#what there IS an actual lore reason for is al asking

[skunkes]

i cant stop thinking about dis post

[desire-mona]

heard we were making house ocs and ive had a dingus floating around in my head since january so i FINALLY got around to actually making a proper ref sheet. i present my silliest

Dr. Nanette "Ninny" Amesbury :3

more under cut !

big warning lore n backstory n stuff is very bare bones and not all the way there cuz im #lazy

birthday is vague but lets go with ~35 circa s2

if i had a nickel for every oc i had who had absent parents and was raised catholic by their grandparents, id have two nickels. unintentional that it happened twice i sorta forgor the other one's lore for a bit and now its stuck so ummmmm sorry laney. wont be going into childhood bc i havent come up w that yet and honestly i dont care to!!! yada yada yada catholic guilt but not in the chase way bc she hasnt left the church n likely never will

ummmm relationship chart + template

lets just quick go over some relationship highlights cuz some are def more important than others

wilson: mr president a 4th ex wife has hit the james wilson. when were they married? ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 😁

but they were married for like. 3 years? YES it ended bc he cheated but nin also wasn't the best either her ass was literally never ever there she was ALWAYS at work (like more than normal doctor amounts of at work - only came home to sleep and even that was only 4x a week(also worked at a different hospital))

tw suicide for next part bee tee dub

a big part of the beginning of their relationship was (big surprise) wilson's attraction to what he THOUGHT was neediness but was literally just nin wanting (and trying) to kill herself lol. once the magic of all that went away (perceived independence thats rly just #bottling shit up) he was just kinda like oh :/ its not cool to have a mentally ill wife anymore :/ i was expecting ramona flowers :/ or whatever. so infidelity impact font, hijinks and moving away for [amount] years ensue before nin being hired at ppth as the head of pediatrics. brief fwb situation w wilson Again b4 she finds out shes a lesbian at the end of like. s2.

oh yeah she also tries to kill herself again once she figures it out (see catholic guilt mention) but its cool she lives

cuddy: GAAAAAYYYYY GAAAAYYYYYYY GAY!!!!! DR AMESBURY WANTS TO FUCK THIS WOMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its one sided tho boooooo cuddys briefly like Wait ? just b4 nin moves away at the end of s6 roughly but shes already. thats done its not happening.

kutner: dont even fucking talk to me. i dont wanna talk about it. im gonna talk about it.

so kutner (like the slut that he is lowkey but society isnt ready for that) asks nin out just after he gets hired and shes like ermmmmmmmmmm! but sensing his loser aura she (still deeply closeted) is like hey haha i dont swing that way sorry !!!!!!! but its ok they become super mega best friends and get nerdy together

i like to think they listen to weird al together OH YEAH NINS THE BIGGEST WEIRD AL YANKOVIC FAN IN NEW JERSEY

and then nothing bad happens!

if youve seen this post about the little writing things kutner got after he croaked then hooray here's nanettes

they make me so fucking upset.

anyway as i stated above nin moves away after s6 for a bunch of reasons. 1) thanks obama 2) a big part of what contributed to her suicidal ideations n such was the fact that deep down she didnt ACTUALLY know what she wanted to do w her life. u may be like she doesnt. want to be a doctor ? NO she doesnt thats just what she did to get money to eventually do what she wants. whatever that is. something something feeling lost in life and unable to reach a goal when u dont even know what the goal is something something. also persistent depressive disorder but like spoon in kitchen.

idk what shes gonna end up doing after she moves but id imagine she shows up for house's funeral so i cant just be like lol nobody gets to know! im thinking painter but idk IDK guys her lore is ROUGH

thats it if u have questions ill answer thanks

[threehuskiesinatrenchcoat]

ask and ye shall receive. the fight is homoerotic i promise

lore under the cut

basic outline:

alejandro isn’t a fan of enhancements but had to get stuff that military absolutely demanded + to keep up. leads one of the rare units that still try to do what’s right and not what’s most profitable. but they have a reputation and they do their job, so they don’t get much shit for it from any higher-ups. alejandro had to refuse offers laced with underlying threats more than once tho.

shadow company soldiers mostly get hired by corporations (elite stuff), enough money and reputation to afford expensive and exclusive stuff. also the reason their work is mostly borderline illegal and unethical jobs. hard to stay ethical when you work for corpos. they’re not pushed to go beyond what the field requires in terms of cyberware but most do anyways.

alejandro has a firm belief that the more complicated something is, the more it's prone to malfunctioning (which is not wrong). he's confident in something that he's used to and which reliably works. he thinks that whatever base required implants he has is enough, rarely upgrades them, and relies more on rigorous training. has more of a brute force head-on fighting style.

graves is on the opposite side of the spectrum, he takes and embraces the risk for the high reward. he won't even consider something objectively obsolete. relies on stealth, speed and quickhacks. can keep up in close range but prefers to keep his distance. one can probably say he’s overreliant on his cyberware.

tbh they're kinda like... a brick nokia and a flagship samsung. one is old, can only do basic functions, but very reliably, and probably will punch through a concrete wall and keep working. the other can basically do whatever your heart desires, but be ready for it to get turned into nothing but a pretty accessory with a bad update.

graves really wants a fun fight out of him, which is why he kind of throws ideas and friendly advice at him while they’re still on the same side, knowing what’s to come. see, graves is arrogant and overconfident in his abilities, but so is alejandro, and he never fought someone fully decked-out with expensive high-end stuff head on, he will lose if he’s not careful. so graves goes easy on him the first time they fight, as a little training session of sorts. next time he won’t, tho, so it’s on alejandro to learn from that and find weaknesses to exploit. and by all means, he might be arorgant at first, but he’s not stupid. he will.

assorted ideas:

- graves tries to hack ale to get the idea of what he’s working with and he manages to do it so fast he’s literally baffled and drags him to get better stuff. bitch you live like this

- makes him punch himself before he does tho. just to prove a point.

- their fighting styles are each other’s weaknesses

- the fact that graves is usually stealthy and just darts around to find an opening for a good hit allows him to ramble endlessly which makes ale so mad

- graves absolutely flirts with ale when they fight (50% to stall for time by shocking him 50% because he actually has a crush)

[lesbiansforboromir]

Just saw your posts abt the return to Moria songs - was about to ask if you'd got your hands on the game yet! After the trainwreck of the gollum game I'm rlly interested in your opinions/thoughts on return to Moria, lore wise and mechanically as a game, the trailers always looked great & development sounded like it was going well but since it came out I've mostly been seeing poor reviews. What's the lesbiansforboromir verdict so far?

RTM?? HAS?? POOR REVIEWS?? I'll- m. I suppose. People are entitled to be wrong. Anyway well I fucking love this game.

Honestly I dont want to talk about it as a game like the gameplay is fun, I like exploring and mining and making my little bases with all my friends okay, do you want to be a dwarf and do dwarf things in The Dwarf Place with 7 of your little dwarf friends?? Yes?? Good! The game is literally only 31£ which in comparison to most titles that come out these days is so emminently affordable I was honestly shocked I could get it.

I suppose to be clear I was a beta tester for this game like I've been rooting for it for ages so I guess I was primed to enjoy it but!! Like!! What I actually want to talk about is Return to Moria as a piece of art earnestly engaging in dwarven spirituality and narrative as something moving and poignant in and of itself. The mood and narrative of the game is built more on the experience of playing the game than any story or dialogue.

You have come from any corner of dwarvendom, at Gimli's calling, to reclaim Khazad-dum after Sauron's destruction. For some reason though, the doors both east and west are blocked, the pass code no longer works. In attempting to mine through there is an accident and you fall through the floor into Moria, alone.

Now, I would posit that there are two very different games within this game. On the one hand, you can play with friends. You fell through with a few other dwarves and after finding each other you begin to figure out what to do. You deligate tasks of resource collecting and exploration and base building, someone will cook breakfast for the group in the morning for you to all have together, when you mine together your voices join up into lovely shanty-like melodies and at the end of a hard day or some victory you have a mug of ale together and sing around a fire. If you fall, there is someone to pick you up and the burden of the shadow is born by all, it feels right. You can also distribute different 'masterworks' between all of you, so you are never in the dark, you can always mine swiftly through obstacles and someone can offer you a restorative if you need one. The feeling is so right, like this is simply how dwarves always should be, and as you more rapidly clear rubble and repair the world around you the sense of togetherness and reclaiming a home are very powerful. You still long for Durin's return, you sing his song together each time you mend his statues (all my group instinctively waited for everyone to be gathered before mending any of Durin's statues) but you also feel a part of the great dwarven whole and it makes the game a kind of hopeful determined experience. Like yes the damage of the past is great, and the future is uncertain, you have no guiding light. But you do, you have each other, the dwarves will endure and bring their own light to dark places once again. Together.

But if you are playing alone? It is an entirely different experience. And the singing is really the clearest expression of that difference. Whereas with friends your voice will be raised with your fellows and produce really pleasant melodies, alone there is only you. It seems obvious, but there is something about being on your own, mining an iron vein because you need weapons and armour to defend yourself against the orcs that you can see and hear watching you from the darkness, waiting to strike, and you begin to sing, just to yourself, in a voice that is often not particularly beautiful, but you have to do something just to make yourself feel less alone, to calm your own nerves when you feel like a wolf could silently creep up behind you and attack at any moment (a real threat that happens a great deal during solo-play). It is not joyful anymore, it is desperate, you always start off by humming as though you need to psych yourself up to actually raising your voice in the hollow halls. You are always running out of space in your inventory, one dwarf alone cannot carry everything needed to set up safe havens everywhere you want, and as for masterworks? You have to choose between easy light and a raft of other far more useful things like a cask of miruvor, an unbreakable shield, a pickaxe that cuts your mining time in half! You will still choose the light in the end. Where all the leftover dilapidated bases you find felt cosy with friends, now they feel empty, too much space for just one dwarf. You drink and dance alone now, at the end of a weary day, trying to buoy yourself into enduring another one tomorrow, there is no one to celebrate successes or commiserate failures with. And it FEELS wrong, a dwarf alone in here feels wrong, that community you want to turn too for guidance isn't there, and neither is Durin. The sensation that King Thorin Stonehelm III was right, that you should have waited for Durin's return before trying to restory Khazad-dum, is most powerful in soloplay.

The only time you feel that togetherness, that you dont feel alone, is when you mend one of Durin's statues. Whilst you start off singing the song of durin alone, as you continue other voices join you in an uplifting veneration that every dwarf knows. It's the only time in solo-play that you will hear more voices than just your own. It's like a way to connect to the great whole that is the dwarven people, that you are so cut off from right now but that is never wholly gone, as Durin is also never wholly gone. He is the conduit that connects every dwarf in the world and the longing for him is far more potent in playthroughs where he is the only dwarf you can turn too. Despair is a literal mechanic in the game that will slowly sap your life away if you spend too much time alone in the dark.

So a solo experience of the game more emphasises this fear of the future, fear of the unknown, of walking alone into a world that is dark and dangerous and full of pain and loss. You still have victories, but it is gruelling and each one feels more miraculous.

So that's my take, also obligatory mention of the coolest fucking multiplayer gaming moment of my life where me and three friends walked the pilgrim's road of Durin, found the source of the Kibil-nala where a great monument is built as shrine to Durin's passage, restored it and sang to it together (all of us deathly silent in voice chat just to listen) and the song ending just before we were attacked by a horde of orcs rushing into the chamber whereupon us FFFUCKING NERD ASS BITCHES turned around yelling (in our real human voices, not discussed beforehand) 'Baruk Khazad' and 'Khazad ai-menu' with our weapons raised and defeated the orcs at the threshold LIKE... Theoden screaming 'death' levels of adhrenaline and emotional investment I tell you.

Anyway I have to go now, LOTRO's Umbar update finally downloaded ciao

[floralcrematorium]

what are the main bands in your au rn?

Ty for the ask!!!

so we've gottttt

• Multifacet - The main band, our protagonists. Alfred is the lead singer and guitar player, Matthew is on bass, and Michèle is the drummer who provides backing vocals! Alfred and Matthew are half brothers, related through their mom. Alfred comes to live with his mom's family after his father. uh. dies. and he and Matthew bond over music! Michèle is their next door neighbor, but she and Matthew have been close since they were Very Young. At the start of the AU, when they first get discovered, Al is 23 while Michèle and Mattie are both 20! If I have to assign them a genre, it's pop punk ala 2000s Fall Out Boy

• BeNeLux - Wow, such an original name. Honestly, I can't see anything else working as a name for them, lol. Emma is their lead singer and she originally formed the band with her two brothers, Louis on bass (though I can see him on keyboard, too) and Jan on drums. For some reason, Ludwig is also a part of their band! He's kinda why they were able to get a legit manager - Lud's older brother, Gilbert, who is an industry veteran. Lud is a guitar player! They're THE rival band >:)

• A•S•E•A•N - Another Very Original Name TM. See the funny thing is, in this AU, nobody knows what their name stands for. It's an acronym, but it's a secret (they're probably a band who has fun Lore). I,,, really need human names for the group other than for Miss Vietnam. Anyway - Piri is vocalist, Thailand is rhythm guitar, Indonesia bassist, Malaysia is the drummer, and Liên is their keyboardist (ty to @hoasens for the instrument placements beyond Piri and Vivi). Singapore is actually their manager, despite being younger than the rest of them, and he's actually pretty damn good at it! Especially when it comes to dealing with their shenanigans... The band's founding members are Piri and Liên. They're all very close and have some matching tattoos! And by matching I mean done in a similar style, but the tattoos on each of them are what their national flowers are :)c. Vivi's lotus flower is on the back of her neck and Piri's sampaguita is proooobably on his wrist? They're also a rival to MultiFacet, but in more of a friendly way? Really I just want an excuse to think abt SEAtalia, get to know them better, and give them the screentime they so desperately deserve

• Nata - Natalya (or Natallia, unsure how I want to spell her name atm!), is technically a solo artist, but she's got a band that plays with her, though the members rotate. Despite being goth adjacent, she's rather mainstream and is a well known name. If I had to describe her voice/performance style, Nat in this AU is like if you mix Amy Lee, Mitski, Kate Bush, Siouxie Sioux, and mayyyybe Ethel Cain or Florence Welch together. She's a bit ethereal and brooding. Her style is rather eccentric

There are other bands, but I'm unsure how relevant they are to the plot or I've just thought about them in the context of a band AU for funsies!

[linkspooky]

What are your thoughts on the Al ghuls?

My second favorite dysfunctional family (behind Slade Wilson, his ex-wife, his butler, his children and Terra which I collectively call the DeathFam). The Al Ghuls specifically Ra's Al Ghul and Talia are my favorite batman villains, sometimes anti-villain, and in Talia's case sometimes Anti-Hero (My Girl's got range.) Since you asked my thoughts I will try to give them as organized as possible but warning there are a lot.

1. On The League in General

The League, the Lazarus Pits, and the mythology surrounding them is one of the coolest parts of DC Lore in general. In my opinion the best portrayals of the league are when they are one hundred percent genuine about their ideals. One joke I like to make is that Poison Ivy and Ra's are both environmentalists, but unlike Poison Ivy R'as actually has a plan and resources. Ra's love for the world and his desire to save it is at the core of his character, and the reason he will not let himself die, or let go in any real way because his work is not done.

One aspect I do not like about the league is that they are supposed to be antagonists, but I wish Ra's plan was more developed than "kill a whole bunch of people so the resources can be split amongst the survivors." That's such a disagreeable plan Ra's point to make about how the whole planet is dying and nothing superheroes do is really fixing that problem is kind of lost. It's also as dumb as movie Thanos idea to snap and destroy half the life in the universe. If I were to tweak it, I would make Ra's agenda more in line of a communist revolution. That is get rid of the capitalistic systems that drive the destruction of earth's natural resources for endless production and profit. That change would make some of the leagues motivations and methods much more sympathetic.

The league would still be villains however, because even if in this tweaked versions their methods are understandable they're still a big huge cult. Which is an aspect that a lot of fans and sometimes comic writers seem to miss. In the microcosm (Ra's personal family) and the macrocosm (the whole league) the league is a cult centered entirely around Ra's ego, his ideals, his wishes. Even if you can sympathize with their ideas of revolution and go "Hey, that might work" the League is still going about it the wrong way because they constantly prey upon vulnerable minors and people on the edge of society and then raise them up into loyal pledges to a cause. A lot of real life fringe groups do this too. In this version the league recruits members because it's easier this way, which is in line with Ra's character. The whole conflict with Ra's is that he just will not let go of control, he talks about how he wants an heir to take over everything but that's never going to happen because he won't even let himself die. You could fix this too, take the league out of Ra's hands, reform it, and it could be a more genuine force for good. So yeah, my take is less the league isn't good because they assassinate politicians and have more revolutionary ideals, but rather the league is bad because they regularly groom minors.

2. Ra’s Al Ghul

Here is a comic panel of Daphne from Scooby Doo sword fighting Ra’s Al Ghul, mostly because I love it. 

Ra’s is THE Batman villain for me. If the Joker represents Batman’s completely anti-thesis, then Ra’s is Bruce, all of his ideals, his nobility, taken to their most logical extreme. He’s the definition of the noble demon. If you want to ready story arcs that I think show off Ra’s at his best, there’s the “Tower of God” storyline where Ra’s finds all of Batman’s measures against the Justice League he prepared in case any of them turned evil and then decides to use them himself. Then there is “Injustice 2″ which is one of the better depictions of Ra’s where he is at his most genuine to his goal of environmentalism and even at points sits down at the table to talk with the superheroes in a more peaceful manor on how they could be doing better. 

If the Tower of God storyline did not explain it to you, Ra’s reflects Bruce in good aspects and bad ones. The same relentless dedication that Bruce has to saving Gotham, Ra’s applies to the whole world. Ra’s also like other batman villains shows how a generally positive trait like Bruce’s insane levels of dedication can easily turn into a flaw. Bruce has no powers just his martial arts training, but just will not give up under any circumstances. Ra’s determination gets him into a horrible cycle of corrupting himself worse and worse over the years both due to overuse of the pits and also frustration at a world that refuses to change, and also shows in his inability to surrender power in any real way. 

The way Ra’s treats his direct family, and the league as a whole is also a dark mirror to Batman and the Bat Family. Now, I don’t believe that Bruce is raising up hero sidekicks as child soldiers... Suspension of disbelief people! However,  Ra’s genuinely does treat all of his children as tools for his agenda. As much as he has the capacity to love them, their needs and desires will always come second to his use for them. Ra’s is undeniably a groomer not in the sexual sense but in the sense he is using his position of power raising up and manipulating these minors to shape them into what he wants them to be. 

Ra’s also represents Bruce’s paranoia and the times where he abuses his position as patriarch of a family to manipulate his kids lives. Ra’s is undeniably the one who holds the most power in the Al Ghul family, and he uses that imbalance in power entirely to his own ends. What he creates is a cycle of generational abuse that lasts all the way until Damian.  Ra’s also represents Bruce’s sometimes toxic ideas of masculinity turned up to 11. My man is a 400 year old misogynist. He is obsessed with ideas like divine birthright, dynasty, legacy as shown by the way he once again treats his children. His oldest son is disqualified for being albino and therefore having a defect, Nyssa and Talia are disqualified for being born women. The fact that Bruce represents his ideal heir and he is a man with money and power the peak of what society considers is masculinity is you know, telling of his opinions towards gender. Bruce and Ra’s are both carriers of family legacies, who devote all of their money and power to their genuinely good goals, but Ra’s seems to believe that might makes right, the money, resources and bloodline he has makes him inherently better or even chosen. Which cycles into the reason why he will never let go of said power. 

3. Talia Al Ghul 

Talia is my favorite member of the family, she is also hardest to talk about because she suffers from two things number one being wildly different depending on the writer, and two orientalism. Now I won’t discuss this much not because I don’t think it’s important but because I’m not qualified to talk on such subjects and a practicer of the “stay in your own lane” philosophy. The orientalism in Talia’s character is undeniably there, and also a part of a pattern in DC where female brown mothers are regularly villainized to make their white fathers look better. I think Grant Morrison’s take on Talia is inherent dehumanizing of her and kind of reducing her to a plot object, and also a deviation from the original ideas her character was meant to represent. I think also Talia has a habit of being reduced to her relationships to the men in her life rather than her own person with you know thoughts and feelings. Women have those. The league also as a whole is orientalist as a concept there’s really no getting away from that. 

Just as an example of how Talia and Damian’s relationship could be better depicted than it currently is in comics. There’s a storyline in the fourth season of Young Justice that I really like (even though I don’t like the cartoon that much) which explores the family dynamic between Cheshire, Roy and Lian. Cheshire attempted to stay with Roy to raise Lian for awhile, until she went back to the lifestyle and could not give it up. Her sister Artemis eventually goes after her and it’s revealed that Cheshire left Lian with Roy not because she chose being an assasin over her but Cheshire believes she is inherently bad and harmful person and has too much in common with her abusive father and if she is in that kid’s life she will only hurt them. It also ends on a hopeful note that if Cheshire puts the work in on becoming a more emotionally healthy version of herself she could return to that household. 

Now that that disclaimer is out of the way (please don’t yell at me for this I love Talia. If you want to discuss it further please use my askbox, I don’t like it when people reblog my posts to argue with me.) The most interesting aspect of the Demon’s Head is the generational abuse storyline. There’s no two ways about it, Talia repeats the cycle with Damian. That’s what makes abuse generational. Once again the whole storyline from conception of Talia having a secret love child with Bruce is kind of orientalist but you have to work with the plotline you got. At least until somebody retcons it. 

Now I am going to go on a long diatribe on how Talia repeating a cycle of abuse that starts with Ra’s does not make her an inherently bad person. This is where I am qualified to talk because I’ve done a lot of research into this subject! Talia grew up in a cult. Not only that she was the direct daughter of the cult’s leader. In the microcosm Ra’s family is what you would call a Narcisstic Family Structure: a family centered around one person’s individual needs where the other’s needs go underlooked. In the macrocosm it’s a goddamn cult. 

People view members of cults as either stupid, or immoral for joining because they imagine it could never happen to them, but the way cults work is by preying on vulnerabilities every single person has. 

No one joins a cult voluntarily; they are recruited into it. There is lack of informed consent. Everyone has vulnerabilities. Possible situational vulnerabilities include illness, the death of a loved one, breakup of an important relationship, loss of a job, or moving to another city, state or country. [x]

Haruki Murakami wrote a book named “Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche.” It is a non-fiction book containing several interviews of victims in the aftermath of the Saren Gas Attacks. This is a real life event where the Aum Shinrikyo Cult convinced its members to release Saren gas in several subway trains. While the attack was viewed by society as an act of fringe extremists, the cult was made up of members who were educated people, doctors, lawyers, who were still somehow convinced this was a good idea. 

The interviews highlight many intriguing aspects of the Japanese psyche. Work was a high, if not central, priority for most of the interviewees. Isolation, individualism, and lack of communication were also strong themes which were common throughout many accounts of the attacks. Many of the interviewees expressed disillusionment with the materialism in Japanese society and the sensationalistic media, as well as the inefficiency of the emergency response system in dealing with the attack.

The book also includes Murakami's personal essay on the attacks, "Blind Nightmare: Where Are We Japanese Going?" In this essay, he criticizes the failure of the Japanese to learn from the attacks, preferring to dismiss it as the extreme act by a group of lunatics rather than analyze the true causes and prevent similar events from occurring in the future.

I bring this up once again to reinforce the idea that anyone can be preyed upon by a cult, and Talia was literally born into that environment. Clts also operate with a specific method of cutting off their members from the outside world to cut off their ability to leave (BITE: Behavior Control, Information Control, Thought Control, Emotional Control). Talia grew up in an environment where most likely all her social interactions and her contact with the outside world was controlled by Ra’s and only Ra’s because in most versions her mother dies early in her life usually in some horrific way. 

That’s not even getting to the kind of parent that Ra’s is. He is always a really outwardly loving parent to Talia, but that love comes with a big huge asterisk. Ra’s loves his children until they either have a defect, or they decide to be someone other than what he wants them to be, at which point he either cuts them off, or relies on emotional manipulation to regain control. Talia’s only parental figure was both extremely loving, but made it clear that love was conditional. Even if Talia tries to live up to Ra’s expectations of her and be what he wants her to be, she’s immediately disqualified from actually taking on the mantle she was groomed for her entire life by being a woman. Even the original concept of Talia’s character who is much more anti-hero than anti-villain chooses her father over Bruce at times because Ra’s conditional love is what she knows, whereas Bruce’s love for her is something she does not understand fully even if she desires it. 

I’m going to bring up my favorite comic book character Terra here. Terra was also a character who her creators have said several disrespectful things about and she was not created by the best of intentions. However, Terra is a unique character because she is one of the few grooming and CSA victims who is allowed to be downright unlikable, to show her trauma in what are considered to be traditionally bad ways. She’s a character with flaws and agency and stuff. Terra represents a specific kind of fifteen year old kid who usually does not get help and adults believe is a lost cause. Characters who carry Terra’s trauma either magically get over it, or they are just reduced to weak, pitiful shells. I’d rather have Terra be the mess she is than either of those things. It’s honest to a reality that certain people face, and also shows victims who would not normally get sympathy. 

I just went to great length to establish the horror of Talia’s upbringings so she’d undeniably be affected by it. I won’t even mention what kind of mother Talia is because wildly depends on the author, but the decision to raise Damian in that cult rather than try to leave is her perpetuating the cycle. This is something that happens in real life too, parents who are preyed upon by cults will either drag their kids into it, or raise them up in that same life when they are young and vulnerable. It’s undeniably something she did to Damian and deserves to be called out on. 

If Talia shares Ra’s nobility and idealism she also reflects his bad qualities as well, his belief in special people, of causes that succeed individuals, of noble purposes. Especially since these are toxic ideas that Ra’s has essentially forced onto her. I don’t even think Talia is past the point of redemption or incapable of learning to be a better mother, because while abuse is a chain it’s also a chain that can be broken. 

4. Damian Wayne / Al-Ghul

To begin with I don’t think Bruce is a good parent to Damian, and Talia is a bad one. They both kind of fail Damian in equal and totally different ways. I don’t believe Robin is a child soldier, but right away making Damian Robin is kind of a mistake because Bruce makes him Robin to try to fix some perceived flaw from being raised by the League, when really Damian is more or less just a ten year old kid reacting how any ten year old kid would if they were groomed their entire life and had that kind of destiny practically forced upon them. 

The difference between Talia and Damian is of course, Damian got out of there which gives him a unique opportunity that Talia didn’t to make connections outside of the League and to the outside world and therefore learn to think in different ways then how he was raised to think. Damian represents the chance to break the cycle of generational abuse passed down from grandfather, to mother, to son. 

Because like I said Damian reserves the right to call out his mother for not choosing to put him first, but at the same time Damian undeniably loves his mother. Even in the storylines where they have a strained relationship at best Damian is fiercely loyal to her because essentially Damian and Talia want the same thing which is to have a loving family of their own, and to be their own people outside of their usefulness to other people (cough, cough, Ra’s). 

Damian’s character arc tends to repeat a lot but there are more modern storylines that are pushing Damian in this direction where his goal is a reconciliation of the past and to be able to move on with a healthier version of their relationship. Ra’s getting shot in the head helped a whole lot. 

Damian represents a chance to break the cycle for both himself and his mom, because like I said Talia isn’t an inherently bad person, or a bad parent, she just like anybody else has an opportunity to grow and develop as a person especially if one day she gets to finally move on from the league. People can be influenced by circumstances, but also circumstances change and in better environments people have a chance to do better. Damian isn’t obligated to forgive either parent for the ways they’ve failed him but at the same time he clearly wants a connection with both of his parents, and is willing to work with them on it. 

It is funny how Damian typically gets portrayed as the edgy Robin, because in my mind he’s actually one of the most normal ones. He acts like a thirteen year old boy, with the needs of a thirteen year old boy, he desires a normal life outside of capes and costumes. He just has been told he’s the chosen one all his life and that’s had an effect on the way he views the world. Damian has every chance to break the chain that Ra’s started though, and that’s probably where the comics should go if they didn’t repeat the same plotline with him like nine million times. 

[miralyk]

wait, even though you draw yourself, you don't want to associate yourself with f/o or selfshipping communities? genuinely curious, and want to be respectful of boundaries drawing gift art for you

had to look up what "f/o" means but yeah i think i get an idea of what you're asking... i have a bit of a nuanced and long-winded answer wrt the Topic, which will be under the cut for convenience, but to start for for Fanart, i'm still very conflicted about my appearance both irl and in art, so i'm cool w something like drawing something like my trainersona or my pokesona/foxsona, but not art Directly Of Me, My IRL Self Showing My Bare Face, hope that makes sense!

as for the Specifics since this ask seems to be in response to a recent tag i did saying "i don't want to tag art of myself as self-insert or selfship", no, i don't selfship myself with al*x m*rcer or d*smond m*les, if that's what you're trying to indirectly ask LMAO;; it's just "guys being dudes", an older friend who babysat a little kid under their wing (eg axel and xion's dynamic, or "my coworker/college classmate that's super older than me" LMAO) sort of thing.

(full long-winded answer to this question and broad topic:)

i don't have a problem with selfshipping or self-inserts; any criticisms i have are just core "fandom issues" (out of character writing/art, ignoring serious themes/topics in the source material to flanderize or sanitize fanworks, excessive spam in tags, especially unrelated to the post and/or without proper blockable tagging, etc) that selfshipping/self-inserts can perpetuate like any other fanfics or fanart mediums.

for me personally, i technically do have "self-insert" stuff like trainersona/pokesona art and lore to even a selfship with riley called brilliantaurashipping, but i just try to keep it quiet and not bother anyone tbh. i don't have much confidence with my appearance or overall qualities as a person and the last thing i want to do is be ignorant and pretentious, which i feel like would be hypocritical just. constantly drawing myself. especially in a rose-tinted goggles and mary-sue "oh i'm perfect and nothing's wrong with me i have all the superpowers and plot armor in the world and i'm besties with EVERYONEEEEE" shticks,, it makes me wince for canon-compliance and "oh god i don't want to be someone shitty and ignorant like j*lloapocalypse" reasons.

i also don't want to risk annoying or bothering people... if you're autistic and/or a person of color too you may understand this struggle better, but i've had a lot of ""friendships"" where it turned out people who i thought mutually considered friends actually hated me the whole time and only held their tongue out of societal obligations, laugh behind my back as the "mean girl's autistic pet" thing, fail to communicate properly because of various social cues i couldn't process, and so on. i'd rather have up front, honest communication that doesn't sugarcoat anything or beat around the bush, so here i am doing the same with elaborating my thoughts and hope i'm not misinterpreted or have people make assumptions making things up based on lack of information too. this got a bit long but... yeah, overall i do like drawing, even of "silly" stuff like this, but there's a reason why the word guilty is in "guilty pleasure"

[tofuingho]

I understand your anger, but I’m getting a bit tired of misinformation on all sides. The only person who can “get in legal trouble” from selling bound fanfics is the person pocketing the money. Nobody else. Not the author. Definitely not ao3. Whoever even came up with the idea that ao3 might possibly get in any sort of trouble because of people stealing from it?? The fury of the authors is understandable but they aren’t in any danger whatsoever either, unless they’re the ones secretly selling their own fics. “Don't do it” is a fine message and it will still be one without lying about the actual harm.

I'm going to assume you're a younger person and maybe don't know the deep lore about fanfiction.

Fanfiction and parodies fall into a very grey area legally. When you're using someone else's IP (intellectual property), they have the right to tell you to cease and desist.

Examples:

Spaceballs (1987). It's a parody of the Star Wars films. It has achieved cult status, but no official merchandise was made. Why? Because George Lucas said no. Mel Brooks actually asked George Lucas for permission to make the movie and Lucas agreed with the caveat that no merchandise would be sold. Lucas could have refused to allow Brooks to parody Star Wars and the movie would have to be rewritten or scrapped.

Weird Al Yankovic made a parody of Lose Yourself by Eminem called Couch Potato. The song was meant to have a music video, but Eminem denied permission.

Anne. Rice. I can't say for certain if she actually ever sued anyone, but she was well known for asking Fanfiction.net to remove all stories that used her characters.

And that's just a couple of examples. There's also what J.K. Rowling did in '03, what Fox (the tv network) did in '97, what Mercedes Lackey did(does? I think you still have to get explicit permission to write fanfic about her stuff).

At any point, any author could go to a fanfiction website and say "I don't want people to be using my characters. Remove all of the stories from this fandom."

And it would be done.

It has been done before.

It's the reason that Fanfiction.net removed all the NC-17.

When fanbinders steal and sell someone's fanfiction, they bring fanfiction to the attention of IP holders, which is bad.

Also, the fanfiction authors are getting pissed off and pulling their stories from AO3.

We are actively losing our beloved stories.

AO3 may not be in legal trouble, but our community is in trouble.

Selling stolen fanfiction is illegal and if you do it, you're an asshole!

[allykatsart]

STOPPPPPPPPPP peccantum is my child now sorry im adopting him you are losing your parental rights. move the fuck over alastor that little boi is MINE

no but for serious, I. Am. So. In. Love. With your series. the art, the dynamics, the designs, the lore, all of it ALL OF IT. you worked peccantum into the series events so smoothly like whaaaaat

A couple questions I have, and then I'll be out of your hair:

Does Peccantum have any preferred nicknames? I saw someone call him Pec/Pecc once and I've been calling him Peccy in my head. I'm curious if there's an actual, creator-approved, nickname we can use

Do we get to know the full details of what Peccantum got out if his deal? Not tryna steal info you aren't ready to share but by lucifer is it eating at me !!

I don't know if you watch Helluva Boss, but considering og Peccantum (not hazbin version) is space-themed and you mention he decorates his room like space,,, it's totally improbable but WHAT IF HE MET STOLAS or Octavia!!!!!!! I just think it would be so wholesome for him even though the Goetias don't interact with sinners

So in his pre-afterlife lore you mention he worked his way up a cult but got taken advantage of by the leader and stripped of all the power he'd accumulated. He's obviously suuuuuper power hungry so it may fog up his thinking, but did he not learn from that??? why is he cozying up to Al (like eating the rotten venison just to impress him) if the last time he did that, it resulted in him losing everything

Peccantum wears Alastor's colours bc soul ownership and everything, but during the 7 years when Peccantum never heard from him, how relaxed did he get? Did he still wear the colours then or did that begin when he was oh so kindly volunteered for "bellhop" services?

If Peccantum's red string theories lead to conspiracies like "Alastor is just Lucifer in disguise", how off the mark is he about who owns Al's soul? Like would he be crazy enough to suspect Razzle n Dazzle or something or would he hit close to the mark?

On a related note, do you have a HC for who owns his soul?

I LOVEDDDD when you gave Peccantum his different hairstyles (they were all gorgeous but I particularly enjoyed the one with the many braids),, maybe Angel or Charlie would convince him to play dress-up??

Does. Peccantum. wear. makeup.

Is there a particular reason behind bis jumpiness or is it just one of his many Talents ✨️

If Alastor ate Peccantum would Al season him or would he be eaten spiceless?

Peccantum visits Cannibal Town for Al's errands, is he chill with any of the residents or does he more employ the in-and-out-without-looking-at-or-speaking-to-or-acknowledging-anyone tactic

Also just curious about how his and Al's dynamic will evolve

I'm sorry this is such a rambling ask, and please feel free to completely gnore or only answer some questions, I'm just really invested in this au you have going on !!!!!

ps i looked up the name to find how you came up with it and i think you were very smart with it

Who is Peccantum?

Oh wow dkajfbshdhjsjshd I'm. I... I don't know how to respond?!??!! This is so sweet! Thank you! 🖤💜💚❤️💜💜💜❤️✨

Sorry it took so long to answer this! I was drawing a comic and it actually added context to a lot of these questions/answered them, so I figured I'd save it until after I was done. There's a lot here so I'm gonna answer it in numbered sections!

1. Names & Nicknames

I don't really have a nickname for him, I usually call him by his full name lol. Peccy is cool lol. His name is pronounced with hard C's. So Pec-cant-um. Or, in case of the nickname, Peck-y

Fun Fact! Peccantum isn't his 'real' name. Like Angel and Husk, he took a new name once he died. His other name was actually shorter (and an actual name too). Peccantum is actually a mix of the words peccatum, meaning sin or transgression in Latin, and incant, in Latin meaning enchant. Basically, magical sin, which sums up Peccantum pretty well actually!

2. Peccantum's Deal

Yes you can!

3. Meeting Stolas

I am a fan of helluva! Have been ever since it came out! Despite that I haven't actually thought about this until now.

Peccantum, absolute nerd that he is, would probably be fascinated by Stolas and his powers. Like talking about specific spells, how long it takes to set up, magic of the stars, etc. I feel like they would have a VERY long conversation about magic and space and shit cause Stolas is lonely and Peccantum is very enthusiastic about this topic. Octavia, meanwhile, would get a long list of places in the human world with little to no light pollution. For excellent star viewing, of course.

4. Cozying up to Alastor

The short answer? No, absolutely not, Peccantum learned nothing XD

The long answer? It's complicated and messy. Peccantum, at that time, went into a bad situation because it was familiar to him. Blood, illicit murders, and strange dealings were all part of what Peccantum was taught to do. He thought he could handle whatever Alastor would ask of him. That it wouldn't matter in the end because Alastor would eventually get rid of him.

He wasn't expecting the Radio Demon to vanish.

5. Clothing Choices

You may have noticed during Checking In that Peccantum is wearing a completely different outfit before he's pulled into the hotel! That is Alastor's doing! Because Peccantum wasn't working for him dressed like that.

At first Peccantum was completely on edge because he was expecting Alastor to show up. After that first year, Alastor could call on him at any time! That's a scary thing to constantly have in the back of your mind. But then, Alastor just... didn't? There were rumors that Alastor had fallen to angels and Alastor wasn't showing up? It left Peccantum completely to his own devices.

Slowly, very slowly, Peccantum started making choices for himself, and learning how to live. He got a shitty job, a shitty apartment, but for the first time in years he was actually living, making choices of his own. And he found he kinda liked it. Not everything, of course, but making your own path in life, finding out what you like and who you are... Well. It was nice, for a time.

Peccantum still has his own clothes but he's aware that what Alastor dressed him in is his uniform.

6. Who owns Alastor's soul?

Tbh, I think it's Lilith. Maybe that's the obvious answer but like... That's the only viable candidate we have rn.

Peccantum would be suspecting Lilith and Lucifer, mainly because of the specifics of the deal Alastor made with Charlie. He didn't take her soul, meaning there's some benefit to having her free.... Or the more likely option; Alastor can't. Whatever deal he's under restricts him from taking Charlie's soul. The only people Peccantum knows who care about Charlie enough to fuck with the Radio Demon would be her parents.

I think he would lean more towards Lucifer, though. It would explain the immediate hostility between him and Alastor. Lucifer's ignorance could be feigned to piss off Alastor even more.

However, Peccantum would also keep evidence for Adam and maybe some of the seven deadly sins on the board. He doesn't have enough evidence for them, but he's not going to dismiss those options just yet.

7. Dress up day

Peccantum doesn't own a lot of clothes but he has explored a few other outfits! Here's some of the sketches I made when exploring what he would wear before he came to the hotel.

I do imagine there would be a 'express yourself through clothing choices' activity he would get wrapped up in tho. He can wear just about anything and still look pretty good. Charlie's happy to see Peccantum embracing different styles and exploring! Angel might help pick outfits and push Peccantum out of his comfort zone.

8. Makeup

Peccantum does wear makeup! It's actually pretty new for him, so he's not the best with it and he doesn't go too extreme but... It's kinda fun!

9. Spice or no spice?

I. I have no idea tbh. I'm not an expert in... people flavoring? XD

10. Jumping at shadows

Did you misspell trauma as talents? XD, joking. In all seriousness though, Peccantum is fairly jumpy because he's high strung. He's a very anxious person in general (there are exceptions) and he's in his own head a lot. Sometimes he will forget that other people are there and be surprised when he is reminded of their presence.

11. Errands to Cannibal Colony

Peccantum definitely keeps his head down. Cannibalism in general makes him uneasy, so best to keep out of the way of any hungry citizens who want to try their luck. Peccantum can defend himself, but he'd rather not if he can avoid it. Cannibals travel in packs and the best way to avoid them is to avoid putting a target on your back.

Thankfully, most people there know he's Alastor's, so they leave him be.

12. Alastor and Peccantum

This one is tricky because I wanna explore this more in other comics, but I'll try and give a general overview here.

Their relationship isn't... Healthy. Especially not at first, but Peccantum coming to the hotel does actually put him in a better place. He meets new people, gains friends, and makes a support network that he never had before. On the other hand, he has to deal with Alastor, the constant anxiety of job performance, and deal with/unpack several traumas he's been repressing. It's a mix of good and bad.

Later on, a few months after working at the hotel, I think Alastor does start to warm up to Peccantum some. They become friendlier, not to the point of being friends, but Alastor appreciates the work Peccantum does and trusts him with tasks that he wouldn't have beforehand. By the time the attack on the hotel happens, he trusts Peccantum won't screw him over.

And then the fight with Adam happens.

We don't know what will happen in season 2, and we probably won't for a while, but... I imagine losing that fight with Adam did not help Alastor's insecurities. Personally, I think the Radio Demon is going to close himself off from the others, more than he already has. To feel in control again, he's going to be a lot more strict with his 'employees' and a lot less lenient with Peccantum.

Peccantum, of course, isn't going to know this and would take it as a sign that he's failing Alastor, something he's deathly afraid of. His anxiety would spike and the almost neutral relationship he had with Alastor would turn unhealthy again. There would be a regression of progress.

Whatever happens in season 2 would def affect their relationship tho, so I can't say much more than that for now.

Thank you so much for the comment! I love answering about my lil deer guy!!!! Don't feel like you're bothering me, I may take a while but I do get to these questions eventually and I appreciate the interest!

[wisteriasymphony]

LORE DROP TO KEEP THE NATION FED!

(Chloé + Sabrina centric)

"Oh my god, so- Dupain-Cheng, right? You'll never believe what I heard her say to herself earlier today."

"What?"

Chloé had to giggle and snort to herself for a few seconds before she was even able to say it. "Ok, so she was— She dropped her pencil, or something, right? And like—" Chloé started twirling her gum around her finger, before popping it all back in her mouth. "—She said 'Oopsie'. Fucking 'Oopsie'."

Sabrina broke out into laughter that she couldn't contain behind her hand no matter how close she kept it to her face.

"Like- We're in terminale, Cheng, you can say 'Fuck'. It's literally so not hard."

"I've never heard her swear ever."

"What do you think she does if she burns, like, the little cookies she spends all day making?" Chloé shrugged, leaning further into the locker she was up against. "'Oh golly gosh darnit!'," she mocked. "'What a predicament!'"

"'Oh jinkies, my sweet treats are ruined! Whatever shall I do?'"

Sabrina liked seeing Chloé laugh, no matter what she was laughing about. Out of anything Chloé could've been doing that morning, gossiping was the least likely to get them hurt.

"Mademoiselle Bourgeois, that state of attire is not appropriate for a learning environment."

Chloé pursed her lips upon hearing Madam Bustier call her out. She tugged onto the lace hem of the tanktop below her crop jacket, bringing the hem just to touch the waistband of her jeans despite fully intending to not keep it that way.

"Fine, better?" she frowned.

"...Have a pleasant day, Mademoiselle Bourgeois. Don't make me chat with your father again."

At the 'next chat' they would be having, her Daddy would be the one doing the talking, that's for sure. All these stupid rules just seemed to be put in place to mock the concept of being fashionable. Hell, the other day she'd been chastised for showing up in Juicy Couture—Juicy Couture! Apparently it wasn't 'academic enough'. It was almost like they fucking knew half of Chloé's closet was Juicy Couture.

"God, what a bitch."

"It's whatever, Bibi," she mumbled under her breath. "If they want me to start dressing like a kindergarten teacher, I'll be the hottest kindergarten teacher they could ask for. With like... little yellow jackets or striped shirts or whatever."

Sabrina giggled at the thought of such a thing. "Catholic housewife style?"

"Pfft, no— Dupain-Cheng dresses enough like that for the whole damn school."

Adrien passed by them, not bothering to even wave like he used to. He didn't really even acknowledge anybody in the hallway, actually. It was weird.

"By the way, Chloé—" Sabrina grimaced nervously, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Is it true that he's, like..."

"I don't want to talk about it," Chloé said.

"What?! Come on, you told me you guys were engaged at one point, there's no way you wouldn't know."

Chloé took in a sharp inhale through her nose, her shoulders rising with it. "Beebs, if we're talking any more about this, it'll be in the bathroom."

They made sure to find one that any teachers wouldn't stop by. Coincidentally, it was the same one that all of the druggies would use for the very same reason, but it was so early in the day that most of them weren't even out of bed yet. Except Chloé, that is.. but coke is a party drug, so it doesn't count.

Sabrina braced herself as Chloé readied to break the news.

"No."

"...Seriously? That's all you had to—"

"No, Bibi, that's not all of it!" Chloé then shoved Sabrina and herself into the nearest stall, still unsure if they had enough privacy to talk about it. "I know that he's not because I've fucking kissed him before!"

Sabrina seemed to think this was the equivalent to Chloé winning a million dollars when it really wasn't. She was being totally ridiculous about it, like it was worth caring that it happened.

"You kissed Adrien Agresté? There is no way—"

Reflexively, Chloé forced a hand over Sabrina's mouth. "God, Beebs, it's how I figured out I wasn't into guys! Also, we were like 12 when it happened, so it didn't even count."

"Buht shtill!" Sabrina's ridiculous little goofy smile could still be seen through Chloé's hand just as much as her voice could be heard. "I dohn't fhink anywone's evah kisshed 'im befo—"

"Well, he's not gay, because if he was, he would've reacted like I had afterwards," Chloé simply spat. "He had that goofy little smile on his face like yours, too. ...Weirdest part was that he mumbled something along the lines of me looking like his mom."

Sabrina was now free from the grasp of Chloé's hand, even if she was still backed up against the door of the stall. "Weird," she said with a smirk.

"Yeah, and she wasn't even, like, dead yet."

"Totally. Gosh, no wonder you guys couldn't get married, that'd be so gross."

Chloé looked off into the distance (that, in their situation, was the tiled wall of the bathroom maybe two away at most). It wasn't worth mentioning that the kiss had happened after that point anyways; That's not what Chloé was the most hung up about.

"That's not why," she said. "I was never told why."

[aha-chuu]

Al Haitham's story quest

Imo there are three main genres of Genshin story quests: A) about an NPC that reveals the character of the pc (Ayato, for example) B) about the lore of a character (Raiden p2, Zhongli P2? Kazuha) C) basically just a date and/or we help an overworked waifu

I feel like typically people want to see type B because it has the most repurcussions. Type A can be annoying because we frequently don't care about the NPC and often the NPC ONLY appears in the one story quest. Dunyazarad plays a big role in the Sumeru Archon quest, but I don't think she annoyed people all that much.

So what could Al Haitham's be? I've seen it speculated that we'll be helping him find a new candidate for Grand Sage, since he's temporarily in charge and does not want to be. However, at the end of the archon quest he quite specifically days choosing new sages is not his job, so at best we'd be helping interview candidates already picked out.

Also - does Al Haitham seem like the type to ask us for help? More likely I'd assume Nahida would tell him to take an assistant and we're the least annoying option.

However, that's only if it's a type A story quest. Since 3.4 is releasing with a new desert region, it would make sense if we went there in the course of his quest. When Dragonspine dropped that's where Albedo's quest took place, when the desert first came out that's where Cyno's took place. In this version, Al Haitham could be doing his normal scholar work, going to investigate ancient runes or whatever, revealing lore about the desert and Deshret etc.

Perhaps in the same vein, we go and visit Kaveh's desert project with him either for a serious reason: the sages had more dodgy plans that Kaveh accidentally took to fruition, or for a humorous reason: Al Haitham wants to prove there's no point in funding Kaveh's research by investigating one of his old projects.

And Type C. For a long time I (and many others here) have chuckled at going on a date with Haitham in his quest, but I actually don't think it's that unlikely. He could be the overworked waifu of Sumeru - then it'd make sense why we get to see his house during the quest, as you'd imagine that wouldn't happen in type A or B. My prediction for this genre of story quest is as follows: Al Haitham is being a miserable bitch cos he's got too much stuff on his plate, Kaveh is sick of him and commissions the Adventurers Guild to send an assistant. Ofc, no one else wants to deal with Haitham either so we're stuck getting him to take a day off.

(That could also lead into looking new sage candidates to reduce his workload.)

Overall, I am looking forward to his quest. Whilst I hope it reveals stuff about his past, I am also happy with a more lowkey/fun romp around Sumeru with him. I feel like Kaveh will show up, but more like Yae in Raiden's p2; there recurringly but not actually taking the focus.

[dontbotherwiththepronunciation]

5, 6, 16, what a lovely concept!

This was nice, thank you for asking. And also sorry because it got long.

5. something you see in fics a lot and love

There's a tendency of mentioning braids in ironborn-focused fics when describing characters like Asha or Victarion and I think it's probably motivated by "Viking"-like hairstyles depicted in pop culture but I associate it to the Dothraki so it's a sort of accidental parallel that I appreciate a lot. Also Theon getting his hair washed and cut after escaping Winterfell. I don't care who does it, immediate catharsis.

6. something you see in art a lot and love

As of late I've finally gotten to see more non-west/centre European inspiration in art and it fills my heart with glee.

More specific examples

Every time I get to see Arab, Indigenous, African or Asian inspired Iron Islands inhabitants. Admittedly, I don't think I have much of a preference because due to the thraldom and the trading with non-westerosi cultures allows for a lot of diversity but yess these are all faves. Some reasons: Arab (Stories like that of Sayyida al-Hurra, their nautical vehicles being more similar to dhows than actual viking galleys), Indigenous and African (Theon being taken away from his culture and raised by foreigners who look down on him and behave paternalistic at best mirroring the story of Leftraru and hundreds of other indigenous heroes, them choosing their kings and having a less monarchic policy than the rest of Westeros, described as dark and often facing some sort of bias, history and lore being traditionally passed orally), Asian (not gonna lie purely because the connections between Yi Ti and the Iron Islands that kind of goes overlooked by most)

Yakut or Inuit based Starks and The North ( Yakut fashion my beloved, unipkaaqs my adored)

Mesoamerican inspired Tyrells and habitants of the Reach (Remember that thing I told you about Oldtown being in Guatemala?)

Black Westerlings(/Spicers), (purely because the Spicers are descents of Maggy the Frog, who is Essosi, and a dear friend of mine is obsessed with Jeyne W in the way I'm obsessed with Jeyne P and she is mozambican)

I feel like lately a lot of these have become more accepted in fandom so there's a lot more art featuring them and I gush about that a lot.

16. a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

I think Theon's cultural isolation during his time in Winterfell. At this point most people seem to agree that plays a role in his arc but I still feel like it's dismissed in favour of loyalty conflicts (Stark vs Greyjoy; Robb vs Balon)

An example of that could maybe be his religion. The faith of the drowned god is passed down orally, they worship no items and have no specific place of praying. The few religions in real life that still do this are often motivated by wanting to create a sense of community in their faith. There is a need to gather around together, wherever you are, in order to learn of your faith. Theon can't do that in Winterfell where there are no drowned priests. Sansa gets to find some solace in the Godswood in King's Landing and the Eyrie but that's not an option for Theon who can't even baptise himself with salt water.

Even if the North's religion is that of the Old Gods, Ned Stark has a sept built for Catelyn and Sansa and Arya get a septa to instruct them in the beliefs of her mother. Theon's faith however is unimportant.

Theon found himself wondering if he should say a prayer. Will the old gods hear me if I do? They were not his gods, had never been his gods. He was ironborn, a son of Pyke, his god was the Drowned God of the islands … but Winterfell was long leagues from the sea. 

Then there's also the fact his clothes already set him apart. House colours being black & gold vs stark house colours being white and grey.

And of course also the subtle xenophobia/racism that GRRM tiptoe's around. Luwin is where he gets the boldest. Take this

"Windy and cold and damp. A miserable hard place, in truth . . . but my lord father once told me that hard places breed hard men, and hard men rule the world." - Theon I, ACOK

and compare it to this:

"Cruel places breed cruel peoples, Bran, remember that as you deal with these ironmen. Your lord father did what he could to gentle Theon, but I fear it was too little and too late." - Bran VI, ACOK

Balon speaks of "hard" when referring to their land being a poor one with bad weather, Luwin, who lives in a place called WINTERfell, a more or less prosperous city, speaks of "cruel"

Aha, Luwin "Cruel places breed cruel peoples", and where and by whom do you think Theon was raised for the later, more sentient and formative, half of his life???

[dementedseal]

AL-FUCKING-RIGHT EVERYBODY SIMMER DOWN 'CAUSE I'M ABOUT TO LEARN Y'ALL SOME SHIT

NONE OF YOU ASKED BUT I'M WRITING UP A DISSERTATION ON NUMBER CARDS FROM YU-GI-OH! ZEXAL. HERE WE FUCKING GO.

So, firstly we need to define some terms. Yu-Gi-Oh is a little scatterbrained with this shit and definitions are a little flakey so I'm gonna set out some base lore. THE UNIVERSE: okay this may seem a little silly to define, but the preceeding three series of Yu-Gi-Oh were all set in the same universe. The one in Zexal ISN'T that universe, and doesn't seem to be the same as the Arc V, Vrains or Sevens universes. Some of Zexal's lore conflicts with the lore presented in the original series, and KaibaCorp isn't ever mentioned. Cards also existed way before they ever did in the original universe. CARDS: Also might seem a little silly to define, but these seem to be a lot more inherently powerful than in the previous shows (where they were mostly just a way of harnessing power). I'll explain in more detail later. BARIANS/ASTRAL-WORLD DENIZENS: This one is for people who know fuck-all about zexal. Which is like, most people reading this probably. Barians and Astral-World denizens are energy based beings from two different worlds, full of both Chaos and Order energy. These are just forces mostly, however this doesn't stop Astral World from being really racist towards Chaos. Barian World was actually originally made from a section of Astral World they cordonned off and cast out so they didn't have to deal with Chaos.

SO. What The Fuck Are Number Cards? Well, in short, they're powerful cards that enhance emotions and convey power. This is basically the most explanation for what they do we get. HOWEVER we are not pussies and we will go for the Long Explanation. That's what I made this post to do after all. First of all, the Number cards were created when Don Thousand, vengeful god of Barian world, fought Astral, Space Jesus of Astral World. This caused Astral to lose some his memories, which were then coverted into 50 Number Cards. Later, a portal was formed between Astral World and the human world because Yuma Tsukumo, an incarnation of half of Astral that was also lost in the original battle, used an artifact called The Emperor's Key on a door in his dream. This allowed Astral to enter the human world, but caused him to lose his remaining memories and convert them into 50 more Number Cards, totalling 100. Throughout the duration of the Yugioh Zexal Anime, the aim is to collect these cards and get Astral's memories, for multiple reasons.

[oathofkaslana]

you know it would be soooo awesome if you explained Cyno lore/your analysis of him (I’m so incredibly lost; my brain is too full of insane scientists for comprehension of him by himself.)

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!!! MY LIL GUYYYYYY!!

:3 see the frustrating thing abt cyno is that his character stories barely tell about his lore in the way you’d want it to. his affiliation is stated as with the temple of silence and there’s next to nothing else about them in the entire fucking game. BUT THAT ASIDE!!

from what we know of cyno’s ethnically from the desert but he wasn’t raised there. (his job as the general mahamatra allows him to take visit the desert a lot though. a lot of his work is there.) he made a pact with the god inside of him (hermanubis) and because of this, the akademiya wanted to run experiments on him. he was protected from these experiments by professor cyrus who took him in! he’s cyno’s adoptive father :)

now with the pact he quite literally describes himself as a vessel for hermanubis and he calls upon his powers during his burst! hermanubis initially caused cyno a lot of pain but their relationship somehow got better to the current point of their relationship where they work in tandem as vessel and god.

he and lisa were kinda classmates (they were both spantamad) but lisa is his senior. their relationship is very familial-like :3 (there’s a part in 3.5 windblume where they explain that the darshans can be akin to an academic-based family :’] and she teases him by referring to him with the little brother honorific (弟弟/ didi)

lisa sent a letter to cyrus asking for help in collei’s sake and cyrus sent cyno :3 hence why he came to mond, sealed collei’s archon residue, and eventually led collei back to gandharva ville to live under the tutelage of his best friend, tighnari.

ALSO. he and candace are literally complements to each other :’) (cyno being the sun and candace being the moon, one having the eye of ra and the other having the eye of horus, both sharing a signature polearm, both having connections to either al ahmar or kasala, al ahmar’s faithful priest)

AND NOW PERSONAL HEADCANONS/INTERPRETATIONS BC HE MAKES ME SICK DEAR GOD.

OK SO. this is all in my head btw.

- in my head the experiments cyno was almost subjected to were apart of dottore’s extended attempts to elevate humanity to the gods. (other actual parts of his motive are his experiments on collei and scara).

- cyno recognized collei as someone inflicted with archon residue after reading his letter. i don’t think he realizes both the experiments she was apart of and he could’ve been apart of are linked, but i do think he feels incredibly guilty for not being able to prevent it (even if he quite literally couldn’t have known/done anything)

- in fact! i think part of the reason why he became the general mahamatra is because he believed the experiments he could’ve been subjected to was a show of the akademiya’s corruption. i think he trusted the akademiya very much because cyrus was apart of the akademiya and because he loves cyrus and cyrus loves him so so much :’) i think he wanted to prevent that from ever happening again.

- in my head this is also why he’s so so adamant on keeping to the six cardinal sins.

- i think this is also why he felt so so strongly about figuring out the sage’s corruption and betrayal in the sumeru archon quest. so mcuh so that he quit without mention and went on to do his own investigation and prevention. to me this also explains why he was so distrustful of al haitham to the point of literally attacking him the way he did kfbdjdhdjd.

- also related to the human experimentation but i think it could be compelling commentary for medical exploitation of marginalized communities and cyno being from the desert and that happening to him is sooo.. it’s something. (it’s not perfect of course i’d still rather him yk. not be a fucking cop but.)

- he and collei are very obvious narrative parallels in a way that makes me so so sick especially bc in collei’s vl about him we learn that thinking about the sealing ritual can bring her very painful flashbacks to it. even now she slips up and forgets to refer to him informally. he kinda understands how she feels (though he’ll never get it). he just wants her to be safe. and collei doesn’t know! when she leaves with cyno we know nothing about hermanubis! all we knew is that cyno clearly took inspiration from anubis! AND THAT MAKES ME SO SICK (it’s also a big part of my webtoon spin off au which is a character study following collei and cyno’s way to sumeru and collei’s first few weeks or so in gandharva ville. the entire this is heavily collei-centric of course but the first part is a big character study on cyno and collei and their tumultuous relationship w both each other and themselves.)

GODD HE MAKES ME SO SO SICK I LOVE HIM SO MUCH CYNOOOOOO CYNOOOOOO CYNOOOOOOOO!!!

[practically-an-x-man]

writers truth or dare!!

🎱🛼🥤

🌻🧃🍄

🪐📚🍦

Thank you so much!!

Writer Truth or Dare Asks

🎱 ⇢ post your AO3 total stats 

🛼 ⇢ describe your latest wip with five emojis

🦁💉⛓️🫂😈

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love

I am a huge fan of @theonetryingtolive's fics, he's got really fascinating plots and worldbuilding, and even when he's juggling half a dozen very different Marvel characters, they're all characterized perfectly to a tee.

🌻 ⇢ tag someone you appreciate but don't talk to on a regular basis

@simplysummers and @lighttupthiswholetown, my Alex Summers mutuals <3 We don't talk as much as we should but I love y'all

🧃 ⇢ share some personal lore you never posted about before

Hm... I've met Weird Al Yankovic!

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

Erik will beat anyone but Charles at chess for a very specific reason - he's learned to train his thoughts into a separate strategy to the one he's playing so Charles can't tell his next move. This puts him evenly-matched with Charles, but to any non-telepaths he's practically playing 4D chess since nobody can tell what he'll do next.

🪐 ⇢ name three good things going on in your life right now

I just finished up working on a fantastic short film, this weekend I'll get to dogsit for an adorable goldendoodle pup, and I'm auditioning for Rock of Ages in a couple days!

📚 ⇢ what's the last thing you wrote down in your notes app? 

"Runaway Train (Soul Asylum) + Surrender (Cheap Trick)" - I keep a running note of songs that could work as mashups, and that was my most recent one

🍦 ⇢ name three good things about a character you hate

Peacemaker/Christopher Smith annoys me greatly, but... his reveal as a villain was actually a pretty good twist the first time I watched it; John Cena does a surprisingly good job of playing him, especially with those moments of creepiness; and he's actually got a nice dynamic with Flag and DuBois in the bar and on the transport tank

[orangetubor]

I'm back again!

DOMES! so- what can u tell me about the space and education domes. I'm so interested. Why are they separated based off of activity? Are all the domes in a giant ish dome? ALSO WHAT DO MARTIANS FARM. POTATOES? what kind of recreational activities are in the recreational dome?

Also what are the fatal flaws of your ocs... I love finding out about this stuff if u cant tell. Any funny (or otherwise) story that any of them would tell about another to like describe one of them? (that sounds very confusing but basically when I introduce folks that are my idiot friends, I give a memorable story that makes people go "ah, that's such a (friend name) thing" (e.g. One of my ex friends from school ate her essay out of spite - she wrote it on rice paper and wanted to spook the teacher)

And yes I've seen the whole "I think I'm attracted to you because youre the hottest person I know" so AMAZING JOB- I love ur ocs!!!

Respectfully curious,

a nerd who likes knowing lore and science (and character!!)

(I'M SO SORRY FOR HOW LONG THIS IS I'M JUST REALLY INTERESTED)

I'm gonna do the flaws first bcs it won't take as long so:

Martha: gets sad cuz she doesn't have a specific 'thing' like the rest of her friends (jenny's the tech guy, Evelyn's the animal guy) and she gets sad cuz she thinks you need a thing to work in and aspire to in order to live your life to the fullest

Tammy: doesn't think. Like at all ever. No internal dialogue nothing in that brain half the time she's just playing rock music on loop. Lights are on but no one's home except the lights aren't even on

Jenny: builds little robots and then gets existential about creating a pseudo life to fulfil one singular purpose. Continues to build little robots anyway.

Thomas: internal dialogue goes 100 miles a second and so when he has to take a second to actually think he just. Blanks. He also has awful memory due to things getting pushed so far back by unrelated tangents

Genji/James: has a mullet

Aled: catastrophises a LOT and overthinks literally everything he's just handing Thomas a hair bobble and he's like 'wait is this elasticy enough. Oh no there's a hair on it oh no. What if my hands sweaty what then-' baby girl it is a hair bobble

Georgie: previous break ups have left her feeling like she isn't interesting enough, now she has to always give her two cents or else she thinks she's forgettable

Dane: ~\_(°u°)_/~

Sahrah: given her uniqueness as a weird fucked up entirely new species she feels like her life has to be perfect so that her mother species doesn't get a bad rap, especially since her mother is the first of her kind to live in mars. Also she's really supposed to be a litter animal but she was the only one who survived to birth so she's lonely a lot of the time

Fun story: Martha says 'the first time me and Tammy met was when she needed someone to show a dead bee to. She asked me if I wanted to pet it'

And ... DOMES!;;

educational dome has the schools and colleges in it, a few corner stores for hungry students, it's not that interesting other than the fact that there are geese for some reason

Space dome is basically just space science stuff, it's got telescopes, research for crops, rockets, exploration base, it's also the original dome! The very first one built by the robots they sent here so that the researchers had somewhere to stay.

What kind of crops do martians grow? Well, any they can get there hands on, there are several small climate controlled domes used to grow different things, deserty, tropical, whatever Ireland is, and some animal domes that rotate various animals and grain, it's also home to the farm house that hosts the majority of Halloween parties. There's also the eden dome, which isn't connected to the farm fines, but to the space domes! It was home to the very first crops grown on mars. (Which, of course, included potatoes) and then if course. The big dome. The super massive one that uses my new favourite thing: AQUAPONICS!! obviously you can't feed an entire small country with just plain kabd, you need stacks! You need later upon layer of fish, water, wires, dirt, plants, synthetic sunlight, and more fish! They also synthesize a lot of meat because it's sci-fi. I can do what I want. And it's better for the air cuz farm animals produce a lot of gas

The recreational domes have shops, cinemas, various sports centres, a nice park, and also hosts lots of festivals. There's also a small 'market dome' that's connected to the residential dome so you don't have to go all that way to pick up some eggs or something. (Martha and Tammy's favourite thing to do is go roller skating at 'saturns rings' also there's a diner where the waiters are all in roller skates)

As to why they're separated, it makes it easier for me to design them in a cool way. Also the air inside is very different to the air outside, so smaller domes make it easier to manage, and keep out the sticky martian sand while building.

Martian sand is ridiculous