#i rlly only intended this to be a concept

[stormberry-12]

the pogues/ESPECIALLY JJ would protect innocent!reader SO MUCH. like she could be the youngest or something and they would go back for her (for ex. when they had to leave jb in s3). anyways jj would so definitely say something like, “you’re like their little sister, but you’re MY girl.” yk

my woman ~ jj maybank x reader

Ahh yes, I totally agree, and I LOVE the innocent!reader and JJ trope>>>

pairing: jj x innocent!fem!reader

warnings: slight language, reader in danger, mega fluff.

notes: lowercase intended, this was made late at night and not rlly edited srry if its bad lmao, not from season 3 but a close concept. :)

you shifted around and felt the sun on your face as your eyes fluttered open. you were in the twinkie bumping along a winding road, clinging onto jj, who was sitting in his seat, like a koala. or as jay called it, "the front pack", it was like a piggyback but on his front because he always wanted to check on you and make sure you were okay.

you shifted your legs around his torso and lifted your head from the crook of his neck.

"hiya, cupcake," he whispered softly, taking one of his arms that was wrapped around you and moving it so he could brush strands of hair from out of your eyes. "good nap?"

you nodded, wiping the sleep from your eyes, and he smiled. you suddenly recalled how you had gotten here and relief washed over you.

you were running through alleyways on the cut, you felt betrayed. where had the pogues gone? they were there with you five seconds ago and now you were running away from those bloody square groupers alone.

over by the pogues, jj was having a mental breakdown, "where did she go man?"

"damn it!" john b exclaimed."pope, i thought she was behind you when we cut down this way!

"we have to go back for her-" jj houghed.

"i don't know jay..."

"no... no. we have to." he held his hat in one hand and ran the other through his hair in distress.

"he's right, we have to." pope agreed.

"come on man, we finally lost those guys and now you want to follow em?" john b sighed.

"jb you of all people should understand, she's like a little sister to you man! she's still only 16 and this kind of stuff scares the shit out of her, i can't do that to her guys-"

"john b we're going after her," kie pleaded.

"god! we're wasting time, i'm gonna go after her, even if i have to do it by myself!" jj ran off in your last seen direction. john b gave in and followed along with the rest of the pogues, they all knew jj was right, and their group wouldn't survive without you.

as you continued to run, blood pumping through your ears, you looked for the best spot to hide behind, trying to throw them off. you slid behind a large dumpster and listened as the sets of footsteps of the two men ran past you.

you waited a moment, calming your breathing before you moved from behind the bin. you jumped as the footsteps came back in your direction, but instead of those square groupers, it was jj and the pogues.

"y/n!" j sighed in relief scooping you up into his arms. "I'm so sorry, that will never happen again-"

you just stood there too exhausted to complain, your face buried in his chest. john b brought the twinkie around the corner and you all piled in, driving off into the night.

"you came back for me," you smiled at your boyfriend wrapping your arms around his neck, still facing him on his lap.

"of course," jj said. "you know you're like their little sister, we honestly would fall apart without you... and your my girl."

"your girl?" you giggled.

"my girl, my woman, my soulmate." he repeated smoothly pressing his forehead to yours and closing his eyes. "you sure you're okay?"

"yeah," you said, leaning into his touch, playing with the hair on the nape of his neck. "perfect,"

[somewhereincairparavel]

Alright. I came across someone saying that Rick "put Jason in a pedestal" and "overhyped" him by emphasizing how good looking he is and that Jason shouldn't have been so attractive looking. (Tbf tho that person made it sound like they seemed more mad bc their least favourite character was considered good looking lol) but I'll yap about the significance here anyways. Beware of a very long yapping session below.

I do understand their frustration though, because jason getting told that he looks good all the time makes it seem very shallow and unfair to the others.

And let me tell you, Jason is SUPPOSED to be gorgeous looking in everyone's eyes. He is supposed to be conventionally handsome, Rick didn't intend for his looks to be "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder " or something like Percy's (like how Piper didn't find him as impressive) Percy's is supposed to be more authentic. Percy's character isnt centred in people idolizing him, everyone can acknowledge that he's handsome looking, but it isn't in a "perfect" type of way, he's a carefree spirit and that reflects on his looks. While Jason is hardwired as this ethereal looking hero in people's eyes that not even ONE can deny that he looks good, bc ppl in Rome had set him as the "standard". Jason said this before in the lost hero, that him being a son of Jupiter, makes him feel like the support he gets is only because his dad is a very regal and intimidating figure.

That's kind of the whole point, he's supposed to look like this perfect man who can do no wrong. His "Golden noble boy" arc is literally the whole concept of his character. Why else do you think rick wrote Aphrodite approving of Jason's looks saying that he needed no improvement (which she rarely does) ?

Because Jason is supposed to be put like a statue to admire and idolize, that's ALSO why rick made sure to add that Jason looks like a Roman sculpture, bc that's like a metaphor for his inner conflicts. The guy was put like an artifact for people to ogle at in camp Jupiter ever since he was a kid of 4. That's part of the tragedy.

Annabeth said it perfectly “Annabeth tried to hide it, but she still didn’t completely trust the guy. He acted too perfect - always following the rules, always doing the honorable thing. He even looked too perfect. In the back of her mind, she had a nagging thought. What if this is a trick and he betrayed us?” Mark of Athena, page 6.

His mother, whom he's supposed to look like, is also a literal world wide tv actress. So you can't expect anything less either.

Also, Jason is supposed to mirror Percy. And let's be real. Rick put Percy in a VERY high pedestal looks wise, aswell, Not just Jason. And that's okay.

Rick made Hazel mistake Percy for a literal god because he was just that good looking (tbf, in a way, when I was younger, I found this to be a little bit of an exaggeration, bro was covered in mud and seaweed and was compared to a god, it was rlly funny to a 10 year old me 😭 yeah but don't mind this though, this was just a younger me jealous that I couldn't be as pretty as Percy was in mud lol) If Percy can be "hyped" up so "unrealistically" in that particular situation then so can Jason. They are both literal half gods, so unrealistic praise is very normal) and rick also made sure to emphasize that almost all the teen characters had a crush on Percy. So apparently that isn't called putting a character in a pedestal but Jason's is? They are BOTH put in pedestals, because they're both heroes.

Jason and Percy are supposed to be equals, so both of them being in the top two when it comes to looks makes SENSE. Because people are supposed to argue about who is better looking, since they're written as foils.

You cannot expect rick to make Percy look like a god and Jason look like a rat 😭 then there's no point of having them as parallels if one has the upper hand in something. Rick did a good job by conveying that they are BOTH attractive, but in different ways. That's why the Percy/Jason looks debate always have mixed answers.

Jason getting complimented by Aphrodite, the GODDESS of beauty, for his looks and her saying that he didn't have anything to "fix" in his face BC it already looks gorgeous = Percy getting compared to a gorgeous Roman god by hazel. They are both equal comparisons in slightly different tones.

[nightcolorz]

Unhinged Sybelle and Benji tangent (cw references to abuse csa trauma etc)

yeah so Marius’s turning of Benji and Sybelle isn’t about whether or not that was the right decision to make and isn’t made better by their contentment living as vampires in late canon. Benji and Sybelle’s relatively happy lives as vampires are irrelevant to me. The cruelty of how he did it is made worse by the hypocritical nature of turning a kid into a vampire after so firmly insisting that turning children is morally abhorrent and smth he should’ve never done, yeah, but that’s only a small part of it.

It was so awful and upsetting to me bcus of the deliberate stripping of Armand’s agency. See, we have a whole book where Armand tells the story of how throughout his entire life and childhood he was forced into the role of submissiveness and/or dependency. whether that be his childhood religious devotion that would eventually lead to his being buried alive for God or being sold into sexual slavery or Marius’s mentorship of him that ultimately intended to teach him to stay loyal and dependent on Marius’s authority to Marius’s relationship with him sexual and otherwise to the cult indoctrination, up until Lestat comes along and tilts his own view of submission and devotion as his only way to survive and function in the world onto its head.

He gives him a theater and then he gives him Louis. Armand floats around, tries to find purpose without devotion through using Louis and Daniel as tools to understanding the modern age. The modern age to Armand is possibility and independence, things he’s never had so much access to and doesn’t know exactly how to apply to himself until the devils minion chapter when he’s like ah ok I get it, life without devotion is something I’ve always been familiar with—it’s what Marius taught me! I Am The Master now with my excessive indulgence and my Boy and my sea side paradise.

But Armand is a Void™️ with no concept of self besides a collection of concepts and experiences and people he’s been exposed to throughout his existence, so rlly he’s kind of a fraud. Internally he’s still a saint who yearns for a God to follow, he’s no Marius, and this all comes to a head in Memnoch the devil when he throws himself into the sun for Jesus etc. and so TVA Armand is mixed the fuck up, he’s lost everything he’s been building for himself, he’s like an open wound, like red and gold sand art shaken around until it’s sludges of brown.

Armand believes himself to have no coherent narrative of a life, no coherent and consistent sense of self, just a collection of unrelated sequences that he draws from to occasionally preform personhood, and at the beginning of TVA he is very much just that. No thoughts only colors and pain. But he’s trying to rebuild himself as best he can, he has these young humans who he’s caring for, and through caring Armand finds meaning.

These humans are very much reflections of himself, or who he used to be, and seeing a personhood reflected back at him through these two gives him insight into his own value as an individual, as someone who is inherently worthy of having a life. So with Benji and Sybelle he tries to rebuild his own sense of personhood by giving them what he would want in there place. The conclusion he reaches at the end of his story to David is that after everything ultimately he is learning and rebuilding, gaining fulfillment and individuality he’s never had before through his empathy and care for these two people in his life. Benji and Sybelle are representative of Armand’s healing process!!! They mirror him bcus they are him!! He’s literally nurturing his inner child!! And with that there comes self care and self love etc etc. but then the book doesn’t end!!

Then after all that trauma and all that healing everything that Armand was tenderly attempting to build for his new life is stripped away ! When Marius turns Benji and Sybelle it doesn’t matttttter that they like being vampires. What matters is that when Armand finally gained agency and individuality Marius decided to take that from him! Marius decided that he actually knew better then Armand, and if Armand would just allow him to do what’s best for him then everything would be so much better and so much easier. And when Armand starts sobbing and screaming and fighting him that’s just justification to Marius that Armand isn’t capable of independence or self sufficiency, that he’s a child throwing a tantrum who can’t make his own decisions, that he should just be dependent on Marius like he used to be and trust that other people know what’s best for him.

That’s why it’s so tragic! That’s why it’s so frustrating and so sad. Armand was on the road to healing but then Marius stormed in like the symbolic representation of his past telling him that no matter what he does or the progress he makes he’s still Armand in the catacombs, Amadeo on the red sheets, Andrei waiting to be buried alive. So I don’t really give af if ultimately Benji and Sybelle are fine! It’s great that despite being a child vampire Benji is able to function independently and contently as an adult with minimal body dysmorphia and existential dread, but you know who’s not able to do that? Armand 😭😭

[tank-grunt]

i rlly want to be interested in veronaville but it overwhelms me tbh. but the viola/rosaline sim concept rlly intrigued me, how would u incorporate a rosaline sim?

OKAY SO LIKE... in romeo and juliet, juliet's sole confident is her nursemaid (ostensibly named angelica - if it wasn't intended to be her name in the original play by shakespeare it has become her name in multiple adaptions since) who was mentioned to have been a mother to a daughter. her daughter was named susan iirc, and she died before the play begins - but veronaville takes a lot of liberties with shakespeare so who cares about that. lets add angelica - possibly a teacher at school or a friend of the late cordelia, or even both! - and make rosaline angelica's daughter, alive and well instead of long dead. thus we make her juliette's peer, best friend, and sole confident instead of just her only unseen cousin (who only sometimes gets to physically appear or be focused on in adaptions following the original play)

this would have two implications:

1. she theoretically could have been a simpler, easier choice of partner for romeo monty - associated with the capps but not one of them, and not directly involved in the feud, so no one would object to his pursuit of her. possibly even actively desirable to his family as a potential significant other... but she's not interested! however its through romeo montague's pursuit of rosaline that he even meets juliet capulet - he attends a party to see rosaline, but finds more of a match in juliet.

so imho adding rosaline would add more spice to romeo monty and juliette capp's dynamic, because i think in the context where rosaline could have been the favorable match for romeo in his families eyes it becomes more meaningful that he chooses juliette in the end. and it would give them a more interesting meeting than just happening to know each other since they were little kids - which is fine, childhood friends to lovers is a sweet dynamic and i often love it. i just also crave more spice in veronaville. teehee?

and then 2. this would give juliette, like, more companionship outside of her family and like. puck. no offense to puck but puck is everyone's friend, he's not specifically juliette's friend. but rosaline would be specifically juliette's friend and not specifically a sibling or cousin, not her boyfriend's sibling or cousin, and not Everybody's Friend™. someone fully on her side and her side alone that she could truly confide in and trust about a feud that is actively destructive. with rosaline as angelica's daughter and an unrelated peer also has the added benefit of adding another unrelated household to a neighborhood that only has like. 3 families total.

and thennnn with her as angelica's daughter, translating angelica's role as a nursemaid who partially raised juliet to that of a school teacher and/or close friend of such a wealthy and influential family, there are implicit expectations that would be placed on her - though narratively flexible because one its sims and two the particulars are dependent on finer details we're not going into here, but its an interesting jumping point. and then theres a matter of whether an outsider can truly remain impartial to the feud forever -- would she eventually be forced to pick a side? what would be the consequences of picking a side, let alone one that may be seen as the wrong side? delicious.

[unlimitedtrees]

the level design of the Sonic Overture '95 demo

been wantin 2 show da level design idid 4 sonic overture .. startin with granite act 2. altho some tiny tiny bits were referenced from sly's level design concepts , and lake did his own edits and added decorations , idid everything else

this level is oneof the largest levels ive ever made , andit was really fun makin it and playtesting it .. i like making HugeAss levels , but with this one i tried 2 make sure to make it have both engaging ,difficult platforming and high speed sections. i wanted 2 make it Feel like marble zone without bein as tedious , and i like how it came out (even if i didnt intend on makin it as huge as it was ... in fact it was actually goin to be Even Larger ,but cus of clickteam limitations and also the level being nearly 5 minutes long , it had 2 be cut down , LOL ! its probably 4 the best tho , cus the level already has tons of very intricate stuff goin on (especialy with the stuff it does with the marble and the pillars)

next is granite act 1 , which is mostly based off sly's level design concepts , but is heavily changed and expanded both to flow more how iwanted it to and to make it more complex .. i had a lot of fun with da later half of da level , makin all sorts of silly challengez...

something i did for fun was hide a bunch of hidden Silly Areas.. these are at the Very , Very top of the level , and require you to be very precise to even Access them , so they dont get in the way of the rest of the level ... but i did it cus i Love making silly dumb kaizo stuff

lake added decorations to granite act 1 as well ,but he also added his own silly secret areas at the very very top of the level that are difficult to get to , which i really like LOL !!! i think more video games need silly parts of the level skilled players can discover

last thing 2 talk about is sunrise gate zone , which is just based off the original demo. act 1 combines the 2014 demo's act 1 and act 2 , only addin a few tiny extra routes and little changes to make it flow a little more

act 2 has a bit more done to it , with it being based off act 3 from the original demo , but has a few new routes at the very top of the level , including ones that make heavy use of the totem pole mechanic. somethin we decided to do is to make the blocks on the walls into top-solid platforms , so i specifcally designed the level so that , if youre clever , you can use the blocks on the walls to get upto places or find secrets...

anywayz thats all 4 this post. i like sonic cd and i hope thats apparent in my level design , LOL !! sonic overture is a game that inspired myart forYearz and its been rlly fun workin on this so far .. this game is pretty and pixys art is gorgeous ohmy lord

[cogbreath]

ngl even tho i had faith in both you and allah that whatever you had done would not be the end of you i WAS worried still so yeah like everyone else is saying i'm also rly glad that you're recovering. congrats on surviving life's bullshit yet again my friend. may the next one maybe be less painful tho bc that did/does not sound like a fun time

jazakallah khair ❤️

and i do wanna apologise for worrying you guys. we all do know that i didnt mean to but i do understand how even when we r aware of that, it can still hurt and be scary to see someone u care about end up in a situation like that and it can be confusing and frustrating cuz of the fact its so clearly not a good thing to do to oneself. but im rlly rlly thankful that despite all that you guys have it in your hearts to be so so gentle and kind to me which seriously means the world to me

im not entirely sure how bad my situation really was, because it's honestly difficult for me to remember how much i actually ended up drinking, my memory is rlly blurry about it but i do know that i did pass out for a while. i wasn't exactly worried at first that i felt that i needed to puke and legit was shocked when i started seeinf it turning red n shit. i wanfed to believe that somehow it was just something i ate that was also red but when i started tasting the taste of iron i Knew. because it seemed to be becoming more and more bloody i was like. "o fuck." i was still aware of ans believing in the resilience of the human body, reminding myself that people have literally survived getting hit with a particle beam in the head, but nonetheless it doesnt change the fact that vomiting blood is something associated with fatal outcomes. i guess honestly it really doesn't matter either way what the true severity of it was and i shouldn't trouble myself too much about trying to figure it out because no matter what, it was a dangerous and bad situation to be in. also im not detailing more now about what happened so as to be shocking or graphic but like i just want to be honest about it so i can help process it and help u guys have more clarity on what happened now that im not as delirious and panicked as i was when it all went down

i wasnt scared to die and honestly no matter what never will be because of the way my brain is wired about the concept of death, but what i was most scared of was that ppl i care about and that allah would be mad at me. so it helps a lot to have that affirmed that nobodys mad at me and nobody thinks that i'm stupid or had it coming

sorry if this is more than u expected as a response, but you guys are some of the only people i can feel comfortable being truly deeply honest with. i dont ever intend to trouble you with things that arent your job to manage and i dont intend to freak people out. but maybe thats not nice to assume thats what anyone is thinking. ily

[penguin--person]

3, 4, 14, 26 if you so please!

yay yippee!!! thank u for the ask!!! ill put my answers under the cut bc its a lot

3. What ideas come from when you were little

lately i've been thinking about this story concept i made when i first started drawing on my pc, in like 2020 !! tho i mainly ever thought about 'glitch', the pink haired girl in these doodles .. its !! shed have come from a dating game, but she'd be a non romanceable character.. little by little she'd break the game apart, forcing herself into scenarios, taking the places of your love interests - not out of romantic love, but because she just really badly wants to be your friend. but the game doesnt want to let her be buddypals with you !! so she takes matters into her own hands.. the game would have ended by it breaking apart after glitch changes too much about it.. the other 3 characters are the love interests (artist, nerd, jock) - alice (blue hair) is the other most thought out character, but also, i only drew her like twice. so. it doesnt count for much. the one w the glasses i only drew once, and the joyous one is new !! i feel like dating game Has to have at least 3 romanceables .. you know .. like if its just 2 Whats the point of even being there !!

+ my first ever art of glitch and my latest art of her.. and the only alice ive ever drawn up until a few days ago

other than that. idk. a bunch of cool story ideas that never went anywhere but i still liked:) but im not sharing those!!! theyre just for me

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

my fullbody fursona:( i like mew a bunch but idk how to draw weasel legs or anatomy and the best i can do is a doodle.. but i WILL learn!!!!! i gotta!!!!!! and also glabos ((oc) gabriela's portal au)

14. Any favorite motifs

boy are there 🔥all of my pafl ocs have like ! theyre all soo scared of being alone and unloved. it wasnt intentional it just happened ❤️fousek here btw and dolochov too. other than that - i like nerves and hearts and gore in a symbolical manner ?? like . god . head in hands . i like making the subject stare at the viewer... Get viewed!!!! and !! goddd . head in hands . i like gore 👍thats what it boils down to i think .. how it can be used and such .. i should draw more of it .. like !! like . god . i cant get too into it because id have to be put down like a sick dog... you can find all my favorite motifs in my ocs basically <3

26. What's a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended

i dont think my art ever gets so big that it gets misinterpreted ? and my friends usually get it pretty close, nothing 'wildly' different.. mm.. and my writing doesnt rlly get comments like that i think .. i gotta put myself more out ther!!!!! i gotta draw and write things from the heart so that i can get misinterpreted...!!!! ill answer your question one day!!!!! i prommy!!!!!

[coleoffduty]

tysm @sapphireblueye for tagging me and for all the wonderful things you do for this little corner of the fandom!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

9! [but i have 17 wips breathing down my neck rn]

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

282,695

3. What fandoms do you write for?

only hotd rn but i really wanna try writing for marvel (nashuri) or dc (batriddle)!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

- brutus - The Watcher - The Realm's Sweetness - phantoms & fishbowls - legacies

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

yes! i think it's so sweet and intimate when someone takes the time to not only read and kudos my work but also leave an appreciative response,,,, i reciprocate a lot and as a reader, commenting is a bit intimidating so i rlly value the initiation!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i don't think anything i have out yet is too sad (but i'm angst tone deaf at times) although 'The Realm's Sweetness' is def the one that comes to mind. it's based on canon/my take on a lore accurate asoiaf storyline for lucemond so,,,,, yikes,,,

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

'love in the dark' and 'brutus' are a tie for that one. rhaenicent get to run away together and live domestically while lucemond get to rule and start their own little family despite,,, the horrors.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

actually not really. i've gotten condescending/backhanded comments but the only fic i've gotten a crumb of real hate on is my fic concept art which was.... interesting....

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

i do! i write the bad kind <3 no but srsly it's just nothing crazy or fun (imo)

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

no,,, maybe when i was like younger but as of now, no,,,

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

nope! but i think most of the ideas/plots i make up are really out there and abstract so if anyone tried-- good luck. i can barely keep up with some of my fic lore and that's because i have it all written down in my notes app.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

no, but i was thinking about translating my english stuff into spanish myself,,, and then i realized how much work that is so,,,

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

nah. i've thought about it... i just feel like my writing process takes a while and anybody stuck writing with me would end up regretting it lol

14. What's your all-time favourite ship

i ofc love my hotd dumpster fires (lucemond, rhaenicent, luaena, alysmond, jacegan, etc) but the first pairing that forever has a special place in my heart are soul&maka from soul eater,,,

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

i have this rhaenicent fic that was in the works but i just sort of lost any new plot to add to it. that tends to happen and my brain randomly picks things back up, but this one has been radio silent for a while,,, nothing i've teased or already have a preexisting work out for though!

16. What are your writing strengths?

detail. foreshadowing. outlandish things galore. you could give me an inanimate, random household item and i'd probably come up with a rlly intricate backstory for it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

probs smut and the amount of writing i do. average trs and legacies chapters are 5-10k and that leads to slow updates. but hey, i'm trying to learn about quality over quantity.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

hmmm the only other language i'm fluent in is spanish but none of the characters i write speak it so,,,, valryian is rlly the only language i write dialogue in for fics but that's generated through a translator so eh. things get lost in translation or don't come across with the initial intended meaning. at first, i used to think high valryian was such a nice, intimate undertone for fics but now as someone writing the dialogue and sourcing the translations-- i've become a bit immune. i just use it for plot reasons now.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

b-bts ff- on wattpad- [gunshot] (this was actually a really nice experience and intro into fic writing so,,, army borahae asf)

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

probs 'is this fate (or is this fear)'! i love black mirror and the actual premise is based on one of my own nightmare sequences, so how fun <3 no but yeah i wrote it in a week and felt so immensely pleased with myself for having stuck with the idea and then completing it,,,

tagging @droppofsaltt, @spiderlilac, @unohanabbygirl & anybody else who sees this and feels like doing it <3

[mistlestripe]

Redtail’s debt (mostly) rewrite concept ideas.

Okay so I skimmed over Redtail’s debt the other day, and GOD I was just never a fan of the writing in that book. Redtail’s character is super generic and like they just chose a random “protagonist” personality for him, the pacing is strange and fucks up the timeline a LOT considering Darkstripe nor Longtail are even IMPLIED to be conceived, and that doesn't even mention the terrible straight-up MISTAKES of Ravenpaw’s behavior and Oakheart’s death. 

Honestly my biggest gripe is his and Tigerclaws dynamic though. Tigerclaw in the first series is implied to be someone that EVERYONE trusts, someone who is noble and that people believe in as a good cat to trust their clan into (considering he became deputy, and clearly had enough of a reputation to become shadowclan’s leader). I don’t like how obviously evil he behaves, and how he seems to have a track-record of being violent and unnecessarily cruel (Acoording to a windclan cat in the book) . And I especially dont like how Redtail is characterized as naïve and is so obviously taken advantage of, and how Redtail grows to become hateful and distrustful of Tigerclaw despite the whole situation of that intending to be super unexpected and shocking. IDK I just think it’d have more depth if there was no “mistrust” involved, because we know how it turns out already, it just becomes boring if the characters themselves predict it.

Though warning i briefly mention spottedleaf’s heart around the beginning. However the contents of that book are never mentioned and only really referenced in regards to timeline issues I have.

It’s RLLY long just a warning. also srry for bad grammar and typos and rambly text.

Though do tell me your opinions! Let me know anything that is weird about my idea or anything that is GOOD about my idea! I’m not an experienced writer at all so I’d appreciate critique! (I do love to just discuss about it)

First off, while I’m not opposed to Willow/Red/Spotted all being siblings, I don’t like him being younger than tigerclaw like that. It’s not THAT big a deal but he’s implied to be super respectable, and it just makes not that much sense that Bluestar would pick a younger warrior over an older warrior. and more POINTEDLY I don’t like Spottedleaf being in that same litter bec that would imply she was super old by TPB T_T.... I’d probably just remove Spottedleaf from Redtail’s debt or just make it so she’s a kit during later in the book, rather than being of same age (they can still have the same parents, maybe it can be noted that Adderfang and Swiftbreeze are old and spottedleaf’s litter is gonna be their last litter (Which I know would mess with the timeline a bit since they retire, but its not that big a change I dont think? Or at least something that cant be fixed with other changes...) Spottedpaw doesnt do much in Redtail’s debt so it’s not so much a problem in here rather than in Spottedleaf’s heart. I could put him in Leopard/Patch’s litter but I’d rather not since I dont like him being older than Bluestar either/or that much older than Tigerclaw.

I do prefer Tigerclaw being younger than Redtail though, Ik it doesnt make much sense in line with bluestars prophecy but whatever we can just pretend like thats changed (as in redtail’s litter randomly being born at some point during then before Tigerstar’s, Tigerclaw’s birth would stay the same in the same time) --- It’d also work with some Willowpelt context I have in mind but I’ll get to that later

I’d basically swap the dynamic, Redtail being an older apprentice-near warrior age at the beginning of the book, and Tigerpaw being a newer, younger apprentice. I’d give him “YS brokenpaw” syndrome (i didnt care for that being brokenpaw’s personality anyways like its not terrible but whatever) and he’s SUPER eager to train and battle and be overly enthusiastic and eager to prove himself to his bitchy mentor thistleclaw and because of that he speaks out and misbehaves a lot.

My main idea is rather than the painfully obvious storytelling in Redtail’s debt where Redtail is naive and Tigerclaw saves him and then Tigerclaw makes him do evil things (which, I do not like that TIGERCLAW is specifically bad. It fucks up the first arc where it was “unexpected” and everyone looked up to him and wanted him to be deputy. like its just so blatant like give us subtlety pls)

Anyways but like instead of that I’d make it so TIGERPAW is the one who first gets into trouble, whereas Redpaw would be the one to save him -- Tigerpaw is shocked and angry he couldn’t save himself but Tigerpaw would tell Redpaw he “owes him one” and is gonna make it up to him one day

Then in another chapter there’d be a timeskip, Redtail becoming a warrior, this chapter would be mostly “fluff” parts (or it would just be giving stuff that leads to the next “action” part) But Tigerpaw reminds Redtail that even if he’s a warrior, that Tigerpaw will still make it up to him and to not forget his promise-- Redtail brushes this off though as he sees it as Tigerpaw just being young and not serious. It could note how old his mother is and how she declined being an elder or something

But after that it would eventually lead into a cat-battle, probably Riverclan related, and there would be some action moment where Redtail worries about his old mother and struggles to find her and assure that she’s safe, Only for Tigerpaw to save him and help him save his mother (Maybe he can also help redtail by helping him carry her if shes wounded or smth idk) And it basically ends up with Redtail being proud of Tigerpaw (Who could become Tigerclaw here actually because I dont think Tigerclaw’s warrior ceremony was ever given much reason other than them two just being warrior-aged, it’d be good for Tigerclaw’s reputation context in the first arc if he actually did more “great” acts) and it basically gets to Tigerclaw being like “I told you I would pay you back one day.” And Redtail being like “Thank you Tigerclaw. Whatever debt there was between us has been repaid honorably. I’m proud to call you my clanmate.” sort of thing blah blah. 

Note: A concept idea I had is that younger-Willowpelt is characterized similarly to Rosetail’s place in BP, being boy-interested and as an apprentice stating how she’d love to have kits some day (like beyond typical degree though), I thought of maybe keeping that old “Tawnyspots is Darkstripes father” concept but the relationship would be like a Nightcloud situation where she simply dated a much younger (though adult), unrelatable Crowfeather because she wanted to have kits--- I imagined it being gossip that Tawnyspots wants to have kits before he dies ((but it wouldn’t go in depth of their relationship, I don’t imagine Tawnyspots was actually in love with her but he wasn’t distant or abusive about it. It’d just be one of those things that are like “oh that makes sense because X” that are mentioned only in passing))-- though since it happened within a timeskip Darkkit’s father could go unnamed. Moving Red/Willow’s birth to before Tigerclaws would make this work more so that Willowpelt at least gets to be a warrior before Tawnyspots dies.

But then another timeskip and Willowpelt gives birth to Darkkit, probably just being the only one of his litter because tragedy is uneeded here, and Swiftbreeze also turns out to be pregnant around the same time (which cats could gossip about how old she is ig bec warrior cats are rude) --- ((Though actually I might make it so she has kits a little later, but not by that much))

This point is a little bit more cloudy in terms of my thought process, but I imagine whether it be a battle, or kit-danger, Tigerclaw saves Willowpelt and Darkkit in another intense *redtail scared for his family* moment, which would lead up to an interaction being like (not literally this is just what im coming up with) Tigerclaw: “I’m just repaying my debt. I’ll never forget how you saved my life Redtail.”  Redtail: “Your debt has been repaid. I promise, Tigerclaw, I’ll pay you back for all the times you’ve helped me, as you’ve done for me. Let’s consider this a debt of my own.”

(So which is what gives the title “Redtails debt” more depth up there ^^^ Also note at this point it wouldn’t be acknowledged but Tigerclaw’s kindness is now more “building up his reputation” rather than him being a nice person. like manipulatively he’s acting super noble)  And Although after this would leave an opening for some more plot (maybe some sort of fallout scene like the original RD had, but rather than it ending with Redtail not trusting him I think I’d make it so Tigerclaw ties it up much better and Redtail still trusts him MAYBE something like there’s a sunningrocks battle and some character dies because Tigerclaw tells him not to give up/end the fight-- though it wouldn't end with Redtail not trusting Tigerclaw or hating him), But even from there it could have the timeskip to the prequel sunningrocks battle, Ravenpaw actually acts like Ravenpaw, I’d prefer to show off more of the younger apprentices then bec thats cute and iconic, and Redtail as a “death flag” moment where he reminds Tigerclaw that he’ll pay him back and never forget his debt. Redtail DOESNT kill oakheart, and as Tigerclaw kills him the last words Redtail hears from Tigerclaw is “Consider your debt repaid.”

[ceramicdove]

hello dove! i am intending to send a similar ask to matthew and angie so if u see them answering asks of the like thats whats up. anyways, i finished jane austens persuasion today. its a rlly lovely book, pondering on something i never rlly thought of but which has enlightened me quite a lot as someone in the position of persuader myself. theres a lot of craft put into it thats very clever and delightful... but i only realised it by reading the introduction after reading the whole book! im not very good at noticing literary techniques at all or implications in words and actions unless theyre very obvious :( reasonably this troubles me (although i hope this ask does not do the same for u)

as someone who reads a lot i assume or just has a great deal of passion for what u read , what do u do to become more sensitive to texts so u can form such nuanced and layered takes! or really how do u read in general?

hello to you too, lab! it took me a while to get around to this, though I strongly enjoyed angie’s and matthew's responses. I've yet to read persuasion, but you make me curious about it, so I may add it to my reading list. Thank you for choosing me to answer this as well! It's an honour.

angie and matthew both wrote very solid and informative responses with more practical advice, so I will ruin this streak of well-sharpened answers by offering you the most dove-like response there is: one that is very long, tangential, and convoluted. this is a theoretical and personal response, it will carry parts that are more like general rants on how people engage with reading, rather than things targeted at you specifically. but this is just how I am. you likely already knew that when you chose to ask me this.

To preface my actual thoughts with a more personal & anecdotal segment: despite your assumption, I actually don't read a lot (what even is "a lot"?), despite wanting to. I'm frequently disappointed with my short-comings in reading and analysis. I have glaring issues with feeling restless and having a poor attention span and memory while reading, which makes it difficult for me to parse through long texts. Like you, I struggle with taking certain things at face value. I have to rely on re-reading a lot.

It's something I beat myself up over frequently. I'm very eager to pursue knowledge, and I always feel like the more I learn, the more I realise I ultimately know absolutely nothing. It's so easy to feel unbearably small. It's a very human thing, but it also makes it difficult to healthily relate with myself when I set such a high bar. at times, it has made me very doubtful about whether my thoughts are worthy of sharing.

Plenty of those who either are or wish to be into analysis & literature place a lot of value and pressure on the act of being someone intellectual, someone who reads a lot, someone who can read a book one time, understand it, and walk away to the next book. I get a lot of youtube videos about literature in my recommended, videos about people who read dozens upon dozens of books in a year, people who read 15 long books in just one month. It's a nice mental image, no? you must be so smart, being able to say "I read 100 books this year!"

I have never read 100 books in one year. I probably never will.

I think many of us don't engage with reading the way we should. I think there's too much pressure placed on being fast and doing more, instead of taking your time and doing better.

reading is a skill. the ideal way to improve a skill is not by mindlessly practicing a lot or as fast as you can, just so you can feel fulfilled by the concept of practicing so much. the ideal way of improving a skill is by identifying your own blind spots, your pace & personal needs, and understanding each piece of knowledge you gain as you evolve.

this is NOT to say that anyone who reads a lot must be a faux-pas intellectual who doesn't actually understand what they're reading, or that you HAVE to pour over every paragraph in a literary work in order to be a good reader. my point is that the desire to "read more" (implicitly the desire to be fulfilled, passionate, smart) is a slippery slope into feeling inferior because you can't read fast enough, can't understand a specific metaphor, can't understand a book if you only read it once, can't do [X] and [Y].

we are all different people, with vastly different minds, needs, and limits.

this is something I'm still coming to terms with. I'm 17, going on 18, and my relationship with art & analysis is constantly shifting as I age. but, fucking hell, you can read just 3 books front-to-back in a year and still have that be more impactful than reading 30 books, solely based on what you read and how you choose to extend your time and sensibility to the work.

You can dedicate a year of your life to loving one singular work, researching all of its references, absorbing its vision. You can do that with just one work, and have that singular experience expand your general culture, evolve your relationship with art and analysis as a whole, or even change your life. Conversely, you can have a massive bookshelf and still have the sensibility & analysis skills of a cardboard box. We are obsessed with doing more, and subsequently beating ourselves up for not doing more, for no reason at all.

the point I'm trying to make is that many of us are a little too hard on ourselves, or are looking at things from the wrong angle. and I really do understand your sentiment of being troubled! I finished utena last night and found myself almost overwhelmed by how much content & symbolism there was that I still needed to go back to and grasp. there were moments when I questioned my own merits as someone who enjoys critical analysis.

but there's a reason why many books have published student guides: lots of people will naturally struggle to grasp certain literary devices. there is no shame in using whatever resources you have at hand. there are entire books and blogs published on understanding specific authors and their works. there's a reason why author's notes exist.

there will be authors who will confuse you, authors that will make you second-guess yourself constantly, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. we all have different lives, minds, and artistic visions. some authors just have narrative voices you can't connect with very well, and that can be a matter of personal discrepancy. there will be times when you will have to offer yourself patience or look towards external sources. similarly, because you have your own individual mind and vision, there will be instances where other people may seek your help, or praise you for how easily you could grasp an idea that is natural to you, but complex to others.

part of my sensibility as both a reader & writer came from acknowledging all of the aforementioned things, and fighting to untangle them in my mind so I can read in a way that is natural to me and my needs. this is something I still do every day. I still doubt myself every day. I still feel guilty every day. for not being smart enough, not understanding things fast enough, not being a good learner, not being able to use my own words when I need to. but ultimately, I try to remain as open as I can.

would some people be surprised to hear that a lot of my ideas on ES, the ones you and I have spoken of, stem from information I've slowly picked up from other people? I did not re-invent the wheel! I was just open to everything until I started to alchemize everything I learned into my own ideas.

I was insanely different when I first started reading these stories back in the summer of 2021. it's now december 2022, I have re-read some of them more times than I can count. I have read other people's thoughts, at first passively, as a neutral audience member taking everything in, then critically, as someone who has a more solidified vision. the thing is, I still remain open, and still believe I essentially know nothing. but I needed external influence to get to this point.

angie is actually someone who helped me feel more driven towards pursuing and sharing my thoughts with people before we were even friends like we are now, and his analysis & writing is very meaningful and dear to me. it can be really important to have people you can talk to and share ideas with, and that can prove to be mutually beneficial as well. I'm not exactly sure where I'd be now if it weren't for his presence!

in my own case, another part of being nuanced and layered lies in my nature of being open. there is no secret mechanism to this. the truth is, I am inherently what some would call naive. the word "naive" is quite derogatory, and it's true that carrying this childishness has caused me a lot of cognitive dissonance, emotional turmoil, and consequences. but, sometimes, and especially in the field of art, it grants me a special kind of sensibility. it's part of who I am. I am very open to wonder and to child-like feelings. I am very prone to offering the benefit of the doubt and to believing in everything and everyone. I am not a push-over, but I am malleable. I absorb everything around me until I can mature my knowledge and evolve my own ideas.

this can be a downfall, it can cause me to become so conflicted with my ideas that I can't bear it, and it has isolated me at times. but it has also manifested itself as an artistic and interpretative strength, an internal world I see that others cannot.

look into yourself and how you engage with art, and come to terms with your own strengths and needs as someone who both creates and engages with creations. you are a very sensible and intelligent person, and I admire you for that. perhaps we all just need more time with ourselves in order to find a method of engaging with texts that is more personal and holistic to us.

generally speaking, in no particular order, this is what I do:

-> I re-read the material as many times as I feel called to. re-reading is my natural way of evolving information. I seek patterns and reoccurring symbols, structures that sew the story together.

-> I take note of any terms or references that are foreign to me, and I research them as deeply as I can to see if I can find anything useful to my interpretation. sometimes, I will put coloured post-it indexes on the pages of a book to mark information I plan to research at a later time, or I use my highlighter chrome extension if I'm reading digitally. wikipedia, articles, academic papers, and guidebooks are my best friends.

-> I stay open to what other people are saying and weigh in their perspectives. I try to understand people's backgrounds, as well as what they seek from the story, so I can understand why they look at it in that way. I take information that is new and intriguing to me, and I leave the rest behind.

-> I can get very restless and overwhelmed quickly if I focus too much on a text, so I give myself time to process information. I write down analysis notes, half-baked as they may be in the beginning, in order to unravel any confused and tangled thoughts in my mind and give myself space to think and evolve more calmly.

-> I listen to ambiental music or meditate in order to cool off and allow ideas to come to me more easily. entering this flow state can be crucial to me as someone who easily gets too energetic or tense when trying to process information and ideas.

-> I try to take a step back when I am frustrated with my understanding of a text, and I either seek external resources, come back to it a bit later, or I put it on the backburner for when I feel that my reading skills are more developed and I can tackle it more confidently.

I could say a million other things, but I already think it's a miracle if you even read this far in the first place. if you did, thank you. I emphatise with your feelings a lot, since I have shared similar experiences with understanding prose, poetry, and plays alike. this is something I am still actively learning for myself. I hope we can both continue finding ways to grow as readers!

[voidfishing]

HELLO taz balance ask time.

1. Do you have a favorite bit? (For example ‘fifty shades of green’)

2. What planet(s) would you add to stolen century? Why, if you have a reason?

3. Do you have fun headcanons or theories 👀👀👀

1. yes!!!!! it is so so hard to pick bc so many of the bits get me but I absolutely love the “and then I walk over to…” bit in episode 68. it’s just rlly cute and a fun tension break during the finale…. I know Magnus and Carey definitely had those celebratory sandwiches <3

2. MAN….. I mean. First off would absolutely add a flora-based planet where the only life is technically plant life/fungi/algae. cause of course there would be 10000 jokes about Merle but also it would just be a fun little concept and I do wish we had seen more of him being a nature guy in a not horny way lol.

but ALSO. I would add more planets with civilizations. Different sorts of governments and groups of people and cultures…. Yeah they couldn’t include a ton bc the stolen century ended up being longer than intended in the first place but it would’ve been cool to see more worlds & how the IPRE became attached (or ambivalent, in Taako’s case) to them all

3. & yes always!! one headcanon I’ve got that I’m thinking abt a lot at the moment is Merle bringing Mavis & Mookie with him whenever he visits his friends. and the IPRE/bureau crew having to navigate handling Mookie. because this is a group of people who saved the world this is a team of incredibly powerful people… and this tiny little gremlin of a child is too much for them to handle. Except for Carey and Magnus. they will roughhouse with Mookie for hours they are the only people who can keep up with that kid’s energy!!! Mavis will be chilling on the couch with Lucretia talking quietly as Magnus, Carey and Mookie run around them playing the most intense game of tag that has ever occurred

[somereaderinblue]

Yk tfw a detail you put into a work ends up having even more depth/symbolism than you intended? That's how I feel the longer I look at the epithet I gave Tesla in the Purple Hyacinth AU.

During the first stage of planning, my good friend Shadsie suggested "Ghost of the Sands" which alludes to her canon-fate/ghost appearance in Trimax. I ended up running with the ghost theme bcz 1) it sounded cool & 2) I liked how the allusion doubles as a reminder that tho this is the same character, she is NOT living the same story.

Then I began to build Tesla. I researched synonyms for ghost, purple & disaster and settled on Wraith, Violet & Calamity. Boom, just like that it happened again.

Wraith was an extra letter from the word 'wrath', reflecting the anger & ruthlessness Tesla is capable of. Violet is a shade of the colour she associates with love but it's one letter less from 'violent' which encompasses the world she lives in.

I had the persona, now I had to focus on the person. I like to think I've come a long way with her, esp since canon & fanfics can only give you so much to work with. When I talked abt her with other moots, she wasn't just a concept but a character. And it's through conversation that a perception of said character can change.

I made a joke with sapphofinch that involved PH!Tesla messing with someone, being an overall chaotic gremlin. Then I paused & realized that the 'supernatural' angle I gave Tesla rlly did suit her character a lot.

When we think supernatural, ghosts, monsters, curses & the usual horrors are what comes to mind. But if you look deeper, it also includes mischievous creatures, cunning spirits & other beings that can offer protection, healing, strength. All of which fits PH!Tesla to a T.

*smh* In this day & age where creativity is being put through the wringer no thanks to AI, I'm once again in awe of how human creativity, have it be from someone else or even my own, continues to surprise us in ways AI never could.

[burning-sol]

Thinking abt themzt. I feel like I never rlly talked abt the general concept for the eldritchstrings au, so I'm just gonna do a little ramble here while my brain refuses to focus on anything else.

The way the story starts is pretty much exactly the same and everything is about the same until Rumi and Peter meet Thanatos. In the original work, Rumi and Thanatos are able to find some common ground that gives way to them fighting side by side without issue. In the common eldritchstrings au, the single force that completely alters the timeline is Rumi not being able to establish chemistry with Thanatos. Rumi doesn't agree with Thanatos' ideology, and moreover Rumi is already feeling a complete incongruence between their visions and reality that's making them react very not normally. They're able to defeat the first blight together, but Rumi feels disillusioned/confused/troubled enough by the circumstances that they politely part ways with Thanatos, and take Peter with them - the one who Rumi is most sure they're meant to be with, the one who agrees with them, their emotional support.

Rumi doesn't know if parting with Thanatos was a good choice or not, and being even further off script than intended will create a big internal conflict going forward.

Thanatos will continue to proceed as he had in the original narrative, but Rumi and Peter are going about their adventure differently. They take frequent stops and meet other people, which actually puts them *ahead* of Thanatos since they usually end up knowing where to go. This is also incredibly self-indulgent for Rumi, since performing for others boosts their own morale and helps affirm their identity which they're very in need of (and later this is to affirm them of their morals too). However, this is pretty much the only benefit of them separating from Thanatos.

Since there is no longer a third member to make the party stronger, Exandroth has become an unavoidable and essential part of the cast. Rumi *cannot* ignore Exandroth and *cannot* undermine her like they'd done in the original story. Rumi and Exandroth are weaker so they actually have to talk and strategise, and their intense dependency is highlighted by the fact that every god fight from now on is going to nearly KILL them. This will cause Peter to have a very depressing character arc as Peter comes to think of himself as being completely worthless, as seems to be proven by his inability to fight like Exandroth, so yeah the structure of the team really does its own work in shaping the narrative.

That is everything that sets up the eldritchstrings au, that's how I have come to imagine how the eldritchstrings dynamic could even be a conceivable thing. From here there's a lot of different decisions you can make abt how you want the story to go, but yeah that's the set up.

I could rant abt a lot of things from here, but like you know. I just find it to be such a brain worm to think about how Rumi ends up falling for Exandroth. All the interactions and the dependancy building up to, "shit, I actually like Exandroth," and Rumi then has an absolute mental breakdown over it. Rumi doesn't like Exandroth, Rumi doesn't approve of Exandroth's existence, Rumi hates Exandroth for what it does to Peter, but Rumi being forced to interact with her makes it undeniable that Exandroth is its own whole entity. Exandroth can say things, feels things, Exandroth can be funny, and it's incredibly hard to maintain a b&w view of Exandroth when Rumi is forced to confront its humanity ig. It's a brain worm to think about Peter's own quiet emotional struggle in the face of everything, his desperate longing to feel wanted, and although Rumi tells him he's wanted he just can't feel that when he (feels) *knows* he has nothing to give. Peter has nothing to give Rumi that'll help contribute to Rumi's goals, so Peter can't even entertain the idea he has value. And Exandroth.. Well, Exandroth is so fucking wild. I don't even have the brain capacity to get into her rn.

Also, shoutout to Exandroth and Rumi maybe killing Thanatos. Holding up a flag that reads "doom" on it like wow. You have selected the bad ending for this adventure. "Are you sure you want to kill your old companion, definitively turning away from idealistic path you had initially longed for, as well as proving your unwavering will to become god no matter the obstacle in your path?"

As I think I put succinctly in a prev post...

Rumi is trying to be so nice and explain that they're the god slayers and they're the good guys and that you should put your trust in them then Exandroth says loudly, "GIRL, WE KILLED THANATOS". "No. No we didn't. Exandroth loves to joke around ahahah cause you see he's a celestial so Exandroth doesn't really know what human humour is like so don't mind him-" "GIRL WE HAD A DRAMATIC DIALOGUE AND THEN VERY DELIBERATELY KILLED SOMEONE WHO YOU SAID WE WERE DESTINED TO KILL THE GODS WITH. I THINK WE'RE FUCKING EVIL OR SOMETHING." "We are not evil." "WE ARE FUCKING VILLAINS." "We are not villains." "WE ARE GOING TO BE THE SECOND WORST THING TO HAPPEN TO THIS EARTH."

[primussavethesemechs]

So for all you bringing up a tmnt 2012 and rise! Crossover, first of all- YES yes yes yes

First things first

//ROTTMNT MOVIE SPOILERS//

Ok so- I’ve seen people bring up potential angst at 2012 seeing rise! Splinter since they lost theirs, and separately from the crossover I’ve seen plenty of Leo dying in the prison dimension, and plenty of ideas on how that could’ve happened, but I haven’t seen anyone connect the two yet

Here me out

2012 turtles get shuttled into the Rise!Universe through whatever means, and Donnie is the first to land. He gets separated from the others and is found by the rise!Turtles while trying to find his way back to them. Since the 2012 bros have been through this kinda thing before he’s not too shocked (although the Rise gang obviously is). He mentions that his brothers should be back there where he first dropped in and that they should go find them before they start figuring out a way home. He’s definitely weirded out by Raph being in charge but he knows shit gets weird in diff universes and since he hasn’t seen their Leo yet he figures this Raph might just be in defacto leader mode while their Leo is out on solo patrol.

This all obviously goes to shit almost immediately when the groups meet, as the 2012 bros already figured out what’s going on but are still shocked to see a huge Raph escorted by their Donnie. It gets much worse when Raph notices there’s a fourth turtle with a blue bandanna. He looks nothing like his own Leo, and doesn’t seem anything like him either from his calmer disposition, but he’s still a Leo and hearing that name is enough.

Cue a clueless Leo being swarmed by a crying Mikey for hugs, Raph having dropped to his knees, still processing the thought that there’s a version of Leo that Lived, how happy it makes him that one survived, how angry he is that theirs didn’t, and how much it might’ve been his fault. Rise!Donnie is more standoffish than ever, backing away in horror? Fear? A swirl of emotions that he couldn’t identify, staring at this twisted funhouse mirror version of his lost twin, a distorted ghost of what used to be.

None of the 2012 brothers know what to do or even really whats happening, but after processing Mikey’s sobs about how he missed him, raph finally taking his turn to shed some tears but willing himself not to yank this unfamiliar version of his brother into a stranglehold of a hug, and the distinct lack of a another Leo, they slowly dawned on the horrifying realization that this version of their family seemed to be missing a brother.

———

I’ve been writing a longer version of this, something more like a ficlet, but I thought I’d put the concept out there first and see if people like it!

[catcze]

A rlly random concept that hit me out of nowhere: 

Imagine, like, a Percy Jackson-ish AU for Genshin. Where instead of greek gods and demigods, you have the Archons and vision holders. So there’s just, like, this sort of safe haven where Vision holders just sorta live and thrive together without regular people knowing they exist, you know? You’ve got Venti/Barbatos, the Anemo Archon who watches over the place and cares for the vision holders, accompanied by Zhongli/Morax, the Geo Archon who has left his extensive history wrought with war to instead live a quieter life. There are both adult and non-adult vision holders who live in this safe haven, though there are a few vision holders who have left it to live among the regular people without visions. 

And imagine, right, that one of those people is Ningguang, a CEO of a company, and your boss. You’re her PA, and tbh she’s really cool, if a bit work-driven, and there’s this really cool lady with black hair and an eye patch that visits her every now and then whose name you haven’t learned yet, but you know the two hang out and are good friends. You’ve wave to her a couple times, and she always waves back. 

So, like, in this scenario you’d have aspects of the traveller, I guess, but I don’t intend for the reader to actually be Lumine or Aether–– I’m just using their abilities as a sort of template aksjndas ANyway, so you, the reader, have always had an affinity for predicting the wind and the weather–– it’s nothing much tbh, just a sort of affinity you’ve picked up. Though you can only remember being able to do this after your family had once visited an old statue once while you were touring the countryside.

Now obvs after working with you for some time, Ningguang would probably notice that you can do these small Anemo-related things, and she’d confront you about it, thinking you may be a vision holder. However, she’s p surprised when you give her the run-down and she discovers that you know practically nothing about Archons and visions, though you seem to be able to control Anemo to a limited extent. So she sends word home, and Zhongli and Venti ask to meet you. When you eventually do meet, you learn that you can sort of resonate with either Archon at will, and that doing so grants you vision-like powers, but without the physical Vision. Since this is a peculiar case, they encourage you to stay with them in the safe haven, since there are risks to you walking around unguarded and on your own in the normal world, especially now that word may have gotten out about a visionless element-wielder. 

And, I mean, their reasoning makes sense, right? Plus, when you’re around competent vision-holders, they could help you master your powers. So you agree to stay in the safe haven, where you meet new people and build your new life.

I,,, don’t really know where I’m going with this (surprise surprise) but ik that If i do make this, I want to make it a sort of choose your own story type? Nothing too long–– unlikely for each route to have too many chapters or too much plot and drama, since I wanna mainly focus this around the romance and fluff aspect of it. 

There are a few interesting characters that you would be able to get to know better and maybe even form a romance with in the story, each with their own routes,, 👀 These were a few who I had in mind:

Xiao, the solitary adeptus protector, who doesn’t really interact with anyone aside from ensuring their safety, and who may be a bit hard to approach at first, btu is actually relatively easy to get along with over time.

Diluc, another vision holder who went back out into the human world, and who runs the Dawn Winery. After hearing about your story, he offers to try and convince the Archons to let you back out into the human world, as long as he’s there to protect you.

Kazuha, a wanderer who occasionally visits as a break from his travels. His route would be a bit more slow-burn than the other two, since, as a traveller, your first few meetings would have time gaps between them, but the more you two get to know each other, his visits lengthen and become more frequent.

Beidou, Ningguang’s friend who easily recognized you when you began building a new life. She takes you for the occasional trip to a beach/lake, where you two ride a boat and just pass time. She’s super supportive of you, and she helps a ton when it comes to your new start.

Dainsleif, the mysterious stranger who you meet in the woods farther away from where the vision-holders stay. He seems to have a grudge against the Archons, but for some reason you don’t feel in danger when you’re around him. He seems to be rather fond of you, too, but there’s something about him that... Well, you just can’t put your finger on it.

I also wanna do some other characters like Ganyu, Childe, Kaeya, maybe even Gorou and Tohma if I can. akjsnda Idk i just can’t currently think about their roles in this kind of universe, but if I ever actually get around to doing it, I’m sure it would be fun knasjkd

[briarrosescurse]

😈 care to tell me more abt da twins... doesn’t need to be lore heavy jus anything abt maybe why they do their hair that way or how they style their uniforms or the meanings of their names I’m curious 🤧

OH MY GOD YES HELLO ANY TIME???? yukin i love you for asking me that. thank u so much, it is always morally correct to ask me about the twins bc i love them with my entire being

the way they do their hair !! okay i rlly kinda wanted to draw like. cute matching twin-tails/buns for them, bc it would bounce off well w/their entire identical twin thing, but they also just are two people who def LOVE trying cute different hair styles !! lately i've been thinking about tess having a cute bob style or smth in the future...... grabs my tablet

as for their uniforms ! tess prefers a more gyaru-ish style !! i def think she could go out more on it and add more accessories but she also feels like the type who just loses a lot of her accessories NHDFJFDK she likes a comfy but stylish uniform ! and jess likes a typically formal but also stylish-cute uniform ! like short pencil skirts - she loves pencil skirts and skirts with leg slits, no one can take that from me HDJFFJ. but other than, she goes along w/the standards rules ! i don't think she likes skipping the blazer or the vest, they just add onto the look,,, and and !! both of the twins are matchies as well, bc they both tie their dorm armband into little ribbons <3

jess and tess - full names are jessica and teresa ! honestly i just tried to look for possibly matching twin names and jess and tess came in mind; i at first didnt intend on keeping the names, they were only placeholders, but i kinda grew attached to them qwqq. esp their actual names, it kinda goes to show that they deliberately chose to take the matchies even a step further :] as for miata. well. its just like the car <3

their bday is on the national twins day bc i love to be on the nose ! (december 18)

they actually went thru quite the change compared to their initial concept - not only did their design change quite a bit, but their personalities too. previously they were a lot more like the "typical fangirls" but i kinda wanted to deviate from that bc it simply just didnt feel like the kind of thing i'd write - and here we are ! two women who are a little too bitter at the world, hehe <3 (my little meowmeow blorbos)