#the theory on the other hand...

[thesnailtail]

;; i will find a random one line in an event and just apply that to my worldview.

;; (cough) minori. (cough)

[egophiliac]

Idk if anyone's already asked this but who's your favorite staff member? Alternatively, which of the main cast is the most fun for you to draw?

-🥀🪻

oh Crowley, my beloved horrible birdman. he is a useless dolt and that's why I love him so. 💙💙💙

for some reason though my brain completely misread/misinterpreted this as "which of the teachers is the most fun to draw", so uhh. I drew this thinking that was the question. :') and it's honestly a difficult one to answer! they each have their own shapes and their own unique charm points. they are all so very different in their own special way.

[dcxdpdabbles]

Hi I love rereading all your fics and prompts! Like, multiple times throughout the day. I have a schedule. Your works are my literal bed time stories (wow that sounded weird).

Anyways (before I ramble any worse). Any updates for Child support? I just love it so much and wondering if there's more

John throws himself to the side, barely avoiding a grab from a fifth-dimension demon throwing a fit after he rejects its request to marry his son. He rolls across the ground, powering up a spell, as he mentally curses his age.

Maybe Batman was right. He should work on his physical form a little more.

"Wait! Wait! I'm sorry! Can we talk about this-" Whatever the demon was going to say is lost after John's spell slams into its chest, throwing it back out of his dimension and sealing him from his Earth for fifty years. The spell is helpful, but fifty years doesn't mean much to demons, and it will wait decades to come back and bother them.

Thankfully, John will likely be long-dead before then. It's always been his solution for most of his problems. Pushing a problem to a later date where it can become someone else's problem.

But what about his son?

Danny, who was half of Time itself, would likely be around in fifty years. If there was one thing he didn't want, it was to leave Danny with all his messes. He'll have to learn a new banishing spell and find some instructors who could teach him an entirely new magic dueling technique.

It was the responsible thing to do. Ugh, fatherhood was making him an accountable bore.

John heaves himself off the floor, sweat pouring from his forehead, and grimaces. On the stove, the eggs he was cooking for Danny's breakfast are smoking, burnt into a dark black smudge. The House of Mystery's old wood groans, displeased with all the smoke, and a second later, the stove and counter vanish as the house creates a hole to drop them out of.

"Now that's just plain rude," John tells the house, dusting his knees. "It's not like I asked to be attacked first thing in the morning. What am I going to feed Danny now?"

The house's floor tiles shift in what John has come to learn was meant to be a shrug. The blasted thing has started copying Danny's teenage behavior, including that of his son's friends, and now seemed to enjoy rebelling against John whenever possible.

Thankfully, the house also seemed to really like Danny because one of the drawers opens, and a local Gotham breakfast dinner menu is flung at him. John catches the sheet with a sigh. He won't have to go too far when dropping Danny off at school.

"Morning, Dad," Danny greets, walking into the room wearing his Gotham Academy uniform. The dark night blue blazer, black tie, and dress trousers make his son look like the heir of the second most powerful being. It only took one glance to see that Danny came from nobility.

John knows he's a handsome bloke, but he had nothing on Clockwork's human form. That man was a temptation itself, and it looks like Danny has inherited his beauty.

John will never know how the brats in Danny's other schools could not see that. His son was perfect. John fights the urge to summon a camera. He always thought the fools always showing off the children's pictures were idiotic. Now that he's a father, he understands.

He smiles, "Morning, love. How about we go out to eat for breakfast?"

__________________________________________________________

They arrived at the dinner just as it was opening. John told Danny to order some black tea and went to the bathroom. He was only gone for a few minutes, but when he returned, he found his boy surrounded by a group of teenagers wearing the same uniform.

There was a splash of angry red on Danny's face as a girl gestured to him, obviously mocking him, and the rest of the teenagers laughed. Danny's hands were clenched in his lap, shoulders hunched, and head lowered as another teenager reached out and flickered his ear.

This one was wearing those ridiculous American leather jackets for some sport. He was also the biggest teenager there, a boy who thought himself too important for his own good.

John's jaw clenched.

Bullies.

Danny had bullies at Gotham Academy. Why can't his son just be left alone?!

John was just about to march across the room, ready and willing to fight a group of children, when Danny suddenly raised his head to yell in the face of the leather jacket git.

Alarmingly, the teenagers don't have the reaction that John expects. The large boy blushes, and the teenagers all seem to grow flustered.

No, John realizes with horror. No, they fancy him. The little rats bothering Danny are into him. Were all the other bullies just dumb kids who were terrible at flirting, too?

He is so stunned by the realization that he misses the way Danny attempts to push past the boy and somehow ends up tripping over his own two feet. He tries to catch himself on the table but the thing tilts over and their drinks fly.

Danny ends up half on the ground covered in drinks and looking bloody misaberle as the rest of the children snicker. John draws to his full height, deciding that it didn't matter what these kids felt for Danny.

His son thought they were bullying him because they made him feel terrible. So they were all going to feel the wrath of the one human who bullshits his way to being one of the mightiest spell casters in history.

"What the bloody hell are you urchins think you're doing!?" He yells. The kids all take one look at him before they scatter, rushing towards their posh cars outside.

"You alright, love?" He helps the boy to his feet, wiping some liquid with a napkin.

Danny looks small as he wipes away at his eyes. There weren't any tears; he was just taking the tea that had run down his face off. "I'm okay. Thanks, Dad."

"Do they bother you a lot?" He asks, anger growing in his chest. "We can go to your headmaster."

"No! Telling the principle will only make things worse!" Danny shouts, looking up in alarm. "Besides, they don't really bother me that much. Damian can usually scare them off. They should go for me, I can handle it; most other kids don't."

Fuck, where has he heard that phrase before?

It's alright if he hits me. I can handle it better than Mum.

John takes a breath through his nose, willing it to calm him down. This is another change that has come to be ever since he learned about Danny. Before, John would have gone off the handle, started a fight, yelled till he was red, drank, or slept through his issues, and damn the consequences.

He's got to think with a clearer head now. He owes Danny because of what his other father will do and because John wants to be the kind of father he never had.

The waitress rushes over, helping them get things set to right, and Danny apologizes for repeatedly knocking on the table. She waves away his worry, stating she saw the group and that, as someone who's worked near Gotham Acadamy for years, she knows what kind of students go there.

She also mentioned seeing what happened to the scholarship students over the years after nodding her head to Danny's pin. John hated that it was a requirement for Danny's uniform as a "show" of his accomplishments when all it did was single him out as a target.

While his son is distracted, John sends a quick text message to Bruce, informing him of the bullying Danny is going through.

Bruce responds with a single message: "It shall be handled." for once, he doesn't roll his eyes at the theatrics. A small thump on the window makes him glance up from his phone screen.

Pressed up against the glass is a blond teenage boy with wide eyes, breathing heavily and looking like a child staring at a feast of their favorite foods. John makes a face as the teenager's palms' and nose lean more into the glass, disorientating his image, but nothing could top the manic grin on his face.

John follows the boy's eyesight to where they practically devour his son, who is busy looking at the pasty bar. The waitress told him to pick anything he liked in the house to try and cheer him up from his bully.

Danny takes his sweets very seriously and studies his options with hyper-focused determination. He bends at his waist to look at the far-back brownies, and the teenager in the window lets out a cat-like growl of approval.

Alarmed, John steps in front of Danny, blocking him and his bum from view. The teenager, wearing the same uniform as Danny, and John was pretty sure he's seen this kid at Gotham High School when they had been touring the place before deciding to take Burce's offer, locks eyes with him.

John doesn't have to see into the stranger's scowl to confirm what he already knows.

That was not a human in control of the body. A demon likely took the unfortunate human for a joy ride. John raises his hand, spell crackling at his fingertips, and the scowl turns darker as the demon wearing the stolen face seers.

Just as he is about to fire off a spell, Danny's voice cuts through the tension, stepping around John with a happy "Bernard!"

His son walks up to the window before freezing and then looks back at John with the same bone-chilling expression of anger that he has only ever seen on one other being. That one being who could make the very fabrics of the universe fall apart despite not shouting or rampaging.

Danny inherited Clockwork's anger, it seemed.

"That thing is overshadowing my friend Bernard Dowd." Danny's voice is low and echoing. Somewhere behind him, John can hear the waitress gasp for air as the room's pressure increases, to Danny's displeasure. "I'm going to kill it."

John's knees shake as he fights to stay upright. "Alright. Make sure you finish murdering it before your second class. You have a chemistry test today."

Danny nods, walks outside, and grabs Bernard's arm to drag him into a dark alley. The dumb thing looked pleased, spraying something into its mouth. I thought Danny was going to snog it.

Fool.

As soon as Danny left, the pressure disappeared from the dinner, every human inside sighing relief once they could breathe better.

"What in the world was that!?" The waitress demands, her voice strained with fear.

John turns to her with a shrug. "Puberty."

Outside, a loud honk is heard as a certain teenager in a leather jacket slams his head against his steering wheel with a wail. His friends are quick to comfort him to the best of their abilities. They likely saw Danny drag the possessed human into the alleyway.

Good.

"Do you have any alcoholic drinks?" He asks the horror-stricken woman. "I need something strong."

"It's seven in the morning."

"Ah, a coffee then. Black. Strong. Anything to help me raise my boy and get through the day."

There is a long pause before she responds. "Of course, and it's on the house. Not easy being a single parent to....whatever that was."

At least she has a heart.

[kizzer55555]

Core Gems

So when a ghost becomes injured, they have a last ditch defense where they retreat into their core. And I mean, injured badly where their body is rip apart to the point they can’t hold a solid form anymore. And they basically go into a hibernation state until they are strong enough to form again.

Ellie, Danny, and Dan are all injured in a final battle against the GIW. The organization was destroyed and the ghosts were safe but the halfas ended up being so injured that they reverted to core form and then went to sleep for a bit. When they woke up, they were still weak but at least recovered enough to gain consciousness. And realize…they are in some kind of auction…in the middle of a heist. It appeared that two furries (one in a bat costume and one in a cat costume) were ducking it out. And they…they were a necklace. All three of them had been turned into a necklace with their cores as gems accompanied by sapphires, pearls, and opals. And frankly gorgeous craftsmanship as the metal was crafted around their cores as if to cradle them and the other gems.

Unfortunately, they were too weak to take a form properly, they could still feel the strain on their bodies. But at least they could still communicate through their auras. Then the cat lady punched a hole in the glass container surrounding them and grabbed their necklace.

However, the bat grabbed the other end and it resulted in a sort of tug-a-war. Meanwhile, Danny, Ellie, and Dan were having a back and form commentary on the situation and what they should do. Completely unheard by the other party.

In the corner of their eye, the three halfas finally noticed a third contender. Some kind of clown who was…hold on…holding a gun?! And it was pointed straight at the two fighting furies who had yet to notice him. The ghosts’ protective instincts went into overdrive and they frantically tried to shout, yell, move. Just do something to warn the two but their cries fell on deaf ears. All they succeeded in doing was faintly glow which immediatly caught the attention of the fighting duo. The two turned to look at the strange necklace but right at that moment, the clown fired and a gunshot rang throughout the auction room. Having no other options, Danny and the others poured every ounce of ectoplasm they had to try and phaseshift, making the two furries intangible as the bullets passed right through them, but in their shock, the two jumped away in opposite directions and accidentally ripped the necklace apart. Gems and pearls went flying and the three cores bounced along the ground.

Luckily, the two finally noticed the clown and went to deal with him and his minions who had appeared. Seemingly putting their fight on hold and forming a temporary truce. The three halfas could only watch as the battle finally wound down, ending with the cops barging into the place and arresting the clown and his grunts, the cat managing to escape with half the scattered gems and pearls from the broken necklace along with a few other jewelry pieces (none of their cores though) and the bat leaving through a skylight.

The auction continued and in the end, despite being broken, their necklace seemed to have caught someone’s interest. A man named Bruce Wayne bought up every piece of the shattered jewelry wear. The auctioneers appeared relived that the item managed to sell in the end and gratefully gave it to him.

Bruce had no idea what happened at the auction, but he could have sworn that some of the gems faintly glowed right before he and Selina were shot. If the necklace was some sort of magical item, then he needed to understand exactly what has been brought to Gotham. It was unfortunate that Selena had taken some parts of the necklace but he utilized his vast wealth to make sure all the other parts ended in his possession. Now he would take them back to the mansion for examination.

[alwaysless]

Back to the theory that the spectres alignments depend on how a person sees their own morality.

OH BERENICE DEFINITELY BLAMES HERSELF FOR STERLING'S DEATH

She probably thinks he died because she was too childish, delusional, impossible to negotiate. Now the man to whom she is deeply attached is dead while the closest person she has is a murderer.

And for the worst Egaeus did it for her. Because she was too selfish to accept reality where her beautiful midsummer night's dream is over.

So yeah I totally believe Berenice thinks she's a bad person.

[prophetmutual]

Black sails s2e2 is so fun and interesting bc Flint really seems baffled and doubtful about Silver's plan to ingratiate himself with the crew through narsty gossip. And that didn't make sense to me at first bc obviously we know he understands the power of stories and information, we've seen him manage his image and wield rhetoric, he was even there in episode 1 when gossip brought down Richard Guthrie. It did the same to him in London, really. But he doesn't think to use it the way Silver does. Which to me is all in the someone/no-one of it all.

To me Flint's instinct is toward the power of a king, and he's really good at the stories that scaffold it. He also just doesn't really give a shit abt the minutae of his men's lives in the face of his larger goals. Silver's instinct is to remove himself from view, to use stories that never reference him at all. He began as a sailor not a leader, and he had no desire to become one. He can get into the minutae in a way Flint can't and he thinks he can walk the tightrope of being the one they come to for information without becoming a player on the board. Unfortunately he's too good at appearing likeable (and not as good at slipping away as his evil twin Max) and inadvertently becomes A Man of the Walrus Crew, which is enough to get him stuck in the narrative :) And Flint, too good at creating kings and always kind of wishing he could be no one instead, helps write the king that kills* him. They tell their stories so well they end up on the other side of each other. This is a really fun show about which i am normal. :)

[delicate-sketch]

Idk if this is unpopular opinion or not but while Percy is like “fuck this demigod stuff I am retired” I think Nico would be working in the underworld in the future like I just have this vision of him in a mix of modern and ancient greek clothing doing missions for Hades collecting some troublesome souls idk helping with the judgement talking shit with the dead making the playlist for their elevators vibing to tragedy by bee gees he kinda enjoys the demigod stuff even if its hella dangerous or whatever

[dykealloy]

“we sent yuan away so his feelings could subside” you sent him to gay rizz bootcamp is what you did

[lo-batteryy]

No clue what she looks like yet but just know…. I will be playing lots of her and I need every scrap of lore I can get

[sunlight-shunlight]

pondering that falon'din is associated with an owl, and those are also messengers of andruil. and he's referred to as "winged death" which is also mentioned to be something that elgar'nan deploys against enemies. and both falon'din and andruil are referred to as venturing into dark places, where no one else can survive/wanted to go.

and ghilan'nain was not initially an evanuris, but was antagonistic towards them and making a bunch of weird creatures. she was given the offer to join them in return for getting rid of the creatures, and accepted. but with "pride stopping her hand" from destroying a few. and when asked about trusting people to share power, solas says "I know that mistake well enough to carve the angles of her face from memory."

solas also has nothing good at all to say about falon'din, mostly calling him a bloodthirsty tyrant who went so far in encroaching onto other evanuris territory that mythal had to besiege his temple and beat him up to stop him.

but he says nothing about dirthamen at all.

dirthamen is described as having gone missing unexpectedly, scaring all his followers, because they were now unprotected. and caught between their own high priest wanting to lock them into the temple forever like a cask of amontillado, and other forces outside that wanted to take their secrets by force. there is one note that a dirthamen follower defied the evanuris and took on a forbidden (probably a dragon) type of form, and was judged by elgar'nan harshly. he apparently also invented the varterral to protect his town from a high dragon? wack, but also could indicate that he had worked with ghilan'nain on making it, since she's the only one who's otherwise mentioned to be bioengineering stuff.

dirthamen has very very few surviving statues or depictions, and is more associated with falon'din than as his own independent figure in the dalish myths. even his own temple includes mosaics of falon'din. there's a few statues that are probably dirthamen, but the most striking is in mythal's section of the fade behind the eluvian, which is a statue of a hooded figure, doubled over with a giant sword sticking out of his back.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Dungeon Meshi: The RPG

[smile-files]

something interesting i realized while on the vessel-making screen in the deltarune introduction is that it's physically impossible to make kris: there is no hair that perfectly matches theirs (none have the cowlick or the right jagged shape on the bottom), and there is no sweater that perfectly matches theirs (none have a single stripe). this is fascinating, as it perhaps suggest that, if we (the player) had a choice, we *wouldn't* make kris. they aren't something we want, or are even capable of wanting, rather something we're stuck with.

and i suppose the fact that they can't be *created* as a vessel is telling, because we didn't create kris -- they weren't made for us, they're not a player avatar. they're a pre-existing person we just happen to gain possession of.

we weren't made for each other; they don't want us, and we don't seem to want them either (if the inability to choose to create someone like them says anything); funny, then, that in a way we're "soulmates"...

(both pictures are from the deltarune wiki!)

[just-honey-dewd]

LINK CLICK S1 EPISODE 5.5 - The Silly Goose allegations

This is a post dedicated to collecting instances showcasing Lu Guang's uncharacteristic behaviour throughout the episode. Compared to other episodes that take place in S1, I find that he never actually takes things as seriously as he would elsewhere. Which genuinely raised alarm bells for me, so here's my attempt at providing evidence of my accusations!

1) THE COCKINESS OF THIS MAN

"I don't hit girls" is one of the earliest instances of Lu Guang betraying his mature and sensible image -- specifically displaying immaturity in admitting his incompetence at video games. BONUS IMAGE: Still blushing in the background even after the moment's passed.

2) NOT GIVING HIS FULL ATTENTION TO A MISSION'S DETAILS

Granted, there is precedence to Lu Guang doing tasks in the background while Qiao Ling relays information about the case and client (in s1 e2), but Lu Guang usually spares a glance into the photos before determining whether he'll need Cheng Xiaoshi's involvement.

3) THE SNACKING AND AFTERNOON NAP

This is the only time Lu Guang is seen literally sleeping on the job -- not including the Emma case, because sleeping while the client is inactive is valid practice. In this case, it communicates a carefree disposition that Lu Guang knows he can afford. Which reads differently to how he usually acts during dives that don't require his constant supervision for a long period of time. For example, his behaviour during the first third of the Chen Xiao case -- a mission which partially involved Cheng Xiaoshi remaining on the bench for 20 minutes. The actual goal was getting Chen Xiao's message to Lu Hongbin, the outcome of the game wasn't important -- but Lu Guang remained on high alert and in constant communication with Cheng Xiaoshi (until he went ominously quiet for unconvincing reasons, but that's sth else). Point is, Lu Guang usually remains awake to watch over Cheng Xiaoshi, and doesn't usually snack on the job -- the way he leaves a mess on the table also feels more callous than typical Lu Guang fashion.

4) TIMING RIGHT DOWN TO THE SECOND

"Don't move a muscle!" You don't need glasses to see how extra Lu Guang's being with his insistence on accuracy right down to the second. Does the moment Liu Siwen's foot touches the last step matter in the long run? I doubt it. But apparently it matters to Lu Guang -- who's literally looking at his watch to confirm the seconds -- which seems incompatible for the same guy who teaches Cheng Xiaoshi that the major nodes are what must remain unchanged. It feels like misplaced priorities. Since the mission is "learn Ouyang Bubai's secret move", and the automatic outcome will be losing to him -- the major node won't change if Liu Siwen was slightly tardy or too early. And another thing I find strange are that in similar instances where Lu Guang is timing events down to the second, he's not looking at his watch to do it -- rather he seems to have a sixth sense for counting in sync with time's rhythm: in s1e1 he only opts to close his book audibly in order to alert Cheng Xiaoshi to initiate the event (no need eyeing his watch), and in yingdu e3 he drums his fingers to the last seconds before a canon event occurs.

5) Backseat gaming

This manner of instruction is superfluous and doesn't align with other instances which display Lu Guang's rather hands-off approach to instructing Cheng Xiaoshi. The approach he adopts immediately afterwards is much more successful in aiding him (also note that it's Cheng Xiaoshi who instructs Lu Guang to adopt this approach): CXS: Just predict the attack's direction. I will handle everything else.

Knowing to only give Cheng Xiaoshi limited prompts necessary for him to intuit his next course of action is crucial Lu Guang 101 behaviour. From what previous episodes have established of Lu Guang's character -- he usually knows what to say, and what little needs to be said, in order to coordinate Cheng Xiaoshi to do what is required to meet the objective. This backwards behaviour suggests Lu Guang's inexperience in understanding how Cheng Xiaoshi's mind operates. Inconsistent since the Ouyang case takes place after the EMMA case, which shows Lu Guang utilising the hands-off approach.

6) The genuine shock

Between these scenes, there's a very visible shock marring Lu Guang's expressions that simply isn't present in other episodes, and isn't seemingly appropriate for the context of the revelation, nor with his time traveller status in mind. When Cheng Xiaoshi looks as though he's about to land a critical hit on Ouyang Bubai, Lu Guang sighs pre-emptively -- as though he expects that Cheng Xiaoshi has the upper hand against Ouyang Bubai (though that would also suggest it slipped his mind that the mission was to observe how Ouyang Bubai's secret technique works). Then after Ouyang Bubai's move is executed on Cheng Xiaoshi, Lu Guang's jaw drops. Something we only get the luxury of seeing in s2, when he's possessed by Cheng Xiaoshi. In the next scene, when Qiao Ling reveals the full context of Liu Siwen's determination -- Lu Guang full body flinches, which contrasts Cheng Xiaoshi's relatively conservative head tilt. This is not the body language of someone who's gone through this before.

7) The open hypocrisy

Cheng Xiaoshi points out Lu Guang's blatant disregard for his rules. Specifically "Past and future. Don't ask questions" -- directly involving themselves in Liu Siwen's life is interfering with his future which is technically a violation of that rule. But Lu Guang snubs him with a half-hearted "I came to watch over you."

What we see immediately after seems to be the key to understanding the driving force for Lu Guang joining to support Liu Siwen against his strict rules. If we were to believe this was Lu Guang's first experience with the Ouyang case, he came without the knowledge that Ouyang Bubai would finally surrender and allow Liu Siwen and Ouyang to be married. So he came to witness Liu Siwen's determination first-hand. If this wasn't the first experience, Lu Guang expects Ouyang Bubai to surrender, so he approaches the old man to understand the reasoning behind his stubbornness.

Let's say I'm of the opinion that it's the former... then the question becomes this:

Why does Lu Guang take a particular fascination in Liu Siwen?

To that, I think this scene in particular provides some suggestions.

The dramatic lighting and music accompanying this exchange emphasizes the weight of Lu Guang's conviction in Liu Siwen's resilience. And Cheng Xiaoshi voices the sentiment aloud. "What is it that gives him the strength to keep fighting?"

Following this train of thought, Lu Guang wasn't looking to ask Ouyang Bubai to understand why he finally lets go, but came to watch how Liu Siwen persists against all odds.

Thematically, that's why Liu Siwen has the last words in this episode. He embodies the theme of this episode: to cherish and fight for that which you hold dearly.

[cementcornfield]

A Series 💚

[likesdoodling]

Another one of the paintings I did this week, was playing around with lighting and felt like painting Zuko, so I did. :D (oh yeah - and a close up if you're interested - you can see the sketch lines if you squint, but I reckon that's part of the charm~ *smiles innocently)

[winds-of-zephyr416]

WAHH

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