after you had finished your apple, Zolt called for you. His voice carried all the way to your room so you jumped up and quickly made your way to the common room. You noticed that the majority of the newer members had left and only select senior members like Zhen were still gambling. You made it to the leader’s side when you finally noticed that Shady Shin stood in front of the lightning bender with two boys next to him. One looked to be around your age, you would’ve guessed 14 at the most. He had jet black unkempt hair and sharp tangerine eyes, making you believe that he must’ve had some sort of fire nation heritage. The boy next to him was shorter and looked 10, maybe 11 and looked way too innocent to be anywhere near a triad but then again, so did you. The younger one had similar black hair but instead had green puppy eyes.

“Meet your new teammates, they’ll be living on and off around here but we’ll mostly help you with messages and accounting.” Zolt introduced them, extending a hand to show the two brothers. “Now y/n darling, why don't you give them a small tour of the place while I talk with Shady Shin over here.”

You nodded and indicated the brothers to follow you down a hallway opposite to the stairs as opposed to the rooms that lay adjacent to them.

‘I’m y/n, what about you two?” You asked as soon as Shady Shin and Zolt were out of ear shot. Whenever Zolt asked you to not listen to a conversation you obeyed, he was still after all a powerful and dangerous man. The taller boy spoke for the both of them.

“I’m Mako and this is my brother Bolin.”

[luciferloser]

The undateables reacting to a parent MC

 GNMC as per usual

Diavolo

It goes without saying Diavolo already knew you had a child. After all, it was his programme. However, he wasn’t prepared for your toddler to be so CUTE!  As a result, he vowed right then and there that he would protect this tiny human and their parent with his entire being. 

“Actually Lucifer, I think MC and their child should stay at the castle with me.”

“But Diavolo-” Lucifer protested.

“Are you going to oppose me on the matter?” Diavolo teased lightly, knowing Lucifer meant well.

While Diavolo was thrilled to have you and your child staying with him in the castle, you did feel bad for Barbatos, knowing he’d be the one picking up the pieces of the Prince’s latest escapades with his newest partner in crime - your very curious 3-year-old. 

“My Lord, while it’s delightful to see you getting on with your paperwork, I dont think MC’s child is going to be providing much assistance.” Barbatos grimaced, picking up one of the contracts Diavolo was supposed to read over, noticing the small embellishments in the corners that looked oddly like the butler dabbing. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about B! Besides, they’re only drawing on the rejected ones, therefore it’s called recycling. Apparently the humans are big on that nowadays.” Diavolo grinned; chuckling at the drawings taking up most of his study floor.

The butler sighed, questioning just who was more work; the toddler, or the prince supposedly looking after said child. “While I am thrilled to see you two enjoying yourselves, I’m afraid it’s a certain somebody’s bedtime.” Barbatos announced.

“But B I’m not tired~” Diavolo whined, throwing his arms up slightly.

“Pardon me, My Lord, but I actually meant MC’s child.” the butler corrected, raising a brow slightly at the Demon Prince’s behaviour. “But rest assured, your helper will be back again, fully refreshed tomorrow.”

“Ah, excellent! Rest up Kid, there’s plenty more recycling to be done tomorrow.” Diavolo promised, waving to the toddler as Barbatos led them out of the study. This exchange programme was definitely going to be a success.

Barbatos

Barbatos also knew that you were a parent before you arrived at the Devildom. He also knew that the Demon Lord would end up wrapped around your child’s little finger and insist on you moving into the castle. However, what he hadn’t anticipated was that he would also fall victim to your toddler’s charms. For the first week, he went about his duties as normal. However, the real turning point for the usually ever-composed butler was when your little one had asked to make cookies. Sounds like a mundane enough task for Barbatos, right? Wrong.

“Ah ah don’t touch that oven, Child. It’s still hot.” Barbatos warned, scooping the curious toddler into his arms and seating them on the counter in front of him.

“Why do you always call me child?” the toddler huffed, trying their hardest to look unimpressed. However, with their puffed out cheeks and crossed arms, even Luke has looked scarier.

“Well, that’s what you are, no?” the butler jested, raising an eyebrow in amusement. “There’s certainly no doubting who raised you.” he added as an afterthought to himself.

“No I’m not a child anymore! I’m 4 and 1/4 so I’m basically a grown up.” 

“Ah, my mistake, you’re absolutely right. You are grown up. So much so I’d say you’re too big for cookies.” he mused, reaching for the plate of said snack.

“You’re never too grown up for cookies! Besides, Dia eats them all the time, that’s why I wanted to make them today - so you wouldn’t have to work as hard today...” the tiny human confessed avoiding Barbatos’ eyes the whole time. 

At that confession, Barbatos paused. On the outside, he looked as composed as ever. However, on the inside, he was falling apart. While the toddler may not be old enough to create a pact; he was ready to pledge his allegiance to the child right there and then.

“Is that so? In that case, let’s go and find my Lord and show him all of your hard work.” Barbatos smiled gently, helping your child down from the counter and handing the plate of cookies over. A year definitely wasn’t going to be long enough.

Simeon

As an angel from the Celestial realm, Simeon was always around purity and holiness. Naturally, he was overjoyed when he saw the baby that was resting in your arms the first time he saw you outside of classes at RAD because babies are often associated with purity. As part of his kindhearted nature, Simeon was also one of the first to offer his services for looking after your baby if you ever needed some alone time.

“You’re sure you don’t mind looking after them for a little while? I know you’ve got Luke to keep an eye on as well-” you double-checked, even though Simeon was already cradling your child in his arms.

“Of course MC it’s an honour for you to rely on me to babysit! Besides, I don’t think Asmodeus would appreciate it if I made you cancel your spa trip with him.” the angel assured you, grinning softly.

“Ahh, you’re right about that I suppose. Well, if you do decide the little one’s too much for you, Barbatos has said he’s happy to take over for you. I totally get it if you need a break.” you said, pulling your DDD out of your pocket to see the Lust demon calling you.

“I’m sure we’ll be just fine, now go on and enjoy your spa trip!” Simeon encouraged, as he began to close the door. He’s babysat looked after Luke for long enough, one more little cherub can’t be much more work, right?

After closing the door, Simeon laid your sleeping baby down in the Moses basket you’d left. If your baby was going to be asleep for most of the 2 hours you’d be gone for, this was going to be just fine. However, after just 5 minutes, your baby was already excercising their lungs; screaming louder than anything the flustered angel had ever heard.

“Oh dear, come here my little cherub.” with that, he gathered the crying child into his arms once more, beginning to rock backwards and forwards slowly. Just as quickly as the crying started, the screaming soon ceased and the baby began to coo softly; looking up at Simeon curiously.

“There we go, that’s better. I can’t believe something so loud came from something so small!” he exclaimed, moving to place the now pacified baby back down in the basket. However, just as he stopped to lay the child back down, they began to fuss once more.

“Oh? You want to be held? Hm, in that case, why don’t we go on a little adventure around Purgatory Hall?” and with that, Simeon set off on a slow walk around the halls, explaining where each art piece and decorative item originated from; your baby watching him the entire time.

Solomon

Hearing a knock at your door, you called out to the person on the other side, assuming it was one of the brothers. “It’s unlocked!” turning back to the baby on your bed, trying to wriggle their way out of the baby grow you hadn’t quite finished buttoning up yet.

“Oh? Well this is most interesting.” someone mused from behind you.

Spinning around, you were surprised to see Solomon at your door, considering the brothers weren’t very trusting of the white-haired sorcerer. “Solomon! What brings you here?” you quizzed, once again turning to focus on your child.

“I had come over with the intention of taking you out for dinner, to get to know my fellow human exchange student. However, it looks as though you’re a little too busy for that.” the sorcerer confessed, scratching the back of his head.

“Ah, I’m sorry, maybe another day if I can find someone to take care of this one,” you apologised, picking up your 5 month-old and resting them on your hip. “You’re more than welcome to stay here for a while. Whilst it might not be over dinner, we can still get to know each other here?”

“I would love to. Are you sure you’re not too busy with your child?” he queried; taking a seat on the edge of your bed, as he wiggled his fingers to your baby.

Upon spotting the new character in your room, your baby immediately leaned forward, reaching his arms out to Solomon. You glanced at him curiously, nothing he had a slight smirk on his face. “Wow, they took to you even faster than they did to Simeon! Usually strangers makes them hide into me.” you mused out loud.

“Your child has good taste MC. I can already tell we’re going to get along just fine.” the sorcerer declared, grinning at you as he raised your baby up slightly. You certainly had no objections.

[twodragonsinatrenchcoat]

uhh i dont really have a question but i always love hearing about the magical girl au so feel space to ramble about whatever ideas you have or anything about it!

:O Amber my beloved!

Okay so...hmmm.... Oh! Okay, let's talk about corrupted guides and by extension corrupted magical girls.

So corrupted guides are guides under control of Ouro right? The thing about them is that they're in a bit of a dream state as they are, but they can be woken up so to speak by breaking their tie to Ouro. How this is done is probably some light magic bullshit, and while in some cases it might change the guides color palette, some guides really are just kinda dark and spooky looking.

Corrupted magical girls can be formed in a couple different ways:

A) A Human makes a contract with an already corrupted guide, this type of contract is usually based on some sort of mutual respect and the human counterpart has a lot of control. They're still working for Ouro, but at least they're not like- a mind controlled zombie.

B) A Human makes a contract with a regular guide, and the guide then gets corrupted. In this situation, the relationship can become rather hostile, especially if the human was actively fighting for the Dawn, they would probably be opposed to turning their allegiance to Dusk. They might be fine with it however, which leads to the situation in option A)

C) Sometimes a magical girl's guide hasn't been corrupted, but the magical girl is fighting for the Dusk anyhow. This is usually because of outside influences. For instance, the human's friend or even sister may be fighting on a different side. In this case the Guide is likely under some kind of pressure to work for a side they don't want to, just to keep their contract. And all they can really do at that point is close the contract or just keep serving their human.

D) The most heart breaking situation. This form of corruption comes when a Guide takes over the body of their human counterpart. Usually the only guides who do this are ones from the dusk side as combining with a contracted human makes them stronger, but this could happen in a contract with a dawn aligned guide that's in situation C, either way, the Guide usually sees it as their only option. In this situation, the guide will seize complete control after a fusion with their human and on rare occasions even swap bodies with them. This is usually quite distressing for the human counterpart regardless of their allegiance, and as you can imagine it sours the bonds between contractees.

I'm...not sure if any of that made sense but, I hope you get the gist of it.

[apolloaiden]

Guardians name: 2

Age: 4 years post rez

Race: Exo

Call signs/alias: The Guardian, The Second Young Wolf, The Hero

Pronouns: She/Her

Class: Warlock

Preferred subclass(es): Void and Stasis

Ghost's name: Ghost (yes, very original)

Their Vanguard: She tolerates all "Vanguard" personnel.

Fireteam teammates: Miriam-46 and Leo (friends ocs)

Favorite legendary weapon: Deafening Whisper

Favorite exotic weapon: Ace of Spades

Favorite exotic armor: Transversive Steps

Favorite ornament armor set: Steeplechase set

Favorite weapon ornament: On Ashen Wings

What stats do they focus on: Discipline and Strength.

Are they offense, defence, or support: Offensive and supportive.

Do they prefer being close, mid, or long range: Close to mid range.

Do they lean more "Element of Surprise" or "Upfront and Aggressive": She has more of an element of surprise, but can be aggressive.

Strikes, Gambit, or Crucible: Mainly Crucible, she doesn't like strikes and kinda forgets about Gambit.

Who was their mentor(if they had one. If it is a character you created, tell us about them!): Ikora is a mentor to her for Warlock things, Cayde was a mentor to her for Exo things.

Who are they mentoring(if they are. If it is a character you created, tell us about them!): She is now the mentor and figurative mother to Crow. She loves him with all her heart.

What ship do they have: She mainly uses the unsecured/OUTCRY ship with a Precursor Vex Chrome shader.

What is their Sparrow: She uses the Calypso.

Favorite Ghost shell: She's tied between the Rimed Shell and the Phalanx Shell.

Favorite shader: None, there's too many to decide!

Favorite color: Blue and red.

Favorite food: Pastries

Favorite piece of Pre-Collapse tech(if they've seen any): She's really interested in the Exominds, partly by being one and wanting to know how she works.

Favorite Pre-Collapse music(if they've heard any): She likes metal and lo-fi.

Favorite place in The Last City(if it's a place you created, give a little description!): The gardens in the Last City, she likes to walk around them with Ghost. She also likes to be directly beneath the Traveler.

Favorite NPC(s): Crow, Ikora, Elsie, and Osiris.

Favorite patrol location: She loves Europa and Nessus, they're both so pretty.

5 things your Guardian likes(can be anything): Her Ghost, her friends, baking, fighting, and the feeling of both the Light and Darkness.

Least favorite food: Anything too salty.

Least favorite shader: Anything green, she has too many green shaders.

Least favorite patrol location: She doesn't hate them, but the Tangled Shore and Dreaming City make her uneasy.

Least favorite Pre-Collapse tech(if they've seen any): Old electrical devices, they emit a loud ringing sound to her and it gives her a horrible headache.

Least favorite NPC(s): The Spider, Lord Saladin

Least favorite weapon ornament: Feeling Lucky

Least favorite ornament armor set: The Legatus set... e w..

Least favorite legendary weapon: Most Pulse Rifles.

Least favorite exotic weapon: Tractor Cannon

Least favorite exotic armor: Promethiumn Spurs. They're ugly and the perk isn't even that good.

5 things your Guardian dislikes(this can be anything): She dislikes Saladins beliefs (she kills because she has to, not to just kill), Guardians that get corrupted by the Darkness, the fact that you can only have one exotic at a time, keeping secrets, and Clovis Bray.

Your Guardian has to rest. What is their living space like: Her dorm is pretty clean, but she doesn't make a lot of messes either way. She has lots of little artifacts and trinkets.

Does your Guardian have any casual wear?(Y'all remember Polyvore? The website URSTYLE works very similar if that helps!): She likes flowy robes, skirts, and turtle necks.

What hobbies and/or skills does your Guardian have: She loves to cook, and loves cooking for others.

What would your Guardian's lore book be called: Probably something like "The Guardian with no Name".

Where was your Guardian reborn?(If you created the location, give us a little description!): She was rezzed in the Cosmodrome (I like to stay pretty lore based), and was there for a couple months before fixing up a ship.

What were they wearing when they were reborn: She was wearing almost threadbare clothes, just a sweater, pants, and shoes. Ghost helped her find better Warlock armor.

What was their reaction to being reborn: She was surprisingly calm, despite not being able to remember anything, like her name.

What was their reaction to their first rez: She didn't like the feeling. It made her feel cold, but the feeling eventually subsided more as she died again and again.

After being reborn, did they meet friendlies first or hostiles: Hostiles, lots of Eliksni where she was rezzed.

Who was the first other Guardian they met?(Same thing! If you made them, give a little description!): The first Guardians she really met met was Sloane and Zavala on Titan, during the Red War.

Did your Guardian get reborn with, or find, any indication of their past life? If so what do they have/found: 2 was rezzed with no memories, which was unheard of for an Exo. She only knew her reboot number, 2, by two lines carved into her collar bone. She then found evidence on Europa of her memory bank being deleted by Clovis Bray for witnessing an inhumane experiment.

How did your Guardian get their name(if they didn't rez with past life momentos): She took on her reboot number when her Ghost found it, he said it fit her. "The Second Young Wolf" was given to her by the Young Wolf themself. They had lost their Ghost and were bleeding out in the Last City during the Red War. Upon seeing 2 come to their aid, they said they had a vision of her, and dubbed her the second. Ghost used footage of this to tell the Vanguard after the Red War.

Going back to your Guardian's lore book, what would be some some quotes or passages from their book: "This Guardian thought she was cursed. Everywhere she went, something bad happened. Arrived at the Last City, Cabal attacked. Went to the Prison of Elders, Cayde was killed. Went to the Dreaming City, a curse consumed it."

Does your Guardian have a significant other: It may sound weird, but she and her Ghost are together! She sees herself more as a machine than a human mind now, like Ghosts do. While she's still a "human" in an Exo body, she's never known anything else in her life.

Did your Guardian go explore first before going to The Last City? If so, where to: She and her Ghost were stranded in the Cosmodrome for about 2 months before they found enough parts to fix a ship. They explored the ruins, and kept to themselves.

What was their reaction to first seeing The Last City: She was devastated at seeing the Cabal overtake this place she had heard was beautiful. She just saw fire and large Cabal ships.

Is your Guardian a part of a clan: Not really, no. She likes to join others in fireteams but never stays long. However she usually runs with Miriam and Leo.

If your Guardian would have a quote as a flavor text for a weapon and/or piece of armor, what would they be: "The Darkness, combined with the Light, is a force to be reckoned with." -2, Exo Warlock.

If your Guardian has had any interactions with any civilians (The Last City/The Farm), Eliksni, Cabal, Vex, Hive, Taken, Scorn, Rouge Lightbearers, or Iron Lords/War Lords(if your Guardian is an Old Light) tell us about it!: She likes to show the children in the city tricks with her Light, and teaches them new dances.

Does your Guardian have any unconventional allies or connections(By Vanguard standards): She's pretty close to Drifter, and even pledged her allegiance to him instead of the Vanguard. He's a useful ally. She also knows some Eliksni thanks to Miriam-46 and her work with The Spider.

How does your Guardian feel about themselves or others using Stasis: She feels like it's right, that it's ok to use if you dont abuse it. The fact that she wields both the Dark and the Light, sometimes at the same time, shows that it can happen and that others can do it.

Is your Guardian from D1? How did they react to seeing Taniks alive once again: She is not.

Where did they go and what did they do during The Red War: She tried to find the Vanguard, and tried to help as many people as she could after she got her Light back from the Shard.

Here are some characters that are either polarizing or have created a strong enough mass emotion within the community. What opinion does your Guardian hold on each of them(These are only a handful of characters!)>>>

Osiris, First Warlock Vanguard, originally exiled: Gay Grandpa. She respects him quite a lot, and talks to him about anything when she goes to see him, especially after Sagira sacrificed herself.

Eris Morn, Bane of the Swarm: She holds high respect for her. She feels horrible about what happened to her, but she's glad Eris has been able to talk to others. If anything, she fears her a little too.

Cayde-6, Sixth Hunter Vanguard: One of her only Exo friends who knew a little bit about the exo's past. She used to tell him everything, her patrols, her stories, Ghost would even show him recordings of them. She misses him.

Ikora Rey, Second Warlock Vanguard: 2 calls her the "Collective Mother", because she's always been open to New Lights. 2 turns to her for anything, and she knows Ikora has her back through anything. At least, she hopes she does.

Commander Zavala, Second Titan Vanguard: She held high respect for him during the Red War. When Cayde died, she lost that respect for him when he disapproved on her acts. That trust and respect has slowly been building again since.

Saint-14, legendary Titan, First Titan Vanguard: Again, Gay Grandpa. She loves to just be around Saint, and feed the birds with him. They don't talk too much, just appreciating the hangar.

Lord Saladin, Iron Banner handler, One of the last remaining Iron Lords: She's never really liked him, even if he's the reason behind her namesake. He's been too bloody for her, and she doesn't like Iron Banner.

Lord Shaxx, Crucible handler, Hero of Twilight Gap, living megaphone: Whenever she needs a pick me up, she goes to Shaxx. She loves his personality and loves the Crucible.

The Crow, New Light, Ex-Enforcer to The Spider: After what happened with Uldren, 2's been living in guilt. She feels like the Traveler gave both her and Uldren/Crow another chance, so she's doing everything in her power to better Crow and herself. She kinda took on a maternal role for him, making sure he has the best gear he can and that no stray Guardian will hurt him.

The Spider, The Shore's Only Law, founder of "House" Spider: Ohoho where do I start. She's always hated Spider for how he treated Ghosts and NEVER took her own out around him. How he was treating Crow was the last straw for her and his partnership. She's still friends, however, with another Guardian Spider has employed, Miriam-46.

Uldren Sov, Prince of the Reef, Master of Crows: She wasn't ever too fond of Uldren when she heard the stories about him. She was so angry when he killed Cayde, that it clouded her judgement. Uldren needed help, and in the end, he was right about Mara being alive.

Mara Sov, Queen of the Reef, Queen of the Awoken, Ex-Kell of Wolves: 2 has never liked her. She finds her snobby and just plain rude. She doesn't like how Mara talks down to others and thinks she's better than others.

Variks, the Loyal, founder of House Judgement: At first, 2 blamed Variks for the Prison of Elders, but after getting to know him and his cause, she warmed up to him.

Mithrax, the Forsaken, Kell of Light, founder of House Light: She's only met him a couple of times, but respects him none the less. She hopes they can get more Eliksni to join the House of Light.

The Exo Stranger/Elizabeth "Elsie" Bray, Granddaughter of Clovis I and Sister to Ana Bray: 2's very thankful that Elsie's taking the time to show people the Darkness, and really appreciates her. While this Elsie isn't our timelines Elsie, she knew about 2's memory bank, and tipped her off to it.

Eramis, of House Salvation, Kell of Darkness: 2 wonders that, if she didn't have the support of Ghost and Elsie, would she have turned out like Eramis? Seeing the Darkness seduce someone like that was unnerving, and she wants to do everything in her power to correct it.

Empress Caiatl of the Cabal Imperial Empire: 2 thinks the Cabal should just surrender. They're running their troops thin in the hopes that the Guardians will cave, and they most likely won't. Sometimes, 2 doesn't want to fight anymore. She respects Caiatl as a warrior, and nothing else.

Taniks the Scarred, the Perfected, the Abomination, the Shadow Thief: HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE, she's just, yeah she doesn't like him.

The Darkness is fast approaching. How is your Guardian handling it: She may not show it, but she's kinda scared. She knows that she and Ghost are destined to die one day, and she's dreading the day she gets the sword. She hopes that her decisions will change that fate.

And finally, does your Guardian have any advice for any New Lights: Don't get too close to an enemy when you shoot a rocket at it, and don't let your emotions get the best of you. Go at your own pace, we don't need you New Lights getting hurt or doing something dumb.

[neven-ebrez]

Im so so so confused about 15x13. Wtf was those flashbacks of Jo/Ruby ?? Did I miss something ? It means that circa s4 Jo was already on earth, which, ok i rly dont remember her backstory so maybe, but... She KNEW Ruby was on Lucifer's side ? Even tho NOBODY except Lilith and Lucifer himself knew ? That doesnt make a goddam sense that a demon as cunning as Ruby would share those infos with any Angel, even a rogue one like Jo...

Hey there anon. Let me start by saying 15x13 was a good concept episode in *theory* but it was so poorly executed that I’m not sure about everything I even *think* I understand and I’ve already watched it a few times. I usually try to give Buckleming credit where credit is due. They do deliver on theme fairly consistently, if not exactly with elegance. I want to say 15x13 folds into this more heavily than most but the thing is... I’m not entirely sure it’s by design, from any standpoint.

Simply, Buckleming wanted to see J2’s wives be frenemies. That was the concept they started with. And they absolutely wrote to concept over characterization. They said “Well! Until now we’ve been letting people assume Anael fell with all the host during the 8x23 Angel Fall Event but ACTUALLY we never said that’s when she came to Earth *exactly* so we have some leeway here! Yeah she talked about things post “The Fall” but ACTUALLY she could have been talking about her personal Fall which happened Chuck knows when now! You see!” And then they wrote 15x13 from there aiming for the S4 timeline after Ruby was introduced in Genevieve’s vessel but before Ruby was killed. It’s the same type of thing they did for 14x20 essentially, only with God. It’s subjective whether these detailed canon jossed reveals work or not. Re: characterization: I liked 14x20 personally but disliked 15x13 because one highlighted the show’s values (free will, team work, chosen family, always keep fighting) while the other stood divided.

For Jo you’re gonna have two reactions: those fans who liked her original implied 8x23 Fall story/situation over the new clarified canon and those who don’t. I personally don’t like it. I liked what they were doing with Jo up til that point. I liked that she was kinda like Cas (wayward) and now she’s decidedly... not. I don’t know what the aim was for her character doing this reveal and accounting for her new actions. Maybe she’s supposed to be an example of what not to do? Don’t be selfish?? Don’t run and hide?? Idk. Imo if I can’t tell such things, like why the writing is moving in the direction it is moving, then to me it’s just not organic and thus, not good for episodic tv (and organic character based writing is essential to episodic tv imo). Jo’s whole thing is she looks out for herself, yes, but she also is dedicated to meddling because she dislikes what God has done. The reveal that she wanted to run away and hide while billions of humans died?? When she could have continued helping them (and even if in a small capacity)? She loves pretty things and is highly materialistic, yet is fine letting it all burn, all that beauty?? And now how she’s refusing to pick a side, here at the end of all things? Well. That just doesn’t sit well with me. She meddles. Now she doesn’t. Just... why? I don’t feel like they told me why.

And that’s not touching anything with Ruby and why they would sometimes work together. For me it’s an issue about who Anael is, her core character. Imo they betrayed that and it’s like... they didn’t have to?? They could have easily written something that maintained who she was at her core instead of diving so hard into concept that seemingly sits apart from everything else. It’s just inorganic writing imo. Like I said, 15x13 was... a lot. Concerning your specific raised concern over Ruby spilling her secrets, again, concept over characterization. Keeping her true allegiance from the Winchesters was paramount to Ruby’s involvement with them. Everything depended on it. So, no. I 1000% agree with you. Imo it doesn’t make sense that her character would tell someone who wasn’t even a friend her true allegiance. Like??? This person could be tortured for info? Or they could just betray her if a better opportunity presented itself?? No spy would do this?

A meddler who is no longer meddling and a spy who can’t keep secrets. While this episode heavily delved into opposite imagery and “meet in the middle” imagery (there’s a lot to be written on this angle and I don’t know if anyone has yet b/c I’m not on the internet in general much these days), I really don’t think Buckleming needed to change so much character-wise (even Rachel’s portrayal of the Empty, no longer slightly unhinged, had me having to really look at the psychological WHY) with 15x13 but they did and for now we are stuck with it.

[shanhelingmoving]

6, 9 and 21?

hiiii!! <33

6. Are you the type of person who will read a book to the end whether you like it or not, or will you put it down straight away if you’re not feeling into it?

answered here! but yeah i will drop things if im not feeling it luckily i dont have to do that a lot!!

9. Are you for or against multiple narrators in the same book?

OH generally. i think generally it’s difficult to pull off (imo at least) and so i do really like it when it’s done well...when its done poorly tho...see allegiant dskjflkDSJsdfjk one book i think did it really well was ‘in the night garden’ by catherynne valente! its like. stories within stories within stories that all connect

21. Ideal reading position?

one thats probably bad for my back <3 usually i sit on/lie on my bed or on the couch with horrible posture oops

book asks!