vyrsgore · 4 months ago
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the hockey team
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don’t embarrass me motherpucker! | the hockey team | scaramouche x reader smau/ ff taglist is still open
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the hockey team
Scaramouche: Inazuma Icebreaker’s temperamental captain/ center and son of famed CEO of Shogun, the top sports technology company in Teyvat. His mother, Raiden constantly pressures him to become the best hockey player in Inazuma, which is a factor of his pissy personality. Despite his standoffish personality, he’s known as the heartthrob of the school, constantly hounded by his many admirers as he walks through the university hallways. Goes by his nickname Scaramouche, real name Kunizukushi. sexuality: bisexual/pansexual
Childe: Inazuma Icebreaker’s left winger, and Scaramouche’s “best friend” or so he declares. He’s been in school with Scaramouche every since elementary school, back when he was still Kunizukushi. He’s an aggressive player on the rink but honestly a sweetie off the rink. He’s kind and courteous (much unlike a certain SOMEONE), and is rather easy to make friends with. sexuality: gay
Kaeya: Inazuma Icebreaker’s flirty right winger and Childe’s current boyfriend. He’s the adopted son of the Ragnvindr family, and currently on bad terms with his brother, Diluc, who is the student council president. He’s a bit of a troublemaker and constantly gets told off by his older brother. sexuality: gay
Kazuha: Inazuma Icebreaker’s goaltender. He’s currently taking a medical course outside of school and hardly shows up to trainings, much to Heizou, his best friend’s, protest. In addition, he’s also still searching for his older brother, who went missing 7 years ago. He’s a key member of the team, almost like a mom taking care of her baby chicks. Many of these moments go viral. sexuality: ????
Itto: Inazuma Icebreaker’s key defenseman. No one gets past Itto’s iron grip, or hug, as the team calls it. Currently, he’s using a nokia due to accidentally smashing his samsung out of excitement (he thinks that apples are evil since he hates the taste of apples) He’s one of the strongest member of the team (physically) but he’s a huge softie at heart. He’s very millenial in the way he texts (he still uses laughing my ass off! and shit give him a break). He’s also got the highest penalty count considering his temper during games where he’ll toss his hockey stick at people (he actually was just saying hello, he swears) sexuality: notusingaappleiphonesexual
Heizou: Inazuma Icebreaker’s second defenseman. He’s not exactly as physically as strong, but he’s definetly smarter- like ten times. He knows y/n pretty well since they were in the same class in high school. He’s a silly little guy who likes to play pranks and thinks that he’s sherlock holmes, and also Kazuha’s best friend. sexuality: bisexual
Xiao: Inazuma Icebreaker’s second emo boy and left winger. The adopted son of professor Zhongli, he’s a lot more courteous and polite than the OTHER emo boy, although he’s a lot quieter. He’s not that close with anyone but Aether, thus sparking many dating rumors among the countless Ina Ice fans. Among one of the best on an already excellent team, he excels in stretching the defense of the other team. Also overly protective of Aether. sexuality: asexual
Aether: Inazuma Icebreaker’s right winger. He’s known for his ‘main character’ energy during games and interviews, and his sync with Xiao on ice and off too. He’s Lumine’s twin brother (he swears he’s a second or two older) and they’re practicallu inseperable. He’s good friends with y/n and usually hangs out with them and their friend group. sexuality: bisexual
Jean: Inazuma Icebreaker’s strict coach. She’s like the tiger mom/ Asian mom of the group, constantly trying to get them to get their shit together although secretly she’s very proud of them. She’s also Lisa, Y/N’s coach’s mortal enemy. Note to self- NEVER put them in the same room. Their form of aggression is passive but that somehow makes it even worse than them just flat-out punching each other.
Author note:
farted this one out my ass <33 y/n and friends coming up next! i envision y/n as a more feminine masc (like cherry from cherry crush but it's up to u!)
also i made a mistake for the ina ice official account! it's 9.8 M not 9.8 lmao Taglist
@scarasbaby@3lectraheart@realscarafan01@sunny-star-space@sleepdeprivedline@keirinrin@skyoverkill1@serossidechick@vxcmx@scaraenthusiast1@hotgirlshit5@moesthoughts@notasunshyne
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brucewaynehater101 · 5 months ago
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There's this messy robins age reversal idea in my mind, but it centers around Tim mostly:
○ Tim Drake joins the batfamily late, only because him becoming a vigilante is still inspired by Dick, and Robin needs a Batman.
○ Ages: Babs - 9, Dick - 10, Cass - 15, Jason - 16, Stephanie - 18, Tim - 19, Damian - 25, Bruce - Old, Alfred - Ancient
○ Bruce is dead (lost in the timestream), Damian doesn't seem interested in taking care of Dick, Alfred is persevering, and Dick is on the loose and out for blood more than Damian and Stephanie are.
○ Not sure what Jason, Stephanie and Cass are doing :( I'm sorry
○ Nobody wants to take care of the newest ward with anger issues that rivals Damian. And no one stops him from going out one night. Because he snuck out.
○ Tim, on his usual night photography (collecting evidence for the GCPD AND some pics of the local vigilantes worryingly getting worse in their mental states) finds Robin cornered.
○ There's no way that the child is trained enough to be out on the streets with no parental supervision *cough*hypocrite*cough*, especially when they're wearing that.
○ Tim, who's only taken online self-defense lessons, jumps in and assists, "What's your vigilante name?!" "Robin!" "...You're serious?"
○ This is also the time he realizes the Batfam's identities because of Robin's quadruple flip. Yikes.
○ He lets Robin punch all the goons with all the anger of a prepubescent boy, and ties them all up.
○ "What are you doing out here? Where's Batman?"
○ "Batman's dead." And Tim realizes that Damian didn't take up the mantle.
○ After he takes Dick home, he tries and convince Damian to become Batman.
○ "Robin needs Batman!" "Being Batman is nothing but a curse!"
○ When a breakout happens, Nightwing (Damian) goes to take care of it, and Robin sneaks into helping. The both of them gets caught by Two-Face, and Alfred gives Tim Bruce's first costume. Which. Is super heavy so Tim opts to remove some (a whole bunch of) kevlar.
○ He arrives on scene, Damian tries to verbally eviscerate him, Dick is just happy to see Tim.
○ Tim outsmarts Two-Face and assists Damian and Dick in taking him down, mostly using more of his brain to beat Two-Face down smarter instead of harder.
○ The moment everyone is back home, Damian agrees to let Tim be Batman. But he (and Dick) will only go out once they're trained.
.....
○ Ah, I know what Jason's doing now:
● "So, little warrior, do we have a deal?"
● "You better help me find my dad, Ra's."
● Maybe this is where Jason finds Cass, or something. Maybe before he left, he had a fallout with Damian because, "Him?! Batman is Dad's!"
● And you bet your money buckets that this family calls Bruce any variation of "Dad" because Damian calls him "Father" and when he's being affectionate, "Baba". Everyone picks it up.
● It's Dick who refuses to call Bruce anything more than B. Well, the others, too the first few months but, ehhhh... Also, Dick barely knows him other than that this is the guy who adopted him a week (months) ago and now he's gone???? What is his life? Why is it like this? Welp, time to punch some goons instead of facing the grief of losing another parental figure he definitely DID NOT get attached to :(
AND / OR:
■ Jason, who recently died after Bruce because he was desperate to find at least one parent who isn't Damian to love him. Damian was Batman at the time, but was too late to save his little brother.
■ And then, Jason is revived because of universe altering shenanigans, and he sees that Damian let some random stranger take up the Batman mantle. He sees that there's this little child getting all of Damian's attention. He sees this girl who isn't Stephanie taking up the Spoiler Mantle.
■ Jason is still a child. One that Talia could use to manipulate to get rid of all the obstacles in Damian's way to greatness. It's so easy to whisper info into his head and let him come up with the wrong conclusions.
Like I said, this is all pretty messy. It made sense in my brain, but after writing it nothing made sense anymore.
There's a part in my mind where I want Dick to hand the Batman title back to Damian because the older man seemed ready for it, but Tim in his grief is still holding on to it. Damian, who is more mature about it, allows Tim to be Batman for a while more. He's waited his whole life, he can wait a few more years.
Heck, Jason could have a try at it as well if he wants.
Aghhh, I dunno. I just had vibes of: Older civilian Tim sees quadruple somersault = immediately knows almost all of the Batfamily's identities = "i can fix them and i'm allowed to because i'm an adult"
Hello!!! I love the opposite take of Tim becoming Batman for Robin instead of what happens in canon. It's a really cool idea I haven't seen before!
I am so interested in their backstories too. Did Tim's parents still die? Did Jason and Steph still die? How did Cass join the family? What was Damian's childhood like? Also, how does Tim joining late affect YJ?
There's so much to try to figure out here that I'm intrigued ^^
I would be down for figuring it out a bit more!
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yourejinx · 1 year ago
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Undeniable Bonds
   Azriel x F. Reader
Warnings: angst, as per usual. Not proof read.
word count: 4713.
Author’s note: I’m sorry I’m so late with this. I gave Mor a sibling. And I may have changed some things from the cannon books. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it. 
CHAPTER THREE.
“What did you do to him?” Rhys asked mentally, an amused glint on his violet eyes as he looked over to where Azriel and Cassian were training the Valkyries. 
“What do you mean?” I raised an eyebrow at him, wiping away the sweat of my forehead and taking a sip from my jar of water. 
It had been a while since Rhysand joined me in training. He didn’t have much time these days between being High Lord and a father, and a husband. But lately he’s been under more pressure and needed to blow up some steam. 
I dared a look at the Shadowsinger, he was teaching Gwyn some defensive stances, being his brooding self, scowl and all. There was nothing particularly out of the ordinary. 
“He’s been more irritable these past weeks.”  Rhysand took a step back, adopting a fighting stance once again and flaring his wings. I couldn’t help the smirk from showing on my face, I had made him sweat enough for him to bring out his Illyrian side. 
Behind us Cass chuckled and I grinned at him, he winked at me in return. Rhys just threw him an annoyed stare and rolled his shoulders. 
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, he seems fine. For his usual self, that is.”  I shrugged. Brought my fists up and started to circle him slowly.  
“No, I could’ve sworn he hissed at Nesta this morning.”  His face lit up with wicked delight and he swung for me, aiming for my supposedly exposed left side. The oldest trick in Amren’s book:  “Let them come to you girl, let them think you defenseless.”
I caught his upper arm, twisted it and turned him around so that he was facing Cassian now. The Valkyries were looking. He tensed. “But he took one look at you, and decided to shut his mouth? Strange.”
“Well, I wouldn’t know. I’ve been too busy avoiding him as of late.”
One of his wings flung open and I released his arm to avoid the hit. He flashed a feline smile at me and lifted his right leg, trying to land a kick to my upper thigh. 
I jumped out of his range, bracing my weight on his shoulders and landing behind him, quick on my feet. A second later, I dropped down low and sweeped out his legs from under him, throwing him on his royal ass. 
He went down with a gasp, arms splayed out and eyes wide. 
“I’m a little out of shape, it seems.” He coughed. 
“You think?” I grinned down at him, offering a hand to help him stand up. 
Somebody whistled and I turned my head to look at Nesta, she was grinning amusedly. “Would you like to join the Valkyries?”
Beside her, Cassian snorted. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”  
“And why is that?” She snapped her golden-brown head to Cass. I almost pitied him, I would hate to be on the receiving end of that cold stare. 
“That would be a fight of egos. Y/N already leads her own legion of warriors in battle.”
“I could do both”. I replied instantly. Arms crossed and head cocked to the side. 
“Yeah? And who would command the Valkyries?” Cassian asked with a knowing look.
 I had more experience in battles and a little more than two centuries of training, the answer seemed logical enough. But I replied instead:  
“Well, Nesta of course. I wouldn’t dream of taking her spot, we females should support each other.” I winked at her. She smiled. “But maybe when I grow tired of ordering males around.” 
Nesta looked satisfied enough, a little bit of mischief dancing in those gray eyes. 
I waited for Azriel’s retort about me not being capable of following orders, but it never came. He fixed his stare at me instead, as if contemplating my answer. Weird. 
“See, I told you he’s been acting strange.” Rhys purred into my mind. 
“Get out of my head.” I scowled at him. He chuckled. 
“I think he’s really trying not to snap at you.”
“Not my problem.”
“Maybe you could try to work on a truce?” 
I rolled my eyes at him. “I already told him I won’t fight him, it’s the same thing.” 
“Well, it is easier not to fight him if you’re avoiding him. Why not try and get along instead?” 
“Oh yeah, maybe we could hang out and braid each other’s hair too.” I fought the urge to stick my tongue out at the High Lord. He laughed. 
“I’m just saying, give it a try. He may be willing too. Solstice is a couple of days ahead, it’ll be a good time for make up and make out”  
My reply died in my mouth as I caught a glimpse of auburn hair out of the corner of my eye. Lucien was walking towards us, clad in a pristine dark gray tunic and matching pants, arms crossed behind his back. He looked expectant…. shit, I was supposed to accompany him to the Dawn Court today. My eyes widened and I started to frantically grab my things. 
“Oh fuck. I’m sorry Lucien, I totally forgot. Five minutes, I’ll shower and then we can leave.” I said hurrying up the steps to the House and throwing Rhysand a glare. He gave me a lazy smile.  
“Just think about it.” 
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Remind me again, why did you have to come?” Lucien asked, an auburn eyebrow going up, russet eye shining in the late sun’s glow like a warm liquid flame on a cold day. 
Lucien was a very handsome, very intelligent male. I don’t understand why Elain would avoid him like the plague, he’s very nice and polite, and definitely not hard on the eyes. But then again, she had a not so discrete fixation with my mate. No, that wasn’t right. I had no business letting this stupid forsaken territorial Cauldron-made bond fill me with negative feelings. Azriel wasn’t mine, not in the way that counts. 
I shook my head and stopped snooping around the books, putting my best smile on display. 
“To escort you of course. We can’t have our emissary run into danger now, can we?”
“So, you’re not just avoiding the Shadow singer?”
“Why would I do that?” 
“I don’t know, but I’d avoid him too if I had anywhere else to go instead of having to sit back and watch him flirt with my mate.” 
I walked over to the window, the light pink and orange sky merged with the fluffy clouds so beautifully I wished I could paint it. Must be nice, to just be soft and beautiful and lovable, all the things I would never be. I have been built tough since a very young age, forced to be strong in order to survive, the only soft spot I ever had was ripped from me when I turned sixteen. Never again. Never again I would allow myself to be weak. 
“I don’t care about those things.” I mused, the smile had long since slipped off my face. 
“Watching your mate openly flirt with another?” he asked tentatively. My head snapped in his direction, not in shock but in warning.  I wasn’t sure what he read on my face but he added, “I can see things more clearly than others,” – he pointed to his metal eye – “and we both have been cursed with the same affliction, it is easier to know where to look.” 
I thought back to the times I’ve seen Azriel and Elain interact, how gentle and caring he had been with her, how she had blushed and smiled warmly at him. The look of heartache, of longing in Lucien’s face… had I been wearing the same look all this time? I wasn’t even sure I wanted Azriel to look at me like that, I just…it was enough for me if he didn’t hate me.
But the way he stared at me this morning, as if he didn’t know what to make of me, it reminded me of the first time we met…curiosity, that’s what it was.  
If there was a tiny possibility of us getting along, maybe I should listen to Rhysand.
But now was not the time to think about that. 
 I clicked my tongue. “Wasn’t your friend supposed to be here already?”
Lucien sighed and took a seat in front of me, I turned my head back to the clouds. 
“She’s running a little late, will be here any second.” 
Maybe it was stupid of me to ask it outloud but if someone may understand, if someone may have an answer that would be him.
“Would you forgive her for treating you so poorly?” My eyes found his through the reflection on the window glass. 
He knew I meant Elain. 
“If she ever asks for it, then yes. If not…then what choice do I have but to forgive in order to move on?” 
A small smile played on my lips. “You’re too good, Prince Charming. Couldn’t be me.”
He let out a small sensual laugh. “You’re good too, little raven, more than you give yourself credit for.” 
“I’m so sorry I’m late” said a dark haired female bursting through the door. She carried a bag full of the Cauldron-knows-what, it tinkled with every step she took. “I hope you didn’t wait for too long.” She flashed a radiant smile at Lucien, genuine joy dancing in her onyx eyes at the sight of the Autumn male.
“It’s ok, we just got here.” He returned the smile.  
I had to bite down my tongue to prevent myself from commenting on it. I leaned closer, peering over Lucien’s shoulder to the artifacts she displayed on the table. There were all sorts of things, medical instruments, prosthetics, cartography tools…this girl was very talented. 
“What is this?” I asked, pointing to a small, gleaming golden sphere, intricately carved with what looked to be a diamond at its center, surrounded by three gold rings. Her eyes snapped at me as if she just realized I was in the room as well. 
“Nuan, meet Y/N, she works for Rhysand. Y/N this is Nuan.” 
“Nice to meet you Y/N.” She shook my hand. “That is – uh– a personal project, that I don’t know how it got here.” She chucked the piece back into the bag. 
“Well, what does it do?” 
“Nothing, yet. It’s just a prototype, more pretty than useful. It was supposed to be a soul locator, it should be embedded with a location spell and it’ll guide you to your loved one wherever they are, or anyone whose essence is entwined with the stone.” 
“Brilliant.” I murmured under my breath but they heard it. 
She smiled again. “Thank you.”
Something started to take form in my head, an idea, a little bit ridiculous and a little bit hopeful. A present for Solstice and a peace offering. 
“Would you be willing to make something for me? I’ll pay you of course.” I said, already feeling the regret climbing up my mind. 
“Sure, what did you have in mind?”  
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mor’s warm brown eyes met me through the full-length mirror in her room, she was dressed in  a wine-colored dress that hugged every curve in her flawless body, long blond curls cascading over her shoulders and bold red lips adorned by a breathtaking smile. She was gorgeous, ethereal, in a way that didn’t make me want to rip the skin off of my own bones. How could someone be so similar yet so different to their own family? Mor’s brother had been brutally beautiful, in the way only a lethal predator would be. Blonde hair, strong, sharp features, and those dark eyes that could drag you into a pit of pure despair. 
Some days it was particularly hard to look at Mor and not think of him, but unlike that beast of a male, she made me feel welcome and safe. I just had to breathe a couple of times and remind myself where I was at. 
“You look like the night sky” her voice shook me out of my thoughts. 
I smiled back at her and took one last glance at my figure in the mirror. I was clad in a fitting glimmering black dress, thin straps tied to the back of my neck, the fabric pooled atop the valley of my breasts, just under my cleavage and generously hugged them at the sides from where the skirt flowed like liquid to the floor. Mor had applied a delicate shiny powder to the top of my lids, some mascara and a rosé lip gloss. 
I couldn’t stop staring at my obsidian black eyes, the thick lashes adorning them, the only thing I had inherited from my mother — such a beautiful tortured female she had been; but that was as far as my resemblance to her went, the harshness of my face…I had to thank my father for that, and the centuries of relentless anger. Only Mor could make such a face look beautiful. And I was grateful for that.   
My sight moved to the small white scar atop of my right cheekbone, so pale it contrasted with my sun-kissed skin, and my hand rose on its own accord to graze the scarred tissue. It should have healed and disappeared on its own, it looked almost insignificant for it to leave a mark, but the cut had been deep enough to sever bone, and at the time I had refused to see a healer.   
“What are you thinking of?” Mor asked softly. I turned around to face her. 
“I’ve never apologized to you for what I did to your brother,” My voice came out a little strangled. 
“And you never have to. You don’t apologize for surviving.” She frowned. “I am very aware of how cruel and evil my family is.”
“He was your only brother, Mor.” 
“He was a monster, just like my father. You’re more family to me than he ever was.” She started and gave a little gentle squeeze to my arm. “You can talk to me, you know? About what…— about what happened. If you’d like. You don’t have to carry that weight alone.”
“I know, trust me I know..” I said, closing my fingers around the mark on my wrist “But I still can’t talk about it, the way you still can’t talk about what happened with Eris.”  
She understood, more than anyone ever would. So she didn’t say anything else, instead she wrapped her arms around me in one of those tight embraces that help you put your soul back together a little bit. 
“We’re gonna be late for dinner.” I laughed, she reluctantly let go. 
“I got you a present” Mor pulled out a dark blue velvet box from her nightstand “Just don’t flash it around Amren if you wanna keep it.” She joked. 
Inside sat a silver necklace encrusted with diamonds and lilac crystals. It was by far the most beautiful thing I’ve ever owned. She made quick work of wrapping it around my neck and carefully set it atop my collarbones. 
“Thank you, it is gorgeous, truly. Your present is down stairs, along with the rest” I said with an apologetic smile. 
She smirked knowingly. “Except for that one,” a manicured finger pointed to the little black box with a blue ribbon sitting on the corner of her desk. I blushed. I was still debating whether it was a good idea  to bring it or not. “Who’s the lucky one?” she wiggled her eyebrows. 
“Oh shut up, I already regret it.” 
She laughed. “Well, if your dress doesn’t leave him speechless that sure will.” She winked, linked my arm to hers and winnowed us to the River House. 
 The evening was going uneventfully, I had convinced Lucien to at least join us for dinner and had spent a good amount of time just speaking with him, waiting for everyone else to gather. He was having a tough time adjusting to this Court, if it weren’t for the job Rhysand had offered that had him traveling most of the time I’m pretty sure he would hardly interact with anyone here. Not to mention his situation with Elain…so I figured he could use a friendly face and an invitation to be part of the group. 
We were half way through some appetizers, chatting animatedly about the time he spent in the human lands when I felt him. His dark stare was charged with something I couldn’t quite place and for some reason it made me nervous.  I was used to lust, and hate and loathing; had seen many males direct that same looks at me through the years, but this was different. Azriel wasn’t wearing his typical bored expression, nor the harsh one he seemed to reserve just for me. It was strange but not completely unpleasant. 
Lucien caught sight of what had drifted my attention away from the conversation and politely excused himself to fetch more wine in time for Cassian to step up, Azriel closely behind. 
The general let out a low flirty whistle. “Now, that’s a dress” he spun me around while I laughed. “Looking good, Y/N” 
“Thank you Cass. It’s nice to see you with a shirt on for a change” I joked. He stuck his tongue out at me. 
“I just know you love to see me shirtless” He winked and went to say hi to Mor.  
Azriel was still standing beside me, a little awkward and more tense than before. His wings had gone taut behind his back. I met his hazel stare and brace myself for a nasty comment. None came.
“Hi” he said. 
It was odd to be standing next to each other and for once not being in a yelling match throwing insults left and right. 
“Hi,” My reply came out softer than I expected. Still I couldn’t fully let my guard down. 
“I haven’t seen you around much these days.”
“Yeah, I’ve been busy.”
“Rhys told me you were helping Helion with something” Azriel’s dark eyebrow raised in curiosity. 
It was partially true, I’ve been coming and going between our courts, Helion has been showing me around the archives where I was to work if I decided to accept the offer. It was a beautiful place and his people had been nothing short of welcoming. But I didn’t want to think about that just yet, after tonight I still have three days to give him an answer.  
 “ Yes, he needed me to go through some stuff, research. Why were you looking for me?” I asked, mirroring his expression. 
 “I- I wanted to tell you that I tracked a pattern in the route of the missing fae, it goes all the way up to Vallahan.” 
“You think the Court of Nightmares is trading slaves to Vallahan?” 
“It’s a possibility. But since we don’t have any jurisdiction there, I thought that maybe we could intercept the caravan before they crossed the border out of Prythian.”
“You want me to come with you?”
I couldn’t help the incredulous look from my face, as if he had grown a second head. 
“Sure, it is your mission after all.” he shrugged, taking a sip from his wine. 
“What happened to you’re not as good as you think you are?” I mused, repeating his words. 
“I was quick to judge, and you were right. I shouldn’t have said what I said.” 
“No, you shouldn’t have. But I guess that’s what we do, isn’t it? Fight and yell and hurt.”
I wanted to ask him why, why does he hate me so much? We weren’t always like this, where had it gone wrong? But the words died in my throat, it was a conversation I wasn’t sure I was ready to have. Even now, I could feel the tension between us, gnawing at my insides, at the bond I had buried so deep that it felt more like a phantom limb than an actual living thing. 
I could treat him with dignity but I wouldn’t trust my most vulnerable side to him. To bring the subject up was to let him see the anguish of these years, the anger and the tears I had shed because of it. That was simply out of the table. 
“Yeah, I guess it is.”  Azriel averted his gaze away, at the rest of the party, to Lucien and Cassian. 
“Do you enjoy it?” I asked. His wings twitched. 
“No. Do you?” 
I shook my head. “Then why do we keep up with it?”
“I don’t know, maybe I just don’t know how else to act around you.”
“You’re not a dick to anyone else though, just me. I’ve seen it.” 
“And you don’t deserve it, I shouldn’t let you affect me that much” 
My eyes snapped back to his, he seemed shocked for a moment, realizing what he just said. He opened his mouth, maybe to try and explain what he meant by that but then Feyre walked in, along with her sisters. Elain was the embodiment of beauty and grace, dressed in a baby pink gown with a pattern of roses embroidered into the bodice. She looked lovely, and of course I wasn’t the only one who thought that. I caught Lucien frozen in his spot, eyes glued to the middle Archeron sister. I didn’t want to see if Azriel was watching too. 
“She’s gorgeous.” I murmured, suddenly very aware of myself. 
Don’t you dare compare yourself. Mor’s sharp voice sounded in my head as a reminder. 
I could feel Azriel’s assessing stare boring into me and I turned to face him. He kept silent for a long minute, just staring, eyebrows furrowed. What was he looking for in my face? I couldn’t fight the blush from creeping up my cheeks. Had he known what I was thinking?
“She is,” he stated, his voice a velvet murmur. 
I could have sworn something inside of me thrummed with the sound of it in a pleasant way. And the feeling was enough to startle me. 
Before I could attempt to open my mouth, a familiar figure appeared in my peripheral vision, just behind his back. 
  Elain, in all her radiant beauty capturing the attention of everyone in the room, approached Azriel with a gentle smile. The Shadowsinger's eyes flickered towards Elain, momentarily captivated by her presence. I couldn’t stand the awful feeling of being overshadowed. This was actually the first time in years I had a civil-enough conversation with Azriel, and it was short-lived. 
I had to excuse myself, to retreat from the scene that had turned uncomfortable, if not a bit sour. Forcing a polite smile I turned to walk away and addressed Azriel, "I’m going to check on Cass. You know…this was actually not awful, Shadowsinger."
Azriel's gaze shifted back to me, a flicker of regret in his eyes. It was gone half a second later.  "Perhaps we can continue this conversation another time."
With a nod, I  made my way toward the exit, still very confused and shaken up with unspoken emotions. I couldn't bear to witness Azriel's attention fully claimed by Elain, the realization of an unrequited longing becoming too painful to endure. 
As I stepped out of the room, into the welcoming chilling air that brought the change of season, it wasn’t Cassian standing in the garden, but Lucien. A conflicted look on his face. 
“Aren’t you freezing out here?” I asked, joining him in the solitude of the night. 
He shook out of whatever trance he had been in, and painted a little smile for me. “No. I’m a male of autumn, remember? I’ve got fire in my veins.” 
I rolled my eyes and chuckled. “Seriously, what are you doing here by yourself?”
“The same as you, it seems.” He took a look behind me, past the open door to the ballroom. 
“I just needed some fresh air” 
“Do you want me to leave?.” 
“No. No, it 's ok. I like the company.” 
“Likewise” he smiled a bit more genuine this time. 
“It’s almost time for presents and I,uh— I got you something.” I reached into that night-filled pocket between worlds and pulled out a small amulet. Completely ignoring the other thing I had storage in there. “I know you love to travel and you always get a piece of those places with you so I thought I could give you this” 
I pushed the amulet into his hand, it was crafted into the shape of a golden fox with a thin chain and a bow attached to its back. He examined the little thing, curiosity shining in his warm eyes. 
“It’s a safe charm from the lands of the north, for travelers and wanderers. Or so they said” I shrugged. 
He turned his attention to me, tucking the amulet into the pocket of his vest, and I could’ve sworn that flame licked his russet eye – bright and alive. 
“You didn’t have to do this. Thank you, I really like it” Lucien’s deep voice was so cheery it made me smile. 
“Sure I did, you’re my friend.” 
“I’m glad we met, little raven.” He smiled. “I got you something as well, it’s inside along with the others, let me get it for you.” 
Before I could reply he was already half way through the door of the ballroom. A couple of seconds later, it was Rhys who emerged in his place. 
“What are you doing here? I thought I saw Lucien rushing past” 
I chuckled. “I just needed to think for a moment.” 
Rhys’s feline smile adorned his dark features like a shooting star, and he folded his arms in front of his chest. “Have you thought about what I suggested?” 
Taking a shuddering breath I answered “yes, in fact I have” 
“And?” he quirked an elegant eyebrow. 
“And I got a peace offering, a present — sort of.” I took the small box out from that in between worlds space, and fiddled with the blue ribbon. “But I don’t know Rhys, maybe it’s too much. It feels weird.”
“Nonsense.” He said, tugging me by the elbow into the house. “Come on, I’ll be the mediator in this situation.”
“It’ll be even more mortifying if you’re watching.” I said, trying to hold my ground. 
But he didn’t listen, Rhys kept dragging me through the rooms, searching for the Shadowsinger. I exchanged looks with Mor at some point, pleading she’ll come to my rescue, she just laughed it off and winked. Traitor. I even tried puppy eyes at Cassian, he was too busy staring at Nesta. 
It wasn’t until Rhys pushed open the doors to the sitting room that he stopped, back going stiff. I peered over his shoulder and the scent struck me harder than the scene developing in front of us. The room was charged with its sweet sickening smell, desire. That’s what it was. I didn’t even register Azriel’s scarred hand drop from Elain’s delicate neck, because my lungs wouldn’t let any air in. He turned to us, to Rhys, sensing the intrusion. 
“Azriel.” Rhys called, his voice as dark as the night. A warning. 
The shadowsinger looked startled, ashamed even, of being caught like this. I couldn’t even look at Elain. 
His hazel eyes found me behind Rhys and his expression turned stone cold. My head was buzzing and it overwhelmed me so much I could only think of getting rid of the damned box in my hand. Its weight was suddenly too heavy for me to carry. 
Violet eyes full of concern slid to me and Rhysand was about to speak but I shook my head. His lips formed a thin line. 
“I – uh, — I’m gonna see if Lucien wants some dessert.” I mused, barely audible for Rhys to hear. My throat felt tight as I attempted to flee. 
Azriel’s vicious voice stopped me dead in my tracks. 
“You…” His anger-twisted face snapped in my direction and he was about to blurt whatever hurtful thing was on his mind but Rhys interrupted him. 
“Azriel, my office. Now.” The High Lord commanded. 
Azriel pinned me to the spot with a cold look. And I couldn’t do anything but stand in the middle of the room, trying to breathe. 
taglist: 
@cmay25
  @brekkershadowsinger
  @cosmic-whispers
  @h0peless-r0m4ntic888
   @esposadomd
  @hannzoaks
  @tysynn
  @and-i-swear-we-are-infinte
 @sevendeadlyshins-blog
  @angelshadowsinger
  @buckysimp101
@baebeepeach
  @starswholistenanddreamsanswered
  @leeknows-wife
  @k07-1313
 @valeridarkness
 @fall-myriad
  @goradgirl
  @feiwelinchen
  @katherine-2007
  @colorfulwinnerneva-blog
  @anniebannanie0315
  @lillithathecat
If I forgot about someone, please let me know :) 
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serpentface · 6 months ago
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@reijnders thank you and I'll address the questions in these tags in extensive detail right now
[heavily referencing this post]
The “Hill Tribes” is a Wardi name for a grouping of farming and pastoralist peoples in the montane regions claimed as northern Wardin.
They may informally self reference as 'Hill Tribesmen' when speaking in the Wardi context, but do not see themselves as one entity (and are frequently in conflict) and would self-identify by specific clan and tribe. Networks of allegiance between clans form a tribe, usually with a dominant clan occupying a central hill fort and coordinating affairs and territorial defense, and subordinate clans providing most agricultural labor. The chief clan only rules with the support of their subordinates, and each clan has a matriarch and patriarch that have great say in affairs regardless of the clan's relative status.
The relation to the surrounding empire varies between tribes, with some, naturally, being hostile, most being more or less neutral (or at least non-combative), and a few having long standing ties with imperial interests, often loaning out warriors or paying tribute for benefits.
Their society differs greatly in form and function from contemporary Wardi society, but there is some overlap and common ancestry involved. Some of the starkest differences - Wardi society is patriarchal, while most of the Hill Tribes are roughly egalitarian (though with fairly strict and separate gender roles). Wardi state religion is approximately monotheistic, the Hill Tribes are mostly polytheist (they have a pantheon of roughly 15 major gods, one of which is Od, the sole god in the Wardi faith).
In Brakul's case, his tribe is in a longstanding tributary relationship to the Wardi empire- their lands are of some strategic value to imperial interests (being along a waterway that functions as a trade route) and paying tribute and allegiance allows for their continued self-governance, and benefits them in local conflicts (they may be lent military support). As such they have adopted some elements of Wardi culture, including a religion that has heavily syncretised with Wardi faith (they worship Od as the central god and view the rest as lesser spirits).
In terms of the Homosexuality Issue it can be summarized as similar to Wardi perspectives on a basic level, with differing nuances. The biggest difference is that the Hill Tribes mostly don’t share the Wardi cultural fixation on ‘bodily integrity’ and its metaphysical significance. So they share an attitude that it's emasculating for a man to receive penetrative sex, but they don’t have concerns that bodily ‘violation’ can lead to literal curses or have any other metaphysical perials.
Their notion of 'emasculation' also differs from prevailing Wardi sentiments, though in a subtle way. In Wardi society, being 'emasculated' via penetrative sex is specifically seen as taking on a woman or eunuch's role (both of whom occupy a lower standing in a patriarchal society) and thus specifically being disempowered. Here, it is more simply a failure to adequately perform masculine gender roles. They still associate 'penetrator' with masculinity and 'penetrated' with femininity, but without an associated power dynamic. A man who is penetrated is failing to perform ideal masculinity, but is not DISEMPOWERED by being 'feminized'.
All of the above is speaking broadly about a culturally varied population, so there are exceptions. Brakul has grown up in a context influenced by Wardi culture, and has spent his adult life entirely entrenched in it, so he has stronger and more specific issues with Internalized Homophobia than most people of the Hill Tribes would. But his issues revolve almost entirely around social perception. His dominant concern is the very real consequences of people finding out and resulting shame and dishonor (rather than more abstract issues of power, or metaphysical 'violation', though he is impacted by these fears as well to a lesser extent). The importance of personal and familial honor are very similar between the two cultures, so he is strongly motivated to protect his own social status and that of his sworn brother.
A lot of his personal issues are based in being a relative 'outsider' to Wardi society. Wardi society is multicultural and has no innate concerns about intermarriage or the like, but has prevailing xenophobic views about certain types of 'foreigners', especially based on a) real or imagined hostility to the Wardi imperial entity and/or b) core religious differences. The Hill Tribes (and therefore Brakul) are one of many groups labeled 'heathens' (a Relatively neutral descriptor that groups wildly disparate 'foreign' northerners). 'Heathens' are not treated with the same hostility as 'barbarians' (a highly derogatory descriptor of foreign groups deemed religiously hostile), but Janeys is still under increased scrutiny for swearing brotherhood with one, and Brakul is under increased pressure to avoid bringing shame on both of them.
The Wardi cultural fears about bodily violation is also part of why Brakul having tattoos is seen as so strange and ~Foreign~. Tattooing is almost nonexistent in Wardi culture and reserved exclusively for certain priesthoods, and otherwise to brand certain accused criminals. Massive significance is ascribed to permanent body modification, so it is only done with extreme intentionality and significance, or as a form of punishment.
The nature of tattooing in the Hill Tribes varies, but its core function is a clan identifier. There are also no compunctions against tattooing purely for self-decoration, which is absolutely insane by Wardi sensibilities. IE: for Brakul, tattooing a dog over his heart is primarily a decorative artistic nod to his war name and a light joke on losing his family name, while to Wardi sensibilities it suggests he's claiming some innate doggish nature (especially given that the dog is a zodiac symbol and that the heart is imagined as the seat of personality and drive).
Janeys reconciles these conflicting notions by (correctly) understanding it as not all that serious for Brakul, and defending his honor from accusations of dog-facedness, but (incorrectly) assuming this tattoo still has profound significance as Brakul marking himself with ~the only name he has left~. (A clan sigil tattoo would be made on the sternum, so the dog isn't actually replacing his lost name- the 'joke' is more that he never got the chance to mark himself with a clan sigil so did this instead)
The facial and arm tattoos are clan identifiers and representative of ancestry and family ties. The facial lines identify his specific tribe. These exact dot and line motifs are unique, and other tribes who share this practice may have entirely different motifs or different locations in the face for tattooing.
The dots on his arms don’t actually represent specific individuals, rather they are a visual assistance for memorization of one’s family lines, which are recited orally for certain events, ritual functions, or casually showing off one’s lineage. The upper band represents the male line, the lower band represents the female line, and the middle area represents the immediate family (and is the only area where individual dots/shapes represent individual people- his mother and father, each pair of grandparents, himself, and his son). They are identical on each arm.
So when Brakul is pointing to each dot and giving examples of ancestors and relatives, it’s him recalling members of twelve generations from each line with the visuals as a mnemonic device. Janeys has missed the memo on this and mistaken it for each dot representing an individual, so it makes especially little sense to him.
Here's a diagram
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unluckedtj · 1 month ago
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i’ve had an au in mind for a while (quite literally came to me in a dream????), something like a swap au but not quite as your usual tgaa swap au. an au where barok van zieks and herlock sholmes are sent from britain to japan, at the age of 23 and 24 respectively
“ticket swap” au i like to call it
of course, this isn’t just ‘back in time’, there are many things jumbled around such as occupations and ages. and none of this is solid! i’m putting down the ideas i’ve had, and this can very well change overtime.
and of course, a lot of this is going to be me info dumping about this very self indulgent vanlock partners(?) focused au, side of mostly susarei but also asoryuu
ahem! tgaa:tsau cast!
below the line, that is
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herlock sholmes, (25) who wanted to research in forensic science, follows yujin to his nation to do just that (and preferably solve crime, too)
barok van zieks, (24) who applies to go to japan in hopes of learning more about the laws of other nations (and perhaps, something else) aiming to be a prosecutor like his brother
ryunosuke naruhodo, (33) a writer who had recently gotten into researching true crime. it scares him but he can’t help but think there is something about these crimes that are calling him. isn’t really thinking too much about looking into law (but something might change that…) close friends with kazuma asogi
rei membami, (26) yujin mikotoba’s long time forensics assistant that is working towards becoming a doctor herself. decided to help ryunosuke in his research hobby. (she seems to be interested in this man she sees in the hallways of imperial yumei university while on her way to dr mikotoba’s laboratory) close friends with susato mikotoba
kazuma asogi, (34) a well known prosecutor in japan, it is unknown what changed his decision from becoming a defense lawyer. despite being famous among people in law, there is not much known about him. close friends with ryunosuke naruhodo
susato mikotoba, (26) kazuma asogi’s famed judicial assistant (and as sholmes soon learns, sister). she seems to be taking law classes in yumei university under an alias. a bit of a sholmes fan. close friends with rei membami
yujin mikotoba, (52) sholmes’ friend and partner in (solving) crime of course, but also a mentor, and now that sholmes recently learned, a foster father to kazuma asogi and father of susato mikotoba
genshin asogi, (??) family friend of the van zieks, and relative of the renowned prosecutor asogi. he has gone missing
klint van zieks, (35) well known prosecutor in britain. happily married and has one daughter he loves so dearly, to the point of being a little bit of a helicopter parent in the recent years, but barok can’t quite figure out why. he has kept his daughter a secret from everyone apart from family
iris (wilson?) van zieks, (8) how in the world did she end up in japan?! (i’ll give you the answer; through sholmes’s suitcase, which she mistook for barok’s. there were shenanigans), her parents are in a panic looking for her (barok will get to them asap)
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i just really wanted something where it’s similar to tgaa 1-1 but younger vanlock without their life altering events (klints death for van zieks and iris adoption for sholmes)
and also just the thought of it and how it would play out; van zieks isn’t even a defense lawyer but was preparing to defend the guy he barely knew on the steamship (who had his niece in his suitcase) that he firmly believes did not commit this murder, but sholmes found out what was at stake (aka van zieks being sent back home for a couple more years if he fails this) and was like “nuh uh i got this im herlock sholmes after all” (he does not got this) (i lied he clutched like he always does)
this is superrrrr self indulgent so i don’t expect this to be perfectly aligned with canon, but i kinda just wanna see if anyone could give me more ideas because i currently cannnnnot talk to my friends about this due to massive spoilers 😔
maybe next time i’ll go more in depth on the group dynamics (specifically ryunosuke, rei, herlock, iris, and barok)
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arkos404 · 6 months ago
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lawful joke au: lil bug
the obligatory 'lawful joke, a personality swap, by @chaosaliien', these have been sitting on my drafts for like 4 months so i figured its abt time to share them, i present to you all the lil bug
a silly scenario/arc where scrabby gets hurt and somehow one of his lil bug parts end up in the timecube to be found by prism, who, having no idea that its a part of/is scrabby, adopts it to be his pet bug. he names it scarab as an inside joke/lack of creativity lol
the lil bug pretty much works on og scrabby's instincts/subcouncious/inner thoughts, at the start lil bug tried to leave and go back to scrabby, but after being showered in prism's attention it quickly changed course and decided to stay
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prism had been developing an interest in bugs, at this point he was crushing on scrabby but justified his interest as a cientific curiosity, so he was happy when the opportunity to have a bug himself was presented to him.
scrabby has mixed feelings on the situation, lil bug is still a part of him so he can hear what the lil bug does and feel phantom touches, and prism has a lot of free time to now spend with his pet bug and is a bug person apparently because he never stops cooing at it.
scrabby enjoys the attention but has no idea how to cope with the sheer amount of attention prism is freely giving him/lil bug especially when normally he would never say those things to him
sometimes he's talking with someone and will pause mid sentence and blush furiously because of something prism just said, leaving the other person very confused. he visits the timecube less and less because he's too flustered to look prism in the eyes, he starts to lose sleep, not being able to clear his head with prism's voice constantly on his ear.
he tries to go to the timecube himself to get the lil bug but its insistent on staying with prism and he doesnt want to explain the situation to prism because itll be embarassing for both of them. he resents the lil bug both because of jealousy ("it shouldve been me!" <- its literally a part of him lmao) and because he's been put in this weird situation by it chosing to stay with prism instead of coming back to him
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prism's cooing is usually the regular pet owner babytalk, but it often comes out sounding weird, especially for scrabby who already has a crush on prism and has nothing but phantom touches and hearing to give him context abt whats happening
these occurances are the biggest reason for scrabby's lack of sleep, when he's working or just focusing on something else he can tune it out, but when he's trying to sleep and has no distractions it all comes flooding in
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lil bug and jake/nightm hate each other, mostly because me and jules thought itd be funny if the two characters who had a lot in common, both being little shits who were the personification of their counterpart's inner subcouncious and constantly fucked them over, absolutely despised each other
nightm tries to get rid of lil bug many times (all of them foiled by lil bug or prism) and to out it to prism as the little menace it is, though it never works, for prism lil bug is a little angel who can do no wrong (in prism's defense lil bug is only a menace to jake and scrabby lmao)
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the arc would end with prism realizing that scrabby was visiting the timecube less and getting restless/on edge whenever he dropped by and he thought it was some kind of territory thing between bugs. not wanting to risk scrabby to stop coming, he lets the lil bug go saying something about while he loves lil bug he's not prism's bug, and that that space is reserved for someone else.
prism is bummed for a while but the next day scrabby comes over and is back to his normal self and even more enlivened (he heard what prism said and was super giddy) so prism knows it was worth it
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this idea started w me and jules talking about prism adopting a pet bug (inspired by @/xanderindisguis's business bug au) and scrabby, jealous of the attention this random bug was getting, got one of his little forms to infiltrate prism's terrarium. but it evolved to what we have now, here's some doodles of the outdated concept
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also tagging @garbashedump bc she helped develop it
putting these under read more lol
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1moreff-creator · 10 months ago
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Happy Birthday Teruko Tawaki!
It's the protag's turn for a birthday post! You know what that means! Small character analysis, fun facts and songs that remind me of her! Let's celebrate! Just make sure to bring out the fire extinguisher before lighting any candles... actually just keep the extinguisher handy in general :v
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-Being the protagonist of the series, we actually know quite a lot about her backstory. Enough to know it's quite sad in general terms. This is because she appears to have supernaturally horrendous luck, which she claims affects her and those around her. She's mentioned several instances of highly unlikely, unlucky situations she gets into constantly. From washing machine explosions, vehicles crashing, theaters being "too flammable" for her, all the way to being stuck in a killing game where she gets betrayed, stabbed, her friends die, etc.
-She's an orphan who's never known her parents. She had a brother who was compassionate, but constantly hurt by her misfortune. That brother got adopted when Teruko was around five, and she's never seen him since.
-She doesn't have an ID, which meant she had to attend schools by stealing uniforms and infiltrating them. She then usually gets caught and repeats the process several times a year. She is also in a lot of medical debt as a result of her constant injuries. Given all of this, she actually prefers living trapped in the killing game, though obviously she'd rather not have people killing each other around her.
CW Suicide
-That said, it seems her luck prevents her from dying. She told Xander that she wouldn't die because she was the Ultimate Lucky Student, and it was implied she's unsuccessfully attempted suicide by hanging.
CW over
-This misfortune has led her to develop a tremendously pessimistic view of the world and her life, believing her fate can't be changed and resigning herself to her bad luck.
-This also extends to her relationships. She tried to be amicable at the beginning of the killing game, but after Xander stabbed her, she decided to stop trusting everyone else. She now carries around her unique weapon, a hunting knife, for self-defense. This is a pretty understandable reaction given everything she's gone through, but it will inevitably go wrong (prediction).
-Her numeral in the David MV is unlucky number 13 (XIII). Go to 1:22:20 on this video for an explanation!
-The secret quote on her page's source code is "It is an equal failing to trust everybody, and to trust no one at all." Probably something she'll say in the final trial, given that this is one of the main messages the series seems to be aiming for.
-The quote on Mai's page attached to Teruko is "Some years ago, she was searching for someone named ‘Teruko Tawaki.’"
...
-Yeah, Teruko's relationship with Mai is one of the most mysterious parts of this series. Given that quote, it's very possible they knew each other several years before the killing game, got separated, and reunited some time before the killing game. After all, Teruko does remember meeting with Mai in the CH 1 Ep 6 dream sequence. If you want to read some of my other opinions on Teruko and Mai, I'll recommend reading the related portion of this post.
-Though adding to that, Teruko and Mai seem to have matching phone charms :D
-There is a lot more to talk about with Teruko, but I'm done for the day :v
Fun facts!
-Her nationality is "legally in question", whatever that means.
-She's left-handed, the only lefty in the cast!
-In kanji, her name is spelt 田脇【た ・ わき】暁子【て る ・ こ】
-She has prosopagnosia, aka face blindness. And fun fact about me, I actually have this too! I may have learnt about it when Teruko was a bit too relatable in that one conversation-
-Her favorite color is red due to "association." Possibly because it's Mai's hair color. Her least favorite color is pitch black because it's unsettling.
-Her hair recently started turning grey, probably from stress. Wild.
-Her favorite ice cream flavor is red bean.
-Her sexuality is unlabeled.
-She smells of dirt, sawdust, and burnt smell.
-Straight from a Q&A, "Her fashion sense diverges from what she’d actually wear. Secretly she wants to wear girly, cute things, but is unable to afford that kind of thing. She likes skirts."
-She likes fresh food, food which can be prepared without endangering herself with knives and stoves.
-Her birthday, January 7th, lands on "distaff day", "I am a mentor day", "old rock day", "bobblehead day"... still don't know how these come about. I think my favorite for this day is "I'm not going to take it anymore day." That's hilariously in character for Teruko xD
Songs!
-Again by Crusher-P
-The Things I Deserve by Ghost & Pals
-God-ish by Pinocchio P
-The Medical Anomaly by RIProducer
-End-World Normopathy by Ghost & Pals
-Scapeg∞at by Ghost & Pals
-Chronic Wasting Disease by RIProducer
-Those Who Carried On by Ghost & Pals
And Happy Birthday! Well, that was fun. Now I have to deal with the meteorite which struck me midway through writing this post! Take care!
(to be clear the meteorite thing is a joke)
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oneinathousand · 7 months ago
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I recently found a pdf of an alleged Blood Meridian movie script written by a guy named William Monahan for Ridley Scott's attempt to make the movie, and let me tell ya, it is truly something else. At first, I refused to believe that it could be real because of some atrocious dialogue and truly baffling changes from the novel. I thought that it MUST have either been written as a prank or it was an amateur trying to pass it off as real, but on Twitter I talked to the guy who leaked the script online in the first place and now I'm more inclined to think that, unfortunately, it was legitimate.
Below are screenshots of some of the worst parts. You'll notice that a lot of the text is in red, but I think it must have been somebody on the Cormac McCarthy forums, where this comes from, highlighting some of the differences from the book, but this was the only pdf I could find so whatever. I also put in a few handwritten notes to express my frustration haha.
If you want to look at the full thing yourself, you can find it here, but I should warn you in advance that on top of the usual Blood Meridian type of violence that you would expect, the screenwriter also put in a sprinkle of random homophobia and underage sex which was NOT in the book and I will be showing those screenshots last with another warning so you know where they are in the script and can avoid it if you want to.
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Okay, this part gave me a chuckle. Maybe it's not the best time for a joke from the Judge, though:
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These next two come from the ending, which, if you were already aware of this script's existence, you probably heard about because it's the most infamous part. For those who don't know, the screenwriter decides to put in a bizarrely happy ending where the Kid slays the Judge in the jakes and adopts Randall, the brother of the boy that the Kid killed in self-defense (and there's no significant time skip in this version, so the Kid is in his late teens at most probably):
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This random fucking nugget of homophobia is on page 32 of the script. I have no idea what this was in here for since it never comes up again and the script leaves out most of the children going missing or being found dead along the way:
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And here's the Kid having sex because the screenwriter in their infinite wisdom decided that was missing from the Blood Meridian experience, it's on page 70:
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So yeah, good thing this particular adaptation never got made. I just picked the screenshots that were the most obviously awful, but the biggest problems with the script are a very rushed opening act that compresses a bunch of story elements and character introductions to the point of confusion plus the cringy saccharine happy ending that was part of the reason why I thought the script was a joke at first. When the script adheres closer to the book, mostly in the middle, it's not the worst thing in the world. It has a few clever bits of streamlining the book and most of the characters sound like themselves, though the biggest problem there is that the Judge feels like a different character.
Someday I hope to read other scripts trying to adapt the movie from Steve Tesich, James Franco, and Tommy Lee Jones to see how each of them tackled the book, though to my knowledge none are publicly available online, but do let me know they are somewhere and you can lead me to it. This particular effort has set the bar very low.
Most of all I want to know if Cormac McCarthy wrote a complete draft of his attempt before he died. If this latest attempt to make the movie falls through, I hope that the script, if it exists, is released to the public so we can see what would certainly be one of the last things he wrote.
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Adopt-A-Jophiel Part 2
Past =-= Next
Author's note: The wonderful @egrets-not-regrets and I collaborated and wrote this part of Jophiel's story in Mermay, where Erriox and Lenora meet and adopt my Primaris Blood Angel Jophiel. Thanks to @egrets-not-regrets for allowing me to borrow the pair of cuties and collaborating on this fic with me! If you haven't already, please go check out @egrets-not-regrets writing they are very good at it! Thank you for @sleepyfan-blog for letting me borrow Cedric. Also thanks to @kit-williams for letting me borrow Roland and Arnault, they are more mentioned than here. So this is going to be a three parter.
Summary: Jophiel gets to know Lenora, Erriox and gets more help and meets Lenora's Gannet Cousins who just adore him. He learns of ways to change his looks to not look like an identical twin to his dead Primarch.
Warnings: Some negative self talk. No others? Let me know if I need to add more.
Tagged: @barn-anon, @bleedingichorhearts, @c-u-c-koo-4-40k, @egrets-not-regrets, @kit-williams,
Tagged continued: @sleepyfan-blog, @whorety-k, @ms--lobotomy @bispecsual @thevoidscreams
The day Erriox is to meet Jophiel almost seems to sneak up on them. Jophiel was happy, he’d gotten some excellent fish on the hunt and he’s hoping to share some of them with Lenora as thanks for all that she’s done for him. He’s glad that he ended up on Ancient Terra, he’s learned so much about a lot of different things. He’s humming softly to himself as he checks the skies and his eyes go to the water briefly as he chirps out a hello call to Lenora and flies up to meet her.
“Good morning Lenora,” He says brightly, a lot happier and brighter eyed than when they’d first met. “I got some extra fish on the hunt with Auntie Mara and Layla- and salted them if you’d like to have some of it for yourself.”
He almost doesn’t notice the arrival of the older Astartes. Almost. Lenora and Jophiel had flown and landed on the beach as they discussed terms of trade on his salted fish that he’d caught when he spots the Traitor Marine. In a blur of movement faster than either Lenora or Erriox could catch, he very gently scoops up Lenora and moves her to a safer- and farther inland position before he moves towards the older Astartes with his wings puffed up and he hisses at Erriox. 
“Leave this place traitor!” He spits out, all aggression and Big Scary Fluffing of his wings. His teeth bared and sharp as his wings block Erriox’s view of Lenora.
Lenora has been so kind and patient with him. He will protect her from the treacherous predations of this Iron Warrior! His wings have lifted up and spread out, mantling and fluffing to make him as large as possible as he lets out loud, warning calls. He hadn’t realized that any of his older brothers were so nearby otherwise he’d have moved locations and sent her a message.
“Calm down, Jophiel! It’s fine, Fledgling!” Lenora calls out as she swoops down in front of the defensive Primaris mer, much to his surprise and dismay. 
“What are you doing? Get behind me!” Jophiel hisses to her.
Lenora laughs, shaking her head and continues walking to meet with the Iron Traitor, “This is Erriox, he is my mate. I’m sure I told you about him.”
“You neglected to tell me what he was!” Jophiel protests while his brain catches up to the rest of her sentence, his wings slowly de-mantling and his wings settling on his back as he tilts his head from side to side as he tries to wrap the concept of an Astartes having a Mate with someone. “W-wait you said Mate? There is such a thing?”
As Jophiel eyes the Iron Traitor, who, so far hasn’t tried to hiss, growl or attack him yet. Only has a vaguely amused expression on his face, that only grows more pronounced the longer Jophiel tilts his head at them from side to side in confusion. He knew that mortal beings usually found a mate to bond with, but this was a surprisingly hard concept for him to grasp that First Born Astartes could find and bond with mortals like this. As he looks over the Iron Traitor carefully he notes the lack of Chaos Taint and Mutations that most Iron Traitors have. From the form of armor that he has, he’s been in service since before the Heresy. The venomous spines that the Iron Warrior has on his fins and the colors seem familiar. Some of his fellow Primaris Marines have a lot more yellow and black stripes than others. His is far more subtle and he slowly starts to calm down.
“Have you stared long enough to satisfy your curiosity, scout?” Erriox calls out, amusement tinging his voice. 
Lenora joins his side, apologizing quietly, “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t think he would react that strongly to you.” 
The Iron Warrior mer nuzzles his mate and purrs reassuringly, “It’s fine. You didn’t know.” He knew Astartes from the Fourth legion aren’t necessarily well received, be they Loyalists or not, considering their heavy involvement in Horus’ betrayal. 
Jophiel knew that there were some Social Interaction Things he should be doing. Perhaps he should apologize to the Iron Warrior for hissing and showing him a threat display? His training as a Primaris Marine is roaring in his head that he should attack the Traitor. But- his training also notes that he doesn’t have any Chaos Taint. And, even though he’s thoroughly limited in what he can use and do with his Psykery, he can sense that the Iron Warrior isn’t Chaos Tainted, or hiding that he’s Corrupted by The Four.
“I go by Jophiel,” Jophiel offers the Iron Warrior, “what’s your name?”
“Erriox. What time are you from?” His hand still resting against the harpy’s back. 
“I am from M42, the Primaris Marine Rollout happened two years ago.” Jophiel replies.
“I am from M31.” Jophiel relaxes as his guess was correct. 
Erriox looks up and down at the Primaris marine, quietly assessing him. Jophiel knows what that look means as he stands at attention and awaits his elder cousin's judgment. Jophiel is also quietly assessing Erriox. His elder cousin had the typical First Born Iron Warrior traits and colors.
The much larger Primaris was young, so much younger than he had expected. Outside of the obvious Blood Angel traits, Erriox also notices the venomous spines in the primaris marine’s fins and their faint yellow and black striping. He asks Jophiel, “Outside of Sanguinius, who else contributed to your gene-seed?”
“The Mechanicus, who created the first generation of Primaris Marines, uses a blend of gene-seed from all of the nine Holy Primarchs.” Jophiel reports, it is said as a statement he's been told all his life.
Imperial revisionism has a history that is a Lie about the number of Primarchs to all but the most senior of people within the Imperium. Not that Jophiel knows that as he blinks at Erriox the elder cousin guilelessly.
Nine Primarchs? Erriox guesses that it would be the ones who stayed loyal to the Imperium, but why would Jophiel show Iron Warrior traits then? He knew his gene-father had become a traitor long before the creation of these marines. 
While the Mechanicus knows that they use both Traitor and Loyalist gene-seed in making the Primaris Marines. The Primaris Marines only learn of the Traitor gene-seed within themselves later, after it shows itself in ability or colorations. The Mechanicus had the resources of having Traitor gene-seed in stock to help with the creation of the Primaris, if they only used loyal gene-seed then there would not be as many. Besides, the strengths given to the Primaris by having Loyalist and Traitor gene-seed within them speaks of impressive results that purely Loyalists or Traitor gene-seed lacks. This is knowledge known only to some of the highest echelon of the Imperium. It had taken time and testing to see which ones produced the best results to have Hybrid Vigor, and what needed to be added to stave off hybrid breakdown. They only have so much precious gene-seed, using Traitor gene-seed is a matter of practicality. It's not spoken of out loud, otherwise the Imperial Regent would be duty bound to murder Belisarius Cawl for his Heresy.
“Scout. Do you know who else contributed to your gene-stock?” Erriox repeated, “Or do you not want to know?”
“Knowledge of self means further ability to master one's self,” Jophiel replies. “I would like to know, sir.”
He braces himself for the knowledge, suspecting what Erriox is going to say, but wants confirmation either way.
Satisfied with Jophiel’s answer, Erriox explains, “You have Iron Warrior in you. The venomous spines in your fins and their yellow and black striping are trademarks within our legion.”
Lenora, who had been quiet until now, let out a pleased trill, “I thought he had traits like yours, Erriox.”
Her mate chuckled, “I can see why your gannet cousins called him your son.”
At the mention of the gannet harpies, Jophiel remembers that they did call him “Lenora’s boy” or  “Lenora’s fledgling”, or the even more embarrassing, “Lenora’s secret lovechild”, among all the other pet names they gave him. Not that he minded too much. Lenora had really taken him under her wing and treated him as one of her own after all. And to be fair, he feels more at ease with the harpies than he is with other Astartes-mers. At least he won’t drive them mad with his cursed looks and he could stretch his wings freely when around them. After seeing the older Iron Warrior mer, he kind of understands the lovechild nickname, but he could really do without it though.
Over the next several weeks, Jophiel and Erriox get to know each other as their schedules permit. Since Jophiel isn’t known to any of the Astartes-Mer shoals or pods, he didn’t have duty tasks, merely helping out the more mortal beings around him with various tasks. Fetching various things, lifting or moving very large and/or heavy objects. Listening to Erriox’s stories about his new shoal of brothers and cousins.
“Are all of the brothers in the shoal you are in currently from Older times or are some of them from M42 as well?” Jophiel asks as he fiddles with a block of wood he was carving into a statue that he’d trade some Raven Harpies for some of their Shinies that some of his Aunties had their eye on, but hadn’t had the chance to get a trade for. It was one of their birthdays coming up and he’s hoping to get the trinket for her as a gift. 
“Most of my new shoal are from all across the fraggen timeline in the ‘future’ from this era’s point of view,” Erriox says as he scratches his cheek as he thinks about what the others have said about when and where they were from before coming here, “Some are from as far back as the unification of Terra, to as late as M41.987… If you joined our shoal, you’d be from the furthest in the timeline in M42.”
Jophiel’s glances at Erriox before concentrating on his carving that he’s carefully making as he thinks over the older mer’s offer. He’d been a bit surprised that Erriox had offered a spot in his shoal, despite them being from different gene-lines. Erriox had asked him point blank if he was ever going to join one of the Blood Angel Shoals, or a successor chapter of the Blood Angels any time soon and he’d shrunk in on himself and shook his head.
“No- my… I… do you know what happens if… if a Blood Angel gains wings like these?” Jophiel asks as he gestures to his wings uncomfortably, “Or any other Son of Sanguinius? Especially after the Fall and Death of our Gene-father at the hands of the Arch Traitor may his name be stricken from the memory of all and may he rot in the eternal Four Hells and be torturously eaten for all eternity…”
He blinks and shakes himself out of the tangent he’d gotten lost in and tilts his head at Erriox waiting for the other to answer his question, curious to see what the other new about the… Peculiarities of the Ninth Legion. Jophiel heard from older brothers that certain… genetic flaws and weaknesses of the gene-line weren’t as well known, or reported on in the days before the Heresy… but he found that a bit hard to believe.
“I can’t say I know much about the Ninth Legion,” Erriox replies, other than the stories he’s heard and the rumors that he’s been told. 
They’d been once called the Revenant legion, and had been hideously brutal before their Gene-father had taken over. They still were very… visceral in the ways that they fought, but had gotten a more civilized edge, with their Gene-sire’s involvement with the development in their subculture.
Jophiel takes a deep breath, part of him his screeching that he shouldn’t say anything, but Erriox is an older brother, not just an older cousin. Besides… he’s grown to trust Erriox somewhat. So he explains what he’s been told has happened when a Son of Sanguinius gains the madness-inflicting Angel Wings of their Father. How those that fall for the Trap believe him to Be the Primarch of the Ninth Legion Reborn. It doesn’t work on all of them, and thus those that don’t fall for the madness, resentment mounts and a Schism happens in the chapter, between those that fall for the Pretty Lie, and those that see The Hard Truth. It ends in near total destruction, or complete destruction of the chapter, and the death of the one with wings. It’s a brutal, tragic story that’s happened more than once to various chapters and companies that have the gene-seed of the Ninth Legion. Jophiel always had the wings, rather than them suddenly appearing on his back. He’d also been… blessed? With the ability to touch the Warp and had been taught how to use it. Back in M42 most of what he uses his Psyker powers mainly for is to hide his wings from the sight of others, not wanting to cause insanity and deaths of countless brothers, both First Born and Primaris at the sight of his wings.
“It’s another reason why I keep my hair short,” Jophiel says with a grimace, “I.. The Blood Angels and our Successor Chapters tend to resemble our Holy Primarch a lot more than most other gene-line Chapters do, but I really don’t want to tempt fate by having my hair long.”
He’s thought of taking a weapon to his face- and just ensuring he has a unique scar to mark him from the Holy Primarch’s look. He’d almost done it once, but his brother-cousin Cedric had found him before he’d managed to do that… and the young Apothecary had been So Pissed at him, and had made Jophiel promise not to hurt himself like that. Ever. He’d promised Cedric that he wouldn’t, and Cedric’s eagle-eyed gaze had sharply followed him for a few months, back when they were training on Mars for a while, before the Apothecary had decided he could trust Jophiel’s words. He continues to carve the statue and keeps an eye on Erriox’s reaction to what he’s said. He’s carving an intricate statue of a bird in flight. Also, if he manages to carve it right, it could also be used as a whistle to call prey-birds close to the person who uses it.
Erriox mulls over what his younger brother told him. In some ways it seems hard to believe, but what Jophiel said also matched with the rumors he had previously heard from older Iron Warrior veterans. The early IXth legion had fought battles alongside the IVth, taking on the shitty jobs of purging and bringing the backwater worlds to heel, before the Sanguinius appeared. They were said to be plagued by some genetic curse that caused their legion to be distrusted then. Erriox wasn’t sure what exactly the curse was, but he knew it made them lose control. And among the “newer” Blood Angel cousins, it sounds like a similar curse or a modified version of the old genetic curse remains within their gene-seed. Jophiel is a Blood Angel, and given how wary and at times, almost fearful of himself, it gave Erriox little reason to not believe him. Lenora had talked about how hard it was to get the Scout-ling to open up at the beginning. It was as if he wanted help, but is too scared to seek it from the wrong people. 
“Now that I know more about the other gene-seed traits that I have,” Jophiel says after a few moments of quiet. “I wonder if… if there is a way to enhance the Iron Warrior traits within me? I’d look at least less Blood Angel and perhaps more of an Iron Warrior. Some of my fellow Primaris have more of the Iron Warrior look about them, now that I know what that gene-line looks like. At least my version of the Red Thirst isn’t as strong as some of my fellow Primaris. The Black Rage is something that can be triggered in any of the gene-line of Sanguiniuis.”
"I don't know if that's possible, or how it would work," Erriox says, "Such genetic tinkering and Psykery is beyond me. There aren't many Primaris Marines, or at least few that I know or have heard of. You are the first of the Primaris Marines that I've met."
Jophiel listens to what Erriox says, slumping a little as he continues to carve out the statue-whistle. Erroix thinks for a few moments, "I do know a couple of Thousand Sons Sorcerer Types who owe me a few favors, well, more accurately, my Shoal knows some and has some Favors that we can cash in with them."
Jophiel tenses and looks up at Erroix and asks, "Are they Loyalist, Renegade or Traitor?" 
At the last word he hissed and his wings flared. 
“At ease, Scoutling.” Erriox calmly ordered. 
“Yes sir!” He snaps to attention, as his training takes over. His older cousin blinks, never had a younger brother reacted this strongly and with such swiftness at being so formal? No, formal wasn’t the right word for it. With such swift obedience that his gene-father would be proud of. It was strange to see it here in Ancient Terra. 
Jophiel took a couple of deep breaths and calmed himself and waited for Erriox's response. He was taught that he shouldn’t question Orders, and that he should Obey the Older Brothers and Cousins, because they know better, being so much more experienced, than he is. He shouldn’t have been so hissy with Erriox. Who’s been so patient and kind with him. He knows he shouldn’t push his luck. But Chaos Filth and Renegade Bastards get his temper up fast. It was something he is always working on. Controlling his temper.
Erriox has been, no, he is, so indulgent with him, even with his fuck ups, he’d only ordered him to be at ease. Rather than immediately starting to punish him for being Rude or Stubborn. The Primaris Marines were trained with Obedience and Adherence to Hierarchy a lot more than the First Born, for many reasons that the Mechanicum never told the Primaris Marines. He keeps his words locked behind his teeth, wondering what sort of punishment Erriox will hand out to him. He’d been out of line, after all. After he’s properly punished he wonders what sort of apology the older Astartes-mer will want  from him as recompense for his misbehavior.
And nothing… happened. Only that Erriox waited for him to calm down and fold his wings in again. Jophiel mumbles out an embarrassed apology.
He'd heard from the older Astartes-mer that there is an Alliance between all three factions in the larger pods. But knowing and understanding are two different things. His training and his hearts hurt from thinking that traitors and renegades could ever keep their end of the bargain. He worried that those Traitors and Renegades were only feigning compliance until they could have a better position to murder and make them all suffer. It's what traitors and renegades do after all. Erriox had given him a stern look and had told him of what he could report if he saw... Chaos Shenanigans, as those did happen when the Chaos Traitor Bastards decided to do something Foolish and/or Stupid with the Warp and try to cause no end of suffering. 
“They are Renegades, though it is up to you if you want to subject yourself to their sorcery.” Erriox replied. He paused as another thought came to him, “You can also consider subjecting yourself to harpy magic. Some of their magic can be applied on other species, like their healing magic, as an example. Lenora and the gannet harpies would know more about it.”
With Jophiel’s wings, Erriox guessed that harpy magic may work more effectively in changing their appearance. And given the Primaris marine’s reaction to even the words “Renegade” and “Chaos”, turning to the harpies for help is probably a viable alternative. 
Jophiel was very hesitant and reluctant to go near other mer-astartes. Knowing that they are Renegade Thousand Sons makes him even less willing to go near them. He does brighten at the thought of asking for help from Lenora and some of the gannet harpies with changing his looks to something less cursed. It was a start, at least. And likely far less dangerous and costly than using a Renegade Warp Sorcerer on Ancient Terra, where their warp-craft is far harder to use and costs so much more to use even the smallest fractions of power.
“I think I'd like to talk to Lenora and some of her cousins to see what they can do to help me first before…” He pauses, taking in a deep breath trying to quell his emotions, “before… going to one of the Warp Sorcerers.”
Erriox nodded, “You know where to find them.”
“Yes sir,” Jophiel says with a nod, “Although, I’m trying to figure out what would be suitable gifts or trade for their help I should bring…”
The older mer hummed thoughtfully, “You mentioned that you were looking for shinies for them?”
He nods, “I’ve been making things, and doing work in exchange for shinies, but I don’t think I have enough yet.”
Jophiel has a small satchel full of Shiny rocks, he’d been collecting sea glass, among other very pretty rocks that he’s found. He brings out the  As well as trading for some bits of jewelry. He’s glad for his armor and ability to withstand the Void Sea- as he’s found and carefully cracked open pearl oysters to collect several dozen pearls in a wide variety of colors and shapes. He’s also acquired some mother-of-pearl that he’s carefully harvested and gently polished until it was pearlescent and shiny. He grabs the satchel and rifles through it a little bit before holding it out for Erriox to assess the value of. 
The Iron Warrior mer gives him a small grin, “That is more than enough for your trade. These are not shinies that the gannet harpies can acquire easily. Though it is more likely that the gannets will ask for you to spend more time with them. They had been pestering Lenora about you.”
“Oh?” Jophiel asks, slightly alarmed, but mostly flustered in a happy sort of way. “I didn’t realize they missed me so much.”
“The gannets tend to get attached to those they consider their own relatively quickly.” Erriox shrugged. 
“I have grown fond of them,” Jophiel admits to his older brother a little sheepishly, “they are… a bit Much at times, but they are kind, warm, and friendly.”
Erriox only chuckles. 
Jophiel finds himself back once more at the gannet harpies’ rock. After letting himself be subjected to the harpies’ enthusiastic greetings and adoring attention, he pulls aside his ‘auntie’ Mara, one of the older gannets on the rock. 
She looks at the large mer fondly, “You want to ask me about something, Fledgling?”
“Yes Auntie Mara,” Jophiel blinks and nods, he wonders how she can tell that he wants to ask her something, but he guesses it’s likely due to her greater life experience and knowledge of how other beings around her work. “I was wondering if you, or someone, or maybe more than one person? I’m not sure how Harpy magic works-”
Oh Throne, he’s rambling. He needs to get to the point, “I-I was wondering if you knew of someone who can help me- or anyone else, with permanently changing one’s appearance.”
The gannet harpy listens patiently, before sighing, “Now why would you want to change your appearance? You have such beautiful wings.”
He flinches, he hates it when people comment on his wings, “They are a curse that can, has and will drive other Mer-astartes of my gene-line to murderous madness if they see them.”
He’s completely and utterly serious. He’s been told anecdotal stories of what happens when Blood Angels, or those of the other successor chapters of the Ninth Legion gain wings and their brothers learn of it. It ends in copious amounts of blood, tears, death, and culling.
Mara considers his words carefully before asking, “Is it the sight of your wings that drives others mad or the fact that they are large white wings that is triggering this madness?”
“It’s a combination of the color, size and my face and hair,” Jophiel says after struggling for a few moments before, talking, in general terms, about The Black Rage and The Red Thirst and how the Death of Their Gene-Sire affected the Ninth Legion, no matter what age and Era they are from.
“That is troublesome indeed.” She nods. 
Jophiel nods, it’s one of the reasons why he keeps his hair cut so short. Why he avoids most mer-astartes aside from Erriox. Erriox, Jophiel’s hoping he’s convinced not to say anything, but other mer-astartes? They might assume he’s someone he’s not. And if they don’t think he’s his gene-sire they will gossip about the Blood Angel with The Great Angel’s rarest blessing. And thus, stir up the madness in the ninth legion. At least there are Blood Angels from eras Before the Horus Heresy. They were… more stable? Sort of. Then Blood Angels created during and post-Heresy. They only had the Red Thirst to deal with.
“Unfortunately there is nothing to permanently change one’s appearance, short of permanently mutilating ourselves.” Mara says. Jophiel’s wings droop as the thought of possibly having to ask the Renegade Warp Sorcerers sink in. 
The gannet harpy nudges him gently, “Don’t look so glum, fledgling. There are other temporary ways of changing your appearance that would last a fairly long time so long as you are diligent in its maintenance.”
That made the despondent mer feel a little better. Mara smiles as she explains, “You can change the shape and color of your wings, and possibly your hair. While it is not ideal as you will be damaging your flight feathers, you can use a blade to shape the edges of your wings.” 
She opened her wings, long and tapered, “Since you have larger broader wings, you can, to some degree, make them more tapered like mine. However, I can’t make mine look like yours for obvious reasons.”
“Another option is to change the color of your wings.” Mara turns to rummage through a nearby chest of supplies and pulls out a covered urn and places it in the mer’s hands, “This ointment is a mix of harpy magic and ingredients that we use to change the color of our feathers. It also has the same waterproofing quality to it as our normal oils. For us, it lasts about six months before reapplication is required. Only if you regularly preen and waterproof your feathers. Otherwise, reapplication sooner might be needed.”
Jophiel opens the urn and nearly recoils from the strong odor. The old gannet harpy laughs, “Yes, you should remember to apply it in an open area with ample sunlight. The light will help cure the color onto your feathers. And that also will help with the smell. You should have someone with you to help you with both shaping and coloring to make things easier.”
“Also, a little goes a long way.” She reminds him. 
“Is there something you want in trade for this Auntie?” Jophiel asks gently cradling the container closer, he’ll learn to withstand the smell if it helps him not look like a dead Holy Primarach. “A-and could you help me apply the ointment for the first time, please?”
Mara taps the ground in front of her with a webbed foot, “You are in luck that it is sunny on the rock today. Sit or lay down in front of me and I can help you. As for payment, come accompany us to go fishing. Your presence greatly helps in forming bait balls of fish to catch and keep monster predators at bay. Also, don’t be a stranger and visit the rock more often, your cousins have been wondering where you disappeared to.”
“That seems more than fair.” Jophiel nods, then explains where he has been, “I was meeting and training with Erriox and helping him hunt sometimes… as well as finding Shiny Things.”
“That’s good. Shiny things? What kind of shiny things have you found?” 
“Pearls, pretty rocks and sea glass,” Jophiel reports as he rifles through one of his satchels and shows her some of his Best Shiny Things. Mara whistles, impressed with his collection, “Keep them close. You can trade very valuable things and information for them with the right trader. Alright, now sit down and let’s see what we can do.”
He nods and carefully sits down, setting the urn next to him and carefully spreading out his wings listening to her instructions. Mara hummed as she carefully spread the ointment over Jophiel’s feathers with practiced claws. 
Jophiel is glad that he’s so helpful with catching prey and keeping nastier things away from the Gannets. They’ve helped him a lot, and he’s glad to be able to repay them in some way. Such kindness is something he’s not had much of and he doesn’t want to take advantage of it, or seem ungrateful for all the help and kindness they have given him. Ancient Terra has its own problems and difficulties, of which he doesn’t diminish at all, but Ancient Terra truly seems like a paradise, compared to what he’s had to deal with in his Era of Origin.
Mara finishes with the back and tuts at Jophiel to get him to move. They have the other side of his wings to do. She shows him how to apply the ointment on his wings. The fledgling is a dutiful boy. Very clever and quick on the uptake for new tasks. Sometimes a bit too serious, but he’s gotten a lot happier the longer he’s been with them.
Jophiel opened his eyes, he hadn’t realized he’d closed them and had started purring a little, half asleep as someone he trusted was almost-grooming his wings. He shifts when she tells him to move slowly, getting up and flexing his wings a little, before helping to get the other side of his wings done. The smell makes his eyes water and he blinks and carefully applies the ointment. He’ll learn to get used to smell, he’s learned to get on with a lot of things in his life. Most of them are deeply unpleasant in one way or another.
Under Mara’s instructions, Jophiel copies her on his left wing while she works on his right. Once they were done, Mara asked the mer if he wanted to try to color his hair similarly too. The gannet harpy laughs when Jophiel wrinkles his nose, but the mer eventually agrees to the experiment. She rubs the ointment into his hair and scalp, hoping that even when his hair starts growing out, it will take on the color of the dye. All he needed to do now is just sit a little longer in the warm sun and wait for the dye to finish curing. 
“You will visit Lenora soon?” The harpy asks him. 
Jophiel nodded, “Yes, my plan is to visit her tomorrow.”
“That’s perfect.” Mara drew out another small container, “Please pass this onto her. This is extra waterproofing oil. You should let her preen your feathers with it to really set the colors in.”
Jophiel took the container, feeling incredibly grateful, “Thank you Auntie Mara! Thank you for everything.”
He looks into the water to see what he looks like. He brightens up at the fact that he no longer looked like a living statue of his dead gene-sire. The patterning on the wings reminded him of someone he cares for, admires, and looks up to quite strongly. He can't quite place who it is though, it will come to him in time, he's sure of that.
“Thank You so much for your help Auntie Mara!” he trills to her with a happy purr.
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cornyonmains · 1 year ago
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Something I really like about Only Friends is the characters are so complexly written and layered that I kind of wind up being an apologist or detractor for all of them at different points in time. I don't really have a black and white view of the characters, which is usually the only thing you have in BL.
Top's a fuckboy with substance abuse issues. But also, he seems like he genuinely wants connection, and I feel bad for him sometimes because it's so clear he wants Mew to be affectionate with him, and Mew just isn't.
Mew is controlling. A giant walking defense mechanism that can't connect will with people. But also, he's surrounded by people who don't have his best interests in mind, and as he's opening up, we're seeing that he's not some criminal mastermind. In fact, that's the mask. The real Mew is just some dumb college kid who's into a guy he's scared of being vulnerable with, because he's never caught feelings he couldn't control. It's so obvious someone messed Mew up REAL GOOD.
Boston is.... He's an objectively terribly human being. He's also a miserable human being though, a lot like Ray, and he places so much of his value on sex he doesn't know how to make meaningful bonds. It's clear he's nuts about Nick, that he wants to monopolize his affections and attentions, but he doesn't know how to translate that into something healthy. Like Mew, his relationship with sex is fucked, and at the core of an inability to bond. I actually think he's jealous of Mew because there's a parallel there, but whereas Boston is derided for his relationship with sex and inability to connect, Mew is praised. Boston is a shit human being, but he is to be pitied.
Ray's kind of a dick. He's self-centered, won't take no for an answer from Mew, he has substance abuse issues, and saying Sand wasn't his boyfriend because he's holding onto that hope for Mew was fucked. But he's also got major depressive disorder, his parents sound like real pieces of work, and Khao does such a great job of conveying his fragility you can really sense how close to just breaking apart he is. He fucks up, but you still want him to get to a better place.
Sand, oh dear god, this boy has my heart. He's not perfect. Yeah, he sells hooch, he smokes weed, he parties. But he's got flaws too. He works too much, his head's in the clouds, he's destined to wind up on a sexiest mugshots website, and he falls too hard, too fast. He lets himself get led around by the nose by Ray. Sand's the easiest character to like on this show. He's got a hustle, but he's also got 'dude I wouldn't be deeply uncomfortable to be in a room alone with' energy.
Nick's not completely guiltless with his relationship with Boston. I've got a soft spot for him because he's a sweet, quiet kid, and I have a habit of adopting introverts. But he's not like Mew, he knew his way around both dick and dicks from the start, and wasn't blind to who Boston was. He bugged the car. That was a little too extra. I still wanna buy him cheeseburgers and tell him these boys ain't shit though, because he's so miserably in love with Boston, and Boston might be up front with him, but he's still stringing him along, telling him what he wants to hear, and giving more when Nick expresses interest in seeing other people. Was recording Boston and Top some pure creep mode shit to do? Yes. But do I support him using the recording to put Boston in his place? Yeah, I do.
Cheum is another easy to like characters, but we don't get to see much of her, so aside from simply liking her dancing queen energy, I can't really make an assessment. I like that she's the only one in the group actually helping Mew with the project. Also, I laughed when she clocked Ray as most fuckable. Most queer woman would agree, and Jojo is out here making us feel attacked.
Anyways, in summation, I'm thinking of opening a GoFundMe to get therapy for fictional characters. I still can't believe we've got 7 more episodes of drams to get through.
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found-family-tournament · 2 years ago
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Found Family Tournament Round 1 Part 7 Group 31
Propaganda and further pictures under the cut
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Dadvid & Momgwen: Max, David, Gwen
Bucci Gang: Bruno Bucciarati, Narancia Ghirga, Leone Abbacchio, Pannacota Fugo, Trish Una, Guido Mista, Giorno Giovanna
Submissions are still open!
Dadvid & Momgwen:
Max's parents are canonically neglectful and David and Gwen are like parents to him. I can't think of anyone in the fandom that doesn't want them to adopt him.
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Bucci Gang:
Well all of them were outed by their family or ✨society ✨. Narancia was falsely accused of a crime, went to juvenile because of it, his father never showed any love, disowned, and he got a horrible eye disease. Well Bucci found him in the streets, took him to a proper doctor, and got his eye cured. Abbacchio was a cop that wanted to be completely pure and guided himself by justice. But the city he worked in was very corrupt, so one day he decided to take a bribe. Well the criminal who gave him the bribe was later found guilty of killing 2 people and told about how Abbacchio took a bribe from him. Abbacchio was seen as a dirty cop and was unemployed. He turned to alcohol and usually wandered the streets. Well Bucci found him, and helped him become better. Abbacchio joined his gang too. Fugo was a perfect son. He was extremely gifted and was born into a rich family. Now this may seem like the dream but his parents never showed him love. He was only treasured because of his intelligence. He was so smart, he was able to go to college at 13. Well while he was there, his professor repeatedly SA him. One day, his professor came to him, and Fugo beat the man with a encyclopedia in an act of self defense. He was disowned by his parents and lived in streets for 2 years. Bucci found him, and let him join his gang. Trish is the daughter of the most powerful mafia boss in Italy. Because of this, she was hunted down by her father and La Squada( they’re a group of gangsters that want to take down such boss). Her father hunted her down because he wanted to killed her to keep his identity a secret. Well Bucci gang protected her and is a part of it. Mista was a regular dude. Always had an optimistic look on life. So one day, he saw a woman almost getting r@ped in a car and decided to shoot the r@pists. Well in court, he was ruled a murderer and not an act of self defense. Bucci got him out and he joined his gang. Lastly, Giorno was a gangster that wanted to eradicate drugs being sold to minors. So he joined the Bucci gang. Giorno was neglected by his mother as a child and was beaten by his step dad. Bucci himself was never really loved by his father. Now the Bucci gang is essentially just Bucci trying to take care of some confused teenagers and a gothic depressed man.
I could go on for a long time, but they were all somehow rejected by society for mental health issues, classism, abuse, and saw each other's worth.
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typosandtea · 5 months ago
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OC ask thingo (edited to add the second half oops)
Thanks for the tag @fuzzydreamin! :]
No pressure tags! @sirmanmister @never-gonna-danse-again @fablewritesnonsense @a-mere-bog-witch @shitty-fallout-art
Rules: Bold what applies.
Nora Murphy (Murphy/Murph). fo4 sosu
Written lore here.
(I haven't finished her ref sheet yet sorry, or any drawing yet actually >:/ )
EDIT: I have no idea why most of these ended up bold, many do not apply ??
Killed Someone Under Orders | Had Someone Killed On Their Orders | Killed Someone In Self Defense | Spared someones life | Invented Something | Been Hungover | Kissed Someone | Slow-Danced | Been In A Long-Term Relationship | Had Sex | Had Sex And Regretted It I Had A One-Night Stand | Had A Threesome | Experimented With Their Sexuality | Had A Kid | Adopted A Kid | Wanted To Have A Family With Someone | Done Something On Impulse They Regretted | Gone Traveling* | Had A Bounty Put On Them | Eaten An Insect | Been Groped By A Stranger | Been Groped By Someone They Know | Been Dumped l Dumped Someone | Smoked | Gotten High | Flirted With Someone To Get Free Drinks | Put Someone In A Headlock | Won a Bet | Lost a Bet | Forgiven Someone Who Wronged Them | Indulged In Petty Revenge | Hallucinated | Has A Noticeable Physical Defect | Gotten A Noticeable Scar | Been Permanently Disfigured Through Injury | Kneed Someone In The Groin | Had An Unattainable Crush | Laughed Themself To The Point Of Tears | Been Kidnapped | Been Sexually Assaulted | Been Brainwashed/Hypnotised | Had A Recurring Nightmare | Been Bullied | Bullied Someone | Experienced Survivor's Guilt | Been Tied/Chained Up | Given Someone A Massage | Received A Massage | Been Backed Up Against A Wall | Shot Someone | Stabbed Someone | Saved Someone's Life |
Cheated On Someone | Been Cheated On | Been In An Open Relationship | Had A Friendship With Benefits | Been In A Queerplatonic Relationship | Had A Stalker | Been Betrayed | Been A Traitor | Been Possessed | Been In A Bar Fight | Been Thrown Out Of A Bar | Been Arrested | Broken Out Of Jail | Been To A Funeral | Been To A Brothel | Had Surgery | Broken Someone's Trust | Broken Someone's Heart | Had Their Heart Broken | Broken/Damaged Something Out Of Anger | Broken/Damaged Something Out Of Spite | Gotten A Piercing | Gotten A Tattoo | Used A Fake Name | Been Beaten Up | Been Tortured/Tortured Others | Been Abused | Been Blackmailed | Gotten Away With A Crime | Framed Someone Else For A Crime They Committed | Shared A Bed Platonically | Been In Love | Suffered From Sleep Paralysis | Been Forced To Flee Their Home | Learned A New Language | Joined A Rebellion | Fought On The Losing Side Of A War | Fought On The Winning Side Of A War | Become A Godparent | Become An Aunt/Uncle
Murphy is straight up not having a good time, a very bad time usually.
Gone traveling is iffy since it was all with the military and she was a military refugee from Aus
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merkavahpartyvan · 1 year ago
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Reality Jumping: A Brief Manual for When You Become Somebody Else
The first time you jump, you jump forever.
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There are a lot of ways to shift one's reality, to project into other realities, to warp awareness itself in a way that gets you outside your body, or feels like it. But the first leap is a doozy, made in necessity usually, an instinctive impulse to survive. Quantum leaping, or just 'jumping' for short, is the ultimate flight response--an escape so abrupt that reality itself is never the same for you.
How do we get here? Is there any way to achieve this without facing true danger? And is there any possible return to normalcy after reaching this strange state?
How do we get here: How to Leap
Evolution is an interesting means of empowering a species. Every danger your ancestors faced and survived had a chance of culling them away, but instead made them discover an ability that evolution granted them and not everyone else around them. Over time this guarantees that the strongest and most useful survival adaptations persist through a species, gradually strengthening the mass just as much as the first individuals to express the trait. But when I say evolution, I really mean natural selection, the ability of the natural/physical world to present challenges that our genetics either overcome or are defeated by.
Each challenge helps us discover either the natural gifts that our DNA grants us or some other survival tactic such as specialized training and knowledge. The natural gifts, the ones that don't require training, are very special. As they remain hidden until discovery, one can't know all of one's natural gifts without facing certain challenges that bring them forth.
This is why anyone can quantum leap, but they won't know how until they do it. It is an instinctual defense for someone who is in mortal danger, and therefore it's only discoverable if the self is convinced that circumstances are truly dire. One moment a person is faced with the possibility of death, and the next moment they are somewhere, somewhere, and someone else. It is the ultimate bullet dodge.
Can we achieve it without facing danger?
it is possible to make one's first leap without actually being in danger of losing one's life, but it can be very difficult because it requires tricking the self into believing the danger is real on a deep level. Many occult initiations have to do with facing death or some seemingly insurmountable foe and coming away completely changed by the experience. This is one way that a person can discover their ability. Another way is to be in a situation where it seems like there is mortal danger even if there isn't. This can be anything from an illusion to a near-miss to an incredibly immersive entertainment experience. The use of psychoactive drugs can sometimes increase the chances that the mind is fooled, especially if used in conjunction with a situation that seems dangerous even if it isn't. The increasing adoption of VR presents another option for initiation into one's first jump. All that is required, in the end, is for something to make one's instincts fire. The rest takes care of itself. Jumping is automatic, for better or for worse.
Will things ever go back to normal?
After one's first jump, the survival response is activated and jumping becomes possible. There is no way to deactivate the survival response once it was activated, so after the first jump, infinitely many are possible. In fact, it will probably serve one best if they jump a few times after the first time to get a sense of balance and find an equilibrium. You usually won't even need to try to find these first few jumping opportunities. Reality tends to want to teach the learning jumper how to find their footing. The reality of jumping often becomes the new normal.
The biggest challenge jumping presents is one of identity and self-definition. When one jumps out of their body, who jumps in while they're gone? If someone else is in one's body, and if one's self is in another person's body, then what does identity really mean after this happens? How to define one's self and what the self even is becomes a vital quest for the jumper at this stage. Gaining a deep understanding of identity helps pilot one's soul through space and time and gives context to the journey the jumper is now always on.
What happens to your body while you're gone?
Someone is always there to pilot the body. Often it is either an aspect of the subconscious or some part of the self that typically does not "front" day to day. It can also be another jumper that lands in your body at the moment you leave it. This can be an entirely different person from yourself or it can be another self of yours from a different time or reality or from a different lifetime of yours in the past or future. Who it will be is not entirely under your control, but it can be influenced by training, experience, and circumstances in your current reality. Jumping is like stepping through a revolving door--as you exit, someone else enters.
Often jumpers are people who are dreaming or unconscious, and they may be entirely unaware that they're experiencing another reality inside another person. If they're not aware they are jumping, they may default to what the body and brain is used to, performing basic tasks or jobs according to how you usually do them, carrying on conversations as if they're you until they too jump away and someone else (probably you coming back) jumps in. Think of it as an extremely immersive form of improv.
If the jumper is conscious they've jumped, then it's a bit more like Freaky Friday, where there is an awareness of the oddity of the situation and the need to keep up appearances of being a different person. Since there's very few people in this current reality who would believe a person who claimed to have jumped from one body to another, especially without any sort of physical evidence, most jumpers who are conscious they're in another person's body take every precaution to blend in and not be discovered. Call it the ultimate imposter syndrome.
What to do after you jump into someone else
If you find yourself in a situation where you are in another person's body, take care of the body the best you can and try to interfere as little as possible with the person's life. Try not to call undue attention to them. If you think you can help their situation in any way, try to be discreet. Also, be careful about making any bold moves until being sure of the situation. For instance, try not to spend much of the person's money without needing to, and try to make sure you're not putting them in a bad financial situation by doing so. If the person has loved ones or pets, take care to preserve their relationships and uphold their responsibilities. Do as you would hope the person you jumped into would do if they jumped into your body.
Whoever you jumped into, you may end up jumping into again in the future, especially if it was a compelling or enjoyable experience, and most especially if you bear similarities to the person, even superficial ones. Coincidences may drive some of the similarities, such as having the same first name or having lived in the same house but at different times. The overlaps may teach you something about yourself, the other person, and why you had an experience like this with them.
If you feel stuck or are worrying you will not make it back into your body, try not to panic or worry. This will only upset you and make your experience in said body worse. You will likely jump away and back to your own body soon, for instance when you go to sleep. You may also need to wait for the other person in your body to jump as well, so it may not be your decision when this happens.
The first jump can feel like forever
There's an experience among your early jumps where you will feel like you're jumping into every person that ever lived, one by one, with no way back into your own body. This is a normal experience and it is par of the way a jumper calibrates their ability and learns their range. It can be a bit difficult to handle in terms of personal identity. Know that you will eventually end up back in your own body and that you will probably end up back in it not long after when your jump started, even if it feels like an eternity has passed since you jumped out. Jumpers are able to leap through time as well as space.
Meditation, relaxation, and other forms of self care are very helpful after a leap, no matter what body you are in. When you take the time to slip into introspection, often your understanding will increase as you do so. New realizations about the nature of identity and reality may come to you now that you are in need of them. Allow your mind to teach you what happened. Reality itself will also teach you through coincidences and symbols that it presents to you with the sort of timing and context that will be very difficult to deny in the moment. Do not be intimidated by these incidents and instead know that reality is trying its best to empower you with knowledge and understanding of what is happening.
Jumping is a survival method that humans, and probably many other beings, have at their disposal once they've gone through a qualifying experience. Once you grow accustomed to doing jumps you may find them fun, informative, and a novel way of experiencing the greater reality we're all a part of.
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punkeropercyjackson · 9 months ago
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Agere Dead Sea Siblings headcanons
Their brains do age regression as a coping and defense mechanism from trauma
Technically all flips but only Percy calls themself a caregiver since Nico and Hazel only take care of him when he's a Little while he does it in general for anybody who needs it due to him being an adult while they're only kids
Hazel's ages are 2-3,Nico's are 3-5 and Percy's are 7-8 with the occasional 2
As a cg,Percy does babytalk sometimes,carries them around,gives them extra kisses and takes them on safe adventures like gardening and playing hide and seek.He's learned how to spot when they're tiny when they try to hide it and eventually it gets to the point where they stop trying because of all his reassurances and how safe she makes them feel so now instead they make a b-line for him when it happens
Percy was actually able to repress his regression out of sheer spite and anger when it started(Poseidon genes)but after his self-eestem improved he told Sally about it and she did research so they could find out what was up with him and by then she'd adopted Nico so they knew he's one too and same goes for Hazel when him and Percy ressurected her at Persephone's request so she'd be a part of the Second Great Prophecy
They're all animal regressors too-Nico's a baby bat,Hazel's a pony/fillie and Percy's a kitty
Little!Nico and Hazel call Percy 'Papa/Mama' as opposed to their usual sibling terms for her since while she's normally already a parental figure to them,their age amps it up big time and they call Little!Percy 'Princess'
And Little!Percy calls them 'Coco' and 'Azie' while Cg!Percy calls them his 'Little Rockstars' and 'Precious'(as in pearls)
Nico likes halloween costumes,card games,chewy tender food,being thrown around and storybased songs,Hazel likes tutus,Monster High,black louisiana food sweet or heavy kinds,playfighting,hyperpop and Percy likes coloring,tickles,bubble baths,fairy tales,themed food(Cookie Monster especially)and Lo-Fi Chiptunes
Nico's a pretty quiet kid and takes naps a lot but still energetic,Hazel's even more of a little shit and gets even girlier and Percy's a handful but not in a bad way
Sally saved up to buy them an easy bake oven,toy phones that match their tastes(A box of fries for Nico,a ghost with a bow for Hazel and a pink cat for Percy)and even made them pacis with the diy skills Percy taught her
The cat themed communication cards Nico and Hazel made Percy as a thank you for all he's done for them come into use her for both Percy themself and them borrowing them since she's cool with it
Hazel plays witch often and Percy's more than happy to be her familiar wether he's big or tiny
Nico likes feeling independent so his siblings don't overdue it so he dosen't cry or throw tantrums.However,he's also extra sensitive to his chronic pain in this state so he also understands he needs help with certain things
Hazel's hair is often filled with colorful butterfly hairclips by Percy's doing at her request,Nico's hair gets put into protective styles for safety by Sally or one of his siblings and Percy perfers having his styles changed throught his regressions
Their favorite shows are Max and Ruby,Kiya and the Kimoja Heroes,Bluey,Blues Clues,Dragon Tales,Adventure Time and Spidey and his Amazing Friends with Percy having a huge (platonic obvs) thing for Gwen Stacy thanks to it and the Spiderverse movies so she has secondhand merch of her and made her Atsv suit for herself so she could wear it
And she also made a Miles Morales one for Nico since they're literally Siblings!Ghost Flower and a Peni Parker one for Hazel based off the Across concept art since Hazel has a huge crush on Peni
Nico also loves Tiny Titans and Hazel is the number one Koriand'r fan and Percy models his drawing style after the DC Superhero Girls 2019 one
Percy started collecting stim gifs for them and they did the same for him but with Sonic the Hedgehog memes and cute fanart
Nico also calls Percy and Hazel 'Squish/Squishy' as nicknames since they're both fat/plus-sized and have expressed that it makes them feel insecure
They have matching Aquapets and Percy's even more into legos in tiny mode than he is normally
They have a big children's makeup kit they all share because it has sections with different kinds and that's why Sally bought it for them(i.e One's goth makeup,another's pink and purple and yellow and the last one's ocean themed along with all of them having glitter options)
Percy's obssessed with Rainbow Dash all the time but copies her speech as a Little and can't play his scary games like Undertale and Deltarune in that state so he plays Nickjr games instead
Hazel's a no impulse control kid but knows what she's doing,perfers figurines over plushies because she likes the texture better and same goes for sneakers over slippers and adores clowns!!
Percy earns the nickname 'Wonder Woman' because of the greek demigoddess and expert at being good with kids combo
Sally made the Familia Jackson Beach Shack 100% child-safe because of them
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panur · 1 year ago
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Radovid Joins the Hansa
At the Radskier discord we are Goncharov-ing what Radovid-joins-the-hansa (aka: Hansovid) AU would be like and here's some of the ideas shared so far:
the exact details on HOW this happens are not set in stone (Did Radovid escape before Vizimir got offed, leaving Pip and Siggi without a convenient spare? After? More importantly, does he have the annuity??), but some headcanons are:
Art major nerd perk, Radovid knows a lot about slightly more practical things, like art, history and architecture and sometimes weird law facts that he personally found interesting
barding- under Jaskier's tutelage, Radovid's playing has improved dramatically, which is great because unlike jaskier who is kind of recognizable, Radovid can more easily go into towns as a perfectly average, unremarkable bard, making getting items/information while keeping anonymity (they usually pair him up w Regis for safety reasons)
Very good at looking dumb and pretty and quite pathetic which makes people underestimate him more
Courtly training so he's polite and educated… and good at remembering faces and names.
THE ONE NORMAL PERSON IN THIS GROUP. Radovid often ends up being the most sensible/practical person in a situation simply by process of elimination. Radovid will read a potion saying 'drink me' and...not do it. He'll see spoopy shit and walk the fuck out. He's the guy who asks who's on the other side before opening to sus knocking.
he's very bad at athletic stuff and takes awhile to build stamina, but at least this time everyone's got horses and boots so it balances out
Radovid is not good at self defense BUT does have some concept of swordsmanship/archery… from like like 20 years ago. He is, however, decided not to be a burden and not to get left behind. He's especially invested in protecting Jaskier- who Radovid is horrified to find- is even more useless than he himself is (bitch you live like this??).; Because Radovid has common sense and self preservation instincts, things jaskier is mostly lacking).
he eventually starts getting lessons from Cahir and Milva when time permits, and healing stuff from Regis. He's got excellent memory and attention to detail, but remains average at swordsmanship/archery.
he is, however, fairly good with a crossbow (no the wrist ones from TW3, the bigger ones ).
he also gets a cute ponytail/braid and smiles more! (original art by naumaxia-art)
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Still too weaksauce for the path?
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we've named him 'Faro', after a type of Cintran beer
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He's a Polish Tatra Sheepdog and was acquired by the group when Geralt was handling a monster infestation. Unfortunately neither the puppo's owners, nor his sheep were spared, but puppo not only survived, but saved Jask and Radovid and became extremely protective of them.
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I imagine the acquisition goes something like:
Geralt: absolutely not. Radovid: I'm calling for a vote! Milva: You. You're calling for a vote? Radovid: why not? is this not a democracy? Radovid: I'm of course voting to keep him. Jaskier: I second the vote to keep the very handsome boy! Angoulême: come on Geralt, we'd never have found where the Barghest were coming from without him, AND he saved your bard from walking straight into it. Jaskier: yes Geralt, he saved your bard! Geralt: fine, then I vote no. Milva: I'm not taking care of any more mutts than I have to Radovid: he's clearly purebred! Cahir: still no. Geralt: see? We are done here Angoulême: *the little shit* nunca hasn't voted yet. Geralt: *sigh* Regis, can you please tell them so we can leave? Regis: Geralt: Regis. Geralt: Regis, no Regis: *trying not to smile like he's entirely charmed* … well, he is a very handsome boy.
In the end Regis suggest they at least try to get him to civilization so he can be adopted by a good family, but in the week it takes to get to it, Faro proves himself the MVP, not only will it defend the weakest party members, but it's a vert smart dog who will deter wolves/and will bodily shepherd jaskier away from dangerous areas/items as needed.
the one and only drawback is that Jaskier and Radovid can no longer have obnoxiously loud sex since Faro gets stressed thinking they're getting hurt and will try to intervene, effectively cockblocking them.
Finally Geralt gets some (relative) #blessedsilence
Geralt: *hugging the dog* I'm so sorry i ever doubted you
feel free to add to this!
#it's free real estate prompt just tag me so i can read
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millipede-menace · 1 year ago
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The bands back together! And they’re old lol
Art Notes/Rants below ⬇️
⚠️Warning⚠️
it is very long, I got a lot to say apparently lol
❗️They’re all aged up btw! In case you’re all wondering why i’m even redesigning them lol
🐱Chizu Mini Rant: I hate Chizu’s design in the show. Not the clothing more so the body model. I hate that they made her the stereotypical curvy cat girl with a tiny hourglass waist and tiny hands and feet. Really weird proportions, Like we’re going back to the betty boop era but no one else in the show looks like this? (Also, No hate to people who are curvy btw love you) It just doesn’t feel like it belongs in the show. Maybe if she were shorter, it would work better? Idk Also she’s like the only one in a full skin tight suit (like I get animation, but they didn’t even bother giving her implied loose clothes or armor like the other ninjas? Maybe bc she was undercover? but then she should’ve been wearing something closer to the bg character models) It’s like they’re trying to make her sexy but like why?????? for why????
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I really liked the concept art of Chizu. She’s got a more sharp/rigid and square silhouette but still some curves (w/o it being weird). She still has tiny hands but her head isn’t the size of a watermelon and her face isn’t super tiny, the proportions are good. She’s all power stanced up lol She looks mean and menacing, someone not to trust or mess with. It’s literally spot on. ✨chef kiss ✨ It’s also probably why they didn’t really go with it, they probably rounded her out to be more appealing for the reveal? or she was hard to animate cause she did have baggier pants idk. Who am I, but a rando with a hard boiled egg for brains.
Art Notes: I took a lot of inspiration from the comics and I did want to keep her iconic red so she was still recognizable & stand out from the neko ninja. I made her a regular black cat! (with the idea of black cats being less likely to be adopted & be strays) (;-;) (I know she was kidnapped but still!! The stray cat vibes!!!) I gave her a more lean and tall figure, kinda like the comics but also to play off of Kistune’s height and it give scrawny stray cat vibes . . . again lol. It’s also a body shape I don’t see a lot in physically strong female characters (or maybe I do and just don’t remember? Idk but she can definitely kick your ass & she’s not here for anybody’s bullshit lol) I gave her the iconic ponytail from the comics along with the comb Kitsune usually wears. I wanted to give her green eyes (bc black cat & red and green) but i just kept them yellow. Maybe i’ll go back and change them. Her outfit is mostly inspired from Karai (bc she’s a ninja from eons ago & the gang is a little more traditional) just (pretend cuz i’m lazy) with traditional Japanese patterns. Chizu definitely got kunais and stars up her sleeves, but bc she doesn’t have to be a ninja anymore, I imagine her more into wearing pretty dresses with patterns and cute things. Stuff she never got to wear/ enjoy as a kid, you know. The show really wants to push her to be a bad ass girl boss who hates everyone and everything and is too cool and edgy for games but idk. I like to think she left the ninja stuff behind her and started living her own life based on exploring things rather than just being the cool ninja with an edgy backstory. I think she uses ninjitsu as a means of self defense but doesn’t like being connected to it b/c of the kidnapping and stuff. (We also see how she doesn’t really care about the tradition of ninjitsu cause during the show, she has no fucking clue what to do with the neko ninja, she just wanted them to stop hurting people and wanted to free the babies lol) Usagi and Kitsune are the ones who indulge her childish side. She wears a lot of red but her favorite color is pink. Kitsune def hypes her up and goes feral when she wears pink.
🦊 Kitsune Mini Rant: I hate Kitsune’s clothes in the show. Idk it just doesn’t look right on her. It’s got no shape it’s got no hiding spots for stolen goods. It’s not Kitsune. I like the concept art fit, it’s really cute. (She looks like a mini tank who will fuck you up in a cute way) but still #1 thing missing. Hiding spots for stolen goods!!! She needs some loose sleeves or flowy clothing like in the comics. (btw: I know it would be harder to animate in the show therefore I accept what they gave her but still!!!)
Art Notes: I’m not too sure about Kitsune’s fit tbh. I’m still workshopping it. She just needs something with loose sleeves! (Like she for sure is stealing shit and putting it up her sleeves, you can’t tell me i’m wrong/ it’s also where she could keep her fans!) I think i’m obsessed with her sleeves cause I imagine her gambling or playing a game of cards with a bunch of dangerous criminals and someone accuses her of cheating and she goes “What?! Me?! No, no. I’m just that good or maybe . . . you’re just that bad-” Then all the stolen cards fall out her sleeves and she just goes -fuck. and it turns into this picture vvv
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ANYWAYS!!!! I gave her short hair bc idk, a girls gotta change it up sometime 💅 I actually liked her hair mimicking a fox tail but I feel like she would get bored of it and chop it all off one day. She's definitely the one who cuts and dye’s her hair at 1am then cries about it the next day. She’s got visibly longer ears and sharper face. Kitsune and Usagi wanted to get piercings together cause they’re besties and want to be edgy (she lowkey got it on her left ear to match Chizu) and so they did and Usagi’s Auntie was so PISSED lol. They got chewed out. Her hands and feet should be a little darker but i forgor. Also she’s got dark teal wrappings so it would be hard to tell anyways. I gave her the crop top with buttons from the concept art and the sleeves from the comic. They have the same maple leaf print from her comic too (i’m just lazy) and the cuffs are just lined to mimic the layers she had. She’s got her little pack, she’s also got some more smaller ones on the back (kinda like Leo). She also made a comment about not having money to buy herself shoes so . . . she’s got no shoes lol. It just wrappings under her shin guards. (no shoes just like Leo smh) It helps her be more sneaky tho >:)
Oh and they’re dating but i feel like that’s a given lol. I saw people shipping them at first and it literally went -> *sees ship* Oh they’re shipping the only two main female characters together again- yeah that’s greeeat- *Watches the show* oh. nvm I retract my sarcasm, they’re def gay for each other, thats nice. This is nice -w-
which is pretty funny, cause I think they don't like each other in the comics? (from what I saw in the singles panels I used as a reference at least) Chizu’s legit ready to kill Kitsune lol
Post Note: I totally forgot Chizu chose a bow and arrow as a weapon so now she’s just the stereotypical tall archer . . . i’m gonna go now ;-;
Gen Mini Rant: Holy Moly dudes, he was sooooo hard to draw ;-; I don't hate his design at all, actually it's one I like the most. I just don't like that there's not a lot of contrast on the 3D model and he kind just blends into a purple blob. (for me at least) I defiantly didn't do him justice but that's the best it's gonna get (from me that is.)
Art Notes: Don't look the feet . . . for any of them but mostly Gen lol. I don't really like the purple I chose but every color combo I did just looked bad idk. I can't do color, don't look at me man. Me and purple do not mix. He's still a bounty hunter so I wanted to keep his armor but I wanted him to have a long tail-coat/cape-ish jacket cause he would look cool as hell with one of those >:) (prob not practical but still) I wanted to add elbow and knee pads, but he's a rhino, he can take it. Also how can bad guys hurt him if he's too busy beating them up with his brass knuckles? He's still got his clubs but he likes clanging his fists together. lol His horn grew back! He's also got a goatee and everyone makes fun of him. The gang always threatens to shave it off in his sleep. I took more inspo from the show than the comic cause I don't really know Gen in the comics and what I did find was just miyamoto usagi but purple ;-; (clothes wise)
I wasn’t kidding, I had a lot to say, any survivors?
Feel free to suggest or critic my designs!! :0 Im not a design person and its mostly just for fun, but i looooove hearing people’s takes, especially hot takes >:) i like poking brains, its fun ^^
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