#two very similar personalities where one is control and the other is chaos. they are opposites they are the same etc etc

[honeyviscera]

please please pleaseee asano be different from your father....... grow to become your own person i am BEGGING for ur development. see i see in his eyes that he fears his father and hates what he does. all asano's missing is the crucial realisation that e-class is not the enemy. that failure is okay. i just NEED HIM to connect the dots that a) he fears his father/his father is bad b) his father hates failure c) e-class is the antithesis to his father's values d) e-class is not the enemy they are not the dirt you walk on. i NEED HIM TO CONNECT THESE PIECES ASANO PLEEEAASEEEEEEEE

[starcurtain]

What do you think about Sunday and Aventurine? and their interaction in 2.1, I know Sunday did what he had to do but I just have a strong dislike for him ever since. He is an interesting character though.

I mentioned on a previous ask that I wanted to talk about narrative foils/character parallels, and that ask mentioned Aventurine being similar to Robin and a little to Sunday. But I thought I'd combine that character foils idea with this post about Sunday because...

Aventurine and Sunday are Near Perfect Character Parallels

(Also sorry to Youtuber Fayato who I screencapped this image from; I literally couldn't find a single other good image of Aventurine and Sunday in the same frame!)

In media, the concept of the narrative foil refers to a character who contrasts another character; by setting the two characters and their plots side by side, the audience is better able to understand the traits of the central character.

And by setting two surprisingly similar characters in opposition to each other, it becomes very clear how even those facing similar circumstances can take diametrically opposed paths in life.

First, let's start with the basics:

Aventurine and Sunday are both characters whose real fathers were never in the picture, and who lost their mothers right in front of their eyes to traumatizing events.

They both experienced the violent deaths ("death" in Sunday's case) of their sisters.

They both were "rescued" by people who intended to use them by growing them ("grooming them" in Sunday's case) into a figure of authority.

They were both told they were "chosen ones" growing up. And yet ultimately this status as the chosen one is in doubt: Aventurine isn't sure if his family's faith is real, while Gopher Wood tells Sunday that Penacony's chosen should have been Robin all along.

They both became self-sacrificial, Aventurine through his obvious willingness to throw his life away, and Sunday through his plan to remain outside the sweet dream to be its keeper while everyone else got to live in "paradise."

They both are trapped by their situations, Sunday by his inability to leave the cage, Aventurine by his inability to accept the life he isn't able to throw away.

They both became the "villain" of their respective patches and both faced "death."

Personality-wise, they both strongly favor being in control, to the point that their scene together is an aggressive power struggle over each other.

This is how the "future" Aventurine describes himself:

Does it sound familiar? It should, since that's exactly how people describe Sunday.

But they also both prioritize their families, and they are equally altruistic at the core while seemingly self-centered on the exterior.

They both, of course, have the blessing of an aeon.

And here's where I'm going to take a massive tangent, but it's important: I do tend to be among those who think there is at least some connection between Ena, the Order, and Gaiathra.

I've heard all sorts of reasons that they can't be two different concepts for the same being, from the whole "Gaiathra is a goddess of trickery and that's not related to order" to the whole "the Order's followers worship with song while Gaiathra's followers specifically don't," but I think something that has been missing from the discussion of Ena and Gaiathra's possible connection is that "Order" as a concept has entirely different definitions depending on which cultural context you approach it from.

The most mainstream modern concept of "Order" is something that is imposed: A power from on high descends to quell the chaos of the mortal world, to "bring order" through guidance to humanity. This is very Abrahamic, very modern Christian, and that is reflected in the imagery surrounding Sunday. Sunday, as a manifestation of the Order's power, believes he will be able to uplift Penacony from the mire, free people from their unfulfilled desires and confusion, and bring about perpetual peace by enforcing his understanding of harmony on the populace trapped in the dream.

Sunday's Order is not the natural state of the world but something that must be carefully cultivated and maintained, a constant battle against the chaotic forces of life and its temptations. This type of "Order" promises an idyllic future, but at the cost of the present freedom of everyone who submits to the law, who must surrender their original fate for a structured sweet dream.

We understand this concept of "Order" because at its core, it's the one that modern societies largely embrace--ruling authorities establish laws that must be followed at all costs, even when they risk the freedoms of individuals, because they ultimately (supposedly) support a greater good. A majority of society adheres to the laws handed down from on-high, and life functions relatively stably.

Yet this conception of "Order" is predicated on the idea that the course of people's lives is decided first and foremost by the people themselves--which is why they can make mistakes, go astray, and need to be shepherded in the first place.

Without imposing structure through authoritarian power, this type of "Order" will crumble away in an instant, because this view assumes that rightness can only created by humanity, and that chaos--not order--is the natural state of existence.

Ena, who holds worlds tidily contained in her hands, who is tangled in puppet strings, who wears a hood like a nun or the Virgin Mary, and who is haloed like a Christian angel, clearly represents this definition of "Order" to a T.

But... this is not how humanity has always defined "Order."

It was not always taken for granted that people had the power of self-determination, and in fact, for many centuries and across many cultures, the concept of "the order of the world" was tied directly to the concept of destiny. Whether a volcano would explode and destroy your entire civilization, whether floods would swallow your city, whether the crops would grow or fail all depended on the pre-made decisions of supernatural powers, who were in turn often personified concepts of the natural world itself. What happened to any given individual, what twists and turns their life would take, whether they would achieve their dreams or not--all these aspects were also predetermined, decided not by the actions of the individual but by fate itself.

Thus, the world and everything in it has a natural order. Things may seem chaotic, they may even seem unbelievably horrible, but all events in existence unfold as they should. We may not understand why, but everything occurs in due course, woven into an endlessly repeating pattern on the fates' loom--spring becomes summer, life becomes death, disasters happen and are healed from, children are born and grow old. If it is your fate to die, you will. If it is your fate to fight and live, you will. To reject this natural order would be as futile as telling the sun not to rise.

The words "order" and "ordained" have the same origin.

Enter Gaiathra. First of all, she is the Star Rail equivalent of a pagan goddess--her worship exists separate of the confirmed existence of aeons, by an uncontacted and non-space-faring race. Even her description, being triple-eyed, evokes other "triple goddess" figures across history, both in modern interpretations (the triple goddess of Neopaganism) and in ancient mythologies (the three fates of Greece, the Tridevi of Hindu culture, etc.).

She is strongly associated with the natural world: The planet of Sigonia is said to be a manifestation of her very body, the rain is her blessing and acknowledgment, and she goes through a yearly cycle of death and rebirth (calling the cycle of the seasons to mind). She is said to be a goddess of both fertility and travel (likely in the sense of nomadic wandering by the time Aventurine was born). Avgin worship of the goddess manifests in the form of sacrificial cyclic knots.

Which might call to mind another pagan culture well-known for their cyclic knots: the Celts, whose famous Celtic knots represent cycles of eternity, unity, and the interconnected nature of life itself.

The Avgin prayer to Gaiathra focuses on elements of a person's life that all might be determined by "fate"--will your blood keep flowing, will your journey be peaceful, will your schemes stay hidden? It hopes that things will be as they should, that the future ahead of you is predetermined to be a good one, and that the cycle of life decided by the goddess will be in one's favor.

But while the Avgin hope for good things, they also strongly espouse embracing the reality of one's life, with suffering and hardships seen as manifestations of fate that should be accepted as facts of life. It is said that any society blessed by the Order ultimately falls--is it not the natural fate of all societies to one day fall? For mankind to return to the dust and be reborn anew?

Whatever will be, will be.

There is a reason--a logic--an order--to everything that happens.

I hope you can see where I'm going with this: While Sunday and Ena represent the concept of "Order" as a result of self-determination, a power "the strong" can wield to overcome the inherent chaos of reality, Aventurine and Gaiathra represent a different, older concept of "Order" (I can't help but see the entirely separate eye lurking behind Ena?): existence is not inherently chaotic but instead is foreordained, following endless orderly cycles life and death, weal and woe, rise and fall.

PHEW! Okay, so all of that to say Aventurine and Sunday make perfect parallels through a mirror darkly, even when it comes to the blessings they've been granted: One imposes order from on high; one continually rolls the dice despite knowing the inevitable outcome.

Both of their stories are entirely intertwined with the concept of fate, whether by opposing it...

Or accepting it.

And even at the end of Penacony, we leave both Sunday and Aventurine in precarious positions. Aventurine, while ostensibly "victorious," faces another roll of the dice immediately after Penacony, when his future as a Stoneheart is called into question. Yet "fate" comes through for him again--his bet, as always, comes true. His future isn't in question--it is the question itself. What's next? He finally wants to live to find out.

Sunday, meanwhile, ends Penacony's arc in a truly difficult place. He's virtually exiled from the only home he's ever known, a flightless bird tossed out of his cage into cold hard reality. He has to find an entirely new way forward and may even be forced to reckon with an entirely new definition of "Order" itself.

The parallels between these two characters are entirely intentional and very, very blatant, and I am exceedingly interested in seeing whether their paths diverge or continue to reflect similar fates moving forward.

So uhhh... that's what I think of Sunday? 😂

[mylittleponyauprompts]

An AU where Celestia couldn't get to the elements of harmony in time for one reason or another and was forced to kill her sister after she turned into Nightmare Moon. Celestia was distraught, her little ponies cheering just making it so much worse. She becomes cold and distant from her subjects. She grows overwhelmingly lonely and she decides to free Discord under certain conditions. The basics being, He gets his chaos as long as no one gets hurt, and both of them get companionship and rule together as equals. He decides to humor her at first planning on rebelling at any opportunity, but really understanding the situation when finding Luna's burial site and being told what happened. The two rule Equestria for over a thousand years together, growing extremely close. On the anniversary of Luna's death, a purple unicorn joins Celestia's school of magic, one that uncannily reminds Celestia of her sister. And one with more magic than someone her age should have.

Optional additions-

Celestia is intimidating and feared by others do to her more serious, colder, and reclusive personality.

Discord has become the public figure. His chaos has surprisingly become well loved, why did he ever use it for harm?

Twilight Sparkle is the reincarnation of Luna, as a result she has problems with leftovers of Nightmare Moons dark magic. She is being trained by both Celestia and Discord to help control this. Her magic surge caused an entire 24 hours of nighttime, and she hatched a dragon egg. Spike looks very similar to a ursa minor, and while not as big as a ursa minor is rather big for a baby dragon.

Celestia might as well be Twilight's mother, Discord is like her weird uncle.

Pinkie Pie becomes Discords student for similar reasons Twilight Sparkle becomes both his and Celestia's. Hard to control magic, in Pinkie Pies case more chaos magic than any mortal pony has ever had. Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle become close childhood friends.

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

ALSO. this is completely unrelated to anything but one of my loose power ideas for ashe so far is just. straight up telekinesis (inorganic/non alive matter) w/ an upper range limit that's like a couple times his body weight.... terrifying!! fits w/ the fucking. structurally unsound house collapsing around them & his mom trapped & crushed & everything happening around them!! maybe the longer he has it running/the more strain he's under, the more powerful he gets & the less he's like actively aware of what he's doing (like labyrinth) & the more it just runs on autopilot (bad bad fucked up and bad and dangerous) & the less he's cognizant the harder it is to come back down (<- related 2 breaker shit somehow. ur turn. handing u the half finished thing make it work please :( )... trickster state ant death spiral.... kind of is similar a little bit to his stuff in canon if u stretch it a lot.... anyway not married to this at all just throwing stuff at the wall <33

I ALSO HAVE TRICKSTER THOUGHTS. OKA.Y. FUCK. so. thinking abt him as his Own Person......... i love u trickster....... i just got to the part where he's hanging out with the lil girl in her treehouse. just some dude!! :]]] ..... so. sliding across the table to lean in towards u pulling out my ballpoint pen & sketching out diagrams on my cocktail napkin.

^i think.... the trickster could be something like this. he could get to have some crazy master shit going on where he can control & affect other capes like the chaos demons in canon. alec if he had a greater range of control & could permanently or semipermanently fuck with ur brain settings etc. u see where im going w this.... i think he should get to control ashe :] PUPPET SHIT NOT EVEN FUCKING INTENTIONAL BTW im just kind of crazy abt this also. like. dinah situation except he isn't drugged out of his mind (well. maybe. redundancies) he's just always in his loose nuke fugue state & kept in the trickster's control, he's very handy! he likes this one, he's so useful, he doesn't wanna give him up! :) i have no clue How the trickster would find him in this scenario btw. i just think it would fucking suck for everyone involved <3333 anyway.

ALSO FUCKING ILL OVER ALL UR ASHE/TRICKSTER STUFF BTW. haven't said it bc all of that is in the mile long draft i'm still working on but believe me i am like shaking and sobbing and on the floor puddle of blood abt it all ur so right ab everything forever. ANYWAY. thoughts??

ohhhhh telekinesis and losing control of his telekinesis as he gets worse is REALLY good. yea yea yea I like that a lot. u are handing this to me to make sense of okay okay lemme put my brain into gear thinking about Scenarios. under the cut time before I ramble about nhw like a madman for the billionth time. trickster state ant death spiral is a sentence that will be in my mind all day today i just know it. why do we keep doing horrible ant things to our little guys (it's ashes turn under the solar death ray now)

okay his shaker powers manifesting as telekinesis is perfect for the tragic irony part of the power thing (which. can you tell I fucking love that little detail? god that's so fucking good. your powers will help you. theoretically. but watch out!! that's so fucking delicious and awful). he triggered in a house that was about to collapse, his mom crushed by whatever it was that fell on her, of course hed want to save her and get her out! but the irony and futility comes in waves where. 1) he lifts up the bookshelf or whatever it is and that doesn't matter because she's already crushed. 2) he can't even help her with his powers because they can only affect inorganic material. he can't move her (he's only 8, he's so small) . 3) he is in a state of extreme distress and these first two realizations are making it worse and. where is he? what was he doing? Who is he? who's that person on the ground? UGHAHHVHV. HORRIFYING.

altered mental states and hypnotism and not being able to control your actions and being made to do something terrible and not being able to stop it is such a uniquely awful type of fear, and I think that kind of fear kind of compounds on itself to make it worse once he realizes its happening? I think he doesn't notice the fact that he's losing control at first. he's getting stressed and pushing himself harder and wow! his powers are actually responding to that, he's getting stronger! awesome! but stuff just gradually starts getting more... blurry. floaty. he becomes less responsive to the things around him. someone calls out to him and it takes him longer than it should to process that, he doesnt immediately recognize the words or whos saying them. and like you said kind of eventually shifts into autopilot. it's almost like he's fading out of consciousness but he's Awake the whole time. he's just not Aware . which, in a fight that's happening in a big open space like the whirlwind fight for example. that's not Too bad because there's less of a chance he'll accidentally hit someone he shouldn't be targeting. in closer quarters it gets really dangerous really fast, it's really easy to pinpoint exactly where and when he starts losing control.

side note rq im imagining the way this would work on a team, with the others kind of constantly keeping him in check, making sure he doesn't go too far with his powers? thinking about the way Failsafe's powers work, I think he's always sort of dimly aware of his teammates in the background and when ashe starts to lose control he either a) his pain level goes fucking haywire and sets of all the alarm bells in dakotas mind OR b) he drops off the radar completely. unresponsive, it's almost like he dies, he just gets totally cut off from the pain sense so dakota can immediately feel something is wrong, looks around in panic thinking hes gonna find ashe on the ground but hes still just standing there using his powers (i cant decide which of these is worse. smile). so dakota makes it his unofficial responsibility to be Ashe's lock check in a fight, esp with his mover powers, he's able to get to ashe fastest and easiest without being hit by any stray projectiles. bear with me bc im weak for these types of scenes (picturingggg that scene with vex and percy at the end of tlovm....) where dakota just puts his hands on either side of ashes face and just talks to him like "come back to me, don't get lost, don't let yourself fall" etc etc can anyone hear me it's so dark in here. and that sort of thing works for them for a long time because its a direct physical outside interference, ashe is able to kind of wake up from his fugue state and turn down his powers and bring himself back to awareness because dakota can usually get to him before he passes the point of no return. usually being the key word here.

operating with the breaker stuff being trickster mode still (I'll get 2 ur other idea about trickster after this but let me live in the moment for a second) I think THAT becomes the point of no return. once ashe gets to an emotional/mental state where he feels like he's in a situation too similar to his trigger, the breaker powers kick in and he becomes totally unable to control his actions (maybe with practice and training he could learn how to control his breaker stuff but hey he was actively extremely discouraged from even thinking about using his powers for a solid 10-ish years of his life, thanks mark :) ) . still imagining this is trickster mode, that's where he shifts forms and becomes less Ashe and more Trickster. ashe is still in there somewhere, maybe, but it gets REALLY REALLY difficult to break him out of that state until he feels like the threat is gone and there's no more danger. which. because he can't distinguish or recognize individual people when he's like this, having three other REALLY Powerful Capes around him does not minimize the feeling that he's in danger !!! the wards trying to break him out of trickster mode directly would probably just make things worse or put themselves in danger.

power mechanic wise I get this feeling that breaker powers because they overlap with the other classifications so much, that means breaker forms can manifest their own powers that could fall under other classifications? so in Trickster form his powers become less shaker and more master? (hey more similarities with wibby I'm sure wibby feels really normal about this). i don't think you've seen trickster in an actual fight yet so im a little hesitant to tell u this but considering you've seen the my friend mr giggles part you're close enough that i don't feel too bad about it- aside from the chaos demon master shit I REALLYYYY like the trickster being able to manipulate his environment (breaker powers) but being limited to like. carnival bullshit. games. the big throwing knife wheel. the floor is lava but Real. using a giant pinwheel as a weapon. as soon as Circus was introduced in worm i was like THIS IS SOME TRICKSTER SHIT !!!!!!. i don't know why ashes powers specifically would manifest like that (maybe because he triggered as a young kid and it's his brain tapping into the childlike tendencies of seeing everything as a game, turning the horrible scenarios into "something fun" as fucksd up as that is, idfk) so maybe this leans more into the trickster being a separate person but those are most of my thoughts on him for now :]

WHICH LEADS INTO YOUR THINF REALLY WELL, TRICKSTER BEING A DIFFERENT GUY. which. I do ljke this because it's actually. closer to the case in canon and would make sense for us to tie into the implications for season 3 (being. extremely vague here but we could do some TERRIBLE shit w trickster for season 3 if he's a separate guy. smile) THE ONLY THING. STOPPING ME FROM FULLY AGREEING W U ON THIS (u know I looooovd the pain of puppet imagery I am so down for this torture) IS THAT. I DONT HAVE ANY OTHER IDEAS about how ashes breaker powers would manifest. or how/if/why trickster would be present for his mom's death (although I guess he doesn't necessarily have to be?) i think maybe the compromise here would be to give ashe the carnival shit breaker powers and have those just be His, while trickster can just be a separate s-class master who favors ashe specifically because he likes having control of those powers (because they're fun! "why him?" "i like this one. fits like a glove :)")

OKAY. FUCK. THIS TOOK ME LIKE 2 HOURS TO TYPE UP AND IM AT WORK NOW ILL MAYBE ADD ONTO THIS LATER IF I TJINK OF ANYTHING ELSE BUT. HI GOODMORNIGN IM GONNA SPEND MY WHOLE SHIFT THINKING ABT THIS

[moronkombat]

Hello hello 👀

Would we possibly get general headcanons for Havik? That man has me in a tight grip and I need anything with him, both sfw and nsfw, pretty please? 🥺

Havik you say? Coming right up. Yessir slurp slurp oh and tw for gore, violence, obsessiveness

SFW

Havik is the type of man to hold intense and long lasting grudges. He will not let them go until he has seen them through. These grudges would naturally extend to the person he finds himself rather attached to. If they have a problem with someone then this problem becomes Havik's too. Does he mind this? No. In fact, he enjoys having the extra excuse at causing more mayhem

Delving more into these fixations of revenge. He's rather sadistic when it comes to executing them but he not so simple to inflict the type physical torture. No no, he goes the full mile. There will be turmoil of every caliber. He destroys everything about that person in a frenzied but planned attack. No other method is accepted by him no matter what you say

Obsession is the very center of Havik's being. Yes, he thrives off the chaos and that need for destroying the social order but he not only thrives off of it, he is consumed by it. I cannot say this enough, if he finds himself interested in you he will not let you go

Why this obsession? Havik comes from the very lowest class and has only witnessed what he precieves as injustice atrocities. He's ruminated and ruminated over them for years so it is only natural for him to obsess over other aspects of his life as well.

It is not that Havik wishes to control his partner. He doesn't seek control, he seeks possession. He wants you and he wants you to want him. He doesn't want his partner to obey him either. He simply wants. All his life there have been no chances at wants, not in his social class. Now, he has that chance and he will not waste it. When he wants something, when he wants someone, he will get it

How does he go about getting what he wants? Through any means necessary. Now, let's say his partner shares Havik's tendencies. He will absolutely love that. There no better chaos to be had than two enjoyers of it creating it. Well, what if you're not similar to him? You will be soon. He will make sure of it. He will show you just how pure the world is when chaos is its master

NSFW

This should go unsaid but I like talking about so I'm gonna say it anyway. Havik is the ultimate sadomasochist. Sex and pain are one in the same. There cannot be one without the other

In the bedroom, expect to be welcomed to a world where pain and pleasure are conjoined in the most wicked but euphoric ways.

There will be blood and it will shared between the two of you. He expects you to inflict pain on him just as he does with you. If he bites you you'll do the same in return. Maybe not right away but it will happen and he waiting for it is almost as good as the feeling of his flesh being torn by your teeth

Havik enjoys the use of anything that will enhance the experience for you. You want ropes? You want chains? He will indulge oh so happily. You'll take turns with your new bindings and the marks they will leave will tell stories you two will look back on fondly.

Speaking of marks, there will be plenty. They are vast bountiful after Havik and his partner have made their mess in the bedroom

Don't think that bedroom is the only place Havik will take part such primal enjoyments. The mark of death and chaos are all he needs to get himself going. A battle is finished? He is jumping at the chance to take you and feast upon you while the dead be your audience

Sex will often last awhile with Havik. He does not prefer quickies. no, he wants to have an entire meal with you. He's not interest in a quick snack of his favorite treat. He is gluttonous and will devour all of it, making sure to take his time so he can savor every single little bit.

Havik is anything but silent when he's with his partner sexually. He would not dare hide the noises you bring from him nor does he want you to hide them from him. If his partner did he'd tease and taunt them "Why do you try to hide your debauchery? Do you think I don't know how you feel?" He'd laugh then and there's another scratch into your thigh, one that burns. "I know because I can feel how tightly you grip my cock when I touch you like this" You know he's right

Words are not used for taunting exclusively. He will beg and plead for more and more. He wants to hear it from you too. Each pull to his skin, each new cut he hums and seethes. Then he chuckles so lowly you can feel the vibrations in his chest. He'll want more and he is sure to tell you and show you

thank you for asking about havik. i can go on for a looooong time about his devious habits because goddd i see him as just sooo nasty and toxic. i can't help it im sorry

[elderwisp]

The Sims is love. List 5 facts about a favorite sim couple of yours, and why you love them so much. Then pass this on to 5 others, whose sim couple(s) you also love. 💘💕

HIHI thank u for this ask! AHHH this is such a difficult question because i’ll get in these sappy/supportive moods whenever i’m working on certain couple arcs! there are even some that are top secret that are truly some favorites GAHHH. this is how i feel like, genuinely:

i do feel like lately, i hyperfixate on atlas’s relationships. one reason is i’m like in the trenches writing-wise where i’m finalizing some things. then the other is it’s one of those interesting dynamics between either parties that feel complicated but also being able to dissect it and go wow, love is truly versatile! both feel valid in their own ways and were the thing that maybe atlas might’ve needed in the moment. i really don’t have a favorite between the two because they’re both so idk, fulfilling to me. i think it would be neat to go over the relationship between atlas/taryn and atlas/rowan ft a wip pic:

𓆩♡𓆪 Atlas met Rowan in a very transitional phase of his life. There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding Atlas's future and it was truly a time where being a pushover was not working in his favor nor authentic towards any of his needs. Rowan has a knack for identifying someone in pain and gravitates towards it. Where Dan believes Rowan tried to take advantage of Atlas's insecurities, Rowan more so wanted to bring out those deeply rooted thoughts to the surface because why hide who you are? There's power in pain.

𓆩♡𓆪 Part of why I believe Taryn and Atlas's relationship would not be viable as of right now is Atlas is still really picking up the pieces of his tumultuous relationship with Rowan. I feel like break ups can go through the similar motions of grief just on a different scale. There's a lot of bouncing back and forth between anger and sadness, so couple that with his coping method creates a lot of chaos. There's a deeply rooted sentiment in Atlas that there is no way in hell he deserves a relationship with Taryn.

𓆩♡𓆪 Rowan sees a lot of himself in Atlas. The both struggle to really connect with their parents and dislike the concept of control. A desire for independence. They're artists and have an appreciation in self-indulgence. However, there is one huge difference and that's confidence. Atlas is much more insecure than he let's on and that causes a huge rift between the two.

𓆩♡𓆪 The other part would be Taryn's current state. I will start off with Atlas has been a huge influence on not only setting boundaries with people but also encouraging her to share her work, growth doesn't come at an incline but almost a jagged, bumpy mountain. (💀) All that encouragement to be vulnerable (the book, trying to open up her heart to atlas, the mf kids at the library) to be met with constant rejection is pushing her back into this almost hardened demeanor. It takes a lot of courage to open up and unfortunately she's reached her limit to do so.

𓆩♡𓆪 Rowan has always known that commitment to one person can feel incredibly constricting for someone who, well, likes to indulge. So while he absolutely adores Atlas, there's some conflict that arises in the notion of an open relationship. Atlas really struggles to grasp that idea (well less of an idea and more of this is reality baybeee) and it triggers those deeply rooted feelings of inadequacy.

𓆩♡𓆪 I will say Atlas and Taryn do take the longest to get together but it is really one of those scenes that makes me emotional. Seeing how they progress until that moment feels like two terrified people finally finding some solid ground in a world that is always shifting. It feels like the one thing that finally makes sense and Taryn, my god, she can be quite the romantic with her words and gestures.

[blazehedgehog]

If a race (within the rules) was organized between Sonic, Metal Sonic, Shadow, Silver and Surge, what do you think the final ranking would be?Although Sonic is certainly the fastest of them all, can the others increase their place in the rankings under certain conditions (like Shadow if he uses his full power, for example)?

I mean, I think Sonic is always going to win. Always always. I don't know that we've ever actually seen Sonic struggle to reach his limits on how fast he can run. He's never out of breath. Well, scratch that: we do see Sonic out of breath in the Sonic OVA, but I'll conveniently say that does not count.

Similarly, the only time it feels like we've ever seen Sonic struggle is in that one issue of Archie Sonic where Eggman finally "wins" and Sonic has a breakdown.

But even that sort of plays in to what I mean. Not that this is canonical, I guess. But I always get the idea that Sonic's a lot stronger than he lets on, he'd just rather have some fun with a situation first. Sort of like Goku in Dragon Ball and how his whole entire personality eventually revolves around treating every fight like a game of cat and mouse.

Metal and Shadow are definitely fighting it out for a close second place. They both fill a similar role in my head sometimes -- Shadow's an android and Metal is a robot. One is flesh and the other is, uh, metal. But they are both copies of Sonic.

Who wins is a toss up. It's said Shadow isn't very fast without his shoes on, which definitely means he's a lot weaker than Sonic is by default. But I'd also assume Shadow is probably closer to the real Sonic in terms of physiology. And he still does have his shoes on, presumably. I think if Metal and Shadow started fighting during the race, Shadow could probably at the very least disable Metal. Shadow has ranged attacks and can use Chaos Control to slow down or even stop time, giving him an advantage to take Metal out.

So that puts Shadow at number two. Surge definitely comes in fourth, unless Shadow completely incapacitates Metal, in which case she picks up third. She's pretty fast, but sort of like Shadow's shoes, she seems to rely on an outside energy source, and hers seems to deplete much faster than the others. She'd probably burn out long before the finish line.

Silver brings up the rear because Silver isn't fast. Compared to most average people he's definitely not slow, but this is not a competition he can compete in very well. Silver is very much the coughing baby against four hydrogen bombs here when it comes to movement speed.

[distort-opia]

Fascinated by your tags about the superficial similarities between Bruce & Joker (sweet tooths, jazz lovers, etc. I think they both like black and white films too, iirc) Could you elaborate, please? It's really interesting to me how two opposites can still end up enjoying so many of the same things.

Thank you! I don't know how much more I can elaborate on that, but it's fascinating to me as well-- these more personal similarities between characters like Batman and Joker. They're so larger-than-life, since they're cultural icons and basically modern myths at this point, to us readers. But even within their own Universe, they're such feared and powerful figures, perceived almost as forces of nature and symbols of order and chaos, forever locked in a war. But the thing is, at the end of the day, they are people. Human beings. And it's very interesting to see them share likes and dislikes, or relate to the other in these simple ways that signify connection.

At least in my view, Bruce and Joker are very... autistic4ADHD :)) They share traits belonging to these spectrums, especially how obsessive they can both be about certain things. They're both the type to feel the need to write, draw, sketch what's on their mind. Bruce's penchant for keeping journals is well-known, and Joker has been shown to write down his plans and his thoughts many times as well. It's something Bruce even knows about him and uses (more than once he's uncovered Joker's plans because he was like "guys wait there's gotta be some paper around here where Joker scribbled"). They both like solving puzzles, keep their minds occupied... it always amused me how in The Long Halloween, Joker's motivation is basically curiosity and needing to find out Holiday's identity just like Bruce, except his methods of uncovering it are a lot more murderous. Also, depending on the bits of canon you prefer to believe, both of them generally abstain from drinking alcohol.

But the thing is, what would make it work is that they have many more differences than similarities, but in a complementary way. Joker's a freaking chatterbox and Bruce prefers not to speak that much, and would be content with just listening and cutting in when he needs to. Bruce has a habit of repressing his emotions and denying them, Joker is a hedonist and always put his own wants first; he'd be goading Bruce and badgering him with questions until he admitted to things he was burying (much like he already does in canon, except... less mean, lol). Bruce has a control streak the size of a planet, and Joker has one too, but in a very different way-- so, when Bruce would inevitably try to manipulate him or get him to listen to him, Joker would fight back in a way Bruce wouldn't be able to overlook. That might mean Joker destroying and/or threatening to maim people, but efficiency is what's at play here. And so on... even Joker's tendency to cycle through interests and be obsessed with one thing today, something else tomorrow, would work out well; because Bruce likes to give people things. He's not good with words or physical affection, but God knows he's got a lot of money and willingness to spend it.

Hah, I said I don't have that much to elaborate on, but this still ended up quite long. Hope you enjoyed reading through my rambles!

[nobodies-png]

hi! can i request some yandere xigbar hcs? especially if he managed to start dating his darling without giving away his real feelings?

sure thingy! i thought i'd had a couple of yandere xigbar posts out there but turns out they're all in drafts lmfao...

as usual, warning for yandere themes!

Considering Xigbar as a whole, he's absolutely one of the most dangerous types of yandere - acting and playing out various roles has become second nature to him due to his overall goals, to the point where he can easily slip into any convenient persona when needed. He knows how to talk his way into and out of anything, and he knows you like the back of his hand.

If you happen to notice something slightly off about him, it's only because he allowed you to, allowing a small glimpse into what lurks underneath. Enough to make you feel bad or guilty, all to "correct" your behaviour and actions - because you're a good person. You would never want to make your loved ones miserable or angry, would you?

But! That doesn't happen often, if at all! Because Xigbar knows that it's better to keep you happy and content. The more attached you get to his silly antics and teasing, his aura of mystery and so on, the better it will be for him on the long run. He loves playing all these mind games, fueling the illusion of equality in this relationship.

In your eyes, all this initial flirting and courtship is a fun game of push and pull, you're both figuring each other's quirks and all - but it's all carefully planned and played out. I'd say he's similar to Axel in this way, always making you come back - either because of that sense of mystery or security that only he can offer. He doesn't isolate you from the others, he just makes sure to be the one you always want to come back to at the end of the day.

If he wanted to, he could spend this current lifetime (and the next one, and the next one, and the one after that - it's silly to think he'd let you go that easily) pretending to be in a completely normal, wholesome and fun relationship with you! And you wouldn't know any better! Whereas some other characters like Saix and Vexen tend to have very scary and drastic changes in personality whenever they feel like they're losing control over your love, thoughts and actions, Xigbar knows how to subtly steer you into the right direction. He'd call it fate, the way you two end up together amidst all this chaos and drama - you two were just meant to be! - but there was no other way it could've ended.

Still, as fun as it might be to keep you in the dark forever, blissfully ignorant, Xigbar is curious and loves to fuck around and find out - when the routine becomes too boring for him, you can expect him to start ignoring you, giving you the cold shoulder. He grows distant and muted, out of the blue, leaving you wondering if you've done something to upset him, or if he's bottling something up. Seeing you so concerned, trailing after him like a lost puppy and finding ways to make up and talk things through, cheer him up, or give him his space - he eats that shit up. Getting reactions out of people is always a treat, so getting to see all these new sides of you is even better.

There is a very, very small chance that he comes clean about everything - and it's not during some heated fight or done on purpose to scare you into staying. Generally, Xigbar is pretty confident and careful - you leaving him is not a possibility, because he's worked very hard in the shadows to ensure that you love him, not as much as he loves you, of course, but close enough. Generally, he likes to make you feel special, like you were the one to crack the mystery of the millennium and figure out his secrets. But one thing Xigbar always neglects is that small, terrible thought that you don't know him at all - because he doesn't know himself.

This stems from centuries of changing identities and bodies, leftover issues that he outlived lifetimes ago, now rearing their ugly little heads whenever he shares a quiet moment with you. When both of you sit, comfortably nestled into each other. Or when he rests his head on your lap, your hand on his hair while you pay attention to something else. Xigbar wonders if you would've loved him at his most vulnerable, back when he was just Luxu. And because Xigbar can't help but stir the pot, there's a small chance that he confesses to everything he's done to make you love him, curious about your reaction.

He's not scared of the possibility of you hating him, he's just curious, staring at you with slightly wide, golden eyes. Like he just confessed to eating the last sea salt ice-cream in the fridge that you bought specifically for yourself. He won't be mad if you start fearing and pushing him away. And he won't start celebrating or acting smug if you, somehow, accept all the horrible things he's confessing to, that you still love him regardless of it all. It's unnerving, a perfect display of what centuries of loss have done to him. The closest one can get to see what remains of Luxu under all these layers. You have to understand that Xigbar has cheated death, the one universal truth in this world and all others, he manipulates space because the concept of permanence is a joke to him - so he can just make you love him again, in this life or the next one.

[moreespressoformydepresso]

So to expand upon this TreeMina post since I have my computer... @crazycriter

I am now officially using lore I've thought up for a potential book of mine. In case Hannah reads this, no it's not the one I told you about. That's a different thing entirely.

Lets start with my (probably disastrous) attempt at explaining the world and magic in short fashion. As stated, the magic society is a hidden one. It exists in plain sight, but only those who are a part of it can see it. This hidden society has two subcultures: Order and Chaos. They are, naturally, in a constant conflict with one another since they're polar opposites and all that. Order's hidden city has very grandiose buildings with a very structured general layout that doesn't vary much between buildings. Walk into one and you have a pretty solid idea of what all the others look like. They have personal touches but everything is very, well... orderly. Symmetry is key in everything for them. They call themselves reglarians and use order magic. As you may expect, they believe that order is the correct way to be and are very much lawful on the alignment chart. What kind of lawful depends on the person. In terms of clothing they certainly have similar outfits. You can tell someone's a reglarian if you know what you're looking for, even though the clothes themselves are very different. It's a similar, recognizable theme rather than a uniform. It's about patterns and styles, and they tend to stick with light color schemes and very much consider themselves the "light side" in general. Because order is good, and chaos is bad. Their buildings are higher up in every city they reside in, some are even in the sky and hidden by magic. Very divine-esque aesthetic, like they're trying to literally be above chaos. For some extra spice you can go with my version where the two sides actively call themselves Light and Dark, to feed into the conflict you may start to see growing here already.

Meanwhile, Chaos (they call themselves warlings) lives mostly in the actual, literal underground of the city. In a complete opposite to Order, their buildings are all very different and openly uniquee, often making no sense in layout on purpose. Honestly everything about them is the complete opposite of Order. Generally darker color schemes and a very nonsensical... everything, really. That's not to say that there's nothing homey about them though, because they know how to make places cozy. If dizzying, given how they will use their magic to actively confuse anyone who comes into the house. It's a go down the steps into the basement to enter the upstairs bedroom kind of situation. Their clothing is alike in how different it is. Some like very practical clothes, some wear the most extravagant nightmare to move in you've ever seen. The only consistency is that their main color is almost always dark, but even that has exceptions. Really, the only common theme that holds true for every single warling is mayhem. They are, well, chaos. Gotta give it to them, they are dedicated to their brand. Rules are made to be broken and their whole culture is built around causing as much mayhem as possible. Not in a way that hurts people, but they've been designated the bad guys by their magic so why not follow their nature? It's not like they can change how they're perceived. Warlings have their strong opinions on the good vs evil debate and they don't necessarily like being seen as "evil" for something they had no control over, but it's not something they actively oppose. They do cause mischief on the regular for kicks, so it's not like they're helping their image.

Ykw I'll save the actual history and conflicts between these groups for a later post and stay focused on the worldbuilding for now. The magic system! Order is pretty straightforward. Their magic is very structured, with rules on what they can and can't do and explanations for why those rules exist. It's something you can study and understand completely if you take the time. Most of their magic comes down to rules, actually. Changing the rules of nature to some extent. They call upon the world and make it do what they want, working within the limits of whatever they're working with. Water can turn to ice, but it cannot naturally turn into wine. So order cannot turn water into wine because that's not how nature works. Those are against the rules. Chaos, on the other hand, works pretty much the exact opposite way. There are limitations but there aren't. They can't do absolutely everything except sometimes they can. Does this make sense? No. That's the point. The magic system is that there is no magic system. In a sense it's more worldly, because it changes with the moon. Metaphorically, because no order is allowed here. That's actually a conflict between Treech and Lamina. Mostly it's a problem for Lamina, though. She's been raised with order drilled into her head from the day she was born. The world works on order, she was told, and that's what makes them better than chaos. They are the world, and chaos tries to destroy them. Good vs Evil. But Chaos magic is a direct refutation of that, because it's entirely natural and there isn't a single semblance of order involved. Yet it exists just fine. She was taught chaos only destroys, yet it's existed for years.

She and Treech fight several times because he "refuses to explain" his magic to her, but the thing is that he can't. It makes no sense. That's all there is to it. You can try all you want to figure out how it works but you'll only drive yourself insane because the whole point is that it doesn't make sense. There is nothing logical about it. It's disorganized and chaotic, because that's its nature. A direct opposite of Lamina's entire life and worldview. By the end, the resolution to the conflict is her finally realizing that maybe her people don't know everything. It ends with her finally accepting that sometimes, things just don't make sense, and sometimes you just gotta live with that. Yes, there are parallels to psychology there that I may explain later.

[techtakesoff]

hello, core differences between bards and sylphs please? this might be an unconventional question (hope this isnt too hard to answer), but im trying to write a fan session for my friends and we hit a roadblock and we kinda need help. sylphs and bards do have different quests and personal journey but im more confused on what is the difference of their actions in-game.

my example, we plan our sylph of breath character to inspire a civil war on derse that upends the balance of the game simply because she was outspoken on how she hates that the king and queen in their session forces and threaten their citizens to be loyal to them and the war at all costs. but my friend said this is more of a thing bard of blood usually do, passively inviting destruction by ruining the team cohesion of their enemies. but i personally think this is more of a case of sylphs breaking the shackles and fixing the freedom for others but fucking up because their character arc and personal quest aren't done yet. what do you think?

This is an interesting case of opposite classes and opposite aspects resulting in two very similar titles. Both could play this role.

Sylphs and Bards are both passive classes, but Sylphs function more as coordinators and supporters while Bards are tricksters and wildcards -- things tend to happen *around* Bards, with less consideration for what they actually want to do.

A Bard's aspect may end up working against them, following the whims of chaos, while Sylphs are on much better terms with their own metaphysics. If the Sylph of Breath starts the war, it's because she acted hastily when she should have been patient; if the Bard of Blood does it, it's because they thought they had more control over the situation than they actually did.

The key difference is in order versus chaos. Bards naturally tend towards chaos, so for them trying to enact order would be what goes against the grain. If your Bard really thought they could handle this political situation, it could hardly do anything *but* devolve into a war, where the bonds they were trying to break might end up even stronger than they were before.

The Bard invites destruction by involving themselves in the fray, and the forces of Blood turn on them as a result. Opposite to this, Sylphs tend towards order. They want to do things cleanly and efficiently. In this case, the Sylph of Breath jumps the gun and acts before she knows all the facts, resulting in chaos and war.

She has good intentions, or maybe doesn't even intend to do anything at all but voice her own personal beliefs, but she behaves recklessly. The forces of Breath spin out of her control like she accidentally released an invasive species into the ecosystem. I think ultimately there's no single right answer as to which character is more likely to do this.

It depends on what would work best in the story. Consider, are there any particular themes you want to write about? The Bard's path here is one of dramatic irony, overestimating one's own ability, and consequences of getting involved with other people's problems.

The Sylph's path is about small actions with big consequences down the line, paving the road to hell with good intentions, and in a sense failing to "put your own oxygen mask on first" -- trying to help others but falling through due to lack of foresight.

They are similar, and the ultimate outcome is the same, but which path is best depends on the structure of the rest of the plot. For whichever character you don't pick for this role, consider what else they can do that's of equal importance to the narrative.

If you find that either one doesn't have any other opportunities to catalyse a major story beat like this, I would suggest giving them this one, and letting the other have the spotlight somewhere else.

[fnf-beyond]

Hello and welcome to my first au I ever came up with in the FNF fandom!

Here are some things regarding names to keep in mind for this au;

Boyfriend’s name in this is Blue

Girlfriend’s name in this is Sophia

BB, from the VS Big Brother mod, is named Navy in this.

Blue’s mother is named Indigo in this.

Spirit’s human name was Sebastian.

Corrupted Blue when he just kinda… shows up, when we get to that arc, is referred to as C.

Server for au!!

The rough timeline for this au, without spoiling, is as follows:

1. A written version of the original game, that fits with this au (no singing or beep boops for the entire story- tho Blue does ‘beep’ when startled).

2. Corruption era, starting off extremely similar to PhantomFear’s mod, before it diverts into my own version of the story after Nexus Pico.

3. A bit of… interesting things regarding the Corruption Era

4. World hopping, will not elaborate. (4.5 is scrapped, as it no longer works. World hopping also might get scrapped)

5. Wrapping up the story with some lore “explaining.”

6. (Not entirely sure about keeping this one). Elaborating on stuff that revolves heavily around the demons of this world, and some past stuff that happened pre-story.

7. Technically not an arc, but any mini stories I feel like adding over time, and some other things like- wrapping up other character’s personal problems that I didn’t get to in the main story.

I will plan on updating this story with at least two chapters per month. I can’t promise any more than that, as writers block hits hard and fast, and I can’t control it. (Plus also I have work and college all week, with only one day off normally).

Here are some tags you can use to tag any fanart you make!

Some of the more generic tags you can use are #fnf au, or #fnf corruption au, paired with any of the fanart tags you see fit to use.

A specific one you can use to really single it out (which I will also add to every canon thing for this au after I post this) is #Star’s FNF au, or #Star’s corruption au!

#au things, #fnf au thoughts, is a tag I use for rants about this au.

#chaos quartet things, is for any posts regarding Spirit, C, Soul, and Blue in any degree, whether it be art, memes, or info dumps.

#trouble trio, is for any posts with Spirit, C, and Soul ONLY. Blue is not included in this.

Here is a link to the very start of the fic!

I hope you guys all enjoy your time here! I want this to be a safe space where we can just geek out over our little critters of characters and bounce ideas and headcanons off of each other without being judged!

(don’t be weird about any of it though, like no NSFW stuff. That stuff can make literally anyone uncomfy, so don’t. This isn’t the place for your… fantasies.)

[deramin2]

Bell's Hells as imposters:

Chetney

Travis would have so much fun. Chetney is always a bit of a wild card and Travis said on 4-Sided Dive that he loves to play by listening to his intrusive thoughts. This could be his ultimate form. Just sew chaos. Travis and Marisha have also recently come out of Candela Obscura dealing with a similar situation. I think they should get a turn at it.

Laudna

Absolutely juicy with their existing fears about Delilah. This is Laudna's nightmare scenario. She's so scared all the time about being untrustworthy but also desperately wants to be trusted and loved. Especially since one of her truths is that she doesn't know where she ends and Delilah begins. And Imogen's truth was that she's disgusted that Delilah is always watching them. (Don't unpack how you actively watch everyone else, Imogen, and took off the circlet deliberately to keep doing that.) Marisha would go absolutely ham with this. Sometimes a highly responsible woman who people rely on all the time just wants to go a little apeshit.

Fresh Cut Grass

Losing control and hurting their friends is something FCG has struggled with that's really fucked up their life and the lives of their (former) friends. They're scared that they can't be trusted, and they never can be. So this just plays right into their insecurities. What happens when their friends really can't trust them. Sam is really good at playing close to the chest. If FCG is the imposter, he's likely to sabotage them in subtle ways they won't recognize until it's too late. He may get things thrown at him (again), and he would enjoy it.

Fearne

Fearne is an agent of chaos on a good day. I think it will be very hard for the group to tell what side she's on no matter what. When she feels threatened she acts more in her own self-interest anyway. Especially when she doesn't know who else she can trust. I'm really looking forward to her either way. I think Ashley deserves to actively work against her friends, as a treat. Ashley didn't get a chance to fight the party as Yasha while she was at the table, so I think she deserves the opportunity.

Imogen

Let's be real, everyone is worried that with the moon stuff Imogen will turn on them. Either because she willingly sides with her mom in a desperate bid for approval, or because the pull of Predathos takes over. Bell's Hells are likely to be highly suspicious of her either way. Imogen's been under a lot of pressure for a while to prove she is still on their side. If she's the imposter she's likely to keep doing that, but also be working against them for real. I think Laura would have a lot of fun really leaning into this.

Imogen and Laudna being the two traitors together would be very fun because they're like 50% of each other's impulse control and it would be entertaining to see them against the world for real.

Orym

Orym is the person the group trusts the most, and who supports and believes in the goodness of the group the most. He also has contingency plans for everyone (hey Batman). I would love to see Orym get to totally snap without undermining the hope and aspiration built into the character. Plus Liam loves horror and fucked up stories and I think we'd get some phenomenal drama out of it. It would be fun to watch Orym hunt them for sport.

Ashton

Ashton probably trusts himself the least out of the group right now and his fuck-up is why they're here in the first place. They were told to their face that their friends don't trust them and that they seem in it for themselves. So I think it would be very entertaining to work through that by leaning all the way into it. Taliesin has fought the party before and it was very fun. *Slaps Ashton's back* This genasi can fit so much angst in him.

Conclusion

Everyone at the table would have a really fun time getting to work against their friends in a safe controlled environment. This is Bell's Hell's worst fear that they've been working very hard to try and prevent. They're scared of each of them turning for different reasons. This is definitely a hag's challenge. This will be so much juicy drama and angst for Nana Mori to feed off of. Whoever pulls the traitor cards is going to be a fun combo. This might break them, but hopefully it will also build them back up.

They're so afraid they can only save the world if all of them are on board and are terrified of failure. This actually lets them test it with lower stakes.

Maybe? We don't actually know what the penalty for failure is because FCG willingly had his memory of the deal erased. They haven't failed an exercise yet. So it could be that nothing happens. Or it could be that if they win all three challenges, she messes with time in exactly the way they want. But if they fail she works against them in a way that makes it more dramatic for her. Is she more a hag with a certain nature, or is she Fearne's grandmother with will protect her from all harm? We'll find out!

[feste-de-jester]

🃏 ⤷ Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead (1966) by Tom Stoppard

CW: existentialism, death

A Brief Summary: Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead is a tragicomedy first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1966, which follows the antics of Hamlet's background characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The play is very much focused on the meaning of life and death, existentialism, what is real and what is not, and the concept of chance as the audience follows through the seemingly odd conversations and actions of this pair of characters during their off-stage time during the story of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

The Certainty Of Death: Stoppard immediately begins the play by establishing how uncertain the world is that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are based in the coin-flipping game, in which Rosencrantz flips heads consecutively ninety-two times, throwing all regular laws of physics and existence out the window. Over the course of the play, the pair come to discover that death is the only certainty in life - that no matter what one does with one's life, or how different one's life is from someone else's, everyone is heading for the same inevitable end. Guildenstern, in Act 3, notes a particularly useful metaphor to illustrate this:

ROS: We might as well be dead. Do you think death could possibly be a boat? GUIL: No, no, no... Death is... not. Death isn't. You take my meaning. Death is the ultimate negative. Not-being. You can't not-be on a boat. ROS: I've frequently not been on boats. GUIL: No, no, no - what you've been is not on boats. [Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, Act Three]

Ultimately, what he is explaining, is that life is very similar to a boat-ride in the way that a person can do whatever they like whilst on the boat, but cannot control the destination, nor stop it.

Lack Of Agency: In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are merely background characters, appearing in the text as they are summoned and disappearing as they are killed. Stoppard explores this concept thoroughly in his own text, opening up this idea of how little agency the characters in a play have. Their actions, their fates, and their lives are written out by the author, and with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern somewhat recognising this, it creates an invasive world in which nothing goes to plan for them. The world in which they are placed is written out to conflict them with chaos and lack of understanding, and then to rival against them by putting them to death, controlling how long their existence is due to last. Audiences further see this with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern not knowing how to pass the time outside of the structured scenes of Hamlet other than playing games. They begin the play by betting on coin-flipping, and they later decide to play a game of questions. The disorder that Stoppard creates is fuelled by this lack of structure and how the characters don't know what to do with it.

Identity: Many viewers of Hamlet can agree on how similar Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are as characters, to the point where they can hardly be deciphered from each other unless it is being put down to actors or costume. Whilst Stoppard continues this idea (building on this concept of uncertainty and chaos) by continuously making the characters recognise their own lack of awareness in their identity, in which they mistake each other for the wrong name, making them seem like the same entity in how they are so closely bonded, he also explores the characters and makes them more personified. Audiences could identify Guildenstern as a philosophical person, questioning why the chaos is ensued upon them, why they are in the middle of the situation that they are in, questioning life, death and everything in between. He gets annoyed when he simply cannot grasp the vastness of it. Rosencrantz, on the other hand, is much the opposite in some ways. He is more passive to these ideas, but is often distressed and almost panicked when he doesn't understand his or his friend's purpose in the story.

ROS: My name is Guildenstern, and this is Rosencrantz. (GUIL confers briefly with him.) (Without embarrassment) I'm sorry - his name's Guildenstern, and I'm Rosencrantz. [Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, Act One]

GUIL: What are you feeling? ROS: A leg. Yes, it feels like my leg. GUIL: How does it feel? ROS: Dead. GUIL: Dead? ROS: (Panic) I can't feel a thing! GUIL: Give it a pinch! (Immediately he yelps.) ROS: Sorry. GUIL: Well, that's cleared that up. [Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, Act Three]

Useful Links: - CliffNotes Page (extremely helpful when researching the play!) - 'Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead' (1990 film) - 'Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead' (2021 BBC Sounds audio production) currently not available (see below)

———————⋆˚｡🎭｡˚⋆———————

Hi! I was recently researching this play for my classes and found that I really loved it, so I thought I'd share it here! It's such a brilliantly written text, and I highly recommend reading/watching/listening to it because it is astoundingly clever.

A quick note about the BBC Sounds production I've linked - if you are currently a UK student and have access to Box Of Broadcasts through your institution, the audio production is available in two parts on there. Highly recommend it if you can access it! :)

Thank you for having a read!

🃏 ⤷ Maya (they/he)

[messrsbyler]

you have unlocked a specific brand of nerd in me by posting about avatar and stranger things, and a couple weeks ago i went on a trip with my best friend and we discussed this in depth so. now i'm here to word vomit my headcanons into your asks bestie. buckle up.

el: avatar, with her native element being water. i just feel like el is a very adaptable person (for the fact that she has been forced to be that way), but also very rooted in her love for her friends and her community (which is so water tribe ok)

will (and jonathan): air simply because will gives me SUCH aang vibes but also for reasons i will discuss further down

mike (and nancy): fire. no explanation needed.

max: earth (or fire bc tbh i can see both), but i was thinking about uncle iroh's quote about the earth kingdom/earthbenders and how he describes them as "diverse and strong" and also "persistent and enduring" and idk that gives me max vibes. also okay imagine a stranger things/avatar redux where max does lose her sight BUT THEN SHE LITERALLY CAN BE LIKE TOPH DUDE.

lucas (and erica): okay truthfully, i can put lucas into a A LOT of these (literally all of them but air lol), but when i was thinking about it, i ultimately went with water, in part because no one else in the party was water. but also, again iroh's quote about the water tribes "They have a sense of community and love that holds them together through anything" is giving me lucas vibes (particularly s4 lucas)

dustin: alright, don't hate me for this one, but i think dustin is a nonbender. dustin is INCREDIBLY sokka coded, and imagining some kind of ST/avatar world? steve is also a nonbender, and these two bond over it. steve helps dustin to find his value outside of the fact that he doesn't have bending, and it really helps dustin grow his confidence. (also something something something if eddie still dies in some kind of a world, imagine how crushed dustin would be realizing if he had bending maybe he could've saved eddie. shut up andi get out of here)

robin: AIRBENDING SHE IS SO AIRBENDER CODED NIC!!!!

joyce/hopper: both nonbenders who somehow got stuck surrounded by all these chaotic benders

brenner: waterbending. okay. so so so here are my more unhinged worldbuilding thoughts about this. i think it would be so Mean and so Neat for brenner to be the same native element as el, especially if it's the element where you can literally take away someone's control of themselves through bloodbending. there are so many horrors there, and i feel like brenner represents the darker, colder, and more calculating side of waterbending (if el and lucas and even erica represents the part that is love and community). also like. imagine el hating waterbending because of how she was forced to train with brenner? but then learning to heal from her trauma through her friendships later with lucas and the others? yeah ok.

vecna/henry: SIMILAR TO THE BRENNER/EL PARALLEL. i think it'd be so fun to have henry be an airbender (to have will/henry parallels), but also henry strikes me as a very zaheer coded character (idk if you've watched legend of korra, but the idea of chaos being the world's natural state and seeking freedom through chaos and disorder reminds me a lot of henry's monologue in S4E7). also like. the mindflayer particle manipulation could so very easily be like? an airbending trait? will, an airbender, gets hurt through some advanced form of airbending as a child and it traumatizes the hell out of him? but then he's able to reclaim his bending and use it to help defeat henry in the end? yeah yeah yeah do you see the vision?

other final thoughts in this huge ass ask that you didn't ask for but i sent anyways

lonnie is an airbender, and he's a shitty human being who is awful to jonathan (and will but less so since jonathan protects him) when teaching him how to bend. jonathan, because of this, hates bending and prefers to fight with other weapons when he has to, but robin and jonathan become friends eventually, and she helps him to reclaim this part of who he is. (please imagine robin, jonathan, will, and el all airgliding. thank you and goodnight.)

nancy is absolutely a prodigy when it comes to firebending, but mike is just kinda mediocre, which then feeds into his insecurities about literally dating the avatar and also being the party leader, because why should he get to lead if he's not even that good at bending? very azula/zuko coded wheeler relationship there except nancy doesn't wanna. ya know. kill mike and stuff.

i'm so sorry this was so long, like i said you unlocked a specific brand of nerd in me tonight LOL

yay! i love unlocking things! (btw i have to say your shoulder is really comfortable, maybe i'll stay here for a bit longer to be your personal demon who knows?)

okay yes YES! avatar el with her original bending being water makes so much sense based on her personality like you said and the great parallel between waterbending and how canon el uses baths to connect with the void and amplify her powers, so water is already greatly tied to her at least symbolically as her tool but ALSO as method used to torture her (i mean all the times she was put into sensory deprivation against her will), which ALSO TIES SO NICELY TO YOUR TAKE ON BRENNER ALSO BEING A WATERBENDER BC HE USES WATER TO CONTROL EL AND HE WOULD TOTALLY BE THE CORRUPTED KIND THAT USES BLOODBENDING ANDI YOUR BRAIN IS SO HUGE!! and el learning to find peace with her bending through her friendship with lucas is just so :((( also picture lucas teaching something brenner never taught el, how to user her bending to heal others and like that she learns that waterbending by itself isn't bad or good, it's how you yield your power that turns you bad or good same as how it happens with her powers in canon where they don't make her a monster just because she has them, it's how she uses that will define that and el has never been a monster, that is brenner. UGH I LOVE WATERBENDING EL IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE ANDI IM LOSING MY MIND!!!

"mike and nancy: fire. no explanation needed" LMAO yes those siblings can only be firebenders

i loooove firebender max so much, it also brings the possibilities that @bottomlessabyssposts mentioned how max mastered lighting first than mike and she kept zapping him until he had enough and had to teach himself how to master it as well though he would fail miserably because he is not gifted like you said, he is pretty mediocre in contrast with nancy who is powerful by nature. so max taking pity on mike and teaching him and also madwheeler being the same bending makes so much sense to me i adore the idea BUT ALSO YOU ARE RIGHT MAX EARTHBENDING MAKES SO MUCH SENSE BASED ON UNCLE IROH'S DESCRIPTION?? and yes i NEED HER TO BE LIKE TOPH BC SHE HAS THE SAME ENERGY LMAO and with earthbending she would learn to see through her feet and powers and UGH I LOVE THAT SO MUCH. also she would be a skilled metalbender because one day just like toph she was captured in a metal confinement and she lost her shit so while trying to scape by punching the cage she realized oh shit something is happening oh shit i can bend metal? neat.

me, with lucas: well he uses a slingshot to throw rocks so earthbending

meanwhile, andi with lucas: based on the deep meaning of the waterbenders and their sense of community and-

i am a buffoon, putting my buffoon hat on right now. that being said, lucas being what keeps the party together through his sense of community aligns so well with lucas. thinking about lucas always owning up to his mistakes, how he apologized to el in season one and said he had judged her wrong, how in season two he gave max a safe space to open up and when she needed reassurance he was right there to offer it, how in season three even when will says it doesn't matter anymore he still admits he was wrong and apologizes and how he is a supportive best friend to mike and his shenanigans, and in season four how lucas literally tricks the basketball team and runs back to the party to be with them and slowly becomes the anchor max needed so badly and I'LL CRY LUCAS I ADORE YOU SO MUCH HELP-

okay okay dustin for me could be an airbender because of his free spirit and how easily he adapts to new situations and new people like in s2 and then s3. but also him being a not bender makes so much sense? thinking how canon dustin is basically a mastermind and a crafter that can put together a long range radio while being on summer camp. so imagine that, yes, dustin isn't a bender and in a world of benders that's kinda a big deal and he could be self conscious about it but what if makes up for it with his trinkets and projects? he is no airbender but he crafted a set of wings with a string system that can be adjusted to the winds and keep him in the air just fine. he's no firebender, but he designed a flamethrower just fine. dustin being the crafter of the party makes my heart go woosh woosh because it's SO HIM (also dipping my feet into a different fandom/au but thinking how dustin and leo valdez are so similar in that sense and how dustin would totally be hephaestus' son OK GOING BACK TO OUR AVATAR PROGRAMMING!) AND YES steve also being a nonbender who is still so self confidence and he teaches dustin to be confident in his skills bc even when dustin is an amazing inventor he still feels like his lack of bending is still something he needs to fix so his inventions are to cover that insecurity but steve is like "no, dude! you are literally a tiny inventor, that's so cool? fuck bending, that's a gift some get and some who don't. but this? *holding up one of dustin's inventions* this was all you! no gift, just you and your mind. how is that not awesome?" and them bonding because it's a parallel of steve helping dustin be more confident in canon and i will cry no andi nooooo-

ROBIN AIRBENDER TRUTHER RIGHT HERE TOO SHE SIMPLY IS NOTHING TO ADD HERE just picture her annoying steve floating around upside down in a crossed leg position, hovering around him in circles while he tries to recover from the last girl that turned him down, but robin is there in his face, shaming gravity and going "dingus adds another point to the 'you suck' category'" LMAOOOO do you see this vision andi? *extends hands in alladin's 'do you trust me?' fashion*

LMAO HOPPER AND JOYCE BEING NONBENDERS IS SO-

hop: uh, honeyyyyy!

joyce: *from the other side of the house* yeah?

hop: some little shit named mike burned the wall again

(context of this: will flirted too shamelessly with mike and his face went poof! into a burning blush that also reflected on his hands producing fire without him noticing)

about henry, i watched korra until like half of book three or two? the one where the nonbenders learn how to shut down bender's powers but honestly i don't remember much. BUT through a quick google search i can say that YES TF? that zaheer dude alings with henry's ideology *shudders* I SEE THE VISION SO WELL! henry using a forbidden technique of airbending to hurt will and corrupt his bending and will learning how to bend again over the years, also just like brenner and el, henry representing the dark side of airbending and will the good side that goes back to the old airbenders and their ways to connect with their bending AND IT ALSO ADDS TO THE WHOLE bending isn't evil or good, it's just power that you decide how to use and yield AAAHH I LOVE THE VISION I LOVE YOUR BRAIN KUDOS KUDOS KUDOS!!!

NOOOO jonathan hating bending and creating weapons instead because lonnie always taught him bending was about controlling others and using their bending to that purpose but jonathan doesn't want to control others, he wants to be IN control and he can control the weapons he designs and builds (OMG HE WOULD ALSO BOND WITH DUSTIN LIKE THIS AND IT WOULD ALSO SHOW DUSTIN THAT THERE'S A NOT SO COOL/DARKER SIDE OF BENDING AND JONATHAN WOULD TELL HIM HOW DUSTIN IMAGINATION AND CLEVERNESS TO BUILD ALL HIS INVENTIONS IS WORTH SO MUCH MORE THAN BENDING AND AAAHHH), jonathan can be the creator of those weapons that end up to being at his mercy, instead of him being at his bending mercy by how lonnie taught him how to bend. but yes omg jonathan bonding with steve (stonathan my beloved, even if platonic i need more of those two PLEASE) and with robin who teaches him the fun side of airbending and the good side, the side that doesn't feel like a power that pretends to control others and control jonathan but instead a friend that always has your back. TEARS! will would also learn so much from robin (and not only about airbending ehem ehem wink wink you get me)

AND OH GOD THIS IS SO LONG ALREADY IM SORRY BUT TO TACKLE THAT LAST PART YES!!! nancy being a natural, powerful and a prodigy. something something this reflects how in canon nancy played the part of the perfect child lifting karen and ted's expectations on mike who then never met them because he is not nancy so by season two mike is punished for not dealing with his trauma the same way nancy has (or pretends she has to keep up this perfect child image to her parents), meaning quietly unlike mike who instead acts out and does things that clearly are a cry for help that karen and ted never attend to OK SORRY HAD TO SNEAK IN A BIT OF MY MIKE WHEELER ANALYSIS IN THERE BC ITS MY NATURE GOING BACK TO WHAT I WAS SAYING- nancy is a prodigy, mike isn't, he is mediocre at best, he has a hard time controlling his bending and being as powerful as nancy even though he is expected to and this transpires into his deeply rooted insecurity that then intensifies when he starts dating the avatar that was missing from the face of the earth and that mike one day stumbled upon because of dumb luck only, and also how he is the leader of the party but why? he isn't as powerful as the rest, he isn't the avatar or at the avatar's level, he is just mike and in good mike fashion he can't see his worth, so then will comes and lets mike know that yes, he is just mike and just mike is what keeps the party together, his leadership and heart because mike doesn't need to be anything besides just mike, because that's enough. AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH SCREAMING FOREVER!!!

you are sorry your ask was long? no no no, look what you did to me. i went full nerd mode on you and you are to blame, i need to say hey, it's all you in your head, you are the one who burned us down but it's not what you meant-

ok enough with the taylor swift random reference this is long enough already i need to stop typing NIC STOP TYPING RIGHT NOW

okay okay bye bye

[skylerskyhigh]

What ninpo powers would 2012 turtles get?

(Yes this is inspired by a song shush)

So I've been wondering about what kind of powers the 2012 team would get. It needs to be tied to their personalities so I'm gonna yeet this out there for you all to chew on. I might use it for the sequels.

Leonardo would probably be something tied to Speed and Energy. Basically, he's Sonic lol. He has shown to be very spiritual, and he has the "healing hands". He's also shown to be very fast, more than normal. If he has ninpo powers, it would expand on those two things. He can run faster than anyone, almost being a blur. He can also channel and expand energy, which I think he would use to heal or boost others.

Raphael would probably be similar to Rise!Raph. I think he would have Energy Constructs and Kinetic/Energy Rebound. Raph has been shown to be the fighter, and while he does defend his brothers, I think having the ability to produce slashes of pure energy to attack from afar would fit him.

For Energy Constructs, think of Shadow's "chaos bolts" or like Undyne or Chara from Glitchtale.

Probably not as big but you get the gist.

As for the Energy Rebound, I think it would look like Black Panther's suit where, any attacks he takes would be turned into energy that he can store and release in his next attack. It would be pretty effective for someone like Raph, who hits hard and is relentless.

Donatello is a bit of a tricky one. I don't want to make his Ninpo the same as Rise!Donnie. Cool, but there needs to be differences. So I've decided to make his powers be like... I don't have a name but Donnie would be able to take it pieces of garbage/scrap/items, just anything around him, and turn it into something new.

With his knowledge of engineering and chemistry, he can take, let's say, the scraps from a car, take it apart with his ninpo, and combine it all to make a new blaster. While he can't make stuff out of thin air, he can still make stuff. Maybe in the future he can change the molecular structure to do some amazing stuff. Why not add something about energy too. Maybe Technokenisis? He can transfer part of his ninpo into technology to either understand how it works, or control/take over it.

It's like Lego Movie logic plus Magneto's powers. Maybe Sombra from Overwatch.

Michelangelo is tricker. What would fit this wild card of a character? I thought about it for a bit and thought, why not? Let's make him able to bend reality, Dr Strange style.

Mikey can manipulate reality for a short amount of time, changing the environment to fit his endlessly creative mind. Turning the battlefield into his playing ground. His boundless energy would also transfer into his fighting, increasing his physical abilities.

Well! That's my take on what the 2012 Turtles possible ninpo powers! I might use it for my own fics but we shall see.