#it's extremely consistent for starters

[seizedeath]

ok i haven’t even begun to finalize jinx’s verse but like for something from them

[iiannabxth]

class of 09 girls + their aesthetics bc i’m tired of people not getting them.

(minor tw for sh & ed):

jecka: she’s literally a preppy, trendy 2000s teen. she wears lacoste/abercrombie polo shirts, hollister skinny jeans, american eagle, bebe jackets, and juicy couture. a lot of her clothes come from her mom’s job, as apparently her mom gets them for free.

she is a “pharma-princess” and openly idolizes paris hilton. she smokes cigarettes and casually abuses painkillers. she may be a little trashy, but she dresses like any other fashionable girl from that era.

nicole: for starters, shes lower middle class. her mom buys the cheapest internet and cable packages, as well as having nicole on the assisted lunch plan. with that being said, she’s not buying a ton of miss me jeans, bb belts, or affliction shirts. shes a hot topic/spencers fiend bc she can steal it. her outfits are usually a hoodie, tank top, or t-shirt with ripped skinny jeans- which is to say they aren’t very complicated. i think people get confused and try and dress her in the modern “y2k” fashion, but it doesn’t really work for her.

shes severely depressed and winning the idagf war, which is shown in her makeup and nails. i think her makeup routine is very messy and smudged, but thats lowkey the look.

emily: shes rich, but she doesn’t care or acknowledge it. she can buy whatever she wants, but chooses to go for the grungey/emo look. even though she’s the most “scene” character, she still follows a few trends- ex: the lifeguard hoodie. her hair is definitely damaged by the box bleach she uses and the excessive use of her straightener. i also think she 100% has raccoon eyes (in the avril lavigne-way.)

she parties with her sketchy boyfriends, day drinks, and does almost any drug she can get her hands on. she’s suicidal and highkey crazy, which results in her tattoos and scars. (the excessive SH-culture is completely on brand for the 2000s.)

ari: borderline manic pixie dream girl going through a sexuality crisis. she’s almost emo, but not quite. she wears winged eyeliner and red lipgloss. her wardrobe consists of mostly graphic tee shirts and skinny + bootcut jeans. she dyes her hair because “no one understands her,” but she still has a decent relationship with her parents.

she used to be a girl scout, so she definitely cuts her own hair and thinks it’s rebellious. i think her favorite shoe would be black high top converse.

kelly: is the definition of a trendy, trashy, 2000s girl. kelly is also rich (as stated by jecka.) she’s popular with the boys because she’s pretty, has big boobs, and dtf. she wears a lot of hollister, wet seal, juicy couture, and victoria secret. i think she would wear a full face of makeup to school. her hair is dyed blonde but she keeps the roots grown out just a little.

megan: 2000s THEATRE KID!! she’s ARTSY, not EMO. she’s apparently pretty, but not pretty enough to be constantly hit on. she wears a lot of media/pop culture clothing and jeans. (if she were in the 2010s, she would wear those hot topic disney dresses.) her hair color is her natural hair color and her nail polish is always chipped.

jecka & hunter say she’s a christian girlie, so most of her outfits are more modest and toned down compared to some of the other girls. she probably wears minimal makeup unless she’s doing a show.

karen: she’s dorky and nerdy to the extreme. she looks very mousy and homely. she likes twilight and harry potter + she works at a library (and is strict about the rules.) karen likes and is good at school. she probably only wears mascara and medicated chapstick + her glasses. she has a messy bob that she never styles.

she’s also insecure about her body, as jecka and nicole make her relapse on her ED, so she wears baggier clothing than any of the other characters.

i think she would wear sketchers and jeggings.

anywho, i like this game and im also super into the genuine 2000s fashion, so a part of me dies whenever i see someone say “nicole listens to ayesha erotica!!” or “jecka wears affliction and bb belts!” girl bffr.

[artbyblastweave]

There are pieces of science-fiction/fantasy media where you can basically project what the cast dynamic would look like in an AU that strips out the explicitly supernatural stuff, because the underlying emotional beats in canon were either disconnected from the supernatural stuff, or fancified versions of a comparatively mundane dynamic. For example, Steven Universe has an enormous number of AU fanworks predicated on the fact that the core cast consists of a queer friend group trying, with mixed success, to take care of the son of one of their deceased members while wrestling with the shape of the group dynamic in her absence, and dealing with the fallout of said deceased Friend’s dirty laundry. This is true well before you get into the fact they’re also aliens and the kid is space Jesus, and I think you could get a fair distance into rewriting the whole show into a mundane slice of life thing like Clarence without hitting serious problems.

On the other hand, you have a lot of science-fiction/fantasy media where the cast dynamic in a No-powers AU is extremely difficult to extrapolate because the fantastic elements of the setting are baked into their characterization at a deep enough level that trying to extricate it is like trying to get the chocolate chips out  of a cookie. Anakin Skywalker comes to mind. Child-Slave-turned-space-jesus-slash-military-commander while being groomed by Space-Hitler-Satan. An extremely specific, non-fungible, totally-over-the-top set of life-circumstances, consequentially somewhat difficult to transpose into a more mundane context. You can model facets of it, sure. But the whole of his situation is so suffused with 20s-radio-play melodrama that it’s harder to capture the arc with stakes lower than those in canon. Canon Anakin is the most distilled possible version of Anakin.

Worm falls in the middle. On the one hand, it’s very, very easy to extrapolate what the main cast’s lives would have looked like if they’d never gotten powers, if they’d just stayed mundane teenagers- you just have the exact same horrible shit happen to them but they don’t get powers from it. Taylor keeps muddling on through the bullying but without the escape valve of costumed heroism, Brian tries to maintain custody of his sister, Lisa, Alec and Rachel as runaways under pretty similar circumstances to canon. These are setting-agnostic and fairly easy to transpose.

On the other hand, the thing about the Undersiders’ canon dynamic is that they only exist as a group because they were each abruptly made non-fungible- thrust from the no-powers-AU of their own lives into the genre fiction version, where they’re individually powerful and useful enough to be worth bankrolling or taking hostage or whatever else. The book is in large part about how the superpowered runaround monopolizes your “mundane” life and eats you alive from the inside out; it’s a refutation of the once-common superhero trope of being able to keep the two tracks of your life separate for any serious length of time, which in turn becomes an unintentional implicit refutation of the similar logic undergirding mundane AUs, the idea that there’s a recognizable version of a superhero that can be meaningfully separated from all the insane stuff that happens to them. Worm, accordingly, ends with the protag getting actually literally shunted into a No-Powers AU and being somewhat at a loss as to how to rebuild her identity in the absence of the genre elements that swallowed the last two years of her life. Who are you, outside of being a superhero? Well, for starters, you’re the woman who used to be a superhero. Good luck at the coffee shop!

[ohnoitstbskyen]

I deleted the ask, but someone wrote one basically saying "why do you post reaction videos to Helluva Boss? Don't you know the show exploits its workers and they're overworked and get burned out?"

And, I mean, I love your energy, person who asked, definitely hold on to those values and speak up about this. But also, I am afraid I might have some bad news for you about literally the whole entire animation industry.

As near as I can make out from the sparse journalistic reporting that's been done on SpindleHorse -- and as a sidebar, please for the love of god read actual reporting about these things and not just callout posts and fandom discourse -- as near as I can make out, SpindleHorse as a studio is neither all that much better nor all that much worse than basically anywhere else in the industry on their level. It seems like it is (or was? Hazbin Hotel seems to be run differently) a studio mostly run by contracting people on a project-by-project basis, which leads to a crapton of turnover, and a huge need for organizing and onboarding, which according to the reporting I have read, the producers and freelancers have struggled to balance and manage properly, which has negatively impacted a number of the workers.

Top that with the usual catty, clique-based backbiting, sniping and poorly managed conflict resolution that's just kinda endemic in creative environments mostly staffed by twentysomethings and stressed out freelancers, and you have the recipe for a workplace where a lot of people are going to have a great time and feel creatively fulfilled, and a lot of people are going to come away feeling justifiably burnt the fuck out and exploited.

All of this is... not especially unusual for the animation industry, or indeed for any creative industry. Which is not to say that it is good, or that it should be allowed to be normal, or that it shouldn't be reported on and criticized (and please for the love of god support unionization efforts because that's the only thing that will actually address these kinds of systemic problems). It's just to say that if those kinds of issues are the line in the sand you draw where you refuse to engage with a studio's output...

Then, for starters, say goodbye to basically all of anime, because the Japanese animation industry is actively in a state of crisis trying to recruit new talent because its working conditions and pay are so astonishingly abysmal. And the horror stories that escape from that industry make the issues at SpindleHorse look like summer camp at times.

But you also have to say goodbye to a lot of American and European animation. Please do not imagine that Disney and its subcontractors, or that Nickelodeon or Warner Bros, are benevolent employers. They exploit their staff brutally and are currently trying to crush the labor value of animation with threats of generative AI being used to replace jobs. But those corporations also have extremely well-funded PR departments and the ability to silence employees with NDAs and threats of blackballing, so you don't get to hear as many of the horror stories as you might from a smaller independent studio that's less able to silence criticism by holding people's careers hostage.

All of this is to say that 1) it's valid and important to have criticism of both large and small-scale animation studios, and to keep the well-being and happiness of the workers higher in your priorities than the output of Products™.

And 2) if you're going to have a principle for what kinds of problems make a studio's output morally untouchable for you, and what kinds of problems you think should make a studio's output untouchable to other people, you do need to apply that principle consistently to the entire industry, and not just to the independent animation studio that happens to be surrounded by the internet's most inflammatory fandom discourse.

If you don't apply that principle consistently, maybe don't send reproachful messages to strangers scolding them for not living up to your standards, and even if you do apply that principle consistently, maybe still don't do that, because it's mostly quite annoying, and doesn't really do anything to support animation workers struggling for better working conditions.

The Animation Guild in the US is currently in the middle of a bargaining process with their industry, and they have a social media press kit as well as relevant talking points on their website which you can use to post in solidarity with the workers. If it comes to a full industry strike, consider donating to their strike funds to help them maintain pressure. Outside of the US, try and find out what (if any) local unions exist for animation workers, and maybe sign up to their mailing lists. They will let you know what kind of support they need from you.

[dropsnectar]

Witches Brew 

Slime monster x afab!witch

Happy October! Here's some spooky smut for the spooky season!

It was October and Halloween was just around the corner! So! Of course you were bubbling up some witches brew for one of your most busy seasons of the year. 

You stood in your studio apartment, walls covered in wooden shelves. Atop of those shelves were bottles full of your favorite things: dry herbs, powder mixes, and other potion and spellcasting tools you would need for your work. In the middle of the room stood a big cast iron cauldron. You had arranged some cement blocks to hold an electric fire starter underneath it, as you didn't have a fireplace. It was hard being a witch in the city, but you made do. This was where all the clientele was, after all.

You were standing over the boiling cauldron, an old grimiore in one hand, and mixing the golden liquid with another. The grimoire was your great grandmother something you had recently inherited. You were practically shaking with excitement! Your great grandmother had been an excellent witch, known far and wide for her potions. You had flipped through her book and found it, a recipe for her “Extremely Special Witches Brew”, the first two words being underlined. Witches brew was the basis of so much potion work. If it was extremely special then that must mean it was incredibly potent!

You had been brewing for about six hours now. The recipe started out incredibly normal, but had specified that you stare it down for the next hour, adding a lock of your own hair and some mermaid scales. This had been the most difficult bit, as mermaid scales had a habit of boiling over the pot unless babied with compliments and sweet words. Unusual for witches brew, but you trusted your grandmother. 

You had finally finished your hour of staring, marveling and cooing, turning off the fire starter. The next step was to let it cool. When it was finished, the grimoire specified, the mixture would condense and turn a lovely green color. 

You waited another hour and checked on the brew. Strange. There had been no change in consistency, and the color remained as gold as the sun on a winter's day. You waited another hour. Nothing.

You cursed. Were had you gone wrong? This recipe had been incredibly expensive, and you'd made ALOT of it, expecting to use it for the rest of the year. Upset, you went to bed early, muttering yourself to sleep.

It was around midnight when something started to stir in the cauldron. Any waking ear would have heard the sputtering and gurgling as the magic started to awaken.  Slowly, a small green tendril dripped its way onto the floor, continuously flowing until the full glob, the size of a small person made its way to the floor. Slowly, it rolled across the carpet and stopped at the bed. It watched you sleep for a moment before pulling itself up into the foot of the bed, under your covers.

You woke up feeling something crawl up your thighs. When you opened your eyes you glanced up, not seeing anything. But their was a pressure on you, something cool and wet, like a weighted blanket was curling itself up towards your core.

You tore your blanket off of you and saw it, a dark building sludge, glowing beautifully under the moonlight streaming from your window. 

You were so shocked, you didn't react. That was, until it had decided to pull itself under your panties and push itself between your lips. You gasped out as it completely covered you, gliding back and forth against your entrance and up towards your clit. It was pushing and closing all around you, the wetness feeling so good against your skin. 

Despite the fact that your stomach was in knots you tried to push the glob off of you. Your hands made contact, but pushed right through, into the creature. You tried to pull your arms out, but the thing tightened around them. You tried to leverage your weight, pulling back as hard as you could, but only managed to pull the thing with you as you rocked back.

The thing was heavy, pushing down your tummy and making its way up your chest. It did not stop sliding up and down your vulva, your breath hitching as it seemed to catch at your entrance. There was an experimental push there and you squirmed, your heart in your throat. 

Suddenly, the area felt even more slippery then it did before. The creature started to glow, a soft grass green, as all across your skin, the thing seemed to seep some sort of liquid. You could feel it drip down the crevices of your groin, down the slopes of your chest as you noticed the thing start to disintegrate your nightgown.

You wriggled as much as you could, trying to push back arousal as you shimmied to the edge of the bed. But the creature had a grip on you and the more you moved the faster it started to glide and explore the planes of your now exposed skin. It was fully enveloping you.

You gasped as it pushed into your entrance, a slippery tendril slowly making its way up and around your walls, leaving behind a sticky liquid as it moved. Your body was slowly starting to tingle. Your breathe was becoming even more ragged and the cool and slick textured of the sludge started to feel even more pleasant then it had before. 

Your mind was getting fuzzy. The feeling of the thing on your skin, paired with the weight, while previously scary, was really stoking the fire in your core. Hadn't you been so desperate lately for a feeling like this? To feel the weight of a lover as you mewled out from under them?

Your vision started to get fuzzy too. Fuzzy. You felt fuzzy all over. The need in you continued to grow as all you could concentrate on was the sudden movements on every part of your body. Hot. You felt hot..

Your waist, the curves of your breast, your inner thighs, your nipples, they were being caressed, grabbed, groped. All of this continued as a sharp sucking started to occur on your clit. You cried out, not caring if the neighbors could hear you as it sucked wave after wave of pleasure from your skin. 

More tendrils had made their way into your hot wet cunt. The girth of it made you buck your hips, straining beautifully under the the green glowing creature. You liked how it pushed you back down, experimenting with where to shift its weight as you keened out.

Green.

The witches brew. The Extremely Special witches brew.

Fuck.

You weren't able to think further as a large girthy tendril suddenly shot itself into you, thrusting into you with force. There was a needle like sucking of your nipples as the thing glided circles over every surface of your body. It was so much sensation you could barely think. The thrusting quickening its pace, pushing harder and faster into you until you broke, your orgasm rocking through you like an earthquake. 

But it didn't stop thrusting. And you didn't stop wanting it to fuck you, jerking your wobbly pelvis into the tendrils with futility. You giggled as the slime started to massage more fluid onto your vulva and cunt. Cum and aphrodisiac trickled out of you as the thing bullied that spongy spot that made you see stars. 

You had started to drool, which attracted the attention of the glob near your chest. A slimy tendril made its way to the drool streaming down your neck and chest, sucking. It seemed to be devouring the liquid as it made its way into your mouth, sucking your skin and tongue. You moaned around it, an herby taste oozing. You recognized some of the notes as ingredients in your brew.

 A silent chuckle vibrated through your chest. Mermaid scales. Worth every buck.

You came again. And again. And again. The slime fucked you over so much that you couldn't quite understand where it started and you began. You were so needy and so desperate for the next orgasm that you didn't notice the sunlight streaming down onto your conjoined bodies.

Some tendrils had made its way to your face, pushing back hair and sucking lazily on the sweat streaming down your forehead. Then, the coil within you snapped one more time, washing over you like a gentle wave on the beach. And the thrusting stopped. The sucking stopped.

The tendrils within you started to recede and form back into the main glob of the creature. It started to absorb all the slick of your body, leaving a lone bouncy weight on your skin. 

The two of you laid like that for a while as you caught your final breath, barely able to stay conscious. The thing started to prod circles into your sore aching muscles. You heard a keening sound. That surprised you a little. But that keen had been filled with so much affection, your heart couldn't help but be affected. 

As you lost consciousness, one thought stayed in your mind.

Best fucking spell ever. 

[lambcultist]

Can you do something for dbf!ellie? It doesn’t have to be long or anything like maybe headcanons?

mmmm !! dbf is one of my fav tropes and i've just got an absolutely feral idea. and it might end up being long. but, erm, reader whose father is a pilot, and ellie is his co-pilot !! and like sexting her when she's out on trips and stuff... ♡

for now, let me just ramble and jot down my thoughts, this is all very disorganised and abrupt. i'm thinking i'll wanna write something a little longer for this au soon, but i don't have enough time today :(

cw ; dbf!ellie, commercial pilot!ellie, age gap (reader 18-20, ellie in her early-mid 30s), lots of talk about physical markings, sexting, nudes, sneaking around / secret relationship, dom!ellie, sub!reader, edging, ellie taking reader's virginity, size training + use of sex toys. not proofread, no time !! ( mdni, 18+ )

your father has been in the aviation industry for almost thirty years now. he has no plan to retire any time soon and has found his passion flying commercial planes. the last few years he's consistently spoken about how fond he is of his first officer. he will rarely choose not to fly with her by his side. she's as confident, calm, and enthusiastic as any young pilot should be, and mentoring her has been extremely rewarding, so he says.

it was only a matter of time before he chose to introduce her to you and your mother, of course—especially after learning that she was an orphan.

that's how ellie enters your life. she's changed everything. she is the most interesting woman you'd ever meet. the sights she has seen and places she's been make for an easy conversation starter. you can rope your way into hearing her ramble for fifteen minutes about france, just to stare at her lips the whole time and not take anything in. she has experience far beyond what you can comprehend.

it starts with her giving you her number in case you need anything! she's always willing to be of help. your father is all smiles because he's so glad ellie's getting along with his daughter, he just knew you'd be good friends despite the age gap.

when ellie and your father are on a trip, be it a short turnaround trip or a long international trip, she must sit in the cockpit and listen to him talk about you. his sweet daughter. his precious daughter. his kind daughter. his innocent daughter, who has been sending egregiously naughty texts to ellie for weeks now.

she's fairly certain that when they land, she'll turn off airplane mode and receive a few needy texts from you. she'll have to smile and nod, agree here and there about how lovely you are. her personal favourite response, "she's a very good girl."

your interest in ellie seems to grow stronger and stronger. you swoon when she sends kisses before takeoff, and squirm when she lands and asks if you've been a good girl. of course you have.

sometimes, after particularly long flights, she'll touch down in a different country and discover you've sent an audio message of your orgasm, to which she will listen to the moans and whimpers on repeat. and then she'll send one of her own back, just to let you know how much you appreciated it.

her hidden camera roll is full of pictures you've sent. she buys you cute underwear sets to pose in. she buys you new toys to film yourself using. you're her own little film star, and she gets to direct every video.

it's a genuine shock to ellie when you admit you're a virgin. she thinks about slowing things down, she berates herself for not even considering that you are—you're young, and she's had to teach you a lot of things, of course you're a virgin.

but then you confess that you've been training with the dildo she sent you so that you can take whatever she gives you. any pre-existing guilt is now erased, in fact, she's embarrassed at how damp her boxers are.

she's guided you to orgasm plenty of times. text or facetime, doesn't matter. but she knows you love to facetime just because she's often calling you as soon as she gets to the hotel, and she's still in her uniform. ellie isn't stupid, she knows the effect that a good uniform can have on girls like you...

it just makes you smile when she's coaching you through edging yourself with the cute pink vibe she bought you, you're sweaty and crying and look over to your phone to find her fully clothed, sitting on the edge of the bed, and watching you like it's a television show. it's the only thing on earth you think might be hotter than your temperature at that moment.

she finally takes your virginity when your parents are on vacation and they ask her to come hang out with you for the weekend. ellie makes sure the entire time to be aware of how you cope with it, no matter if you're taking her fingers, tongue, or strap, and she does in fact make you take them all.

the best part is getting to cuddle in your bed, then do it all over again the next day.

whenever there's a moment that calls for it, you and ellie get together. then, when she's away for a while, you'll send pictures of the marks she left on your body fading and demand she come back to make more.

also, pilot!ellie is the funniest motherfucker on earth. she's obviously trained to remain calm in any situation in the air, but sometimes there's still times she lands and thinks, what the fuck was that? and if she doesn't laugh, she'll go insane. which is why she'll always tell you about these dumb incidents while laughing, and you'll be sitting there like, what the fuck? "yeah, we had to make an emergency landing because one of the engines fucking failed and there was smoke in the cockpit." "we almost collided with another plane." "your dad yelled at me for landing too rough today." and she tells it like it's a joke, but it actually happened, and she just doesn't care

you know when sometimes you see those videos of aviation incidents but you have no idea what any of it means because of all the aviation radio jargon and whatnot? sometimes, you just send her them, and ask her to explain in simple terms what happened. and she will, but she'll also reassure you why these things are rare so you don't develop a fear of flying. even your father never bothered to explain to you, in depth, why turbulence happens and why it's nothing to be afraid of.

sometimes ellie and your father will let you come along on shorter trips (day trips, usually) and ellie will ask him to let her handle takeoff and landing (she wants to impress you, because yeah, it's very cool) and she'll always remind you beforehand that if there's turbulence, there's nothing to fear. because not only would your father never let anything happen to you, but neither will she! in fact, she tells you to just picture them both in the cockpit chilling because they're so used to it and that it's never fazed them.

when she gets back from a trip, any trip, she'll be so tired and cuddly. she'll help you come up with an elaborate lie to tell your parents so you can sneak out of home and she'll snatch you up, take you back to her place, and cuddle or fuck you until she's feeling better.

so anyway... ૮꒰˶ฅ́˘ฅ̀˶꒱ა  i think i'll write something longer about ellie calling the reader and doing a guided masturbation ♡

🏷️ @abbysdollie @cowgirlvi @valeisaslut @eriiwaii @literallyhousemd @ellieshothousewife @piercedome @therealhexstrap @jinxedbambi @heyimrye @rhian88 @g4ys0n @yoosohh @marvelwomenarehot0

[demonic0angel]

DPxDC Pokémon Teams (click for clarity)

I looked at the poll, and while most people wanted spoilers, a lot of people also wanted only a little spoilers, so instead of the original 8 I was going to reveal, I revealed 4 Pokémon teams :D this will be the team’s final evolved forms, not the form they’re introduced in btw (Example: Chansey eventually evolves into a Blissey but in a future installment)

I also have a challenge for you guys! You’re not required to participate, but those who do can get a drawing from me of their fav Pokémon and DP/DC character (I will make it DPxDC if it’s only a DC character, but y’know.)

So the challenge is to answer 3 questions correctly. You can find the form to answer the questions here. Hints are in the cut below in this post :3 Have fun and good luck!

I got way too excited and just drew everything with my fingers…. The pain…. Especially bc I got my pen back today…

EXTREMELY LONG NOTES ON POKÉMON TEAMS I’M BEING FR:

+ Danny’s team consists of (Hisuian) Zorua, Dartrix, Gengar, and Froslass. Zorua and Gengar were caught by himself, while Dartrix was given to him as a Rowlet by a friend and Froslass was given to him by Frostbite :3

+ Jazz’s team consists of Sylveon, Blissey, and Aegislash. She got an Eevee from the Pokémon center as a starter and harassed the people there until they gave her an egg too. It opened into a Happiny, which she then evolved herself. She also caught a Honedge herself and it later evolved twice. The Marshadow occasionally follows her, but is never officially caught by her (and never will, prob. It's a reference to Shadow that I will explain later). She technically only has 3 Pokémon.

+ Dani's team consists of Mimikyu, Arcanine, and Gyarados. She found each of them while homeless and traveling. Mimikyu and Magikarp were picked up by her bc she pitied them, while Arcanine came as is, since it was a failed police dog and then abandoned. Magikarp eventually evolved.

+ Jason's team consists of Absol, Ceruledge, Volcarona, Drakloak (and a Dreepy), and Annihilape. All Pokémon but Absol were found during his training at the League of Assassins, or afterwards when he came to Gotham. Absol is the only Pokémon he has left from his childhood.

+ Danny's team was basically left unchanged for a while lmaooo. The only thing I did was add Rowlet, which is a reference to Spooky the owl.

+ Jazz is the same, I only added Honedge after a little more planning. At first, she was also supposed to have a Steelix (which would make her Pokémon team have 4) but I disliked how it looked in the drawing and it lowkey didn’t fit the vibes. In the end, I changed my mind again after using a choice picking wheel 💀 Honedge stayed due to storyline reasons.

+ Dani's did not change at all XD I was very satisfied with my choices for her.

+ Jason's team changed a LOT. Some stayed the entire time (like Ceruledge and Absol), but others were switched around a lot. At some point, he even had a Goodra, but I changed my mind several times. I've mentioned this before, but the DC teams were the hardest for me to make. The DP teams were relatively easy in comparison.

+ Danny's team is all ghost Pokémon, or will become ghost Pokémon. The reason why I chose Gengar and not any other Pokémon is bc Gengar is the first and only ghost Pokémon to be introduced in Gen I. The other three are there for thematic and story based reasons.

+ Jazz's team was originally all normal types until Sylveon evolved and she got a Honedge. She's weirdly and somewhat unintentionally powerful when you compare her to everyone else bc of the amount of dark and dragon type Pokémon I gave everyone. (Pseudo-legendaries, I both love you and curse you!) I do love how cutesy her team is. It's fun when you realize that she's also pretty well-balanced (that's on purpose :))

+ Dani's team was chosen solely on vibes and storylines. Also, I love the idea of a small girl having a cute Pokémon, a cool Pokémon, and a fucking behemoth of a sea serpent as a Pokémon.

+ The DC teams are all chosen with a specific pattern and as such, Jason's team reflects that. I switched it up several times but I'm satisfied now. I think the combination of both powerful but also thematically suitable Pokémon is really nice. He's got a pseudo-legendary and a semi-pseudo-legendary and I enjoy how his team is made of fire, ghost, and dark types. Quite spooky.

+ I want to write about Jason and Absol sooooo bad, but I'm trying my best to go in order slowly and work with what I got until I get bored again.

+ The Pokémon listed in each box are ordered from most used/seen to least used/let out of their Pokeball. Example: Jason lets Absol out or uses him the most, but Annihilape is usually kept inside of his Pokeball.

+ The Misdreavus pin that Jazz, Danny, and Dani all share is a logo for them being part of Team Phantom lmao. Misdreavus is the first fully ghost Pokémon to be introduced, hence why I chose it :3

+ Honedge was added to Jazz’s team to replace the usage of Marshadow (I planned her team for a while but never got to changing it until this year tbh), as well as to make up for weaknesses. What’s interesting about her team is that she counteracts a lot of her family’s and friends’ Pokémon teams due to her being a mix of fairy, normal, and ghost types with a bit of dark.

+ When I first discovered Marshadow, I was jumping for joy bc I was hoping to find a Pokémon that could replicate Shadow, an OC that I created to be Jazz's friend and helper. Marshadow was literally perfect for this! Associated with shadows, cute, and most importantly, able to copy others! But then my entire world came crashing down when I found out it was a Mythical Pokémon (which is accurate tbh but.... ☹️) I lowkey dislike it when characters are OP without explanations and I LOVE Jazz, which is why I glaze her so much, but a Mythical Pokémon would've just pissed me off bc no one else has one. So that's why it's there, but I don't consider it an official part of her team. It will help her on the occasion tho!

+ Within these teams, only 4 Pokémon will be evolving within the story: Rowlet -> Dartrix, Chansey -> Blissey, Honedge -> Doublade -> Aegislash, and Magikarp -> Gyarados. Jason's team came as is.

+ If you've seen how I color the characters a lot, you may be wondering why both Dani and Danny are blue instead of the usual green. That's bc I was imagining that when they went ghost, the blue would switch to green and black to white and vice versa. So in reality, the colors are actually the “opposite”.

+ You might not know this, but Dani is the only one with a water type Pokémon on her team in the DP world and it's freaking hilarious when you realize that almost everyone else is weak to fire in varying degrees. Cue shenanigans as everyone in the DP world chases her down for her Magikarp.

+ These Pokémon teams are still subject to a bit of change. As long as I don’t write it down in an AO3 fic, it’s free real estate for me to continue editing 💀

Hint for the questions! 1) It’s a single digit number, so less than 10, 2) It’s a specific girl group of 4-5 members, but very unconventional. Another hint bc it’s a little difficult, think of video games combined with music. 3) Look at Danny’s pants, specifically the shape lmaooo. Another hint, they performed at a very big event recently…. >:)

[trashytracktales]

How do we think Lando is with his FwBs?? Bc let’s be serious there’s nooooo way he doesn’t a roster, or at least 1 regular he calls up when he’s back in Monaco or England

Lando having at least one regular FWB is absolutely in character. He’s busy, constantly traveling, and not always emotionally available (so on brand for the Scorpio in him). But that doesn’t mean he’s not consistent with whoever he trusts to scratch that itch.

For starters, he keeps it chill and fun, lots of inside jokes and playful texting. Also, the banter is strong asf.

The arrangement would be very no strings attached but that doesn’t mean he’s cold. Just... compartmentalized.

He respects boundaries, but makes up for lost time. Which can be described as very intentional in what he’s doing.

He doesn’t do anything halfway. He is the quickie and go type, but at the same time, I feel like this is very rare. He mostly likes to take his time.

Might pretend it’s no big deal but gets low-key territorial. Of course, he won’t say it out loud but he will fuck you like a warning.

Sprinke some smugness in it and a “you missed this, hm?” while tearing you apart only to put you back together.

So yeah, it may be casual, but it’s intense. And extremely easy to forget he’s not yours.

[causticsodaa]

Sakura and Suo stopping each other

That’s it. That’s the title of the post.

This probably isn’t intentional and is just me reading too into both of these scenes, but I speculate these particular moments in Chapter(s) 50 and 75 have many similarities + differences at the same time and could parallel each other, or at least show how Suo and Sakura’s relationship has subtly developed over time.

For starters, both of these scenes open with Sakura/Suo looking out for each other amidst their battle, with the other person too pre-occupied to notice their concern.

These scenes also involve someone losing control during their fight (with KEEL being Suo, and Roppo having Kanji almost punching Sakura)

Suo and Kanji are stopped; however, it is Sakura who restrains Suo, while Kanji gains back his self control before he can manage to hit Sakura.

Then we get a few pages of exposition which involves Sakura/Kanji refocusing their priorities (I’m being brief about this because this part isn’t that important right now lol)

It’s also important to note that Sakura’s allies were being overwhelmed before these two moments, causing him to be more alert/distressed:

And we have the obligatory dead wife flashbacks, of course.

The main thing that sets these scenes apart, however, is when Sakura and Suo interfere with each other, and the context behind it.

In KEEL, Sakura stops Suo from losing control, insisting that there are more important things to do rather than focusing on one person (even though Nirei had been hurt)

Though Suo questions Sakura at first, we can see how quickly his thoughts shift when Sakura admits that he’s really mad at himself [for failing as a leader].

We see Suo calming down the more Sakura talks (even though he tries to escape from his grasp in the middle of it). Suo soon rationalizes and agrees with Sakura, even teasing him in classic Suo fashion to deflect from his strong outburst earlier.

Then we get one out of the two meaningful introspections that we’ve received from Suo so far right after:

Keep in mind, most of Suo’s internal dialogue have consisted of one-off quips about the situation around him, with them being enclosed in thought bubbles.

We barely see any sort of meaningful internal dialogue from him otherwise (compared to the other prominent characters such as Nirei, Ume, Tsubaki, Endo, and Sakura who is the MC) This writing choice is probably deliberate in order to keep the mysterious/unknown aspect of his character consistent.

The only other time we see this from Suo is in Noroshi, and his introspection is, once again, about Sakura.

This moment in KEEL is not only important for Nirei and Sakura’s developments, but it is also highly important for Suo; especially because we see two hidden aspects of his character drawn out by Sakura and Nirei. In essence, Chapter 50 main focus is on Suo, a character who is so closed off and ambiguous, and brings him to the limelight (given that the chapters title is literally named ‘Extreme Emotions’, which refers to Suo’s outburst).

In Roppo Ichiza however, things are different. This scene mainly focuses on Sakura, since we constantly see his internal dialogue echo throughout the chapter.

When Kanji gives out his orders, we can see Sakura doubt himself, both internally and externally. Suo, being the observant person he is, probably picked up on this.

So when Kanji yells his cue, Suo immediately rushes to grab Sakura’s hand and drags him to Shizuka, instead of letting him follow Suo himself.

Unlike KEEL, this interaction is very blunt and straightforward. It is a simple one-pager, rather than the multiple paged dedicated to their previous confrontation in the shipyard. Though Sakura protests, Suo merely reassures him of their main objective, and Sakura just lets Suo take him away.

We even see Sakura verbally resisting, while Suo had physically resisted before.

But after Suo says his words, Sakura immediately doubts himself again, wishing that he could do more in this situation.

I believe that this contrasts Suo’s introspection back in Chapter 50. Though Suo looks up to Sakura and even feels that he can never compete with him, Sakura himself doesn’t even think he’s enough [as a person]. It really shows how the other people in Sakura’s life really respect him, while Sakura can’t even respect himself.

In the end, Suo and Sakura look out for each other in times of need, and guide each other when necessary despite resistance; a push and pull relationship.

Also, it’s really cute how Suo and Sakura didn’t even let go of each other in the next chapter. Like Shizuka is right there, what are you guys even doing lol

[obsessive-clown]

𝖸𝖠𝖭𝖣𝖤𝖱𝖤 𝖠𝖱𝖳 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖢𝖫𝖮𝖶𝖭 𝖧𝖤𝖠𝖣𝖢𝖠𝖭𝖮𝖭𝖲 -

a/n: i’ve only seen a few of these posts and wanted to do one myself. i just see a lot of them sort of make art softer than expected. i also probably wrote too much and just pulled a word-vomit move.

TW - stalking, manipulation, (attempted) nsfw/nsfw mentions, bodily harm, imprisonment, torture, murder, slightly straying away from the original (softer) yandere trope, Art the clown himself is a warning.

ﾒღღღღღღღღღღღღღღღღღღღღﾒ

For starters, just like every Yandere, Art is naturally possessive and obsessive of you. How he finds you is completely up to you and your imagination, but after he does, something in his immortal body compels him to follow you. And stalk you. Because it feels different from his normal ‘stalk & kill’ routine, he doesn’t understand it, but he certainly doesn’t fight it.

It starts off ‘innocent’. Art follows you around (mainly at night), or he manages to worm his way into your home without you knowing (or with you knowing, he doesn’t care). This really doesn’t last long though because of his nature as a serial killer. Art will absolutely lose the sweet façade and begin harassing you in every sense of the word.

What you call harassment, Art calls devotion. He leaves little notes around your house, whether it’s on paper or written in blood (from his most recent kill) depends entirely on his mood. Typically, Art’s notes will consist of smiley faces and hearts accompanied by weird comments like “YOU SMΣГL ИIСЕ :)” or “YOυЯΣ CυτΣ ωΗEИ УOυ SΓEΣΡ!! :)” in messy writing. This also includes “gifts”, which mostly consist of dismembered parts of his victims, but mainly their hearts. He simply wants to show how much he ‘loves’ you.

Art, without a doubt, manipulated you to “date” him. When you first shoved him away in that aspect, his goofy and playful act cracked and withered away in an instant. You don’t want him? Why not? He’ll make you eat those words.

You’ll find yourself taped down to a chair in an odd (gross) looking basement one day. Only to be greeted with the sight of any loved one you hold closest, hung upside down and ready to be sawed in half (just like Dawn!). Art WILL make you watch and he won’t stop unless you insist and assure him that you will go out with him. Even then, he’ll still maim that special person within an inch of their life.

Art allows you to choose where you want to be: The warehouse he chooses to hide away in at times or your house. He knows where you live and can get in with ease. Not only that but he can visit you in your dreams, so either way, you’re stuck with him.

Extremely touchy and affectionate. Art is EXTREMELY touchy towards you. His affection is based on how you treat him and what kind of mood he’s in after a long day of ‘work’. He’s always clingy and attached to your hip when he gets the chance though. He constantly wants to touch you — and he wants you to do the same. He expects you to give him some sort of affection or attention, in fact, he demands it. Your touch is reassurance to him and if you’re not willing to give it to him, he automatically thinks you’re disobeying him or planning on leaving him.

Art punishes you, that’s just a fact. Maybe he’ll starve you for a day, maybe he’ll lock you in a dark basement for several days. If you try to leave him and run off somewhere with anyone, there’s rope tied to a pipe in a particularly dark and cold room waiting for you. Even when he locks you away, though, he can’t leave you alone so expect plenty of visits from him.

Art loses his temper with you, he does with everyone. Even if he has an extended patience with you, it still wears thin. He’s a demon, he has no morals, so he will hurt you. Killing you is out of the question, but hitting you or throwing some sort of ridiculous tantrum and you getting caught up in it is bound to happen. If you’ve done something particularly terrible in his mind, he’ll try out a new blade he made on your skin. It’s okay though, because he’s doing it, in Art’s mind, only he’s allowed that luxury.

Art is softer with you than anyone else. He’ll limit his strength (when he isn’t lashing out or upset with you) to an almost pitiful degree. That won’t stop him from randomly doing things to annoy you, though.

Art will most definitely steal your clothes. If he knows he’ll be gone for an extended period of time, he’ll steal a dirty shirt or anything he can get his hands on. Just as long as it smells like you, he’s happy. Your scent is comforting to him and as grotesque and unhygienic as he is, he will NOT let that piece of clothing get dirty or tainted by the blood of a victim.

When Art allows you some freedom (because he remembers he can, in fact, just stalk around and linger near you like a shadow) he leaves bite marks on your skin. Preferably, on your neck. You’re HIS and he wants everyone to know that.

Art kisses you every time he leaves to go on a murder spree! It’s something so small and domestic that it can go over anyone’s head, including yours. But he does it all the time.

Art would find any opportunity to spend some quality time with you, even if you want it to be strictly non-sexual/violent. So, he’ll come up with some things. He’d love to do your makeup, his favorite being his clown makeup on your face. He just can’t get over how much he loves you looking like him. He also loves teaching you about the weird weapons he decides to make and he even encourages you to come up with your own and work on it with him.

𝖭𝖲𝖥𝖶 𝖧𝖤𝖠𝖣𝖢𝖠𝖭𝖭𝖮𝖭𝖲 -

(This is a personal headcannon/thought) Art can change his sex/genitalia to your liking. He’s a demon, after all. Just as long as you’re happy and he’s happy, he’ll do what you want, when you want, how you want it. So, whether he’s stuffing himself inside you or vice-versa, he doesn’t care.

This man is a top. Art will try being a switch for you, it doesn’t always work, but he still tries. He loves being in power, it definitely turns him on more, especially when you willingly give him control and that power he craves. If you top him in one of the rare occasions that he lets you, expect him to act ‘whiney’. Or just honk his clown horn at you in the most bratty fashion you can imagine, simply because he believes he should be babied and taken care of gently afterwards, just like he (tries to do) does for you afterwards.

He steals your underwear when he’s gone for extended periods of time (this is def tied to the normal clothes stealing, but he sneaks a pair with him and shoves it in his plastic bag). And, because this is Art we’re talking about, it is most definitely a used pair and, if he can help it, a pair you’ve came in. Perfect jerk-off material to hold him over until he can get back to you and have the real deal instead of some stupid clothing.

Missionary, Cowgirl, Mating Press, it doesn’t matter, Art LOVES seeing your face during sex. Something about seeing your face scrunch up when he gets rough or any sort of pout you make when he manages to pull an umpteenth orgasm from your already overstimulated body just makes it infinitely better for him. And it makes him hard again because he knows only he gets to see these reactions.

While Art has no intentions or real interest in becoming a parent in the slightest (<- if you’re a female/female identifying of course), he definitely has a breeding kink. The risk is rather exhilarating in a sense for him and he’ll never pass up a chance to fuck you and fill you silly. After all, he loves leaving bits of him on you. Or in you, in this case. Oh, and he’ll force you to wear underwear after that simply because he doesn’t want his seed leaving you — plugging you up with a sex toy works for him, too, he just wants to keep a part of him with you for as long as possible.

Art LOVES seeing you cry, he definitely has Dacryphilia. He’s a serial killer who loves seeing fear in his victims eyes after all. Making you whine and literally cry as he rams into you aggressively (just to get you to shed some tears) is probably one of his favorite things because he can kiss — or lick — the tears off your face as a form of a silent, makeshift, half-assed apology.

‘ART WAS HERE’ or anything that says ‘ART’S’ with a word that is more than likely objectifying or deeming you as property of sorts has been carved into your skin without a doubt. He did it the very first time you agreed to have sex with him too — and he was nice enough to pick where you wanted it to be. His favorite spots to put it would likely be your hip, just above your ass, your ribs/side (just under your chest) and a little below your bellybutton. He’ll still let you pick though, because he loves you too much to not give you the power to do so.

Art has a thing for shoving his fingers in your mouth. For some reason, your scary clown partner loves to pop a finger or two in your mouth while fucking you ruthlessly. His finger(s) will graze over your teeth, the sides of your mouth and then your tongue before pulling his hand away and licking any and all spit he’s collected, off his fingers. He absolutely loves the way you taste — which also explains why he’ll give you head without a second thought.

Period. Sex. He’ll insist on it. Art knows how painful cramps can be and how sex can definitely fix that… Not to mention, he loves seeing the blood coat his skin.

Giving him head is like a game of Russian roulette. Art loves when you do it, he’ll even honk his horn at you until you agree to do it and sit under his ‘work’ desk that’s full of make-shift weapons to pleasure him while he works. The downside though, is that he has a habit of shoving your head down further for extended periods of time — to the point where you almost pass out — and only lets you up and silently giggles as his shoulders bounce when you’re on the brink of passing out. (There is no real upside, he just loves to toy with you as you do it and push you around for the hell of it).

Art BEGS for you (with a sad pout and a little honk of his horn) to cockwarm him when he gets back home from ‘work’ at the late hours of the night or when you’re getting ready for bed. Yes, an hour is far too long to be away from you (and not in you) and no he will not be okay without it. So what if you’re about to go to sleep, can’t he be comfortable too?

ﾒღღღღღღღღღღღღღღღღღღღღﾒ

a/n 2: sorry if this is shit, i was writing when i could during a busy day and kept getting distracted. i’m also not good at writing nsfw and typically am uncomfortable with writing it lmao. hope you liked this anyways.

TAGS FOR THOSE WHO WANTED TO BE TAGGED: @bloodytittiez

[ooooo-mcyt]

It's actually so interesting to me how often fanon remembers Dogwarts as one consistent and extremely loyal and unified group, because having rewatched Third Life a few times lately, the reality is a lot messier and more complicated.

I mean, for starters, the unified Dogwarts faction was a very late addition to the series. Dogwarts existed in some form early on in the series, sure, but it was functionally an alternate naming of Renchanting, which was always just Ren and Martyn and their enchanting business. They had allies, but members of the "Eastern Alliance" weren't members of Dogwarts. The expansion and unification of Dogwarts (a functional rebranding of the faction) came after Ren turned red in session five(?) of eight, at which point Ren and Martyn began seeking allegiance from what were formerly more casual alliances of independent players and factions, and the actual solidification of who was part of the Red Army of Dogwarts took until basically session seven if I'm remembering correctly.

What I'm trying to get at by talking about the specifics of the forming of the Red Army is that, while it's easy in fanon to simplify the faction down to "It was Ren, Martyn, Etho, BigB, Skizz, and Impulse from the start (and then impulse betrayed them)", that's not reflective of the actual events of the season. And I think this concept crucially misrepresents things in two negative ways:

1.) Leaving out important alliances in Dogwarts history. Namely Team Crastle. They were, possibly, some of the oldest and most consistent allies of Renchanting from the beginning of the season, and were cut from the alliance remarkably late in the season. Cleo was, abruptly, cut out of the alliance by Ren because she burned down Joel's house, which Cleo only did after being attacked by Joel and Etho. An act which I think is important in characterizing both Ren (who at this point was so fixated on the unification of dogwarts under a single banner and rule that he'd cut out one of his oldest allies for the sake of joel, who joined them that episode and would betray them by the end of it) and Cleo. Furthermore, I think Ren's rejection of Team Crastle is vital context behind both Impulse and Tango removing themselves from Dogwarts (yes, they were both "playing both sides" as personal tactics, but i also very much believe some sense of personal loyalty led to their ultimate decisions to team with cleo and bdubs, and their rejections/betrayals of dogwarts, to me, rely heavily on the context of the alliance between renchanting and team crastle). Team Crastle isn't the only notable alliance that often gets left out either. As I mentioned earlier, Joel was briefly an official actual member of Dogwarts during the Red Army phase, and while this alliance was brief, I think it is important. Firstly because of how Joel's 'betrayal' fueled the paranoia and bloodthirsty nature of Dogwarts, and secondly because of how the whole situation characterizes Dogwarts at this point in how they used fear tactics to pressure Joel into swearing allegiance (and how he only publicly broke that allegiance later on, when surrounded by other enemies of dogwarts who were offering him support and encouragement). It's also worth noting the relationships between Dogwarts and Flower Husbands, because they were in relatively good standing, and their eventual status as enemies came not from real wrongdoing, but from Scott and Jimmy taking issue with the idea of being 'lesser' members of their alliance, wanting to be equal allies rather than swearing their allegiance.

2.) Making the final members of Dogwarts seem more solidly unified than they were. Yes, Ren, Martyn, Etho, Skizz, and BigB were the Red Army of Dogwarts, and they stuck together until the end of Dogwarts. Ostensibly. But things were..messier..than that. Because I firmly believe the group wasn't as solidly loyal as fanon would have you believe. Martyn, infamously, was allegedly planning to betray Ren once they got far enough into the game, he just didn't have the chance to do so. And while one might think it functionally doesn't matter to the Dogwarts alliance, since he never actually betrayed them, I'd argue that the way Martyn keeps one foot out the door and makes plans in the shadows can be felt very strongly in Ren's pov and actually massively contributed to Ren's mental downward spiral and paranoia. Etho I'd also argue was a big question mark. Sure, he refuses to go against Ren when Grian and Scar try to get him on side, but Etho was also largely unsympathetic toward Ren following the loss of Ren's first life, coming to Renchanting to ask for immediate enchanting and implying he was unsatisfied with their alliance when Ren and Martyn responded with frazzled hesitance. Etho all but stated to Ren that he was only in the alliance for what he can get from it in that moment. BigB and Skizz were both more loyal, but they were also on the outskirts a bit. BigB was a relatively late addition to the alliance, pulled in by his connection to Martyn (who as we established wasn't as loyal as people believe). Skizz was maybe the one stable, consistent, and undoubtedly loyal member of the alliance, though Ren was slow to accept him as such, suspecting Skizz of trying to take advantage of Dogwarts and skip out on bargains early in the season (which was fair to an extent because a lot of players were). It's also very important to note that Dogwarts didn't really fight together in the finale, which I'd argue is a massive reason for their downfall. Ren and Martyn largely stuck together, but Skizz was separated and killed early on, and Etho and BigB spent large chunks of time separated from Ren and Martyn not really doing much or feeling any urgent need to involve themselves in the fight when they don't have to (something that's commented on in etho's pov). Even at their most unified, Dogwarts wasn't necessarily the hyper loyal unified group Ren wanted them to be, or that they're often viewed at.

Sorry for how much I've been rambling, I just think Third Life is the most fascinating season from a political angle and Dogwarts is my Roman Empire in how complicated their history and alliances were, as well as in how different the way Ren presented his alliance optically is from how it actually was at any point. Because things weren't as clean or pretty at any point in Dogwarts history as one may believe.

[anneapocalypse]

What is "the occult" in FFXIV?

Ever since I first laid eyes on the EE3 bit about Urianger's parents I have been noodling on one thing in particular. Encyclopedia Eorzea volume 3 refers to "the occult" as Urianger's parents' field of study (and the reason they were so absent from his life). Every since that discovery, I have been curious what that actually means. What is "the occult" in a universe where magic is real, measurable, and a highly legitimate and prestigious field of study?

So, where else is "the occult" referenced in the game?

Thanks to this invaluable searchable transcript, I've found a few other references in MSQ.

The first use of the term "occult" in MSQ that I've found is way back in the Gridania starter quests when some Ixali "Occultists" are trying to summon Garuda at the Guardian Tree. In isolation I'd take this one with a grain of salt since it's very early in ARR, but I think it's consistent with other usages. The description for Whorleater Extreme also uses the term, referencing "the occult knowledge of the Ascians," so from the start there is an association of the occult with Ascian magicks and specifically with summoning.

The only other mention in MSQ comes from Alphinaud in Endwalker, where he and Krile are giving us the tour of Sharlayan, and specifically Phenomenon:

Alphinaud: As the center of what would later become the Studium, it was established to promote the study of aetherological phenomena, hence the name. Alphinaud: Though with aether being a fundamental aspect of nature, its scope expanded to include every conceivable facet of life and even the universe itself. Alphinaud: And then, in the four hundred and thirty-second year of the Sixth Astral Era, Phenomenon was decreed complete and the Studium officially opened as a place of learning. Alphinaud: With a long and storied history, it is without question the world's leading authority in aetherology, the arcane, the occult, astromancy, and countless other fields, standing proud as─ Alisaie and Krile: ...Sharlayan's foremost educational institute!

Okay, so "the occult" clearly falls within the general field of aetherological phenomena and magic, though that we could have guessed already. Something that catches my eye is how in more than one place, "occult" is contrasted with or referenced as distinct from "arcane." This is the case in Alphinaud's speech above, as well as in the Blue Mage quest "Everybody Was Fukumen Fighting," wherein Bluehood says, "No occult tricks or arcane incantations can contend with the all-surpassing might of blue wizardry!"

In the Loporrit Allied Society quests, we also get this odd little quest "Hare-Raising Thrills," in which we're asked to make "Occult Paraphernalia" for a Loporrit called Thrillingway. Depending on crafting job, dialogue with Keepingway will elaborate thus:

"It seems he requires a pair of shears─but not just any pair. No, he desires blades sharp enough to carve fur clean off!"

"He wants a sturdy coil of rope suitable for binding all four limbs of…a 'friend,' allegedly."

"Seems he wants a highly acidic gel for some dubious purpose I did not have the heart to inquire about. Honestly, I think it's best if we don't know."

Which. I mean. Okay. lol. Do what you will with that.

But probably most illuminating is the use of the word "occult" in a couple of Red Mage quests, and in the Sky Pirate raid quests.

In "The Weeping City," Cait Sith says, "Thus did the Mhachi magi construct an occult device that would more securely bind the voidsent to their will..."

And in the Red Mage quests "With Heart and Steel" and "Traced in Blood" we have, respectively:

"The tomes with passages pertaining to the voidsent Lilith are all forbidden occult works..."

and

"...the secrets behind Lambard's occult transformation."

In both contexts, "occult" seems to be connected to voidsent, specifically to Lilith in the case of the Red Mage quests.

And this ties back to the references in ARR as well, since from the beginning Ascians have been connected with the Void, even before we knew what the Void actually was. So it's safe to say at this point, I think, that "occult" can refer to magicks connected to the Void and to Ascians.

There's just one more reference I found that flummoxed me a bit, and that's this description of the Arcanist class, which refers to arcanist weapons as "occult grimoires." I found it odd initially because in most other contexts "occult" seems to refer to magicks seen as illicit, as opposed to the socially acceptable "arcane." But it does make a kind of sense, given that it is from Arcanist that we get Summoner. If summoning of primals is occult, then by extension so is summoning in the arcanist sense, even if it's not truly the same thing. This would seem to be the exception to "arcane" and "occult" being distinct categories, which leads me to believe that the distinction is more cultural than ontological.

So I think from the above, we can consider "occult" to be a fairly broad term that may be used in several distinct but overlapping senses:

Magic related to the summoning of primals.

Magic related to the Void, voidsent, and Ascians.

Magic which is taboo, forbidden, or otherwise outside of that which is socially accepted.

As a footnote, I think this is particularly interesting in the context of Urianger being introduced as our resident expert on primals, despite the fact that that's... really not specifically his field of study but merely adjacent to it. Urianger's primary interest is prophecy, and certainly plenty of prophecy seems to reference primals and Ascians and that's where we see him doing a lot of his research, but it's not the same field, merely overlapping.

Without more information we can't know for certain what his parents were actually studying. Maybe they were interested in primals, or Ascians, or the Void. Maybe they were studying Void-related magics. It's also possibly they were simply arcanists particularly interested in the summoner side and we shouldn't read much more than that into the reference to "the occult." Who knows.

But nonetheless, several of these interpretations would mean that in a way, Urianger has followed in their footsteps despite their making apparently little effort to guide him that way, which I find to be an interesting angle to his character and also profoundly sad in its own way--not that he found his own interests in those areas, but that the Augurelts had a child so naturally inclined toward their own interests and still took so little interest in him.

[b14augrana]

Deadeye

You meet your match in the Champions League semi final

Chelsea Women x teen!reader

Part of the Scrubber universe

masterlist

Warnings: reader is a teeny bit cocky. this is not proofread!

A/N: scrubberverse rivalry 🫢 this is basically scrubber pt. 1 from the pov of a chelsea youngster, based on ‘we both reached for the gun’ because i saw a hard messi-ronaldo edit to it and got inspired! hope you enjoy :) 💝

Beating Barcelona isn’t for everybody.

However, your team managed to do it.

At 16 years old, you were a standout player in Chelsea’s youth academy. Now at 17, you were a standout player in their first team.

Unfortunately, you weren’t a consistent starter just yet, because the likes of Mayra Ramirez and Sam Kerr were other worthy contenders for the spot in the starting eleven, but you came off the bench nine times out of ten. You were widely regarded as one of the best youngsters in the game right now, with how quickly you settled into the first team and the consistent performances you put up every time you were subbed on. Slipping through tight gaps with the ball glued to your feet was a trademark move of yours, and you were basically untouchable to defenders because you were so young and agile.

Your Champions League debut technically occurred in the group stage, but you really shone in the knockouts.

You came on for Mayra in the first leg of the Champions League, and though you were only on for fifteen minutes, it was enough for you to feel the satisfaction of winning in front of a full Barcelona stadium. A few key passes here and there did the trick.

If it hadn’t been for Sam doing her ACL, you’d imagine that the score would’ve been substantially worse for the home side to come back from, even on aggregate, but that wasn’t the case and 1-0 would have to do.

Erin said to not get ahead of yourself, because there was still the second leg at home, but you were over the moon. You liked to think you were a true blue, through and through, so moments like these were what made you the happiest.

Champions League glory seemed closer than ever, now that your team had proven you could overcome possibly the biggest obstacle in the tournament. Sharing the pitch with greats like Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí was an honour in itself, but beating them? Beating them was historic.

You smiled at the idea of it; beating the best players of all time, scoring at home in front of thousands of fans, possibly taking your team to the final, taking them one step closer to a Champions League title, but above all... proving that Barcelona is human. Maybe even proving that you are the best youngster in the world, along the way. Of course that was the dream, but you couldn't get lost in your fantasy world just yet, Erin said.

Now that you were standing in the tunnel, altering history for your club seemed imminent. Your manager, Emma, had told you that you'd feature in the starting squad for the evening, so it went without saying that the match would be extremely special for you.

“Excited?” Erin asked, looking over her shoulder to see you. You nodded, but you were more scared than anything. You were grateful to be starting, but also a little bit terrified.

“You’ll do good, I know it. You’ve got the deadeye we need to beat them,” she said, and a little giggle came from you in response, “I’ll try!”

Beside you, the Barcelona players were lined up, whispering amongst themselves in what you assumed to be Spanish. Some of the words didn’t sound like regular Spanish though, which sucked, because for a moment you thought you’d be able to eavesdrop on them with the minimal Spanish knowledge you have.

The officials at the end of the tunnel signalled for both teams to make their ways out, and your ears were almost immediately slammed with the cacophonous noises of a fully packed Stamford Bridge. It was amazing, playing in an environment like this while experiencing the tournament of your dreams, and the loud supportive cheers were something you wanted to get tattooed on your soul.

The Barcelona girls walked out looking staunch. They carried themselves proudly despite the loss they previously faced against Chelsea, but you thought nothing of it. All you were focused on was your undying desire to knock them out of the tournament and show the world what the Blues were really made of.

“5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1!”

The crowd counted down to the first whistle blow of the match, and the shrill noise rattled the stadium as the ball got rolling and the match commenced.

You passed the ball backwards then immediately made a run. It looked hopeful when the ball was lobbed back to you, but it was quickly shut down by a well-timed intercept from…

Who?

Well, she was gone before you could see the name on the back of her jersey. As she dribbled through the midfield before pinging a through ball to Hansen on the wing, you could only hear the cries of Mapi León from behind you. ���Venga, bebita!”

You did remember talks about Barcelona having a youngster of their own, and this must be her.

Whatever, you thought. You had bigger things to focus on. Dropping back into the midfield, you hunted for the ball, and when possession of the ball was finally in your hands, you felt on top of the world.

It felt like nothing could stop you, now that you had the ball at your feet, dribbling seamlessly past the blaugrana jerseys. Being smaller than others on the pitch had its advantages as you weaved between the gaps and slipped past players… until you came up against her.

She stood tall in the backline, not even giving you a moment of her vision’s time as her eyes stayed glued to the movement of the ball.

You tapped the ball forwards, and she followed, tracking backwards. Stepover after stepover, it was becoming increasingly impossible to shake her as you struggled to deceive her, and then…

One heavy touch was all it took. It was an accident, and maybe you should’ve listened to Erin’s directions to lob it overhead and pass to Lauren, but it was too late; you were on the floor, she was just getting up. The ball was gone, and you were still on the floor. Without the ball.

“Fucks sake,” you hissed, scrambling to your feet and charging after the ball. You couldn’t seem to get past her, at least not yet. You had to think smarter, be faster, push stronger, kick harder, anything to snake your way past.

“Don’t worry about it!” Erin exclaimed, jogging behind you, “Just stay focused.”

You nodded, because she was right. If you wanted to win, if you wanted to see that beautiful silver trophy adorned in only blue ribbons, if you wanted the rewarding feeling of carrying it in your arms, you had to stay focused and you needed to beat Barcelona, or more so, their youngster.

You had to admit, you underestimated her. You didn’t expect her to be a defender and therefore didn’t expect to be crossing paths with her so often, but you expected wrong. She was strong and definitely knew her stuff when it came to defending; at times, it felt like you were kicking a ball into a brick wall, trying with no avail to get through.

It pissed you off.

Running forward made you open for a cross in from Lauren, who resided on the right wing. “Lauren!” you screamed, gesturing in front of you to where you were going to run. She looked up and noticed your frantic pointing, then she lobbed the ball across the field.

It was almost inevitably coming to you. It floated over everyone, barrelling down exactly where you wanted it, but then a body cut in front of you and before you could register anything, they were up in the air and heading it out of the box.

Every blocked shot, every slide tackle, every through ball, every aerial duel, it made you want to win even more. A distasteful feeling welled inside of your stomach when you realised she wanted it the same, if not more, given the way she was flying around and determinedly defending the goal.

The last line of defence was always her — she was the one separating you and the goal, never mind Cata Coll between the posts. It was her saving your shots.

Half time couldn’t have come sooner. You trudged off the pitch, slumping onto the bench as you sprayed water into your mouth. Jess sat beside you and put her hand on your back. “Feeling okay?” she asked, and you nodded simply.

“You’re doing well. Once you get past their back, it’s all yours,” she smiled, rubbing your back reassuringly. You smiled in return, putting your head on her shoulder. “Thanks, J.”

Even Jess knew how much that centerback was troubling you. The whole lot of them irritated you because they were just so good, and they never crumbled even under pressure, but she was something else. Whether you admired her, envied her, or disliked her, was to be decided by the next half.

She was like you — a young talent — but your positions were different. You were a striker, so you could make mistakes. It was one of your many comforts. She was a defender, and there was no room for mistakes at the back. It was incredible that they trusted her so much to start her over the likes of Engen and Paredes, but you could see why they did. You had everyone else on their knees, except for her.

The defining factor, you thought, was the fact you had seen the others play so many times. Rolfö, Guijarro, Walsh, Hansen, they weren’t new phenomenons; you could anticipate their next moves, unlike their new centerback. You didn’t know how she tackled or how strong she was until you were face to face with her.

Aitana had scored in the middle of the first half. 1-0 wasn’t too bad to come back from, so you were confident that you’d get one back. Hope is a dangerous thing, but you had it.

The second half started with more intensity than the first. From kick off, the ball could barely be seen as anything but a blur zipping around the pitch. You sent the ball spinning across the damp pitch to Catarina Macario on the wing, who took one magnetic touch before exploding outwards.

Lucy Bronze had overlapped and now there was a big gap in the defence. Their midfielders were dropping, but they still weren’t quick enough to reach Catarina.

“Watch the wing!” Mapi yelled to someone. You decided to make a run into the box, preparing yourself for some sort of cross, and that’s when you saw it.

It kind of felt like a suitable muse for a renaissance painting, if the context was included — teenage girl slide tackling a world class, Champions League-winning winger to spare her goalkeeper the displeasure of saving a goal. That didn’t change the fact that you were infuriated at the dwindling prospect of getting a goal.

It was hard to hate a player that has done nothing to you except be better than you, but you felt like you were just about at that point.

Your heart raced with every telltale sign of a big chance. Lauren getting the ball seemed promising, and you trailed into the middle for support. “Lauren! Cross it!” you screamed, hoping your cries would be heard. Instead, you watched her cut inside and wind up to take a shot, your stomach swelled with dread when you saw a body in the way and the ball deflecting off someone’s back. Someone being… well, take a guess.

Hope is a dangerous thing, and you had lost it by the 80th minute. It was heartbreak for your team when the final whistle was blown and the game ended 2-0 for the away side, going down in history as yet another amazing Barcelona comeback.

You watched her get swarmed by her teammates, a smile on her face as they engulfed her in hugs and forehead kisses before she walked away with Mapi. You could only observe as you clapped for all the wrong reasons. The title was so close, yet it had always been far. It was appalling as much as it was unbelievable that the person with the most blood on their hands was a teenager. The nail in the coffin was learning post-match that she was actually freshly 16.

You two were no longer a coexisting pair of young talents. You weren’t sharing the stage anymore.

You were competing for the stage.

[amavaria]

you should tell us about the rest of sleepy's team >:^) im curious to see if there's a theme, like if she's a fairy type specialist, or she just uses her/your favorites, etc

Sleepy switches up her team a lot further on but these are her main paldean babies from her treasure hunt 🫶

There's not much of a fixed team or theme. She went for the cute ones for her paldean adventure and started opening up more as she got further in the treasure hunt.

Her starter was a female sprigatito named Fiscalía that never got evolved since she's cuter being tiny.

Togepi was received by a surprise trade as a Cleffa. With the luck of being able to give her a nickname 💖

A shiny bounsweet was her first epic find during union circle times on the first few routes of her adventure, got named Ciruela

Tinkaton was bred by Sleepy on her first try to pass down egg moves. She was nicknamed Girlboss.

Skeledirge was surprised traded to Sleepy as a breeding reject baby. She was named Zeze.

And last one, Cozy. A shiny female altaria caught as a swablu in an extremely lucky find.

As for the current team she swaps a lot but consistently keeps Orgerpon, and Togepi.

Some of her frequent off topic picks are Kingambit, Sandy Shocks, Meowscarada, Milotic and Kieran's Hydrapple

Thank you so much for asking 🫶

[kedreeva]

Quail conformation anon: thank you! That was an incredibly helpful run down. I'm basically just looking to breed for health and temperament, as well as consistency. Good birds that predictably throw more good birds, with a steady laying schedule, uniform eggs, and decent climate hardiness (within reason).

I'm looking to start with regular old coturnix, but there are a ton available around me and I had very little idea where to start looking for ones that do possess the qualities that makes for a healthy bird. A lot of the people around here kind of just chuck them together and don't put much thought into pairings, and then produce wonky or inconsistent birds, which is what I'd like to avoid, but it also means that the majority of the birds I've seen in person have been bred by people who just raise them for meat and don't really put consideration into things like structural soundness beyond the basics of "it can move around? Yes? Perfect" or longer-term health. And I can *tell* that a lot of them don't look quite right but I can't always put my finger on what it is that looks "off" to me because like I said, I have very little knowledge of what they SHOULD look like.

Yeah I see it a lot here too, people not caring at all. And I'm not saying I don't ALSO produce those birds; this year especially, I've set a lot of eggs that I would consider to be "garbage" type eggs (ones that I would not set for myself, because I don't want how that egg texture is, or the color on the CE eggs isn't ideal) because I do frozen day old feeders but I've also gotten a LOT of requests from people who literally say up front that they don't care what kind or don't care about anything but numbers (I assume for meat raising, which fair enough, if I was just going to eat it, pretty much any half-decent bird will do I suppose). I'm always up front about the quality, but some people really do just not care.

You also reminded me: on the point of climate tolerance. Coturnix are not great at being in extreme heat, but they're generally great at being in colder climates. But you DO have to keep a little bit of an eye on it. I take all of my babies off heat by 2.5 weeks (sometimes as early as 2 weeks), and any that handle that transition poorly get culled out (either by selling them off or hard culling for the freezer). It's pretty rare these days, maybe 1 in every 200 birds or so, but it was a lot more common a couple years back. They should easily be able to tolerate freezing temps at 4 weeks old, so if they can't, then you'll have work to do (unless you live someplace it doesn't really get freezing).

And to temper expectations; even a GOOD line will produce some duds. Even a jumbo line will produce some non-jumbo birds. ANY line that you take birds from and combine with any other line (and I recommend getting lines from a few different areas if you can hatch eggs, just to open up genetic diversity at the start) is going to present selection challenges. It takes time to develop a line that's yours, to whatever your desires for them are, but bar little exception, if you're starting with several sources, you can select nice birds out of even crappy starter birds, it's just a matter of how long you want to be doing the initial selection work (as opposed to the maintenance selection work.... which is basically the same thing except you have more nicer birds)

[meganooooooooooooooo]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard mage armour sets, ranked

I've managed to compile the starter and aspirational armour sets for each class, starting with mage. Mage definitely has the least consistent looks across all the factions - the ones I like, I really like, the ones I do not like, I REALLY do not like.

As we like to credit, these screenshots are also courtesy of @kalaelizabeth's character creator deep dive video.

Unranked - Starting armour

The starting armour sets appear to be the same for all factions and only differ slightly by class. It's not the worst starting armour Dragon Age has ever had (I really hate the one you get in Inquisition that makes it look like the Herald doesn't have a neck), but it's not the best either. There are definitely story reasons for why it looks the way it does, but as I'm keeping this spoiler-free that's all I'm going to say on the matter.

6. Mourn Watch

Unfortunately Mourn Watch comes in last again, and y'all, I absolutely HATE this. I know what people who want to play Mourn Watch are looking for, and "Victorian mortician at the end of a long shift" is NOT it. The worst part is, I think there is probably something not as bad under there, and I have no idea why on earth they decided to cover it up with a dirty, dingy sheet. I hate this so much I am never going to play this faction and class.

5. Grey Wardens

Snooze, boring! Past Dragon Ages have had better Warden sets, imo. (I'm thinking 2 and Inquisition here).

4. Veil Jumpers

I actually don't hate this, and Veil Jumper is pretty consistent across all the classes in terms of having a defined look, but it's still too much brown. How nice would a little pop of green look here? It needs SOMETHING.

3. Shadow Dragons

I'll be honest - the top three are really tied here. I think they're all really great and establish a defined aesthetic for the faction, class, and are visually interesting. I love the pattern here, and I think these shades of red and blue are unexpected but look great together. And it's just the right level of flash for a Tevinter mage.

2. Antivan Crows

It's sleek, it's chic, it's deadly. Exactly what I want for an Antivan Crow. I LOVE the feathers and how they have a slight iridescence. It also does what I wish the casual look did and has silver detailing instead of gold. Gold should belong to Lords of Fortune ONLY.

Lords of Fortune

I expect this look will be EXTREMELY divisive among fans, but personally I think "mage who loves gold and the beach" is an incredible concept for the class. I could even stand MORE stacked bracelets. More is more!

You can also find posts about the casual looks here. Rogue and warrior will be coming out over the weekend!