#i think maybe the only piece of lore with the staying power to do something interesting would be gallifrey

[aerithisms]

whenever people talk about ideas for the "whoniverse" i always can't help but be like. but what's the point. like people talk about the potential of setting shows "in the doctor who universe" but doctor who barely has a consistent universe that's the whole appeal! the show constantly makes shit up in order to facilitate whatever story it's telling that particular week and that often involves contradicting itself and none of us care because nobody is coming to doctor who for expansive lore. the show's entire MO is that it can do anything and be anything all on its own. what can an expanded universe possibly do but dilute that

[cryscendo]

Hi, how about an abrupt,  heated kiss during the middle of a fight for Klaine?

i bet you didn’t think i would ever respond to this!! well i will say that i kinda ran away with this plot a bit. does it fit the prompt? only vaguely. BUT it’s another thrilling installment to my angel/demon au with a bit more lore thrown in. dedicating it to you as well as @porcelainvino for their various art pieces for this au <3 hope you love it and sorry for the wait!!

Paring: Kurt Hummel/Blaine Anderson

Word Count: 2030

Rating: T

AU: Angel/Demon AU

fic can be read under the cut <3

There were a lot of things that turned out to be just as unpleasant about falling, not including the actual falling part.

For one, he was weaker than he used to be. He did suspect that would happen, but it still hurt his ego a bit. He used to have so much power that he often didn’t even know what all to do with it. Not that he really could do much with it anyway; the big men upstairs never allowed much fun to be had. More time was spent existing as a militant entity than was spent actually basking in the alleged splendor that was heaven.

If given the option between going back to that or experiencing the pain of falling all over again, Kurt would choose to fall every damn day.

Besides, angels don’t get to play with humans like they’re Barbie dolls. And that’s way more fun.

The man before him, unsuspecting and ignorant, saw Kurt at a bar and thought he’d be an easy target. Kurt knew he perfectly looked the part of a young man getting his first drink at a bar as a twenty-one year old. Aging was such an earthly concept and Kurt was not burdened with it. But to an older man, the illusion of wide-eyed innocence was all too compelling.

Kurt claimed he ‘knew a spot’, which was just as cliché as it sounded, but it was effective nonetheless. Apparently intelligence didn’t always come with age.

It wasn’t long after he got the man to the abandoned storage facility that he knew something was terribly, terribly wrong. Not soon enough, though, for Kurt had already made quick work of knocking the man out and handcuffing him to a chair. When he came to once more, it was in a fit of panic.

“Look, I didn’t sign up for this kind of crazy! So just let me go, okay?” The man pleaded with Kurt and it was charming if nothing else. Kurt leaned over him, one knee braced against the chair in a way that could be seen as provocative in any other circumstance.

“What, am I too old for you?” Kurt asked in a mocking whine. “I swear, I’m only twenty, maybe thirty centuries old!”

“Whatever game you’re playing here, kid, I’m not interested so just let me-”

“Let him go, Kurt,” a voice spoke up behind him. Kurt grinned as he straightened up. Of course he would show up. It was impossible for him to stay away. He made a bit of a show of turning around to face the new arrival — his favorite little angel.

He turned towards the voice, maintaining his flirty tone. “Just can’t stay away from me, can you?”

“You could say that,” Blaine replied and that’s when Kurt saw it — the glint of a blade held discreetly in his palm. He recognized the weapon, as it was a piece from Heaven’s arsenal. See, a regular knife couldn’t kill Kurt.

But that one could.

Kurt’s grin dropped as he backed away from the man strapped to the chair, and subsequently also away from Blaine. “What do you think you’re doing with that?”

“You attract too much attention to yourself.”

“Well, I can’t help but pull focus,” Kurt responded in a rather clipped manner. The man in the chair began to panic even more upon being approached by Blaine.

“Listen, man,” the guy began quickly, “you don’t need to kill him or anything! Just let me go and I’ll be on my way!”

Blaine’s eyes flickered down to the stranger, eerily calm. “You don’t need to see this,” he said simply and before the man could even begin to reply, Blaine rested his palm to his forehead, immediately knocking him out. Putting a human to sleep rather than killing them; that was so painfully just like Blaine to do.

“Why do you have that thing?” Kurt interrogated the second that the man was unconscious.

Blaine turned the knife a bit in his hand as if observing it. “Come on, Kurt, you know exactly what this is.”

Kurt maintained a semi-safe distance. “Why do you need that thing to kill me? You’ve never needed that for a demon before.” It was true. Blaine could take down a demon easily. It made them cruelly unmatched. Blaine had never threatened to kill him before, but it would be undoubtedly easy for him to do so should he want to. For Blaine, a demon is an easy target. He was an easy target.

Unless…

Kurt’s grin returned. “You can’t kill me, can you?” He asked coyly.

Blaine remained serious, but Kurt could see a crack in his expression letting on that he was nervous. Kurt seemed to always have that effect on him. “Not at my rank, no,” he said simply, but Kurt knew what he meant. He wasn’t strong enough to take out Kurt. An ordinary demon, he’d have no problem. But as luck would have it, Kurt wasn’t an ordinary demon.

Kurt took a risk. He moved a few steps towards Blaine and the weapon he possessed. “You’re not going to kill me.”

“I could.”

A few more steps. “But you won’t.”

“I might.”

“But you won’t.” Kurt was directly in front of him now. He knew it was a dangerous game, but he had a point to prove. “Because if you were going to, you would’ve done it already. So tell me angel, was this a direct order from one of your bossmen, or are you just simply that obsessed with me?”

“Don’t push your luck, Kurt,” Blaine spoke, gravely serious.

“Or what?” Kurt challenged. He could feel Blaine’s steady breaths from just how close they were. Blaine’s gaze met his evenly. “If you’re going to kill me, then do it. I’m wide open.” Kurt tilted his head a fraction, his eyes alight with the rush that comes with toying with Blaine. His tone shifted into something devilishly flirtatious as he spoke again. “So, y’know, take me, I’m yours and all that.”

It was then that Blaine sprung into action. With quick work, he managed to securely grip onto the collar of Kurt’s shirt, using his strength over the other to force Kurt backwards. There was a time where Kurt may have been stronger than him. But Kurt gave all that up, and he still refused to regret it.

That didn’t mean he loved Blaine constantly using that fact against him.

Blaine got him against a wall with one particularly rough push. Kurt felt the brittle wall crack slightly behind him. Fuck, Blaine was strong.

Blaine was strong.

Once Blaine has Kurt pinned defenseless against the wall, he brings the blade down. Kurt doesn’t know whether it was thanks to adrenaline, or his own sense of speed in the face of self-preservation, but he reached up and circled his fingers around Blaine’s wrist before he could manage to connect the weapon.

The blade stilled, suspended in the air between them. Kurt imagined the scene was almost picturesque in a way — him pressed between Blaine’s firm body and the unforgiving wall, his long fingers locked around Blaine’s wrist. Angel and demon. Lovers. Enemies.

Blaine really was going to kill him.

Their shared breathing revealed the exhaustion that their overexertion had caused. Kurt knew, given his current position, he was fully at Blaine’s mercy. The mercy of an angel who just tried to kill him.

That gave Kurt little other choice. Slowly, he tugged at Blaine’s wrist until the blade was sitting just above his throat. He leveled Blaine with a steely look, deathly serious. “Well, go ahead, angel. Do what you gotta do.”

“I don’t want to kill you, Kurt,” Blaine clarified, but didn’t pull the blade away.

“Could’ve fooled me,” he bit out before he could even think to check his tone. This was, in large part, his own doing. He opened the door for Blaine to corner him, he really had no right to be upset about it actually occurring. Even in his current position, Kurt couldn’t refrain from looking down his nose at Blaine, hoping to properly demonstrate his distaste from his present circumstances. “I’m guessing you got assigned a job from one of the big men upstairs?”

“You’re lucky that it’s me and not someone else.”

“Oh yeah, I sure feel lucky.” Kurt’s fingers twitched around Blaine’s wrist as he continued to hold the blade close to Kurt’s throat. But hasn’t pressed in yet, and Kurt cannot fathom why. He has the perfect opportunity. Kurt is basically giving him a free pass, so why isn’t he going for it? “Well?”

Blaine’s grip on the weapon slacked just a bit. “Nothing is ever easy with you.”

“So why don’t you take care of the problem?”

Blaine said nothing, did nothing. He only stood and continued to watch Kurt in silence, and Kurt could practically see the flurry of thoughts swirl around in Blaine’s head. Kurt almost felt bad for the guy; he knew that he didn’t make Blaine’s job simple, and admittedly, does very little to combat that fact.

Eventually, though, Blaine shakes his head. “You’re right. I won’t do it.”

The sound of the metal blade clattering to the ground reverberated discordantly off the walls of the warehouse.

Kurt took no time to ponder Blaine’s decision to spare him. Instead, he kicked the weapon away from the two of them and then, in quick succession, flipped their two positions. Blaine didn’t put up any fight with being pushed up against the wall himself. He could break free if he really wanted to. He chose not to.

“Do you still love me, Blaine?” Kurt asked, not ready for the words to fall from his mouth before they did.

“Are demons even capable of love?”

Kurt wasn’t sure. Maybe demons who never experienced love aren’t. Love is formed from soul, grace, and humanity, of which demons have none.

But Kurt wasn’t always a demon, and he still didn’t really fit the mold of one. Fallen angels are different from regular demons. They still possess morality, at least to some extent. It was just like Kurt to never really fit in anywhere.

“Do you? Still love me?”

Honey colored eyes gazed at Kurt with something akin to sympathy, which would burn his blood if it weren’t for the fact that he so desperately needed a response.

Blaine nodded.

Kurt kissed him. He didn’t even hesitate. With Blaine pinned up against the wall, it was easy for him to leverage a searing, bruising kiss against soft lips. Blaine always tasted the same, like coffee, — such an earthly pleasure that he achieved no benefit from and only chose to indulge for its luxury — and something else a touch more divine. Kurt couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but it tasted vaguely familiar from the holy kingdom that he was no longer welcome to.

Kurt pulled away with a sigh. Blaine panted quietly, a faintly pink blush forming under tanned skin. Kurt was right about one thing, Blaine was an angel — in every sense of the word.

“I don’t suppose I can convince you to disappear for your own safety?” Blaine eventually asked.

Kurt smiled. “Not a chance in hell.”

Blaine nodded in understanding, as if he already anticipated Kurt’s response. “You always were stubborn to a fault.”

Blaine wasn’t wrong. And as much as he would love to stand here with Blaine forever, it wasn’t wise to hang around angels for too long — even if the angel in question was Blaine.

He finally stepped away from Blaine, allowing the man some space. Kurt glanced over to the man tied to the chair. He had forgotten that guy was here. He was simply a means to an end, afterall.

“You may want to wipe that guy’s mind, angel. Or else he’s going to be a real problem when he wakes up.”

Kurt headed towards the exit of the building, but not before Blaine called out to him. “Suddenly not so keen on sticking around?”

Kurt grinned, if not mostly to himself. “Oh, don’t worry, you’ll find me again. And who knows? Maybe you’ll actually have it in you to kill me next time.”

[love-triangles-au]

Gotta know, which Triangle is needier?

(Mod Minty let me steal her art for today's edition of the gay geometry channel. Say "thanks Minty for letting us see your gorgeous art!")

Bill, by a longshot!

Y'see, when he eventually realized that he actually does kind of give a crap about Venuz, he became aware of something: oh, no, a whole lot of people want my loved one dead. Sound familiar?

With that realization comes an immediate (and in his mind extremely embarrassing) trauma response. The last time he loved someone, they were taken from him brutally and unfairly, and the very nature of Venuz being the Gun God means that he is destined to eventually be succeeded.

Now, rationally, what happened to Liam was not at all Bill's fault -- his big brother was basically doomed from the moment he was born -- but as we all know trauma loves to make no sense. Because Liam was taken away while Bill was out, a part of him feels like if he had just been there maybe he could've done something.

And so we begin what we've dubbed the "separation anxiety arc".

He tries to bottle it up, god knows he does, because if Bill's good at anything it's pretending like everything's okay, but the moment Venuz goes to walk out the door it's like being hit with a bolt of lightning made of "what-if"s.

Luckily for him, the first couple times Venuz can just stay home or take him with him. Frankly, more often than not he goes to work as more of a way to keep the day interesting than anything else, but eventually it becomes clear that this is a serious problem.

The more the behaviour is enabled, the worse it gets, and the worse it gets the less Bill's excuses for his behaviour add up. Eventually, he lets it slip.

Once Venuz is aware, it begins to stress him out because there's nothing he can really do to help and he hates seeing Bill so uncharacteristically afraid. All he can really do is distract him at best, because he doesn't know any other way.

And then, one day, he has a lightbulb moment: vacation time! Far away planet (I dunno why but I've leaned towards Io, one of Jupiter's moons), no mortals, no guns. Bill really, really likes this idea, and so they hop in one of Venuz's 50 cars and, when they arrive, Bill finally feels a little better again.

Now, Bill doesn't have very much. As far as he's concerned, he's got his Veeny with him and they're perfectly safe right here. So, he basically pitches that they just stay there forever and live happily ever after.

But, they can't, and here's where another piece of our Gun God lore pops up.

The Gun God's power is tied to Venus itself, and he can't be away from the planet for too long without his powers fading. This prevents the Gun God from just dipping and living out in the deep recesses of space for all eternity, keeps the machine running so to speak.

So, they have to eventually go back.

We haven't got much further than this, but the current thoughts are that anxiety does get better with time (I have an anxiety disorder and know this firsthand), so that will likely ease him a little eventually.

BUT, where things get muddy here is that what Bill's afraid of isn't entirely irrational. Venuz is gonna get into gunfights, people are gonna come try to kill him, it's unavoidable. Thankfully, each Gun God tends to rule for a longer period of time than the last, because his skills only get better with each iteration. So, Venuz is very likely to keep his position for a couple thousand years at the least. But, the chance of him meeting an early demise is never zero.

I think the only way he's gonna get through this is if Venuz helps him through it, and even then I don't think it ever entirely goes away; dude's got like a trillion years worth of suppressed trauma, that doesn't just heal overnight. I think if Venuz is able to consistently prove that he's the best gunman on the planet that will gradually make Bill feel a bit better, but it would need to be consistent, like maybe Bill watches him train every day.

And, okay, when I said we hadn't gotten much further than this, that was kind of a lie; Bill's post-marriage activities very much revolve around this anxiety he feels around losing the fabled Only Guy He Cares About™.

With inclusion into the Yung family, he also becomes immortal and gains Venuz's powers. So, what's the logical thing to do with this newfound power, then? Begin an underground criminal organization dedicated to snuffing out possible competition before it can get to Venuz, of course!

The return of some of his power gives him the confidence that he can protect Venuz himself and that's when he forms his whole mafia operation. And, of course, Bill always thinks he's the smartest guy in the room, so he's often able to fool himself into thinking his plans are air-tight and cannot possibly fail and that suppresses his anxiety as well.

However, he does still sometimes have the occasional moments of doubt that result in full little kid meltdowns. He still needs occasional blanket time to calm down.

~ Mod Emily 🦇

P.S.: Sorry for the slowness on asks right now! It usually means we're wanting to draw something for it, so sit tight; we see you! :D

[featherfur]

I don’t really talk about Genshin on this blog, but there’s just something magical (and by that I mean obnoxious) about seeing posts about how the archons are secretly evil and did all these bad things and that Genshin just treats it like it’s nothing. And then you read the lore and it’s literally

-Wind spirit just wanted to comfort a human and was forced into power so giant wolf didn’t murder humans

-local dragon/qilin’s best friend and partner was murdered and his people were being slaughtered so he fought to protect everyone including other gods

-electric sisters fought some gods, one gave up her body and then got revived (there’s not really much on them and the bits about Oroboshi are conflicting, I’ll fully admit. Maybe Ei did just have fun slaughtering, but I don’t think Makoto would have let her do that but maybe I missed a piece of lore. There’s a lot)

-literally didn’t even participate in the war just sat down w her three friends and one died and she still didn’t fight the other guy, just chilled out??? Even when he was being a bitch?? And helped him??

-Took over after a random king absolutely fucked up everything just started a country to clean up the mess the other guy made?

And literally none of it is hidden??? Beyond just how time and history works which is acknowledged in like 20 separate quests?? (Well okay, Istaroth is hidden but that’s less because he’s hiding it and more of because the whole Nobles destroying history thing, and no one really cares about Barbatos’ history)

No one says it was a good thing?? No one says it was okay that Celestia forced them into it? They actively avoid Celestia and communicating with them? Venti is even shown to look terrified when they’re brought up.

The only reason some history is ‘hidden’ is because it’s so old literally only the old as balls Rex Lapis remembers it all and he wasn’t everywhere and he’s not writing history books but he is still telling people.

Like, I think it’s kind of telling that at every turn all of the gods have done nothing but sought out peace and protection for who they loved and they’re not hiding anything or avoiding the truth. Hell two of the new archons weren’t even involved in the Archon war and didn’t have a choice in the matter.

Did they kill people? Some of them yeah! But one of the fandom’s favorites is literally a serial killer who attempted genocide because his ice god told him to go have fun, unlike Yknow the others who were in the middle of a war that was either pick a leader you’ll work with, kill everyone else so you can have power, or the literal heavens will send civilization destroying nails to slaughter every person you love.

Not to mention for every person who brings up the cataclysm I want to scream because so far NONE OF THE ARCHONS HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT!! Do you really think the archons who gave fucking everything for humans would just go willingly? Do you think they care if they’re worshipped? Do you think Venti who adores his children who think he’s dead cares if he’s worshipped? Do you think Zhongli who speaks so lovingly of how people from all over come to stay a while in his home would judge a Khaenri’ah’n for not bowing to him??

They wanted nothing to do with Celestia, they did what they had to do to protect their people and so far only two of them were actually killing people! Genshin isn’t coming out of nowhere with these more humanizing aspects, y’all just don’t pay attention and you want something that doesn’t exist.

How is that not more compelling than the idea that they’re all bloodthirsty killers who did all kinds of violence for the sake of violence and happened to be given magic powers?

[wyvchard]

Master List and Blog Intro

So, hi. I prefer not to talk about myself too much. However, I tend to write for fun and write when I feel like it.

Currently, my main stuff is fanfics for I Expect You To Die. However, I do write one shots when it comes to writing prompts.

This blog is mostly filled with reblogs of stuff I find interesting. However, if you came for the writings, please refer to the list below.

(Text is the category. Don't expect plot threads as most are usually one off.)

This is the master post of my writings, if anyone is interested:

I Expect You to Die Stories

Full List over at @eod-agent-13-12 (my IEYTD side blog)

Fanfic Idea

Hardcore Timeline

Phoenixes can't be warm, can they?

Fire Safety

Dossiers

The mourning after (Takes place after an RP)

All these hoops for a vacation

Avert your eyes from the nest

Warmth in a Bowl of Noodles

From the Same Nest

Candlelight and Phoenix

A Late Night Visit

A Phoenix's Serenade (Roxanix)

Expectations and Attention (Phoenix X Juniper fic)

What Someone thinks is best

"Dr. Pr, do we have a blanket?"

I can't see what they see (Angst warning)

The Guilt in Smiling

A Few Steps Out of the Darkness

Static and Radio Waves (Phoenix as a radio host)

Static and Radio Waves Part Two

Static and Radio Waves Part Three

A Crane in a Phoenix's Nest (Heavy Angst)

Night Classes and Spiral Platforms

Safe and Sound Simon Says (Mind Control AU)

You'd Expect They'd be Used to This, But They Aren't.

I Just Hope It's a False Alarm

Random Prompt Stories (These are not connected to each other. Feel free to pick any as they're all one shots.)

Make a Wish Villain Request

Ancient Lich Magic

Retired Lich Teacher

Attacking mid-transformation is a bad idea

Watching as your body lives

Hero and Villain but Villain has finals

Not a chosen one, but a farmer

Forced apathy misunderstood as hatred

Staying in a time loop

Hero and Villain: Tell them

Ruling is too bothersome

"Is it over?"

The Princess is restless

I don't look like a witch but she does

If only they realized...

Staying for the apprentice

Hero Dad, Villain Child

The assignment

Anyone but me

Backed out because it feels like a horror movie

Worst Part of Immortality

Waiting

Honeyed words in Ink

Whom I work for

We're different now

Pieces of Others and Me

What I do regret

I take offense at that.

Someone could have helped

Magic Drain

A twisted form of love

Power and Weakness

Would you have wanted this? (Villain X Hero)

So Now You Want to be Back

Mother Supervillainess and Daughter Heroine

I don't want to see you

OC Lore Stories (Writing prompts with my own Original Characters in mind. Currently disconnected one shots.)

You found this place / The interview

I remember them

The passionate anger in love

You won't be here for me.

I'm only doing this for me

It seems you got the wrong idea

Silus, Titus, and Skywynne's turmoils

Mistakes of Youth

Maybe it's a trick of my mind (Takes place in the IEYTD universe but it's mostly them.)

Comfort Plushie (Short moment with Kae and Ghost / @ghostlystarwanderer)

Power Reveals, Not Corrupts

Something so InHuman (This is darker than my usual stuff. Please head the warnings.)

Cry, But Will They Answer? No.

I Saw and I Know

Other Stories

It Should've been you, if you didn't stay quiet. (The Stanley Parable angst)

Whumperless Whump Event (2024)

Augusnippets (2024)

Tagging System:

#Wyvie Writes, Wvyie Writes (I accidentally misspelled it), My Writings - My writing tag/s #Wyvie Arts - My art and doodles

[doughguts-art]

Okay okay back with more Bandit questions and observations now!!! Hi!!! First off, what's the model of his gun? Literally just curious, really doesn't mean anything unless I feel like drawing it lmao. Secondly, what's his thoughts on the people in power/the guardians + the queen (I'm lumping the Judge into the guardians)? You said he won't work when he can survive well on his own, but does his dislike stretch out to even wishing harm on the guardians? Actually, does he know if a guardian dies, their Zone dies, too? How knowledgeable is he on the world of OFF's lore and how it functions?? Thirdly, does he have any friends I should know about? You drew him interacting with Project Goldfinch/Just Finch to break up the text in my first ask, what's their relationship? Does Bandit scam him to hell and back, or do they just casually chat every now and then? Fourthly, I VERY BRIEFLY checked out Ask Bandit and here are some observations I made: Uno, how come you ship him with Red from Animal Crossing? Is it cuz they both steal and resell?? If so, that's hilarious and I love your sense of humor. Dos, when drawing him with Elsen 7 I did not know Bandit currently resides in Zone Three, because 7 lives in Zone One. This whole time I was under the impression he travels through Zones for some reason lol? I guess that's my curse of having a handful of ECU Elsen that do that themselves lmao. Last but not least, not something Ask Bandit related, just generally speaking, would you like to see any future doodles I make of Bandit, whether he's interacting with my own OCs or otherwise? If not, I totally get it lol. Sorry if this is too many questions btw!! You're free to infiltrate my inbox with silly questions too if you want, just to make it more fair. Thank you! :]

Apologies in advance, I didn't make any new Bandit art for this post so I'm just linking something I drew in April that I don't think I shared to tumblr XD Answer time!

I modeled Bandit's gun after a Glock?? Kinda?? I didn't really reference a specific model, more like loosely inspired. I probably should create a prop-reference for it, but I haven't yet.

Bandit's dislike for authority does not stretch to wanting to take out the guardians. It would be counter-intuitive to his role as a merchant to kill off his customers by killing off the guardians. Bandit cares too much about profit, and although the guardians are annoying, without them he wouldn't have profit.

Bandit is fully aware on how the world of OFF works, it's inner workings, and other meta things.

Bandit will say anyone is his friend, even if they clearly hate him. Louis would be the only one that would truly think of Bandit as a friend (except maybe my elsen-sona, but they're a mary-sue type oc and should probably not be counted if we're talking in-universe/story lol)

As Finch is the protagonist in my game concept, Bandit will be the merchant selling them items. Finch is distrusting of Bandit, but sees him as a necessity in their mission. I do have an idea where Bandit does steal something from Finch to propel the plot, but who knows if that'll stay in the final lol

Bandit x Redd is a joke ship created by @brandy-elsen (tagging the account it was posted on and not your current account because I do not wanna waste a tag on this I am sorry Brandy AHHSGFG). All the credits to her for the comedic genius. I think you guessed right as to why that ship exists tho. I just drew it for that post because it met the "two pieces of fanart" criteria I set.

Bandit travels the zones, your initial assumption was right. He is only in Zone 3 on the askbandit blog because of the story being told on there. He's gotta refill his stock of sugar manually since sugar happens to be one of the things he cannot magically pull from his pack.

I would love to see future doodles you make of Bandit! I like collecting all the fanart I get and posting it (with credits/links) to his gallery on toyhouse.

I'm terrible with asking questions, but I'll keep your offer in mind if I have any in the future! :D

a dapper Bandit in a suit

[skylarmoon71]

Winchester - (Supernatural / Smallville Crossover AU) - Chapter 2

Settling into Smallville was easier than you thought.

For one, being new made you basically invisible. You weren’t exactly a local, so you had sort of free range. Not many people paid much attention. 

You could conduct your research without being questioned by a group of curious friends or adults. While you had gotten acquainted with Clark’s friends, they never really asked when you would disappear to the library for hours. They probably just assumed you were a bookworm.

Chloe seemed overall excited that someone was as interested in the weird as she was.

That’s why you’re currently seated at the back of the library, adding another news clipping to your little journal.

The presence of someone momentarily distracts you. When you lift your head, the first thing you spot is the length of plaid.

“Hey Clark, what’s up?”

Your eyes are back in your book.

“I haven’t seen you for a few days. I just wanted to check in on you.”

“I’m fine, just busy.”

“That’s good.”

You thought that’s all he wanted, but he was still standing there a bit awkwardly. 

You pause.

“Umm, did you need something else?”

If you’re being honest he’s been acting weird for the last few weeks. Since you discovered his secret. Now it feels like you understand.

“Clark, I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

Maybe he just needs reassurance. He finally looks a bit more calm, taking a seat right next to you.

“That’s not what I was really worried about.”

Now you’re a bit puzzled.

“This doesn’t scare you?” He asks.

“What do you mean?”

“The fact that I’m you know..” He looks around, then leans over.

“An alien.”

You’re about to laugh, but he seems serious.

“Clark, I literally told you I hunt monsters. I know angels and I’m pretty sure this town is filled with supernaturally powered people. I think  a harmless alien that runs around actually helping people are the least of my problems."

Despite his previous unease, he leans back in his chair with a smile.

You sort of understand his hesitance. None of his friends are aware of this. His powers, the meteor shower, his spaceship. They’re all in the dark, so some part of him must assume that if they ever knew, they wouldn’t be able to accept him.

Accept that secret.

You supposed it was never a worry for you. You’ve never stayed in a place long enough to wonder what other people thought about you or your life. You have no attachments, not like Clark. So there’s no fear of losing that. You always thought that the only thing you needed was your brothers and your few hunter and angel friends. Clark has an entire life here. A lot to lose, to fear.

Closing your book, you turn to him slowly.

It might be time to come clean about your own fears, maybe it might give him at least a peace of mind.

“Do you know why I love books so much?”

He looks intrigued, shaking his head, ready for an explanation.

“A few years ago I learned that I have grace, much like an angel. I’m human but my body can accommodate something beyond my understanding. Some really bad people realized this and they tried to take me, make me into a weapon so my brothers did everything to stop it. For weeks, months, they went through every possible piece of text known to man.”

You turn over your palm, staring at the small tattoo.

Clark’s eyes drift to your wrist that has a small book with an S and an D marked inside of the small page design.

“I wanted to help, I wanted to feel useful, so I started doing the same. I did a deep dive and eventually we found a spell to make me invisible to the threat. Because of them I can live freely without fear. At that moment I guess I realized it. Knowledge is power. I’ve lost count of how many times that a spell, or some lore has saved our lives. I guess in some crazy way I clung unto that. In this life I know there isn’t anything my brothers won’t do for me, the same way your parents have probably always protected you.”

The look of recognition flashes in his eyes and you smile.

“Being different isn’t easy. There will always be a weight that comes with that, not just for us, but the people that we love. At the end of the day, all we can do is help make that weight more bearable. Reading, understanding what’s out there, that’s what I can do. Helping people, that’s the part that you play. There’s always going to be something to worry about, but it doesn’t have to be what drives us. We can all make a difference in our own way. Just have faith that it’ll work out.”

Maybe he understands, because he looks a bit more at ease.

“You’re right, thank you (Y/N).”

You grin.

“Anytime, now can you grab those books over on that shelf. It’s pretty high and I saw something about mermaids, I can’t wait to see what that’s about.”

Clark laughs as you point at the shelf.

He can already tell that your company will be an exciting little adventure. 

[shyrose57]

I've made like three new life smp posts in a row today, and I'm sorry, but I gotta. I watched more episodes, I'm only doing what I must.

Im just gonna like, chunk a bunch of my trains of thought in a single post and hope for the best, honestly.

Literally Martyn is the best, followed up by Sparrow, but anyway-

I think??? It'd be hilarious if the Colin-y was just. convinced that Martyn was just some fucked up creeper, and that's why they're friendly. Like, they all stay in the mountain, so Martyn shows up, he's vaguely blue, clearly cold, and has fur. Clearly that equals fellow creeper. So they just adopt him into the group, and that's why they all decided to pile into his base. Their new friend cant fit into the old den, so they move into the big new den. Or maybe the cave was their home first and his decision to live there cemented his creeper status. Martyn doesn't know why these particular mobs have just decided to be passive, and he's beginning to think he's never going too.

I also like the idea of Martyn being really new to being a hybrid?? Like he's clearly not used to his powers, sort of, right??? So what if he just like, recently manifested these traits. And even just recently showed up in the area, even. Maybe Sparrow could know him, or something.

If he messes up his timing and unfreezes before he hits the ground, is it gonna be like he shattered?? Just like, breaks into a million pieces right before his respawn, that melt into snowflakes. Think of the potential. Think of the angst. An icesicle shattering upon the earth.

Also, and this concept has been eating me alive, has there been a Snowgrave!Martyn yet, now that he has snow powers. Can anyone point me there?? Because like, with his current lore, a Watcher deciding it wanted to possess one of its fellows, or even just a Winner and snagging up Martyn in its games would be amazing to read about. His power slowly growing as servermates disappear, taking more and more hearts each time,, and he doesn't know why. And then, eventually there's only three. His snow buries someone alive. He feels himself die with them, from maybe his own frost, or the possessed player deciding he's outlived his use and doing away with him. Then there's just one.

Katherine is a human. I have been?? Crawling up the wall since I found out. I haven't even finished her episode. I don't know if she even survives it. I do not care.

So, let's set a background where, obvious exceptions aside, everyone has sort of grown up together, even if maybe distantly. And theyre all different species, with different abilities and needs and instincts.

And Katherine is human. Humans are social. How many traits and habits do you think she'd sort of absorb from everyone.

What if she was like, all the hybrids basic idea of human, and she forgets she's human herself half the time.

I am. Desperate for a fic where Katherine meets Sparrow. Or where everyone sort of knows her, and walk into meeting Sparrow with the idea that he's gonna be similar to her, and thus, similar to them. And just get smacked in the face with how different they are.

Give me a Katherine who's spent so long around people who aren't human that she just doesn't really clock that that's what she is.

Given that new life randomly rolls you an origin,, what's the chances of Sparrow having one already that he's gonna start 'manifesting'. Do you think its a bird. I need him to be a bird. At least once.

What if he dies and to come back as a phoenix or something. That would be so cool??.

What if like, fic wise, nobody's sure if humans are included in the respawn mechanics. If they come back at all. I think that'd be fun to explore. Everyone looking out a bit more for their human servermates. The angst potential of one of them dying and returning under this premise.

Also, and this just occurred to me, the humans are space orcs approach? I'd love to see that in a fic. Sparrow and Katherine just being weird and ridiculous by hybrid standards.

[swholli]

Ok, so, maybe I’m just not the right shade of autistic for it, but I’ve never “based my identity” on a piece of fiction?

I saw the ask about h*gwarts houses and in the replies someone asks “is there a series not written by a bigot I can base my identity on?”

And while I know the reply was likely only half serious it got me thinking; a healthy separation of self and media is a good thing that I think late stage capitalism is robbing us of it.

My special interests for many years has been Star Wars- a series I’ve been obsessed with in a way that I can put on mostly any of the movies and find comfort in revisiting them.

I don’t think of myself in terms of “jedi” or “sith” or anything like that. I don’t think about the greater philosophical implications of the lore and then apply that to myself in the real world, it’s fiction written by a fallible human. Not everything within it has some secret real truth other than what you get out of it. Not every piece of fiction you interact with and interpret has to be your new religion.

But in the age of hyper consumption, where everything is content and watching any new show or movie has an expectation of having done your homework on the complex lore and characters and previous works: It’s not a stretch to say the media is specifically designing itself to be consumed this way. They want you to form an identity around it, attach yourself to it, because then you’re less likely to leave the fandom no matter what they put out and will always stay a loyal customer to the brand.

I mentioned Star Wars because it’s the argument I made when h*gwarts legacy came out. If George Lucas came on Twitter and started bashing trans folk and donating his billions of Disney dollars to anti-trans causes, well even if was a little sad to do, I’d just stop watching Star Wars.

I like the media I consume, I am not the media I consume. I do not and have not based my core tenants of my beliefs and personality on someone else’s mythos.

I’m not saying this to imply that I’m somehow better than anyone, I think we’re all capable of understanding. I think for some it really is like leaving a religion. But, bro, you gotta. You have to be able to hold the things you like at an arms length sometimes and ask yourself questions about it. Not just of its text or subtext, but of the very thing itself. Because at the end of the day it is still just a thing made by people, and there are so many more worthy stories than just your favorite one.

I know they have us all bogged down with reality to the point where escapism is the only viable option to stay sane, but you can still choose your escapism. You are not beholden to something just because you liked it. It’s perfectly okay to still like things that you liked as a kid, but you’re supposed to grow and learn and change. Nothing is static, there will be new and exciting stories again, but first we have to stop giving the old stories power and let them die when it’s their time to die.

[upgradewater]

daima teaser thoughts & predictions

I think i got everything out of my system after writing this.

Here's what i got from that trailer:

🟠 baby mode happens. Goku and Vegeta are either fighting each other as we see in the trailer, or some other small fry villain came to fuck with them just before they got babyfied, cause Goku and Vegeta both have some blood on them. (Seems weird to show blood just from them playfighting, no?)

🟠 Whatever turned them into kids must be very specific and not just a 'everyone in 5km radius will become baby' thing because there are regular adult sized catering staff in the background. Cannot for the life of me think of what kind of wording with the dbs would turn the main cast into the same age as roshi and ox king, but also turn the teens into infants. There's also the character design inconsistency thing but that's just Toriyama.

🟠 this is just a list but I'm curious about what will happen with some characters if they're affected/if they're immune:

buu??? shin is a kid, so i guess buu's kaioshin side could get younger? i don't expect him to turn into kids buu obviously, cause that part of him turned into uub

I don't think uub will be affected

pilaf gang? babies???

of course i wonder like everyone else is gohan/videl are included

interested to see where beerus and whis are in all this, or if they're just immune as gods

would that mean dende is immune...?

what's gonna happen to pan and bulla if the teens are babies?!

we didn't see Chiaotzu right? I wonder what he'll look like...

I wonder if any random OG characters are gonna show up as kids (launch, upa, snow) or if any other random characters from super will also be affected (jaco, merus, the u6 saiyans)

Is freeza gonna be babyfied? I guess their alliance is off, so they're not friends, if that's even what the conditions are for becoming a kid

(holds out hands) baby granolah please

🟠 Bulma likely already had the Earth DBs gathered, and so they go to God's temple and use the DBs to ask Shenlong to undo it so there's no interference or something. But it's no good, he can't do it. But he can give them information on who did it and why it happened. Or at the least, maybe tell them that the super Dragonballs would be powerful enough to undo it. Speaking of, I wonder if Dende is also babyfied, and if that would effect the Dragonballs and any power ups he's given them. Rip no tiny Shenlong (unless....! The teaser was a fakeout lol)

🟠 For some reason it looks like they go find Original Kami's (aka Katatz' son's) spaceship or something similar again (their old spaceships don't hold up?), like they initially did to get to Namek. You can see a mossy Namekian ship along with Bulma likely looking at it or fixing it up. I assume this becomes the ship we see later in the trailer. But either Goku/Shin's teleportation powers don't work, or they need the ship to cross into a new world or between universes anyways.

🟠 They need to cross universe lines or enter this "new world" because they need the super Dragonballs, which are scattered between 6/7. I bet Goku and Shin think finding the super DBs will be a piece of cake, so only those two go. Vegeta stays to protect everyone after he learns what happened in SuperHero, but Goku wants to see what's out there. Shin escorts Goku bc mortals shouldn't be crossing universe borders alone or something. That, or they already know who their villain is our what they want, maybe even that the enemy is tied to Shin. (Makaioshin lore finally outside of video games and in the main story?!)

HERE'S WHERE I REALLY REACH:

🟠 We see a sun-like star thingy turn into a Dragonball? Either a Super Dragonball hidden as a sun, or possibly the creation of a Dragonball set. Not to mention we see a wrinkly Namekian eye.... Could it be Katatz' son in a flashback? Or the first Namekian to make Dragonballs? Maybe even....🥁🥁🥁 Zalama? Maybe it's just a flashback to Mr. Daimao Piccolo. It sure would be cool if the series even acknowledged the Super manga arcs, so maybe it's grandpa Monite?

🟠 You know... Maybe they need different space ship parts because they're going beyond their universes. Maybe the "new world" part of Toriyama's comment on the new series has to do with this? Could it be just a new universe since Goku himself hasn't been to other universes, or one of the universes that didn't participate in the ToP? What if it was more? Like the kind of "different world" or "different realm" that the DBS manga lore-dropped about the Namekians originating from? Ahhh, the new world is probably just the Demon Realm.

🟠 Toriyama loves Little Guys, especially Evil Little Guys. The little imp looking fella we see could be the King of the Demon Realm with his attendant Makaioshin, looking back on what happened to the last Demon King--Dabura. That, or there's ties to Babidi or Buu. (The series was originally called Magic after all, with the 魔[ma] part of daima standing for magic, demon, malevolent, and the same 魔 in 魔人[Majin]) I guess this is pretty factual and not a huge reach, actually. 🤓

🟠 Taking the demon King/Makaioshin thing into consideration, the red and black theme the imp wears, along with white accents, are similar designs to Towa and Mira. I wonder if the feminine(?)-looking kaio eye we see is Towa, or maybe just the attendant. (Or is just Toriyama sticking to his same design staples)

[wttcsms]

anyway, concept for my long one shot (at least 10k words) for tom riddle hehe. basically, reader belongs to the valentine family — a line of wizards and witches whose family specialty is love. according to family lore, the valentine family has been blessed by your great-great-great-(insert 10 more greats) grandfather who basically became known as the “father of love” or whatever. you’re not entirely too impressed considering that in his century, there probably wasn’t a whole lot going on, but because of this, dear old grandpa left quite a large pair of shoes to fill. as family tradition dictates, when any valentine youth is about to become of age, they must first accomplish a magical feat relating to love by valentine’s day or lose their right to belong to the valentine family. no longer belonging to the valentine family means no longer having access to maybe the most priceless grimoires and secrets in the whole wizarding world — and most importantly, the opportunity to live forever.

and it’s not just the continuously growing old and being a bag of breathing bones type of immortality. this is the eternal youth, staying hot and in your prime type of immortality. granted, you have to “find your true love and both have to completely submit their hearts to the other”, but if you’re performing a never-been-done-before magical feat using the power of love, you’re pretty sure finding true love will be a piece of cake.

but it’s the start of your seventh year and you still haven’t found out what you’re going to do. that is, until you stumble upon tom riddle, golden boy of hogwarts, confessing his love to some girl in the corridors. here’s the thing: you can sense love. in a true confession, it’s imbued in every word. and tom riddle might be a very convincing actor, but he can’t trick your annoying, valentine family™ love detector. suspicious of why someone as seemingly straight-laced as tom would go so far as to lying about his feelings leads you to going down a rabbit-hole and trying to figure out what’s his deal. consulting the good ol’ family teachings, you come to a startling conclusion: tom riddle is not capable of love.

cursed because of being conceived due to a love potion, tom riddle will never succumb to the ooey-gooey warm feeling of love that can sometimes be a curse in and of itself. and then it hits you: curses can be reversed; you just have to figure out how. and now you’ve got your special feat all planned out! you’re going to figure out how to reverse that nasty side effect and secure your position as a valentine.

having to coerce, blackmail, and make a deal with tom (who you’re starting to think might be the devil incarnate) was not in the plan, but all’s fair in love and war.

so, fave parts abt this fic: it’s def more of a romcom than the usual dark, depraved mood of some other fics, it’s definitely porn with plot, speaking of porn, tom is DEFINITELY a virgin (but a quick learner; definitely need a line of him being smug and saying “don’t worry, all the professors say i only need to practice something once before i master it”), being able to show the worst parts of yourself to someone and they still love you anyway, true love’s kiss™, overly ambitious gf x overly ambitious bf (you two definitely are always in constant competition with each other), the scene where tom meets your family (mind you, all of them ALSO possess the ability to detect love, wink wink, nudge nudge), hyper aware of everyone’s feelings BUT HER OWN!reader, he falls first (and doesn’t even realize it) + the one scene where you brew amortentia as a means of trying to detect any changes in tom’s feelings and this potion acts as a plot device to signal the growth of his feelings for YOU

[gallavich-headcanon]

anon, dear, i hope you're doing good! i might be in the brain goo - still, bear with me on the being comprehensible part -, but a) you asked for headcanons and b) you're my favourite person to contemplate with, so you'll be my victim tonight-

so, i know you've said somewhere you're not a big fan of time pieces, BUT-

i've read a lot (like. A LOT.) of medieval-ish things the last couple days and spotify graced me with a shitton of ukrainian music today, and now all i can think about is this tradition they got in ukraine in july where they gather around a fire, take their loved ones by the hand, and if they stay locked while jumping over the fire they they'll have a long and happy relationship (bonus: you can do this with friends for health and good fortune, too). they have this other thing, too, where the unmarried women bind wildflowers to wreaths, then set them on a river or pond or whatever to see who'll get married soon (if your wreath flows without problems and moves a bit it's you), and their significant others try to guess which wreath is their girl's and they tryna fish it out-

and listen, listen, i KNOW it probably doesn't make much sense, and i have not thought this through 'till the end, but i need irish ian to somehow end up in ukraine and in the hands and care of mandy, who tries to teach him their ways and their language, because he's kind and sweet, too - and maybe she first hopes he's her wildcard out of her life until she gets to know he's gay? -, and somehow she gets mickey involved in her little social project and she tries very hard to make him be nice to ian, long story short, they all go to the festivities together, get a little drunk maybe and do their little traditions. while it's a rite for the women, i bet mandy'd force him to bind a wreath, still. and maybe she already knows there's something going on between him and her brother and she schemes some more to make mickey fish ian's out of the water, i don't know, my brain doesn't cooperate properly.

bonus lore- iirc they have this magic flower they set out to search at some point, too, as it's said to grant its finder some sort of power, so, just please, mickey and ian having an excuse to disappear in the woods for hours without anybody asking questions.

i only just now realised it's actually a full on au, but i'll send it over anyway, because it's juvenile and mostly lighthearted and i needed to bother someone with it. much love! thanksokaybye.

Hello my darling! My brain is also gooey possibly because it's late though. Perfect time to be your victim of choice!

Disclaimer- I don't really have anything about historical stories, it's just the homophobia of it all, you know? Like I enjoy some angst as much as the next person, but knowing they can't get married and will have to live partially in secret if not in the closet just... spoils it for me. I'm a comfort first, angst second kinda girl, but I also don't want it to be completely unrealistic. (also I need Mickey to be a southside shit talker) So I tend to skip those fics. now that that's out of the way, I'm ready for yours!

FIRST OF ALL I am a sucker for Mickey speaking Ukrainian. I really wish we got that in canon. AND IAN TRYING TO LEARN THAT FOR HIM 💔💔💔💔

they gather around a fire, take their loved ones by the hand, and if they stay locked while jumping over the fire they they'll have a long and happy relationship -> oh my god are you kidding me this sounds so fucking magical!

Okay what if Ian is like injured or something and Mandy finds him, and hides him until he can get better and Mickey is suspicious and follows her one day?

and maybe she already knows there's something going on between him and her brother and she schemes some more to make mickey fish ian's out of the water -> mmm how about yes yes and yes!!!

This is so fucking sweet. I want Ian in a flower crown Mandy made him! and maybe it's too small to his giant head and his looks funny and Mickey teases him and eventually that flower crown mysteriously finds it's way to Mickey's head. because that's what flower crowns do.

Them just walking in the forest and talking for hours. Maybe they find a job for Ian that gets them to hang out and Mickey teaches him Ukrainian?

NOSHO please send any and all AU / thoughts / headcanons always and forever!

[fipindustries]

-of three

yuuuuuup, i think this is where i tap out, whatever was the comic i originally fell in love with this is no longer it, hasnt been for a long while.

in a sense it was kind of inevitable, if this comic intended to last any serious ammount of time and try to tackle a serious kind of story it couldnt stay as the wacky, histrionic, horny and chaotic extravaganza of cool body horror and funny silly characters it was when it began.

the later, more angsty, more complex, more... can i even say "grounded"? let's say heavy parts of the story were just not doing it for me, though not through any fault of their own, i should clarify. is just simply not something im in the mood for anymore.

i think something changed in me, in my temperament, in my tastes, in who i am. i think i lost the taste for highly dense, highly complex convoluted stories with thousands of characters and moving pieces and giant ambitious worldbuilding and deep lore. or maybe is not that i lost the taste for them, is that ive already involved myself in far too many of them. i am currently reading one piece, kill six billion demons, gunnerkrigg court, the locked tomb series, as well as watching dungeon meshi, yellowjackets and a bunch of other shows. maybe my head has just ran out of ram to keep all of those things straight in my head and still care and be invested in all of them simultanously.

or maybe feast for a king is just a little TOO damn chaotic and its cast a little TOO crowded with people and its timeline a little TOO convoluted. to be honest, after a while keeping track of it all felt more like homework than anything else, and after hitting a certain scale you kind of start hitting powercreep induced nihilism. like, between the five different types of hekatonks, the queen worms and the king worms, the kings seeds, whatever celadon is, cyborg powers, heart worlds, double hearted mandragoras, the weeds, hybrids, clones, mutants, gods??? it really feels like just about anything goes. death is kind of meaningless in this world, powerlevels are kind of meaningless, what is possible or impossible is kind of meaningless, we have shapeshifters and possessing bodies, and mind control, and astral projection, and ghosts, and time travel. anything can be anything anywhere all the time, it just becomes meaningless. insipid. there is no up or down.

on top of that the morality of any given character is so fucked and the scale of the horrors and sins commited in this story are so overwrought that i also fail to be morally invested on anything? are there good guys? bad guys? is there even a right or wrong here anymore? i know there are characters i nominally like, but i dont even know what version of that character do i sympathize with really, do i really like this character or do i like what who they were 500 years ago? or maybe i only liked someone else pretending to be that character, or maybe i dont like the character i like the worm they became after they were eaten by worms, etc etc and so on and so forth.

i just lost the plot. it got away from me.

i think you can be highly chaotic and ambitious in one or two things when executing your story. either worldbuilding, or the order of storytelling, or characterization, or morality, or nature of the cast. but not all of them all at once.

still, i do not want to leave this with a bitter taste in my mouth. i do still highly respect this strange beautiful beast for what it is and for what it tries to be. i wouldnt want it to be anything else. its just too strange not to like. im glad something like this exists. and by golly did it give me some great moments. let me say that again. it gave me some amazing moments, some truly magical experiences that i never got from anything else. and just for those incredible scenes and characters i will always have a corner in my heart where embers will burn dedicated to it. i dont think its flaws take away from the good i got and i would still enthusiastically recomend this to anyone who is mildly curious and has way more patience than i do

it was truly a feast, in all senses of of the word, and i had my fill of it.

[wixelt]

...that thing about players adapting and Anne as the Grimm Reaper got me thinking

Players aren't just effected by their environment. Think about Doc. His drocs were incorporated from fan design, his horns were incorporated from fan design.

A simmilar thing can be said about Rendog's ears. How often do creators add lore pieces to their skins?

Players are very close to deific, even if they have no divine power. They're affected by belief and what is believed about them. Appearance, power, tendencies

Decisions.

The Calamity trio are all probably going to become players. By the time they leave Amphibia, they're probably already at some between stage due to their tutaliges in player magics. They are that much closer to immortal.

So as time goes on, the three main species of amphibians begin to form hero cults to their respective saviors,

The girls had all gained tendencies of their foster races from their stay so nothing is really notices at first, but maybe the girls start getting unnatural highlights in their hair. Maybe Anne can never keep things from getting stuck in hers. Maybe Sasha starts having hers glow and heat up and blow strangely even without wind. Maybe Marcy's gives way to white almost-fur.

Maybe their eyes start glowing an odd color again. Maybe some powers they never expected to get back begin returning.

After all, of the things you let go, you'd be surprised what makes it's way back to you.

But maybe that's not all. Maybe the frogs talk about how good of a Gaurdian Anne will make. About how they know what she'll choose, she simply can't help it with how big her heart is. Maybe they start praying to her because maybe she's already up there, looking down on them and listening.

And maybe that belief becomes a self fulfilling prophesy.

Reaper Anne's her own AU by @wolfinshipclothing that I highly recommend for Amphibia fans. They're really good & absolutely worth a read, but i'm not going to appropriate their ideas.

As for everything else in this ask, though...

Players - as you say - are born partly of not just their environment but also perception. Like some divine beings - though only some players are divine, they definitely border on higher states of being - players self-actualize, their looks - beyond the skin deep aspect of changing clothing - & abilities shifting based on others' views of them & how they in turn view those perceptions.

Doc's the iconic example (though Ren & Stress are also apparent), his form having been augmented repeatedly over time as he chose to embrace perceptions others had of his achievements. That said, something like his robotic prosthetics do not fall into this category, being compensation for getting nerfed after a certain battle he came out on top in.

As may be clear, these changes are only usually by will of the player themselves, & the influence of outside factors can render unexpected alterations, as they would to any non-player.

Regardless, the effect of belief on a player is a cycle. Ideas gain traction - usually factual but sometimes imagined - & if the player chooses to embrace them or is forced to take them on, that change is actualised & feeds back into the belief.

And as their initial adventure in Amphibia draws to an end, this is something Anne, Sasha & Marcy start to learn first hand.

Though the mechanics aren't entirely understood - & the exact final circumstances that led to it for each girl are for now not something we'll touch on - the trio are on the border between non-player & player.

Players beget players, to a certain extent, & each teen's had several Hermits tutor them in one aspect of player skill or another (False's combat for Anne, Scar's magics for Sasha & Mumbo's redstone for Marcy, to name only a few). Past a certain point, those skills become inherent. Ingrained. Something they draw on as easily as breathing.

And around them forms everything else a fledgling player inherits.

The day Anne - months after the invasion - accidentally drops one of her tennis rackets into a weird pocket space & realizes she's "grown" a player inventory is deeply startling for her.

She'll focus on that for now, though - as will Sasha & Marcy.

She isn't quite ready to comtemplate the ramifications of possibly being immortal.

Besides, there's much more to think about in the meantime.

The "hero cults" aren't straight up divine worship. The people of Amphibia recognize these three girls - though their saviors - are not gods. They're mortal - even by the Hermit definition - & flawed. So these "cults" are more a societal idea formed from the gratitude of the folk they saved. A pervasive perception of Anne, Sasha & Marcy that remains in public consciousness. Not idealized, but still given a place of respect & admiration.

And though this doesn't halt physical aging until the girls are much older - actualization is a choice even if its subconscious at times & I imagine the girls would want to grow up - the girls do see the reverence they earned as heroes begin to impact their existence as they take on the mantle of "player" & their forms become malleable.

Things such as the quirks of a given amphibian race are brushed off, at first. These are expected when you spend enough time immersed in a culture & there's a good chance the girls would've picked these up anyway. Regardless, they never really go away.

But Anne does start to notice things, after the initial startling & getting corroborating incidents from Sasha & Marcy. The way she always has leaves in her hair, as when she tries to remove them they come back in similar spots no matter where she is (she barely notices them anyway, as if they're not even there). The way her eyes seem to develop a permanent fleck of blue that grows or shrinks based on her mood, matched by a very subtle highlight in her hair.

And if it wasn't for her opting for sturdier footwear now, she instinctively knows she'd be losing a shoe every other day.

Sasha likewise develops marks of pink in her eyes & hair, & Marcy green. Sasha's hair pulses & dances at times - usually when she's upset or angry - as if driven by an inner fire. Marcy's may or may not develop that highlight of white-ish fur alongside the green (I like the idea, but you'll have to explain the reasoning).

And then, of course, their calamity powers.

The circumstances of the Guardian's "test" are up in the air for now, but coming away from the invasion, Anne notices the power the trio gained in those final moments has - while waning - not entirely faded.

With their new immortality & other factors at play, the Guardian wasn't able to get the successor they wanted, but regardless of whether it was direct intervention (remember what I said about outside forces) or something they simply allowed to happen, these abilities are here to stay, now an ingrained part of their self-image as players.

Because of the things they lost or chose to let go of, they can think of worse things that could've come back around.

Anne decides they need to consult the Hermits over this, & Gem especially in regard to their powers. She's probably the closest match to what they now have, after all.

And as I implied, the circumstances of the finale may not lend themselves well to the Guardian having the ability to easily pick a successor. That said, given the way the offer was presented & shared, is it any wonder at least some of the traits espoused find a genuine place in Anne's outlook going forward, actualization or not?

Because Guardian or not, Amphibia's always going to have someone looking out for them. :)

[voidedjuice]

☕️🍧🎤📖🎀 for Cecily

Thanks for the ask! This'll be a bit long so I'll put it under a readmore

☕️ HOT BEVERAGE - do they prefer hot or cold drinks? what is their favourite drink?

She's a vampire so heh, you know :) Her fave is Ilta's but there's... a lot of difficulties in getting her blood (if she makes her mad she won't want to hang out with her and she will be lonely :(, if she gets extra mad at her she will get back to trying to assassinate her whenever instead of the allocated time at the loops end, etc) She's picky and only wants to drink from living people. A couple times Ilta has had to take care of her when she's been injured, and has tried to make her drink stuff like blood packs or cow blood bought from a butcher and she has... not been happy about it.

🍧 SHAVED ICE - do they still have any objects from their childhood? what significance does it have to them? what would their reaction be if they lost it?

She has a red ribbon from back when she was a human that she's somehow managed to keep in one piece through the years. It's been with her for so long and holds a lot of emotional value, so she'd be very sad if she lost it

🎤 MICROPHONE - are they good at singing? what is their go-to karaoke song?

She's pretty good at singing! If you took her to karaoke she would sing exclusively like, old people songs (stuff that was popular back when your grandma was young).

📖 OPEN BOOK - do they like reading? what's their favourite genre?

She does read sometimes to pass time, her favorite genre are murder mysteries!

🎀 RIBBON - how would they fit into other worlds / aus? what aus would you like to try out? what fictional world would they fit / not fit into?

I have some sort of an Arknights au thought for them! Here's some stuff about it (including Ilta bc it's important related info)

Cecily would keep being a vampire, who got caught up in a catastrophe with Ilta and had to work together with her to survive (both getting infected in the process), and getting attached to her. Really loves fighting but is now actively burning through her life while doing so. Has to try to learn how to live normally in society to stay with Ilta and to receive oripathy treatment, having lived out in the wilderness on her own for a long while. Classwise think she'd probably be, hm, maybe either a fast redeploy or a lord guard, who burns through her health to deal big damage.

Ilta would be some sort of a fast-redeploy medic (April style), who would have like, camouflage or dodge or maybe some sort of a short time immortality mechanic. Ak lore has restricted time manipulation powers pretty much only to Mostima's staff so her timeloop powers are a bit hard to transition to that universe, but I figure they could instead be like, her being able to receive premonitions of danger from a short while from the future (and thus being able to dodge things or prevent her death/retreat no matter what for a short while). She'd be, hm, I think a cautus or an aegir? (so sad there aren't any races based on incects in the game :( can't make her a moth). I think with her future sight coming from some mysterious staff she found either buried in Rim Billington or from Aegir. Deeply concerned for Cecily's condition, nagging her to stop fighting so much and to look after her health better. They'd have the gameplay synergy of both of them only staying on the field for a little while, but with Ilta helping Cecily stay alive by healing her a ton & Cecily doing the dps.

Yeah something like that. It's an idea I sometimes rotate in my head. One day I'll design their au forms.

[timeturner-jay]

Kirby and the Forgotten Lore: My take on KatFL’s relevance to the Kirby timeline.

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Kirby and the Forgotten Land, obviously. 

Now that that’s out of the way, let me explain why I’m making this post. The general community census about the Forgotten Land seems to be that this world was where the Ancients originated; that they were the ones who experimented on ID-F86, whose powers then became the basis of the amazing technology we’ve seen from them. That the Ancients were the ones who left this world behind, to then establish themselves as that famous interstellar society. 

To put it nicely, I find this theory incredibly weak and uninspired. Respectfully. 

Here is why: The Ancients, presumably, have their name for a reason. Their culture rose to power a long time ago, then stayed in power for long enough to become as legendary as they are today, and then fell; so long ago that in modern times, they are only referred to as ‘the Ancients’ anymore. For something on such a grand scale, I would expect each of these intervals to have lasted several thousands of years at least. Likely much longer than that though, since many creatures in the Kirby universe seem to have freakishly long lifespans. 

The ‘Forgotten Lands’, on the other hand? They look like they’ve been abandoned for a few decades at most. Just look at this place-

Sure, it's a little dirty and overgrown, but for the most part, everything in this world is still very intact. The buildings are still standing, their furniture is still there. Machines like cars and light switches are still working just fine. The water pipes are still intact. There's even still paper in many locations.

Paper! Which is always the first thing to rot. Any sort of moisture and humidity will do it in very quickly, as I'm sure you're aware. Yet here it is, looking quite alright still.

I feel like even just a few decades are already a far too generous estimate of how long this place has been abandoned; if I really look at this world, it feels like it can't have been left alone for much longer than a few years. But I'm willing to suspend my disbelief a little bit.

But not to the point where I can look at this world and confidently go "yep. These people left here, founded a civilisation somewhere else, then became highly advanced and legendary, then sealed away a god-like entity, then had a civil war and died out, and then became known as 'the Ancients' - all in the span of just a few years! Sounds legit!"... Just. no. Unless time travel was also involved, I absolutely refuse to accept this theory.

So let me offer you an alternative theory: instead of the people of the Forgotten Land inspiring the Ancient tech... What if the Ancient tech inspired them?

I know you want this game to be very important to the lore, and trust me, so do I - but maybe that's just not meant to be. This theory of mine will still tie it into the existing timeline and lore quite neatly - just not in a quite as important way as the origin of the Ancients would've been. But please. There are countless highly-advanced civilisations in the Kirby universe. Not all of them have to be directly related to the Ancients, even if they do use warp technology. Let me remind you that one of the most prominent items at Kirby's disposal is quite literally called the Warp Star - I don't think warp magic/technology is all that uncommon in this universe. It's very unlikely that they're all linked back to the same source.

Anyway, on to my actual theory.

When you enter Lab Discovera and ride the elevator, the tour guide gives you a nice little introduction into the history of ID-F86. How it arrived on the planet. How it was captured, and studied. How, at one point, an incident occured, one that caused our friend Elfilin to separate from the creature's main body.

"However, 30 years after our research began, a 'warp-experiment incident' occured in this facility", the narrator says. Very interesting. She doesn't go into any more detail, but this particular line reminded me of another piece of lore we've seen before. This one, from Planet Robobot.

When she was a child, a somewhat similar incident happened to Susie Haltmann. We don't know any details about this occurrence either, but we know that the Mother Computer - also known as Star Dream, a recreation of the Ancients' clockwork star Nova - was capable of creating wormholes of incredible power. We see this when it summons Galacta Knight in the Meta Knightmare bonus mode.

However, it also mentions that this particular action was specifically prohibited by its previous admin, Mr. Haltmann himself - perhaps because it was this function that caused Susie's loss in the first place?

We don't know exactly how old Susie is - she looks quite young, but she's also not even remotely human. So if we assume that her species ages as slowly as many of the other sentient species in the Kirby universe, these two "warp-experiment incidents" could very well line up with each other. They could very well be one and the same.

In other words, my theory is that the same incident that created Elfilin also brought a young Susie to the Forgotten Land. A young Susie, who, despite her age, had clearly been quite involved in the construction of Star Dream, and had a lot of knowledge to share. She must've been fiercely intelligent even back then.

Susie, who at some point inexplicably reappeared in Haltmann's company. Almost as if the place she had been sent to as a child had finally mastered the same warp technology that removed her from her reality in the first place, allowing her to return.

If you would like further proof, just compare Star Dream and the Eternal Capsule that was later constructed to house ID-F86. They look quite similar - almost as if they were based on the same concepts. Sure, it could be a coincide, but when it comes to HAL, few things ever are.

Yes, the central tube is a little wider, but it has that same flared out top, that same slanted pedestal. It feels like a similar type of technology to me - perhaps inspired by what Susie might have remembered about Star Dream's blueprints. Isn't it strange that this "Eternal Capsule" seems so much more high-tech and advanced than anything else we find in this world? It certainly seems strange to me. Almost as if it wasn't their own technology in the first place!

And then there's the tour guide herself - to me, the way she was speaking about ID-F86 felt eerily similar to the way Susie was talking about Meta Knight after she had modified him against his will and turned him into Mecha Knight, her own little roboticised servant. Both of them spoke with such carefree flippancy, with such utter lack of care or empathy for the sentient, suffering being they were experimenting on - like they were just tools to be used and exploited at will. If this was the culture Susie ultimately grew up in, that would certainly explain why she ended up being Like That.

So then what? 30 years after this warp-experiment incident (I assume they would've kept updating the time on their tour audio guide otherwise, since the Lab seems like quite the important place), the people who once called this planet home mastered their new technology and left the planet for a "land of dreams" - perhaps that was actually Dreamland, as the community was quick to assume, or perhaps it was a more literal dream world, akin to ID-F86's own Forgo Dreams. Perhaps if Susie really was among them, some returned to Haltmann Works alongside her. I can't say.

Regardless of where they actually went though, I don't think it happened very long ago. Everything they left behind is still in remarkably good condition. But whoever they were, I'm quite certain that they weren't the Ancients, or their ancestors. And I'll remain firm on that stance; unless Fecto Elfilis suddenly turns out to have time travel capabilities, I just don't think this lost civilisation is as relevant to the big events of the Kirby timeline as the community hopes it is. Sorry.