#I love how being ghosted was one of the most traumatic experiences of his life while still being one of the coolest

[averygayplant]

oh my gosh he's all fancy now with his fancy superhero ghost logo

#danny phantom #memory blank #I love how being ghosted was one of the most traumatic experiences of his life while still being one of the coolest #like yeah now you're forever changed and doomed by the narrative but like now you lead an interesting and incredibly dangerous life

[strong-with-the-sarcasm]

Part 9 - left its seeds while I was sleeping

“Hello darkness, my old friend. I’ve come to talk with you again. Because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping. And the vision that was planted in my brain still remains within the sound of silence.” -The Sound of Silence by Disturbed

Masterlist Part 8

It was the lack of air in her lungs that woke Jazz up, gasping for air and fingers desperately trying to find a beating pulse at her neck. 

With a sigh of relief, Jazz rested her palm against the beat, counting as it started to settle into a resting pace again. 

Another nightmare. 

Back in Danny’s memorial Jazz had converted from a maintenance access space, she had slept there one Christmas weekend as she learned her little brother would truly never have a peaceful afterlife. The darkness was an old friend, like a worn blanket from childhood that you would hide under because you believed the monsters wouldn’t get you then- embraced her as she was and sheltered her as she mourned her lost humanity and childhood until there were no more tears to cry. 

Nonetheless, it couldn’t shelter her from the dreams of death, the echo of Danny’s death scream ghostly wail ricocheting in her skull like the worst sort of pinball game she could ever have the misfortune of playing. 

It was no longer Danny’s death or theirs that haunted her with dogged determination, but Jason’s. 

(The same man she found herself missing more with each passing day that she didn’t wake in his arms.)

It was horrifically detailed, the nightmares, because Jazz’s imagination painted with vivid color even in sleep. The details Lady Gotham had shared with her were few and far between, considering she didn’t care for talking about her favorite bird’s murder. 

(Beaten, betrayed… waiting for his dad to reach him in time.)

(Only the darkness would ever know how much Jazz cried for a younger Jason, who only wanted his mother’s love, died for it.)

(It spoke to her own childhood, wanting her parents to love her and care for her.)

(What a pair they were.)

Jazz threw off her blankets and got dressed for the day, hair brushed back into a low ponytail and Bracelets hidden under loose sleeves and a glamor. The metal was cool against her warm skin, a comfortable weight on her forearms as she went about her morning in silence, forcing the nightmare back into a box for her never to think about. 

Danny emerged only a few minutes after Jazz began making breakfast for them, yawning and raking a scarred hand through his messy hair as he tried to wake up. Her little brother was completely healed from his traumatic experience physically, but she worried about him mentally. Though he was much happier compared to when she first dragged him bleeding and screaming to Gotham, which could also be due to the fact that he has a new Haunt and isn’t vilified by the city as Phantom. 

Even if it came at the cost of life, Danny loved being a vigilante.

The signs were there in the little things most of all.

 The pride in his voice when he introduced himself as Phantom, delivered puns and witty one-liners with his wicked sense of humor for all to see, thrived in the sense of duty he wrought in Protecting others, even complete strangers. Danny was a hero, but he didn’t need that distinction to want to help, he only wanted to not be hunted for his spooky nature. 

Jazz would shoulder that burden for him, take up another mantle if it meant giving Danny a chance to be happy with his existence. Ancients only knew how far she would go for him. 

One slash, two, three

Blood is on your hands already. 

Fourth, fifth slash

Ask the ghosts if honor matters, buried amongst the ash. 

So what if Jazz had a bond with the darkness? So what if she woke up with no air in her lungs, searching for a pulse? 

There was nothing else for her to fight for, no greater purpose she could find then to be at Danny’s side through the ups and downs. Jazz had already given up so much, both willingly and unknowingly, to take the crown, to be more than a presence on the sidelines- she was more than a Liminal, Jazz was the damn Regent. 

(She ignored the grating reminder of the title being temporary.)

It was only until Jazz watched Danny walk through the door of his school, that it dawned on her what she was feeling….

Jazz was becoming depressed. 

-——-———–

With the subtlety of Jack Fenton barreling through a wall, Jazz threw herself into work- both Vigilante and Regent- to ignore the realization and subsequent horror that she was falling into a deep depression.

And it was largely because of Danny. 

Ancients, Jazz wanted nothing more than to confront these feelings head on, much like she encouraged her little brother too, but she couldn’t even find where to begin. 

She supposed she could find someone to talk to about all this, in a professional manner, but her options were limited. 

Spectra was the only ghost with counseling experience, but Jazz would only be leaving a conversation with her worse than when she began. 

Frostbite would be of little help with something so human, considering he was an ancient ghost Yeti. 

Human. That was it. 

Jazz hadn’t considered a human psychiatrist, since most of her health needs thus far were physical and treated by the Yeti tribe, thanks to her ecto-contamination and proto-core. 

What if she found a human doctor to see? Jazz had no reason to discuss anything  ecto related, only human adjacent, so she could very well find one that suited her and her needs. 

Well, that might be a challenge in Gotham. 

The Watchtower was host to nearly every possible hero who were to attend Batman’s urgent briefing, many lingering around and questioning what the Bat could’ve had in store for so many of them to be present. 

Robin, Red Hood, and Red Robin were counted among the numbers of those present, though only Red Robin had the fully depth of what they were about to be privy to, having been one of three people to sort through the Ghost Files (as they were dubbed by the Batkids). 

Robin had demanded to be included, citing his prior experience with The Regent in Crime Alley as reason enough. 

(He would not admit that he had been petrified by the vigilante, the death aura freezing him down to his bones.)

Red Hood was there at the request of his younger brother (Tim), Oracle and Batman, though he had yet to understand why. 

“Red Robin, begin the presentation.” Batman ordered gruffly as he entered the large meeting hall, Superman and Wonder Woman at his heels, the other heroes trickling in soon after. 

Red Robin nodded, took a deep breath and started the presentation slideshow. 

Slide #1: Ghosts, Fenton Family, GIW, Anti-Ecto Acts, The Regent and the Phantom

Despite the absurdity of the first slide, no one felt like laughing. Especially when it is in a meeting with the Batman, the Dark Knight and two (?) of his children. Not to mention the existence of Deadman was well known to the Justice League. 

“Bloody Hell, Bats, took you long enough.” Constantine had no qualms about poking the man in question with a metaphorical stick, but he had fully expected this briefing to happen a week ago. 

“This briefing will be disclosing information granted to us by one of these Ghosts or Ecto-Entities as they are officially classified by the Ghost Investigation Ward or GIW. A serious breach of the Metahuman protection laws has been created and exploited by this government organization, which is responsible for drawing the Human world into the beginnings of an inter dimensional war with the Infinite Realms.” Batman spoke calmly, even if he was holding onto his demeanor by the skin of his teeth. 

(He was livid.)

(A dead child had to beg him not to send him to war.)

(A dead child was a Spirit of Protection.)

As expected, the heroes present were disgusted by the actions of the GIW, the diabolical Anti-Ecto Acts passed during Luther’s term. 

The worst reactions came during the Fenton Family portion. 

The Ghost Files had included so much info on them, Red Robin had to shorten the list of what he would include in the presentation. 

The first picture was of the members themselves, posing in front of a brick building with a neon sign of ‘Fentonworks’ glaring annoyingly from the background, casting an off shade of pale green over the subjects. 

“The Fenton Family, manufacturers of the weapons sold to the GIW for the express purpose of hunting and capturing ghosts.” Batman began, “The two adults are Madeline and Jack Fenton, ecto-biologists whose prejudiced views on Ecto-Entites seem to be the founding behind the Acts and the GIW.” 

The man in the photo was large, a sturdy frame encased in an orange hazmat suit and bearing a wide grin on his face, with an arm around his wife and children. Madeline Fenton was a slight woman, standing at a possible five foot eight and wearing a hazmat suit like her spouse. 

The children were the next to be spoken of, “The boy is Daniel Fenton, the youngest, and according to the information given, he was killed in a lab accident at fourteen years old.” 

The gasps of horror intermingled with the muttered curses before the Dark Knight silenced them, “Daniel’s older sister, Jasmine, was the primary caregiver for most of his life and after discovering her parents dissecting the town’s protector, a ghost by the name of Phantom, in the same basement lab Daniel died in, Jasmine allowed the Regent to claim their souls so the violence done to Phantom would be avenged.” 

It had been quite the shock for Red Robin and Oracle to read that, both at the evidence of cruelty and inhumane experimentation done to a sentient being (a child who died and protected the town) and the admittance that the Regent killed the humans to avenge Phantom.

It wasn’t until Hood grimly smiled and said, “Good for them.” that something clicked. 

Phantom was killed by the Fentons and avenged by the Regent of the Ghost King. 

(Jason had never been avenged, not like this dead kid.)

There was one file, a video, that Tim refused to share with anyone. 

The death of Daniel Fenton. 

…and the rebirth.

Contrary to popular belief, Danny wasn’t an idiot. He was born into a bloodline of brilliance, even if such wasn’t always used for the greater good. He had spent years fixing his parents failed inventions, doing the proper equations to figure out how something could work when in reality it had no business existing. 

(Designed to view a world unseen.)

He’d learned how to fly a jet and build one at fifteen out of sheer desperation, defeated the Ghost King in the same year…. And was almost killed fully by his parents. 

His vivisection scars had healed fully, his removed ribs having regrown, and he could transform without echoes of agony in his chest. 

(They had gotten far too close to his core.)

Point was, Danny knew there was something going on with his sister. She had been less talkative since their escape from Amity, but Jazz had been withdrawn since they took Jason to the Batcave. He had suspected that Jazz missed having someone to care for, considering that was the kind of person she’d been for as long as he could remember, but it didn’t seem quite right. There was something sadder in her eyes. 

Danny turned his focus back down to what he was doing, shoving the concern down to deal with later when he sees Jazz. Usually English was one of the classes he could relax in, considering he could now actually read the assigned books without worrying about ghost attacks eating into his sleep, but today Danny couldn’t focus on the teacher or the lesson. 

He’d had an idea for the ecto-comms, his own creation made from broken Fenton phones. His notebook, which was a mix of notes and half finished designs, was open to the original design of the comms. Danny had to account for Jazz’s helmet when he designed her set, but it was awkward at best to activate it when she needed to talk to him. 

Jazz needed armor to protect her vital organs even if her skin was incredibly durable. He’d seen some idiot unload a clip into Jazz’s back, not a single one had pierced her- that had been when she’d intercepted a smuggling ring from inside and had yet to summon her armor or sword. 

(The creepy head turn Jazz did to face the idiot was the stuff horror movies were made from.) 

(Danny was oddly proud.)

No, the armor was to protect against ghosts. Ecto-blasts would severely injure Jazz despite her liminalality, unlike Danny who could just go intangible or manipulate the ectoplasm in his body around the blast. 

“Did you hear about the Anti-Ecto Acts?” one of his classmates whispered from somewhere behind him, causing Danny to automatic tune his hearing into the conversation. 

“Yeah, that stuff is sick. Phantom is a pretty cool dude, even if he’s dead.” 

“He’s got puns for days, man.” 

“But still, ghosts?” 

“We got aliens, dude and you’re drawing the line at ghosts?” 

“Ugh, fine.” 

“Just read the whole article, man.” 

“It’s the daily planet.” 

“It’s Clark Kent and Lois Lane, dude, it’s worth the gag factor of metropolis.” 

Danny’s pencil snapped in uneven halves in his grip, confusing mix of emotions swirling in his chest. 

Anger-relief-cautious hope 

He’d given the Ghost Files to Batman as his last resort, believing in the hero and for his connection to Lady Gotham to sway him to give it a read through. Jazz had been adamant that if Phantom and the Ghost King was on that list, then she (as the Regent) would be too, though the two of them had argued against labeling Phantom as the Star King for the time being. Danny had grudgingly agreed to keep Phantom labeled as a Spirit of Protection, even if he went behind his sister’s back and gave Batman a list of his powers. 

(Danny still had nightmares of Dan.)

(He lost his parents, but he hadn’t lost his family.) (He had to remember that.) 

There were few things Jason would consider dear to him. 

His books, kept neat and orderly in his apartment. His vigilante alias, taken from his killer to be a force of change. His grave, as a reminder that he came back. He’d been surprised to see Joker removed from the rogue list, hopeful that it meant he was avenged the clown fucker was finally dead and gone. Dick had held him again when he finally broke down and mourned himself, relief in the fact his killer would never hurt another innocent. 

Never hurt his family again. 

Barbie had framed the autopsy report and given it to her dad, where it proudly rested on his desk as a reminder that the clown was knocked off by a blessed soul and his daughter would never be hurt by him again. 

The alley where his head remained mounted was a protected site in Crime Alley, enforced by both Red Hood and it’s people. A trophy for all of them to appreciate, because while they hadn’t been the ones to end him… they had survived to bare witness to the days free of Joker. 

Harley Quinn was free, the happiest woman in all of Gotham- no, the world! The demon who’d made her in his image so long ago was gone for good and nothing would bring him back. She was free of her ex, her origin story was finally finished. 

Jason counted the fact he was inadvertently avenged as the dearest part of what he was as equal parts man and shambling corpse. He was free of that burden. 

And he had the bone-deep instinct that he knew exactly who to show his appreciation to.

Part 10

#dc x dp crossover #dp x dc #dp x dc au #dpxdc #jazz fenton #regent!jazz #jason todd #anger management ship #hardcover ship #Jason is about to enter simp mode for Jazz

[kneelingshadowsalome]

Hi! I wanted to ask you something, since I really enjoy how you characterize the relationship between a grumpy, lonely, stoic, angry etc. character like Ghost (though I don’t know if I’d say he’s angry) and a love interest. What would those first few interactions be like, (would she seek him out, and would it annoy or confuse him) and what characteristics would he see early on in her to realize that he likes her. I can see someone like him avoiding her initially, until his feelings are too strong and then he’s all in. I don’t know, maybe that’s an incorrect interpretation. Also you kind of already answered this question in a previous ask, but I just love how in depth your character analysis is!! Hope your day goes really really well and thanks for giving us all some fantastic stories!!

First of all, thank you for your interest and praise! Also, this is such a lovely, cute question ️🩷✨️ I certainly don't consider myself as any kind of a Ghost expert, but I absolutely love to share my thoughts on him and love to hear other people's thoughts on this man too 💕

My thoughts on this under the cut ->

"I can see someone like him avoiding her initially, until his feelings are too strong and then he's all in."

Yes, me too, definitely! Trust issues are one reason for avoidance, but I have this HC about Ghost having an ominous feeling that he's born with bad luck. He has this almost superstitious belief that shit will hit the fan whenever he turns his back. That's why he's so gloomy: quotes like "People you know can hurt you the most" and "Choices have consequences" come to mind... The latter imho is a perfect example on Ghost's instinctual belief in Murphy's law instead of being a neutral, logical take on how laws of cause and effect work.

This inner conviction that tragedy and disaster follow him wherever he goes is why he subconsciously steers clear of relationships and, in fact, any chance of happiness: because happiness is always followed by immense pain in his world of experience.

But like you said, if he gets "trapped," it's challenging for him to pull back anymore. He's curious by nature and gets a kick out of physical intimacy and extremes - and love and lust are one of the most intense experiences there is! Violence can be viewed as a profound, distorted form of intimacy (like... this guy is an expert in hugging people from behind and plunging a knife in them 🫠), so of course passionate sex is like a drug to him. Tender lovemaking or rough rutting – as long as he's present and his partner is present too.

So I'd say he's drawn in by physical attraction and sex first (not that he would be into superficial hookups, I think he'd rather deprive himself of sex altogether than have a series of shallow one-night stands), and this would eventually lead to feelings which grow in depth until he cannot keep himself away any longer.

I think people like Ghost could be compared to a wild animal or an abused dog 🥲 so it's better to let him "sniff" you first. Smothering him with attention and demands will only drive him away. But after he sees you 1. are not a threat 2. accept him as he is 3. give him the occasional treat (lol), there's a good chance he will eventually trust you and attach himself to you.

(Again, I can't believe this is my life now: talking folk psychology about a traumatized fictional man on Tumblr, but here we are, this is fine ☕️✨️)

Ghost also has to feel he's needed in the relationship, just the way he wants to feel qualified and capable in his work. If you try to force him to be something he's not, he will likely leave – simply because he doesn't want his partner to settle for anything but the best. But if he gets a feeling that he is needed and can provide and be of service to his partner, he will do anything in his power to make them feel protected, safe, and content (in that order). I also think he prefers to feel useful rather than be admired – that's why he would consider a friends with benefits setup insufficient. Also, feelings! If he senses he's just being used while slowly developing something more than just horny feels for the other person, it will only make him resentful and, again, drive him away.

"-what characteristics would he see early on in her to realize that he likes her."

It's difficult to say because I don't think Ghost has a particular "type." It's more about the chemistry and little things to him: I see him as a man of detail, so it might be something very fleeting and minimal in a person that catches his attention.

But if by characteristics you mean what kind of behavior he appreciates (not sure if I got this question right), then perhaps patience paired with acceptance and compassion. I think he wants his partner to be independent... and dependent on him. Like I said earlier, he wants to feel needed but doesn't want to be smothered. He wants to feel useful but not used. He demands unconditional loyalty but despises childlike codependency.

I wrote a standalone sequel to Refugee a while ago and will post it here soon, in it I explore your question on what the first interactions would be like (from Ghost's POV). 💞

I'd love to hear people's thoughts on this! Or any Ghost & relationships topics for that matter 😍

#answered #ghost headcanons #simon riley headcanons

[wannaeatramyeon]

Lookism and their silly lil hobbies

My headcannons of their less obvious interests!

Daniel: now he's in the fashion department and earning some money, he guesses he should take more of an interest in current trends. He's still wearing Jay's castoffs and he's happy with them but he takes a huge interest in women's fashion for his momma. She's worked hard and she deserves nice things and Daniel wants to spoil her 🥰

Jay: his hobby? Daniel. His thoughts? Daniel. His dreams? Daniel. But guns and motorbike? This boy has a thing for Hollywood action films and he has pretty good taste too. Classics-ish such as Matrix, Terminator, John Wick

Zoe: she loves watching animal rehab videos on social media, and even the videos of newtubers helping out homeless or down on their luck people. Most of it may be scripted but the act of kindness (even for selfish purposes) makes her melt

Vasco: you think this man doesn't have a Pinterest account? He doesn't spend his spare time putting boards together? His boards aren't public? He's not ashamed. He's got at least 1 for parties, 1 for golden retrievers and 1 for Hero Man pics

Jace: kdramas, the more romantic with as many tropes the better. He likes a good story filled with miscommunication, lots of crying, scenes in the rain and open eyed kisses 😳

Zack: sneaky little hobby of reading up on supernatural shit. After running into the ghost of J High, he's been absorbed with ghosts and demons - in particular how to avoid getting cursed...

Mira: meditation. Putting up with Zack all the time and the violent boys, she needs her moment of peace before she gets overwhelmed. She's also had some pretty traumatic experiences, so this helps her to centre and recollect her thoughts

Johan: unironically a sneakerhead. Started off researching expensive shoes so he can recognise them but now he's fully into the hobby. Way too tight to buy any for himself when he could be saving for his momma's operation but it's nice to window shop 🥺

Vin Jin: we all know he would be twerking to Dukes music. But apart from obviously his music (cos music is his life yknow), he would be leaving hate messages and death threats on Dukes social media and fanpages. He hate watches Dukes live streams but cant stop the twerk creeping up on him

Mary Kim: she's in the Vocal and Dance department but this girl can shred like no tomorrow. She has a band she's the lead vocalist and guitarist of that she keeps off Vins radar so he can keep the shitty rap to himself

Crystal: hiking and the outdoors. It's a way to keep her second body fit and get away from her desk and all the business bullshit. During the days that Gun acts as her bodyguard, she tells him to stay at least 50ft away so he doesn't ruin the mood

Jake: memelord. Cos at least humour is free. He collects pics and memes, and has so many shitty dad jokes up his sleeve to send to the Big Deal members and groupchats that he often gets kicked out or blocked. Hearing their exasperation at another one of his messages always brightens up his day

Samuel: lol drinking as a hobby. this man should be spending all his spare time in therapy but can't win them all 🤷‍♀️ Doesn't do much on his own time that doesn't advance his goals but enjoys sipping on some smooth expensive shit. Not the best for his health, but he needs something to block out the demons

Lua: not the queen of info for nothing. Spends a lot of her time on social media, forums and the dark web reading up on info (and gossip). Shes also kicked up a gear with her Muay Thai training so the assholes in Big Deal would stop underestimating her

Sinu: all that time being locked up with that little bit of chalk? You know what he did? HE'S A FIC WRITER. Headcannons of Big Deal, Sinu X Yeonhui. What the guys would be doing now, what sort of girlfriend Yeonhui would be (I wrote this as a joke but it's pretty depressing)

Gun: you thought that was a casual notepad and pen he had on hand for brekdaks autograph? No bitch its his actual autograph book. He lives and breathes fighting and fangirls a little internally meeting his fighting idols

Goo: anime and boardgames. Yes yes he's a nerd ok. He watched 1 too many anime shows and in his head he's the protagonist fighting his way to the top, with his sidekick Gun. But who do you think left all the boardgames in that shitty house? Gun is boring and Goo needs entertaining. It's one way to let them get competitive without beating the shit out of each other... Usually

#lookism #lookism headcanons #lookism hc #lookism x reader #jake kim #johan seong #zack lee #daniel park #jay hong #samuel seo #sinu han #vasco #vin jin #gun park #goo kim #mira kim #crystal choi #zoe park #lua im #mary kim #jace park #lookism fanfics #wannaeatramyeon

[classpectpokerap]

How do you feel about the portrayal of plurality in Homestuck? Because it’s not good.

Cherubs are “supposed” to predominate over their other personality. With Calliope being portrayed as naive for trying to co exist.

Horuss is mocked for being a system. But I’d say it was a king fun of people who pretend to be mentally Ill on social media for clicks.

Then their are the sprites

okay so

i guess we're doing this

HOMESTUCK AND PLURALITY: A PRIMER

BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST THERES SO MUCH

SO SO SO MUCH

okay. so

homestuck is one of the best pieces of media of all time for plurality and i fuckin mean it. no shot do not pass go i have NEVER seen anything that is more built from the ground up to Support plural reads. like, to the point where it feels impossible to read homestuck without it.

as a work dealing with two huge primary themes of a) finding yourself/identity/growing up, and b) ideas coming to life, plurality is pretty much the Perfect intersection between the two of them. like.

take rose for example.

rose is plural and it's great.

when the doomed timeline evaporates, future dream rose does not actually "cease to exist." she ceases to exist as her own person -- her memories, experiences, personality, thoughts (or, as shorthand, her selfstuff) all flows back into rose prime. and that experience is just something rose has to roll with. one becomes two -- that other rose is still in her mind.

jade's plural and it's great.

when her dream self awakens as jadesprite, jade has a horrific argument with her. if you're plural i'm sure you understand. fighting with an age-regressed version of you, stuck in a traumatic past, who WONT FUCKING LISTEN -- we've all . been there.

she has involuntary barks, she can't stop seeing images of fire, she wants to go back to nonexistence but she doesnt want to die and it's torture,

and then in cascade, jade fuses with her.

dream jade is still in there. that part of her she has to grapple with is still real. her dog who she loves is in there, too -- but, yknow. woof

then grimbark gets forcefully introjected into her. i've seen a few fics play with the idea that the grimbark personality is still residually there (read ygtpoasu), but it's not a huge thing that's explored in the text. more backgrounded. but still! her crisis of identity is in there.

wanna know what's NOT backgrounded

tavros's plurality is like, a pretty big factor in his character!!!! it's one of the bigger points vriska uses to bully him with (because she's projecting because she's projecting because she's projecting, because she's also plural and kins mindfang), it's like. a big thing that he has to cope with and figure out.

kanaya suggested tavros treat his self-confidence as his own brain guy, like, completely sincerely. she genuinely thought it would help, and it sorta did!!!!!

and like

it is FAR from the only positive example of plurality in the comic.

like. look at sollux and aradia defending "alternate reality copies" of characters -- which can be pretty easily extrapolated to them talking about fictives

like. !!!!

i dunno, man. i think that homestuck is a DEEPLY plural story. you should read mtm and kgtac for more exploration of these themes. read detective pony too while you're at it. like.

i havent even TOUCHED on horuss or dirk or karkat here because there is just so much. there's so much! like ultselves. oh my god i completely neglected to talk about ultselves or cherubs or --

augh

but anyway here's The Screenshots from mtm

homestuck is, like, the single most fictive compatible fictional work i've ever read.

"oh im being sent to another universe as a brain ghost? that happened to my buddy dirk"

"oh im one of many incarnations of myself, and perhaps not even the most 'canon compliant' one? haha dream bubbles moment"

"ive been isekai'd into another world? lol sburb"

it. yeah. god. i could literally talk about this all day. but instead im gonna direct you to my ao3.

check out no metaphors and then scroll through the "multiplicity/plurality" tag on my page

and if youve got more specific stuff, send in another ask!

#hs meta #homestuck #plurality #etch asks #tavros nitram

[solar-sunnyside-up]

hey, something i've been struggling with recently is i've been struggling with "finding my people" because i'm a minority in my hometown, and a lot of people... aren't. they don't understand me, and often when i try to get them to understand they seem like they fall back into the old systems they were traumatized with (elitism, classism ect.,). 1/2 -solidarity anon

Im gunna say this at the top, this is so rough and im so sorry you gotta go through this sweetie. We are so isolated and filtered into categories within our current system in order to keep that isolation and to fight solidarity and unity. Now I cannot know for 100% sure what your going through or the extend your suffering. But will say I am from and currently still live in a oil loving, god fearing, anti-LGBT, and very racist city while i was raised wiccan by a poly core family and all my gay aunts/uncles and have been dreaming of an earthship my whole life plus every summer id be stuck in an even more harsh farming community that was so small they gotntheir first street light when i was 9 and the chruch is also town hall (mayor works in a wing off of the building). So there is at least some overlap in the experiences your having.

But that being said, how I got weirdly connected to people and involved in so many projects and stuff might not work for you.

Personally? I just yelled and yelled about the injustice of the system at work, about cool forestry projects and people buying ghost towns to start up Co-loving villages. Sharing discworld and different philosophers with coworkers backed up by their fave hobby. About how terrible the conservative politics are. About how cool transit could be if we funded it. About community art projects and how cool solar glass would make things look. About drags shows and events and did you know there is A SOUP FESTIVAL? I'm autistic and have only really interacted my whole childhood with friends with ADHD so my brain is weird and won't shut up once it starts going.

As a result of my ramblings, I have gotten a lot of responses mostly ones that are positive since if they didn't agree with my absurdist philosophy ramblings or solar project ideas they'd just leave the coffee shop. If they enjoyed it, say they want to join a community garden/event or if someone was as stoked as I was about again UNLIMITED TASTINGS SOUP FESTIVAL than we'd chat about that. The thing is a lot of these things have overlap. Someone who wants to convert their lawn into a pollinators habitate prob also likes little libraries and as a result prob also likes the idea of dark sky street lights. And down the rabbit hole you go.

That being said... my best actual advice is 2 pronged.

RESEARCH and REACH OUT

I personally have done years worth of research on my city. What local events and politics are happening? Even in rural places there is at least garderns, there's engineers, there's usually a LGBT focused club. And from these spaces, you can build a network. Doing research I found out about 5 different organizations in my city (most of which was founded 40 yrs ago??) That where sustainability focused. Doing research made me realize how cool community associations could be and how I could help mine out. It also gives you all those ideas for convos.

Second, I reached out to those groups about weird ideas I had, about if I could hang up posters for them in my local area, if I could buy groups worth of tickets in advance, and than also reaching out to the ppl I already talked to and had these ppl interact. My fave example of this is T. T is an engineer who built a fully functioning solar car during his degree program but specializes in hydroponics (how we ended up talking was over plants) he than gets shown my fave farm near by and now he's building the farms hydro system and Seedling house. Writing in to newsletter ppl and showing off weird layout design. This is ultimately very anxiety indusing. What if I'm bothering them? Why should I be spamming them like this? But the secret here is-

No one will ever be mad about you showing interest in their interest once you find those ppl. They want the interaction just as much as you do.

#sprout guide #solarpunk #community #hopepunk #connecting is so hard and swallowing differences that might seem hostile is so hard #asks #if you need more direct answers id need a more accurate idea how small/area if the place you live in sadly #so this is v broad #but feel free to DM me bout it with more details if you want

[angelsdean]

thinking abt this ask some more and well, it also all boils down to dean is not john because dean is not john.

dean is his own person with different life experiences and trauma and morals and agency. yes dean learned and internalized some things from john, and learned to filter most of his emotions into anger bc anger was a safer emotion to express under john's roof than fear or sadness.

but dean literally IS NOT john. he's dean. and crucially he is a victim of john, who was Thee angry man in the house. john is the first person he learned pain and shame and anger and self-hatred from. and dean has not been able to properly unpack or cope with those early experiences or any of the other traumatic events that follow. for nearly 40 years. PLUS 40 years of hell trauma. and still !! still !! dean tries to do better. he apologizes and he expresses his regret for past actions and even his worst actions are rooted in love and a need to protect. he most often acts out of fear, worry, and/or grief. as cas said, the good and the bad, everything he has done has been for love. he fears jack and is angry at jack during widowers arc because he loved cas so much and does not yet know jack is good and can be trusted. his reaction is understandable. we as the audience see and receive more information than the characters. dean has every right to be fearful and wary.

but anyways. back to dean and john. widower's arc IS meant to draw that parallel between them. we're supposed to see dean echoing john. we're supposed to feel john's ghost acting through dean. but we are also meant to see where they diverge. dean does not become obsessed with revenge. he does not go on a quest to get cas back (despite how much he wants him back) and abandon everyone else. he even starts to come around to jack, even before cas gets back.

then, there's john and his own complicated trauma. and i do feel some empathy and sadness for him. but his trauma is notably different from dean's, and that's why dean garners more of my empathy, compassion, and forgiveness.

john felt abandoned after his father's disappearance and then internalizes those abandonment issues and those unresolved feelings fester into anger. then john enlists illegally in the military chasing his father's ghost. in the military he experiences more trauma. but he did choose to go into the military. it's different from dean being forced to be a soldier and weapon for his father from a young age. john was 17 ? when he enlisted and did so of his own free will (as much free will as you can have being one of chuck's blorbos but still, you get what i'm saying), while dean never had a choice, and by the time he had the choice to leave he'd already been guilt tripped into staying by john and also had very few connections outside of the winchester family unit. IF dean were to leave john (after sam left) he'd be largely alone because john never let them forge connections and relationships. john purposely kept them isolated from others, which is a tactic of abuse. finally, john loses mary which exacerbates his preexisting issues, anger, and trauma. losing mary was not the catalyst that turned john "bad" it was just an accelerator added to the fire that had been slow-burning for years.

so yes, both john and dean have abandonment issues regarding their fathers, except john's are based on a perceived abandonment that he lets become a deep anger and propel his actions re: joining the military. whereas dean is literally abandoned and neglected repeatedly and often throughout his childhood which leads to a lot of unresolved fear and anxiety regarding losing people and people leaving him. cas dying during widower's arc and losing mary at the same time too (and crowley!) definitely triggers those deep seated fears and anxieties. dean also just as trauma surrounding death bc of mary. dean, like john, also has trauma surrounding being a soldier and having to kill people. however, john chose that path (and then later chose hunting) while dean had that life thrust upon him. (the first time he's handed a gun he is six years old and his father believes he somehow has a "killer instinct"). finally, dean, like john, loses cas who is yes mary-coded during widower's arc and he is left with a child. however, unlike john, this child is also an extremely powerful being whom dean knows nothing about except the fact that he is the biological son of lucifer. he also believes jack manipulated cas and got him killed. people will parallel jack to sam in this instance but john likely had no idea sam was infected with demon blood until much later after years of research and following azazel's trail. so early on, john's neglect and mistreatment of sam and dean cannot be blamed on john being afraid of sam or something like that. john IS afraid of the world though. he's paranoid as all heck and that fuels a lot of his actions. but dean is not wrong in this case for being wary of jack. he has every right to be afraid, it's just that his fear, coupled with grief, ends up being expressed as anger. the same may be true for john in those early years, but eventually, john lets his anger and need for vengeance consume him and he prioritizes the hunt over his children. as he says in 1x22, "killing this demon comes first. before everything." dean wants cas and mary and crowley back, but he doesn't put it before everything. he doesn't turn away from sam or jack to pursue that quest.

dean is not john because dean is dean. he doesn't see the world as black and white as john did. he still has fears and trauma that when triggered have him reverting to old, ingrained habits, but most often, he wants to do good and help people. he cares about his family and wants them to be safe and alive. sometimes he will go to extremes to make sure that happens. but his actions are always rooted in love and care. cas saw him as a being of love. as more than what john tried to make him. more than a blunt instrument. more than a weapon for heaven and hell. more than chuck's favorite toy. dean is dean. and that's why cas loves him. and that's why *i* love him.

#mini essay slash love letter to dean at 1am? sure why not #this was supposed to be shorter than my ask response but well. i have things to say #family dynamics #dean studies

[emsuemsu]

So, occasionally I do adventure out of my comfort zone and read something other than Harry and Draco falling in love for the 1246th time in a row. This month I've been enjoying some magnificent entries in HP rare pair fair (@hprarepairfest) - all the love for this fest. Also I've been exploring some jegulus which I'm absolutely obsessed, at least in theory. In reality I don't think I'm honestly strong enough for the marauders era at all, that shit fucking hurts and I salute all those who go through it day to day. You're amazing.

So, without futher ado, my november non-drarry favorites:

Apple Tree and Juniper by @trueliarose 💫 Harry/Charlie, 17,732 words

Charlie Weasley: dragon tamer, single, attractive and the man Harry had had a crush on for years - what will happen when said man has to take some time off at work and decides to occupy himself by helping out with Harry's business?

Now, the thing about me is that I'm the biggest simp for Charlie Weasley. He makes me absolutely feral. The whole idea of getting it on with your best friends brother is like fucking ecstasy to me, and this might or might not stem from personal experiences. Out of all the Weasley siblings Charlie with Harry is just 🤌🤌 Now this fic had it all. A little angst, lots of fluff, Harry being all crafty crafty, TENSION and PINING, amazing magical woodworking lore (??? idk but i love it).. and the best part is that I noticed the author started a series with this fic being the opening act - I've never in my life hit that subscribe button as fast as I did with this one. God is good.

Choices by @sophsicle 💫 Regulus/James, 624,178 words

People make mistakes, but they also make choices. It’s important to James, that difference. He does his best not to confuse the two.

This is an honourable mention on this list since I read this already in October. But listen, I'm fucking traumatized by this fic. This was my first jegulus, my first marauders I've ever finished, and my 13th goddamn reason. And I can't even blame anybody other than myself, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. I binge-read this in a day and a half and in retrospect I should've taken it a little more easy. But what can I say, I'm an all or nothing kinda girl. Chapter 53 hits different at 4am, just saying. The writing was hauntingly beautiful and I still think daily about some quotes and scenes from this fic. This fic is a journey and I'm glad I took it.

Light Bringer by meanwhiletimely 💫 Albus/Gellert, 10,678 words

Gellert doesn't simply shine—Gellert blazes, casting all around him into shadow with sheer dazzling force of being. When he turns that beatific gaze on you, your whole body comes alive for him: heat flaring up from within, blood in your veins turned to light.

This story is EVERYTHING. I was holding by breath while reading this. Beautiful. I love grindeldore (even though my resentment of Albus is as deep as the Mariana Trench), and this has to be one of the most beautiful fics I've ever read. This was written in second person POV which made the fic even more intense. Like I felt every word in my soul. Lots of love.

Mystic Lake of Memory by @sliebman10 💫 Harry/George, 5,055 words

As George's thirtieth birthday approaches, Harry convinces him to go on holiday to Loch Ness, where he and Fred had originally planned to spend their birthday in search of the sea monster.

Fred and George remain as an open wound for me still after all these years. This fic was sweet and melancholic at the same time, I absolutely loved how their relationship had grown and this fic was pretty as a picture. Absolute joy.

Sleeping With Ghosts by @ghaniblue 💫 Regulus/Harry/Draco, 27,902 words

Harry wakes in an unfamiliar bed to Regulus pointing a wand at his head, and then Draco moves into his house. Harry just wants the world to fuck off; being able to sleep through the night would be appreciated, too. This is the story of one very tired saviour of the wizarding world, a resurrected corpse and a mean little ferret living in Grimmauld Place together, drinking too much tea, talking less than is warranted, and falling in love.

I'm a slut for triads. Even more of a slut if two thirds of the triad is drarry. This fic was everything. It was so witty and funny and I was seriously laughing out loud reading this. I need this relationship tag to BLOW THE FUCK UP in 2024. I loved the build up and the ending was perfect. I really enjoyed Regulus' characterization and I think this fic really hits the spot with how I imagine him being. The interaction between the three of them was amazing.

Sweet Boy by @maraudersaffair 💫 Harry/Narcissa, 6,261 words

Harry agrees to date Narcissa to help her improve the reputation of her family. The intensity of their sexual chemistry takes them both by surprise, and it turns out there is nothing fake about their arrangement.

After reading this I decided that being a MILF is a state of mind and that being said I am one now. Do I have any kids? No. Will I have any kids? God knows. This fic was delicious in all the ways and more and I love Narcissa. So much.

Two of the Easiest Words in Gaelic by sky_watcher_rose 💫 Druella/Minerva, 27,902 words

Minerva will be the first to admit that Druella Rosier was the love of her life. But it’s been twenty years since they last saw each other, and she’s done her best to move on. When Druella unexpectedly arrives at a parents’ evening - the first she’s attended in the four years that Minerva has been teaching her children - both of them have to face up to certain feelings that never went away.

I usually shy away from muggle au's, but this was magical nevertheless. It was the first fic with this pairing I've ever read (and yes I have to admit I had to google who Druella was). The Scottish winter vibes were immaculate. I absolutely adore the "one that got away" kinda vibe in this one. There was this one quote from Minerva which was something like "I'm Scottish, nothing depresses me except bad whiskey" and I felt that in my core. Feel u sis, even though I'm not a Scot.

Unguarded-series by birdsofshore 💫 Draco/Albus Severus, 5 works, 38,834 words in total

Dilf-Draco is all I need in my life. So fucking hot.

#harry potter fanfiction #harry potter fic recs #jegulus #grindeldore #harry/charlie #harry/george #druella/minerva #regulus/harry/draco #draco/albus severus #harry/narcissa #my rec

[rodolfoparras]

Since everyone is talking about their cod ocs, I wanna join (this is so long, I'm so sorry)

So basically my little guy is autistic and trans (I'm projecting) and a huge mamas boy. His name is Everett (I just realized I NEVER gave him a last name😭) and his callsign is Rabbit and he's an Alaskan native (I'm pretty sure this is what they prefer to be called because they don't fuck with being called americans and shit? I'm not 100%)

His ma picked out Everett by force, she was like "?? I'm literally your mother, I'm picking your name" and he was so worried she'd pick something awful, turns out!

(side note, I love rabbits and use them for symbolism a lot. They represent rebirth, so I use them in trans related pieces. I did an art piece of myself pulling a rabbit out of a hat with a bunch of rebirth symbolism and shit, love the piece, may send it here to show it off)

But his callsign comes from being a rabbit hunter growing up and his ability to blend in, he specializes in undercover operations and stealth missions. (Some hares, like a snowshoe, change coats in the season to blend in from predators)

He's voluntarily mute most of the time and does not do expressions very well. Most of his childhood photos are him just 🧍‍♂️😶, gotta be reeaall close with him to have a convo with him

Because he's so quiet, he hears sooo much shit and does like weekly shit talking sessions with Ghost and Roach in their barracks. No body understands how he knows so much because fucking no one talks to him and turns out the rodents are stalking the base and listening in on conversations

Idc how overused masks are, they're so fun. He wears one at home (and at work) because he's got a huge family with lots of little kids, and he's scared of scaring them and doesn't want to "traumatize" his nieces and nephews with his scars on his face and body. Everett misses out on a LOT of family events even though he really wants to go and misses them so much because he's scared

He carries and makes a lot of rabbits feet charms because he firmly believes in their ability to bless you with good luck. He does the metal work himself and personalizes them and gives them off to people he truly cares about.

Everett believes it because his ma said so (duh) and because he narrowly missed a bullet that took a chunk of his ear inside of blowing his brains up while he carried one, so all his favorites get one to protect them.

Later in life, he wound up too close to a bomb and a piece of shrapnel went straight into his face and blinds him in one eye

He was so utterly devastated when he got medically discharged and was scared of totally losing his sight and never being able to communicate with Roach again

I'm a firm believer in polycule 141 so it just becomes scarier when Johnny starts losing his hearing from all the explosives and shit and so many of them experience wear and tear in this hand joints from working with guns

Gonna copy and paste my polycule 141 disability headcanons that I've talked about with my bf

"Ghost's got horrible horrible nightmares and sometimes will react in his sleep. Night terrors or physically reacting, but that one's very rare."

"Price definitely gets respiratory issues, half because of his cigars, and half from breathing shit in before he could get a mask on. Probably gets asthma the older he gets."

"Roach gets chronic migraines. They're basically debilitating, can't get out of bed for days and keeps all light out of his room. Takes meds for it that usually work."

"Most of them have joint issues. Half of them creak and groan like a fucking million year old house on its last leg."

"Gaz gets degenerative arthritis. I think he'd be in the force the longest and since he was the youngest to join SAS, he probably overworked himself beyond belief when he had joined. Wore him down fs"

With Johnny being hard of hearing:

"I don't if he'd be able to get hearing aids, his cochlea probably too damaged so that if he did get cochlear implants or something, they probably wouldn't do much but piss him off. Because sometimes if you get cochlears, they just make an annoying noise. So he'd just wind up pissy over it so he'd probably opt not to get them - (also the surgery is invasive and obviously doesn't work sometimes depending on person)

-141 would have to install flashing light systems through the house to alert Soap and half of em probably walk heavier to warn Soap so they don't scare him"

Since he grew up in Alaska, he was very used to it being day or night for weeks or months, sometimes finds it a little jarring when he sees the sun actually setting and the moon coming up or vise versa.

One time, after a really shit mission, he woke up in the hospital to see it was nighttime when he distinctly remembers it being day the last time he was awake. And it's like "OH SHIT HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN OUT FOR." nearly sends himself into a panic thinking he'd just woken up from a fucking coma.

Shit there's so much more I could say but this is already so long, I'm so sorry 😭😭😭 I was so hyper fixated on him for a good few months with my bf

-🐧

Wait the fact that she picked the name is kinda cute and that the reason behind it was bc she’s the mom here idk it’s nice when parents are properly involved in their kids life

Also I’ll forever love yalls background story for your call names bc they’re always so thought out and so interesting genuinely y’all are so creative 🥹

I love that he has shit talking sessions with ghost and roach bc I absolutely think they’d get along well soap info dumps sm gaz overshares and price uses Everett to complain so he knows sm and randomly shares the info😭

Does his mask look something akin to a rabbit or does it represent rabbits in any way? Also now I’m imagining him walking around on base all excited about handing out charms😭 oh my goodness imagine each charm having something that represents the members that wears it?

Oh man although it’s sad he went blind in one eye I can imagine he’d lock sick in a prosthetic eye!!

Also I like how the disability hc actually makes sense especially prices and soaps but especially prices bc I know that man has coughing fits and snores horribly and you can hear a certain rasps in his voice when he talks 😭

And I love them being a polycule and taking care of each other in this way 🥹 like I know this is what you do in healthy relationships but idk it’s sweet ? Like price giving gaz massages bc his wrists hurt a lot? 🥹

Also don’t apologize sugar it’s okay!! It was a really interesting read genuinely I wish I had the ability to create ocs but not just ocs-, but ocs that have so much depth and backstory it’s absolutely amazing that y’all have this ability!

#alec answers #🐧 anon

[drsilverfish]

Dean’s Soul in the Bardo -   The Art of Dying 1x06 The Winchesters

Catching up British-time, so a bit late to the party as usual, and coming to it fresh, as I like to do, without jumping into the time-line first. 

Screeches a bit because I am overwhelmed.

This episode suggests that, on one level, we can read every character in The Winchesters as manifestations of Dean’s consciousness, as he hovers in the “bardo”, the liminal realm in Tibetan Buddhism, between death and reincarnation. 

Mary - the leader and hunter who wants to get out of hunting; John - filled with wounded rage, Daddy-issues and violence; Carlos - the fabulous bisexual who dares to get into therapy and to go after the men he wants; Lata - the abused child who manages to chose love over violence - ALL OF THESE ARE ASPECTS OF DEAN WINCHESTER’S being, his experience/ soul/ desires <sobs a little because it’s beautiful>. 

Now I’m back on my meta, I’ve previously mused on The Winchesters as a reparative narrative told by Holy Ghost Dean Winchester; a counter-point to the traumatic narrative of Supernatural.

1x06 The Art of Dying offers further illumination and elaboration on that concept, namely:

The episode title, “The Art of Dying” is a George Harrison song, the right time-period for The Winchesters (1970), from his album All Things Must Pass. 

The Beatles, in keeping with the hippie counterculturalism of the time, were interested in Eastern spirituality, particularly Hinduism and Buddhism, and this Harrison song was inspired by his reading of Timothy Leary’s The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead (1964). 

Harrison’s lyrics are about the religious philosophy of perfecting the soul through cycles of reincarnation:

“There'll come a time when all of us must leave here There's nothing Sister Mary can do, will keep me here with you As nothing in this life that I've been trying Can equal or surpass the Art of Dying....

There'll come a time when most of us return here Brought back by our desire to be a perfect entity Living through a million years of crying Until you realize the Art of Dying “

A theme which fits well with the Ouroboros (serpent swallowing it’s own tail as it ascends) narrative of latter-day Supernatural, which drew on Jung and esoteric alchemy to manifest the Winchesters’ journey as the journey of the soul towards God.  

The Tibetan Book of the Dead is the Bardo Thodol, which means “liberation through hearing in the intermediate state”. It is a 14thC esoteric text (or possibly older but that’s when the written text we have dates from).

John, Mary, Lata and Losy all struggle with pain, parent-induced and violence-induced and hunting-induced trauma, but they are able to communicate their feelings to one another in a way which is strikingly and remarkably different from the enormous struggles with emotional articulation which animated Supernatural, which we watched Dean suffer with throught his life. 

So we can read The Winchesters as Dean’s revelatory hallucinations in the liminal state between death and liberation (or rebirth) - his revelatory sexual and emotional healing soul-dreams (in which, and what could be more Freudian, he returns to the scene of his parents).

And look, Lata is teaching John, who surived being possessed by the vengeful spirit of abused-as-a-child and violently out-of-control Mac, how to meditate and achieve higher consciousness (with an image of a globe in the background):

And isn’t it interesting that the rare type of vampire which Mac’s vengeful spirit first possesses is called a “soucouyant”, which means (incongrously, one would think) “carefree” in French. But not so incongruous if The Winchesters is about the journey of Dean’s soul to liberation, to bliss, to being “carefree”...

#Supernatural #The Winchesters #The Winchesters meta #SPNWin 1x06 #The Art of Dying #Holy Ghost Dean Winchester #I am in love with this concept #The cycle of death and rebirth #Ouroboros narrative #The Tibetan Book of the Dead

[drakeheart]

Tell us about your cats that are in a relationship <3

sure, why not! also i lied, there's actually three, and they're all in relationships with characters my partner @full-of-skritt created, so check them out too! they got some good kids.

Felix (right) is in a tumultuous relationship Cole (left), a sylvari ranger who he met in Caledon after taking an accidental detour on a trip to Rata Sum. Cole offered to guide him to his intended destination, and by the end of the trek they were fast friends. they kept in contact, writing letters and occasionally visiting, too shy to admit their growing feelings for each other.

years later, the two were properly reunited when they both joined the Pact. they gladly worked together again, sticking side-by-side through Scarlet's uprising and all that follows, right up to the assault on Maguuma. then, of course, disaster strikes.

after the crash, Cole finds himself answering the call of Mordremoth, and Felix makes some difficult decisions that end with him saving Cole from total corruption, but losing most of his warband to the mordrem. they make it out alive, but their relationship is heavily damaged, with Cole traumatized and permanently changed by the dragon's influence, and Felix stricken with grief and guilt over the deaths of his friends that he can't help but blame himself for.

it takes a long time, but they gradually help each other come to terms with what happened and heal from it. in doing so, they finally admit to each other how they really feel, and begin a relationship in earnest.

Ranuk (left) is in a casual relationship with Speratus (right), an Ash legion elementalist who was placed on a "temporary" leave due to his stress-induced paranoia interfering with missions. Ranuk met him while exploring Southsun--or rather, ran right into him while fleeing from some particularly vicious karka, which Speratus promptly dispatched. the two got to talking, and Ranuk offered to try and help him work out his trauma "issues" through some Olmakhan methods, in return for Speratus providing him some extra protection on his journeys across Tyria. Speratus agreed, as anything was better than lying around on a beach with nothing to do. over the course of their travels together, they became good friends, and then a little more.

(and then the civil war happens, and Speratus is recalled to duty. we're still discussing exactly what that entails for them, as my partner hasn't actually gotten to play through IBS yet, but it'll probably be very sad and dramatic. charr do be going through trauma.)

finally, we have Sorex (right) and Vitalis (left), a pair of older gladium and fellow necromancers who both experienced the tragic loss of their respective warbands--Sorex to the Ascalonian ghosts, and Vitalis to the Flame Legion. feeling betrayed by charr society after their demotions, the two met and took solace in their shared experience, bonding fiercely. they decided to form their own secular warband, regardless of Legion approval--the Grave warband, functioning more like a family unit than a military one.

at some point, they adopt an orphaned female charr named Lexia and raise her as their daughter, teaching her important life skills such as how to properly scribe necromantic marks and which types of corpses are best for crafting a flesh golem. but with Lexia grown and on her own path, the two now spend their days adventuring together, chasing tales of ghosts and exploring ancient Ascalonian ruins, and generally just being a couple of feisty old coots--alongside their horde of well-loved undead minions.

#oc asks #gw2 #charr #c: lifebinder ranuk #c: felix lightforge #sorry for the delay on this one! i had to consult with my fellow conspirator (partner) on some details :)

[alltheboysandgirlsiloved]

Ben’s character arc: the summary and the highlights

In other words: why do I love Ben Pincus so freaking much

// spoilers for season 5

Ben is an extremely inspiring character to me. I firmly believe that he has the best character arc in the entire show. I also think, this is obviously biased, that out of all characters he has matured the most. And so I decided to briefly break it down to you because I felt like it.

Season 1

Ben’s just a kid who is afraid of life, kinda ignores that there are things he might be missing out on, and kinda doesn’t want to explore that. That fear or nervousness affects his relationship with other people.

Ben is just an anxious shy kid, who has a strong core but is still afraid to take an initiative; he isn’t big on crowds and people and prefers to keep some stuff to himself. For a while, he feels like he doesn’t fit into the group (everyone pretty much arrived at the camp somewhat excited, Ben was simply terrified). 

Slowly, Ben reaches out to touch and explore things that seemed beyond his reach – budding friendship with the campers, Bumpy (!) and, of course, his decision to fully get out of his shell to save the day on the monorail.

ft. Don’t get me started on the entire “it’s okay to be different” speech (10/10, that one was for history books)

Season 2

aka The traumatic experience.

Ben falls from the monorail, suddenly he is on his own in a situation that is very unfamiliar to him. It’s just him and his fears and he has to face the questions like “who am I?”, “how is this going to affect me?”, “what do I have to do to survive?”, “how do I face my fears?”

ft. “What? You’ve never seen a ghost before?”

Season 3

Finding a way back to “an old life”

On an emotional level, Ben doesn’t click with the other campers instantly, finding the connection is hard, and he struggles a lot. He feels like there’s a gap between him and them. While he knows that they care about him, it’s hard to bond over the same things as before; there are also things that Ben thinks are “uniquely his” and he’s very attached to them (Bumpy). These are all the marks left by the trauma, things that helped him find himself, things that in a way reshaped him. They are important to him.

He also finds out that there are aspects of his life, like Bumpy, that he has a hard time leaving behind even if it’s the right thing to do. It hurts too much. He learns how it feels to mourn over friends (Bumpy) that you have to leave behind.

ft. He likes to play with fire a little bit too much

Season 4

Being thrown into a new environment&the fear of “failing”.

Ben finds himself in a similar situation to Ben in season 1 and it affects him heavily. Once again we see this fear, this nervousness, and his insecurities make themselves known once again.

At the same time, he faces his biggest fear: pteranodons. Just when you think that he’s going to glitch, that he’s going to panic and freak out, he simply decides to, in a way, stop running. The scene with pteranodons is probably one of the most important scenes for Ben’s character in the entire series.

ft. Ben learns to trust a person “out of his safety zone” – it’s not easy, it takes time but eventually, he decides to trust Mae

ft. Ben’s entire conversation with Yas.

Season 5

Fully embracing both his insecurities and his courage. 

It may not be obvious but everything about 'season 5 Ben' speaks “confidence”. He’s confidently scared but also confidently brave. He doesn’t overthink his reactions to particular situations. It's obvious to be that he has a very healthy relationship with himself. He accepts the world as it is. He is also not as stubborn as before – in the end, he is, surprisingly enough, the first one to forgive Kenji. Probably one of the top 5 moments of the entire series for me personally.

ft. Ben and Bumpy episode/reunion call it however you want – I think that the moment he refused to control Bumpy even if it meant "getting her by his side" proves that he is emotionally one of the most mature characters. He would rather lose her again than do something against her will (even if her will is, or at least seems, unexistent at that point).

ft. Ben being the one who gives Yas the proper push. He might be awkward when it comes to feelings, especially anything romantic-related but, in the end, he’s a good supportive friend and others know that they can rely on him.

Season 5 post-time skip

Ben doesn’t stop. He doesn’t return to his shell. He fully embraces his interests and who he is. I truly, truly believe that there’s nothing that can stop him. He deserved happiness and that’s what he got.

(I probably missed a bunch of stuff but yeah. i just... I love Ben so much, he made a space for himself in my heart and I don’t think he will ever fully leave. thank you for all those beautiful moments, Ben. I know that you are just a fictional character but gods, among all fictional characters you are one of the best.)

#ben pincus #jwcc ben #camp cretaceous ben #camp cretaceous season 5 #camp cretaceous #jwcc #jurassic world camp cretaceous #jurassic world #camp cretacerous spoilers #jwcc spoilers

[runawaycarouselhorse]

(I’m getting better at copics! Treating them like brushes a bit more than markers helps!) Me before BW!: Haha, I’m so lucky to be a TRio fan (even if most TR fans bash Jessie), I never have to worry about my favourites leaving the show before it ends, they’re staples like Ash and Pikachu! Imagine being a fan of a single saga character… sure, I loved and will miss Harley, Paul, and Dawn, but I can keep watching for TR like I always do! Me during BW!: perhaps as punishment, I get attached to the morally grey rival character who’s only in 17 episodes, with two of my favourite creepy Ghost types that feed off life force/spiritual energy, a royal theme, a superiority complex to mask hidden insecurities (when defeated by Alder, he blames the loss on some mistake he’s made or some deficiency/lacking in himself, rather than a difference in experience…), and whose entire reason for his journey is proving his strength to his beloved childhood hero, who disappoints him by forgetting their promise (for all the fuss Trip makes about being called a kid and how he tries to prove how grown-up he is, he sincerely believed that Alder was defending his title and waiting for Trip to defeat him—it was encouragement he likely gave many trainers, but Trip believed it), who was disappointed by Alder forgetting his name and having flaws like an ordinary person and not the idealized figure in his head…

He was such a sweet and expressive but very shy little kid (even when he stopped rejecting Ash’s friendship, after receiving the answers he wanted from Alder, he was hesitant to take his hand…), now he’s withdrawn, cold, not a genuine smile in sight (usually such a dramatic change in personality indicates trauma hi, Lillie, whose mother failed to question her daughter’s fear of touching Pokemon and was called out by her son—even repressed traumatic memories affect daily life), but he could just be trying his best to fit the image of what an adult is like and his constantly shutting everyone else out has him a bit socially stunted. Still very, very timid.

He also grew cynical just three years later (“a little too grown-up” as Iwane put it), with an ends-justifies-the-means approach to conflict (a morally grey Pokemon character who is NOT a villain, also, a child character at that! He’s very unique that way and full of potential to go take either path, fortunately, Ash showed him it wasn’t naive to try and aim for a peaceful resolution… the path he was on, as Burgh said, would have led to “great losses on both sides.”) And then, most pokeani fans bashed BW! and even most BW! fans bashed Trip & Iris. :D;;; He was easily ignored among the more comedic, colourful, and bright rivals, being both too mean and too lowkey to be popular… and then, staff wrote him out too quickly in the preliminaries and later treated him as an old shame, giving him no voiced return, excluding him from promotional material (either substituting with Kenyan/Stephan or doubling up Kalos rivals instead of including any Unova ones…)

Never caught a break with my favourites outside of super popular Lillie (Koharu later gained a fair following, as did Iris in PM19/JN, and Liko is very promising!!!).

The original, longer, ramblier version of this post (the above is based on the shorter, for instagram version):

Me during BW!: TRio’s schemes are interesting, but they’re rarely given focus as individuals outside of villainy… I LOVE Iris, though, and Wishfulshipping! I can easily watch for the BW! trio and all these rivals!

Hey, wait, the smug rival character I and nearly everyone else initially wrote off as Paul Lite’s actually pretty interesting, he was such a sweet and expressive but very shy little kid, now he’s aloof and cold, not a smile in sight (usually such a dramatic change in personality indicates trauma hi, Lillie, whose mother failed to notice that and was called out by Gladion), cynical and pragmatic, he used violent force against Pokemon to save people (yet he’s NOT a villain, a morally grey rival character, and he’s such a versatile character, especially as he’s still a young rookie trainer, coming into his own!! He can go either way!!! I mostly loved villains, so this is really unique, even more so for Pokemon)… so much potential!

He’s still learning! Aside from his idol Alder and his studies before his journey, he even mimics Ash’s battling style once, he also learns strength in battles and violent force isn’t everything after the Venipede episode, he’s a photographer and takes pictures to record even bad memories to try and use negative feelings to push him forward…

It’s cute how he tries SO hard to convince people’s he’s an adult and hates being called a kid… Iris uses it to rope him into battling Ash twice and he still falls for it!! It’s so funny. But his idea of what being an adult is is very cruel and he thinks peaceful resolutions to conflict is naivete (between that and looking down on Ash’s rural background, I wonder how he was raised, will we find out? Spoilers: we won’t)

… oh, all that arrogance is a front, he thinks a loss has to be due to something inherently lacking in him or something he’s done wrong rather than a difference in skill… it’s a superiority complex! He acts like he’s better than everyone because he actually has low self-esteem! Even though he’s a child prodigy… he must’ve been under a lot of pressure.

Oh, his entire reason for fighting is to prove his strength to Alder. Alder is his goal. Even when he was disappointed by seeing Alder’s flaws and the change in his priorities and the fact that Alder can never remember his name or that cherished childhood promise (which Trip was too naive, ironically, to realize was something Alder likely tells lots of kids, he thought he was special and Alder was waiting for him to defeat him!), he still wants only to battle him, be acknowledged by him, and loves and admires him! (I once again think he must not have a very good relationship with his family, if he’s doing all of this because he wants Alder’s acknowledgment more than anyone else’s…)

He’s so much nicer after Alder reassured him and guided him to focus on returning his Pokemon’s loyalty and trust.

He isn’t abusive to them like Paul was with Chimchar, and they all love and are protective of him, despite how aloof he was… he’s starting to be friendlier. He isn’t insulting Ash anymore or rejecting his friendship and he’s even interacting with Serperior more!

Moreover, he’s a cocky little upperclass brat with a royal/noble theme, from his design (pageboy haircut, princely!) to his team (after Serperior, the Regal Pokemon), he also has two of the creepiest Ghost types (I LOVE Ghost types!!!) that feed off of life force / spiritual energy (typically human), how creepy and cool, what a unique character—

Oh. He’s only in like 17 episodes. Most fans hate Best Wishes! and never watched it, or never got to season 2 to see his battle against Alder or his motivations and hidden insecurity… he’s quickly written out, losing in the first round of the league… he’s overshadowed by all of the other more colourful, comedic, and loud rivals… even staff are treating him as an old shame at this point and replace him with either friendly rival Stephan from the same series as Ash’s main Unova rival or just double up on Kalos rivals and put Sawyer and Alain instead of including any Unova rivals…

(Oh, and most BW! fans bash[ed] Trip. And Iris. Just my luck! Lillie’s my only popular favourite, sob.)

#PokeAni #trainer Trip #Shootie #Pokemon Best Wishes #Pokemon Trip #pkmnart #Trip #Shuuti #Pokemon #my doodle #my colour art

[conduitandconjurer]

what do you think would've happened had klaus not been kidnapped/met dave?

I hate considering this hypothetical because it's incredibly depressing, but I'm fairly certain Klaus would never have discovered the incentive to develop his powers to their fullest potential (the most important result of that being that he would learn to be less fearful of ghosts and to feel he had safer and healthier boundaries with his own traumatizing "gifts" and the ultimate truth that Reginald only obsessed over Number Four's abilities so cruelly because maybe the kid whose alien-bestowed powers manifested as immortality could bring a lost loved one back from death) . He would never learn that he was in fact "worth the trouble" (fuck you, Reg) of loving to someone outside his highly dysfunctional family unit (a concept first introduced to him by Dave). He would never have experienced the good things in life that were worth the attempt to get clean--not that Dave frankly wasn't also probably an addict, but that there are other ways to overcome trauma, with patience and therapy and compassion and reciprocal love and accountability, than self-medication. He wouldn't have died, but only because he COULDN'T, and he would have ended up with Five in the post-apocalyptic wasteland that came in the wake of Viktor's White Violin breakdown, considering how often in Season One alone Klaus ended up being surprisingly instrumental in curtailing disaster, and a Klaus without the experience of loving and losing Dave would have remained too self-loathing to help his siblings as earnestly as he did for the remainder of s1-3.

Y'all know I'm one of the few Klaus fans who is slightly skeptical about Klave lasting past Vietnam. I don't think Dave is Klaus's romantic, or general, endgame, although season 4 may attempt to prove otherwise. But I DO think that Dave was a PIVOTAL figure in Klaus's personal development and, ultimately, ability to be happy. Dave is the one reason Klaus can successfully go for more than THREE YEARS sober. What this tells me is that Klaus thrives with a loving partner, and I pray he still has the chance to get one, whether in canon or in fanwork (like my own, hehe).

It's pushing 2 am where I am so I hope this is even vaguely coherent. <3

#Anonymous #headcanons #drug use cw #substance abuse cw #death cw #war cw

[tinnchan]

Something I haven't seen explicitly discussed is my belief that TMS2 is really a story of how unresolved trauma can ultimately create a circle of trauma. JiWoo's deep seeded self loathing went unaddressed for a really long time until it reached its apex-ish during the breakup. And this subsequently triggered SJ's severe abandonment issues. The more JW's trauma went unresolved, the more he suffered and then more SJ eventually suffered too. From episode 8 it was clear that JW believed he was so unimportant in SJ's life that his coping mechanisms eventually convinced SJ that SJ was rightly abandoned by JW and his parents for being such a burden.

Sometimes I feel like the internet (which it's the internet so you know) is rather obsessed with dividing this show into campus about who's wrong, who deserves the most empathy, and who we can be mad at.

I have really felt like TMS2 wasn't really trying to make JW a villain - controversial opinion. If we had seen JW's perspective from the start I think people would have been extremely sympathetic to him. We would have seen a lot of "This is terrible BUT I also understand" or "SJ don't you understand what's happening"

By keeping JW out of it, it allowed the audience to experience what JW's unresolved trauma did to those around him. We didn't have the luxury of rationalizing it or building an emotional connection that would soften the blow of all of JW's cruel words. We saw how this trauma eventually took it's toll on SJ and traumatized him. Even if they do get back together, SJ will probably dread his birthday and there's no way that he won't believe for a really long time that there's something fundamentally burdensome about himself.

My honest takeaway from the show is the importance of dealing with your unresolved issues before it destroys you or those around you.

Oh god anon! I felt like screaming into the void when Jiwoo's neighbour revealed that Jiwoo and Sung Yoon ghosted each other because if that wasn't a clever way to maybe hint at the notion that you carry the wounds of your past into every new relationships, I don't know what is! If you think Hwang de seul was gonna introduce a past lover solely for the purpose of a contrite misunderstanding scene/a love triangle? Nopes.

This aspect of unresolved trauma is also established with Seojoon and his parents, Jiwoo and his parents, Jiwoo and the whole village. Like you said, this is what you get when you do not address trauma head on. It's not enough to know that it's there and point it out loud. Seojoon has an understanding of Jiwoo and his defenses as early as season 1 and you see how this is a fear that always sat at the back of his mind. He is being aware and cautious with Jiwoo. But this is not enough.

I think one of the most heartbreaking thing that happened is that, as you said, Seojoon has completely internalized that there's something inherently wrong about him. He casually makes those little off-hand, defeatist remarks. He is too much or not enough for people to stick around. Even if they do get back together and Seojoon gets an explanation from Jiwoo, it's totally valid to imagine that Seojoon has already been further traumatized. It's hard not to imagine him having to live with the doubts and fears at the back of his head. There's a possibility that he will still try to modulate his behaviour according to Jiwoo's list, even unconsciously so.

All those hints at Seojoon and Jiwoo's pain get too much at times, man. Also, let's call a spade a spade, they both have exhibited extremely alarming behaviour. Seojoon does not sleep, does not eat, medicates, gets off his medication when maybe he shouldn't, takes rash decisions and possibly self-harms (not dodging the punch form his co-star). Jiwoo hints that it is only his neighbours who were able to save him. I don't think those are hints which are only there to like...try to show us how passionate they are for each other, how heartbreaking and gut-wrenching this heartbreak is. Those are hints to serious, serious issues.

It's so ironic that I think, if things had been addressed head on, Seojoon and Jiwoo would have helped each other a great deal. None of them could have healed each other with the power of their love alone but their experiences are so similar it's striking. It's the same fears and trauma, simply manifested differently. Jiwoo builds up and then cuts everything loose and runs. He is so fearful of being alone that he runs. Meanwhile, the little things Seojoon did throughout their relationship to ensure that Jiwoo was not lonely? I think those also show how anxious he is in his relationships..How it pushes him to overdo and demand constant reassurance from his partner....Which yeah..Hurts.

Oh. I think TMS2 had no intention to villainize Jiwoo. I still believe, having seen Jiwoo's pov that, although it would not have been the ideal solution for him, he should have still been entitled to break up with Seojoon. The show does not require you to rationalize Jiwoo's decisions. It does not ask you to wait for Jiwoo to be redeemed. it does not ask us to forgive him. You just have to like...deep a little and try to understand.

#wow mood #this is me #ask #anon #the response I have seen to Jiwoo and Seojoon #and it basically being or #is a testament to the writing of this show #i think it's a very very strong takeaway anon #thank you for your ask and apologies for the late reply :( #to my star #to my star 2

[khozmoh]

𝙿𝙸𝙲𝙺  𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴  𝚃𝚁𝙾𝙿𝙴𝚂

BIG BROTHER INSTINCT ― Despite only being minutes older than his twin brother, Cosmo feels protective over him as an older sibling anyway. This protective streak manifests into his nurturing behavior as well as attempting to defend him from larger threats like bullies and later preternatural killers or violent hunters. Cosmo however also has the potential to become the Knight Templar Big Brother, which takes his protective instinct to the extremes where he's willing to torment, torture, or even kill whoever hurts him. Cosmo's learned how to take a step back since his high school days, realizing that his protective instinct was becoming condescending and smothering.

I SEE DEAD PEOPLE ― One of the fundamental foundations of Cosmo's life and the cause behind a multitude of his personal and interpersonal issues revolves around his ability to see/interact with ghosts and other entities that most people and creatures can't. He's spent the majority of his life ignoring them, unwilling to engage with the dead and risk appearing insane in front of people or worse, drawing more of the dead to him. Cosmo experiences hauntings daily and has conditioned himself to control his reactions around the dead, but prolonged contact causes fear which results in irritability and a short hair-trigger temper.

AMBIGUOUS DISORDER ― Cosmo's kneejerk behaviors can be considered outside the norm, however while he was diagnosed with Mixed Personality Disorder, his psychiatrist was unreliable and abusive and therefore he doesn't have a specific diagnosis. Cosmo demonstrates symptoms from various personality and behavioral disorders that make giving him a proper diagnosis difficult, however it is reasonable to say that he’s neurodivergent with antisocial and asocial personality symptoms.

LACK OF EMPATHY ― It's unclear what caused Cosmo's lack of empathetic ability, but he suffers from a form of emotional detachment. While this means that he can go through highly traumatic events and situations in which people are harmed or killed without feeling anything, this also means that it's extremely difficult for him to empathize or sympathize with people outside of his circle of friends and family. Cosmo has taught himself how to empathize but he usually has to force himself to think of other people as his loved ones in order to do so properly. He struggles with personal accountability, responsibility, guilt, and remorse, especially if he feels that a person or thing had something coming.

UNDYING LOYALTY ― Once Cosmo decides to be loyal to someone, he's willing to do anything for them even if it is detrimental to his own health, safety or life. Cosmo is loyal to a fault, providing unconditional love and support once he chooses a person. This trait can be extremely dangerous for someone like Cosmo, as it's possible for Cosmo to become loyal to a person that does not have his best interests at heart and therefore could take advantage of him.

BONUS TROPES ― the deadpan snarker, the combat pragmatist, dissonant serenity, morality pet, and the wild card.

#. DASH PROMPT . › mirror reflections . #. HEADCANON . › heart like a bomb & the bomb shelter .