#probably doesn't help that i saw that post when i was in my peak of writing as in when i was feeling like

[appalachianapologies]

every time i use an epithet i think of a tumblr post i read like 2 years ago about someone with Pro Writing Advice™️ who said that using even a single epithet ruins an entire piece and only bad writers do that and Real Authors™️ know better than to do that and also if you can’t figure out a way to get around an epithet maybe you shouldn’t even be writing in the first place

the weird things stick with me

[quitealotofsodapop]

Tripitaka is about to get a crash course in cat instincts. Warm sunny spots are his, he’s lightly pushing someone out of their spot. The pilgrims excluding Wukong found out about the catnip the hard way. Cute thought him just batting at Wukong’s tail like a kitten

Wait does Wukong have an egg during this au or separate from that?

Prev.

me and @soniclozdplove have been goofing with his au a bit in the dms.

Might instead rename the au to the "Tiger Monk" au - Tripitaka accidentally gaining his own demonic nickname over the course of the story.

Tripitaka is completely in the dark instinct-wise. He's not a born demon, heck I wouldn't be surprised if his only contact with cats were fat shrine cats without a hunting bone in their body.

He absolutely shrieks the first time he sees something that looks even vaguely like a snake, prompting the Pilgrims to freak out too for a moment before Wukong turns the "snake" over to reveal it to be just a plantain leaf.

Tripitaka panics the first time he subconsciously marks a tree with his claws (tigers do so to identify territory boundaries), only to get carried away and turn it into a scratching post.

Wukong and Ao Lie quickly discover that their Master gets distracted by swaying/twitching tails, and will go full kitten-mode to play with them. It's good fight practice.

Him and Wukong come to a mutual teaching/learning agreement; Wukong will help his master learn the ways of demons and how to protect himself from harm, and Tripitaka will teach his disciple means of curbing his more violent and impulsive actions.

Like how many demons, living a dangerous existence in the wild where humans and wildlife alike want you dead, tend to say "Hi" through fighting.

Tripitaka balks at the idea, but accidentally makes his first progress by lightly bapping the Gold and Silver twins on their backs when they try kidnapping him. The twins guffaw and mock his lack-of strength, but pointedly untie him and start a normal conversation with the Pilgrims.

See the problem is; demons tend to have non-humanoid forms and silhouettes. They need to prove to the other party that "Hey! I'm not dinner! I'm like you!" and the easiest way is to throw a punch. It's like if you were a deer hunter and everyone wore antlers on their heads.

And Tripitaka is now a type of demon that responds to surprise, or even excitement, with smacking their paws on their target.

Macaque's anger towards the Monk is a little lessened, since he sees that Tripitaka himself is victim of divine punishment, rather than the sole instigator. Laughs his ass off to see this tiger demon practically swimming in a cassock meant for a human, and offers help with the demonic etiquette part of Tripitaka's training.

Meanwhile with Azure "The Dud" Lion;

He still has no rizz. This tomcat getting smacked by eight (Macaque and Yellow Tusk tagged in) different hands whenever he tries flirting with the Buddha's Boy Scout. Also he still has unresolved feelings for Wukong, so his cat-brain isn't firing on all cylinders.

Tripitaka: "I never want to deal with another male cat demon again after that adventure!" The Tiger Power Priest: "Hello my dear Tiger Monk~" Tawny Lion Demon Clan: "We saw him first!" Leopard King of the Southern Hill: "No I saw him first!" The Pilgrims + Macaque: "NONE OF YOU SAW HIM FIRST!!"

The Queen Mother herself gets involved after she peaks down and nearly mistakes Tripitaka for one of her daughters. She thinks of the Human-turned-Tiger as adorable as a cub getting used to their legs. She gives him great advice on their species behaviours, and warns him of further suiting attempts.

Wukong doesn't have an Egg in this Au, but something hilarious probably occurs during the Kingdom of Women chapter;

Wukong: "Master! Me and Wujing managed to get the Spring Water Cure for you and Brother Pig!" Tripitaka: "Don't want it." Wukong & Wujing: "HUH!?" Tripitaka: "If the Buddha has blessed me with a sinless child, I do not wish to reject his gift." Bajie, in the bathroom: "A gift my hams!! Your mother cat instincts are going haywire!" Tripitaka: "Even if that is so, some of my more... undesirous instincts have quietened. I prefer to experience this than what I was suppressing before." (*curls up, purring*) Wukong, turns to Wujing: "Well! I guess we're going to have tiger cubs for the rest of the Journey!" Wujing: "Not exactly. I was in Heaven when the Queen Mother was with her final pregnancy. Celestial and demonic animals can carry their young for many years." Wukong, raises brow: "Uh-huh, yeah. Tell me, how many cubs did she have?" Wujing, gets quiet: "...lets consider that after we reach India." Bajie, pokes head out of bathroom: "Where's it gonna come out???" Ao Lie, giggling: "As if that's an issue for demons!"

[ask-funnybunnydoll]

Hi!

I think I have to move on.

You may have noticed that all of a sudden my posts have become less and less frequent. That's not on purpose I simply don't have the motivation to keep this ask blog going. I made this blog at the peak of my TADC hyperfixation because I knew it would give me the boost to work. At the start I made like, what? 2 a day, wowzas! Then it became like every other day posts. It's not that I don't enjoy the blog, the ship, the asks. Hell, the asks were the best part of this, I love just seeing what you guys come up with for these three and I get to do the even more fun part of drawing the answer.

But I still have no motivation to keep this going. And I have fixated on something else if you follow my main.

So, thank you for being here and still liking my posts even if I hadn't posted often. This was the most fun I've had and being my first ask blog I ever created just makes it more important to me.

I probably won't ever revive this blog but I'll keep it open for you. And if you want to see what the story I originally planned out was gonna be then check below the cut! Or if you wanna stay curious and theorize then just scroll by. Thank you again, hope ya have a great day and year. I hope my shit was at least okay to you.

I'm not gonna lie. Most of the stuff was just created along the way of drawing. I was like, huh this would be cool let's add that in. And ofc I didn't get to any juicy lore in this but it would've been rushed because I didn't plan beforehand... which you probably could tell xd

For Pomni, here's the plot twist: she's dead and her conscience was updated into the game to keep her somewhat alive. She worked in the place that created the game, she even took part in putting people in there. The entire game was just an expirement to test if immortality was possible, but of course.. everyone goes insane in there so they have to keep on and keep on trying with more and more people to get anywhere. They wait until someone goes to edge of absolute insanity and that's when they take them out of the game, their bodies are still kept alive and they go back to normal. They forget everything that happened while in the game. For Pomni she died just after her conscience was converted to the game, for others they were forced to go while alive. Who killed Pomni? Well, her boss, the head of the experimentation. Why? Idk 😭

For Jax, I gave him a dark story. He was isolated in his home and kept away from the outside world, which is why he lacks empathy, because he simply doesn't know how to feel that way when he never really had knowledge of emotions outside or even inside his home. His father was emotionally and physically ab4sive so.. that didn't help. He latched onto his mother the most but they never saw eachother often. That's all I had for him in mind.

For Ragatha, she lived in the country on her own land with her husband. Yup! She had a husband and a daughter too. Husband was a total jerk and she couldn't leave because she didn't want their kid to experience separated parents. She's a doll in the game because it resembles the doll she made for her daughter.

I also had some plot that I made up in my mind. Like.... Pomni at the end would be the last one alone in the digital circus. That being since she's dead she would just be yknow. Dead if she left the game. Jax and Ragatha leave but only because Pomni forces them. Again don't know how, I probably would have made it up while I went along with the story. So, Pomni is just there alone, with Caine. And she lives like that for eternity. She doesn't go insane anymore and it isn't as lonely as it used to feel like. It would feel like home kind of. But she would be there, longing for her partners forever unless she decides one day to just. Yknow, die..

Also since Jax and Ragatha would forget everything after they leave the game, they just don't remember they were in a relationship and would live their lives like before. Sad and lonely.

Goodness, I forget I make the most sad stories ever sometimes 😭

[polkadotjohnson]

Because I'm greedy and I just watched something I hadn't previously, I decided I want more. So I'm gonna post two lists, one of the things I've watched in case you haven't watched some of it and I can help, and one of the things I'm missing so maybe you can help me! Please help me feed my obsession its hungreee

Stuff I've watched (most from the imdb list, other things found in the wild) excluding interviews, podcasts making ofs and red carpets:

Early Edition (tv)

The Dark Knight (movie)

ER (tv)

Horsemen (movie)

Last Seen Wearing (short)

Virgin Alexander (movie)

Gateway (short)

Love is an Elevator (short)

Sushi Girl (movie)

Brutal (movie)

The League (tv)

The Cross (short)

The Assassination of Chicago's Mayor (short)

Saving Lincoln (movie)

The Employer (movie)

Ray Donovan (tv)

Heavy (short)

Prisoners (movie)

After Thought (short)

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (tv)

Animals (movie)

AVGN: The Movie (movie)

Intruders (tv)

CSI: Cyber (tv)

Chronic (movie)

A Killer of Men (short)

Ant-Man (movie)

12 Monkeys (tv)

A Quiet Kind of Love (short)

The Belko Experiment (movie)

Be Good (short)

Gotham (tv)

Twin Peaks: The Return (tv)

Blade Runner 2049 (movie)

Galaktikon: Nightmare (music video)

Relaxer (movie)

Ant-Man and the Wasp (movie)

The Domestics (movie)

A Million Little Pieces (movie)

Making Love (short)

All Creatures Here Below (movie)

Bird Box (movie)

Neurotica/Eureka! (short)

Madness in the Method (movie)

Teacher (movie)

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (movie)

Reprisal (tv)

Lacrimosa (short)

MacGyver (tv)

The Flash (tv)

The Suicide Squad (movie)

Dune (movie)

Immoral Compass (tv)

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (movie)

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (movie)

Boston Strangler (movie)

The Boogeyman (movie)

Miracle Workers (tv)

Oppenheimer (movie)

The Last Voyage of the Demeter (movie)

The Rookie (tv)

Late Night With the Devil (movie)

Shortcake (short) (thanks again @thepurpleprince)

Others (?)

Keep Painting, Mom (short/archive)

The Balcony (short)

Elton & Jean’s 9th Grade Biology Project (short)

Failure - Dark Speed (music video)

Iceage - Catch it (music video)

Iron & Wine - Everyone's Summer of '95 (music video)

Ken Andrews - Sword and Shield (music video)

Passion Pit - Constant Conversations (music video)

Puddles Pity Party - Obsession (music video)

X.X.T. - Steve Jobs (music video)

Annabel Lee (reading)

2021/2022/2023 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards

Premature (show)

Awkward Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Conversations (special)

Svengoolie - The Wolf Man (cameo)

Svengoolie - Inner Sanctum (cameo)

Svengoolie - War of the Colossal Beast (didn't see him in it)

The Boulet Brothers Halfway to Halloween Special

The 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time (documentary)

In Search of Darkness 3 (documentary)

I Am Not a Flopper (narration)

CCARS - Fire (um… music… video?)

Mermaid - a Short Film (short)

If you haven't seen any of these let me know and I'll give you the link or upload it somewhere or something

Now all the mysterious stuff I can't seem to find anywhere:

Arc of a Bird (saw a clip on Vimeo) (short)

Credits (short)

Head Case (short)

Band (short)

Keen (short)

Double Black (short)

Say When (short) <- doesn't fucking exist (still mad about it)

Tweet Me in NY (short)

Singled Out (tv pilot?) <- watched it

Sketchy (tv) <- watched it

Cass (movie) <- watched it

Under the Pyramid (movie) <- watched it

Cora (short, unreleased 😢) (hehehehehe)

Girls Will Be Girls 2012 (also unreleased)

The Pandora Experiment (also also unreleased)

All the Pretty Girls (??? prob unreleased)

A bunch of other stuff probably. Any help would be immensely appreciated.

[katebishopsleftshoe]

clint barton x younger!avenger

𓏲 ࣪₊♡𓂃

a/n: my first headcanon-post on here aahhh I'm so excited! I hope you guys enjoyy

word count: 1.2k

warnings: age gap (reader is 24, clint is in his 40s), reader is fem!

𓏲 ࣪₊♡𓂃

• clint barton is not the type to go for younger girls

• usually he leaves that to tony stark, who is basically leonardo di caprio reincarnated

• "noo don't turn 25 you're so sexy aha" - literally tony

• but then this young woman joins the avengers, probably just turned 24, amazing fighting skills

• everyone in the compound is all infatuated with her, watching her every move with heart eyes

• clint barton can't help but admire her too, but he knows that such a young gorgeous girl like her would never want an old guy like him

• miss new girl has already wrapped steve rogers around her little finger and clint knows he stands no chance

• until things take a twist

• you have an upcoming mission which clint is supposed to train you for

• you're both very nervous to start training together, mostly because you've both been eyeing each other for a while (not knowing that it's mutual)

• greetings at first training are kept very short, just because you're both very nervous

"clint", you nod, greeting your new training partner. he was just walking into the gym, water bottle in his hand. his training clothes consisted of grey sweatpants and a black long-sleeve compression shirt. jesus christ. you had to stop yourself from drooling.

"y/n", he greets back with a tight-lipped smile.

• clint obviously showed up to training like this on purpose, wanting to see if you'd have a particular reaction

• spoiler alert: um yeah you did

• basically it only increased the little crush you were harboring on him

• when clint saw you stare at his muscles for a little too long, he had to bite back a smile

• eventually, when the two of you would become more comfortable with each other and he would wear similar things, he would ask you stuff like: "like what you see?"

• you just roll your eyes, overplaying the fact that obviously you do 🙄

𐙚˙⋆.˚

• after a while of training, you and clint become a well-coordinated team!

• you notice that you guys actually have the same type of humor, so training sessions are always filled with lots of laughter

• before training, clint braids your hair so it doesn't get in the way (i'm screaming)

• he knows a few braids because of his daughter and he's glad he remembered them so now he can do them on your hair

• he's soo afraid to hurt you during training and always goes easy on you

• freaks out when you fall

• "baby are you okay?" and he says it so worriedd

• the "baby" just slips out 🤭

• both of you get so flustered

• clint is like "why tf did I just say that" to himself

• you only murmur that you're fine, allowing him to help you up, but he accidentally pulls you up against his chest

• he literally freaks out even more when you touch his torso with your hands

• you quickly distance yourselves from each other, awkwardly avoiding each other's gaze

𐙚˙⋆.˚

• moments like these only get more frequent between you two

• for example when you have to sit on clint's lap on the way home from a mission because there isn't enough space in the car or when you bump into him the hallways of the compound, him being shirtless because he just took a shower

• you both know you like each other as more than just friends / teammates but you don't know what to do about it

• so you just quietly pine for each other and flirt during training

• but of course it's always just "friendly" and "casual"

𐙚˙⋆.˚

• clint and you obviously have banter, his sarcasm and playfulness is at its peak when he's with you

• the two of you like having little verbal play fights

• clint during training with you: "that's the best you can do?"

• and he says this while smirking and wiggling his eyebrows which makes you want to jump him 🙄

• but you counter: "your ass must be pretty jealous of all the shit that comes out your mouth"

• this makes clint laugh loudly and he wraps an arm around your shoulder for a moment saying "good one" while grinning

• in general he lovessss that you always have comebacks for his sarcastic remarks

• sometimes, when he wants to tease you even more, he picks you up, slinging you over his shoulder 🤭

• "clint, put me down!!!"

• "sorry princess, no can do! not until you agree to stop whining about me paying for your lunch"

• "clint-"

• "no y/n, I don't want to hear it. I really don't mind paying from time to time. anything for you"

𐙚˙⋆.˚

• a few days later, you, clint and the other avengers went out to party to celebrate another mission gone well

• you're eager to dance and you wanna dance with clint

• he refuses first, which annoys you

• "come on you grandpa"

• "y/n I have many skills but dancing isn't one of them", he laughs

• "come onn, try at least!!", you encourage him, smirking

• he sighs, reluctantly letting you drag him on the dance floor

• you both start dancing while the other avengers go to the bar to order drinks

• they come back to their seats only to see you and clint making out on the dance floor 🤭

𐙚˙⋆.˚

• that evening basically kick-started your relationship

• literally, clint can't believe he pulled you

• he feels so lucky to be your bf

• but he's also so scared you will dump him for any other younger guy you meet

• he definitely thinks he's not good enough for you :(

• so you gotta reassure him sometimes

• you guys are the goofy couplee

• you make dad jokes to each other all.the.time and your friends are soooo annoyed by y'all

• you even make jokes during missions like when there's a weird ass looking alien you have to fight you tell clint:

• "omg clint look he's literally you"

• clint: 💀

• honestly he loves you but sometimes he's also so done with you because why are you showing him the 5th meme in a row??? XD

• clint does take on the more dominant role in your relationship bc he's always watching out for you, does a lot of things for you (he once built you a shelve from Ikea you really wanted for your books)

• he likes to take the lead so when you're with him and for example exploring a new city / traveling, you can just relax and because you know clint already took care of everything that needed taking care of!!

• maybe he also has a slight arrogance and thinks he knows things better just because he's older and more experienced 🙈

• that's probably his only red flag though, other than that he's naturally a golden retriever bf

• when you're sad he always knows how to lighten the mood and make you feel better instantly

• his kids also love you and after laura left clint you're definitely not the stepmom but the mom THAT STEPPED UP!!

• you and his kids are clint's #1 priority and he intends to spend the rest of his life with u :))

i hope you guys enjoyed!!

[ohbo-ohno]

Ooh, vampire Ghost putting human Soap in a muzzle gag both as to degrade him and hear his muffled noises, taking his ability to speak like he was an animal, while also it having delicious irony since it’s something you’d more associate with vampires due to the threat of fangs. Collars biting into his neck that Ghost says are for his own good otherwise someone could bite him. Plugging his cum in Johnny’s holes up with Soap’s own old vampire fighting equipment. And Soap is helpless against it all and has to start liking it even to cope with his situation.

oh my god i have no idea what i posted or when to get this gift of an ask but WOW it is beautiful and wonderful and ily

vampire hunter soap who is soooo determined to kill ghost but is just disgustingly outclassed. maybe he's trying to prove himself to other hunters, maybe he's trying to earn his way back into society after some sort of mistake, or maybe he's just young cocky and dumb, but regardless he's hunting after ghost with a single minded intensity

and vampire ghost usually just slaughters any humans who try and fight him. maybe he'll play with them for a bit, but humans are so boring to someone as old and strong as he is

johnny, for whatever reason, peaks his interest. maybe it's the way he smells/tastes, maybe it's the way he's so determined to kill ghost, but it's something. and ghost turns his first human in centuries (and probably the first he actually plans to keep)

tbh im not sure in an au like this if ghost fully shows johnny how to Live, and then conditions him back down to how he wants. i personally don't love the idea of johnny not knowing how to exist without ghost, just because it's so extreme in this case, but i feel like realistically ghost is making sure johnny is dependent on him for everythingggggg

i loooove your muzzle idea!!! also imaging ghost keeping johnny muzzled 24/7, except when johnny's feeding (and always from ghost). so eventually when ghost takes the muzzle off, johnny's already got his mouth open for whatever ghost wants to give him :( helps with his throat training quite a bit <3

big thick leather collar all around johnny's neck, and no matter how much he claws at it and whines ghost doesn't take it off. says it's for his own protection, tugs the cloth away from johnny's neck a bit and says you want me to bite you, pup? not sure i could resist with the way you smell, you want me to bury my fangs right here? and smirks when johnny gets all horny and scared :(

ghost filing down johnny's fangs when he bites down too deep during one feeding session :( he has to start cutting himself for johnny to feed because his boy's too weak now, but he loooves feeling johnny's dull baby fangs try desperately to pierce his skin when he gets hungry

ghost taking johnny hunting, holding him close and showing him how to stalk his human prey. whispering in johnny's ears about all the times ghost did this to him, all the things he saw johnny say and do, all the mistakes he made. when johnny's humanity kicks back in at the last minute before killing his first human, ghost holds his jaw open and forces his teeth into their victims throat

ghost jacking johnny off every time he feeds, to give him a positive association with something he still fundamentally hates so much. loves how teary and upset johnny gets, how conflicted he is. praises his boy endlessly when johnny starts getting hard without even needing his fist right after a fresh kill

[totally-sapphic-posts]

Quick question before you go on your Tumblr sabbatical 😉

I wanted to know your opinion on when something would be considered emotional cheating. Now obviously all things cheating and boundaries are best discussed with your partner but in this case it's a little tricky.

So I've been with my girl for a looooong time (6 years soon) and I love her very much. When you're with someone for that long it's ofc possible to still develop little crushes on other people, which is fine (we've talked about that too). However, I met this other girl about a year ago, and kept running in to her at random events/parties (not that often, just a few times) and for some reason got like full on butterflies every time I saw her. At one point she asked if I wanted to hang out some time and I told her I wasn't interested in her romantically and I had a girlfriend she said that's fine. She gave me her number to hang out as friends, but I never ended up using it cause while it seemed like a good idea at the time, it didn't feel right anymore. Then, even though I never texted her I still felt this tension whenever we were in the same room, so a few weeks ago I decided to talk to her about it. I apologised for never texting her even though I said I would and I told her I didn't think I could hang out with her just as friends cause I have feelings for her and I don't want to pursue that right now cause I'm in a wonderful relationship that I'm not willing to put on the line for anything. She told me she understood that and that she felt the same way so it was probably a good idea. Since then, I've been struggling not to think about her, but I am actively choosing not to pursue anything and not text her or slide into her dms.

I love my girl and this doesn't change anything about that, but I have been feeling very guilty for having those other feelings, even though I can't help it. I haven't told her about any of this because I know it would just make her worry and get jealous and stuff even though nothing is going to happen anyways. So now my question is: would you say this is emotional cheating?

Can I just say (unpopular opinion maybe) that I really commend you for not telling your girlfriend because you know this situation won’t go any further and know that telling her could just cause unnecessary stress and tension for her when it’s out of her control and she can’t really do anything about it.

Also, this is not emotional cheating. At all. You haven’t texted the other woman, you haven’t tried a friendship with the woman whilst you’ve had these feelings.

What would be emotional cheating is if you’d texted her, and built a relationship there (friendship or otherwise) because of your feelings. Even if you weren’t intending on physically cheating, posting that friendship would’ve been emotional cheating.

A lot of what love becomes (I’m sure you know already at this 6 year point in your relationship) is a choice. You aren’t always at this peak of emotional love for partners, it fluctuates. But we choose to love someone. And that means so much more. And you’ve clearly chosen to love your girlfriend and you are choosing to remain faithful to her.

Hope this helps ♡ and good luck, anon. Don’t hesitate to send in another ask if you need/want to.

[positively--speculative]

Hi, I’ve read through of your posts on iwtv and media literacy and saw you mention the gothic story telling and genre. I’d please like to know your definition of these words if it’s not a problem?

I am actually quite tickled to get this ask. This will probably get long and it may get sloppy.

First, let's talk about the surface level of the genre, because this is what draws a lot of people in.

We have dark settings--think castles, haunted mansions with attics and/or basements where weird things might be happening. These places might be old or have some sort of dark history surrounding them. For example, think of the house in Henry James's Turn of the Screw. A more recognizable symbol might be Dracula's castle in various forms of media.

We have the paranormal--vampires, ghosts, etc.

We sometimes have romance--Some examples of this are seen in novels like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. A more recent example in film is Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak.

Mystery--As seen in some of my previously named examples.

These are only a few of the surface-level elements we find in these stories.

Personally, I believe that the difference between a good gothic story and a not-so-good gothic story, whether that be written or visual, is how these things are used to explore uncomfortable topics outside of the story. If you fail to use these themes and symbols effectively, you get either a shocking but sometimes silly horror story (which I think there is a place for) or "shock porn" which I would argue Anne Rice's work leans more towards, but I'll get more into that later.

Is the ghost there to just be scary or is the ghost being used as a metaphor for the guilt or regret that haunts the protagonist? Do the zombies exist just to chase the protagonist or are they there to remind both the protagonist and the readers of their own mortality? Are the vampires just "sexy" or do they confront us with the type of sexuality we are not supposed to want to explore--Think Twilight vs. different versions of Dracula, Carmilla, The Lost Boys, and to a certain extent, The Vampire Chronicles. And if the vampires in these stories confront us with this sexuality, what is being SAID about it? Is the media encouraging us to explore it? Shaming us? How is it being framed?

I think some of the strongest horror stories (not all gothic stories are necessarily horror, but I just happen to like horror movies) embrace elements of the gothic genre. Some that come to mind are The Ring, Candyman, and Get Out.

In The Ring, our supernatural entity is Samara Morgan, a vengeful spirit trapped in a well. Part of the film takes place in Seattle, Washington and an old cabin resort outside of the city. This by itself creates the rainy, gloomy atmosphere known in the gothic genre. The other part takes place on an island that's even gloomier. An island itself is very symbolic of feelings of being "trapped" or isolated. One of my favorite lines from the movie comes from Samara's doctor--"When you live on an island and someone catches a cold, it's everyone's cold." A very clever idiom to describe how Samara's ability to imprint disturbing images in her mother's mind became everyone's problem when she sought help. And that's scary--what loving mother wouldn't seek help for her child even if said child was hurting them? But how terrifying is it to be on an island with said little girl with these kinds of abilities? No one on the island asked to be victims, but it's not like any of them can just move away. And Samara's mother certainly didn't *know* that trying to get help for her child would come at the expense of everyone else's mental health. It's not that easy. There's also an uncomfortable truth about love. Samara loves her mother. Samara is also evil. Both are true and both can be true in the reality outside of the film. She's a "bad kid" who no one can "help," because she doesn't *want* to be helped. She's also the island's secret. A secret that haunts the community but one that cannot be contained forever. Secrets *are* like ghosts. They haunt us and we fear them, because what do our secrets say about us? How long until our secrets get out and spread like Samara's VHS?

Get Out is another good horror story containing the gothic elements of mystery, secrets, dread, and entrapment. The claustrophobic feeling comes in the form of the "sunken place." The feeling of being conscious of our interactions and surroundings but not being in *control* of them is frightening, *but* the sunken place is also a metaphor for the racial sociopolitics in our society. How many Black Americans are burdened with the feeling of having to play "respectability politics" to survive? And what does that cost the Black community as a whole? I should also add that the story mostly takes place on a secluded property in the woods which adds to the "trapped" feeling.

I think Candyman is a very interesting horror/gothic to talk about because this one is very much catering to the white "female gaze." Candyman is very much like a classical vampire. He's handsome but very, VERY dangerous. But he's also BLACK which adds another layer to this. He pursues the white protagonist, Helen, in a very similar way we often see Dracula pursue Mina. In Helen's first, real encounter with this vengeful spirit, she is very much in a trance-like state and very helpless. This kind of thing where the woman protagonist is *helpless* to the handsome villain is very common in gothic stories. It allows the reader/viewer to kind of escape into a situation where they are helpless to the things they aren't "allowed" to pursue in the real world--'Oh, no! Whatever am I to do? This handsome man is also evil, but is also in love with me, and I am *weak* to his charms!' As taboo as interracial relationships are today, I'd say they very much were in the 90's--and I am speaking from the perspective of a biracial woman who grew up in that time and *rarely* met other biracial kids or saw interracial families represented in media. Now, as much as I *love* Candyman as a film, the framing of the story does put Black men in a compromising position, as the idea of Black men being a danger to white women has long been one that has been weaponized by white supremacists. This is an unfortunate and likely unintended feature of this movie.

My problem with Anne Rice and her fandom is that her writing is made out to be the epitome of gothic storytelling when she mostly just incorporates gothic elements but says nothing with them. And her fandom, both those who like the show and those who hate on it, have a nasty habit of talking down to people who criticize her work and who suggest that the show does a lot of things better than she did. They do this especially to Black fans.

One thing that has stood out to me when it comes to the book fandom is the way they have insulted Black people's intelligence when we've expressed discomfort with the racism in her books. I've seen it said among them, 'The book is *challenging* you to have sympathy towards awful people' in regard to Louis owning slaves. But none of them have ever answered a question I put out there in response--*How?* How am I being challenged? Because Anne Rice frames Louis's racism as a simple detail of his character, but there is never any pushback for it. There is no confronting the reader in the writing. There is nothing there to give us conflicting emotions about relating to this guy in *any* way. And Daniel never pauses when Louis's racism pops out, which I think would be a reasonable thing to do in the 1970s even for a white dude. And one thing that has always made me uncomfortable around white fans of Rice is they almost *never* brought up the topic of race when it came to her books. It didn't seem to phase them, and if it didn't phase them, how exactly was it a challenge for them to relate to Louis?

Sexuality is also something very present in Rice's books, but again, what is said about it? What does Rice *say* about queerness and what is the significance of vampirism as it relates to that.

There is also the issue of Claudia. Originally, in IWTV, Claudia was turned as a five-year-old and is forced to physically remain a five-year-old as she grows up and matures into a woman mentally--so, that element of feeling trapped is certainly there. But it also gets uncomfortable. Louis, who raises her with Lestat, later begins to view Claudia in a *sexual* light. And again, it's there. It's disturbing. But Rice never offers any sort of push back for it. Not even through Daniel. Sorry, but the framing of it is yucky. So, either Rice was saying that this is okay or she was saying nothing at all.

I feel as if the show serves as a response to the things neither Rice herself nor her fandom cared to address. By making Louis a Black man of the early 1900s, the issue of race can no longer be avoided. It's there at the center in a way it wasn't in any discussions about the books. It also does a better job of exploring uncomfortable topics such as Claudia's struggle with being a grown woman in an adolescent girl's body and illustrates that there are much *better* ways of going about exploring that than creating an incestuous relationship that, again, says *nothing.*

The show also does a better job at diving into the nuances of love an abuse. This is something I've seen a lot of fans struggle with, and I think there are a lot of reasons for this. One reason in particular is a very simplistic, Disneyfied idea of love. Lestat does love Louis and that's difficult for people because we are constantly told that someone cannot really love you if they hurt you, but that's just not reality. As I said when discussing The Ring, bad people can experience feelings of love while still being bad. Lestat loves Louis, but he loves him selfishly. If Louis hurts him (threaten to leave/choose their daughter over him), he will hurt him worse (physically abuse him within an inch of his life). It's an uncomfortable reality that sometimes a person can be evil but still can love, and love alone does not make them qualified to be a husband or a father. It is also an uncomfortable reality that we can love our abusers. We can forgive them. They can continue to hurt us, and we can forgive them over and over again. It's not always as simple as "just leaving" the first time they lay their hands on us.

As someone who has dealt with "emotional vampires" before, Lestat definitely fits the profile. Vampires in some of the oldest folklore are depicted as insatiable creatures who live off of the blood and energy of others, and this folklore often serves as a metaphor meant to help us be careful when choosing who we associate with. An emotionally selfish person can demand our company and drain us of our emotional and mental well-being if we're not careful. We see this with the way Lestat pursues Louis, even when Louis attempts to put space between them--even when he is mourning his brother. Lestat shows up at his brother's funeral and repeatedly invades his mind, and isolates him by killing Lily, driving Louis into a mental spiral until he finally caves when he corners him in the church.

Now, to understand the flaws of Rice's original work and the strengths of the TV adaptation when it comes to creating a good gothic story, an amount of media literacy is required. I feel like, unfortunately, a lot of Rice's fans read these books when they were probably too young and were not introduced to them with the proper guidance. Young teenagers are usually not equipped to handle the kind of book Rice wrote, especially if the highly charged subjects are rarely challenged. I feel like a lot of those who take offense to Rice being criticized were very young when they read her books and never matured intellectually as they got older. I've mentioned here before that as a teenager, I was not allowed to read Rice's books. It's a miracle I saw either film adaptation. As an adult who has now read Rice's work, I completely understand why those books were deemed inappropriate for me and am grateful I read them *after* taking a good amount of literary criticism classes.

Assuming this was asked in good faith, I thank you for your patience. This took a while for me to write. And I thank you for excusing the sloppiness.

[fala-alfredo-pasta]

I accidentally deleted this ask im so sorry OTL

thank god i screenshot my asks so I can answer em during work instead of like...actually working lol

But you bring up something I always thought would need to be address between Izuru and Nagito and that's Nagito's resentment towards him. I didn't even think about how Izuru's "luck" would offend Nagito but honestly yeah I can see that because I can also see Nagito just being generally mad and envious towards Izuru's whole existence. Hear me out k, because I do enjoy the aspect of Nagito becoming overwhelmed with Hope fanboyness when he meets Izuru and we see within game (anime aside) that he can very well perceive Izuru's talents and Nagito becomes very intrigued to learn more about him. But I just can't get over how Nagito would...react so badly once he learns the truth of who Izuru was and how he became Izuru Kamukura. Just imagine learning that Hope's Peak was creating their own form of Ultimate Hope and they chose a RESERVE COURSE student over you? It could have been ANYONE. It could have been NAGITO. It would have made so much sense for it be Nagito given how

1. He has no relatives. Hell he doesn't even have friends. You only need his permission alone. And if something goes wrong? It's not like anyone's going to ask questions or care. No one will probably even notice.

2. He's more than willing to do it. He's Hope's Peak no. 1 stan. There would be no hesitation. No cold feet. Nagito would say he was blessed.

3. He's already going to die. He's terminally sick. If anything this surgery could be actually life saving for him. But if some people DO start asking questions well there's your built in alibi. "Nagito Komaeda? Unfortunately he passed due to illness. You see-"

4. His luck would increase the odds of success. This was a completely experimental surgery where so much could go wrong. But if there's something that Nagito's luck guarantees it's his survival one way or another. Wouldn't HP researchers want whatever advantages they can get?

5. He already has luck. The only talent that is virtually impossible to replicate. He'd make a closer "Ultimate Hope" given that he truly would have ALL the talents.

Nagito would make this analysis so fast after hearing the details of the Kamukura project. Then to add insult to injury this "Ultimate Hope" the school created didn't even stay loyal and quickly became one of the first members of Ultimate Despair? Really? Nagito would have done so much better! (is how Nagito would see it)

I can't help but feel that Nagi would view Izuru as a false idol and have very mixed feelings towards him as a result. Post game I believe he'd be a lot more civil towards Izuru given everything that happened in game. But before that? Nah chief, with the way Nagito reacted in chapter 5 after learning the truth I find it hard to believe he WOULDN'T act absolutely vile towards Izuru when he finds out his backstory. Do not underestimate how bitter Nagito can get as we so clearly saw in game what that resulted to. This boi takes shit really personal and I love that about him.

[zandra-lang-cave]

Molly's posible depression

I didn't think about it until I saw this fanfic

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45957685/chapters/115676548

( I love it. It inspires my mind, that isn't an easy thing to do, believe it or not)

I won't explain everything, but it basically gives a lot of insight about what could go on in Molly's head through the perspective of everyone around her.

After I read it, I gave a rewatch to the show, and a lot of stuff took a turn in my head and in my view of molly. In this post/essay, i will explain why Molly's depression is not such a baseless idea as it might seem. Here are some examples that can be symptoms/reasons for depression.

She has moved a lot for her entire life

That doesn't look that bad at first sight. Specially when the show doesn't really pay attention to the life of molly begore Brighton. But if you really look more closely, it's really sad.

If you count all the pins the macgee's had, they move at least 23 times. I say at least because molly just put the places she remembers moving, but they have probably moved more when molly was a baby/toddler, so she doesn't remember. Let's assume this are since when molly was 4-5 since that's when she probably started to remember the places they have moved.

Molly is just 13 years old. Doing the math She has moved to 23 places in 9-10 years.

Moving just once in your life can change your mind a lot. especially for a child. They need stability to be able to develop the best they can, and moving to a completely new environment even just once can affext that development.

I move from my home contry to the US when I was arround 9-10 years, and even though I knew it was for the best, the whiplash affected me all through my teen years and I just recently started to feel comfortable in my home, almost a decade later.

So just imagine a kid in their formative years, moving to a new city, and going through the process of adapting to a new environment, just to move again in a few months.

Lack of friends/community

This is a big part of the show, though a suttil one, and it applies to the whole family, not just molly. The macgees are a very social family not just molly, everyone of them trive in community. They do volunteering together, they support molly to construct the banshell, they join in town parties, and events not has attendees but has staft.

But that say, none of them have any friends before Brighton. And until the Chen's arrive they didn't have any close friends.

Darryl has 2 friends he mentioned, but we never see, and Sharon and Pete have libbys mom, but that one is more of a "our kids ate friends, let's get along" type of friendship.

Molly makes a big deal of both scratch and libby being their best friends, scratch specially when she calls him her "forever friend." And lets remember her entire family makes an entire dance for the chen's, it was a big deal to them to get them to be friends with them.

They haven't had any friends or community in such a long time that they are emotionally deprived, to the point they go to extreme lengths to ensure they forever home can be the best place it can be. It's not a bad thing on paper, but it's not a good thing if we think of it logically.

Molly's controlling tendencys

A big part of Molly's personality is how controlling and pushy she can be. The entire episode of snow day show this at his peak, but there were tiny examples before and after. When they make a movie and molly dismiss her friends complain saying "if I'm the director it's still our movie", her helping all her class with the props and costumes (she 100% volunteer for it), the relationship with her mom and grandma, libbys bat mitzvah, etc.

Well, that can be seen as a coping mechanism. She lacks stability as she grew up, so taking control can be subconsciously comforting.

Again this is something I can relate, I lack stability in my childhood (for different reasons) and in my teens I crave has much control in my life I could get (I didn't have it which leaves me with more unrelated issues but still I salty about it) it's just a comfort being in control when you are use to not having it.

There are probably more examples for Molly's possible depression symptoms/reasons, but this are the biggest I could think at the moment. I will make a second post if I remember anything else.

Now the biggest counterargument would be "she is so smily and happy, she is not sad she can't be depress." To that, I answered, depressed people can look/act happy. Most of the time, they do.

Using myself has an example, I pass through a "happy depression," and I basically pretend to be happy to not worry my family. I didn't wanted to feel what I felt so I would do things to not thing about, I would read fanfiction all day, work on school, read books, see TV an unhealthy amount of time just not to feel anything but the "happines" those things give me. In family gatherings and school, I would act friendly and "normal." I didn't even let my grades slip cuase at the time they were the most important thing in my mind. There was no reason for anyone to believe I was depress.

I kept that for around 5 years, the "happy depression" going on an off but never leaving completely, I never addressed it because in my mind and everyone around, I was "happy." Until the pandemic hit, and it destroyed me emotionally. I know that happen to alot of people but I mean it, It destroyed me, I couldn't use school has a distraction because it didn't kept me occupied enough, the little time I spend outside of my house was rip away.

I could no longer avoid thinking and feeling, and that turned the "happy depression" into a full mental breakdown that I had just recovered less than a year ago. And not even fully cause I keep falling back into avoiding my feelings from time to time. Just now, I can recognize it and fix it before it turns into "happy depression" again.

Hum, acting happy to avoid others to worry, filling yourself with activities that make you "happy", acting has if everything is totally normal.

Those are things molly can and has done.

So yeah, depress molly. More likely than you believe. I already loved her before. Even though i couldn't relate to her, i related more to scratch. but after this realization, I relate to her a lot, and I appreciate that. I don't think it would ever be acknowledged or even mentioned in the show, but the fact I can see it, it gives me comfort.

[magicspace114]

Bird in the wrong nest

Writing this story from this post. Basically a continuation but in third person now and they have a name.

Part 1 | Part 2

Syd skipped a lot of classes. Teachers didn't even bother to look for them anymore. It wasn't like they could do anything in those classes anyway. They couldn't turn into an animal or cast spells. Even things they didn't think they'd need magic for like potion brewing failed when they tried. That was just the witch equivalent of home economics!

Anything they were ever interested in was in a book in the library anyway and they didn't have to worry about bullies there. They usually stayed there until Ida got out of her classes. She knew to meet Syd there.

"Did you go to any classes today?" Ida asked as her familiar jumped from her shoulders to perch on theirs.

"I went to potion brewing," Syd said, nearly shrugging before remembering Balthazar.

"Make anyone's pot flair up?" She grinned.

"Hey, we still don't know if that's me, ok? There's no proof. These could be coincidences."

"You know, my father had a saying about those."

"Oh what? Three's a pattern?"

"No. He doesn't believe in coincidences. He said 'coincidences are excuses'" She rolled her eyes, clearly not sharing the sentiment. "You ever thought we should figure out what you are?"

"Sounds like a lot of existential soul searching that I don't want to do," Syd rolled their eyes.

"Look, if we know what you are, we can help with your magic flares. No magic flares will get the principle off your back."

"That bitch hasn't come near me since I broke every light bulb in the north side of the school."

"Syd, I'm trying to help you here."

"Well don't." Syd said a lot more forcefully. Their eyes glared into Ida's soul. They saw the tinge of fear that snuck into Ida's features before it could be carefully hidden. Syd sighed, "I just want to at least pretend that I'm normal for a bit longer, ok? I hate all of this." They sat down on a chair in the library.

Ida sat down beside Syd, leaning her whole head on their shoulder. Balthazar bat her face with his paw, making Syd laugh at the competition for their shoulder.

"How about we go back to my dorm and order pizza. You can help me study for this duel that's coming up." Ida blinked innocently at Syd, grinning widely.

Syd caved. "Fine. But I'm not participating in your stupid full moon rituals again."

~

"I hate you." Syd stared down at the bowl they were carrying. The night left a chill that clawed its way through their jacket and into their bones. They just sat there pouting as Ida piled more ingredients into the bowl.

Syd recognised a few from potion class but they had no idea what they did or even what this spell was. Ida never really explained it all that much.

"Oh don't be like that, you know I need to do these rituals every full moon."

"No, I don't. Can't you just skip one? Literally no one else in the school does these." Syd huffed.

"Because they all have their own deities. Celeste is very particular about her followers. I must do these every full moon and never have a lover."

"Why does she get a say in your personal life? Like, as long as you worship her, it shouldn't matter how you conduct yourself outside of worship."

"She's the one with the power here, Syd."

"Can't you just get a new deity?"

"If I was a regular witch, probably."

"What do you mean a regular witch?"

"Later. The moon's at its peak now." Ida took the bowl off Syd, lighting the contents up and sitting down in the grass, cross legged. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and centring herself like Syd had seen her do on a few full moons now.

Syd sat down beside her, keeping an eye on her. While the blood from the nose was only the one time, Syd was still very cautious about this practise. They stared for a while, their friend unmoving in the moonlight.

Balthazar was very still also. Though not participating, he sat upright next to the bowl, tail swishing from side to side. He usually watched over his witch too but something in his stiff posture made Syd nervous.

Did it usually take this long?

This ritual never lasted more than a few minutes, practically a prayer with extra steps. The minutes ticked on and the moon started moving off. Balthazar made no moves yet so perhaps this was just a longer prayer than usual.

Thirty minutes went by.

By now, Syd and Balthazar were looking between each other, both fidgeting in their own way but staying sat beside the witch. The Moon was no longer at its peak. There was no movement from Ida, no blood or convulsions.

Somehow, the remnants in the bowl was still on fire despite no extra fuel being added. Balthazar's front paw pat the ground near it, ready to tip it over at the first sign of trouble. Syd had been fiddling with the dirt around them, practically waiting to throw it into the bowl.

One hour later.

"We have to stop this now, right? This is way too long." Syd broke the silence between them. Balthazar just meowed quietly, looking at Ida but still not calling it quits on the ritual. Would she really get in so much trouble by hanging up on her goddess?

The first movement from Ida in over an hour and a half came in the form of silent tears sliding down her face. A small whine scraped up her throat as her eyes squeezed where they were shut.

"Ida?" Syd dropped the dirt in their hands, taking Ida's shoulders but not shaking her. "Can you hear me?"

No reply.

Syd looked at Balthazar and he stood up, pacing side to side. He only knocked the pot over after the pair of them were deafened by a high pitched scream that came from Ida's mouth. It pierced the silent forest surrounding them, startling a few nearby animals and a couple birds flew out of the trees into the night air.

The moon hid behind clouds and Ida continued screaming even after Syd and Balthazar put out the flame. The only thing that changed after the flames died down was that Ida started fighting with the air around her, hands clawing at nothing. Her eyes never opened.

"Ida! Ida! It's ok! You're fine. It's Syd, it's Syd! Easy, you're ok." Syd took her clawing arms, pulling her into their chest.

Ida still struggled, fingers outstretched like claws, fighting with everything to get out of Syd's hold. Her nails dragged down Syd's clothed arms, digging into any exposed skin she could feel as she continued to fight blindly.

Balthazar meowed loudly to get the witch's attention too but Syd just continued to hold on, waiting for Ida's fight to drain. They caught a sharp nail to the face, scratches drawing pinpricks of blood on their cheek but they continued to speak, voice quieting.

"You're safe, you're safe, I'm here. Both me and Balt are here. You're ok. Please just open your eyes, please." Syd wasn't even paying attention to what they said, just pleading with anything to get Ida to wake up.

Ida didn't do that. Her fight did eventually drain and she just sobbed. She broke down into incomprehensible babbling, some mixture of apologies and pleas. Eventually she tired of that too, going limp in Syd's arms and falling silent.

Syd continued to hug, their body trembling after such a violent reaction from their friend. The screaming left their ears ringing in the resulting silence and they felt weak for a brief moment of stillness. It wasn't until Balthazar meowed again that they snapped out of their shock, still hugging their friend to look at him.

"What just happened?" They whispered.

Balthazar's silence spoke volumes as he stared back with wide eyes, ears pointed back as his tail swished more.

Syd looked down at Ida, the witch was completely out of it and even trying to shake her awake proved ineffective. "W-we... we should take her back to her dorm, right? She should maybe sleep this off. Maybe she'll be better in the morning?" They looked at Balthazar who simply nodded, blinking slowly and nudging Syd's hand with the side of his face.

He turned back to the bowl that was completely forgotten about. Syd put the bowl in Ida's lap before hauling her up into a bridal carry and turning back to the path they took into the forest. With the moon hiding behind clouds, it was dark and a long way back with such a weight.

Balthazar padded out in front of Syd, shaking his coat out as he walked. Small bubbles of light seemed to shake off the ends of his fur as he did, lighting the way for Syd to walk back to the school. Syd groaned as already their arms ached in protest but it was their only way back and the night was growing chilly with the wind picking up.

Balthazar led the way though the forest, the light from his coat picked out eyes in the foliage. Syd watched them carefully, deeming them to be just some animals like deer or rabbits. They could never be too careful of the fauna in this woods, especially so close to a school for magic and monster.

Breaking out of the treeline, Balthazar bolted for the dorm building, jumping as best he could at the handle but the door was heavy. Despite his efforts, Syd was the one who had to push down on the handle with their elbow and push against the weight.

They adjusted their grip, jostling Ida a little but the witch showed no signs of waking up. Even being put down on the stairway so Syd could rest their arms briefly, Ida did not stir.

Balthazar meowed from the landing above Syd. They sighed, "I know, I'm coming. Just give me a second." Syd picked Ida up again and trudged up the stairs, growing more and more out of breath the longer they had to keep going.

Eventually, Balthazar jumped up on the handle to Ida's dorm and the door swung open. Syd dropped Ida down on her bed a little too rough for Balthazar's liking, the cat giving a scolding meow with his ears pointed back.

"I didn't see you carrying her up two flights of stairs," Syd breathed out. They eventually settled beside the bed, pushing some hair out of Ida's face as they pulled her shoes off her feet and held her wrist, feeling for her pulse. Balthazar jumped up onto the bed beside her. "She's going to be ok, right Balt?"

Balthazar blinked slowly, rubbing his chin over Syd's hand before settling down next to Ida on her pillow. He meowed loudly when Syd stood up, walking towards the door.

"I'm not going anywhere, Balt. Just closing the door so no draft gets in." Syd called back, closing the wide open door and heading into Ida's bathroom, filling a glass at the sink and coming back to place it on her bedside table.

Syd sat back down on a chair next to the bed, wiping a couple tears that had started to dry on Ida's face. They left one hand on one of Ida's wrist, keeping focus on Ida's settling pulse. The pulse was slow now but not threateningly slow. If it stayed at this pace, she'd be fine. Syd would monitor her through the night.

[nonuggetshere]

Was PK really the crybaby of his clutch? Why did everyone think PK was dead?

PS: I would love it if you ever decided to info dump on us about all your wyrm ocs and what their personalities are, because everyone sounds super fascinating!!

PSS: Since finding siblings has been common in au's anytime Flower's outside Hallownest, I should let you know that I was beset with the immediate image of one of PK's relations hauling in Ghost to Flower and PK by their scruff and going, "They were found raiding the kitchen. Why do they look like they're yours???" And PK's speechless and Flower's dissolving into tears and Ghost just starts flailing because: Hey!! Their sibling is hurt, and THAT'S THE GLOWY PERSON THAT TOOK THEM SO I BET IT'S THEIR FAULT LET ME AT 'EM!!!"

Bonus points if Ghost yanks a kitchen knife from their void to menace PK's knees with.

WAIT I NEVER POSTED MY PK FAMILY LORE(tm) ON HERE? THIS MUST BE FIXED IMMEDIATELY

Will paste all of it under the cut

And KDHDKDHDJ YEAH Ghost would be a Menace

So wyrm culture places a lot of importance on strength, kingdoms led by wyrms tend to be heavily militarised, war-mongering kingdoms,

Ebur was an outliner in that he did not care for these things, he was born a weak runt and even as his condition improved he still preferred to curl up next to their dame and watch his siblings playfight. Despite this he wasn't at all disliked by his dame or siblings, who indulged in his interests as well and whenever he played with them his siblings tried to pick games that he could play too.

The hatchlings grew and eventually started to learn how to hunt and went out with their dame to learn how to navigate and survive in the wastelands

But an unfortunate rockslide and tunnel collapse (or a flash flood? Probably would work better, there fuckers are made for digging so I dunno how Addamas couldn't just. Dig him up) separated Ebur from his family, when he was still too young to live by himself. After days of searching Adamas couldn't find him and assumed him to be dead, and young Ebur was left to fend for himself

He knew enough to survive on his own even though it was hard

I've been toying around with the idea of a mortal taking pity on him and taking care of him for a while before it pretty much became unsustainable to feed a giant log of meat, but it's just an idea for now, nothing concrete yet

So PK's family assume he's dead and he gave up looking for them a long time ago,

Also he's like the only one who fully ascended into godhood

AS FOR THE REST

Adamas: She's an old wyrm, she had many clutches in her lifetime and the clutch which Ebur belonged to was her last, having had them much later in her life she decided they'd be her last. She's a much more "typical" wyrm and a tough love kind of gal, she shows her hatchlings love through her actions but also thinks the best way for them to learn is to throw them in the deep water straight away. She values strength a lot like other wyrms, although she doesn't think physical strength is all there is to it - she saw potential in her youngest son's cleverness and regrets not being able to help him hone it. While most wyrms value their scars, seeing them as trophies of their battles, Adamas thinks it's foolish; believing instead that scars just prove that you weren't quick, smart or fast enough, they're not a bad thing to have but you shouldn't be proud of them and should learn from them instead - a sentiment a lot of her hatchlings inherited from her, including Ebur.

Another thing about her that goes against most wyrms, she is completely uninterested in leading anything or anyone. Having had her own empire back in her younger years she had now completely abandoned that type of lifestyle, preferring to wander alone.

Long after her last hatchlings left her nest, she lost a fight with a younger wyrm. Driven away from her old territory and gravely injured she travelled into the mountains, burring into the side of it and deep in the peaks where she would eventually succumb to her wounds. Being reborn, she now permanently resides in her old tunnels in the mountains, hunting small critters, travellers and picking from her own rotting corpse for sustenance. She's quite content in her new situation, preferring the peace and quiet the cold mountain peaks give her.

Fossor: The oldest of the clutch as well as the biggest and strongest of them. She can hold her own yet prefers not to fight, taking on their dame's philosophy about scars and turning it up to 11 - choosing to immediately resolve your problems with violence and fighting is a sign of cowardice and weakness. Nonetheless, she's a devastating opponent to face. Although they were originally named for their passion for digging (the damn nest had so many holes after Fossor was born), they certainly earned the second meaning to her name - gravedigger.

They were quite protective over their little siblings when they were young, especially the smallest of the clutch Ebur and partly Melpomene. After it was time for them to leave the nest Fossor was the one who stuck the longest by her siblings before finally splitting off to found her own kingdom. She chose not to be reborn into her second form, finding her wyrm form to be way more convenient, and it helps avoid her any trouble from the majority of possibly hostile neighbouring nations.

They took on a mortal as a mate, and although he is long gone by now the two of them had a child - Nivalis. Although at first her conception was only for political reasons and convenience, Fossor quickly grew to adore their daughter. Nivalis is now a beloved princess, one who helps their parent a lot in running the kingdom (the small stature loser to mortals does have its benefits) yet keeps dreaming about one day leaving the nest and getting to explore beyond the kingdom's borders.

Ossum and Adustus - The middle children, the two of them were tied at the hip from the day of their hatching. Both named for their colouring, Ossum meaning bone and Adustus singed/burned...and Ossum partly thanks to their old habit of playing with the cleaned remains of their prey. Ossum is the more reserved yet hotheaded of the two while Adustus is the levelheaded extrovert of their duo. After their last sibling, Fossor, left their side the two decided they'd stick together permanently. Life as a duo was exceptionally hard for two gigantic apex predators so they chose to be reborn, and as neither is interested in ruling anything they chose their forms to blend closer with the mortals, hoping to not be recognised for who they were. Now, they still travel together, spending a few months in any given kingdom before moving on. Occasionally they like to visit their siblings and dame.

Melpomene: (@bluethepearldiver oc, just relying info here) The second youngest and the second to split off from the group, she found a village of wyrm and casted off her old form to join them. After protesting against invading a neighbouring mortal village she was exiled and presumed dead, only to later return and kill the village leader.

Io: (Again, Blue's oc, relying info) First sibling to split off so he could found his own kingsom, which he now rules alongside his mate Careuleus (gay rights <3). He's more of a typical wyrm with his style of ruling, certainly aggressive yet still somewhat benevolent. He took on a smaller form to be with his partner

[themissingnumbers]

What's good, y'all! It's me again, so you know what that means :) You all know how I function by now. I write things down in the order they appear in my brain, so things may be a bit scattered, but if you can look past that, then I hope you enjoy my ramblings.

In today's issue of The New Yap Times: THOSE FUCKIN' CHARACTER REFS HOLY SHIT—

So, those character references, amirite? First off, those things are fricking fabulous. Good stuff, Starry. Secondly, y'all know how this goes by now. I've got a lot of things I wanna say and I don't know how to say it, but hopefully, this will get easier the further I go. So! Let's start going down the line--shall we?

"Fire" Red Yuuji: MY BABY-! Okay, okay, lemme stop lmao. But like, look at him. He looks so good! Y'all have no idea how much I celebrated when I saw that my boy Fire got a pair of snow pants and some boots like LET'S GO-! He's not on a mountain in jeans and sneakers anymore; he's got some (keyword: some) appropriate snow gear! Plus, that jacket is still clean as hell. Not gonna lie though, I was kinda like Ehhhhh (unsure) about the new frostbite for him, but after looking at it for awhile I'm more like Ehhhhh (positive). I like it! He looks like he toes the line between being cold/unapproachable and lookin' like a sad baby seal. 9.5/10. (I only have one major complaint about Fire as a whole, and it's a big one: I don't know how you've done it, but you've somehow made him look even more huggable and yet I still cannot hug him. It's a sin >:( Don't worry though, he's really a 10/10, I'm just sad and petty-)

Leaf Aoyama: The Babygirl! Yes ma'am! (I'm so happy that she and Fire tied for once-) She's so beautiful, and I love her hair and eyes! I liked the subtlety of the old markings, but I mess with the new ones heavily. She looks like she's got some gnarly burns on her hands, which is kinda worrying. Plus, I really like the little additions to her outfit. I like her little socks (I think they're socks??) and the necklace/heart locket, too! Where'd she get it? Who's in there? I wanna know! Hopefully, she will share it with us one day. 10/10. (Bonus for Leaf: I know I already mentioned it in the comments of the actual Leaf post, but THE ESPEON!? HELLO?! Imma need the lore for that-)

Blue Gary Oak: PRETTY BOY ALERT HOLY MOLY- Okay, genuinely, Starry, why did you make him so pretty? Jesus- Anyway, moving on- This man is fabulous, and I need him to help me with my wardrobe. He's got STYLE! And his eyes, man, his eyes are GORGEOUS! The jewelry, the aviator jacket, the button-up—he got that shit on tho! Onto his body though, I really like all of his freckles. And I had always wondered why he had bandages on his wrist for his researcher outfit, and I kinda put two and two together to speculate why, but I didn't want to be right. But I have confirmation that I was right with the updated reference, and now I'm just sad :( But in spite of that, his design is still clean with lots of effort put into it. Another 10/10. (Also, Blue named some of his Pokémon and I think that's sweet. Otto and Akira are adorable names and I would like to meet them and spoil them with treats thank you-) (It also makes me really sad that Blue self-harms. Like, I expected it, but still. He hurt himself, and from the looks of things, still does. He doesn't deserve that. Hopefully, we can help Blue wean off of SH later down the line by offering some alternatives and a listening ear.)

"Glitchy" Red Tajiri: Then there's this rat bastard (affectionate). Where... where do I even start with this dude? Don't take anything I say about this man the wrong way, his design is peak and the art is amazing, but he looks so... wrong. Like, ewww, bro. I know he hasn't eaten in god knows how long, but why doesn't he look alive? Why tf is he printer paper white? He just ain't right man. (Slenderman lookin' ass. Bro looks like he bites. Probably microwaves his cereal before he eats it, too. Don't tell him I said that-) Nevertheless, creepy shit aside, I really like how disheveled he looks! Torn, dirty clothes, shoes with holes in them, and long messy hair—it fits him and I mess with that heavy. Also, the viscera that comes with that super glitchy form is crazy! It looks so cool, but it can't feel good in any manner. He's so skinny, too! I am deeply concerned for this man, probably more than I initially was for Fire, and that's saying something. Again, another 10/10. This man has grown on me significantly. (Also, his poor Pokémon team :( What happened to them? I'm curious but also afraid to find out. I also like how his Team has Gen 1 sprites. Nice touch-) (Also, me looking at that digital viscera form with MissingNo limbs ripping out of his chest. "Mhm..." Adds it to the Parasite theory. "Mhm.")

Okay! It's been a while since I started writing this (it's currently 2 AM for me lmao I started at 11) and I think I'm done—with this version! You thought I was finished? NO. I have more thoughts about these references—lots of thoughts—mostly about the Spoiler Edits and Blacked out parts, along with the new Biographies/Descriptions. But that's for a different time and post. This was just me rambling about the updated designs because I have no one else to yap to about it at the moment. So, there will be another, more theory-driven edition of The New Yap Times coming eventually, but not tonight.

Anyway, time for my closing statements. To Starry, you cooked with these drawings bruh. These are awesome and your art just keeps getting better and better. Keep it up! But be careful not to burn yourself out. To the Mods, I know y'all're probably cooking something up in secret. You guys always be moving in the shadows, so just know that I look forward to it ya sneaky little devils, and I hope y'all are all doing well. And specifically to Mod Hells, I hope you feel better soon homie. Being sick sucks, so I'm prayin' for you :) Take care of yourself.

But that's all, folks! Until next time. Thank you for reading The New Yap Times!

[OHHEHEHEHE do NOT ever apologize for your long analysis asks idc how messy you consider it these are a huge highlight of this blog for me and it makes all the work i put into the refs worth it!!

i need to respond to this stuff without giving too much away now.. trust me when I say that for these design updates, a LOT of thought went into the changes, both aesthetically AND for what they mean regarding the stories. but though i know all the meaning and intent being them, i wanna leave it all open to interpretation and theorizing as best as i can...

that said i want to talk a LITTLE about it bc dear god this is such a good analysis and observations LOL

re: Fire - his new snow fit was smth that took a lot of mulling over and was decided on based on the fact that he'd get it in universe from... somewhere. :) the updates to his frostbite were also VERY deliberate- for one i was worried the old stylizing would be read as blush when seeing him out of context... i wanted it to be clear that this is a severe injury. i def did my best to make him toe the line of..... Unapproachable, and Aesthetically Pleasing. im very glad i pulled that off!!

re: Leaf - ill admit to keep it real a large drive behind changing her markings into burn scars was bc i didn't like drawing the chain markings on her arms LOL. but the change is also a deliberate choice that i won't elaborate much more on.. its definitely less subtle, but i think weird scars can be easily justified in the world of pokemon. as for her pokemon... all can be explained in due time! though id certainly suggest putting that scanner and dex to use ;)

re: Blue - blue's always been focused more on Fashion over Function- if there's one thing he cares about, it's appearances. him being more of a prettyboy is intentional by virtue of the fact that he tries to look attractive and such. the.... other thing is smth ive mostly kept as subtext, particularly happening in... recent works. :) but its not something i intend to treat lightly once it's explicitly acknowledged. i honestly considered hiding it like with other things on these refs but that just seemed like overkill ultimately.

as for nicknames- god i really want to give other pokemon nicknames that reflect their trainer's personalities. the problem is that immm just bad at naming things tbh. Leaf would have a fully named team, and Blue would too, or at least a few more than just Otto and Akira. i was thinking Dusty for his Jolteon... ill probably head back and edit names in as we work em out! the refs will definitely be good to glance at from time to time. fires team is nameless and reds team would be .......... immature.

re: Glitchy -

this is the best possible thing you could've said about him. thats all i can really say

anyways!! thank you so so much for all your thoughts- again, things like this really do make it all worth it! i really look forward to your next theory session, but you take care and take all the time you need, okay?

thank u so much for the compliments man,, 🥺 it really does mean a lot. i can really tell ive improved a lot esp looking at the new and old refs side by side and it makes me so happy!! ^-^ im glad u can see it too eheheh.. ill put my side by sides under the cut bc its kinda wild to look at

and as someone whos been seeing all the behind the scenes work unfold.... god im so excited for when the secret the other mods have been working on gets to come out !!! they've been trucking away and its exciting to see :D]

((ps from mod hell: thank you so much our strongest soldier i love you))

old vs new comparisons:

[xerith-42]

Been noticing a trend in regards to the like vs reblog issue.

This post is a very rambly post that I don't really have a thesis or conclusion on, I've just noticed some things and would like to share with the class.

In regards to likes being worthless, this is absolutely true. Likes do fuck all on Tumblr, any sensible user has their likes turned off, and they really just inflate note numbers but then you have 25 notes and they're all likes and... Replies and reblogs actually say something.

Liking a post doesn't say anything other than "I saw this content and liked something in it." It doesn't tell a poster what you liked specifically, what about this content stood out to you. When someone reblogs one of my posts with a paragraph and a half in the tags, that means something because they aren't just telling me they like my posts, they're telling me what about my post engaged them.

Now this debate is something that's been raging on Tumblr for objectively too long. I remember lurking on Tumblr as a child in 2014 and seeing this discourse alive and well. People were yelling at artists for increasingly begging for reblogs, and artists were yelling at people for not rebloging their work. It's 2024 AND WE'RE STILL TALKING ABOUT THIS.

I wanna say let's put this to bed, but honestly I don't even know if that's possible. It's not like this conversation has exactly evolved over the last 10 years, likes are just as useless as they were 10 years ago compared to Tumblr now. But now... Mass liking is way more of a problem. Before Tumblr did have a very active community using its tools to keep that community alive, but now it's slowed down considerably.

Many people have attributed this to younger users treating Tumblr like Instagram, where you can't really repost people's content like Tumblr, and likes are still worthless but people aren't as annoying about it. This... Is probably the case. I usually hate blaming things on young/new users, but it's something I've observed in real time.

I'm a little multi-fandom. And by that I mean I have a fandom focus and occasionally dabble my hands in posts regarding other pieces of media that have less to do with Minecraft Roleplays. It's in these other posts I've noticed this difference in how people use this site.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: As said above, this is observational and not meant to be a condemnation or judgement of any fandoms. It is just my very limited experience that I think can help shed light on the issues at play.

Now. Whenever I've posted something related to Ace Attorney, I get a really active response. There's still an imbalance of likes and reblogs, but the scales are a lot closer to even on those posts than any of my other posts. However, when I posted something related to The Amazing Digital Circus, my post did start getting a lot of notes as that fandom found it but most of them were likes.

I think the reason this happens is because Ace Attorney has had a presence and fandom on Tumblr as long as Tumblr has existed. A lot of people in the fandom have either been around for a while, or have seen what happens when the older community fosters an environment of rebloging as important. TADC is a completely new show that very suddenly gained a massive fandom, and a lot of people in that fandom might not have a lot of experience being in a fandom on Tumblr.

I never used Tumblr for fandom when I was in my peak Fandom TM days. I used Tumblr for shit posts, and went to objectively worse platforms like Amino for my fandom experience. I remember when I first got on Tumblr I had a tendency to like and scroll, like and scroll, like and scroll, and only reblog posts I had something to say about. As if it would be a crime to just reblog a thing I found funny or interesting even if I didn't have anything to say.

It was seeing posts where people talked about the importance of rebloging that kicked my brain into remembering that shit is important and while I'm not perfect, I make an active effort to do more than just like a post. It's something that might be more intuitive for people who have been on Tumblr in fandom spaces for a while, but for those of us who are still learning it's a hard habit to break.

And this is something you do have to put effort into doing, but I promise it's worth it. Because not only does it ensure that your community of passionate people doesn't die, but because everyone has something to say and should say it. We should foster an environment where there's frequent, open, honest discussions about the things we love. And when you get into this environment, it's so much fun.

It's so much fun to go back and forth with people in reblogs, to read unhinged replies, to respond to someone else's post with a take you didn't even think you were going to make when you started your reply.

Reblog don't like because likes are worthless, but more importantly than that

Reblog because it's fun to talk to people

At least that's my stance on it.

[featherisderp]

aight whats some of the hc that you are very passionate about?

there is no limit since I really like your aus

A- Thank you- I get awkward about my AU's so seeing someone say they like them is always appreciated. :,3

Anyway uh- Long post under the cut!

The main one is Meta Dad. This is something that will never be taken from me- A lot of people see him as a sort of mentors to the kids (and that's fine!) but I personally think he's just- Dad mode. He goes out of his way to help the kids with anything, saw Tiff sad by the fountain and decided to ask her what was wrong (before knowing it had to do with Kirby), and tends to keep an eye on them when there's danger.

Another one is that puffballs can sense each other and monsters. This one I sort of got from thewinterraven, but seeing as puffballs usually manifest as Star Warriors, sensing monsters and each other would be rather cool!

A really big one is that reproduction doesn't happen. Children (of any species) just sort of manifest, although some species will require two parents to want a child for it to appear. This one is mostly because now I don't have to worry about any of that.

I like to think that Meta Knight appeared on Popstar shortly before or after Tiff's existence. He's probably had to babysit her a few times (which leads to him immediately getting attached in some AU's).

One that applies to the anime is why Tiff and Tuff have a hard time figuring out whether or not to trust Meta Knight. I can acknowledge that the anime probably didn't think too much about it but I like to think that it's because the two of the grew up knowing Meta Knight and that he worked for Dedede. Even after getting to know him, they'd both be aware that he's obscenely loyal to his job and following through with orders, even if it doubles as a way to train Kirby. They aren't confused about whether or not he intends to kill Kirby, they're confused because they're not sure whether or not he's willing to put those orders above his concern for them.

Meta Knight is the monster that betrayed Nightmare. I have this explored in more depth in another post (you can read that here), but this is a hc I will die with.

Nothing dies from old age. I like to think anything can age up to a certain point, but stops aging past the peak of adulthood. This means they can still die of illness or injury, just not from their bodies slowly deteriorating. Some species age faster than others but they all take a relatively long time compared to humans. They may use sentences to say things like 'I'm ten years old' when they've technically been alive for a couple hundred/thousand years, but that's entirely so it's easier for me. I should probably specify that a child is still a child even if they've been alive for like- 28 years, if their species ages slowly.

I think that's it for now, thanks for ask, anon! This was fun! ^^

[hopeymchope]

Also, with the "ghost scene" on UDG, it also confirms that people who can see ghosts exist, with showing that Komaru is the only one of the two main girls who react to the ghost.

But this makes the question: Does Makoto can see ghosts too? Like, he's her older brother, does that ability can be inherited and he also can do it, but he never saw it important to mention it?

Note: This message is related to this post — a reblog that's proven weirdly popular?

I initially assumed Makoto does not see ghosts, because if he did, then he probably wouldn't set up the new Hope's Peak on the site of the old one. Because holy HELL have a lot of people died on those grounds. Just. FUCK.

Then again, hell, maybe Makoto DOES see the ghosts. And he just... doesn't mind it? He does try to be optimistic, after all. Maybe he feels it's a good thing for him.

But on the flip side, Komaru is obviously running around Towa City at a time when an insane amount of people are dead or dying, yet she only sees the ONE ghost. So maybe the conditions for seeing a ghost in the DR universe have to be very specific and are therefore rare? That would help explain why Komaru seemingly doesn't have any history of seeing ghosts BEFORE the events of UDG. And maybe that's why Makoto doesn't seem phased to be working every day at the New Hope's Peak.

Or perhaps it just takes a bit of time for these things to manifest. Tokuichi Towa was killed early enough in the attack on Towa City that he serves as a major motivator for Haiji from before he even shows up in the game. Maybe that + the violent nature of his death allowed him to remain as a ghost. But even if that were the case, wouldn't that still mean Komaru should've seen ghosts during her lifetime before this?

...obviously, it's all up to interpretation. But I think I'm leaning towards my theory that it takes very specific, rare conditions as well as specific individuals with the potential to see them.