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The confines of a story
Any time you play a game, you need to know the rules. A puzzle has a border, you can't smash the pieces into a spot they don't fit with a hammer (I mean, you can, but it won't look right when you're done), etc.
My mental assumptions are that we are following the rules of stories as told in both novel form and video form. I'm not going to list ALL the rules associated with storytelling in both forms, because whole books and classes have been written about them and the parameters are way too big.
How do I know these rules? Well, I write novels, too. I'm not Neil Gaiman, (and I'm not going to go so far as to say I'm anywhere near his level, looking at you, Magic Trick OP), but the people who've read my books say they like them, so I think I do okay? I never went to school for any of it, but the library was and is my best friend, and I've read as many books and taken as many workshops as I can on this topic. Am I an expert? Nah. I know some stuff. There's always more to know.
So anyhow, some rules:
Rule one: the story has to be generally satisfying and not make people feel betrayed or angry. Hurt is fine, angry at the characters is fine, tricked is fine, but the reader can't feel betrayed or totally let down by the author at the end of the story. It's impossible to avoid this entirely, but most people in general have to agree that the story isn't a betrayal of the reader. The author needs to keep faith with their reader as best they can.
Rule two: in mysteries, all the cards need to be on the table at some point. Misdirection or downplaying of important information or use of double-meaning words are totally fair tactics, but the answer has to be there to be sussed out by a clever observer. (I got really mad when I tried to read murder mysteries for a little while. I figured this rule out very quickly on my own, and I could always spot the killer by the end of the second chapter. I gave up on murder mysteries. HOWEVER, another author I admire wrote a classic murder mystery-style book, and when I spotted the killer in chapter two like always, she had arranged matters so that the killer's motive was shrouded in deep mystery. I burned through that book to find out WHY he dunnit, and when the main character helped the killer escape at the end, I was troubled but satisfied.) But mah point is, all the pieces to the puzzle need to come in the box.
Rule three: (which isn't really a rule so much as an observation and something I myself struggle with), writing fiction can be very hard because people are naturally not good at knowing that other people do not know what they know. You know? Psychological studies have shown that when a person knows something, like where an object is, they develop this sort of assumption that the object's location is OBVIOUS, or that other people also know where the object is or can easily guess it, no matter how hard a time they had guessing it themselves before they were told. So not only do newer writers sometimes struggle to maintain what various characters do and don't know at different times in a story, readers can also struggle with the same thing. Gotta keep your eyes peeled for what information each character actually has, and also keep in mind how easy it is to be fooled when you think you have all the facts. I notice Neil and John taking advantage of this in Good Omens a lot -- the lies that Crowley and Aziraphale tell to the other angels and demons seem really obvious -- but that's because we know they are lying and what they're lying about. When we are lied to, we fall for it as easily as those angels and demons, because we assume we know what's going on. Watch out!
Rule four: you can't break the rules. If you're going to make a wild, avant garde, ground-breaking story, that's pretty much the whole point of the entire story. Twists are fine, emphasizing or de-emphasizing expected tropes or ideas is fine, subverting a trope is fine. Otherwise, you have to stick to ideas, formats, plots, structures, etc., that have come before. For example, just as I started seeing metas about the POV characters in Good Omens 2 jumping around, I had remembered an episode of the X-Files from way back where an "alien landing" is told from three characters' perspectives. When told from the POV of the alien conspiracy-believing kid, the story gets really weird with all kinds of wild things happening. When told from doubting Scully's perspective, it gets very boring and mundane. POV jumping is nothing ground-breakingly new. There won't be anything ground-breakingly new.
Rule five: it has to make sense. Mark Twain once said, "Of course truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense." Once upon a time, a friend of mine who liked to embellish stories told me all about his new fiancee, who he'd met and proposed to all in a few months, who was head over heels for him, a gorgeous red-head, one of triplets. I never met this mystery woman, and then one day he called me to tell me she had died very suddenly and dramatically. I had my suspicions that she wasn't even real in the first place, so I made consoling noises and asked him when and where the funeral was so I could be there for him. I expected to be put off, told some crazy reason why there wouldn't be a funeral or it hadn't been planned yet and I would somehow mysteriously not hear about it until it was over. Instead, he gave me a date and location immediately. I was taken aback. I was even more taken aback when I arrived at the funeral to meet this woman's family, including the remaining red-headed pair from her triplet set, and hear all about what a whirlwind romance she'd had with my friend. If that had been a novel, I would have shut the book and told the author to give me a break. Books and TV and movies and plays can't push the consumers' credulity too much. Readers have to maintain their willingness to suspend their disbelief. It can't get too crazy. What's too crazy? Hard to say, it's kind a of a "I'll know it if I see it" sort of thing. And some people are certainly more willing to go along with something wild than others. The author can only try their best to maintain faith. To tell a story that can be believed.
Anyhow, I dunno if that's helpful at all, but it's sort of the litmus test I'm using to gage all my questions and theories. And what I'm using to shuffle in the metas and theories I like from others.
#long explanation#this is how my brain works for any who are curious#good omens#good omens 2#good omens fan theory#searching out the ineffable mystery#the rules of the game
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Why the ask box is being emptied.
So, I took the day to chill, contemplate a few things, and generally just. Decide how I felt about some shit that's been going on. And, I have decided that emptying my ask box and taking a lil request break is a good idea.
Not that I don't enjoy the asks and the well wishes from everyone! I just, don't have the mental energy to be under requirements rn. Because, I have a heavy, heavy mix of mental issues.
From the classic depression, to presonal insecurities and self-worth problems, and it sort of goes up and down on the levels of awful. And the past month has been a slow decline into the 'down' portion of that. Add on top of that, some life issues, money trouble, and shit like that, and I'm in no headspace to write well.
So, this blog is NOT going on a hiatus, I WILL be posting writing still, but I'm going to just, lower my personal expectations. Let myself have a break from the fear of not being up to snuff or meeting expectations. Because! That's the only thing I can control for myself.
So! If you sent me an ask, and I didn't get to it. I'm sorry, I feel horrible that I couldn't deliver, and I hate turning down asks. But, I hope you'll stick around, and once I get more things sorted and come back from my ask break, you'll still be happy to offer your ideas. For now though, I'm off to write and draw for myself for a while, and hopefully recharge the batteries.
Thank you to everyone who understands and sticks around!
#ask hiatus#update#long explanation#ramble#Ask box clean out#I'm tired yall#from so much shit#not just the writing
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the autism won, I will now talk about Bernard even if my infomation on the pikmin universe is limited at best, as I have still to finish the postgame. gonna put a readmore since it'll be a long discussion.
Ok so. Bernard has a shit wiki page.
LIKE WDYM. WDYM THE ONLY INFO HERE IS ABOUT HOW HE LOOKS LIKE ALPH. WHY IS THERE A LOW QUALITY PICTURE OF BERNARD OF ALL THINGS
ok this stuff aside, I wanted to check what planet he was from for a drawing, really normal stuff. He was from Nijo, which is neat!! I never noticed there were so many planets introduced in pikmin 4. I immediately wanted to check who else was from Nijo.
guys. there's only one more person and they are also a pilot???????????
my guess is Nijo has a really good pilot school, so most aspiring pilots tend to move there. but no one else is from Nijo. do only pilots live there. what. like considering the sheer amount of people that crashed on PNF-404 surely at least one of them would be a random person from there. if anyone has any information on the matter please inform me
side note; if y'all need more bernard information, I know he just sleeps alot thorugh the day, and besides that I got no more info. ok goodbue love you
#pikmin#pikmin 4#long explanation#idk#I just wanted to know how to draw his gottdamn ears#bernard pikmin
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One of the things I loved about The Wild Robot from a writing/world-building perspective was that it was clearly set in a post-apocalyptic world, but the details were very vague, and you don't even know until about an hour in:
"Beautiful shot," you think, and then it hits you that the whales are swimming over the Golden Gate Bridge.
Abandoned, crumbling satellites and a sunken city. And then when we do see the human city, they freak out at the sight of geese:
Animal-derived plague? Global warming? We don't know. We only know that something has happened. But like the general theme, whatever bad has occurred, the natural world is thriving. An unexpected positive from a history of tragedy.
#worldbuilding#the wild robot#It reminded me of Adventure Time#it's set in a post-apocalyptic world but you only get hints for a long time#we don't need a huge explanation#the story works without it#post apocalypse#spoilers#movies#not jane austen#planning on reading the book now that I know it exists
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Being someone who read Under The Red Hood and came out with the firm belief that, for Jason, it's not about killing Joker, it's about Jason wanting proof Batman would choose him over the Joker (bc shelia chose the joker). Makes seeing any other media where it's all about just wanting the Joker dead is a teeny bit frustrating. to be honest
Jason could've killed the Joker himself, really, really easily. Jason kidnaps the Joker before the confrontation. I can't open my comic for a reference right now, but it felt like he had the Joker for quite a bit before the confrontation. He had him. He beat him up with a crowbar. He had every single opportunity to kill the Joker himself, but he didn't because that wasn't his goal. Make no mistake, he did plan for the Joker to be dead by the end of it, but do you see what im trying to say here
Edit: If I knew this post was gonna get 1000+ notes I would've tried to word it better or something, this was a rant I made on the way to the grocery store 😭
It's not about making Batman kill either. When Batman says he won't kill, Jason adjusts and goes, 'Let ME kill the Joker or kill me to stop me' instead. The test is all about Batman choosing him. The whole final confrontation is Jason's first death again. The parent, The Joker, and the explosives. It even ends with Jason unable to move as a bomb goes off right next to him again because the parent didn't choose Jason. And instead tried finding an option that'd benefit them and (consequencely) letting the Joker walk, again, lol, lmao <-in agony
#the final confrontation was basically his first death again#and YES he Does want the Joker dead#and it would've been really really nice if Batman was the one who did it#but when batman made it clear he wouldn't kill the joker. Jason easily switched to saying “LET me kill the joker” to accommodate#because he Wanted batman to pass his test#he gave a test to dick too. and technically tim but it wasnt the family test it was a different one so it doesnt rly count#AFTER utrh and the reveal and the batarang you can go hog wild about it. i care less about it then#granted i do believe they make jason more scared of the joker after it at some point#i guess because hes a bit too willing to kill the joker and ive heard jason wasnt meant to live after utrh#my watsonian explain for that is he was so fixated on his plan he cpuld override his fear. or maybe the pit. either work#i prefer the fixation bc i dont like the explanation that the pit was the /only/ reason he could get all plan together and done#BUT THATS UNRELATED!!!#dc stop putting the joker in jason stories im begging you please please please. lock him in a vault for the next 20 years or something#it Cpuld be good and i understand. but also. after so long of people that dont know or go for jasons need for family and parents#that love him and he can trust#the joker starts to feel like?? hm. words. a cop out? oh haha its that guy that killed him woagh hes here#i bet you dont even know that jaybin got beat until unconsciousness by an angry mob#while asking batman to save him only for batman to have to walk away#anwya. where was i going with this#i think i got off topic#jason todd#dc comics#batman#ADDED AN EDIT. SORRY. this post has been haunting me it keeps me awake. what if people misunderstand#they cant read my tags where i ramble more depth. thisbis the only option#EDIT EDIT: hiii#removed the sentence abt jason having the joker for several days bc i misremembered some things#go read its-your-mind 's addition instead also#ok no more i wont edit this post anymore i promise
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I just realized. One thing that Optimus will certainly be educated on by the Primes in the Haunted AU is the various was One Can Kill A Quintesson! Leaving some Autobots confused at times when he's teaching them in return because 'This sounds pretty Specific...???'
It's slightly competitive on the Primes' part because yeah, the Deceptions do got the High Guard being good at killing Quintessons too but. They're the Real Experts. (Are they salty? Naaaah they're not. Much. Kinda.)
AKJSHDK YEAH YOU'RE SO RIGHT I LOVE THAT <333
they got so good at squishing the goddamn bugs and they're thrilled they can save Optimus the pain of figuring out their weak points through trial and error like they did. they're gonna make a pro out of their baby brother in no time.
and if they just so happen to know some of the Decepticons will be majorly pissed off at the fact OP is already on par with the best of what used to be the High Guard when he only has a fraction of their experience... well, happy coincidences, y'know?
and if they happen to teach Optimus how to crack open a Quintesson in just the right way to make some Decepticons see ghosts through him... that's between them and the people they're haunting :)
haunted au
#hey i got an ask#funsizedkola#transformers#transformers one#tf one#optimus prime#tf jazz#haunted au#my art#i am. so sorry this took so long. there's literally no good explanation i don't know where time went OTL#on a different note!#this ask reminded me of one of my favorite tf fics ever. it's called 'Nor Is He Early' and it features a delightful version of the matrix#and the role of prime that i haven't found anywhere else#it isn't really that similar to this au but it does feature OP being able to access the memories of previous holders#and some of those memories are about how to kill quintessons and all the trauma that comes with that#delighful i tell you#i think in this au optimus *can* access memories from the thirteen#but they just prefer to teach him the normal way#mostly because they think it's better from optimus to learn things in his own body rather than from someone else's memory#but also because those memories are Not Good. optimus is already going through his own war and they'd rather he not carry#memories from another one he wasn't even alive to live through#and if he struggles to pick something up they prefer to show him through memories of sparring they did with each other#and the high guard than to show him real battles#they Know it's no use. optimus had already died once before they even met him. they won't be able to protect him from this war#nor any other that comes next. but still they can't help but try#so... yeah ajshdjksa
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The Giggle // The Legend of Ruby Sunday
#dwedit#doctor who#usertennant#userteri#userdiana#usertreena#kate stewart#donna noble#carla sunday#rose noble#fourteenth doctor#fifteenth doctor#*#honestly i was kinda expecting to get an explanation on whatever the 14-15 bigeneration thing means long term but. nope!
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part 2!!!! [read part one here]
transcript below the cut arranged into stanzas to help show where the rhymes are:
“that’s why they brought gem in? as a failsafe?” as a pawn. we were told to point her at whoever we need gone
“gem won’t hurt her allies. …yet.” the curse she carries will it’s had its eye on her since she lost the other eye she was specially selected for her hunting skill it’s quite the high honor. “wow. how generous.” we try
think about it: why does almost no one fight the curse? “given how fast scott killed skizz last season, i can guess.” [“any pain you spare your friends, you’ll have to suffer worse”?] it’s designed to shut down higher reasoning with stress
#if you still can't see the rhyme scheme try reading it out loud#if that doesn't work uh. idk. can't help you#my art#my poetry#grian#geminitay#smajor1995#bdoubleo100#inthelittlewood#secret life#grian and his terrible horrible no good very bad eldritch coworkers: the sequel#cant wait to post the next part so i can be like 'my three secret life comics. and yes they all rhyme'#this one narratively doesn't work nearly as well as a standalone compared to part 1#however i accidentally went way too hard and could probably upload the middle page + second to last panel as their own separate art pieces#tbh i'm considering putting an explanation of everything below the readmore buuut i don't feel like it atm. :3 later maybe#me and my 20+ life series headcanons i only allude to without explicitly stating don't need to explain ourselves#still experimenting with this webtoon-esque vertical comic style#still not sure i like it#it gets long too quickly#among other things#but it's very easy to read on a phone so
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So I've been obsessing over your Teen!Crewel posts (my friend and I love dabbling in that era too) and after reading that list of headcanons I have to wonder...since Divus rarely saw his parents do you think there anyone he lowkey saw as a parental figure? Like Trein or the butler that was mentioned? (my friend and I also diagnosed Divus with Daddy Issues due to his rebellious tendencies lmao)
Yes and no.
I'd say his relationship with his butler is somewhat equivalent to Batman and Alfred. Definitely a lot of love and something close to a father/son relationship, all the while keeping that professional distance between them. And Divus is highly independent so even before NRC he would just go days without seeing his butler because he was too busy doing stuff.
As for the teachers at school, there is definitely a thing about them being authority figures that are actually present in Divus's life and so he has no idea how to handle it properly without fighting back. His parents never tell him off. His butler never tells him off. So when his teachers disapprove of his actions, he doubles down hard. He acts like a child king because he's never ever had any opposition, and at the same time he's a neglected child who has no idea how to react when someone is proud of him.
And, you know, we talk a lot about daddy issues online, but me thinks Divus also has one hell of a mommy issue. Might even be worse than his daddy issues.
Anyway, daddy issues, mommy issues, that boy has it all.

At least he has his dogs... I guess.
#did you miss angst? :D#how long since I last did one? a week?#sorry if I'm a bit all over the place in my explanations my brain ain't englishing tonight#mello's drawings#twisted wonderland#twst#divus crewel#Teen!Crewel#my art#ask me anything#headcanon#Teachers stuff
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DpxDc AU: Tim as a child was never given a lot of information regarding the scribbling messy handwriting that appeared over night all over his arms- naturally he came to his own conclusions.
Tim Drake was home entirely alone at 9 years old and was about to go out for the night to test his brand new long exposure camera lens when he sees the writing on his arm. It’s not English, like he assumed it was at first, but it was using the alphabet to represent… Tim isn’t bad at math but this formula is complex for his little genius brain.
Looking at his camera, he decides he can spare a moment to look it up, solve it, and get back out into old town Gotham in time for Batman and Robin’s final patrol lap. He does just that, finding the problem to relate to some aerospace engineering and then quickly deduces what laws and theorems need to be applied. He finds a pen, writes down his findings in much neater handwriting onto his arm, and goes out. It’s barely a remarkable night at all. He gets a much more memorable photo of Robin roundhouse kicking a hench person.
Things just continued on that way. Tim would find some complex math, physics or chemistry prompt on his arm (surrounded by various question marks or notes or sad faces)- he’d answer it as best he could and move on with his life. Perhaps his parents were manifesting these pop quizzes? Perhaps his subconscious felt guilty about abandoning his studies for more Bat related pursuits? Tim really didn’t care to think much about it once he became Robin- there was too much on his plate and too many peoples problems for him to fix.
Notably, however, after the attack at the Tower, the pop quiz appeared and Tim wrote back that he wouldn’t be able to find an answer to this one. It was the only time Tim questioned the markings appearance and it was because the next thing that appeared was “Hope you feel better soon.”
… his parents wouldn’t include that on a pop quiz. Cursed then. Tim decided it must be a curse, whatever, he’d deal with the implications later in life.
Tim then has the worst year of his life, hes 15, no longer Robin and the questions from his curse are getting less math oriented and more… philosophical. A lot of mentions of death that, in hindsight helped him actually grieve, and a lot of theories about dark matter and souls. Tim answers back as best he can but he’s drained and his answers aren’t very good in his opinion. He gets minimal feedback.
It all comes to a point that he’s at a family dinner, Bruce is at the head of the table, Jason has promised just to stay for dessert, Damian hasn’t thrown a single insult his way and Steph was laughing at him- when a new theoretical model appears on his arm.
“You’re just as bad as Bruce, Timberly. Hiding a soulmate from all of us, how fucking typical.” Jason points out, while watching Tim scribble back some math with a question mark onto his arm.
“A what? No, this is just a curse. I get pop quizzes every now and then.” Tim bats away Steph who rapidly approaches and began to analyze his arm (the rest of the family isn’t far behind).
“Drake. Explain how you came to this conclusion.” Damian seems more curious than anything, if his lack of insults was anything to go off of.
“Since I was young I’ve had at least weekly math check ins, I never had a parent or anyone else around so I assumed my parents had me cursed to ensure I stayed on top of my studies. Sometimes it’s physics or chemistry, for a while there it was a ton of philosophy and behavioral psychology.” He shrugs his shoulders.
“Master Tim, I believe the lack of adults in your life has led you towards a false conclusion. That is most certainly a soulmate mark. The individual to whom you are responding is undoubtedly your other half.” Alfred attempts to calm the room before explaining to Tim. Tim isnt sure if he believes the butler, though Alfred only very rarely lied, so he grabs the pen once more. He writes his first question back: “Who am I to you?”
The room waits in anticipation and within moments a brand new line appears on Tim’s arm and he is vindicated: “We do math together???”
——
The reason Danny is failing English is because his built in homework helper sucks ass at metaphors and has apparently never read any classic literature. The tutor on his arm is great at puzzles and math tho.
Danny gets a reply back one night that he wasn’t expecting (Who am I to you?) and he mentions it to Jazz. Who goes insane that Danny didn’t even question it and just went with “meh, probably haunted” as his explanation for the phenomenon for all these years.
Apparently, if Jazz was right, he had a soulmate who was uh, super fucking smart. That was an overwhelming thought.
The next day Danny is in crisis mode and writes back “Wait, WHAT AM I TO YOU??? Can I help on your homework??”
Danny gets vindicated when the writing on his arm presents a shit ton of dates and information for an unsolved Gotham cold case. See, Haunted.
———
Eventually between Danny becoming the top candidate for astrophysics at Wayne Enterprises and Tim Drake being outed as having contributed tips to the GCPD that solved cold cases- they meet and realize just how dumb they’ve been.
#dcxdp#dpxdc#dc x dp#dp x dc#danny phantom#dc crossover#dp crossover#long post#braindead ship#brain dead#deadtired ship#tim x danny#soulmate au#soulmate marks#I feel like I really cooked something here#two super smart total dumbasses#in my head then then fall in love and try to pretend that they’ve known this whole time lmao#Tim looks at college level physics questions on his arms as a kid and is like ‘must be a pop quiz’ and then solves them#danny just thinks it looks neat at first but then his haunted arm replies back with actual answers and explanations???#your honor these two meet in person realize that they are literally soulmates admit no fault and carry on like they’ve always been in love#tim is naturally paranoid and Danny is naturally curious so tim always answers and Danny always asks
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i feel like the grand majority of the problems with Danny Phantom as a tv show are so easily explained by the fact that there was clearly not a single woman in the room during production.
like. overshadowing being treated as a bit of a joke rather than a total violation of bodily autonomy. tucker's treatment of girls, and particularly it going unaddressed. danny having apparently gone into the girls' locker room invisibly, without consequence, which we learn through... two brief screencaps with goofy music. (never brought up again, arguably just done as a one-off for laughs, but still... not something a girl would laugh at.) sam constantly belittling the other girls for being feminine, in conjunction with paulina being written as shallow and one-dimensional (for the overall effect of femininity as a whole being dismissed and demonized).
according to imbd, there were exactly two (2) women involved who wrote a single (1) episode each, one being torrent of terror and the other being, INTERESTINGLY, D-stabilized, one of the episodes widely-recognized as one of the better ones in the show.
so i'm not saying we should just completely ignore any of the problematic characterization, because obviously characters don't need to be perfect and should grow, but i am saying that the writers did not see these things as flaws and therefore did not induce any sort of character growth away from them. which would not have been the case if they'd actually had any other perspective than Man in the room with them
#danny phantom#dp#tucker foley#sam manson#paulina sanchez#danny fenton#an extremely long winded explanation of why i AM in fact ignoring those parts of canon <3
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Wrought Iron ✢ Handmade Choker The design was inspired by gothic wrought iron fences. I tea dyed both the lace and cotton twill backing to match the cream needlepoint thread ^^
#I am planning on headdresses with this sort of design but its going to take me a long time to get those done lol#i would like to try making more designs like this though in addition to the text needlepoints ^^ i think it turned out quite cute#also ignore the weirdest coord ever in the product photos lol ive been so tired and i wanted to pair it with that vm dress but#couldnt find a matching blouse with a high enough collar lmaaooo#and i would prefer to keep the chokers and whatnot off of my skin as much as possible since theyre being sold#anyways long explanation for nothing. i think this choker turned out very cute#textile
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so nice of him to return the favor.
ONLY FRIENDS episode 2 THE HEART KILLERS official trailer
#only friends the series#ofts#sandray#the heart killers#thk#kantbison#khaotung thanawat#first kanaphan#firstkhao#firstkhaotung#gmmtv actors#thai actor#gmmtv boys#gmmtv actor#thai bl actor#bibi gifs#mlm#thai bl#bledit#mlmedit#thkedit#the quality of these is atrocious i think#and i thought it could be photoshop or the screencaps but it wasn't#so instead i decided to just let it be#i was inspired by myself i'm embarrassed to admit#someone liked my favorite fk kisses ask and i was reading my overly long explanations and landed on the lip pull from ep 2
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Misfortune Teller
tldr: An older Danny, apprentice to Clockwork, does a lot of field work across dimensions, resetting the timeline, queuing future events, and who knows what else. Occasionally, he warns people about such upcoming possibilities, to set them on the right path. How, you might ask? Well in this case... as a wandering fortune teller.
Crack-fic (oh god, it's getting long and my logic brain won't let it remain as crack) where Danny becomes Clockwork's apprentice after getting his GED. Living his infinite afterlife to the fullest. Inspired by this tumblr post.
Working for Clockwork had been... interesting so far. At first, Danny got frustrated by how vague and cryptic Clockwork was. He'd just shunt Danny off to some ancient time with a few words, his own time medallion (Danny carried it everywhere with him now), and then pop back into the portal, leaving Danny with only the faintest idea of where to go.
Eventually, after enough time (ha!) spent around Clockwork, Danny figured out that it just basically meant that he had free reign and to do whatever he wanted. Because if he went on the wrong path, (like that one time in Pompeii when he had almost caused the volcano to explode a few years too early), Clockwork would just pop on by, say another few cryptic words, and then it'd all be fine and dandy, or as he liked to say, "All is as it should be... Now stop practicing your wail by an active volcano."
After telling Jazz about that (it was supposed to be funny, not concerning), she just sighed and shook her head, with a forlorn "think before you act, Danny!" but hey, it'd turned out fine so far, so who cares how he does what Clockwork asks him to do, as long as it gets done, right? Even if it's with a liiiiitle more mischief than strictly required.
Besides. Danny was the one who had been doing time shenanigans across millennia, not Jazz. And he thought he'd been getting pretty good at it too! He'd actually started giving himself a different made-up background for each universe he visited. Sam and Tucker were helping him keep up with the identities on a spreadsheet, so if he had to go back to one he'd already visited, he'd remember who he'd said he was supposed to be.
---
He was on a call with them one evening while haunting Jazz's apartment, doing just that, when he felt a familiar tingle in the back of his throat, as well as a heightened awareness of the seconds passing by, that always accompanied his mentor's appearance.
Sam was talking about his past stint posing as a god of death when he cut in. "Hey- sorry to interrupt, Sam- Clocky's here, guys, I gotta dip."
"Aw, come on! We hardly talked any this past week since you passed your certifications, man," Tucker complained.
Danny rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, yeah. Partly on you too though, you've been caught up outside of class, and Sam's schedule is nearly the opposite of yours."
Sam hummed in agreement despiter Tucker's scoff.
Danny missed hanging out with them as much as they had in high school, but hey, life goes on. Or at least, theirs did, to college. After finally flunking out of Casper High, he'd taken some time to get used to his responsibilities in the ghost zone, and when he had, he realized that he didn't really have much enthusiasm or timeleft for his human life.
And he didn't really want to go back home either.
But Jazz had made him tie up any loose ends before he noped-off to god knows where, which frankly, he had to thank her for. Getting his GED took a few years, but it was an accomplishment that could be attributed to Danny Fenton, no ghostliness required. Then he was able to let that tether go free.
Pulled out of his musings by a few more grumbles from Tucker, Danny said his goodbyes, promising to call the next time they were all available.
After hanging up, Danny swiveled around, anticipation already lighting up his eyes an ethereal green.
Clockwork, for his part, had been waiting patiently through Danny's lengthy goodbyes. Although he supposed that it tracked for the watcher of time to be patient. With his job, it'd be a nightmare if he wasn't.
"Phantom," Clockwork spoke, calm as always. "I have some tasks I need you to complete as my apprentice."
And Danny, always ready for adventure, didn't need him to explain any further. "Sure! When do you need me to be?"
Clockwork smiled at that. "I am fortunate you are eager. Follow me."
---
Danny popped into existence in this universe with a burst of cold air and static electricity. He found himself hovering by a clocktower above a sprawling, gothic city. Smog and light pollution obscured the stars above him, to his disappointment. He comforted himself with the fact that he'd probably have all the time he wanted to fly someplace less populated to see them later.
He started off by familiarizing himself with the city. As he flew, he followed the trail of power and met the resident city-spirit, a spooky- but kind underneath- woman draped in black lace, who told him her name was Gotham. He spoke in length with her about this universe, its heroes, and her knights. On that, she was very enthusiastic... or at least Danny thought she was, her projected emotions belaying much more than her gloomy exterior. She told him how her knights had been through a lot and would need some guidance fighting the darkness that pooled in her deepest corners, smiling with too much glee, filling lungs with fear, and terrorizing with cold hard bullets.
Danny could sense that the dangers she spoke of were growing in power, ever slowly. The longer they shadowed people's minds and hearts, an intangible thing grew that lent them more otherworldly pull than their physical forms had right to hold.
That must be what he was sent here for.
But... they were weak, pitifully so for him, infinite king as he was. And besides, he wasn't here in that sense. He was a messenger, a simple apprentice. And he could do this however he wanted.
Cue his talk with Lady Gotham, and subsequent idea to arm her knights. With what? Well, he figured knowledge would be a start. Flying high above the city invisibly, Danny noticed a sea of colors and lights by what appeared to be the city's pier. He flew down, noting that it appeared to be the setup spot for a travelling circus or carnival of some kind.
He considered what to do. One of Lady Gotham's troubles was a madman clown, right? Well maybe he'd be attracted to his ilk here... and with the danger came the knights. Maybe he could catch one of them here?
Danny was floating around at the entrance and beginning to formulate a plan when a flyer caught his eye. Looking for a mystic to read fortunes. URGENT!
Hadn't Clockwork said something about fortunes? And he hadn't made an identity in this universe yet...
A mischievous smile crept across Danny's face, splitting it in two with far too many teeth.
---
Half a city away, a man in all black, perched on the very same clocktower that Phantom had Appeared by, shivered as he felt an ominous premonition about his sanity in the near future...
Said man quickly opened his comms to check in with his many, many kids. Yet even after hearing back from each, he still felt apprehensive.
Somewhere even further, Clockwork laughed.
---
And that's how Danny found himself seated at a fortune teller's booth at a pier in Gotham, two days later, for the Tricksy Traveling Circus's grand opening.
#dpxdc#dp x dc#mine#is-this-even-relatable writes#is-this-even-relatable prompt#writing prompt#i wanna write this#prompt#prompt for me#I welcome anyone who wants to add to it#this is the first time I consider to be actually writing something#I wrote this all in one sitting just now#it WILL be continued... ideally#I am just busy and would rather post a lot of short blurbs than wait and do one long post#reposting this as its own post and removing the other as a comment on the inspo.#I was planning for this to be crack but I can't just let sleeping dogs lie#man fml my dumb brain always wants an explanation for things and can't accept “just because” which would be wayyyy easier
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Hey hey your art is gorgeous and I appreciate how much you love Liu Qingge. He is the best of all of everything and so under appreciated.
Do you have any Liu Qingge specific headcanons?
HHAHH tysmmm he's the best and I think he needs more appreciation because he as so much potential
my pookie adnsndjkdjeakfjt
anyways here is a list of my personal favorite headcanons:
first off, I hc that he's great with small children or babies, cause he used to take care of his sister when she was very young
He squeezes himself into fuckass crevices or sleeps in trees when he has to camp out and the hunt or mission took longer than he anticipated and there's no inn near (that being said, he would probably kind of suck at making campfires the normal mortal way cause why go through all that effort when you can just blast qi to light up the branches + he never needed to ever since he cultivated a core)
can smoke or grill some banger meat, he sometimes shares it with his disciples and they love it
secretly is a little vain, afterall someone put that braid there and having a long piece of hair dangling in front of ur face isn't very practical for certain situations
probably cuddles with cheng luan, need I say more?
him and his sister look very similar (except for height) so they can usually get away with swapping identities
he looks like he stands on his tiptoes most of the time (based on the eng novel art, Ik that's prolly just for dynamic posing sake but this is such an awkward stance for a normal human being lmfao)
probably autistic, i can feel it in my bones
he can crawl on all fours really efficiently for no reason, sometimes uses this skill to scare/test his disciples
giggly typa drunk, i just think it's cute
mf is stacked so he often overestimates the monetary value of items, great for the seller, excruciating for whoever was assigned to accompany monitor him
views food as another testament to his physical will, loves spicy food (but also really likes sweets)
in a modern au, he would be so untech savy it would make your 90 yo grandpa look like a NASA engineer
his closet is one of those cartoon ones where its the exact same fit across the board
#this has been sitting collecting dust in my inbox for so long holy#archerdoodles#ask#archerrambles#liu qingge#svsss#not mentioned but im also quite fond of the trans lqg hc#i just think its neat#adds alot of intrigue to his character for me personally#the fanfics converted me#i also so desperately want him and qqq to be best buds idk why#i don't even have a logical explanation to this#i feel like she would spill the hottest gossip and he inadvertently mentions something that adds fuel to the fire#edit: added red eyeliner because i just think its a neat design choice
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...I got a little lost in the weeds thinking about the time between Ming Yi's ascension and his death, and decided that this is my favourite possible scenario (think Lord Vetinari and Leonard de Quirm).
Is Ming Yi a prisoner? technically yes. Does he have any interest in leaving? not in the slightest, he is fed, gets given any of the tools or materials he wants, and gets work on his own projects without any interruptions except for the occasional conversation with He Xuan! it's like the ideal possible retirement after living a VERY busy mortal life!
#tgcf#he xuan#ming yi#black water sinking ships#i spent way too long on a joke i don't think anyone but me will find funny but here we are#is this canon? no not even slightly#the fact that he escaped and sent off a flare and wound up a skeleton tells us it's not#but i LOVE the idea of there being an increasingly deranged explanation for it going on in the background#and he xuan and ming yi just vibing#like how did he xuan get a spiritual device that ming yi would have had to invest post ascension?#he invented it on a whim and has no real interest in it now that it's done! it's all he xuan's!#how does he xuan manage to be a relatively successful god without actually - yknow - being a god or presumably knowing much#about construction?#easy! he brings all his questions to the real ming yi who helps knock them out#i just think it's a VERY funny possibility#my art
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