#which is MORE fantasy and fucks more with that fantasy aesthetic and also adds stuff from previous eras

[chatonyant]

1-3 random character designs based on a dream i had where there was a kid who could fall into a void and met a kind older gentleman who taught them to harness the void's power and protect themself against their shitty family (? details blurry it was either family or a weird old man? )

4 made character in some weird distant lout of trash family au,, tis a dragon who is either sleeping or causing chaos or even both somehow

5-6 revamped doodles of an old story in which the main character, Horang, is the lone survivor of an old heroic adventure to kill the great demon. Or well, thought to be the lone survivor because they find their childhood friend and companion (Haneul) who they thought was dead. Also they adopted a tiny child (Bom) with the power of poison(? undeveloped, i have no clue what power she should have but it was seen as bad).

[pygmi-cygni]

writing tip - research

research is one of the pillars of writing. a poorly researched fic, essay, short story, novel, etc is immediately apparent because of several things:

lack of depth

stagnant plot or development

confusing or inconsistent setting

it doesn't matter what genre you write, if it's original or fiction, whatever. you need to research. depending on the relevance of your writing, the depth of research may vary, but it needs to happen. you do not know everything.

Fantasy

I see a lot of writers and authors use fantasy as an excuse to avoid research. Shut the fuck up. Every good fantasy is based on a real ocurrence or social dilemma. That's why we like it so much.

'but pygmi, fantasy is made up! it isn't real!'

SHUT UP. Even if you don't realize it, your story will have elements that readers are intimately familiar with. If you flub something, it will be noticed.

Besides, just because you make stuff up doesn't mean you can be inconsistent. You'll just have to fill in the cracks with made up stuff, which will even out to being about the same amount of effort. Pick your poison, either way you're gonna feel it.

Research is not everybody's favorite. I like it, personally, I think it's like going on little side quests for knowledge. But I understand if you wanna skip all the business and get to writing your baby. No shame.

Let me give you some pointers to make sure the time you spend researching is relevant and well spend.

Lists! God I love lists. after you have outlined your story and your characters and everything, make a list of all the things you need to have a deeper understanding of. This means determining priorities. - How important is The Thing? Will it majorly affect plot or character development? Is it a focal point of the setting? If the answer is yes to any of those questions, it's important. research.

Big picture, little picture. How important is The Thing (again)?. How much detail do you need to know? Especially when it comes to royalty or a hierarchal system, I see research being misguided. There are so many nuances to royal interactions that I could give a rat's ass. Big picture, general outline. I don't need to know everything, just basic courtesy, terms of address, appropriate convo. done. but if your MC is a coroner? might wanna put more detail into that; you'll be talking about the job a lot. determine how much the element will affect your story and go from there.

Don't fudge it for the plot. You'll have a preconceived notion of a certain job description, and then research it and think 'oh that's actually boring.' Don't muddle up the rules just to fit the aesthetic. It's sloppy, and your readers will notice.

To practice researching, pick your topic and after learning a bit about it, try teaching a powerpoint to your parents or friends. if you feel comfortable enough with that knowledge to do it successfully, I'd say you have a good enough understanding.

Setting

researching location is a big one that often gets overlooked. You don't always need to memorize maps, but get a general idea of the city/country layout so when you say "they drove 20 minutes from A to B" it makes sense, rather than having a reader think "Uh, A to B is closer to four hours, wtf?"

if you are making up your city, make a list of important streets and locations in relation to each other. This will help you keep it straight and organized in your head.

Get a feel for flora and fauna. Palm trees don't grow in Alaska. Don't write an Alaskan city with palm trees.

Weather? what's it like? Let me tell you, Portland doesn't get higher than 102F. rainy, cloudy, all that stuff.

Atmospheric details really add a lot, especially if your audience is from that location. It adds another layer of relatability. Also, use weather/plants/animals to your advantage! symbolism, possible curse, all that stuff.

Eras

Oh my god stop fucking this up. Baroque, Elizabethan, Edwardian, Middle Ages ARE DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER. STOP SLAPPING FANCY CLOTHES ON PEOPLE AND CALLING IT THE OLDEN DAYS.

get an idea of when electricity was widespread in homes. when was the refrigerator invented? did they use the word 'hella' in 1950? this kinda stuff is important for not breaking the illusion of a time difference. If you are writing a period piece and someone is chatting with a neighbor like it's 2015, we'll have some questions.

Unless it's doctor who. you guys can do literally whatever.

Plot and Character Development

If plot and characters are poorly researched, you are limiting the opportunities for growth. In researching your MC's occupation, you may discover a cool side effect that connects to a plot device. Stagnant, stale characters can be spruced up with a more developed backstory.

All in all, research is really important for your story. regardless of how professional it is, tumblr or the new york times. Do your research. As a writer, you are representing the community in your own way. Do us proud.

xox love you

[feralbeeast]

I've been on here for WAY too long to not have a proper pinned post and my blog over the years has become the chaotic hell that is my brain so hi, read my bio!!

Pre 2024 handle was @ badasswitchbitch

Prev pinned was " My gender is not boy or girl my gender is Slut. "

Interactions and reblogs are always encouraged 🖤

Dms and asks always open !

18+ minors dni ⚠️

I'M NOT A WOMAN! I'M NONBINARY!

Keep reading!!!

Intro / about me :

You can call me Bee, my bio gives a good basic description of my interests/blog but there's so much more feel free to ask !

I'm a shy flirt by nature so if we chat keep that in mind 🖤

Feel free to spam/dm/ask literally anything on here! I love attention and talking to people

𖹭 Pansexual Sub-leaning switch 𖹭

I'm 5'3, in my 20s and currently reside in the US [pls don't ask specific age/location]

I have a few tattoos and piercings but crave more, my style can only be described as an alternative mess

Always looking for more homies to sesh and hang with

As stated in my bio I am poly! I'm currently in an open relationship with 1 partner. I'm not actively looking for another but I'm also not opposed to it :)

If you want to see what I look like check the featured search tags, i post selfies and lewds

I try to tag all my personal posts and reblogs that I add to / relate a lot to with #feralbeeast ramble !

You can tip me and buy personal spicy content on cashapp $acutewitchb ✨️

You can also add me on snap but pls dm on here first before expecting an add back @beecatcult

I unfortunately have many mental illnesses and disorders, as well as physical disorders and chronic pain so you'll probably see some stuff about it

Kinks ;

𖹭 includes but not limited to ; exhibition, praise, pet play, weed intox, cnc, somno, bdsm, marking, shibari/bondage, monster fucker, degradation, knife play, breath play, corruption, pred/prey, obsession, masochism, sadism, inspection/attention, blood, objectification ect. I'm open to trying anything at least once 𖹭

What to expect :

This blog is run by an extremely mentally ill, didabled, autistic, hypersexual queer with very diverse tastes. The main themes and aesthetics I like to reblog are horror, gore, blood, goth, grunge, fantasy, nature, animals, stoner, nerdy, anime/video games, dark humor, sex ect. [There's plenty more but I'd be typing forever]

I'm a traumatized freak with dark kinks and will show that side sometimes! Be prepared for unhinged postings when I'm stoned (which is basically all the time)

Since this blog has been up for a long time it is filled with shit I don't even remember, I used to post a lot of depressing stuff and personal vents that I've been trying to move over to my side blog so if you get triggered by self harm or suicidal themes turn away now or properly block those tags.

if you want to see the darker and more personal vent stuff dm me for the side blog

Limits -

I use They/Them pronouns ONLY

I am Nonbinary. Not a woman. Not a man.

Do NOT call me a girl in any form.

I don't tolerate ANY kind of homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, sexism, racism, terfs, ableism, nazis ect on my page, and you can fuck right off if you do🖕

If you can't respect me don't interact

[sweetshelluvaau]

World/Lore Building - Redoing the Rings of Hell [Pt 1 - The Basics]

this is the best picture I could fine for the ring colors lol

Today in 'Sweets Attempt to Overhauling the Messy Worldbuilding in Hellaverse Because She's Bored', we gonna revamp, rework and add to how the Rings of Hell work because why the fuck not. This post will covering color changes, travel between them and other fun stuff. I will briefly go over ring aesthetics but I'm gonna be saving a post on each ring for another time Anyways putting this under Read More because it's gonna get looooooong...

Okay to reblog, feedback and criticism is welcomed.

Part One: Colors of each Ring.

More of a nitpick than anything else but I don't like some of the color choices for each ring because some just don't really make sense. Why is Envy purple when it should be green? Ya know: 'green with envy'? That and Purple is Pride's color normally. I think the color red itself is fine in itself but I feel as if you're gonna give purple to another ring at the very least it shouldn't be Envy!

Again these are kinda nitpicks but they bother me nether the less. Here's how Hellaverse's rings work right now color wise.

Pride: Red

Wrath: Orange

Gluttony: Yellow

Greed: Green

Lust: Blue

Envy: Purple (why tho?)

Sloth: Pink

Here is how I plan on changing the colors a bit:

Pride: Purple

Wrath: Red

Gluttony: Orange

Greed: Yellow

Lust: Blue

Envy: Green (as it should have been!)

Sloth: Teal

Yes, all the colors are of biblical context (minus Sloth which is a light blue but didn't want two blues). I was ordinally thinking about switching the canon colors of Lust and Sloth around but decided agasist it. The Lust Ring's color is the only one to remains the same from canon and I changed Sloth from pink to a lighter shade of teal but that may change if I can think of a more 'dreamy' like color.

Decided to keep the canon order the same for now but that could change later on. I think it's fine the way it is.

Part Two: Ring Aesthetics

One of the major complaints I see people bring up about Pride, let alone Hell in general is that it's too Earth like which in some sense, I agree but also don't really mind it at the same time. I'd be more forgiving however if the world around the aesthetic of Hell was interesting and we understood how the worldbuilding worked I honestly feel like I'm repeating myself at this point but it's true wtf is the worldbuilding in these shows.

Some rings won't change too much aesthetically but will be added on to, while some will get a complete overhaul.

-Pride-

So this is the Pride Ring we have in canon. To be honest, outside of all the red I don't think a city HELLscape (lol get it) is necessarily bad. Maybe not the most creative, but I don't have a problem with it. If anything I'd expand on the architecture where there's a mixture of old otherworldly and fantasy like structures but as time went by parts of Hell became more modern and there are parts that do represent different era's in time as well as Sinners start taking over areas of the Pride Ring.

This is more of a question for myself but how does the Pride Ring work in regard to cities and such: We have two shows, in Hazbin we have Pentagram City, In HB we have Imp City? So my question is are Sinners stuck in the first city or is Imp City a section of Pentagram City? Where is Stolas' palace in Pride? Is it even in Pride? Honestly this kinda confuses me more. Not that this persay matters on the grand scale of things being Sinners are in all rings in my AU but um does anyone think about this? Why are their different cities in rings anyways. Should it just be one huge thing in each ring? Am I thinking too hard about this?

Anyways if you read the above part, I'm also gonna just have Pentagram City being the center of Pride while the outskirts of the city being more like 'suburbs' where you'll have some royal and higher ranking demons as well as hellborn in general while the edges of the ring is more rural/undeveloped land which is mostly owned by nobles or sold off and made into makeshift little communities by others, often imps and hellhounds due to high prices within the Pentagram itself.

A lot of hellborn ordinally from Pride moved to other Rings or choose to live in the outskirts being how Sinners started taking over Pride, both of those who landed there and those who 'smuggled' themselves in and considering leadership does not care enough to do anything about it, well...

Also: NOT SO MUCH RED WHAT'S WITH YOUR OBESSION WITH RED VIV! Definitely will add some purple because um...pride?

-Wrath-

Honestly: No complaints about Wrath. I think it's mostly prefect the way it is. Again, maybe not have it so bright with the red and add some other colors along with maybe some wild west style towns but over all I like how it is in the show.

All imps originated from Satan with the original purpose of them being troops and labors during a war between Heaven and Hell (I'll talk about that along with my timeline lore for this AU at another time), though after the war and as time went by, imps ended up across all of Hell and gainned freedoms, even though they're still second class citizens.

A lot of Wrath's culture is very violent and hostile and outside of The Pain Games, sports that then towards violence and destruction like wrestling, mix martial arts, boxing and monster truck derbies are also really big. I will expand on talking more about the ring itself when it gets it's own post.

-Gluttony-

Again: No complaints about the aesthetic here. I love the lush, tropical vibe it has going along the beehive/70's architecture. I plan on even having my Beelzebub having a bit of 70's disco queen/Donna Summer's vibe for her. And ya know, NO RED IN SIGHT!

Gluttony is seen as a vacation destination for foodies and for it's beaches and party culture. It's also where most of Hell's agriculture is grown when it doesn't come from Wrath.

Hellhounds also originated from Gluttony but not from Bee herself but from Cerberus and were part of Hell before it was known as Hell. Again, something I will talk about at a later date.

-Greed-

Okay, you guys are bored seeing me praise shit now we're gonna get critical. To say I'm not a fan is putting it lightly. Honestly the idea of there being suburbs like we see here in the picture above looks boring and well...what's with the greenery (not a pun this time)? Isn't Greed suppose to be a toxic wasteland and a crime filled HELLhole (lol I did it again hahahaha I think I'm funny). Why is there organized crime in Hell? Let alone law enforcement? Who the fuck knows the worldbuilding in this show makes as much sense as Viv wanting to make Stolitz end game despite there being no chemistry between them.

I'm gonna take some ideas and headcanons from my friend Nihlis while also do my own twist on things:

Greed is made up of different sections: In the very middle we got the city part of Greed along with an entertainment district. Like, Gluttony, Greed or at least that part of Greed is basically a vacation destination not too similar to Las Vegas. Gambling, nightlife, lives ruined in more ways than one. Basically an overly exaggerated hellish version of that where the house more than never always wins. It's also where Loo Loo Land is which is definitely not a rip off of LuLu Land nope no legal issues to be seen here.

The surrounding area, often concealed by magic to those who visit and live in central Greed so no one can view the more nastier parts is basically a concrete jungle filled with industry and mining facilities. Most sinners and hellborn who can't afford living in the center are in these parts.

Greed is basically Hell's manufacturing center due to lax rules and cheap labor cost. About all industries in the ring are owned by Mammon himself (the final CEO) but he has others making sure these facilities are running smoothly considering he has a lot of business going on throughout Hell.

There may be tiny little edges which aren't anything but rock and mines and a few nice establishment depending on who claims the land but other than that the whole Ring is an over the top capitalistic shit hole.

Also, more yellow and other colors outside of green because damn that is a lot of green. At least it's not red but c'mon you can mix colors together Viv. I may still do something with the whole demon mafia/crime syndicate thing in the show but they're treated more like legitimate but still under the table 'business' while also funneling money in other rings as well. About all of these are Hellborn ran which are made up of mostly Imps, Lone Sharks and depending on who leads them, allow sinners in their ranks. There are at least two or three successful Sinner Overlords who do also run these 'business' but they're no where as powerful they would be if they were in Pride...

There's also no REAL law enforcement in hell neither so of course these go uncheck.

-Lust-

Not gonna lie: I kinda dig the red light district vibe. I think it makes sense and overall works but I'd likely play around with it a bit and flesh it out more.

As for my version of it for the notes I got down so far: Humorlessly enough though The Lust Ring is pretty tame during the day, where the skies are more pink and bright but nothing really risqué is going on. Yeah you'll likely stumble across a few sex shops that are open and general shops/restaurants that have double entendre names because c'mon but at night is when it's alive and well...Lustful XD Not sure if I'm gonna keep the 'always rains in Lust due to Greed's water leaking down' thing but heh. Honestly I may scrap that and move that idea for Sloth being Envy is above it but more of that below...

-Envy-

Considering we have yet to see what Hellaverse's Envy Ring will be like, well...

Will go more into it in it's own post but definitely like the idea of an glamorous underwater city that only those with Souls (my Hellaverse's currency) can afford. Leviathan also makes sure that the more 'ugly' parts of Envy are hidden away from the general public and those visiting the ring and is completely not ashamed to throw out those that don't fit her ideal utopia.

Loan Sharks are originally from Envy but because they didn't fit the 'aesthetic' they're either down in the slums of Envy (which unless you live in the ring, you're completely unaware it exist) or tell them to take a hike and throw them into Greed or Pride if they refuse to stay down there.

Envy is also where Hell's fashion and beauty industry thrives and Leviathan also hires social media influencers to hype up and sell the Ring and their own ventures being the sin of Envy is about having something the other has but you don't and will tear them down just to get it, after all...

The sin of Envy is pretty fucked thinking about it...

-Sloth-

I'm completely overhauling Sloth for two reasons: 1) There's no REAL health care system in Hell in my AU (still doesn't really make sense to me) and 2) Honestly I prefer the idea of Sloth being a weird hybrid of a Cyberpunk dystopia and Silicon Valley. Very high tech, most things are automated and unless you happen to be an Imp or Sinner: Life is easy and relaxed being even as an inventor, you don't need to do the hard part of creating and building it. Once you have your ideas down just throw it at the Imps and Sinners and they'll build your invention for you while you claim all the work.

There's always a new start up each day where investors are throwing whatever Souls they have at pretty much every thing they see all at once knowing only one or two of those start ups are going to be profitable and successful while the rest crash a burn. You know: Like the real Silicon Valley.

Will talk about my version of sloth in more details soon...

Part Three: Traversal Between Rings.

I really do love the elevator concept and think it's something that could be explored more so I'm keeping that but what other modes of transportation could there be?

First I'll talk about the elevator system: I like to view it working similar to a rail system. Ya know: buy a ticket, hop aboard, get to your destination within an hour depending where in Hell you are. It may be longer if you're going to Sloth from Pride. These modes of transportation are open to all excluding sinners unless they have clearance to travel outside their ring which is a luxury rarely ever given out.

However, due to the elevator system being over 100,000 years old and possibility even older when ever Hell was fully established, this lead to the crust of each ring to tear and change form which lead to cracks that unless you know where to look, are untraceable. This lead to another form of transportation open to sinners that wish to escape the ring that they're in hoping for a better opportunity or escape there enteral punishment: Travel between the cracks.

Unusually the safest route to traverses these 'tunnels' is sinners going though 'smuggling operations' often ran by hellborn (part of those gang ran 'business' I talked about in the Greed section) who happen to have mapped their own path, either playing as their guide or selling these maps for a price. However these are often extremely expensive as those running these operations often take advantage of desperate sinners and scam them out of their money.

Most Sinners however go at it alone or in small groups but this could be a dangerous endeavor due to the fact these tunnels are unmapped and easy to get lost in. Eventually you will make it out but it may not be the destination you originally intended. You may even end up back where you started from.

But what about those who don't have time to take long haul travel? A Sin who need to get somewhere ASAP or perhaps a royal who doesn't want be sitting next to those filthy presents?

Easy: Portals. I mean we see Stolas using them all the time and Ozzie even was playing around with them in the Mammon episode but for my AU they work a little differently.

For one, they can only be used to traverse though Hell and only Hell! Unless you have Stolas or Loona having that actual spellbook on hand or one of those crystal things that makes the whole point of the grimoire in the show pointless, travel to Earth (or the mortal realm by Hellborn, sometimes referred to 'topside' by sinners and hellborn alike even though Hell/Heaven is more a different plane/dimension and not under/above the earth itself but we're getting off topic) is impossible. You need strong magic and/or spells that work in order to travel topside (ex the Grimoire) but unless you work for a Sin to spread...well, sin on Earth or some noble; you don't have clearance to do so. (At least legality...)

It's possible a few of these things can change in the future but this what I got as of right now. I'll have the other seven parts written out I get the chance and feel I have enough to share.

[evilpenguinrika]

The brain bees are making me think about my hosie/final fantasy 14 AU and will not leave me (literally started writing this post at 4am but stopped because it was almost 5am but now I've come to finish this post at an appropriate time in the late afternoon)

Youre free to check out what kind of weird niche AU I've created by going through my "hosie ffxiv au" tag on my blog!

Okay. So I've had a lot to think about in terms of what Jobs Hope, Josie, and their kids would have and despite my very first post saying otherwise, I've come to a new conclusion:

Hope Mikaelson, our favourite Tribrid, would have these Jobs in this exact order:

Dragoon (no Tribrid reasoning tbh. Dragoons are just fucking hot ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ although one could argue it would fit her werewolf side)

Red Mage (there IS a Tribrid reasoning for this. Red Mages use magic, so that's a no brainer for Hope's witch side. But apart from magic casting, they also fight with rapiers, and I thought that was a cool little touch. Plus, it reminds me a lot of the blood sword we saw Hope use in the show. Not to mention Red Mage--like Dragoons--have some very fanciful moves that made me think of Hope as well. Very fitting.)

Dark Knight (another with Tribrid reasoning. I haven't actually gotten to Heaven's Ward expansion pack to unlock this Job or its Job Quest so all the information of Dark Knight are from videos I've seen. But the Job is perfect for Hope's vampires side as Dark Knight has this blood guage or something which was so fitting. And the lore behind this Job apparently goes super fucking hard lol. And edgy and broody, which is even more perfect for our resident Tribrid!)

//

For our lovely and favourite brunette siphoner, Josie Saltzman, here are the Jobs she would have in this order:

Black Mage (this felt like a no-brainer Job for her to have. Especially because this class focuses a lot with switching between your Blizzard spells and Fire spells. And we all know Josie is secretly a pyromaniac (lol I jest). So for her, Black Mage is perfect)

Blue Mage (this is another no-brainer and fits in theme with her Siphoner witch abilities. Blue Mages are able to copy the moves they've seen from their enemies, now sure this may not seem very Siphoner themed, but I assure you, it's sort of parallel to it. Siphoners are able to use magic if they siphon/take magic from someone or something magical right? Blue Mage is sort of like that in which they acquire spells of enemy moves to add to their arsenal of magic. So it makes sense in my book)

Honourable mention for Josie before I move on is the Bard Job. I felt like this Job would suit Josie nice because Bards have music stuff and I thought that fit. Though I don't quite remember if Josie being into or dabbling in music was canon or a fan fanon thing. Now, with the next Expansion Dawntrail coming out summer, I have been made aware that there are a few other Jobs that will be included in the pack--new jobs too (Viper being one of them but I'll get to that Job later). So it's possible that I will update this list for Josie once more when we get news of the rest of the new Jobs.

//

Moving onto my very precious Hosie Fankids!

Lana Mikaelson, she, like her mom Hope, is a Tribrid as well! So this will be pretty much the same except for one additional Job:

Dragoon (same reasoning as Hope)

Red Mage (originally I didn't think of Lana taking Red Mage, but when I realized Stormblood Expansion pack is now included in standard edition and free trial permanently, I had to try out Red Mage. And then I realized Red Mage is a perfect fit for Lana for the same reasons I gave in Hope's section)

Dark Knight (same reasoning as Hope)

Viper (this is one of the new Jobs that will be included in Dawntrail expansion and I am so excited. What information we have are from things that had been showcased already, with gameplay footage you could find on YouTube. But I chose this Job for Lana is because I'm a simple pal and loved the aesthetic. But also because YOU FIGHT WITH DUOBLADES THAT CAN THEN BE CONNECTED INTO ONE DOUBLE SIDED BLADE HOW COOL IS THAT PLUS it also fits well with a certain event and scene that I have plans for when it's time to write about Lana's adventures in my future kid fic series So I Swear That I'll Protect It. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up)

//

Hayley Mikaelson. The werewolf of the kids and one of Hosie's twins! I love Hayley she's the best:

Monk (felt this Job was fitting for her werewolf side. She's a heavy hitter, packs a mean punch, and werewolves sorta rely on that, most of the time I'm assuming. Sorry it's been a while since I've watched the series haha. But for Hayley, despite her werewolf side, I felt like Monk was the perfect fit!)

Rogue (now, I've already written up an in depth reasoning for picking this starting class here. But I'll paraphrase here anyways. I thought it might also be jnteresting to have Hayley, not only be a charge in type of girl, but also someone who knew how to be sneaky and use her cunning. She would have been taught to try out different battle tactics so she wouldn't just rely on her base instincts. The reason this is a starting class is because the next 'evolution' I guess is the Ninja Job, which I'm not sure if I want her to take. It's also very jarring to have a pirate-esque western-y feel and then evolve to something very Japanese-theme, but that's just me. Plus Jay is the anime weeb in the family lol

So literally after writing this post the other day I logged in to play as Hayley and ended up having her pick up the Marauder class so she can actually become Warrior haha

Warrior (like I've mentioned before, Hayley's fighting style is very rush in guns-a-blazing. She will do whatever it takes to have the focus on her so her friends or siblings/family can get the jump on the enemies without fear of getting targetted themselves. Which is absolutely fitting as a Tank role because Tanks pull mobs and enemies, they make sure all mobs and enemies are focusing on THEM while the rest of the party does their job without fear of being targetted. And I specifically chose Warrior as the Job for Hayley is because out of the four Tank Jobs: Paladin, Warrior, Dark Knight, and Gunbraker, I felt like Warrior fit better for Hayley in terms of her role and personality)

Reaper (I was writing this post about how to incorporate Hayley and Leo's TVDU backstory abilities into FFXIV AU and now I can't unsee Reaper being an excellent fit for Hayley because my hc is that Hayley is a werewolf yes, but she also has vampire blood running in her--courtesy of her Tribrid Mom) [RPR Job point added Feb 1, 2024]

Honourable mentions for other Jobs Hayley might take up. I have been humouring the idea of her taking on one of the four Tank Jobs (Paladin, Warrior, Dark Knight, and Gunbreaker), but I truly am unsure which of the Tank Jobs would be best suited for her. I mentioned previously that she's quite a "charge in head first" type, and that's usually what the Tank Jobs do where they pull enemies away from the party members so the party can do their thing. And I think Hayley is very much like that. Maybe Paladin or Warrior would be the two I could see for Hayley because iirc, in one of the intermission chapters for my very first Hosie fic Sad Bedroom Eyes, she was playing D&D and had chosen--nope never mind I just checked I had her pick the Monk class. Welp, that doesn't help me lol. I'll think more on this and then decide. Either that or wait to see what the new Jobs are for Dawntrail (I mean I guess Viper could also fit. And it would be nicely aligned with Rogue. We'll see though).

Also with her picking up a Tank job, I think Hosie would have very different outlooks and opinions on it. Hope--since Dark Knight is also a Tank--would be proud of Hayley and would probably help her fit into her role as a Tank until her daughter feels more confident and comfortable. As opposed to Josie who would be fretting about Hayley having to be the one to pull enemies and have all the attacks be aimed at her. I also think if the entire family goes do dungeons, Hope and Hayley would both be Tanks, Hope being main Tank and Hayley being off Tank at first--but I think they'll switch roles so that Hayley will get a chance to be main Tank. I think that would be really fun and really sweet bonding moment for the Hosie family.

//

Jay Mikaelson, the loveable goofball, twin to Hayley, big time anime weeb, and Siphoner. He will also have similar Jobs like his momma Josie, all except one additional Job:

Black Mage (same reasoning as Josie)

Blue Mage (same reasoning as Josie)

Dancer (in my fic So I Swear That I'll Protect It, Jay has taken dance classes and gymnastics and uses those moves to incorporate into his fighting in addition to his magic. It took me an embarrassingly long time to remember this information and only popped up when I was writing chapter 15 of We're Reckless And In Danger--second installment in SISTIPI series--so I quickly added this Job to Jay's list! And it's just so perfect for him)

//

Leo Mikaelson, the adopted son, youngest Mikaelson kid, and the ONLY HUMAN in a family of supernaturals. The kid's got his work cut out for him:

Scholar (I felt like this class was fitting for Leo since he wishes to learn all that he can about magic in order to relate more to his three older siblings. Of course Hayley is just a werewolf and does not have magic, but the sentiment is still there. And Scholars have a faerie that pretty much helps with buffs and heals and I think that's also nice for Leo. I see him as someone who's very friendly towards lots of creatures. And since Scholar is a Healing Job, I think it also works even more with Leo's need to want to support his siblings/family and help them out when he can.)

Bard (so I also wrote an in-depth reasoning for Leo taking up this class as well here, but I'll paraphrase. Asides from learning potions that do not require actual magic abilities, I think he'd also want to learn how to help protect his family and contribute a bit more. So he'd go to grandpa Alaric and ask for him to teach him how to fight with weapons. Obviously Hope and Josie were against that because Leo's too young to fight with weapons, but Alaric just teaches him archery--which works because Bards uses bows as their weapon. Another reason why I chose Bard is because in my first Hosie fic Sad Bedroom Eyes, I think I had Leo be really into theatre and performing arts, and Bards traditionally are performers, and in the game, they can play music. So that's why Bard is perfect for Leo!)

Summoner (in the game, Scholar and Summoners are Jobs that branched out of the Arcanist class. Summoners basically summon little versions of Ifrit, Garuda, and Titan to help fight them along with the Carbuncle. Oh, the Carbuncle is like a cute little fox creature anyways the Carbuncle turns into either Ifrit, Garuda, or Titan depending on the button you press anyways--like I said in Scholar, Leo would be out there befriending all the creatures like a tiny Snow White or Cinderella)

Astrologian (I mentioned how this is a great Job for Leo but never elaborated so now's my chance haha. Astrologian is also a Healing Job but they use tarot cards--which I thought would be excellent for Leo because it just connects back to Leo's wish to learn all that he can about magic. I'd like to think Freya teaches Leo how to read tarot and he's become very good at it)

Machinist (I think Machinist would be nice for Leo as well. The way I headcanon it, Leo would make potions and would somehow incorporate those into his fighting style. He'd probably tinker with things and build some sort of contraption or whatever. And Machinist are kind of like that--I mean they use guns in the game and I don't think Leo would actually use guns, but again, the sentiment is still there. The lore for this Job is that Machinist sort of follow the footsteps of Cid Garlond, a man who's great with utilizing magitek. So Machinist uses the knowledge that they know and turns it into something they can use in battle. And I think Leo would definitely--again--be creating trinkets of sorts to help his siblings/family that also incorporate the magic element)

White Mage (listen. Leo is a precious sunshine boi with a big imagination. Also White Mage are pure healers so that fits right up Leo's whole "i want to protect my family and make sure they're safe" and the fact that he is, in fact, the only damn healer in the goddamn family lmao. ALSO YOU GET A UNICORN WHEN YOU PLAY THIS JOB. OBVIOUSLY I'M GOING TO HAVE LEO PICK THIS JOB UP ARE YOU KIDDINGGGGG) [WHM Job point added Feb 14, 2024]

Wow I think that's about it for what Jobs Hosie and my Hosie Fankids would take up. Leo's ended up getting a lot more Jobs compared to the others, but I think it also makes sense considering how Leo is so eager to keep up pace with his supernatural family since he's the only human/non-supernatural.

Of course, maybe this list will get updated once the rest of the new Jobs for the Dawntrail expansion pack gets revealed, but until that happens...

If you've actually made it to the very end of this post, I am so sorry lol. But also thank you for reading through this very niche Hosie AU that was born out of my love for the ship and my love for the Critically Acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV with an expanded free trial which you can play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn and the award-winning Heavensward expansion and award-winning Stormblood expansion up to level 70 for free with no playtime restriction <3

[lunalucykat]

RULES: answer all questions, add one question of your own and tag as many people as there are questions.

Thanks for tagging me @menkhu !!! :) :D

coke or pepsi: my soda of choice is Dr Pepper, but if i HAD to choose between these two then Coke

disney or dreamworks: i really don't know. I don't keep up with these studios anymore. Maybe Disney???

coffee or tea: coffee

books or movies: movies

windows or mac: sorry, born and raised with Macs....

dc or marvel: neither lol. I really don't do superhero stuff, but I GUESS DC if i had to choose

x-box or playstation: nintendo lol

dragon age or mass effect: i've never played either of these so i dont have an opinion

night owl or early riser: born to be a night owl, forced by job to be an early riser... catch me waking up at 4am to go to work...

cards or chess: cards

chocolate or vanilla: chocolate

vans or converse: i own a singular pair of vans, so i guess vans lol

Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash, or Adaar: sorry, i don't know what this is in reference to

fluff or angst: why not both? :3c

beach or forest: beach. It's been so long since I've see the ocean, I wanna go back

dogs or cats: dogs

clear skies or rain: Clear skies! I used to be one of those emo teens that would always say rain on this question, but now that i'm in my extreme late 20s I understand the importance of sunshine

cooking or eating out: tough question. SOMETIMES I like cooking, but also most of the times I'm lazy as fuck so I do get carryout a fair amount

spicy food or mild food: mild, my stomach can't handle a lot of spice unfortunately

halloween/samhain or solstice/yule/christmas: Boy do i LOVE the aesthetics of Halloween, but Christmas is really the best. I love the lights and warmth and music and food and family during the WORST season (winter. I hate winter so GD much)

would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot: a little too hot

if you could have a superpower, what would it be: either invisibility (because i'm a nosy binch that loves dropping eaves) or shapeshifting

animation or live action: i generally prefer animation

paragon or renegade: idk what this is, sorry

baths or showers: showers

team cap or team ironman: could not care less

fantasy or sci-fi: fantasy

do you have three or four favorite quotes, if so what are they: oof! I don't really have favorite quotes. But at the current moment I can almost perfectly recite the whole of Live Action One Piece (not joking lol) There's a lot of talk about believing in yourself and following your dreams which is really nice though. I do also have legit quotes from Octopath Traveler that I like: "Even grown-ups need a good cry from time to time." -Alfyn Greengrass. And then as a more funny quote that I love from Octopath: "O, woe is me, doomed to never realize the full depth of my good looks and charisma!" -Cyrus Albright. Because I am very humble lmao

youtube or netflix: very rare for me to NOT be watching YouTube

harry potter or percy jackson: Percy Jackson

when do you feel accomplished: i guess when i make a joke and people laugh :)

star wars or star trek: I don't have a strong feeling on either of these really

paperback books or hardcover books: hardcover

to live in a world without literature or without music?: i love writing, but i am almost always listening to music. I don't think i could live without it

who was the last person to make you laugh? almost positive it was TJ

city or countryside? small city/town?

favorite chips? i like just plain but salty tortilla chips that i can dip into hummus or queso or what have you

pants or dresses? my favorite thing is to wear shorts over leggings. Pokemon protagonist lookin' ass!

libraries or museums? museums

character driven stories or plot driven stories? character driven

bookmarks or folding pages? bookmarks

Dream job? lol...lmao..... YouTube/ Twitch streamer lol.

What gives you comfort? unwinding in my room. late night chats with TJ. my dog. watching whichever show i'm really into at the moment (rn it's One Piece)

what are some of your favorite song lyrics? Oof... Like in general? Because I know there are songs I like to sing just because they're fun to sing... But I don't really know if i have any songs where the lyrics really jump out at me in a meaningful way. Well, okay. All of the Simple Plan songs I have meant something to me for sure as a little emo teenager, but, hmm.... For current me? Dreams by the Cranberries has been one of those songs where I really just soak in the vibes and listen to it, so I'll give you a nice lyric from that. "Oh my life/ is changing every day/ in every possible way. And oh my dreams/ it's never quite as it seems/ never quite as it seems"

Do you believe in ghosts?

Tagging: Literally anyone who wants to do this!!! Seriously! It's pretty fun! But in order to try and keep it going (cause I know almost no one will just do it if I don't tag them specifically, and i Get It) But I'll tag @bitter-like-coffee, @pawelcyril, and @electric016

[puddicure]

I feel like I’ve made this post before but I will make it again: I fucking LOVE scifi fashion, especially OLD scifi fashion.

I definitely love old B-movie and pulp-style “future fashion” the MOST, obviously, because I am just Delighted by visions of the future that are “contemporary fashion with garbage glued onto it,” but even higher budget movies can be so incredible when they allow themselves to have fun.

The challenge in trying to emulate the feel of “old scifi” as a design direction is that there are so many flavors of scifi, and each one landed on what is now considered Iconic because that’s what they had the budget for.

Some of the most iconic outfits of the broad genre are literally space crew uniforms, with utilitarian designs suitable for mass production and for visual clarity. These are usually inspired somewhat by irl military uniform design, and utilize color blocking and clean lines. This shares DNA with a lot of the design direction for anime and animated series in the genre, which benefit from simpler outfits and designated character colors. These all aim for being evocative- quite literally, Iconic- and succeed so well that they become can shorthand for the genre as a whole.

Similar in aesthetics is pulp pinup scifi, which falls between Iconic Designs and “10 minutes into the future bullshit fashion.” A lot of the time it’ll just be space bikinis, (or more accurately, space crop tops+sexy cutouts) but sometimes, like with Barbarella, you’ll get multiple outfits that are basically go go dancer outfits/fetish wear with chain mail/armor thrown on top, which is a very classic pulp look.

Then you’ve got my favorite, which is “10 minutes into the future bullshit fashion,” a prime example of which is in Back to the Future 2, where wearing your clothes inside out is trendy because you can see the designer labels (which, frankly, is brilliant commentary on Brand Fashion of the day, and also justifies the BS of “why are most of them wearing normal clothes”), and the rest of the future fashion is just “junk glued onto normal clothes, weird layering of statement pieces, stuff made from novelty fabrics, and sometimes someone will look like a space marine cyborg for no reason.” It’s a ton of garbage thrown together, and it rules because it reminds me of irl street fashion the most.

Space fantasy/space opera, on the other hand, tends to lean into extravagance, taking cues and employing silhouettes and concepts from haute couture and runway fashion. (Think Star Wars Prequels, Jupiter Ascending, and frankly, a lot of of the Miss Universe National outfits)

(Sidebar: This, in my opinion, is what most clearly differentiates the visual development of the original Star Wars trilogy from the prequels, beyond just the use of CGI; A New Hope HEAVILY took inspiration from westerns (black hats and white hats, Han Solo’s vest, etc), whereas the prequels and Padme’s regalia was all EXTREMELY space opera.)

The most boring versions of future fashion to me (which is, unfortunately, where Hollywood has seemingly landed on as “this is is what the future looks like,”) is “Bladerunner-Style Punkless Cyberpunk” (neon orientalism and trench coats) and “Apple Store Chic” (all white/black, smooth, minimalist, sometimes with Tron Lines if they’re feeling spicy)

I’m not saying it can’t be done WELL (Tron Legacy had a lot of fun sharp silhouettes and color coding to add interest to the Apple Store aesthetics), I’m just saying that it’s less fun than a guy wearing a 10 gallon hat with a headlamp glued to the front.

Anyway, TL;DR, please make the future weird again. I think the TikTok girlies gluing plastic fish to their outfits are the first step to a new and hopeful future.

[xenoblademisadventures]

I’m not too familiar with outdated Native American stereotypes, but I’m, like, 99% sure that the Tirkin dialogue in Ghondor’s ascension quest was an outdated Native American stereotype. The way the Tirkin in general have been handled has always been a bit questionable but borders on the “I simply don’t know enough about what I think is happening to say anything.” But I was wondering if anyone knows more about the topic? I’m only really able to flag the dialect as a stereotype because it was brought up in a LA class, otherwise I wouldn’t have noticed. But I’ve been wondering vaguely about the Tirkin enemies for a while. 

Even in the first game, it’s like, the Tirkin and Ignas are just weird enemy types that really shouldn’t have been in the game all things considered. Like, their role in the game was to be an enemy type that could chain attack the player, which is a cute gimmick, but it’s weird that the Monado can damage the Tirkin and Ignas. Also, I’m unsure whether the similar aesthetic to native american artwork in the Tirkin designs counts as inspiration or appropriation, but I also just don’t have a very solid grip on the concept of cultural appropriation, just the understanding that a lot of Native American shit is off-limits due to common bastardizations of it and its usage being not appreciated (in other words, just “don’t go out of my way to add this stuff into my works because it will be seen as disrespectful”). Which also makes me curious about the Saltat enemies in Xenoblade X, which feel like a less copy+paste take of the Tirkin’s as a visual concept. Like, where do they fall in this discussion? Also, I have to bring up the actual totem poles that appear in Future Redeemed. I’m, like, 90% sure that counts as disrespectful. So, actual irl totem poles are really fucking cool. I, again, have very limited understanding of them, but they’re basically stories that are also really detailed and really cool looking carvings. They are a piece of art, not a fucking war-flag. Treating them as such would be like having the Mona Lisa summon Italians for battle. Doesn’t seem right to give it a health bar.

There’s also the story presence of Tirkins in each game that I’m like “hmmm..” Just, with the context that they’re aesthetically derived directly from Native American art. They’ve always existed in a weird half-spot between being a generic enemy for the player to kill without sparing a second thought and as a fantasy race. In the first game, this status is accompanied by the Hodes and Ignas. Again, I’m guessing the purpose was to have the novelty of an enemy capable of chain attacking the player? But unlike the Hodes and Ignas, they’re given speaking roles in 2 and 3. In 2, this dichotomy is addressed by making them a bit of a joke whenever they get speaking roles. Like, in the main story the party kills a bunch of Tirkin chefs on the basis of “they must be up to no good because they’re Tirkin” then upon learning that they actually were innocent, the game’s like “lmao” and moves on. Like, bruh. ???? I assumed that moment has racist roots around it because that’s the only way that series of story beats makes sense to me, but I never really focused on it because 2 is just a giant fucking mess that is also racist in other ways (and in ways I’m simply not qualified to talk about). 

But yeah, figured I should bring that up because it’s annoying that the racism against Native Americans in the series seems to just be getting worse per entry. And it’s just odd for that to even be in the games in the first place considering their larger themes. It’s by no means the first or only case of a work about acceptance, unlearning prejudice, etc. also containing a blatant stereotype in it, but I don’t think I’ve seen anyone bring this up despite being in the fandom since the first game. 

[ghostsrom]

> Hello World

I have something on my mind. The PSVita has genuinely changed the way I view gaming.

I’m new to gaming. My childhood was mostly sports and art. I was on the internet more than anything though. I didn’t start playing games until I was maybe 12 or 13. I started to play with games like Borderlands 2, Final Fantasy XV, Overwatch, and Fallout 4.

As I’ve become more and more engulfed in the gaming world the older I get I feel like games are not the same even from when I started. I don’t like any of the online games right now; I have ended up retreating to my PSVita for my comfort gaming. I have come to appreciate the old games that were on PlayStation 1-3; fuck even the Dreamcast has some pure gold on there.

The Vita can literally run the most incredible stuff on it. I can connect to my PS3, PS4, and my computer. With some very definitely legal software changes and very minimal additions that took my only 10 minutes to do I can now play most PSP games and some PS1 games as well. I understand it may be a little small for some people but you can connect a controller to it. It’s so easy to customize and I’ve started to look into physical modding because I’m so obsessed with this small little machine. The battery has never crapped out on me, it can connect to my wifi, and it connects with Bluetooth. I will say it’s hard to find replacement parts at least that are actually made by Sony and not some off brand on Amazon or Aliexpress. I’ve gotten to the point where I want to buy a bunch of broken ones and Frankenstein them together and make a working one. From what I’ve seen on physically changing boards or shells it really doesn’t look too hard. At least in my experience and opinion.

I never got too into gaming because 1) games are far too expensive nowadays 2) it was never very convenient for me. I liked the switch but the lack of game choices made me stop playing it after 3 years of use to be frank. (Also it’s impossible to crack and that makes me sad. Nintendo let your audience mod your systems 😤) and 3) I’m so tired of micro transactions and seasons. Don’t be lazy, just update your game. Actually be passionate for what you’re making and putting out into the world. I don’t have to worry about any of these things with my Vita. With once again some VERY legal software changes I can get everything I want for free, it amazing portability (the battery life is eh. It lasts 5/6 hours, but I have a phone to play on if it dies), and I don’t ever have to worry about that mirco transaction stuff. I don’t have to pay money to play with my friends.

It’s not just for games too! You can get a drawing app called colors and use it to draw since it’s touchscreen. There’s a calendar app which I use since I’m on it more than my phone. There’s a camera as well! The camera isn’t the best quality but it reminds me of an old phone so aesthetically I prefer it. The servers on here are also not shut down! You can add your friends on it and it even has a party option so you can talk to them on the PSVita. I have Noboru on mine so I can read comics and manga if I’m not in the gaming mood. You can also even connect your email. There’s a similar feature to the Nintendo 3DS Streetpass where you can see what people in your area are playing.

Thanks if you read this very not put together infodump on the PSVita. If you have any questions pLEASE ask. I wanna talk about the Vita more ✊🏻😔

[whattheduckisthisbullpit]

Rating the new Mighty Nein looks by how actually warm they seem to be

* for this I will be assuming they are all wearing thermal pants/leggings/underwear, as you should if you are travelling in cold areas

** Also, while I am an Northerner, I am not a cold weather survival expert and this is just based on personal experience/knowledge

*** Also, I realize aesthetic over practicality in fantasy, but thought this would be a wonderful learning opportunity! Especially for people in warmer climates

1 Veth - Got this cold weather thing on lock! Gloves, ear covers, fur lined boots and coat means that all the important parts are covered from wind and cold air! Coat is buttoned and close in the torso area, preventing wind from getting in. Looking cute and toasty!! Cant tell layers, but for maximum warmth should be paired with a thermal undershirt and warm long sleeved shirt. Only thing I would add is a little pom pom scarf.

2 Jester - She said it would be a bit lighter cause she is cold resistant but she still looks nice and warm! Fur lined boots and coat, ear muffs, and gloves (can change between fingerless and mitts, not the warmest but useful if you need to do fancy spell stuff) keeps the extremities warm. Sleeves on the coat are short but looks like fur-lined thermal long sleeve underneath. Based on the look of them I'm assuming the pants we see are the thermal layer so she could do with one more bottom layer and having the coat done up a little bit more, as a loose, open coat can let cold air in.

3 Caduceus - The primary rule of cold weather wear is to layer, and Cad has that on lock! I'm counting about 4 upper layers! And a nice pair of warm gloves! Doesn't look like his stuff is fur lined, but he's fluffy enough! Should have a nice hat to cover those adorable ears and a scarf!

4. Caleb - Caleb also knows how to layer properly! Looks like he is wearing 3 upper layers, including a warm quilted tunic. Whole coat looks fur lined, which is what gives him the edge over Fjord. Not wearing gloves, but I don't think that is much of a problem when you can set your WHOLE ARM on fire. Warm looking scarf is long enough to wrap around his head and cover his ears, but should really have a hat.

5. Fjord - Now Fjord has a hat, but it doesn't even cover his ears!!! No mitts, coat only has the decorative fur along the shoulder?? Also looks like he's got the layers going for him, with a fur lined jacket, under his coat so I cant fault him too hard.

6. Beau - I know you have amazing abs, but the torso is the most important part to keep warm. You should be layering up in that area...not layering down!! Hood is fur lined, but it should be paired with a hat or earmuffs. One strong wind blows that hood down are you ears are gone. Open sleeves and wide legged pants allow for any gust of cold wind into your outfit. Will accept no mitts for Monk Reasons TM.

7. Yasha - The only thing keeping her warm is how fucking hot she is. Lace up pants have a time and place and the Arctic ain't it. Points for the hat and fur lined boots but I cant stop thinking about the PANTS!

[redorich]

In the HermitCanyon au, How is my favorite Bee armored Admin doing? How long does it take for Xisuma to become.. aware of what is happening? For the first few sections it seemed like he was in a coma/unconscious. In the most recent bit Impulse tells Etho to get Xisuma, so at least theoretically he can now move, but how long has it taken him to get there, and where is he on the scale to full recovery? Are the other hermits keeping him safe with rabbit stew? (if they have rabbits that is...)

Part 2 of this.

Etho comes back twenty minutes later with a solemn look on his face. (At least, Puffy assumes. She can't actually see most of his face because of that mask of his.)

"X is in a bad way today," he says quietly. "I can take Puffy to him if you guys would like to stay here with Zedaph."

Impulse and Tango look nervously at each other. On one hand, they very much would like to stay with Zedaph, who is mostly healed but still very loopy and probably should not be moved. On the other hand, allowing Puffy deep into the Hermits' inner sanctum is a risk in and of itself, let alone with only one Hermit with her. Etho's a good fighter and a wily bastard, but Puffy is most certainly no slouch.

In the end, it comes down to trust. How much can they show Puffy before they can no longer trust that she won't snitch? How sure are they that she won't try to kill them all and steal their stuff?

"Tell Xisuma I said hi," Zedaph warbles from the bed in the corner of the room, out of any window's line of sight.

As Etho presses a button which removes a panel of the wall in a whir of piston noises, Puffy snorts out a little laugh. "I'll be sure to do that."

Tango nods subtly to Impulse. If Puffy brought Zedaph back to the canyon, saved him from a painful respawn, and didn't once ask for anything in return, then the Hermits can trust her at least this much.

Etho leads Puffy through a short hallway into a large circular room with a domed ceiling. The room is mostly quartz, though the walls are lined with sea lanterns and oak leaves. It’s beautiful. This place has been hiding under her feet this whole time?

“This is the Atrium,” Etho says, “or at least the main one. Come on, getting a mule will be more trouble than it’s worth if you’re not carrying anything.”

Puffy is speechless, utterly and profoundly, when Etho takes her through a tunnel on the opposite side of where she entered. It almost looks as though the tunnel here was carved by hand, then completely redone in dirt and grass and vines to give it a secretive, high fantasy look.

“Hey, Etho!” says a dark-haired man with a big smile as he comes trotting out of a branching hallway to the left. “Hey--” He catches sight of Puffy and his smile dissipates into panic. He shouts incoherently and dives back into the hallway he just exited.

“Hey Bdubs,” Etho greets impishly, then turns to Puffy. “Man, it’s like he saw a ghost or something. Maybe Mothman.”

Puffy bleats out a surprised laugh. Up ahead, she spots another Hermit lurking around the corner of the archway Etho is leading her toward.

“Etho,” says a tall blonde woman. “Cleo wants to talk to you about, er...” The blonde woman glances at Puffy. “Her thing,” she finishes lamely.

“Well, as you can see, I’m a bit busy at the moment. Would you mind telling Cleo so she doesn’t skin me alive?” Etho says sweetly.

The blonde woman snorts. “Face the music, Mothman. I’ll take care of Puffy from here. I assume you’re taking her to Xisuma?”

Etho wilts. Clearly, whoever this Cleo person is, she’s not someone to piss off. Puffy wonders what Etho did.

“See ya around,” Etho waves, somehow both cheery and morose at the same time, like a funeral for someone nobody liked. Puffy and the blonde woman watch him go.

“My name’s False, by the way,” the blonde woman says. “Thanks for the bandanna. Normally I’d be wearing it, but I just got back from beating up Iskall.”

The woman-- False-- laughs. Puffy is once again taken aback by the idea that the Hermits actually use the items that she makes for them. 

False takes off in a brisk walk toward the archway she’d come out of. Jumping a little bit at being torn from her thoughts, Puffy hurries to follow. It’s hard to keep up, since all Puffy wants to do is stare. She must be in the living quarters-- they let her in the living quarters?! Each door matches the high fantasy, underground sort of aesthetic, but a few doors are left open and each one is remarkably different on the inside. One room is built entirely out of red and white concrete, whereas another is Nether-themed with actual fire, and the room down the hall is entirely underwater!

One door is different. It’s got blue-purple banners along the frame, and when False opens the door for Puffy, she can see that the room is made of blackstone bricks. Maps of the Dream SMP line the wall, and in the center of the room there is a mildly ornate table made of warped wood.

At the end of the table in the back of the room, opposite the door, sits a trio. To the left, there is a plain-looking man with a beard and an “at” symbol on his shirt. He speaks in a Southern accent to a man on the right side of the table, who wears a red sweater and twirls a feather between his fingers like the cat that got the canary.

In between the two, at the head of the table, rests someone very unique. He’s obviously tall, that much is obvious even when he’s sitting down. He’s also got mesmerizing purple eyes which glow faintly against the dark of the blackstone. Puffy doesn’t know why, but she gets the feeling that they’re supposed to be glowing much brighter.

As taken by the man’s eyes as she is, Puffy doesn’t notice the non-invasive breathing tube the man also has (a cannula? She doesn’t know what it’s called, but that sounds right) until the man’s gaze falls upon her, still standing in the doorway next to False.

“Oh,” the man says. “You’re not supposed to be here. Welcome.”

False steps forward, breaking Puffy from her trance. “Puffy, this is Xisuma, Joe, and Grian. I’d introduce you to them as well, but... you know.”

“I don’t know-- oh,” Puffy says awkwardly, catching sight of the massive crochet blanket she’d made for the Hermit months ago, draped across Xisuma’s shoulders.

“Why are you here?” Grian asks with a tilted head. “No offense or anything, but I just lost a bet. I had three diamonds on Cub bringing you in here eventually-- he’s the one you usually meet at the barrel, you know.”

False interjects, “I didn’t bring her down here, it was Etho!”

“Shoot,” Joe says. “Cleo wins yet again.”

“It was Zedaph, actually,” Puffy says. All eyes turn to her. “I found him on the surface. He was really injured, so I brought him back here. Impulse and-- Tango? Yeah, Tango-- told Etho to take me down here.”

Puffy uncharacteristically twiddles her fingers a little bit, feeling in over her head. “Uh, you know I’m not gonna tell or anything, so... Why am I here?”

The full weight of Xisuma’s piercing stare falls upon her. Even as fragile as he looks, even as strong as Puffy is, she feels a jolt of apprehension.

“You’d know more about the red vines than we do,” he begins. “Etho mentioned that they’re what hurt Zedaph; he’s mentioned them on multiple occasions, and never in a good way. How long do you think it would take for those vines to reach our village, and what do you think would happen once they do?”

“As far as we’re aware, there are several players who are proponents of the vines, and claim they originate from some sort of egg?” Joe adds. “I’ve had a hard time calculating how big of a mushroom we’d need to make an omelet out of the egg, but apparently most of my fellow Hermits do not in fact want evil eggs on their omelets.”

“And how come the End is inaccessible?” Grian cuts in with a whine. “I want my elytra.”

Xisuma huffs a laugh into the cannula. “As you can see, we have many questions which only a native Dream SMP player like yourself can answer. In the interest of keeping ourselves safe--” he trails off into a coughing fit.

Puffy bites her lip, feeling as though she really shouldn’t be seeing this. Joe rests his hand on Xisuma’s back.

“You give us answers, and we’ll give you diamonds, netherite, whatever you want. And when we move out-- well, it wasn’t much of a secret anyway-- we’ll offer you a safe place with us,” Grian speaks up on Xisuma’s behalf.

A thousand thoughts spin inside Puffy’s head. She feels like Dorothy in that tornado, and Grian’s offer is the Wicked Witch. “Did you guys really save Tommy’s life?” she finds herself asking.

The Hermits seem taken aback.

“The blond kid?” False asks. “Yeah, but he was unconscious the whole time. I think Scar told the kid to keep us a secret, but... I don’t think any of us expected that to actually work.”

Puffy laughs disbelievingly. “He’s the one person on the entire server who keeps insisting that you guys aren’t real.”

“That’s good to hear,” Xisuma says quietly. “Do you have an answer for us, or would you like some time to consider?”

There are a thousand and one variables Puffy needs to think about. What is Dream’s stance on the Hermits? Who will she be setting herself against by allying with the Hermits? What will Puffy have to expect, from both underground and surface-dwelling players alike? Which players can she take in a fight?

Fuck it, she thinks. “You’ve got yourselves a deal.”

Xisuma smiles. Despite his ill condition, she gets the feeling that this nice, mild-mannered man is far more dangerous than she could ever hope to be.

“I’m glad to have you on our side, Puffy,” he says. “Thank you for your help.”

[ghost-town-story]

heylo!! i saw your wbw post and i’m interested in the technology aspect of your world 👀 as well as the magic aspect!! feel free to ramble about it :D [@fiercely-raging-writer]

Hi! Thanks so much for the ask! <3

So before I get too far, I'mma quick define some shit. Since ASTHC is, in part, a portal fantasy, as well as a sci-fi adventure, there's a couple places I'm gonna give placeholder titles. So!

Place where Jazz, Jason, and Alex are from: Base Universe (or World)

Universe where they get dumped by portal: Adventure Universe

Planet where Jazz ends up: P1

Planet where Alex ends up: P2

Planet where Jason ends up: P3

Now onto the actual question :)

Technology in Base Universe is essentially whatever it was circa mid-2010s. That's the boring part of this answer lol

Now, for the Adventure Universe, here's what I have so far:

Spaceships and interplanetary travel/faster-than-light travel. How that looks is probably gonna depend by planet tbh. P2: super "outdated" (inefficient and such) bc they don't go anywhere. P1: Clunky but effective. P3: Essentially engineered to where they can use their powers as part of the propulsion system.

Holograms, especially tactile ones. I def have a vibe I wanna achieve with this lol

There's one city that I wanna make look like that bright shiny futuristic aesthetic, so hover vehicles, robots, the whole shebang

(Jason: *drooling over all the tech* Jazz, grabbing him by the collar: Keep walking ya nerd)

I think that's all the kids will interact with, but who knows, more stuff might pop up as I dive deeper into this project lol.

As for magic..... time for a read-more lol

In the Base Universe, magic is this sort of "in the shadows" type deal. It's pretty hereditary, but also pretty random. Jazz and Alex come from a family with a long history of magic, but it just completely skipped over their grandfather. Meanwhile Jason's family on his mom's side has 0 magic other than his mom and her brother. People with magic tend to have 1-3 distinct powers, and I'll list those out in a bit.

Also, because you're enabling me to ramble, I'mma mention something that's uh, not a thing that was created crucially for ASTHC, but is a thing in my own character lore and therefore does make an appearance in ASTHC.

So there's some people with magic that are (tentatively) called star-touched, and the difference between them and say, Jazz or Jason, is that their magic is dormant until awakened. Once awakened, they get 1 power, period. This type of power is way less random than typical powers and very consistently hereditary, leading to the star-touched being kinda a lil bit culty. This gets to be somewhat relevant because Alex's mom was star-touched who said "fuck your lowkey culty shit" and married his dad (not star-touched, but has powers), which therefore makes Alex a unique lil bean lol.

(I really like this bit of lore. And just the entire complicated Lunacen-Evenstar family drama lol)

Anyhoot, enough about Base Universe, that's just to set up Jazz, Jason, and Alex, let's get onto the Adventure Universe!

Functionally, it's mostly similar to how powers work in the Base Universe, with the same set of powers existing in each universe. The key differences are:

In Base, powers are random and are not necessarily related to what parents and/or family members have. In Adventure, kids always have the same powers as their parents.

1 power per person all the time.

Due to The War, all of the different powers have been split up and are now living on separate planets

Due to being allowed more openness/freedom about using/learning how to control powers, they are a lot stronger and better controlled in the Adventure Universe.

There are, as far as anybody knows, there are no people who don't have any powers anymore.

Now, I did promise a list of wtf types of powers people have, so *blows dust off the old Word doc* here's the incomplete list I have so far (incomplete bc I do want to add more I'm just... stuck on what else to add lol) (and, for funsies, I'm also including which of my OG characters has said powers so. That's who all the names are lol)

Shapeshifters: Can shift into 1 or 2 animal forms. (Melody (wolf and phoenix), Finn (wolf), Celia (dragon), Jason (fox), Alex (dragon))

Time control: As basic as it sounds lmao. Stop, slow down, or speed up time. (Was Jared's, may be his once again)

Elemental: Control over water, fire, air, and earth (yes, just like ATLA lol). (Melody, Jared, Jason)

Werewolf: .... Yeah lol. 1 key difference from typical werewolves though, it is the one power that is absolutely hereditary. Also there's typically only 1 per generation. (Will Hayden, Jazz, Will Daniel)

Telepathy: Another of those (hopefully) self-explanatory ones lol. (Will Hayden, James)

Telekinesis: Able to move stuff with just a thought. (Sasi, Hayden)

Seer: Able to see the future, often in dreams. (Jared, Alex)

Illusions: Able to create illusions. Stability of the illusion depends mostly on strength of the creator, but none are able to hold up to physical touch. (Jake, Hayden)

Storm Twisters: Able to control storms and electricity/lightning. May or may not have lore in Base Universe that Storm Twisters are always twins. (James, Will Daniel).

So, as a fun bit of knowledge about Adventure Universe: P1 is the planet where the werewolves live, P2 is the seers, and P3 is elementals.

So yeah! I believe I've rambled on enough about all this lol. Thanks again for the ask!!

[jypbae7]

Me me meeee <3 I'll request a full analysis about NCT's Johnny! 😚😚 Include errrrthing baby hahaha 18+ stuff, him as a romantic partner aka bf <3 whatever you want! I'm so excited to read this akndfkgkfn 😎😎😎❤️❤️

Johnny Suh - Natal chart

Finally finished it!! Johnny was actually the most requested member I received in my inbox! Sorry that it’s nearly the length of a novel lmao but I sectioned it to make it easier to read and navigate 💕

(Not claiming to be an expert this is just for fun please don’t take anything too seriously!) Hope this is helpful and that you enjoy it 🥰❤️

Personality: Aquarius Sun, Gemini Moon, Aqua Mercury, Virgo rising, Leo Mars

While Aqua is a fixed sign it is definitely the most adaptable of the 3 fixed signs due to the Air element of Aquarius plus the ever spontaneous Gemini moon. Most things that make the rest of us feel anxious tend not to seem that scary to fearless Gemini or cool as a cucumber Aquarius.

Natural social butterflies who love their tribe deeply and fiercely once they find them. Busy bodies who are easily bored if left unstimulated too long which will turn into crankiness if not rectified quickly. Thankfully Aqua & Gem have a zest for life that makes them quite easy to please. They are open minded and will gladly stay up till 3am talking about aliens and conspiracy theories, just like they are thrilled to go on last minute random trips just because why not (Gemini impulsivity at it’s finest lmao)

Gemini is a mutable sign unlike fixed Aquarius. This is a pretty big difference and something that goes under the radar with Aquas due to that cool as a cucumber attitude. Because they are adaptable and typically very easy going they don’t often show their stubborn aggressive sides and honestly prefer not to have to unless they are feeling extremely disrespected or pushed beyond their boundary which is a BIG let me say that again, BIG no no with Aquarius (almost as big as it is for for the water signs)

Adding to these deep inner thoughts and vast inner world that Aquarians have, his Virgo rising adds more depth and self awareness. As perfectionists and highly intellectual minds they are a lot more self critical than they let on, just like they are a lot more caring and soft than they let on. They deeply care about others and the world in general seeing the big picture in a very earthy and traditional way - good people should strive to put good out and try their very best at whatever they do. They deeply dislike mean, malicious, manipulative, or spiteful behavior or people and generally keep guarded around people they don’t know well until they feel certain of the person’s true intention. There’s nothing Virgo is more cautious of than to be swindled or hurt by someone they take it reallyy hard and they know it.

Now we alllll know his swag and confidence is legendary and we can all thank the Leo Mars placement for that and the beautiful lush shiny hair and big toothy smile (Looking at Mark, Jaemin and Xiaojun like 👁👄👁) But beyond the aesthetics and dripping confidence and charisma, Leo is another creative sign that tends to be a lot more intellectual and intuitive than people give them credit for.

When the other members call Johnny one of the scariest members you can bet it’s his aggressive fiery fixed Leo Mars which is loud and even violent when provoked enough not to mention the fixed Aquarius tornado energy...Oooof that is a lot of Fixed sign rage right there honey so let’s tread lightly with Johnny boy and appeal to his open minded and friendly nature with a gentle tone and non-pointed words during discussions and all shall be good even if there’s some disagreeing!

Honestly if the argument starts getting bad you can always distract the Gemini moon by just bringing up other interesting topics! Geminis minds move FAST and while they can process a lot of information quickly and precisely they tend to get distracted easily (but here’s the good side of that😉)

Aquarius have a deep love of family and the desire to create their own (Geminis often share this trait) they can feel a bit like outsiders or “other” from people and thus crave to build a tribe of their own - this can be friends that are lifelong deep relationship carried on no different than family or starting their own family with a partner and kids

Relationships:

Non-Romantic Relationships & overall communication style: Aquarius Sun, Gemini Moon, Aqua Mercury, Leo Mars, Virgo Rising

Built off laughter, time spent together whether its at home hanging out casually or going out for meals and fun new things to try together

Wants to bounce lots of ideas off of his closest friends and secretly loves doing creative stuff together the most - this is pretty evident if you watch JCC he’s happiest when he’s doing stuff with his bros whether it’s sporty, musical, or crafts

Does not like to be vulnerable even with those he’s close to, tends to stick to neutral and more light hearted topics of interest and conversation because he prefers to spread a good mood instead of a heavy one

If he really trusts you or has worked through it enough already to want to talk about something serious you’d better listen cause the boy drops gems of wisdom and has a really soft mushy heart

Immediately adopts his close friends as family and no matter the time apart or distance will always treat them the same

Likes friends he can learn from and take on new adventures with they satisfy the intellectual Virgo rising and Aqua & leo sign thrill needs - Gemini is all about BOTH of these

Deeply appreciates loyalty, acts of service, and quality time with his friends and family - makes his heart soooo happy BUT

He would rather fucking DIE than let you or anyone see him cry so he cries like 4 times a year at 3am in the bathroom while everyone’s asleep (HIGHKEY feel like Ten & Jaehyun are exactly like this too)

Romantic relationships and preferences: Capricorn Venus, Leo Mars, Capricorn Juno, Capricorn Eros

Mr. Johnny Suh has THREE Capricorn placements tied to love and intimacy so that’s saying something lmao

Going against Aquarius’ open mindedness and anti-traditional persona Capricorn prefers all things traditional and stable.

Very much does acts of service for his partner as a sign of affection also lots of touching and quality time.

A veryyyyyy spontaneous boyfriend/partner thanks to that Gemini moon - he either wants to stay at home in pjs and order food and have movie marathons or whisk you away on zero notice to a trip lol

Earth sign men are drawn to women who embody very flowery feminine energy and aesthetics. They prefer a “natural beauty” who can spice it up sometimes rather than a super flashy 24/7 partner. (He’s said in the past that his ideal type is Yoona which says it all lol)

Will be highly drawn and intrigued by someone with a high work ethic and high intellect. BIG bonus points if you can keep up with his sarcasm and jokes.

Earth signs are pretty physical and handsy so expect to have little personal space around him, make no mistake they enjoy this very much. He will definitely be grabbing you and picking you up often! He’ll be smirking down at you devilishly watching you get flustered backed into a corner trapped by the sheer size of his muscular body. A Capricorn male’s ego really enjoys this dynamic, trust me lol.

Also another quirky male Capricorn trait that actually applies to Aqua & Gem as well… They like to initiate all the touchy feely stuff - What I mean by that is they can get easily spooked by clinginess too early on. These three signs want romance and definitely want to feel that you’re into them but they also are innately independent and enjoy relationships where their partner can also go off into the world and thrive in their own way and meet back together in the middle. So long as you can find a happy balance, when you are together you won’t have to initiate anyways honestly because he’ll be the one pulling you.

Okay let's talk about Juno & Eros - Juno in Capricorn is about serious, loyal, long term commitment though they tend to marry later in life once they’ve already achieved the things they want to for themselves which I can see being the case for Johnny as well especially with his current career.

18+ Preferences:

Eros in Cap where to begin - high libido, stimulated by visuals and touch. Wear interesting colors, patterns, textures to catch his eyes & his hands - lacy lingerie is a plus the texture will really excite him and the feminine look will please his earthy traditional cap side. If you really wanna have him drooling throw in some spicy contrasts like a leather choker with the lace set and you’ll also set off his Aqua, Gem, and Leo placements as well ;)

Tends to bounce back and forth between fucking you like you’re a cheap groupie whore and taking his time staring you in the eyes and kissing you passionately as he’s stomach deep - no inbetween but really who’s complaining??

DOM KINK - NOT UP FOR DEBATE he has THREE Capricorn placements for fucksake meaning 3 cardinal signs which are literally called “the INITIATORS” plus all his other fixed personality placements

More of the classy rich ceo vibes kind of dom (suits, expensive cologne and jewelry, leather, black and red binds) - takes you to bougie hotels when he really wants to ramp it up and not have to care who hears. You can expect not to sleep those nights but he’ll damn sure pamper you afterwards with cuddles, food, and a spa date.

Now...with all his Air sign placements...I have to say it...he’s a kinky ass dude. Few things are off the table, but he’s also super content with “normal” stuff too. It’s more about the person and experience for him than doing the wildest things possible. So if it feels natural and right then he’s down.

Don’t be surprised if he wants to tie you up like a pretzel or role play because he’s definitelyyy going to ask. Well actually he’d probably just buy whatever outfit or binds he wanted to use and casually be like “look what I got for us baby” as if it’s matching charm bracelets or something. The good news is he’ll dress up and get into it with you and he’s super receptive to your boundaries, fantasies and making it enjoyable as possible for you too.

If you flip the script on him and suddenly break the norm either by taking the initiate/lead first or trying something new he will absolutely combust 🤯 and be in the palm of your hand staring in absolute awe and fascination till he can’t take it anymore and reclaims his spot as the one in control

Nudes, videos, and phone sex when apart are a definite and they really keep the passion burning for him which is honestly VERY important and don’t worry he’s NOT shy and you will be grateful for the beautiful collection of photos and videos 🤤

Boredom for Aquas, Gems, and Caps can quickly lead into self-sabotaging behaviors and/or wandering eyes not because they don’t value loyalty but that they really need and benefit from mental stimulation and feeling wanted so when that’s gone they can pull away

Honestly pretty much any type of lingerie or outfit will turn him on because the most arousing part for him is knowing that you spent time doing such a naughty thing for his sake

Breeding kink - 3 earth placements and has said himself in interviews he would’ve started having kids at 25 if he wasn’t an idol soooooo that’s a definite. He imagines you pregnant with his baby and it makes him super soft and warm which quickly turns to super turned on. He loves the primal marking aspect of claiming you in such a way and also watching you unravel to the point of begging him to do it. Even if it’s just “play” he loves it and will probably think about it a lot more than you know. If you ever do it for real he will be utterly and completely obsessed with you forever and be practically more excited about all the stages of your pregnancy than you are

[kvothe-kingkiller]

looking for readers for a project

now that I dont have school to worry about I’m gonna try and get the first draft of my next thing out. last time I just uploaded the chapters online as I went but this time Ive decided to keep it to just a select few ‘alpha readers’ who will also just function as a way of motivation just to make sure I meet deadlines I set cause if I do it myself then I just ignore all deadlines. 

so if anyone wants to read each chapter as it comes out and give feedback (or not, u can also just read it) I would be very appreciative. Its probably gonna be pretty long cause I 100% have an over-writing problem with first drafts. 

the project is Young Man’s Game. It’s ish (ish) similar to kkc but about 300 times more gay and the setting is based on middle eastern, northern african, and mediterranean cultures. I’ll put a longer description under the cut.

I’m considering giving any readers, who stick through to the end and give feedback, a piece of art as a thank you. I’d do every chapter but....like I said. over-writing problem. 

anyways if you’re interested please DM or message me!  (also pls reblog)

Okay so the first chapter, which I already have finished, is going to come off as a lot more similar to kkc than the series actually is. mainly cause it’s setting up exposition and setting and I came up with the idea while smack in the middle of my kkc phase lol.

Heres a very short little blurb I wrote about it ages ago:

Odrad and Sheiro have been at war for generations. Now, in a time of tense armistice, Mila is summoned to a university to learn to control the rare ability she was born with, the ability to forge facets. Paired with a mentor, the bizarre Ardev Kallas, she must adjust to her new life as a forger. But disaster seems to loom as the nations look for any excuse to fight, and Ardev is not who he says he is. Is everything she was taught about the war a lie?

The plot for the first book at least (probably going to be at least two) is fairly...fluid. Basically just Mila trying to adjust and learn and a whole lot of ‘fuck around and find out’. It explores prejudice and corrupt governments and identity and ‘war bad’ and all sorts of fun stuff. It's very character based since I’m a character bitch but I’m doing my best to keep the plot and pacing good as well. 

Rating would be R for sure. There’s a lot of swearing, some violence/brutality but I don't tend to go for too much gore. It will have some heavy topics (child abuse, sexual assault, etc) but most of that is stuff in characters pasts so it’s more talked about among them rather than actually Described. I also don't like writing explicit sex scenes so anything along those lines is more of a fade to black situation. 

I can add any content warnings to each chapter if you wish.

Setting is fantasy with low magic. Forging is akin to bending from ATLA or naming in KKC, with a touch of sympathy cause I’m a slut for science and my magic must have rules. Like I said above, it's based on northern african, middle eastern, and mediterranean cultures. However more in aesthetic than values (basically just...warm setting, no trees, how do buildings and clothes and stuff evolve in these conditions). I do my best to be fairly original with stuff like religion and values. Very little sexism. Women and men are viewed differently but not “men are better”

Queerness: the setting does have some homophobia but that's cause I’m ghey and like writing ghey characters saying ‘fuck what u think’. But it's kinda more like Mila is from buttfuck nowhere in the bible belt (and...doesn't have access to internets) and moves to fuggin san francisco and is like O.O and also all the characters are queer. 

Lastly I do have some chapters finished. I will be using google classroom (lol yes google classroom) to distribute to ppl and get feedback. If you aren’t sure if you would like to or not I can give you just the links for the first two or so, so you can get a feel without actually being added into my ‘class’.

[nothing-more-than-hot-leaf-juice]

okay so i never watched korra when it was airing but my friend told me about it and i Really dislike a lot of the post atla worldbuilding choices made in korra esp in regards to energybending and harmonic convergence also i find a Lot of the older gaang character choices Questionable that being said is it worth watching korra in ur opinion??

I personally liked LoK fine. I think it removed itself enough from AtLA with most of the gaang members being reduced to cameos, allowing for us to imagine their post-series life however we want. I get why some people don’t like it but I think it’s great as far as TV shows go. It’s important to remember that it’s a very different show from AtLa in terms of tone and story, which is completely fine. It’s stand alone and if there are aspects of it that you know about before watching it that you know are going to frustrate you, that’s completely valid and you shouldn’t watch it if you know you won’t like it based on those aspects. 

I really wish LoK had gotten more time to have the characters just get time to interact and have arcs that lasted more than one season. Having 13 episodes instead of 20 meant that they had to spend most of the time on plot and action and I wish they had spent more time on some filler stuff or minor plots that furthered character arcs and developed relationships. There’s kind of a love triangle that’s painfully awkward but it’s easy to skip around. Something that’s VERY important to remember is that LoK had a bunch of production bs and they basically didn’t know when they were going to get cancelled so they treated every season like it could be their last, meaning they couldn’t have arcs or stories that lasted more than 1 season, which is a shame because AtLA did that so well. 

Things I like in LoK that I think make it worth watching (an incomplete list bc there’s honestly a lot of cool stuff): 

Lin Beifong metalbending, especially in season 1 

The concept of metalbending and how it would logically affect how the world works 

Bolin, aka the Himbo of my Heart 

Varrick and the general everything about him 

Jinora being really fucking good at airbending. Love her. That scene where she gets her tattoos? I cried a little ngl 

I honestly really liked how political it was. AtLA was political, but the entire series took place during a fantastical war. LoK really dives into the sociological repercussions of the fantasy elements of the show and the events of not only the events of LoK, but of the universe in general. Like they FINALLY address how bad the Earth Kingdom monarchy is at its job and address the political repercussions of a monarchy with all the political power but zero interest in the people of their kingdom. 

That being said, I love Prince Wu with my whole ass and heart. He is the King of the Badgermoles and I love watching him slowly get more competent as season 4 goes on. 

Zuko just shows up for a combined total of maybe 5 minutes in season 3 and 1) has a cool dragon, 2) does some cool firebending, and 3) makes a joke about Combustion Man. Then he just flies off to do his own thing. Perfect Cameo. Iconic. 

The anarchist antagonists in season 3. They raised MANY good points and kind of fit in a grey area, which I think we needed more of in avatar. They had cool aesthetics and were all specialized benders and their respective prison breaks? So cool. 

 baby!sky bison 

There are two episodes in season 2 just telling the story of how the first avatar came to be that just adds a really cool worldbuilding aspect to the universe, I think you can just watch these on their own if the series as a whole doesn’t appeal to you 

There’s a scene where Bumi goes to talk to Aang’s statue at the Southern Air Temple that made me cry a little bit 

Bumi just being cool as a nonbender in general 

lots of cool action, expansion of bending (lavabending, bloodbending, metalbending, etc.) 

Seeing the Air Nomads come back maybe not in the traditional sense, but deciding to use their abilities to bring peace and harmony to the world just as Aang would have wanted is just really cathartic 

Iroh II’s introduction in season 1: dante basco voice acting + cool Azula-like firebending flying + Zuko-like parkour in the sky? Love it. 

cool character designs all around 

the SOUNDTRACK oh my godddddd

[popwasabi]

“The Mandalorian” S2 is a power fantasy with mini Star Wars trailers

The term “Plot armor” is often used by readers and viewers to describe the myriad of ways writers keep their heroes away from any real danger no matter what choices or actions they make in the narrative. It’s typically a derisive phrase for the way a writer’s hero seems to escape death no matter what is thrown at him for the sole purpose of moving the plot forward.

In Disney+’s “The Mandalorian” this term takes a far more literal description in the form of our main anti-hero, played by Pedro Pascal, in his beskar armor which seems to be, by all accounts the most indestructible material in the galaxy far, far away.

(I mean, it still looks really cool too, of course.)

The result of this narrative decision in this series is that action scenes often don’t have real tension to them. In another series you might be able to reasonably believe the hero might be in danger with blaster fire shooting all around them but with beskar it’s almost comically not the case at all. Stormtroopers fire laser blast after laser blast at The Mando and each time they bounce harmlessly off him as if he were fucking Superman. It makes scenes feel devoid of stakes and danger no matter what situation they are in.

The show thus becomes a power fantasy, as action scenes serve as extended highlight reels for the Mando. Where season 1 of the show mitigated the power of the Mando’s plot armor by putting him more often in situations where his beskar alone wasn’t enough to save the day, season 2 goes mostly full power fantasy as The Mando rarely runs into a situation he can’t just quite literally walk through.

(“Aim for his armor, men! That’s his weak point!”)

This isn’t to say the season wasn’t without its high moments or even that it wasn’t enjoyable plenty of times but the series’ devotion to fan servicey action and callbacks to “Hey remember ____” makes it a fairly shallow story. At least for myself.

Season 2 of “The Mandalorian” continues the story of Din and his small Yoda-like companion, The Child (later known officially as Grogu), as he looks to complete a quest to return the burgeoning Force wielder to the Jedi. As he seeks to reunite The Child with the ancient Order, he encounters other Mandalorians who are on a quest to retake Mandalore and right on their tail is the nefarious Grand Moff Gideon who is still bent on capturing Grogu for whatever it is he has planned for the Empire.

Let me start this review by saying power fantasies aren’t inherently bad to watch or read. They can be good, cathartic junk food for the soul and can also be compelling, artistic, or even deeply metaphorical in their own way. A movie series like “John Wick” for instance is a power fantasy that aims to reinvent the wheel in action film-making with Keanu Reeves performing perhaps the best gun kata of all-time onscreen. Another film like Paul Verhoueven’s “Total Recall” can satirize the power fantasy to show how ridiculous it is in concept.

So, making your hero an unstoppable killing machine isn’t necessarily always a bad thing if used properly.

(Seriously, this is one of the smartest action films ever made. Don’t @ me.)

Now that that’s established, however, “The Mandalorian” season 2, despite some strong moments here and there, is a power fantasy that lacks these elements for a more interesting narrative. If you believe killing dozens of stormtroopers onscreen while never suffering so much as a scratch for eight episodes equals compelling storytelling then boy does Disney have a series for you.

Through the first four-ish episodes, the new season is mostly just fine and even quite enjoyable. We have the Mando getting a fun side quest with Timothy Olyphant on Tatooine where they get to wrangle a sand worm in a callback to the Westerns that inspired much of the franchise’s aesthetic. The Mando gets to escort a frog lady to her home planet to give birth to some tadpoles and they run into some actual danger in this episode in the form of kyrnknas/space spiders. And we get the return of Bo Katan from Dave Filoni’s “Clone Wars” and “Rebels” cartoon series, with Katee Sackhoff herself reprising the role in a fun Mandalorian team-up episode.

(I’m just so happy to see my girl, Starbuck, again more than anything honestly ;_;)

But the wheels started officially falling off for me in the next episode.

Episode 5 marked the live-action debut of fan favorite Ahsoka Tano, played by Rosario Dawson, and she meets the Mando by getting the jump on him with her lightsabers. In virtually any other situation we have been told lightsabers can cut through virtually anything. Now, beskar has been shown to be plenty durable throughout the series so far but lightsabers? Surely not.

Well…

It is an overall good episode despite this but it marked the point for me where I badly wanted The Mando to just go the rest of the series without it. Obviously, the writers aren’t going to actually kill our hero, afterall The Mouse needs more money and he can’t have it unless we get 50 more Mandalorian episodes and spin-offs, but at some point I gotta feel like there’s a possibility at least that our hero might actually die or at least is in danger. It is actually super funny to me each time The Mando ducks or seeks cover in a shootout when I know, and the viewer damn well knows, he can literally walk right into the middle of it and shoot all these motherfuckers at his own leisure cause his actual plot armor is the stuff of adamantium and vibranium combined.

Episode 5 is mostly good though, it’s a nice callback to old school samurai flicks and for an old fan like myself it was enough to ignore beskar again saving the Mando’s ass.

(This was cool...This...was...cool.)

If episode 5 marked the point in which the wheels began to come off though, episode 6 is where the show really spun out into the ditch for me. Perhaps, this series worst episode, personally, episode 6 reintroduces fan favorite and series inspiration Boba Fett back officially into the fold and the result was perhaps the most self-indulgent entry of the series.

(I mean, it was directed by Robert Rodriguez so...)

Boba arrives to demand his beskar from The Mando who promptly tells him “no” before they are ambushed by a platoon of stormtroopers. Alongside Ming-Na Wen’s Fennec Shand, the three do battle with the stormtroopers with ridiculous ease. I’m aware that stormtroopers exist to be on the highlight reel of our heroes in this franchise and have a long history of not being able to hit the broad side of a bantha but again, I can only watch these guys die by the dozens onscreen over and over again while our heroes get away without suffering even a bruise before it starts feeling boring and repetitive.

It only gets worse once Boba actually puts on his armor. In a sequence that I would describe as “gratuitously” fan servicey, Boba wastes just about every last stormtrooper in this scene culminating with him destroying their two get-away vehicles in a single shot with a rocket. Considering he was killing them with ease just moments before with nothing more than a battle club and a bathrobe, it seemed almost hilariously needless that he donned his iconic armor.

(It would be tempting to say the stormtroopers fought as ineptly as the Putty Patrol here but even the Power Rangers have struggled a few times against these guys...)

I get that Boba is really important to a lot of fans, based on their perceptions of him in the original trilogy and subsequent books and graphic novels that came out in the following years, but here’s a hot take; this series didn’t need him in it. Maybe they didn’t need to keep him rotting in the Sarlacc Pit but this episode, alongside Ahsoka Tano’s feels more like marketing choices for the story rather than narrative ones. I’ll concede that there is a bit more substance to having Ahsoka there to commune with Grogu but their additions to the plot don’t actually show much of anything about the Mando outside physically helping him in a fight.

The way they tease, in both cases, stories that exist outside the internal narrative between Ahsoka’s search for Admiral Thrawn and Boba taking over Jabba’s palace at the end of the final episode, it feels like Disney threw in mini trailers for fans to nibble on at the expense of telling the Mando’s own story and letting it stand on its own like the first season.

The choice to have these characters shoved into this season again appears to be market driven not narrative. Once more, I get that these characters are important personally to many fans, but the appearance of these characters alone DO NOT equal good storytelling.

(Me when a fan tells me “But Boba was such a badass in *obscurely titled EU book that a handful of general audiences have read*! He deserves this moment!”)

The final episode of the season is truly encapsulating of all these issues “The Mandalorian” has, however. Moff Gideon, played by the always sharp Giancarlo Esposito, has Grogu imprisoned aboard his ship. The Mando and his friends plan a rescue mission to save him and, just like nearly every episode before, it is stupidly easy for our protagonists.

The crew of five, again, walk through every Imperial on the ship. I don’t mean this metaphorically by the way, I mean this literally as Cara, Fennec, Bo Katan and Koshka Reeves (played by WWE’s Sasha Banks) without a single moment of real adversity just blast through every stormtrooper on the ship and never get hit once in the process.

A good action scene needs an element of danger, a sense that our hero might actually not come out of this alive even though we all know they will. An action scene without this has no tension and without tension it becomes booooooooring.

(Even John fucking Wick is capable of bleeding, guys...)

The finale had a chance, however, to add real stakes and danger to the scene in the form of this season’s new enemy; The Dark Troopers. These Imperial battle droids were foreshadowed as these super soldiers at the end of episode 4 and seemed to be billed as a real dangerous match for our heroes to faceup against. When the Mando finally gets himself face to face with one he finds they are not as easy to kill as the nameless stormtroopers from before. To see The Mando briefly face real adversity for a change snapped me out of my cynical mood so sharply for a moment I thought I had turned on another series by accident.

But of course, danger never lasts long in this series as The Mando’s armor again saves him first from getting pummeled to death by the droid’s super fists then he uses his plot spear, cause of course he has one of those too, to finish the job.

Danger over.

Moff Gideon doesn’t fair much better in this episode. This villain who had been built up for two seasons as this calculative monster gets stopped rather easily with Mando and his friends barely breaking a sweat. This character feels wasted because of this, even though I’m sure Giancarlo Esposito will return in the next season. He just feels about as much like a pushover as the nameless stormtroopers in this series.

The episode had one more chance though to show these Dark Troopers meant business toward the end as we found the heroes cornered on the command deck with nowhere to run and a dozen of these droids ready to blast and pound them into the floorboards. But help arrives in the form of a Deus X-Wing Machina.

Without having to face even one Dark Trooper, Luke fucking Skywalker arrives on the ship and kills every droid without breaking a sweat. It plays as inspiring in the moment but again I just found myself bored and irritated. A chance to see the series heroes actually use their wits and show their creativity in a moment of true danger thwarted to please fan boys.

I get that Grogu called out to him in episode 6 but creatively this felt like an extremley lazy way to solve the heroes’ dilemna.

(“Hello my name is Jedi. I enjoy doing...*computes script* Jedi things.”)

This season wasn’t all bad. It certainly had nice production value that made each alien world pop and beautiful to look at. Every actor and actress played their parts expertly well, with what they were given, and made for interesting characters at times. There are also nice homages to both Western and Samurai cinema throughout the season that fans of both will appreciate. And Pedro Pascal is just so good on his own, especially in tender moments with Grogu, that you forget that his character is kind of a Gary Stu.

But the main crux of the issue here that I’m trying to get across is the reason you need to remove the plot armor of your heroes is not just because action scenes need tension and stakes, it’s that when faced with danger these scenes reveal who these characters are. I used to believe that the reason Mandalorians and Jedi had such a fierce rivalry in the lore despite the obvious advantages of wielding the Force was because these famed bounty hunters were just that fucking good at killing. That despite being, on paper, normal people they had great martial prowess, athletic skill, and the tactical wit to outsmart people who can literally sense their feelings. But now with beskar and the way this series is written, it appears the Mandalorians were challenging warriors just because they happened to harness the most OP armor building material in the galaxy.

It makes you wonder how the fuck they were conquered to begin with…

(Maybe they just needed more knee rockets...)

This takes away from the mysticism of the Mandalorians for me. It makes The Mando less interesting to me in the way he fights. Yea he can shoot really good too but really it’s the armor that makes him the fighter that he is and I find that kind of boring. We occasionally get this character to remove the armor during the series, including a whole episode that was easily one of the best of the season, and in every case he’s more interesting once the helmet comes off. I get that fans hold a lot of reverence for that armor, yea it still looks really cool, but making it this impenetrable super material doesn’t add anything to the story.

If anything, it takes away from it.

(Plus how could you not love Pedro Pascal when he’s out of armor? uWu)

I wouldn’t go as far as to say I hate season 2, even though I spent 2000 plus words just now lambasting it but I guess I just want to say I am unimpressed more than anything. I feel like I’ve seen better Star Wars be it in the movies, cartoons, books, video games, etc and I’ve certainly seen better action in the franchise as well.

Considering fan reaction so far appears to be overwhelmingly positive, I am definitely in the minority here and you are welcome to enjoy this series as much as you want in spite of how unimpressed I am with the season. But considering all I have seen of this fandom the last few years, regarding complaints about fan service (“Rogue One”), easily defeated/underdeveloped bad guys (“The Last Jedi”), and Mary Sues (The sequel trilogy in general), I have to ask again what is it actually that fans like or don’t like about new entries in the franchise? It’s not that there isn’t valid criticisms there and “The Mandalorian” is enjoyable in sincere ways too but it has many of the issues I hear commonly said of more divisive entries in the Disneyverse. So why does it get a pass?

I’ve been told it’s not worth my energy to talk too derisively about the fans in one of my earlier write-ups, so I’ll leave it at that but it does make me wonder.

(“Rogue One” admittedly has a simarily self-indulgent action sequence though haha...)

Season 2 of “The Mandalorian” isn’t the worst piece of Star Wars media ever created, far from it, and for most part its solid enjoyable Saturday morning cartoon theater but if the series wants to really take steps to become more compelling in the future it might be good to stop bubble wrapping their heroes in plot armor. Literally.

Until then this is the way…I guess…

Me getting ready for the backlash...