#just as Mob feels isolated because of his powers

[catapimbinha]

[Below the cut there are some drawings if you are interested.]

So we're we are, Claw!Takenaka

After Takenaka joined the tennis club he brought many young recruits into the seventh division through manipulation, telling them exactly what they wanted to hear by simply reading their thoughts, and with the help of the most popular girl in school, and most boys' crush, Tsubomi, who doesn't know exactly how Takenaka is getting the boys to stop bothering her, and just deduced it to be an extra curricular group. Which it isn't.

As he is actively looking for espers or potential young espers that could become useful, it wasn't hard to find one of the Shiratori brothers, Kaito, who knows that Takenaka is up to something, but he can't just speak or telepathically warn his brother Daichi because Momozou is reading both their minds. He ends up entering the espers kid lab, at the same time where Ritsu also arrived, who is pretending to be his brother, Shigeo Kageyama, what according to Ritsu's mind, "An esper far more powerful than anyone in this room". It's not a reliable source, because Ritsu's face is plastered with some sort of brother complex, but if true, Shigeo Kageyama could be a troublesome enemy, or a powerful ally...

And takenaka prefers the second option, so the other day he went after him.

But why is the esper guy with imaginable powers hanging out with Kurata-senpai?!

"Do they really understand you? Or are you just alone in a different way now?"

A scene with the same vibe as the canon one, but well before the aliens arc apparently, but hey, it's good to imagine more scenes of my peach boy!

And he gets a scar on his ear, too, at least until when all Scars of seventh division lose their scars.

I simply love them

[zukkaoru]

okay but actually i think one of my favorite things about mob psycho is that. mob is very autistic coded, right? but he's just. he's a normal kid and he has so many friends and everyone loves him!! when he wants to get in the top 10 in the school marathon, no one tells him that's an impossible goal; they all try their best to help him train and encourage him every step of the way! he isn't the butt of the joke, and even when reigen does try to tell him he's misreading things and the people he thinks are his friends aren't actually his friends, that is 1. proven not to be true, 2. not portrayed as a funny haha joke moment, and 3. reigen faces consequences for saying it. mob is autistic coded, and no one treats him any differently for it. it's just one of the many things that makes mob who he is, and no one dwells on it. and it's so nice to see a character who, in pretty much any other show, would be an awkward loner and a loser and an outcast, have so many real friends. mob isn't popular, he's awkward, he doesn't always read situations correctly, he's a middle school boy who has never fit in with his peers. but he has so many friends and so many people who care about him and maybe he's not the most popular boy at school but he has more real friends than tsubomi, who is clearly the most popular girl, and at the end of the day, popularity doesn't matter. being happy does, and mob is happy. like,, it's refreshing to see a school friend dynamic where there's a middle ground between "popular" and "social outcast" and it's also so nice to see a neurodivergent-coded character treated just like any other middle school kid in the show. he's no different because of his autism. it's just a character trait

[salad-storm]

The theme of loneliness in mob psycho hits so deeply. Dimple just wanting to be recognised and seen by others. Tome, scared that she's alone on this earth, looking for life in space. Ritsu feeling so left behind by and insignificant next to his brother. Teru, after nearly killing mob, begging him to stay with him because he doesn't want to be the only one with such powers. Toichirou going mad because he's lacking positive human connections. Serizawa scared of hurting others isolating himself completely. Mogami, too, going crazy because of how deeply and utterly lonely and hopeless he is. The entirety of claw, being rejected by society and angry and sad about it. Reigen using and trying to manipulate mob but losing all his positive, deeper connections after it goes sideways, and still pretending to be something he's not because he doesn't want to be rejected or abandoned. And don't even get me started on mob.

[ruskaroma]

could you do a little drabble of an au of the reader and jw on their wedding night and tbe reader is like pure and naive and loosing her virginity to john 🤭🤍🪷

oh my god.. can i shake this up a little bit?

arranged marriage with john wick.

let’s say you’re the only child of a very powerful mob syndicate, and all your parents wanted is the best for you, so they don’t want you going around fucking with other guys that are below they’re status because it might ruin the reputation they’ve worked so hard to achieve.

so they kept you isolated.

you’re homeschooled, the only friends you have are the maids, the children of those maids and gardeners, you rarely go outside – and if you do, you have a bunch of bodyguards following you around everywhere you go.

of course, you don’t question it. you know your parents only want the best for you, and you know how dangerous it is to live in a world like this. you can’t exactly blame your parents.

when you turned 20, your father introduced you to a man named john wick.

he’s the definition of tall, dark, and handsome you keep reading about in the books. late forties or mid fifties, you don’t exactly know. you just know that he’s a lot older and probably knows better.

your father had explained how you’re going to be marrying john and you were beyond ecstatic upon hearing the news. having a companion in life could open up to so many different opportunities. it didn’t matter that you just met this man. there’s so much time to learn about each other as you two plan for the wedding.

you didn’t ask your parents why they’re suddenly letting you marry a man because simply don’t care. too naïve for your own good. you didn’t know that your parents are only paying their debt to john and you were the only thing in their life that they could just simply give away.

fast forward to the night of your wedding day, let’s say that you aren’t expecting john to be so... rough during your lovemaking.

his actions are rough but his words are soft. it’s confusing you. you thought honeymoons are supposed to be sweet and slow, yet here you are getting fucked on the bed like some kind of cheap whore as john pulls your hair from behind and whispers filthy praises in your ear like there’s no tomorrow.

“my pretty little wife,” john grunts, snapping his hips against your ass, burying his cock so far deep into your little cunt that you could feel it in your stomach. you drool, stumbling over your words. “my wife got the best pussy – so fucking tight and pink. i bet you’ve never let anyone touch you like this before, hm? only me? only your husband?”

“y-yes – yes, john, o-only you!” you sob, clutching the bedsheets in your first as your pussy clench around his dick. “f-feel so full, j-john, feel s-so full – so big.”

“that means you’re doing a great job, baby,” he praises, letting go of your hair to drop his head on your neck, peppering kisses all over as his beard tickles your skin. “my little wife is taking my cock so well. you’re gonna have to get used to it, baby, because i can assure you that i’ll be fucking your sweet little cunt every single day that i come back home. gonna get you so nice and full again like this.”

[cherryblossomriot]

I think alot about serizawa.

that he's so powerful and so sensitive, and how he's the very common Shonen anime trope of "villain with tragic backstory who just needed friends and is won over to the hero's side after the hero listens to them and shows them kindness" but like, his tragic backstory is so grounded in places others just aren't? like, he just didn't want to hurt anybody, so he hid himself away. that's so simple, yet so poignant and painful, so...normal. its such a common emotion, such a common solution. its not a healthy one or a "good" one, but its all he had...and then at some point, his self-imposed isolation became so hurtful to him that it caused him to become vulnerable to exploitation. to manipulation, and he became a weapon in a never ending cycle of violence, until someone was kind enough to listen to him, to want to help him.

and then i think about the fact that that person was just a child who had experienced the exact same struggle but was provided tools by people who loved him to help manage his problems....and it honestly makes me so emotional. because, like, it's a perfect allegory for how living with mental illness affects people.

serizawa is older than mob, so the society he grew up in didn't know how to handle his powers (mental illness/neurodivergency), but now, as times have changed and society has become increasingly more aware, it opens the pathway for people to find strength together, to have people in their lives that understand that they need kindess, they need love, that their mental illness isnt something bad or wrong.

but even more than that, they know that their differences do not make them bad people, they are not something to be shunned and hidden away, but just something to be worked through. just a unique aspect of how that person is, and it's neither good nor bad, just how they are.

and then i think about how serizawa didn't have anyone like that in his life until he was 30, and how those years of isolation and then manipulation (which caused him to do the very thing he was afraid of), how all of that could have broken him could have made him unloving, could have made him bitter. but instead, he overcame his fears, his guilt, his shame, and under all of that, he's just kind.

when i get really afraid, of myself, of the world, when i want to myself hide away and never leave my bed, my room, i think of him, and i feel so comforted, so much less alone.

what a wonderful man, written so gently, so lovingly. it's so rare to see a grown man with a stigmatized symptom of mental illness depicted in such a kind way, it makes me want to hug ONE through a phone screen.

anyway, uh. yeah katsuya. i think he's pretty neat.

[ninjathrowingstork]

More Renfield potato content but I can't stop thinking about this moment,

Ugh it's the first time he's seen it's possible to stand up to someone that much stronger, even if it means knowing they could kill you she'd rather go down fighting than be paid off and be owned by the mob like the rest of the department

And then

The great war. WWI.

Sure he catches himself and does know recent global events, but it means something that it's the earlier war he thinks of first. If we're basing his age off Dwight Frye's, then he'd have been fifteen when the war started, just turning nineteen when it ended. He grew up during the war that wiped out most of a generation, maybe older boys he'd known. Did young Robert Montague Renfield also join, once he was of age near the end of the war? Did he at all see action in the final years? He'd already lived in a world where he'd feel powerless against the constant death and horror of the war.

And then, being young and studying to be a lawyer in the 20s, seeing the glitz and money and industry rising around him, and then just passing the exams in 1930-31 (in Dracula, Jonathan only learns he's passed as he's leaving to meet the Count) and the early years of the Depression and stock market crash, and he's a young father and trying to make this business deal that might set his career and provide for his family as the market is fading from under him, he's grasping for any way to keep up the career and family and life that a businessman is expected to in his generation, and then. And then he meets this aristocrat who promises him immortality, to not die like so many others he'd known, to have access to prestige and society and wealth that he's craved, if only in exchange for his service. And back then, it was more common for a gentleman to have a valet, after all, and his own father might have employed one himself. But he was also alone, no one else knowing where he'd traveled to and seeing this power and monstrosity from one man, being terrified and weak and isolated he just broke. The person he'd been before was gone, traded for a trickle of physical strength and the status of serving an aristocrat and by the time society rotated and that social power didn't mean as much, it was too late for him to have walked away without being shown that was even possible. He's traded his freedom for the assurance he wouldn't die, wouldn't be vulnerable to the uncertainties of the world he'd grown up in, but he says The Great War because that was the last one he was actually free and a person for.

[mitsybubbles]

Age swap Serizawa and Tome edit

Plus some ideas I wrote about it below after talking at lenght about it with @acekindaneat

Tome runs spirits and such but keeping herself at a small distance because she’s terrified of sharing with other people and being dismissed so it’s a way of doing things “herself” but she’s not a psychic even though she wants to be and she needs People. Because of this she’s a little more interested in pursuing urban legends cases, haunting cases, or mysteries and tends to be disappointed if there is a normal explanation for it

Serizawa is a former shut in who was coaxed out by Tome after his mom hired her (since she claimed to be a psychic consultant) and is currently “training” him in his abilities. He just moved to a new middle school and is very anxious about being a member of society and fitting in without losing control again

Reigen is a year below Serizawa at their school and acts like a normal student during class hours and is well liked but not close to anyone but after hours he spends his time trying to “become someone of note” because he feels isolated by the norms of society. He keeps getting obsessed with and switching hobbies every other week. His current one when the story starts is private investigation. His sister is a year above Serizawa and is a top student

Mob is a NEET in who hid himself away after his powers caused several accidents and fractured his relationship with his younger brother. He only leaves to get amenities and he relies on his parents support or on a work at home job for money

Dimple is a new spirit who doesn’t know what his place in the world is yet. He doesn’t have a human form or memories but he still has human desires and impulses so he feels out of place in it.

-Serizawa finds Reigen researching into the LOL cult after he joined it hoping to make some friends and they both get sucked into the supernatural conspiracy behind it. Reigen realizes Seri is a psychic and decides he’s now into the occult and demands his boss hire him and drags him to Tome’s office

- Tome meeting adult Mezato and then coming to blows ala Reigen and Roshuuto because Tome is annoyed that Mezato is seeking out the occult “because she’s bored”

-Serizawa being cajoled by Toichirou to join his little gang and Serizawa actually enjoying it and seeing claw as his friends even tho he felt guilty about hurting other gang members but “it’s okay because Master Kurata says it’s okay to protect yourself from bad people right?” Also he was given the umbrella as a gift and Tome and Reigen notices how much Seri’s been using it and Tone mostly goes “huh you’re skills are coming along ig” because while shes supportive she also isn’t very attentive and Reigen’s more suspicious because seirzawa is spending less time with him. Due to being scared that his first real friend would leave him, Reigen is a little threatened by that so he lashes on seri. They argue and seri stops hanging with reigen. Then reigen feels bad and decides to apologize and gets caught by Toichi + co in a small hazing ritual to get seri to stop comparing himself as the same level as “commoners” by denouncing his friendship with a nonesper. So then they fight when seri refuses to and finally seri insists that he doesn’t have to be stronger or weaker than anyone else to get to have proper connections and he breaks the umbrella saving Reigen from crossfire

And then later Reigen feels bad about everything (and he also realizes Toichirou was right that he was only friends with seri because he was an esper) so he gives seri some pokemon cards playing it off by saying he had those laying around his room and gets thrown off when Seri is openly emotional about it and hugs him. Meanwhile Toichirou is reevaluating everything because everyone sort of ditched him after he wasn’t giving them smth in return (except Hatori sort of lol- Hatori likes his presence Enough and the StuCo leader Joseph who was trying to get him suspended)

Minegeshi is like 20 here and runs a flower shop that the kids hang out in. It’s probably destroyed now. Sorry my dude.

-Reigen wanting to search for the dragger after his sister tells him he can’t keep “goofing around” otherwise his parents will force him to settle on an proper interest

-Some kids hiring Tome to find a “ghost” that lives on their street and it ended up being Mob who refuses to interact with them in a meaningful way. Seri makes it his mission to help him. Serizawa wants to ‘prove’ hes better now by helping someone like him but then he and Mob make a connection and Serizawa understands that he has to let Mob accept himself and make that step himself.

Also Tome shows Mob the benefits of releasing one’s emotions in a safe space.

-Reigen and Mob meet at the office and really hit it off

-Teru hiring the gang to come exercise a spirit in his TV studio and he and Mob end up fighting because he thought he was the best esper ever, you know the deal. And meanwhile Tome and the kids deal with the spirit of Mogami who was a psychic child star that haunted Teru and possessed Minori because he’s jaded by people who lie and use others to get notoriety

-Roshuuto is like a wannabe popular kid that annoys the hell out of Reigen because he pretends to be people’s friends and dumps them for someone better and now he’s trying to do occult stuff for clout

-Hoshida is an exorcist without any powers that we know of but he’s really nice and genuinely cares about helping others. He’s one of Tome’s informants

-Separation arc where Tome closed spirits and such briefly after Serizawa leaves to “be a normal kid” for a while because she thinks she won’t find anything meaningful about the paranormal she was searching for because she’s only humoring people- it ends up with her meeting people from middle and highschool she fell out of touch with because of simmilar things and her realizing she should continue to do whatever she loves and she should also pay more attention to the kid who she genuinely cares for and vice versa even if he isn’t going along with her whims 24/7

-Mob trying to reconnect with Ritsu

-Confession arc where Serizawa injures his mother in an incident after he thought he was doing “better” so he runs away and has to confront his own powers- and Tome having to come to an understanding with him too

[scarlettaagni]

Original Zs’skayr

The original Zs’skayr was a cruel High Ecto Lord on Anur Phaetos. Enforcing his need for total control across its globe, handsomely rewarding his sycophants, and siccing his thralls onto dissenters.

At least until his tyrannical influence had begun intruding onto other planets, which caused the disparate populaces, collectively outnumbering his loyalists, to rise up and depose him. In a show of mercy he would never have afforded them if the roles were reversed, they banished a notably un-dismantled Zs’skayr instead of destroying him.

His own homeworld had forsaken him, and no place in Anur proper would have him. Few citizens of Anur had left the system, him included. The safest place he knew was remaining adrift in the vast expanse between planets and moons.

With no one to abuse or deflect to, having nothing left to his name, the cold vacuum of space gave him no choice but to begin introspection.

Zs’skayr lost the will to fight for his throne, as well as his hunger for power. There was little left to feel but shame.

With a new purpose in mind, he would explore the galaxy outside of his native system. In the face of his narrow-mindedness, Zs’skayr replaced his thirst for power with one for knowledge, and broaden his horizons.

To learn about the people and worlds outside Anur as well as he did the ones inside, he possessed various beings to explore.

A not insignificant amount took it poorly, such as on Vrykola—

They could’ve used their tools right then or come back with a mob holding pitchforks and torches, so he just counted his lucky stars and more discreetly picked a different host.

Most worlds were just confused, though.

A precious few took it well, like Aldabra—

The Geochelone Aerios were pleasantly surprised to meet an outsider who wished to learn and understand as much as they did, and they had a lot to discuss with him on autonomy and free will, as well as pacifism and de-escalation. Zs’skayr had much impromptu therapy there.

Some were even receptive to him outside of a more familiar host, or even outside of his (what he would come to recognize as appearing “less-threatening”) sun shade. In fact, the royal elect of the Chimeran Empire insisted on it.

That was mainly so it was easier for them and the snipers stationed around the capital to destroy Zs’skayr if he made a move they didn’t like.

Aside from the dawning realization he had just unintentionally threatened an imperialistic military state in front of its leader, the tour he received was enjoyable. They did not make mention of Vilgax.

It was strange, because he had heard developing stories of Vilgax’s conquests and reigns of terror upon other worlds. Maybe it wasn’t so strange the Chimerans didn’t acknowledge this sensitive, worsening stain on their history.

Considering what he and Vilgax had in common, Zs’skayr thought that his kind may have adopted a similar attitude about him. He ultimately would prefer for truth to prevail above all, including information embargos/taboos for the sake of his or anyone’s comfort.

Tales of the Omnitrix’s development similarly spread throughout the galaxy, in hushed whispers, and on his travels, Zs’skayr heard nothing but its prospects as the ultimate weapon.

He was none too pleased, already being surrounded with violence and advancing weapons. It seemed to be all talk and no bite, however. Equal in frequency of stories about the Omnitrix were the ones debunking its existence. It never turned up within Zs’skayr’s vicinity, anyways.

He helped others,

and he was helped by others.

Eventually, Zs’skayr had learned all he wished to, talked to more people than most do in their lifetimes. He was homesick, but knew no good would come from trying to return to Phaetos.

Still wishing to be close, he found a habitable rock on the outskirts of the Anur system, far from Phaetos and made a home.

Since then, Zs’skayr had lived a quiet, humble life in isolation. Built up a cottage, sewed furniture, cultivated a garden in the gnarled wilds that managed to sprout on this rock.

He didn’t feel he deserved to live with his people again, and he didn’t deserve an update on how they were doing, however they decided to govern themselves in his absence. Whether it was good or bad, it wasn’t his business anymore, and they wouldn’t want to be bothered. He respects their wish.

He writes (working on a journal of his travels), he gardens, he goes out for walks and floats, he sleeps, he’s become a tea-fiend, even leaving his rock to the nearest nebula to collect stardust for flavoring. Just a place to wait out his days in peace, hurting no one, retired from social interaction.

At least until an outsider entering the Anur system noticed the clearly inhabited rock and landed to explore. Though painfully shy, Zs’skayr politely greeted her and asked what she wanted, balking at the mention of contributing to the Omnitrix’s creation. As far as he was concerned, it was some superweapon that probably didn’t actually exist, and if it did, he wanted no part in it.

Myaxx gave Zs’skayr the boilerplate explanation of the Omnitrix project her boss Azmuth wrote out for her to read out to all potential donors.

The Omnitrix is a device, not a weapon, that allows its user to become another species. The wielder would become a symbol of galactic unity among its denizens, and to help them grow closer together. It pulls from a catalogue of DNA samples volunteered by willing members of their species. Would Zs’skayr do the favor and, on their behalf, volunteer for the Ectonurites?

The idea of someone who could step into another being’s shoes, or rather, assume the guise of another species to bridge the gap was personal to him. It was a radical, ethical, almost impossibly ideal version of what he had done across the galaxy to understand others better.

Zs’skayr could somehow contribute to the healing of entire worlds and systems. It was something he would have declined earlier in his life, and even doubted he could do now.

Moved by this, he agreed to be the Ectonurite donor for the Omnitrix and tore off a shred of his tentacle for her.

Unfortunately, a grave miscommunication neither realized had occurred. Zs’skayr knew that the sample had a copy of his consciousness on it, but believed that an Ectonurite was only being asked for a DNA sample because the Omnitrix project knew and had a way of correcting it.

Anur’s species are quite insular, rarely leaving or allowing outsiders, and as such, details of their anatomy are not common knowledge to them. Simply put, Myaxx didn’t know to ask, and Zs’skayr didn’t think to tell her.

The now original Zs’skayr then continued his isolation on the edge of Anur, secure in the knowledge that he, at last, could make a net positive impact.

He’d be proud to know of the difference Ben made with him, for the short while he could.

[stirringwinds]

WIP

a scene from a fic i’m currently working on set in may 1861, exploring british-american relations during the american civil war. cw for injury mention and real-life historical events. “maría” is mexico. 

-------------------

“Still a lying old bastard through and through, aren’t you?” Alfred hisses. “What comes next? Recognition of statehood, of course. Don’t think I’m oblivious to how some of your people are absolutely giddy at the thought of my undoing. Good riddance to the vulgar mob rule that goes by the name of American democracy, etcetera etcetera.”

“Unhand me at once,” Arthur hisses.  “Conduct yourself with some of the dignity I raised you to have, will you?”

“Glad to know you haven’t changed one bit, Lord Father. Good manners rank above morals, honour and any sense of integrity, as always, with you,” Alfred’s smile is dark and bitter, but he releases his grip, flings Arthur’s wrist aside. There’s something like sheer hatred now, in his face, but his voice is low, almost quiet. “And don’t talk about dignity, when you made me this way; you, and all your people’s bullshit. I didn’t have a choice when you claimed me at Jamestown—”

“I made you this way? It’s been almost a hundred years since you've thrown away my name, in case you’ve forgotten,” Arthur cuts in. There’s something simmering and furious boiling up—that Alfred always so easily drew out of him. Yorktown. A shot to the jaw, dead-on. He’d coughed out blood and teeth and bone in front of his men. “Do I make you do anything anymore? Did you not loudly and proudly announce yourself as a naval power? That huge uproar you created in the Far East? Bragging to me how you’d finally matched my feats, dragging another Old World nation out of isolation to rejoin the international community on the threat of war and glories of foreign commerce?”

The fingers of Arthur’s left hand curl inadvertently around his teacup. It’s burning hot. He continues. “And at Jamestown, I saved you. Gave you my name and my protection! When they would have cast you out! Left you to die—”

“Saved? I was a prize! For your ambition!” This now, from Alfred, is a shout, thunderous and furious. “Antonio had María, and you wanted to match that! Because being an insignificant, fuckin’ shitheap island with nothing else to your glorified name was too much for your overblown ego. It never is for you diseased, miserable Old World bastards. And I disappointed you at first, didn’t I? No gold, no riches, just famine and—”

“Ambition? Overblown ego? You certainly aren’t short of it yourself, Alfred,” Arthur sneers. His heart thunders in his breast, and he feels at once hot and icy cold. Oh, he’s just like me. Not at all in appearance—but in the soul. So much like me. All that hungry ambition, and always compulsively cruel in our vulnerability. He levels Alfred with a cool stare. “And speaking of María—” He doesn’t miss the way his eldest son flinches, that exact same way he did as a boy—“you chose to go to war with her, you alone—and now the land you seized from her in your victory has torn you asunder, isn’t that right?”

[justcallme-ange]

What are some DSMP character or worldbuilding headcanons you have that you've never seen anywhere else? Pls talk about them.

Oooh, this is a tough one. So first thing’s first, I am very very new to Minecraft. Like I literally just got into playing beginning of this year. So a lot of my knowledge is either from watching Techno and Dream or fandom. So a lot of my headcanons are mishmashes of ones I've seen before. However these are just a few of the stuff floating around in my head that I haven't really seen elsewhere - sorry if this is long ^^

Worldbuilding wise…

Something I headcanon that I haven’t really seen before is that there’s like a master world - like a domain where all things originate. And player worlds/SMPs are offshoots/branches/copies of this world. So everything is interconnected, and how each world is functionally the same, but may have variations.

Another world building thing I see touched on but not really elaborated is that while there is a difference between player and mob, it's less god vs animal - and more like humans vs elves (at least for the humanoid looking mobs). Like they're not mindless (cept for zombies), and that these mobs have their own civilizations and customs outside of what players can see. In this case the mobs are like humans with short lifespans and only a little magical power - while players are the elves with longer lifespans that can be extended through magical means. This I guess is my justification for hybrids and and explanation on Admins being demigods?

DSMP character wise…

I only really play around with like... 3 characters so-

I headcanon that Techno while being pretty good about keeping a level head is prone to anxiety (pretty sure that's canon) so when he beds down for the night he tends to sleep with something heavy on top of him. (Might have been a habit kept from war - where he would sleep with a shield on top of him.) So he finds comfort in having a weighted blanket (or Dream) on top while he sleeps. Phil resting his wings on his shoulders to calm him is an elaboration on this idea.

Oh speaking of sleeping - I've seen a lot of takes on why Dream doesn't sleep or that he's a loner because "mysterious figure" and all that (and my angst brain couldn't resist). My headcanon is that he's the complete opposite. Dream's the dude who loves having roommates (Even if he tells Techno otherwise). Like he loves having people around (it's why he's fighting so hard for server unity) and that the reason he doesn't sleep is more so the fact he can't, at least not good sleep. He's used to sleeping in a place with lots of people - his friends mostly - and the silence gets to him. The community house is proof enough of that. So instead of sitting in a dark room doing nothing waiting for the sun to rise - he does... other stuff. Prison makes this even worse - because he's completely isolated, where as before he could ask Punz, or Bad to keep him company.

So not a new take- but elaborating on an already established headcanon, Philza being the Angel of Death having sway on Death. And I mean more so - he's able to lightly tweak the strings of fate. Untangle little things in a person's future. He's unable to stop their fate, but depending on how much he favors/likes/loves the person he can kind of... tug it in a new direction if the person is willing. He's not allowed to completely change things - that's ultimately a consequence of a person's series of choices, but in a game of 50/50 he can slightly tip the odds in their favor.

That's all that I could think of so far - but if anyone wants to add to here with their own heacanons feel free! I love reading people interpretations of stuff - and other world building things in general.

[ystrike1]

Winter Wolf - By 순무 (sunmu) (8.5/10)

The aftermath of a civil war. A bloody revolution. A lonely mansion in the snow. The setting for this story is very unique, and isolation is a key theme. The two lovers here are one part of a larger, sadder story.

Lyshteia is a noble woman known for her red hair, which is the symbol of her family. That family is no more. Lyshteia is not a bad person, but her parents chose the wrong side of a revolution. They were punished. Assassinated off screen before their daughter could marry. Lyshteia was betrothed to the handsome Prince Jude, but sadly he also chose the wrong side. Lyshteia's family and fiance died in quick succession, and she was left with nothing. Not even information.

It seems like poor Lyshteia wasn't included in the plan, but she is being punished as well. Her life as a noble woman is gone. She has one relative left. An aunt across the sea. She has to somehow get there, and find another husband. The setting of this story is extremely gritty. There's no magic. The revolution toppled powerful noble families one after another, because in this world a mob is stronger than any sword.

The story begins here, in the woods. Lyshteia is looking for an information broker named Terren. She doesn't trust brokers. She's been burned by a few and she has no money left. Her horse abandons her, and she wanders through wolf infested land until she finds his residence.

Terren is a handsome man, who is also a realist. He says she is trapped. She is at the end of her rope. The winter season is bitter this particular year. He can't take her to the sea port. It is frozen over. Ships cannot pass. The very last ships are leaving in three days, and there is no possible way for her to sneak on.

She's stuck with him.

He taunts her, as if he wants to test her. Terren just told her that she's stuck in wolf territory with a man she doesn't know. In the dead of winter, with revolutionary soldiers on her tail. There is an assassin hunting for Lyshteia and the few nobles that are left.

Lyshteia makes a solid offer. If he doesn't kill her or throw her out he will be rewarded when she meets her aunt.

Lyshteia has been through alot. She has barely escaped death by mob stomping several times. She had to travel alone during the beginning of winter as well. She had to sell off all of her possessions just to get across the country. Just to get another inch closer to the port.

She's not going to give up now.

His teasing doesn't affect her much. She's afraid, but she doesn't cry.

Terren mentions her noble manners and her beauty. He says she needs to forget useless things like manners. In this setting being noble means you are a target. Lyshteia says she literally doesn't know how to act like a commoner. She was engaged to a prince, after all. There's really no point in pretending. She is well known for her hair, and she doesn't trust anybody anymore.

She would rather be alone, but she thinks Terren is handsome. She has been lonely and scared for a long time. After some flirting (that feels suspicious for some reason) they have sex.

Terren doesn't seem like a nice guy. The plot twist is kind of obvious. When Lyshteia confesses to him she saves her own life. His real name is Ian. He was hired by the leader of the revolution. His work name is Phantom. He has been paid top dollar to kill everyone left with noble blood. He doesn't kill Lyshteia because of a series of coincidences, and her passionate confession. Lyshteia is a tough woman. She's his type. Ian is willing to risk it all to save her.

He also slaughters some of his own employees and allies to protect her. The former future queen is a big target. An expensive one. If he won't kill her somebody else will. He teaches her how to use a gun, and his act falls apart. Lyshteia becomes suspicious of him, but they still have lots of sex.

The plot gets thick. Lyshteia does make it to her aunt's house, but she is damaged goods. She is no longer queen material. Her aunt tries to marry her off to an old man, because of her damaged past. Ian comes for her. He whisks her away from her shitty life as a princess. She becomes a kindergarten teacher, and he's a very devoted husband. He leaves the assassin life behind for her as well I think. He definitely becomes happier. They are genuinely a good couple, but I was worried for a second there. Ian doesn't have normal common sense. He's overly practical. I would call him a lighter yandere, but he does do alot of killing for her. The easiest option was beheading her after sex and taking the bounty. Helping her and loving her was a massive risk for Ian. He's not some guy with superpowers. He's just a guy with a gun, so his devotion feels very sincere and also unhinged. There's no judge or jury here. Ian could have been murdered for helping her, but he did it anyway.

[grantaireble]

Tortured Poets & "The Bride of Frankenstein"

To a new world of gods and monsters!

Alright this is soo long now and I came about this revelation the weirdest way (while watching world class color guard) but I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. All of my ttpd thoughts were rattling around in my brain as we were watching videos and one group put out a Bride of Frankenstein show last year and they used this quote as a V.O:

“What do you expect? Such an audience needs something more than a pretty little love story. So why shouldn’t I write of monsters?"

And, man, something about that got the neurons firing, especially because I had already been thinking a lot about the connections between Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and TTPD. Here are some of those:

Frankenstein visuals in the Fortnight MV

“The 1830s” Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was originally published in 1818, but she made some edits for an 1831 edition

Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron were sort of their own little TPD, writing horror stories together one rainy summer.

TTPD and Frankenstein seem to reference many of the same things

Both Taylor on TTPD and Mary Shelley in Frankenstein reference the Rime of the Ancient Mariner and the albatross

“I am going to unexplored regions, to “the land of mist and snow;” but I shall kill no albatross, therefore do not be alarmed for my safety, or if I should come back to you as worn and woeful as the “Ancient Mariner?” – Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

Both Taylor and Mary Shelly reference Greek Myth 

Frankenstein: “The Modern Prometheus” (often compared to the Christian story of Christ)

Cassandra: gifted the power of prophecy but cursed to never be believed

Does the headpiece above not give Medusa?

Both Taylor and Mary Shelley reference the Bible

“I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel...” (Frankenstein) / “I got cursed like Eve got bitten,” etc. 

Both Taylor and Mary Shelley reference principles of Alchemy! 

"The modern masters promise very little; they know that metals cannot be transmuted, and that the elixir of life is a chimera." (Chimera = lion's head, goat's body, and a serpent's tail, more Greek mythology)

Some lyrics from TTPD also feel like direct references to Frankenstein quotes or themes

“I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend.” ― Mary Shelley, Frankenstein / “I was tamed, I was gentle ‘til the circus life made me mean.” – Taylor Swift, Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?

“I am alone and miserable. Only someone as ugly as I am could love me.” ― Mary Shelley, Frankenstein / “Down bad like I lost my twin.” – Taylor Swift, Down Bad

“I am malicious because I am miserable” ― Mary Shelley, Frankenstein / “Because I’m Miserable!” – Taylor Swift, I Can Do It With A Broken Heart

“One wandering thought pollutes the day” ― Mutability, Percy Blythe Shelley (Quoted in Frankenstein) / “One bad seed kills the garden” – Taylor Swift, The Albatross

“This feels like the time she fell through the ice” – Taylor Swift, The Bolter / In Frankenstein, ice is symbolic of isolation and alienation.

“Wretch” or “Wretched” is a huge word in Frankenstein / “That I’m fearsome and I’m wretched and I’m wrong.” Taylor Swift, Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?

“In the streets there’s a raging riot” / In the story, the Monster gets chased by angry mob of townspeople 

The First Two Pages of Frankenstein by The National (The Alcott appears on this album and The National toured it with Patti Smith)

Bonus: Dr. Frankenstein is something of an anti-hero. He, along with his monster, are also sometimes referred to as Tragic Heroes. Greek philosopher Aristotle first laid out the attributes of a Tragic Hero.

So all of this to say, I had originally only been thinking about TTPD only in the context of Mary Shelly’s original Frankenstein, even though that Fortnight imagery was definitely inspired by the films. But then that quote just really felt like it had Taylor written all over it.

So I googled Bride of Frankenstein.

It's basically an "everyone lives" AU sequel to Frankenstein lol. It's the 2nd of a trilogy (...hmmm?) although the third film Son of Frankenstein has a different director. The line I heard in the guard show is said by a fictionalized version of Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, who "appears" in the Bride of Frankenstein movie, along with poets Lord Byron and Percy Shelly.

In the scene, Mary Shelley explains that she wanted Frankenstein to show its audience the consequences of mortal man trying to play god. She then reveals that there is more to the story than everyon thinks. This, of course, got me thinking about the term "playing god" and the Mastermind of it all, along with all of the religious/worship imagery Taylor uses on the album. Bride of Frankenstein also uses Christian/crucifixion imagery to convey this theme. 

The movie picks up right where the original Frankenstein left off. Both the doctor and the monster somehow make it out of the original story alive. Dr. Frankenstein, despite wanting to step away from his experiments after his horrific first attempt, gets pressured/blackmailed by his mentor to create a mate for the monster. While this is happening, Frankenstein's original monster is sort of bumbling around out in the world trying desperately to make a friend. This never works, as everyone is too afraid of how different he appears on the outside.

This is around where the queer reading of "The Bride of Frankenstein" comes in. I'm getting most of my info from this video, which definitely clicked things into place for me.

The queer reading is based on a few things:

The relationship between Dr. Frankenstein and Dr. Pretorius (two men creating life together)

The monster as a figure that does not fit into the norms of society and the effects of that on his search to find someone "like him"

The director, James Whale, having been one of only a few openly gay men in Hollywood at the time

The character, Dr. Pretorius', "campy" queer coding

The Bride of Frankenstein was subjected to censorship from the Hay's board while in production and by censorship boards once released

"In the decades since its release, modern film scholars have noted the possible gay reading of the film. Director James Whale was openly gay, and some of the actors in the cast, including Ernest Thesiger and, according to rumor, Colin Clive, were respectively gay or bisexual." (Wikipedia)

This reading focuses on Dr. Frankenstein's inability to stay away from his "experiments," despite having a new wife and a potential regular life waiting for him at home. He is rejecting "the natural" in favor of "the unnatural.”

This reading also looks at the monster's deep desire and inability to find belonging in a world that fears otherness. The Monster tries multiple times to make a friend, but is always rejected.

He saves a woman from drowning but she screams in fear at his appearance.

He does befriend a blind hermit and they bond and become friends! But soldiers find the Monster there and they are separated. (At this point in the story the Monster wishes he were dead again.)

Finally, the Monster gets to meet the the Bride, who was literally made for the Monster. Unfortunately, the Bride, horrified at having been brought alive for the sole purpose of being a companion, also rejects him.

Here are some connections that relate to the Frankenstein/ Bride of Frankenstein films:

"Such an audience needs something more than a pretty little love stories" / "Are you not entertained?"

Safety Pins, Bride of Frankenstein / Hairpins, Fortnight video

“Strings tied to levers"? –Taylor Swift, Robin / At the end of Bride of Frankenstein, the Monster pulls the “self-destruct” lever, killing himself, the Bride, and Dr. Pretorious (might be a stretch, but this movie is the origin of the "mad scientist self-destruct lever")

In Son of Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein's grandson is named Peter (definitely a stretch?)

In Bride of Frankenstein a maid character, Minnie, tries to warn the town that the Monster is still alive, but no one believes her and she says "Nobody'd believe me! All right. I wash me hands of it. They can all be murdered in their beds." (It's giving Cassandra)

In Bride of Frankenstein the Monster saves a young shepherdess from drowning / "She almost drowned in frigid water" -Taylor Swift, The Bolter

Frankenstein freaks out and accidentally burns down the hermit's cottage (the only place he found human connection, hidden away from judgmental eyes) when they are found there by two hunters

Anyway this is so so long and and doesn't even include any real analysis (I might save that for a more cohesive post) but once I got started I just kept noticing things.

Right now I think the question I'm currently trying to answer is: Frankenstein Taylor Swift the Monster or the Doctor? The Bride? The drowned girl? The almost drowned girl? The Author??

[blackjackkent]

Onward into High Hall!

I seem to recall being told that we'd have another chance to change up our party before the final fight, but I'm almost tempted not to. It feels like a nice bookend to have Lae'zel with Hector here at the end, just as she was at the beginning, especially given how their friendship has evolved over time.

There are a bunch of terrified civilians running everywhere. I particularly feel for this unfortunate one:

Who ran straight into the fire surface, set himself on fire, burned all the way through his six hit points, and died in front of us for no reason. :( Lots of dead Absolutists, mind flayers, and other civilians around here too.

Report from the climb up!

An absolutely bangin' and very dramatic soundtrack.

Some city watch folk who were pretty freaked out by Orpheus's presence but who Hector convinced to join them and help rather than fleeing.

A long-rest-in-a-box restoration chamber like we saw on the Nautiloid and in Moonrise.

Several dead ends which we have to get around by jumping around on pieces of shattered rampart.

More winged horrors. They're not very difficult to fight thankfully and everyone keeps one-hit-KO-ing them. The team is clearly so pumped full of adrenaline that they're even more of a battering ram than usual.

Fighting as Orpheus (he's attached to the party for now) is making me realize the benefits of going full worm; as a mind flayer he can use actions and bonus actions interchangeably, which is very cash money of him. His abilities, which are per turn with no other restrictions like spell slots that I can discern, are also insane:

Starting to think maybe the Emperor had a point. :P

Reaching the upper level courtyard of the Hall we start running into a lot more enemies.

Per @zenjestrr's advice, our current strategy is repeatedly summoning the more cannon-fodder-y Friendship Buff mobs to help clear the field; the main goal right now is to keep our primary party and our big heavy hitters (Aylin, Buddy, Yurgir, etc) in good shape for the final fight.

Once again the game manages to replicate a key D&D table experience - the feeling of knowing there's a big boss somewhere up ahead and trying to figure out how to ration your resources so you're not tapped out by the time you get there.

At least to begin with, the courtyard isn't too scary. As usual, Hector and Karlach are juggernauting away at the front line and Lae'zel is slotting in perfectly alongside them just like Minsc did. Team Single Target Damage is on the case.

Jaheira is holding down the backline and not looking as squishy as she used to which is also great. I'm wary of using her too much because most of her AOE and powerful stuff is all high level spells that I don't want to burn. I'm spending some of her actions on summoning our mobs of friends, which pleases me from an RP perspective because of the four of our team she is the hardened experienced fighter and I like the idea of her kind of directing the battle.

I'm probably playing a little TOO conservatively with my abilities here, actually, but I'd rather be too careful than not. I didn't use the long-rest-in-a-box before so there's also the possibility (I think) of running all the way back there and tapping it before we reach the brain, but I'm not sure.

It does amuse me that we keep getting gold and trash loot drops here because there is zero point to it anymore I think.

At first the courtyard seems like a bunch of small isolated fights, but as I have Hector start running towards an ogre near the center of the field, the WHOLE PLACE lights up in a battle with [counts rapidly] TWENTY-EIGHT ENEMIES, including the ogre, several mind flayers, and a spectator. FUCK.

Maybe time to start using those big spells after all, Jaheira.

This isn't quite as scary as it looks because we really are powerful as shit at this point. Hector continues to be completely terrifying, Karlach is too, Lae'zel has three attacks on a turn (or six with action surge), Jaheira can set out a Haste pool for everyone to run through, Orpheus's illithid skills are upsettingly good, and we have a LOT of friends who are (I hate to admit) expendable. But that bar full of enemies too big to fit on the screen is stressful.

Oh this is going to be very scary on Tactician though I bet.

One of Zevlor's Hellriders casts Flame Strike on a big crowd of goblins which I would be much more on board with if HECTOR WAS NOT DIRECTLY IN THE MIDDLE OF THEM. Flashbacks to the last time Hector being in the middle of a fireball was considered an acceptable cost; it wasn't much fun then either. He does manage the save though so this time he takes no damage because he is badass, and the Flame Strike kills five enemies, so...worth, I guess.

This battlefield is also ENORMOUS and difficult to maneuver on, lots of high ground and curbs that mess up pathfinding.

So exciting to see Zevlor back in his element again, having found his paladin conviction once more.

One of the Hellriders did get dominated by a mind flayer, which led to this upsetting exchange:

Eventually victory! Gods, what a long fight. But we actually did quite well; everyone except Hector still has some of the temporary hitpoints we got from Ravengard, and we didn't lose any of our guest combatants. :D (And the one that got dominated is back safe. <3 )

Onward!

[awesome-cookies-and-cream]

The parallels with Mob and Saitama and how they have to keep a strong hold on their emotions and the feeling of having to isolate themselves because while attachments help them let loose their bottled up emotions, anything happening to them results to catastrophic levels of danger from their emotional response that's just tragic for everyone involved.

Except I guess Mob learned how to deal with it early and had awareness of the dangers of his powers vs Saitama who never had these powers growing up and had no one to care for until recently. And now Saitama has to learn how to keep his emotions in check while learning how to love and be loved

[rosencrantznewblue]

Just finished watching the 1933 Invisible Man yesterday, and on a certain level I find it utterly hilarious just how quickly Griffin’s “reign of terror” went kaput. Pretty sure the guy didn’t even last more than a month after turning invisible (died at the hands of an angry mob, not unheard of for a Universal Monster), and for all that the surrounding characters were kind of clownish at times, they sure put things together quickly.

Although maybe that was partly the point? I know the major theme is that man should not advance science without reasonable boundaries, a moral compass, and the good of others in mind, but I feel like “community vs isolation/misanthropy” could be a part of the message too. The townspeople only defeat Griffin because they work together, after all. Despite the advantages of being invisible, Griffin’s biggest weaknesses come from being invisible too. He can break rules and get away with whatever crimes he wants, but he’s cut off from other people.

The first few scenes of the movie establish that other people find Griffin off-putting. Not just because he’s a stranger dressed in bandages and odd clothing, but because of how he treats everyone. He’s rude, ungrateful, angry, secretive, and generally just a cruel person. And this comes back to bite Griffin! He doesn’t get away with being an A-hole. He’s called out for his behavior and barely escapes being arrested, forced to strip naked during winter so he can escape. And sure, Griffin cackles about this and acts like it’s his way of punishing those around him for not leaving him alone, but he basically shoots himself in the foot. From here until the end of the movie, he’s essentially on one long downward spiral, running around naked, pissing people off, and not actually managing to reverse his invisibility like he said he wanted. Although he also says things that would imply he’d like to stay invisible for the power? Maybe he means the power to change back and forth at will? Either way, Griffin has a lot of grandiosity for someone who spends the whole movie just barely getting away with stuff in the least magnificent or competent way possible.

Granted, it’s stated a few times that the invisibility chemical has probably altered Griffin’s mind, but it’s also implied that he’s always been this way to some degree. Kemp doesn’t seem to think very highly of Griffin at the start of the movie (even less so later on). He shows the audience that Griffin was paranoid and dabbling in strange, selfish research even before the invisibility, and even makes a case for why Griffin is simply not worth the care that others, namely Flora and her father, give him.

At the same time, I find it interesting that Griffin made two notable attempts to reach out to other people despite this, but in each case the relationship was doomed from the start. The first attempt may hardly count as a relationship at all: Griffin shows up at Kemp’s house uninvited, threatens him, demands hospitality, offhandedly mentions all the violence and trouble he’s been up to, and then decides that all of this of course means he and Kemp are buddies. He seems to genuinely believe that (a) he’s capable of ruling the world thanks to invisibility, and that (b) Kemp is totally fine with this idea and would love to join him. Obviously Griffin himself admits that he sought Kemp out because he needs a visible person to do all the things he simply can’t do unnoticed anymore, but it’s more than that. Griffin is paranoid as a matter of course, but actually seems surprised when he finds out Kemp called the police on him. He thought they were going to rule the world!

The second relationship Griffin seems rather attached to is with Flora. She’s the only person who really “soothes” him, the only one who continues to extend compassion and care even after finding out about his crimes. Even so, Griffin insists that they can’t be together until he turns himself visible again. He refuses the help of her father or anyone else, claiming his own brilliance is the key, if only he would be left alone.

In both cases, Griffin ruins any chance of a relationship through his own selfish, narcissistic personality. He’s not a nice or safe person to be around! And even for those who stick by him, Griffin refuses the help or even company of others. His invisibility, once revealed, is always a horror or an abomination to other people. He’s frightening, and yet also simply a man whom they detest. The only exception to this is Flora, who doesn’t shy away from Griffin because he’s invisible, even if she still believes it’s something they must all work together to cure. In a way, she still “sees” Griffin as the man he’s always been, even if folks like Kemp would say he was never worth the care to begin with.

Which, again, kind of ties into this secondary theme I’m getting at here. I don’t know how well this movie translated the book, but I’m always intrigued by stories that say something about the value of healthy relationships or depending on other people. Griffin thinks he’s stronger on his own, stronger by being able go unseen, but the isolation of invisibility proves to be a double edged sword. In the end, he’s just as vulnerable as anyone else. Maybe more so, because the invisibility is what leads to his death.

[reidslovely]

So!!!! Is CEO Parker like a bit of mob Peter? Like surely he has the same amount of power and wealth as mob!Peter but what are some other things about ceo Parker?

For the sake of this we are going to pretend that Peter's body is not being occupied by Otto in this timeline. Different from the actual Parker Ind. timeline in the comics. This is not about the superior comic run.

In my head CEO Peter has always been Mob!Peter. So on his own yeah CEO!Peter has so much wealth and power but I think he's a bit more reclusive and built off than my interpretation of Mob!Peter was. Mob! always surrounded himself by his peers and built himself up through them and what they thought of him. He also fed off the control he had to keep him going after the trauma of losing everything he did. He was social by nature because it was the way to keep himself from sinking.

CEO!Pete on the other hand allows himself to sink. Especially after Gwen's death (who in this timeline for the sake of having Harry there because I love him and he deserved better was killed by the Norman Goblin). He throws himself into school and his studies, he takes summer classes to graduate earlier. He latches onto Otto and all the work they do together that basically becomes his relationship he comes up with prototype for the robotics that took off the company (im not a mogul so im not sure what it is: probably going to be robotics or ai implications like in the ps4 game so basically helping and aiding people with missing limbs or neurodegenerative disorders.) And that's not to say he's not having relationships with actual people he is..they just never go past one night. Parker and Osborn Industries is literally built from the ground up, Otto steps down from his position and leaves what is left of Octavius Industries projects to Peter who by this point is graduated and fresh out of college. So with the help of Harry (who he's helped with the Retroviral Hypodysplasia by coming up with a antidote from his own blood finally perfecting it after years of them trying) they break ground Parker and Osborn. Fast forward a few years the two go their separate ways, still friends just focusing on different ends of the scientific market. Peter now nearing 30, is a young CEO of this high-tech company he and his best friend made on the death bed of his former boss. How could he not feel isolated? He's gone this long without someone, why even bother at this point?

He does long for a family though, someone to share all this with. He had Harry and that made him feel less alone but Harry's married now, he and M.J. expecting their first born son soon and Peter's still grieving the loss of his high school girlfriend. He's backed himself into such a corner though that, he's not sure he could walk himself out of it at this point.

Sorry anon you probably wanted some CEO!Peter/Reader but I gave you my half assed, word vomit lore instead🫣😭