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barelytolerabled · 1 year

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The Secret Admirer

Part 01

Spencer Reid x fem!Reader

Summary: Introduction of you and the anonymous love letters and gifts you have been receiving. Introduce Spencer, the person who helps you figure out who the secret admirer is.

Warnings: stalking

The sun was setting over the city as you sat at your desk, staring at the latest anonymous love letter on your desk.

You couldn't believe your eyes as you opened yet another gift from your anonymous admirer. It was a beautiful necklace with a heart-shaped pendant, but the note attached to it was disturbing. "I will always be with you, no matter what," it read.

You had been receiving these love letters and gifts for weeks, and at first, you thought it was sweet. But as the messages became more frequent and more obsessive, you started to feel afraid. You didn't know who was sending them or what they wanted from you.

One day, you found yourself opening a package that contained several photographs of yourself. They were all candid shots taken in public places, and you didn't even know that someone was taking them. The thought that someone had been following you and taking pictures without your knowledge made your skin crawl. The pictures were accompanied by a note that read, "I'm always watching you, my love." It was then that you realized that your anonymous admirer had crossed a dangerous line, and you knew you needed to take action before things got even more out of hand.

You finally decided to contact the authorities. All of this needed to end.

A few days later, you found yourself sitting in your living room surrounded by a team of agents from the Behavioral Analysis Unit, or BAU, of the FBI. One of them, Dr. Spencer Reid, stood out to you. He was tall and lanky with curly hair and glasses, and he seemed very intelligent.

After introducing themselves, the BAU team asked you to tell them everything you knew about the letters and gifts you had been receiving. They took notes as you spoke, and Reid asked some very specific questions about the wording of the letters and the types of gifts you had received.

As the team settled in and began to make themselves comfortable, Agent Hotchner took the lead and addressed you.

"Can you tell us everything you know about the letters and gifts you've been receiving?" he asked, his tone calm and professional.

You took a deep breath and began to describe the situation, detailing everything from the first letter to the most recent gift.

"It started about a month ago," you said. "I received a letter in the mail from an anonymous sender. It was a love letter, and it was really sweet at first. But then, I started getting more letters and gifts, and they started to feel really obsessive."

The team listened intently, taking notes as you spoke.

Reid, who had been analyzing the letters and gifts since he arrived, spoke up.

"Can you tell us about the wording of the letters? Were there any specific phrases or language patterns that stood out to you?"

You thought for a moment before answering.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, there were a few things that seemed odd. The letters always referred to me as 'my love' or 'my darling,' and they talked a lot about how we were meant to be together forever. It was all very intense."

Reid nodded, taking more notes.

"What about the gifts?" Agent Morgan asked. "What kinds of things have you been receiving?"

You listed off some of the gifts, from flowers to jewelry to a stuffed animal.

"The gifts were always really nice, but the notes that came with them were always a little unsettling," you said.

Agent Prentiss spoke up, her voice sympathetic.

"I can imagine how scary this must be for you. But we're here to help. We're going to do everything we can to catch this person and make sure you're safe."

You nodded, feeling grateful for their support.

Reid continued to ask more specific questions about the letters and gifts, and the rest of the team offered their expertise and support.

As they gathered more information, you began to feel a sense of hope. With their help, you knew that you had a real chance of catching your stalker and putting an end to this terrifying ordeal.

These agents were experts at profiling and catching criminals, and you felt confident that they would be able to help you catch your stalker.

Reid, in particular, seemed to take a special interest in your case. He asked to see some of the letters and gifts you had received, and he spent hours analyzing them for any clues that could help identify the perpetrator.

As the days went on, you and Reid began to spend more and more time together. You found that you had a lot in common, and you enjoyed talking to him about everything from books to science to psychology.

One day, while the investigation was still ongoing, you and Spencer were waiting outside the police station after giving your statements to the detectives. It was a hot summer day, and the sun was beating down on the pavement. You both stood in the shade of a nearby tree, grateful for the respite from the heat.

You started chatting about the latest book you had read, and Spencer's eyes lit up.

"I've been wanting to read that one," he said, smiling.

"Really?" you replied. "I actually have a copy with me right now. Do you want to borrow it?"

Spencer's face broke into a grin.

"I would love that," he said. "Thank you."

You pulled the book out of your bag and handed it to him, and he examined the cover with interest.

As you walked back to your cars, you chatted about the book and your shared love of literature. You found that you had more in common than you initially realized, and you enjoyed spending time with him.

Over the next few days, you and Spencer continued to talk and spend time together whenever possible. You found that he was a great listener, and you appreciated his analytical mind and thoughtful insights. As the investigation continued, you began to feel more and more grateful for his support and companionship.

But as your connection grew stronger, so did your stalker's obsession. You started receiving even more threatening messages, and you knew that you were running out of time. With the help of the BAU team and especially Reid, you knew that you had to catch your stalker before it was too late.

But as your connection with Spencer grew stronger, the stalker's obsession with you intensified. It started with more frequent letters and gifts, but soon escalated to more dangerous forms of communication.

One day, you received a message that made your blood run cold. It was a picture of you and Spencer, taken from a distance while you were walking together. The message read, "I see you. I see everything. Stay away from him."

You knew that the stalker was watching you and was aware of your growing friendship with Spencer. The message made it clear that they were not happy about it.

You were terrified, and the fear only grew when you received another message a few days later. This time, it was a package left on your doorstep. Inside was a photo of you and Spencer, this time with red X's drawn over his face and the words "Stay away or else" scrawled in red ink.

You knew that you had to tell Spencer about the messages, but you didn't want to put him in danger. You were caught between your fear and your growing feelings for him, and you didn't know what to do next.

You arranged to meet him at a nearby coffee shop and took a deep breath before walking in.

"Hey," you said, trying to sound casual as you slid into the booth opposite him. "I need to tell you something."

Spencer looked at you with concern in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

You took a deep breath and pulled out your phone, showing him the messages and the photo you had received.

"I've been getting these for a while now," you said, your voice shaking slightly. "And I think it's because of our growing friendship."

Spencer's face paled as he read the messages, and he reached across the table to take your hand.

"I'm so sorry," he said, his voice soft. "I had no idea."

You spent the rest of the afternoon talking about what had been happening and what steps you could take to protect yourselves. Spencer was supportive and understanding, and you felt grateful to have him by your side.

As you walked into the BAU headquarters, you felt a sense of unease settle over you. The threatening messages had continued, and you were worried about what the stalker might do next.

Taking a deep breath, you made your way to the bullpen where the rest of the team was gathered. Morgan and Prentiss looked up as you approached, concern etched on their faces.

"Hey, how are you holding up?" Prentiss asked, her voice gentle.

You took a deep breath and shook your head.

"Not great," you said. "I received another message, and this time it's specifically about Reid."

The team's expressions grew even more serious as you showed them the message. Reid, who had been typing away on his computer, looked up with concern in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "This is all my fault."

You shook your head, trying to dispel the guilt you knew Reid was feeling.

"No, it's not," you said firmly. "This stalker is the one who's doing this. And they're targeting us both because of our friendship."

The team nodded in agreement, and Garcia spoke up.

"I've been working on tracing the stalker's online presence," she said. "But it's been tricky. They're using multiple aliases and they keep bouncing around different IP addresses."

Reid furrowed his brow, lost in thought.

"What about the language in the messages?" he asked. "Is there any pattern or specific phrasing that might give us a clue?"

You pulled out your phone and scrolled through the messages, trying to remember any details that might be relevant.

"I'm not sure," you said slowly. "But I'll do my best to remember everything and write it down for you."

The team nodded, and you felt a sense of gratitude for their support. You knew that catching the stalker wouldn't be easy, but with the BAU team on your side, you felt like you had a fighting chance.

Morgan and Prentiss offered to help increase security around your home and workplace, and Garcia worked to trace the stalker's online presence. Reid analyzed the language and patterns in the letters, trying to identify any clues that could help catch the stalker.

The entire team was determined to help you and Spencer, and their support gave you hope that you would be able to catch the stalker and put an end to their dangerous obsession.

#criminal minds x reader #criminal minds fanfic #spencer reid #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x fem!reader #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #criminal minds x y/n #spencer reid fluff

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lnmei · 1 year

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How I Approach Figure Drawing

Got asked about tips for figure drawing and...I have a lot to say! I thought to just catalogue what I’ve been doing to build up my figure drawing knowledge and habit, so hopefully this is a useful reference for anyone interested in figure drawing :)

make it a habit (but take it easy!)

This is probably the most important and most annoying tip ever lol I’ve been figure drawing for 7-8 years (on and off! I don’t pressure myself if I have other things to do) so it really just takes time. Given that, my biggest tip for figure drawing is to figure out how you can have fun on this forever journey, so everything below is what I do to have fun and maintain the necessary enthusiasm to persist at it.

warm-up before a figure drawing session of myself figure drawing at my desk:

be bad at it on a regular basis

kind of just the principle of drawing....but with figure especially you draw so many of them that it’s important to let your drawings be bad to free yourself of pressure, and good ones will come out just from the brute force repetition of the skill.

Whenever I feel myself hitting a wall I intentionally revert to letting go of the desire to make a good drawing and try drawing in different ways even if it looks or feels bad in the moment. Some of my favorite drawings are the result of this, it’s awesome how that works out lol

For example, if I’m frustrated by my line work, I’ll start drawing thicker lines than usual and more cartoony (by my standards at least...) to loosen up:

set small goals for figure drawing

The main thing with figure drawing is that to get good, you have to draw hundreds and thousands of figures over time...so to keep that from being repetitive I change up my goal regularly so I can exercise different ways of thinking and keep it fresh, and my drawings look different based on what I am aiming for

Goal of practicing for cleaner lines and using line variety (5 min each):

Goal of drawing the lines neatly to color after (10 min each):

A typical progression I’ve seen is to build from drawing nude models to clothed models which is what I did, but honestly just start with what you want to learn the most and you’ll figure out what you want to work on.

copy other people

When I used to go to live figure drawing, I’d peek at what people sitting all over the studio were doing and copy their method or look. I look at artists online and pull up their work while I draw. I like sessions where there’s an artist demo because I can see what they’re doing (zeet does this). Figure drawing is great because everyone draws the same thing in their own way so it’s cool to see the variety, and it goes so fast that no matter what your references are, it still retains your habits so it’s actually your drawing even when you copy lol

Figure drawing done with heavy reference to Greco-Roman pottery art (4 min for lines):

traditional vs digital media

I switch between drawing on paper and drawing digitally for variety. The material constrains how you draw so it makes each session different from the last and you’ll gain different techniques and discover effects you like over time.

Colored pencil figure drawings with the prompt to draw the model as an animal (5 min each):

Brush pen, ballpoint pen, and felt tip pen figure drawings (1-2 min each):

Also draw at different scales. Try drawing on big paper, try drawing a single pose big, or compose a big page with many small figures.

drawing time

again, variety! Switch up how long the figures each take and how long the overall sessions are. See how your approach and outcomes change based on how long you have to draw. I do long sessions of 3 or more hours less frequently with short 20-30 minute sessions more frequently (I like these short ones lately).

I think persistence and stamina are important for figure drawing, so building up your tolerance for long sessions is a good goal if you are looking to improve. Also, long poses and short poses present different problems to solve, so try them all.

I tend to treat super long poses as paintings so sometimes I’ll color them live (this is a 25 min pose):

short poses I color after the pose ends if I even color them (3 min poses)

line quality

try drawing with a soft line like pencil vs a hard line like pen, different brushes, etc.

Also try drawing with the constraint that you cannot retrace a line

try drawing with and without an under sketch

how much anatomy do I need to know?

I hate studying anatomy lol I would say you only need as much as you feel like you need so don’t stress over it, but pick up little bits of knowledge and apply them whenever you can.

That said, I thing the biggest help to anatomy for me (other than directly studying it) is to attend nude model sessions in person. Seeing the figure in real life and having to translate the 3D form to paper clarifies what the important forms and connections are to make a clear drawing. These are studies of live models from 2020 after I’d been doing nude models for ~6 years

My figure anatomy big 3 concepts have been

1) construction/proportion – how and where different body parts connect and overlap to form the whole

2) balance/weight – where is the figure applying force, stretching vs. compressing? if the model is stationary, how is the poses stability maintained? If the model is meant to be in motion, what are the directions of force?

3) anatomy from top down – start with very basic anatomy forms like cylinders for the upper and lower arm, egg shape for head, ball and socket for shoulder joint, etc. and build your understanding of anatomy up from there. I get tied down by too much detail so it’s worked out better for me to start with a very dumb anatomical understanding and learn to add nuance over time.

Here’s an example of points 1 and 3 using Teen Titans Slade Wilson (homework for a class I took lol). Break down the proportion, how parts connect, and the basic shapes of body parts and assemble them like a doll. You can do this for any style you want to learn from, and for realistic human figures. This is the basics of “figure construction”.

Internalizing a model that you’ve deconstructed and can reconstruct from memory is the basis for building a “general model,” which is just a generic human body that you can use to figure draw so you don’t have to think about how the body is constructed and can focus on expressing the pose, character, gesture, while maintaining accuracy to a human figure. Here are poses I constructed from imagination once I broke down and understood how to draw Slade.

A lot of this stuff is specifically applicable to animation character drawing but it’s been helpful towards figure drawing for me.

how things look vs. how things feel

I like to switch my focus between drawing for accuracy/correctness (studying the pose, anatomy, etc.), and drawing to capture how the figure physically feels even if it breaks the anatomy. I like to do the pose myself to feel how the model feels, where the stretch and compression of the pose is, and how it feels to exaggerate the pose, and then drawing from that experience.

Some of these legs don’t work anatomically but they feel right and look cool. These drawings came out very twisty and fluid after I copied the model’s pose and exaggerated how the shoulders, waist, spine, etc. were tilted based on how they feel in my body.

drawing the model vs. drawing a character

Sometimes I get bored of drawing just what the model looks like, so I will use the figure drawing as a live reference and draw something based on the model but as a different character instead and make up new clothes, appearance, etc. It exercises your decision making about what’s important to grab from a pose reference and also trains you to design instead of copy.

These are Gallery Girl LA sessions where I drew the model with a new design:

invent another character to draw a character dynamic (left chara is invented):

Random tips

I tend to prioritize the pose and full body and leave the head for last or after the session is over so I can spend time making it look nice.

Avoid drawing a perfect vertical or horizontal unless it is important as a design element (if the model is stand straight up and down for example, try to re-balance the pose in your drawing so it has some variety of line direction)

Be choosy about drawing straight lines on the body, save those for silhouette lines, and for internal lines figure out which way the body is bending, moving, or twisting and express that.

Like in this sketch, I tried to add subtle tilts and leans to the model who was posing upright with a mannequin (which I drew as a character):

If you wanted to know about my color process for figure drawing, here! I color after I finish the drawing session and picked out a few drawings to color.

That’s all I got for now! Have fun and draw lots!

a traditional colored pencil sketch where I changed the model’s clothes and expression/body language while drawing it, then photographed and digitally colored it after:

#my art #process #sort of?#TL;DR is u just have to draw a lot of figure drawings and keep doing that forever lol but make it fun for yourself so you can keep at it #this is probably way overkill for what ppl wanted to know but i don't know how to be short i love talking about drawing lol

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bestworstcase · 5 months

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Wait could you go more into Salem being glinda? (<- person who is bad at allegories but loves your metas)

ok!!

step one is to clear out everything you’ve ever read about rwby’s ozian allusion from your brain because this fandom keeps trying to make it about the wizard of oz and it’s… nnnot about the wizard of oz. the book we’re going to be talking about as the primary text of reference is the second oz book, ‘the marvelous land of oz,’ which is about what happens after dorothy and the wizard go home.

the reason nobody can figure out who rwby’s “dorothy” is is… there is no dorothy. she’s in kansas and not really relevant to this story except insofar as her journey through oz resulted in the wizard’s departure and the end of the wicked witches of the east and west. she’s The Backstory. and—actually as i write this there, um, there IS a dorothy and now i have to go stare at a wall for a little while.

…

we’ll get there.

context:

at the end of the first oz book, ‘the wonderful wizard of oz,’ the wizard leaves and glinda, the good witch of the south, tells dorothy how to return home to kansas with the glass slippers (which fall off her feet and are lost forever whilst carrying dorothy home)

(the classic film makes something of a mess by combining glinda and the good witch of the north into a composite character, creating the problem of why glinda would not simply tell dorothy how to use the slippers right away. in the book, the good witch of the north sends dorothy to the wizard, who is secretly a fraud, and after he inadvertently leaves dorothy behind she is advised to travel south to consult with glinda instead.)

now, the wizard was the ruler of oz, so his departure created a political problem that he attempted to solve by appointing the scarecrow to rule in his absence. that choice is what ‘marvelous land’ is chiefly about because, you see, before the wizard came along, oz was ruled by a king named pastoria, who had an infant daughter named ozma. then the wizard deposed pastoria, and princess ozma disappeared.

the book’s protagonist is a boy named tippetarius (tip) who’s been raised all his life by the bad witch mombi. tip is in fact ozma, stolen by mombi and transformed into a boy to secure the wizard on the throne of oz. he has no idea; he just knows that mombi isn’t very nice to him and he wants to leave.

when he runs away, he takes with him jack pumpkinhead—a fellow tip made by carving a jack-o-lantern head for a wooden man, animated by mombi’s magic. their relationship is quasi-parental (jack calls tip “father” but tip is, you know, a boy and not especially fatherly). they’re joined by a living saw horse en route to the emerald city. the trio is briefly separated, with jack and the horse rushing ahead and being received by the scarecrow while tip is waylaid and meets general jinjur, who is leading an army of revolt to the emerald city to overthrow the scarecrow.

that happens. jinjur wins more or less by default because the soldier with green whiskers, who guards the emerald city’s gate, is too cowardly to fight them and simply lets them into the city. the scarecrow flees, along with tip, the sawhorse, and jack. this motley crew heads west to winkie country, once the domain of the wicked witch of the west, now ruled by nick chopper—the tin man. en route to winkie country, the scarecrow mentions to jack that pumpkins rot and jack spends the remainder of the story in a state of ever-present existential dread over his imminent decay.

anyway, nick accompanies them back to the emerald city, along with the woggle-bug—a very large, knowledgeable bug whom none of them like particularly and whose backstory involves transformation by a professor, an incident about which the woggle-bug has ambivalent feelings—whom they meet along the way. they’re hindered by various illusory traps mombi throws at them because she’s trying to get tip back under control.

reclaiming the emerald city from jinjur does not Go Well. they’re forced to flee again, briefly end up stranded in an inhospitable place on the far side of the desert and attacked by birds. the woggle bug saves them by using a silver wishing pill to repair their means of transportation so that they can reach glinda’s home, in southern quadling country.

they want glinda to help them restore the scarecrow to the throne of oz. glinda has other plans, because she’s spent all this time trying to find ozma and set right the wizard’s various injustices. she’s narrowed it down to mombi as the culprit, and upon learning that the witch has hidden herself in the emerald city, she… um, immediately lays siege to the emerald city to “starve it into submission” and flush mombi out, then chases her to the impassable desert at the edge of oz, ties a rope around her neck to silence her magical powers, and bodily drags her back to the emerald city to account for her wrongdoing on pain of death:

Glinda had been carefully considering what to do, and now she turned to Mombi and said: "You will gain nothing, I assure you, by thus defying us. For I am determined to learn the truth about the girl Ozma, and unless you tell me all that you know, I will certainly put you to death." "Oh, no! Don't do that!" exclaimed the Tin Woodman. "It would be an awful thing to kill anyone—even old Mombi!" "But it is merely a threat," returned Glinda. "I shall not put Mombi to death, because she will prefer to tell me the truth." "Oh, I see!" said the Tin Man, much relieved. "Suppose I tell you all that you wish to know,". said Mombi, speaking so suddenly that she startled them all. "What will you do with me then?" "In that case," replied Glinda, "I shall merely ask you to drink a powerful draught which will cause you to forget all the magic you have ever learned." "Then I would become a helpless old woman!" "But you would be alive," suggested the Pumpkinhead, consolingly. […] "You may make your choice," Glinda said to old Mombi, "between death if you remain silent, and the loss of your magical powers if you tell me the truth. But I think you will prefer to live." Mombi cast an uneasy glance at the Sorceress, and saw that she was in earnest, and not to be trifled with.

thus mombi is forced to tell the truth, remove the curse she placed on tippetarius (turning him back into ozma), and take glinda’s potion to strip all of her magical power away.

folds hands.

here are some facts about glinda:

she rules over quadling country—in the oz books, the cardinal kingdoms are all color-coded; northern gillikin country is purple, eastern munchkinland is blue, western winkie country is yellow, and quadling country? red. (glynda goodwitch’s purple is the first hint that she is not glinda, but rather the good witch of the north who believes in the wizard’s power. her absolute faith in ozpin is the second hint.)

glinda is, despite her youthful appearance, implied to be thousands of years old, and by any measure the most powerful sorceress in all of oz.

in demeanor, she is always calm and collected and resolutely truthful; so great is her dedication to the truth that she has no power over mombi’s magical deception and illusions, hence the need to force mombi to undo her own curse. she always knows when she’s lied to, but she can be fooled (fleetingly) by powerful illusions. and she can be utterly ruthless in pursuit of what she believes is right for oz.

she, as noted in the last post, is responsible for freeing the flying monkeys from their enslavement by the golden cap.

now!

the allusions rwby is making to ‘marvelous land’ are really very straightforward—much like cinder and cinderella or salem and maiden-in-tower stories. it is impossible to read the book with rwby in mind and not see the connections:

the god of light is mombi.

ozma is ozma; as ozpin, he has become the wizard (complicit in his own cursed imprisonment), and within oscar he’s tippetarius (a boy who’s lost his true self).

oscar is jack pumpkinhead, ozma’s heir (thus, symbolically, his “son”), brought to life at least symbolically by light’s power (he’s in the story at all because he’s ozma’s vessel), and preoccupied with existential dread inspired by the looming immediacy of his spiritual death.

qrow is the scarecrow, left to carry the symbol of ozpin’s authority in ozpin’s absence and forced to flee beacon, the “emerald city,” by

summer rose, who is general jinjur, holding beacon academy while she searches for the crown. (jinjur spends a considerable portion of the story trying to get the royal crown.)

lionheart is the soldier with green whiskers: not the fearful but truly courageous lion, but the cowardly old soldier who all but hands jinjur the keys to the city in his terror.

ironwood is the tin man, ruling over a land once subjugated by the wizard’s bitter enemy (pre-war, fascist mantle) now remade into a shining and prosperous kingdom under the command of the wizard’s ally (atlas)—and it is he who gives sanctuary to the scarecrow and tip’s party after the emerald city falls, and he who leads the failed first attempt to take the city back by force.

vacuo is the nest of jackdaws where the party ends up stranded, far from oz—they cross a desert to get there and i suspect the point of theodore is to signal that vacuo isn’t “in” oz but rather standing in for the deserts and the lands beyond. because dorothy is in kansas, you see. (he’s not the Real Dorothy, though, we’ll get there momentarily).

the woggle-bug is raven, the maiden of knowledge who knows the secret that will bridge the impassable divide between vacuo and salem; her knowledge of what summer did is the silver wishing pill which, incidentally, poisons tip when he tries to use it.

and salem is, of course, glinda: ancient and aloof and coldly ruthless in her pursuit of the truth, searching for ozma (<- note the congruence here with rapunzel searching for her prince in the wasteland!) and ready to GO TO WAR to bring the god of light to account for what he’s done. i really must emphasize the GOING TO WAR bit: the glinda of the books is not the soft, mistily benevolent lady the classic film makes of her. she has an extremely well-disciplined standing army which she marches on the emerald city with the explicit intention of delivering a siege to “starve it into submission.” mombi looks this woman in the eye, sees death staring back at her, and surrenders with a whimper. glinda is ruthless.

so it isn’t even “glinda would go to war if she thought it necessary” it’s that glinda does in fact go to war and rwby is, with salem, taking glinda’s decision to go to war to achieve her ends very seriously and putting that in a context where salem isn’t revered as a protector and loved by all. the only difference between salem and glinda is that glinda is beloved by the people of oz!

but i also promised you dorothy. so:

allow me to direct your attention back to what glinda does to mombi after ozma’s curse is lifted. mombi is made to drink a potion that causes her to forget all the magic she’s ever learned, leaving her to live as an ordinary old woman—but she is not left alone to suffer afterwards, because ozma makes arrangements to provide for her indefinitely.

this is, of course, what’s in store for the god of light. he’s going to ascend—that’s obvious—and the fairytale ‘the two brothers’ hints quite strongly that he’ll come back as a man (i’d wager a faunus specifically), leaving his power and memories of divinity behind and given a peaceful life in return. mombi’s resolution in ‘marvelous land’ offers a direct 1:1 comparison to ascension.

but what about the god of darkness?

he’s– he’s dorothy.

dorothy doesn’t appear in ‘marvelous land’ and she has no presence in the book whatsoever except as one of the two characters whose departure at the end of the last book created the circumstances that allow this story to occur: it is dorothy’s adventure that convinces the wizard to leave oz, and then she leaves too. the wizard—through mombi, the real power behind his throne—retains his influence and authority over the land of oz until she is forced to undo her wrongs, but dorothy is simply… gone. she went home, she’s remembered fondly by her friends, she has nothing whatsoever to do with this story, and the silver shoes that bore her home at the end of the last book fell from her feet and were lost forever.

(she does eventually make it back to oz, in a roundabout way, by accident. but for rwby’s purposes, and within the context of ‘marvelous land’ taken in isolation, dorothy is Gone Forever.)

afterans refer to the tree as home; they think of ascension as returning home to rest and find renewal after a long journey through the world outside. at the end of her journey through oz, she asks glinda to send her home, and glinda tells her:

“The Silver Shoes," said the Good Witch, "have wonderful powers. And one of the most curious things about them is that they can carry you to any place in the world in three steps, and each step will be made in the wink of an eye. All you have to do is to knock the heels together three times and command the shoes to carry you wherever you wish to go.”

and, as i noted, the shoes carry her home but are lost in the process, never to be found again.

glinda teaches dorothy how to go home. likewise, salem is a repetition of jabber—the argument between the brothers comes full circle—and through this experience dark realizes that he needs to “go home,” i.e. ascend. he’s been trapped in this same disagreement for thousands of years and nothing has changed; nothing will change unless he tries something new. he shatters the moon on his way out and, unlike his brother, there’s nothing to suggest he’s still present in this world or relevant to this story as anything but backstory… because he ascended and became something new.

(the spirits in the relics.)

(which in terms of the ozian narrative, represent the golden cap, which glinda receives from dorothy before she gives it to the king of the flying monkeys to set them all free, so the symbolic through line between dark-as-dorothy becoming the spirits-as-flying-monkeys through his and their relation to salem is relatively straightforward.)

anyway, behold.

toto.

#i just—brgdgks #DOROTHY.#''GIFT OF GOD.''#it’s another goddamned stealth pun

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lupunsus · 1 year

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I'm obsessed with the hybrid AU of @cinnamonest, and i couldn't help but think about the hybrids of animals that aren't, yknow, sexually desired, but still make contact with humans, like Sloths. Just a sloth living their life.

All of this is just my personal opinion and ideas, im also bad at writing, but this is just a ramble of thoughts. the original idea of the hybrid au goes out to cinnamonest

I feel like i haven't done as much research to properly get the behavior of the sloth down to a T, but let's just say domestication can change even the craziest of wolves 🫡

GN reader, sometimes referred to as "it," because i like to believe that humans in this au don't see hybrids as people unless they prove themselves to be as smart and able to live on their own. Also, I think that sloth hybrids can move a bit faster than sloths.

Sloths as animals are already rare. So, to stumble upon a sloth hybrid would definitely be even rarer than receiving God's blessing, I think.

I like to imagine the first sloth hybrid encounter would be in Sumeru, where an Akademiya student notices some weird creature eating their notes while out researching in the forest. At first, they would be horrified at all their hard-earned work and possible funding going down the drain until they noticed that this thing is a weird dirty human with moss on their back. And it moved as slow as a snail...

An undocumented hybrid??? Would presenting it as a research topic replace the fruit of labors this student wasted their entire lives on??? The answer is yes. Yes it did.

Sloths feel very stressed when carried, so getting the hybrid to the city was difficult in itself, and plus, wasn't it illegal to bring in wild animals out of their habitat? But the species could be considered to go extinct as their numbers have been dwindling, so wouldn't it be better to raise it in a controlled environment where it's safer for them? Who knows if the reason there's barely any out in the wild is because of predators or due to the Withering problem (that is now taken care of) that destroyed a good fraction of the forest.

Either way, the hybrid is now under the protection of the Akademiya, and its new habitat is in the section where they usually study hybrids and their nature towards humans (with their owner's permission and signed documents). In this case, having a one-way glass is fortunate since the poor hybrid freaked out when a lot of humans gathered around them and severely injured one with their claws. They considered releasing the hybrid back in the wild because of how indifferent it was to humans (and the fact that it actively resisted being given a bath by using its claws, again), but decided not to as the hybrid seemed ok with living in the space as long as it wasn't bothered.

But the question now is, how would researchers study the sloth hybrid? Some attempt to bribe it with delicious food, but it takes forever just for the hybrid to eat the bribe. So they opted for leaving out simple puzzles, namely shaped blocks that fit into different holes in a wooden box. Due to the time it takes to study it, I like to believe researchers are paid for their efforts if they submit a report of what the sloth does, like how long it takes for them to eat this kind of fruit, how long it takes for them to move around, etc etc.

It sounds easy, but when you take into consideration how smart sloths can be, it isn't long before the hybrid learns how to speak, nor does it take long to figure out they're being watched.

"No." Is the first word they picked up, due to how common it was to hear it whenever someone would complain around it. So when the student who brought you in started complaining about how they should've just left it out in the wild and rewritten their paper, it said its first word.

Now, in context, saying no to someone saying "I wish I left you in the woods" could be taken in many ways. Does this sloth see me as a friend because I brought it here? Does this sloth care for me more than the others because? Or does it feel bad for eating my research notes that were my entire reason to live?

To the last part, the answer would be no. Sloth hybrid feels no shame for their actions. Don't leave important things out in the open.

All the researchers that have said "no" around the sloth hybrid appeared to be uncomfortable and distressed, putting their hands on their head and shaking it, sometimes letting out some kind of liquid from their eyes. Hearing these humans talk so much and offer nothing but tasteless leaves... wouldn't any sloth feel uncomfortable and distressed? It took at least 5 minutes for liquid to also come out of their eyes and mimic the behavior of students who lost all hope in their future, shaking its head and saying "no" repeatedly but slowly. If the humans would take it away from heavenly leaves and fruits, couldn't they supply it with anything better than dry leaves?

The student panicked, thinking that maybe they should've let the sloth be, and tried to discuss moving the hybrid back to the wild as it was clearly not liking something. But it still said no, even louder when they tried to bribe it with (mid) fruits inside a crate. All researchers agree that they wish sloth hybrids could move faster, or they could learn to move faster because 15 minutes later, the hybrid was laying on it's back pointing to its food.

Killing hybrids is illegal and would most likely get someone life in prison. I think.

There are some moments when the sloth hybrid proves itself to be helpful and even intelligent enough to comprehend human emotions. Liquid coming out of eyes = sadness. So when a student comes in crying while delivering high-quality leaves and fruit, the sloth makes an attempt to reach out a hand, offering fruit. After 20 minutes of climbing down while the student who probably failed their midterms is having a breakdown in a corner.

It's a sweet gesture, but the way it sometimes just drops the fruit on the person and turns to go back to eat makes some think it does it just for the human to be quiet. But if you have the patience to sit for another 20 minutes, you'll notice that it will take a bite of its food and wait until you do the same. But once you take a bite, it'll stop caring and munch away. If you're still there and there's a piece of fruit or a leaf left, prepare to wait a very long time for it to bring the plate over and give it to you.

It's adorable until it realizes that bringing empty plates to humans makes them take it away and bring more food, so those unfortunately not having a mental breakdown have to wait for the sloth to bring over its plate. It's even worse after some students teach it to wave, as the hybrid will stop what it's doing, raise their hand, wave, lower their hand, and look around for 5-10 minutes before remembering what it was previously doing. Less if you point to the plate. Don't grab the plate, though. The sloth hybrid is smart enough to do it itself and will throw a fit and scratch at you if you attempt to rush it.

Students now secretly feed the sloth in hopes that their friends won't distract it, as it would take almost up to an hour if a group of researchers all decided to come and wave one by one. Sometimes, people think it's a curse to have some sort of intelligence because the thing is so slow, but I don't think it would prove itself to live on its own as a citizen with rights just because it's so slow, and it would probably take an hour at least to do a simple task like writing a letter.

But don't worry, the sloth hybrid gets the best care at the Akademiya Hybrid Research Facility(?), even if it's starting to smell a bit bad to the point where they're considering spraying it down with a hose from a safe distance.

#hybrid #sloth hybrid #genshin x gn reader #genshin au #.lurots #genshin hcs #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader

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navy-leader · 6 months

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With all the doom and gloom ava6 has offered us so far i now want to talk about the AUs id made for victim pre-ava6

So for starters i characterized him as a pottymouthed, angry, and very confused. Pottymouthed bc he is canonically the only stickman to cuss, angry because he was treated very poorly by the animator and subsequently Killed, confused bc hes only existed for less than 2 minutes and has yet to explore the world.

I also made him an artist, similar to Second, but he lacks the ability to make them come to life and sticks mainly to drawing machinery, weaponry and artillery, (as a reference to how many stickman animations often use guns, tanks and the sorts) the way young boys have a fascination for the things. He has extensive knowledge about how they work and Very autistic about it, that was his thing. He does not draw figure drawings like animals or people, that is Second's thing.

I also gave him a lot of self worth issues. It came from multiple reasons,,,being named 'victim' for starters, having his fate sealed to be nothing more than just a test subject, collateral, something to use and then dispose of. Second being that he had no special powers like the other's made like him do. Third being that,,,Second is just So Much Better than him in every way,, Second gets the love he never got from his creator, he never got the life the others were let to live, he never got to explore the world, none of that. He got None of that.

Also he has a lot of trauma pertaining his death but i think thats obvious.

With that in mind i present you the first AU. The premise is that victim finds a way to come back to life and ends back on Alan's desktop, the newer desktop, where the color gang and Second now live in. The way he appeared was never properly Made, hes just There now. He mightve crawled through the code and ended up here, he mightve come from somewhere deep in Alan's files, he mightve come from an external source, who knows but victim is Here now. The color gang gets curious and welcomes this strange new stickman with open arms, they show him around and quickly became friends, and everything was Fine. Until Alan comes online do to work and victim FREAKS at the sight of the cursor, he quickly tries to eradicate said cursor by creating weapons and bombs, and threatened to nuke the PC, whilst the color gang frantically try to stop him and talk him down.

Eventually they do and they reintroduce Alan to victim and vice versa. Victim is still discomforted and LIVID about the discovery that he'd gone back to his MURDERER'S desktop, but for the sake of his newfound friends he will back down. Victim and the color gang will then live in relative harmony, although victim is still Very cautious of Alan and yet to let go of the iron fisted grudge he has on him (who can blame him?) but they live, together.

In this AU is actually where most of my old doodles' interactions between victim and the color gang came from. They just vibe forever together,,, its a nicer beginning for victim. This is where the cowboy victim, rambo victim, and whatever else silly little costume and roles ive put him in take place, theyre just playing!! Just as they do in the actual shorts!!

The second AU takes place right before the ending of ava3, Dark and Chosen are doing their blackhole destruction of Noogai's PC and are running away from the crime scene. Then suddenly a foreign stickfigure comes running at them through the hole Chosen had made to escape, they all fall through the hole and speed through the cables. Only then they could properly assess their unfamilar company, it was a black stickfigure with the same hollow imperfect circle heads as themselves, they'd look practically identical to Chosen. After they get to the other end of the cables they were baffled by the stickfigure that had joined them in their escape.

So victim finds itself tagging along Chosen and Dark during their destruction spree, having no powers like they did it tended to sit back or cause minor destruction of its own. And eventually the three of them live under one roof, though not without problems. They had their problems and fights often break out, mainly between Chosen and Dark, and since theyre both superpowered assholes they cause more than necessary destruction to their home and surroundings. Victim, being Not Superpowered, often leaves before things get messy and he gets caught in the crossfire. He comes back home to their home thoroughly wrecked and is less than pleased (hes pissed) at the state of it, and makes them clean it up.

Before you ask i have No Idea what this'd mean for the events of ava5 but thats something we can always think about now or later!!

In the middle of writing this i realized i only had 2 major AUs for victim so i guess thats the end of it LOL

#dot dot dot #animation vs animator #ava victim

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rxttenfish · 6 months

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PLEASE tell us more about virina mishra im such a sucker for nextgens

OOPS FUCK I GOT DISTRACTED AGAIN AND FORGOR TO ANSWER THIS

virina!!! my beloved virina!!!! littlest froggy!!!

aaravi and miranda very much both wanted to actually, you know, have a family. its one of those things where you come from someplace so shitty and so terrible, that you just cannot imagine someone else going through that same thing, and you cannot bear the thought of making someone else go through the same thing. to be fair, they are both TERRIFIED of just repeating the past and ending up in the exact same loop that their parents did, terrified of just heaving back on the same generational trauma and wreck of a childhood, but there comes a point in being afraid of something where you just need to get rid of this fear. its too constant, its too forever, its too eternal. sitting through it and avoiding it isn't making it go away, and they already fucked up avoiding it by finding each other and loving each other, so dancing around the issue isn't helping. instead, what they mutually land on is just... a want to prove that fear wrong. a want to prove that fear wrong, to prove that they aren't doomed to be just a weapon and just a source of death in all its forms, that they can hold something in their hands and make it grow. best way to avoid repeating the past is to take responsibility by the leash, after all. they want to go back in time, to give themselves the childhood that they always missed, and the best way they figured to do that is to give that to someone else.

this is something that very much existed since their relationship started to get serious with each other, and something that's been in the background the entire time since, so its not like its a mystery or anything. if anything, they've been using this want as a motivation, as a need to keep going even at the worst of times. they will have this happy future. they will make it through this together. they will make it work. no more ifs, no more buts, no more doubt. stop living in the doubt and start acting as though their happy end is a foregone conclusion and something that they are going to have no matter what, give no room for fear or guilt or shame or depression or self hatred to sneak in. they will be happy. they will make someone else happy. they will be someplace safe, not just for themselves, but for their loved ones too. they will be good. they will be.

even after everything blows over (mainly from miranda's family, she is still crown princess and stepping away from that was never going to be an option they gave her), it still takes a few years for them to broach the topic of having a kid for-real. just to make sure everything's settled. just to make sure everything's safe.

they have virina later in life than some of their other friends or just in general, but they were planned and wanted for so long that the wait is worth it. the name, as i've mentioned, comes from aaravi. she knows her mom was a... complicated woman, she knows her own raising wasn't perfect and that there were things that she still cant fully forgive her mother for, but she had a hard life too. she too deserved better. despite it all, aaravi still loves her mom, despite despite despite. and so she does the best thing that she can to honor her mom, to honor her memory, to give her the life that she never had the same as aaravi herself, and gives it to virina. the mishra last name was a no-brainer already, miranda already look aaravi's last name and preferred being a mishra over a vanderbilt anyday.

years later, virina also earns the nickname of "froggy" - primarily because of their own love for the animal, constantly finding them and bringing them in from outside. likewise, miranda and aaravi decide to raise them genderless, and to let them decide for themselves how they want to be referred to when they're older.

virina doesn't really take much after either of their moms, though. mostly they're quiet, shy, keep to themselves. where both of their moms are brash and dominant, very confident in themselves and willing to bowl over quieter personalities, virina seldom speaks, and when they do, its soft-spoken. they get easily spooked and cry easily, especially when it comes to other people. they cling to their moms legs, hide behind them when other people come around, prefer the company of animals over other people, tend not to like new things or new people and greatly prefer sticking to their simple, easy routine. they just can't figure out other people, seemingly, not understanding them or how to make friends or even what's appropriate or not to say in a conversation.

this isn't to say they aren't deeply intelligent and curious. they quickly learn to love venturing outside with their moms, playing in the garden or chasing bugs and frogs. they come in with sticks and rocks, make mud potions, try to build things out of sticks and befriend birds. they prefer books over people, ending up much more of a bookworm than either of their moms ever were, and ends up a very big nerd as they get older. theyre close and affectionate with the friends they do make, but this is a small handful of their very most trusted, and they never get much better at figuring out social norms.

in time, they lean a little bit more towards the femme side of things, growing their hair out long and liking long, swishy skirts that they can spin and sway over and over, that doesnt cling too tight to their legs. they end up needing glasses, and end up picking a pair thats large and circular, making their eyes seem all the more owlish. they settle on they/she, but never have particularly strong opinions about gender regardless. they can be blunt and quick to frustration, especially if they feel people arent understanding them, and are forever going to be deeply embarrassed over how their moms dote on them. i very much see them getting intensely interested and starting to study either linguistics, literature, history, geology, or any biology that takes them closer to the marshes and wetlands that they love.

they never think very much about how one of their moms used to be a princess, heir to a kingdom. beyond an instance as a kid that ended with them dropping a training sword repeatedly and crying, they never get very interested in following the slayer line of work. they fuss over small stakes, have their moms grate on them sometimes in both of their old ways, and they live a normal life.

#all the care guide says is 'biomass'#miravi.txt #monster prom #asks #Anonymous #anon #you might notice this as a theme with my fankids #in that i very much LOVE making them be the opposite of their parents #or otherwise be a personality that would have - if it were one of their peers - have annoyed their parents #because thats just the nature of kids! you have no promise that theyll be just like you!#theyre just their own little people! and you cant control that!#and hopefully. you come to accept that and love them regardless.#because theyre still just little people. they have no control over this. they need you to take care of them.#and thats okay actually.#...... also yeah it annoys me to no end when people make fankids and just. fuse the parents.#instead of having them be their own character with their own feelings and personality....#like! nah thats a whole ass other person! they came from these other two people but that doesnt mean shit!#also tbf i think miri and ravi would be THRILLED that virina would get annoyed by them sometimes #specifically in the sense of FUCK YES LOOK AT HOW FAR THEY'VE COME #they have reached the point where the habits that they developed out of necessity and a need to survive #are now just annoyances and no longer appropriate for the world they created together #THEY MADE IT. LOOK AT HOW GOOD THEY'VE DONE!!!#fully the type of moms to kiss all over virina's head and hug them to death while they squirm and whine that #MOOOOMS. YOU EMBARRASSING THEM.#what bliss to be embarrassing!!!

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hannahhook7744 · 4 months

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19 " Whatever's wrong with this family goes back a long ways " For The Badun Detective agency au ... Featuring Lampwick if you can squeeze him in !

Trigger warnings: Child death, dysfunctional families, murder, swearing, poor sleeping habits, etc.

——————————————————————————

“Uhh. What is wrong with this family?!” Jace growled in frustration, plopping down onto his sleeping bag in Carlos’ treehouse—where he and his cousin had been living since they were seven.

Harry just shrugged from his hammock, not looking up from the laptop he’d bribed Hunter de Vil into fixing. “I dunno. I suppose it depends on which family you’re talking about. The de vils or ours?”

The bigger boy gave him an unamused look. “ I mean ours.”

“Well, how was I supposed to know that? You could have been referring to either.”

“Stop being a smartass.”

“I would but I don’t think that that’s possible for me.”

Jace paused. Before groaning “You’re probably right about that. But that still doesn't answer my question.”

“Well, one thing’s for sure. Whatever’s wrong with this family goes back a looooooooong ways.” Harry replied, still not looking at him.

“What makes you say that?”

Now it was time for Harry to give him an unamused look. “The fact that both our fathers’ see nothing wrong with the fact that Cruella has murdered every sibling and mother figure either of us have ever had, along with several other people and animals. Oh and the fact that two of our ancestors—Harlow and Jacob Badun—were good ol’ Judge Dimsdale de Vil’s lackeys before they were killed during the witch trials.”

“What. the. Fuck—”

“Oh and the fact that our grandmother—Jezebel Badun, ‘nee Rossi— huh, Rossi, isn’t that, that Lampwick guy’s last name, we should look into—”

“Harry, focus. What’d our grandma that I didn’t even know we had do?”

“Oh. She murdered her husband.”

“Again, I must ask, what the fuck—”

“Oh and apparently her husband’s brother’s cousin’s son was an axe murderer—”

Jace quickly jumped to his feet and took the laptop from Harry.

“Hey!”

“Okay, that’s enough family tree researching for tonight and preferably forever.”

“But it was interesting—”

“No. It was horrifying and I, for one, do not want to hear anymore!”

“Not even about the time a pair of twin brothers married a pair of twin sisters and both had quintuplets who went on to murder each other as children in the 1700s?”

Jace grimaced. “ I especially do not want to know about that!”

“What about our great great twin aunts who were ladies of the night?”

“WHY WOULD I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THAT?!”

Harry, one again, just shrugged—causing Jace to narrow his eyes.

“Harry. When was the last time you slept for more than an hour?”

“...”

“Harry.”

“Uh…. I don’t think you want me to answer that.”

“Go to bed.”

“Why would I do that when I can tell you all about our wonderfully odd ancestors—like Joldwin, servant of, King Iōánnēs de Vil, who—”

“HARRY!”

“Okay, okay. I’ll go to bed. Jeez, you’re no fun!”

#descendants #disney descendants #melissa de la cruz #disney #wicked world #descendants au #disney descendants au #Jace Badun doesn't get paid enough for this #harry badun is unhinged #the badun detective agency #horrifying family history #the isle is hell #the united states of auradon is not perfect #etc

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linkspooky · 1 year

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What do you think about Teen Titans TV Series?

Best Cartoon ever created? Best Cartoon ever created.

I think the strongest thing about the Teen Titans Cartoon is that it's the most cartoon, to ever cartoon. The writers have gone on record by saying that their challenge was to always try to do the most creative thing possible with every episode, and the result we get is that it's this wild, unrestrained beast which uses the medium of cartoons to tell a story. In my opinion it's as hard hitting as like ATLA, Batman the Animated Series, etc. etc. but like it's made by people who are huge warner brothers cartoons nerds. There's scooby doo references! There's FLCL references! They do entire episodes where the goal is to animate the weirdest thing possible. It is just so unashamedly a cartoon and not trying to be what it is, like no wonder so many children got attached to this.

It's also essentially what everyone's introduction to the Teen Titans was, and the most popular team lineup nowadays.

So like there are two ways you can talk about it, as it's own show, and as an adaptation. As someone who has read every Teen Titans comic ever though, I do have some hot takes on it as an adaptation. UNDER THE CUT.

Number one: Donna Troy's character is missing, and there's a big Donna shaped hole in the team. I don't know if they just couldn't get the rights to Donna, or they couldn't make her work with the story they were going for but like Donna is actually super important to the team dynamic of the Titans. She's the one normal person, the babysitter, the mom.

People wonder why Starfire is so softened in this adaptation, and while I generally agree they rounded off the edges too much on Starfire to make her more palatable especially for kids I feel like Starfire had to have these rtaits of being the patient one, being the naive newcomer, being the one who always served as the therapist friend because Donna wasn't there, but the group needed SOMEONE to be the emotionally intelligent one. I'd say Starfire isn't really out of character so much as they grafted Donna's traits onto her and had her pulling double duty as being Starfire but serving Donna's role to the team, and to Dick Grayson.

Number Two: I don't actually think the Teen Titans cartoon character ruined Raven's character in modern comics. I think the fact that DC editing staff repeated the terror of trigon arc about, five times, until Raven was like double dead and they had no place left to take her character in fact ruined Raven's character.

Dc Editing staff has not figured out basically what they want Raven's character to look like post-trigon, where they would want her character to go, or what she would even act like having grown past the phase of her life where she has removed herself from Trigon's influence and it's shown by Raven basically being a non-character for the past ten years.

Marvel does the exact same thing with Jean Gray where they keep on recycling Dark Phoenix forever, and ever, and ever. I don't think Raven's character being empty is the fault of the titans cartoon, I think it's because they keep recycling her dark phoenix moment and don't know what to do past that. Like "They keep resetting Raven to a younger version of her character" that's not necessarily the fault of the cartoon either, they do that to Jean Gray. and it's cuz they wanna repeat Dark Phoenix / Terror of TRigon instead of just trying to move past that.

Number Three: So when it comes to individual character adaptation.

Robin: This is the best Dick Grayson adaptation, with the exception of the Live Action Titans show Dick Grayson. Dick suffers from what I like to call the "WanyeFamilyAdventures-ification" where people like to sand off all of his character flaws to make him a wholesome good boy. Dick was an angry little kid for a long time, like Batman turning into him into a sidekick and Bruce's like really overbearing controlling nature did a number on Dick and he's a way more compelling character when he's working through those issues then when people skip straight to NIght Wing and make him "The Good Robin."

Also, like Dick Grayson is always better in Titans adaptations bar none. I wonder why. It's almost like he's a Teen Titans character and that's where his good development is.

Cyborg: Cyborg is probably the most accurate to his comic book counterpart, the only thing they really cut out was his interactions with his father, and his connection to the city he grew up in which are important but like they were superheroes most of the time in this show. Cyborg just has like a really strong disability representation narrative which has always been a big part of his character and how he stands out. On top of that they do a lot of focus on Cyborg's flaws and his own personal narrative how like unlike most of the other characters he was a completely normal kid, and he had his life thrown off by his life altering accident and now he is still trying to grow up and gain some semblance of his life back. And like living with prosthesis is not the end of the world to him because he figures out he can still live just like everybody else, his life can be just as fulfilling before the accident. The fact that Cyborg is just kind of a normal kid who went through a horrible accident, but chooses to do good and become a hero makes him one of the more compelling and down to earth characters. Cyborg's all about his emotions too,he's like the most driven, the most in a hurry to grow up, the most argumentative he's cool.

Starfire - I mean I kind of explained why, but Starfire is the character who suffered the most from the adaptation. Especially since she's the only character who doesn't get a season. If you want to watch a more comics accurate Starfire, who still keeps her traits of being the loving, emotional, heart of the group while having a much rougher exterior then please watch the Live Action Titans on HBOMAX.

Beast Boy - Actually pretty accurate, I like to bully Beast Boy so don't take this too seriously, but Beast Boy is like if Dick Grayson was more annoying and whiny. Beast Boy is an essential member of the team, but he's not the smartest, not the strongest, not the most driven. He's kind of completely necessary because you need one person on the team of children who acts like an actual kid. Beast Boy's weird immature bullshit is actually just as important as the other character's issues, and this Beast Boy especially gets two seasons sort of since his character is so tied to Terra. The only thing that I'm sad they cut out is Beast Boy's trauma from losing the doom patrol is so interesting in New Teen Titans and such an important part of his character for a long time, it's a little bit sad they cut out his really bad depression.

Raven - I don't knooooooooooooow. The thing is I don't know if you could have done a comics accurate adaptation of Raven as a character. Raven in the comics is like such a slow burner character. For the longest time she barely interacts with the team she just like teleports in and out. When she starts living with the team she has no relationship to anybody besides Jericho until like, way past the Terror of Trigon arc. If you wnted to do a cartoon that is about the dynamic of the whole team, where every character consistently shows up every episode, where they have to get in group fights, those traits of Raven would not have fit well at all.

Like, adaptations sometimes have to make changes. However, I think Raven's character is actually a lot more in spirit of the original character than people give her credit for. Like I've said in othe rposts Raven is Jean Grey. What you need to get right about her, is that she is a heavily abuse and isolated child who believes deep down she is evil, and she will hurt people if she ever loses that carefully managed control of herself. If you keep that core to her character I believe you have essentially captured the spirit of her character. Characters aren't just like personality traits, they're also themes, and the most important theme of all to Raven is a young girl told she wasn't even allowed to exist, and that her birth is a sin reclaiming agency over herself and learning how to live. Teen Titans has that and so you have a character that is true to the spirit of the character if not a 1:1 adaptation.

Terra - This is probably the best adaptation of Judas Contract. Yes, I know Terra in the cartoon is way more sympathetic than comics Terra but like, a twelve year old cannot process comic book Tara Markov, grooming victim, sociopath, hater and still see those sympathetic traits. I think once again the spirit of the character, rather than a 1:1 adaptation.

I read an interview somewhere where, the gist of what they said was the creators also didn't want Terra to quit the team, or fail at the end of her arc. But, some people aren't meant to be heroes. That is who Terra is at the core of her character. She's not necessarily a bad person, she just couldn't make it as a hero. Terra's self involved, and unempathic, and hurts a lot of people but at the same time her life is genuinely hard, and she was groomed by Slade and all of these things make Terra a mess.

I think one thing that the cartoon nails is number one Terra is a fake human being TM. Basically no matter who she is around, Terra is never presenting her real self to anyone. Terra's personality changes wildly depending on who she is with, when she's with Beast Boy she acts like a normal kid, when she's with Raven she's catty and mean spirited, when she is with Slade she's conniving and manipualtive, there's like no consistency between any of these identities because Terra is in constant survival mode. She is just a runaway kid who is saying and doing anything to live to the next moment because she's had no stability in her entire life.

Number two, is that Terra does not trust anyone, ever. Terra is exactly the kind of person who would blow up over a little betrayal of thinking Beast Boy told someone else about her powers, because like I said she is in survival mode. She is constantly expecting that betrayal coming and trying to make herself ready for it. In fact, I think from Terra's point of view the Teen Titans betrayed her to begin with. The night that Terra betrayed the Titans, she makes it sound like Beast Boy is the one who betrayed her by breaking his promise to her to always accept her and be her friend no matter what happens. That's insane because obviously he'd be mad at her for letting Slade get the access codes to the tower, and distracting Beast Boy while he attacked all of his friends. but like...!! In Terra's weird little head it makes sense. Terra can't really see the consequences of her actions because she's always reacting to things. She literally cannot decide things or choose things for herself, so it's almost easier to do what Slade wants of her because number one the way Slade treats her alligns with Terra's idea of what relatinoships are, based on transaction and not trust. Number two, he at least introduces some kind of control in her life, whereas the easy trust the titans share with one another is something she's to scared to belive in.

So yes, I think cartoon Terra is different than comics Terra and I definitely like comics Terra better but I don't think it's a bad adaptation of the character at all. I also don't want to fault the show for not being like the comic books, it's an adaptation it's supposed to make changes.

#teen titans #new teen titans #raven #beast boy #robin #cyborg #terra #tara markov #starfire #dc asks #askspookies #teen titans meta

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foundtherightwords · 1 year

Text

The Quiet Chaos - Chapter 1

Pairing: Billy Knight (Lethal White/Strike) x OFC

Summary: After a bad breakup throws her carefully-planned life into disarray, Esme has sworn off dating forever. However, when she forms an unexpected connection with a young man named Billy, who's dealing with his own struggles, Esme is forced to face the truth: sometimes you can't plan for love.

A/N: I had the hardest time writing this because it's not my usual fare of slow-burn angsty pining - there is angst, and it is kind of slow-burn, but the characters get together pretty quickly and spend most of the fic figuring out their relationship, which is not my forte at all. Ah well, it was a fun challenge.

Also, there are a lot of references to Discworld in this. I wanted to weave the Uffington White Horse into the story and my mind just immediately went to the chalk horse in the Tiffany Aching books, and it sort of spiraled from there. I tried not to let it distract from the story too much though.

Warnings: mental health issues, angst, slow-burn, developing relationship, dysfunctional family, some violence (non-graphic), some smut

Chapter word count: 2.4k

Chapter 1 - Billy

Is there anything lonelier than working the night shift at a not particularly busy 24-hour veterinarian clinic? Esme thought to herself as she made the rounds of the kennels. The clinic was a small one, so they never kept more than three or four animals overnight at the most, and that night, there was only a gray tabby cat, recovering from his recent surgery and looking rather glum about it. A roll of thunder in the distance, signaling rain, did little to lift his mood. "Cheer up, Monty," Esme told him, giving his ear a little stroke. "You'll be going home tomorrow."

Well, I suppose being the night guard at a museum may be lonelier, she admitted. Or a lighthouse keeper. Or working at a morgue. In fact, there are loads more jobs that are lonelier. But somehow, sharing her night with a living, breathing creature, one that she could talk to but couldn't answer back, made Esme more aware of how alone she was. Then again, if there was another person here with her, she knew she would soon get bored with the chit-chatting and wish for some peace and quiet again.

She used to love the night shift. She could use that as an excuse not to go out with her ex, Neil. "Sorry, I can't go out tonight, I have the night shift "or" Sorry, I just worked the night shift, I'm knackered." Of course, she didn't like the night shift just because of that. She had always enjoyed being on her own, doing things at her own pace. Neil's idea of being a couple was to go out constantly, to bars and restaurants and events and parties. When they first started dating, his sophistication had dazzled her, but after a while, it had become exhausting. However, if Esme suggested they went to something quieter like the theater or a museum, or, God forbid, stayed in, he would moan the whole time about how boring it was. Eventually, she stopped suggesting and started signing up for more night shifts just to have some time to herself. Still, as the nights stretched on and she was stuck in the empty clinic, sometimes it could feel as though she was the last person on earth.

Esme sighed at her own contradictoriness and reminded herself she has nothing to fill her nights anyway. Curl up with a book? She could do that here, on the threadbare sofa in the employee's lounge. Unpack the rest of her things? When she moved into the new flat four months ago, her parents had insisted she took with her some of the decorations and knick-knacks she'd left at home, though Esme kept saying she had no room for them. Now they still languished in boxes in the storage shed, a reminder of an old life. No, better to stay here, enjoying the company of the animals, knowing that she was keeping them safe, and wishing there wasn't going to be an emergency more serious than a dog that had eaten something it shouldn't.

But it didn't look like it was going to be one of those nights.

Esme was fixing the few things scattered on the front desk - the sign-in pad, the pen, the bowl of pick-and-mix - making them line up perfectly, when the front door slammed open and a man burst in, a dog cradled in his arms. "Help, please!" he shouted. "She's hurt!"

Esme jumped into action. The dog, a little mongrel of white and brown, was panting and whining in a way Esme knew too well, one of her back legs dangling at an unnatural angle and already swelling up. "What happened?" Esme asked.

"I just found her," the man said. "She must've been hit by a car..."

Esme took the dog from him. Now she noticed the dirty, matted fur, the protruding ribs, the gunk-filled eyes, and the lack of a collar. A stray. "Don't worry," she said, both to the dog and the man, who was looking frantic.

She rushed the dog into the operating room. The man trailed after her. "Would you mind waiting outside, please?" she asked.

He automatically took a step back, but kept wringing his hands and shifting his weight, fighting the urge to follow her.

"We'll take good care of her," she said reassuringly. Then, remembering that there was no one here but her, she corrected herself, "I will."

The dog, apparently frightened by the smells and sight of the operating room, started wriggling, her whines becoming more high-pitched as her broken leg brushed against Esme's arm. The man stepped in and put out a hand. The dog quieted down the moment his hand was on her. Esme threw him a surprised look.

"Sorry—I'm—" he mumbled.

"No, it's alright," Esme said. She was glad for the help. She gently moved the dog to the operating table, sedated her, and felt the fracture. Seemed to be a closed one, which was good, but she took an X-ray to be sure anyway. Then, while the man kept stroking the dog, his touch soft and soothing, Esme quickly set the bone and put it in a cast.

"There," she said, once the cast was finished. "She's young, so it shouldn't take long to heal. Thank you for your help."

The man nodded, still looking anxious. "What'll happen to her?" he asked.

Esme peered more closely at him. He was younger than she'd thought at first, probably in his late twenties, but despite a scruffy beard, there was still something boyish in his large brown eyes and tousled dark hair. He seemed strangely skittish, however - his eyes kept darting to hers and then away again, unable to hold the contact, and he carried himself rather stiffly. For a moment, she wondered if he was on some kind of drugs, neurodivergent, or perhaps simply shy.

"Once her fracture heals, we'll give her a once-over to make sure she's healthy and check if she's micro-chipped," she answered. "But she's most likely a stray, so she'll go to a rescue center."

He lifted his eyes to her face briefly, questioningly. Esme thought she understood the concern. "You don't have to worry about the bill," she said. "We get help from local animal charities for situations like this."

But the man shook his head. "No, will they—are they going to—I've heard that they put animals down at those places," he muttered.

"Oh." His concern warmed Esme's heart. Most people wouldn't even take the time to bring in a stray, let alone worry about their future. "Not if she's healthy. They'll find her a good home."

That seemed to reassure him. He nodded again and hesitated at the door, apparently unsure if he should stay or go.

"Thank you for bringing her in," Esme said. The man noted the final air of her words and turned to go, while she lifted the dog into a crate.

As she did so, Esme noticed the dog's pink, swollen teats. "Oh, no," she exclaimed.

The man turned back. "What is it?" he asked, looking stressed again.

"This dog is nursing," Esme said, her heart sinking. "She has puppies."

As if to add more drama to the situation, the thunder chose that moment to let out a low rumble. Rain was coming. Heavy rain. Small puppies would not survive in this weather without shelter.

"Where did you find her?" she asked the man. "Is it far?"

"No, just down the road, near Aldersbrook..."

Esme grabbed a carrier from the shelf, dug under the front desk for a torch, and shrugged her coat on. "Show me."

The man hung back, an uncertain look mixed with something else—Fear? Distrust?—crossed his face. "Why? What are you going to do?"

"We need to find the puppies before the rain comes."

He looked around the clinic. "But—what if there's an emergency..."

"This is an emergency. Come on!"

***

It started pouring down by the time they reach Aldersbrook Lane, one of those small, seedy-looking alleys that ran behind warehouses and blocks of cheap flats, ending at a railway bridge. "Right here," the man said. "I found her crawling on the road, dragging her leg."

"She must've left the puppies to look for food," Esme said, or, rather, shouted over the roar of the rain and the thunder. "But she wouldn't go too far. So they should be around here."

She strained her ear, listening for the sound of puppies crying, but the rain was drowning out even her own thoughts. Rain plastered her already lank hair to her head and ran down the collar of her coat in cold, clammy rivulets. She wondered what she was doing here, on a darkened road, in a storm, with a stranger who didn't seem all there. But, she reasoned with herself, anyone who brought an injured stray dog to a vet can't be untrustworthy.

A stale odor assaulted Esme's nostrils as they neared the railway bridge. A brook, or the remnant of one, which gave the lane its name, ran under the bridge, almost dry and choked with rubbish. The noise of the storm lessened here, and Esme thought she heard something, a soft whimpering. She swept the torch over the rubbish.

"There!" the man shouted, grabbing her arm to still the beam of the torch. "You see?"

She squinted. Indeed, under a milk crate turned on its side, she caught a glimpse of movement, something white and small. The poor mother dog had made a den out of rags and old newspaper inside the crate, right on top of an islet of rubbish. While the brook remained dry, she and her puppies were safe, but with the storm, the water was rising fast, and the puppies would drown.

Esme looked down the brook, chewing her lip. The brook bed was deep, and the slimy surface showing here and there amongst the rubbish looked treacherous. It might hold some small dogs, but she was certain it would not hold her. Perhaps she could reach them from the bank...

"Hold my hand," she said to the man, handing him the torch. "I'll try to reach them."

"Are—are you sure?"

"I don't want to risk climbing down there and sinking up to my armpits in slime. If you hold my hand and I lean down, I could reach them." When he still looked unsure, she turned to face him. "I trust you, alright? What's your name?"

"Billy." The answer came hesitantly, as though he wasn't used to people asking him his name.

"OK, Billy, I'm Esme." She took his hand and gave it a brief but firm shake. His grip was strong, his hand surprisingly warm. "Now let's save some puppies."

With Billy holding her left hand and keeping the torch fixed on the crate, Esme scrambled down the steep bank and leaned over as far as she could, while still keeping her feet on solid ground. She managed to hook her fingertips to the crate. A chorus of yelps from inside confirmed that it was indeed where the puppies were. She strained, drawing it closer until she could reach her hand in and pull out a warm, squirming bundle of soft fur. She passed the first one to Billy, who placed it in the carrier. One, two, three, four. The puppies were so young their eyes weren't even opened yet, but they soon snuggled down into the warmth of the carrier and lay still.

"Is that all?" Billy asked.

"I think so," Esme replied, running her hand over the milk crate once more to make sure. "Yeah, that's all." She started climbing back up the bank.

"Wait," Billy said, putting up a hand. "I still hear something."

Esme struggled to listen. Thankfully, the puppies in the carrier had gone quiet, but she still couldn't hear anything. "I don't—"

"Shh! There!"

Now she heard it—a tiny cry, weaker than the others. Following the beam of the torch, she noticed a stirring under some crisp packets, further away from where the milk crate was, close to the middle of the brook, where some of the rubbish was getting swept away by the rising water. She and Billy formed a human chain again, but this time, the straggler was too far. Esme's entire torso was hanging over the brook, with only the tip of her shoes gripping the bank. She could feel Billy struggling to hold on to her other hand. She clicked her fingers and made suckling sounds with her pursed lips, trying to entice the puppy closer. "Come on, little fella... Come join your brothers and sisters... Your mum's waiting..."

Finally, a black nose poked out from under the crisp packet, followed by a brindle body, no bigger than her palm. Esme made a grab for the puppy, just as her fingers slip out of Billy's hand, and the rubbish-covered bed of the brook loomed toward her at an alarming speed—

—only for Billy to snatch her wrist and haul her to her feet.

For a moment, Esme could only stand there and gasp for breath, glad of the firm ground under her feet. Then she became aware that Billy's arms were around her, and she had one hand on his chest, staring into his eyes, with the puppy squished between them. She scooted back, while Billy also looked away, his hands twitching at his sides. Bending down to hide her flushed face, Esme placed the puppy into the carrier with its brethren and zipped it up.

The moment they walked in through the door of the kennel room, the mother dog sat up in her crate, alert, her tail thumping like crazy. The yelps from the carrier rose to a deafening crescendo, and the mum tried to get to her feet. "OK, OK, here you go, don't hurt yourself again," Esme said, placing the puppies into the crate. The mum sniffed them, then gave them a good lick, and finally, satisfied, lay down with her babies. Esme smiled up at Billy, who was watching the dogs with a riveted expression.

"We did it," she told him. He smiled back at her, a brief and uncertain smile, yet it still lit up his whole face, like the sun peeking out from behind the clouds.

Chapter 2

Taglist: @quinnypixie (if you want to be tagged, just send me a message!)

#billy knight #billy knight strike #cb strike #billy knight fic #billy knight x ofc #joseph quinn #joseph quinn fic #joseph quinn character

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idsfantasy · 4 months

Text

Summary:

At one year old, Vash knew he aged faster than humans, and had tried to come to terms with the fact that he would probably die well before any of the humans he met.

He didn't anticipate just how wrong that assessment was.

Vash knew that, as Independents, he and Kni were different from humans. Like any Plant, they had gates (though Vash still hadn’t figured out how to use his, if he even could at all), and had special markings that only appeared under certain kinds of light or when using their powers to talk to other Plants. It just so happened that, according to Rem, the twins looked and acted like they were relatively normal, eight year-old, human children.

Which, of course, was part of the whole ‘different from humans’ deal given the two were only a year old.

Not that it bothered Vash much. He’d heard about human infants from Rem, and he was more than happy that he could actually understand and enjoy the life he was living. He couldn’t imagine having to eat just mushy baby food for so long! He might actually understand Kni’s dislike of eating if they had to do that.

But even if Kni teased Vash for not acting like a Plant, it wasn’t as though Vash didn’t know he was one. It just didn’t really feel like it mattered.

At least it didn’t until one night at dinner, Kni looked up from his largely untouched plate, and asked, “Rem, since we age faster than humans, how long are we going to live?”

“I don’t know, Kni,” Rem said. “Dependent Plants have longer lifespans than humans-”

“But you said we’ve been growing faster than humans,” Kni interrupted, “and the dependent Plants don’t seem to age at all.”

As the implication of Kni’s statement set in, Vash felt his fork slide from his grasp and clatter to his plate. Eyes wide, Vash whipped his head up from his meal to face Rem, who inhaled sharply, her smile strained and fading.

“I don’t know,” she said again. “The only real reference for long-term Plant aging we have are the dependent Plants, but-”

“But we’re different from them, and the bulbs keep them alive! What if being independent is why we’re growing so much?” Kni said, and Vash could hear the note of worry in his voice. “Are we just going to age fast forever until we die in a few years?”

“Wait, what if we never get to see the planet? What if we die before we can even wake anyone up?” Vash’s voice cracked as he added his questions to his brother’s, his heart pounding faster and faster as thoughts of the future flew through his mind. “And what about you? If we don’t stop aging fast, we’ll die, and you’ll be alone-”

“Oh, boys…” Rem quickly stood from her seat, made her way around the small table to stand behind the two Independents, who immediately turned to face her as she rested a hand on each of their shoulders. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I promise, it’s going to be okay. Sometimes…sometimes even humans don’t live as long as others, but that doesn’t mean that the time they do have isn’t precious. No matter if you live as long as a human or less, your lives have meaning. Don’t ever doubt that.”

Then, Rem pulled both Vash and Kni into a tight hug, but not before Vash saw the start of tears in her eyes.

After that conversation, Vash had consigned himself to the fact that he and his brother likely weren’t going to live as long as the humans on the ship.

And then they discovered Tesla.

And then there was The Fall.

And then Vash was found by the crew of Ship 3.

A member of the crew, Luida, recognized him as an Independent (though she was the only one who seemed to know what that was), and Vash was locked in a cell by a crew that didn’t know what to do with him. He didn’t know what to do with himself either. He didn’t eat, except for when the hunger got too fierce, and marked the days that went by on the wall. Ticking down the days to where his rapid aging may end his life before the hunger or the humans did.

Vash had spent nearly a third of his life in the cell before he was able to earn their trust by saving one of the Plants, and finally Vash knew that he had a purpose. He couldn’t generate electricity, or water, or food, or any other useful resource, but he could at least make sure his sisters were healthy enough to do it in his stead. He started helping other crashed ships with their Plants, and the crew of Ship 3 became something like a family.

Then his role in The Fall was discovered and Vash ran. He found Kni, only to lose him once again, along with his left arm. A left arm that Brad, the very man whose accusation of betrayal caused Vash to run, replaced as an apology.

“It’s a bit clunky, but it should work as a temporary solution. Just let me know if it has any issues,” Brad said as he watched Vash flex the fingers of the prosthetic. “We’ll need to replace it in the next few months after all, what with you sprouting up like a weed any time we look away.”

Vash let out a soft laugh at that. “Guess I’ve hit my growth spurt.”

“You only just hit it now?” Brad scoffed and shook his head. “What do you call the last two years then?”

Vash looked down at the new arm and felt his smile dim slightly. He didn’t like to think about his age. When it was just him, Rem, and Kni (Knives?), it wasn’t as though Vash had any other kids to look to as a reference other than his twin, who was growing up at the same rapid pace as him.

Now, at Home, there were human children out of cryosleep. Not many, but enough to where Vash was very aware of how he went from being something close to their peer to something nearly adult before any of them hit puberty. Sure, his aging was apparently slowing down, something Luida confirmed from what she remembered about Independents, but in spite of whatever relief he felt at knowing he wasn’t going to be dead in a few years from his body’s aging, he still felt the separation.

As an Independent, and one that had human needs at that, he was already too human to be a proper Plant, but his aging made it clear that he was too much of a Plant to be human either. The kids didn’t mind too much when playing with him, less than the teenagers who knew he was a little kid only a couple years ago did anyway, but it made something in Vash’s stomach twist. He knew that the only people actually his age on the ship were barely grown up enough to start preschooling, but whenever one of the kids he’d been playing hide and seek with only a year ago started treating him differently because he looked older than he used to, Vash felt as though it created another layer of distance between them.

“You’ve got a point there,” Vash finally said before the pause could get too long. He looked back up at Brad, making sure to fix his smile more firmly on his face.

“Of course I do,” Brad said with a smirk, though…was that a hint of concern in his expression? “Anyway, we’ll get you fitted for a new one in a couple months. I should be able to figure out some of what works and what doesn’t by then. Can’t have you go telling people I made you that thing only for it to not work. That would be bad for my reputation.”

“Of course,” Vash said, his smile becoming a bit more genuine.

By the time Vash turned six, he was taller than most of the humans he met, and the majority of the people he ran into recognized him as and treated him like a full grown adult. A young one, sure, and he’d overheard plenty of comments about his childishness, but in his defense, the other kids his age were much more childish than he was.

In any case, he looked like an adult, acted (mostly) like an adult, and could handle himself on his own. As such, rather than having Brad take time away from important projects at Home to chaperone Vash on his trips to heal the Plants, Vash began making the journeys between crash sites and budding towns on his own. He still stopped by Home occasionally, but as he met more and more people in more and more places, the gaps between his visits grew longer and longer.

With how much traveling he was doing, it was understandable that he hadn’t really noticed. It wasn’t as though he kept track of time, as he was mostly busy trying to get to dying Plants before Kni did, and with him not staying in one place for long, it wasn’t as though Vash had any long-term references to compare himself to.

Because of this, Vash didn’t notice just how much his aging had slowed until he returned Home and realized that the same kids he’d played with when he’d first been let out of the cell weren’t kids anymore.

In fact, they looked older than him.

“Vash, is everything okay?” Luida asked when she noticed him standing frozen in the hall, watching one of his former playmates walk by.

Luida herself was showing signs of aging, something Vash hadn’t really paid much attention to with how he wasn’t often around to notice in the first place. Vash had expected that he would look older than her by the time her hair started to go grey.

Vash turned to face her and asked, “How long has it been since The Fall?”

“It’s been about twenty-seven years,” Luida replied, though her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, highlighting the wrinkles Vash could see beginning to form on her forehead. “Why do you ask?”

Vash inhaled sharply, and looked over at his reflection in the clean metal of the ship walls. Maybe it was because he was similar enough to humans in how he looked and acted, but when he’d found out his aging had slowed, he had assumed that it would eventually just reach human levels. Looking at himself now though, his face looking just the same as it had when he’d turned six years old, he realized that he never should have assumed that to be the case.

A dependent Plant’s maximum natural lifespan wasn’t completely known. They could be pushed beyond their limit, causing their energy to dry up, but even then Vash knew that every Plant on this planet was well over 200 years old. He knew that Plants lived much, much longer than humans.

Vash was different from the dependent Plants, but maybe Vash wasn’t different in this.

Maybe Vash wasn’t going to die before the humans he’d come to consider family. They’d die decades, maybe centuries, before him.

“Vash!”

Vash flinched away from the sudden pressure on his shoulder, and his head whipped around to face Luida. He processed her outstretched hand and concerned expression the same instant he realized just how heavily he was breathing.

Vash took a deep breath and forced a smile. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you.”

Luida’s concern remained, though she lowered her hand and smiled back at him. “That’s alright, Vash. But why did you ask how long it’s been? Is there something bothering you?”

Vash didn’t bother to hide his frown, and looked back down the hall. If his suspicions were correct, Vash could be around for decades, centuries beyond any human’s natural lifespan. He loved his sisters, but he couldn’t connect with them the same way he could connect with humans, he was too Independent for that, and Kni…

Kni wanted to destroy humanity, and Vash just couldn’t go along with that. Life was precious, human and Plant. No one had the right to determine who should live or die. Kni however, clearly disagreed. Kni caused the ships to crash, mercilessly killed the humans he considered a plague, and while Vash hadn’t caught him in the act, he had heard of Plants going missing from some developing towns shortly before he arrived to help his sisters who were in pain, dooming the towns to deterioration. Bodies sliced to pieces were left in the kidnapper’s wake, and Vash couldn’t think of anyone other than Kni who would do something like that. Kni was the only living being on this planet who could perfectly relate to Vash, but also he couldn’t relate at all.

Vash had taken some degree of solace in his connections to humanity, but in time, the people he loved would be gone. He had already lost Rem, and it had nearly torn him apart. How could he possibly handle centuries worth of this?

“Vash, please,” Luida’s voice cut through his thoughts and Vash snapped back to reality. She had moved to stand in front of Vash, both hands placed firmly on his shoulders. He wondered when she had done that. “Please, let me help you.”

It was then that Vash noticed he was crying. Blinking furiously, he hastily scrubbed the moisture from his face and broke eye contact with the older woman.

“Vash, please tell me what’s wrong,” Luida insisted, her voice brimming with worry.

Vash took a deep breath. “I don’t think…I don’t think I’m aging at all anymore.”

Luida’s eyes widened in realization, and the pressure from her hands on Vash’s shoulders let up slightly. “Oh.”

Without thinking, Vash found his hands curling over hers, the added pressure on his shoulders anchoring him and his thoughts. He returned her gaze and took a shuddering breath as his train of thought threatened to spiral into worst case scenarios, centuries into a lonely, empty future.

“What if I have the lifespan of a dependent Plant?” Vash whispered, and he felt the burn of tears behind his eyes start up again. “I don’t want to die early, but I can’t…I don’t know if I can handle outliving anyone else.”

He didn’t have to mention who he’d already lost for Luida to understand. The crew of the former Ship 3 may have survived The Fall, but she’d had a knack for empathizing with others as long as Vash had known her, and Luida was well aware of how much Rem meant to the Independent. She had seen just how badly it had shattered him, and had eventually helped him pick up the pieces.

Melancholy moved over the older woman’s face, though it wasn’t long before it was accompanied by resolve. “I have been considering making use of cryosleep, partly because it would allow me to work on my projects with the flora over a longer scope of time without having to worry about dying of old age before they can grow. If I did, I would leave instructions for the others to wake me up if I’m asleep when you come by. While I can’t speak for Brad, I’d be surprised if he wasn’t willing to do the same. It would have its limits, but do you think that would help?”

Vash stared at her, eyes wide as he processed Luida’s words. “You would do that?”

Luida smiled. “I suggested it, didn’t I?”

Then her grip on Vash loosened. Vash instinctively leaned forward, chasing the touch as her hands pulled away, but he didn’t have time to second guess his body’s movement as he quickly found himself pulled into a firm hug. After a brief pause, Vash slowly, but tightly wrapped his arms around Luida in return, bending down slightly to bury his face in her hair as his tears fell and his breaths heaved into sobs.

“I’m sorry,” Vash gasped, though he couldn’t bring himself to let go of her. “I shouldn’t ask you to-”

“Vash, no,” Luida murmured, her voice soothing his fraying nerves as she held him tighter. “You don’t need to apologize for this.”

Vash disagreed. If Luida did use cryosleep to match his lifespan more closely, she’d just be joining him in leaving the people she knew behind if they didn’t do the same. She would outlive her friends. Her children. All for the sake of a broken Independent who couldn’t bear to be alone.

But Vash didn’t say any of that out loud. He couldn’t deny her that choice, just as he couldn’t deny the relief he felt because of it. So instead, Vash buried the guilt beside the rest, and let himself cry in Luida’s embrace.

#trigun stampede #trigun #vash the stampede #trigun vash #trigun fanfiction #millions knives #rem saverem #luida trigun #brad trigun #trigun plants #angst #hurt/comfort #the existential dread of knowing you'll outlive someone else #and vice versa #bittersweet ending #cuz vash refuses to let himself have nice things without feeling guilty about it #fanfiction #fanfic

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runawaymarbles · 1 year

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Hi I am here Asking About Your Parents' Bunnies as requested

🐇💕💕

(For those who didn't see it: i reblogged a poll that asked people whether they got their pets from breeders, pet stores, shelters or somewhere else.)

The Story Of My Parents' Bunnies goes thusly:

🐇when he was a grad student, after he met my mom but before they were dating, my father got a baby bunny he named Roxanne. I don't know where from; my guess is a pet store. He then proceeded to call my mom and say that he had a baby bunny, did she want to come meet her?

🐇🐇 my mom did in fact want to meet my dad's baby bunny. Fast forward several years and they are married and going to an annual Christmas party. The host's son-- since moved out-- had a bunny named Roger, who lived on his parents' deck. My mom, who is not fond of crowds, would spend the party out on the deck talking to the bunny. One year the hosts just sent Roger home with her.

🐇🐇eventually Roxanne died. Roger was very mopey about it, and my parents thought he was depressed. So they got another bunny from a shelter of some kind (I believe) and named him Zoloft. I did not get this joke for another ten years.

🐇🐇🐇at the time there was an amazing rabbit vet nearby, who was also the vet for the buns at the Rabbit Rescue. "They have this cute bunny named Timmy," the vet told my mom. "You should really meet Timmy." My mother, of course, went to visit Timmy, and held him for a while. She was relaying this to my dad who said something like "wait, you were HOLDING Timmy???" as he realized that no matter what she claimed, Timmy was definitely coming to live with us. Timmy came to live with us. He is best remembered for walking (not hopping) on linoleum and eating animal crackers.

🐇🐇Zoloft died somewhere in here, idr exactly when

🐇🐇🐇There was a also a little grey bunny at the Rabbit Rescue that ended up coming home around that time; my mom named her Elizabeth Cady Stanton because she "lived in a male-dominated hutch." Cady was very sweet until she was spayed and after that she was kind of a jerk tbh. But we loved her.

🐇🐇🐇🐇 my mom is something similar to a social worker, and when I was in first grade, the mom on one of her cases was arrested. She went over there to help figure out where all the kids could stay, and discovered they had a bunny in a little cage, with no food. (The family had themselves rescued this bunny from the upstairs neighbor, who kept him in a hamster ball.) So when my mom got all the kids sorted she also got the bunny sorted. By taking it with her.

Ben was referred to as "the dependent bunny" by the office for the rest of forever. The office was Not Thrilled. But the kids weren't able/that interested in taking care of him: I don't know what happened, exactly, but my mom stayed on the case and Ben lived with us until he died ten years later.

That bunny was a genius and a chaos gremlin. He knew exactly where he wasn't supposed to be and dedicated his time to getting into them. One of his greatest hits was pushing an empty cardboard box up against the baby gate, using it as a step, clearing the baby gate and eating my homework.

^This is Ben towards the end of his life when he started to need baths.

🐇🐇🐇Roger and Timmy died (Roger was 12!! Timmy was only 5. Sob.) so it was just Ben and Cady at home when my mom met yet another bunny at the Rabbit Rescue when she went in to collect her usual 40 pound bag of litter. She had one stand-up ear and one floppy ear and head butted my mom when she stopped petting her and you all know where this is going but could you say no to this face??

Neither could my mom. This was Daisy Mae. We didn't meet a bunny Ben couldn't get along with until her. My dad had to build a new bunny condo with a divider down the middle. After Cady died we spent years trying to get Ben and Daisy to live together; it worked for a little while, but they had a tumultuous and bloody divorce that in separate incidents sent each of them to the vet and my mother to the ER.

🐇🐇🐇 A year or so after The Divorce, my friend called me up to say that her sister had adopted a bunny for 4H, but also wanted to show him at ARBA, and he didn't qualify for both so she was going to adopt this one out and get a different bunny....... and did we want to come meet this one? "We are not bringing him home," my mother said. "We are definitely not bringing him home." "That's okay," said my friend's mom. "We can just take him to the humane society." ...anyway, my mom named the bunny Lionel Messi because he was a) a lionhead b) fast as fuck and c) a slob.

(^ Lio circa 2015)

🐇🐇🐇🐇PJ Funny Bunny and Smokey the Hare came from the animal shelter my mom started buying litter from after she had a falling out with the woman who owned the Rabbit Rescue. In a truly smooth move by the owner, when we came by to say hi to the two bunnies that had come in, the owner said "oh I thought you were taking them with you" when we tried to leave empty-handed. My mom kind of bluescreened for a minute and...the rabbits ended up in the car. PJ Funny Bunny was so named because he didn't like carrots, and Smokey was grey and we thought we were funny. Neither of them lived more than a couple years after that but we aren't going into the sad parts of this story thankyouverymuch. PJ had a pedigree, which we always thought was hilarious. We pretended he was a snob about it.

🐇🐇🐇 Frankie came from that same shelter a couple years later. He'd had a bladder infection, which my mom had noticed and brought to the attention of the owner: You Won't Believe What Happened Next. We named him Frankie because he had blue eyes. This bunny was an absolute delight. This was the spring before my freshman year of college, and I seriously contemplated bringing him with me since my parents were not sold on an additional bunny at the time. I didn't, which was good, because he pretty much keeled over right at the beginning of my freshman year. (We stopped going to that shelter after that, given the track record.)

(^Frankie)

🐇Daisy died around that same time, so then my parents just had Lio, and they were thinking, maybe Lio will be the last bunny. Frankie's death was pretty devastating, and I wasn't living at home anymore and they wanted to travel, and it's easier to get a pet sitter for a dog than a bunny, and the bunny hutch takes up a big chunk of the kitchen they maybe they wanted to use for other things.

🐇🐇They lived under this illusion for several years, until one of their friends said that their neighbors had found a baby dutch bunny under a car on the street. Due to the timing we think he was an Easter bunny that got dumped a couple months later. "We will only keep it if it's a girl," my parents said, because that would make it more likely that the bunny would get along with Lio. The bunny was not a girl. "We will only keep him if he gets along with Lio," they said. The bunny did not get along with Lio. They kept him anyway. His name is Tricksy Belted, a play on Trixie Beldon, because he's a belted dutch bunny. He is the sweetest bunny in the word and that is a scientific fact.

🐇🐇A few weeks after Lio died (at age, like, 11) my parents thought that maybe Tricksy should have a friend. So in 2020 just before lockdown they went and got a bunny On Purpose for the first time since they adopted Zoloft in 1998. Her name is Tosh, and she came from a rabbit rescue that got shut down in 2023 for being crazy overcrowded.

And that's where we are currently.

#asks #bunnies #pets #my family #this is much longer than I thought it'd be #the important thing to know is that the fruit bowl lives on top of the bunny hutch #and they do demand a banana tax #op #anons

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releasemefromthevoid · 2 months

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MY ATLA LIVE ACTION S1E8 THOUGHTS

EP7

Alright guys, this is the end of it. Not gonna lie, I thought this was a little… underwhelming. They’re focusing a lot on the aftermath of a battle, which could be cool if done correctly. I wasn’t that into it.

At the very least, this episode, the visuals went crazy! We had the red color grading when Tui was captured, and the monochrome gray with the specific highlights when she was dead. La’s possession of the Avatar looked incredible as well. They sold it as a fairly awe-inspiring moment, but I think this moment was undermined a little in other ways.

I think there are a lot of little inconsistencies throughout the show that really culminated here. Some of my worries were resolved, but some of them really weren’t.

In any case, I think this was fine for a season finale. It fit the tone of the show and went harder than the other episodes to end things off.

I’ll write a full series review tomorrow, I’m trying to go to sleep.

Live reactions under the cut

well i do love seeing strategy sokka

disappointed by the lack of catapults on the ships so aang couldn’t creatively use them to destroy the ship

did iroh just tell zuko to swim in freezing waters? lol

wait we already did koh, so what’s up with tui and la? how are we gonna figure out where they are? are we even gonna see the spirit oasis?

oh so. we’re introducing the war balloons now? early for the fire nation? with a vague reference to the mechanist? how’d they even get the plans? sure do wish we’d seen more about those before, besides just making them. maybe used one to take down the firebenders invading the northern air temple? maybe a fire nation soldier could’ve found the remains of a balloon. just a thought

the. ice moon?

AND YET THEY INTRODUCE THE CONCEPT OF LION TURTLES NOW!! this is BAFFLING to me

so tui and la only take physical form once a year in this version? huh

and he’s gonna kill tui with KURUK’s spirit knife. interesting macguffin

THEY ALMOST KILLED OFF MOMO????!!! JAIL

okay so there is the spirit oasis. and they’re using it to bring back momo

sorry that was actually genuinely deeply upsetting. they just did something illegal i swear to god. don’t fuck with the animals

i am Not believing that katara is skilled enough to fight zuko. sorry but it’s not happening. she hasn’t even been trained. “you found a master haven’t you”. no zuko, she hasn’t. NO ONE HAS TRAINED HER. “yes, you’re looking at her.” katara, someone called you a master once, girl, that doesn’t mean you Are one

good lord that’s so red. i like that they kept that visual cue though

tui: dea. the color grading on this is still good too. the only colors we really see are the flashes of yellow and red with the fire balls being thrown around. theoretically, everything else should be grayscale/monotone, with the exception of yue’s blue eyes (which i don’t believe are blue in this adaptation). i don’t really have complaints about the look of things

okay la, your turn

do we need a “reality of war” moment again? tbh i feel nothing for these people.

oh yue’s eyes ARE blue. chill

hey what do you mean “you’ll be lost forever”. something something killed in the avatar state killed forever can’t reincarnate

okay la possession looks cool as hell. obsessed with these visuals

though idk if it’s just me, but people are really trying to get the “avatar is gone”, “there’s no more avatar”, “you’ll be lost forever” thing across huh. i feel like that kind of undersells the moment when seemingly everyone knows what’s going on.

zuko’s gonna fight zhao now why? purely so zhao can give zuko a moment of realization, got it

and then he tries to kill zhao. i still think zuko would never.

and now zhao is almost certainly dead, because iroh pushed him off. and zuko didn’t have that moment of offering mercy, and zhao didn’t have the moment of rejecting that mercy. this IS a downgrade

woahhh hahn dead confirmed. wish i could celebrate, but he’s nice now

so pakku is NOT becoming katara and sokka’s grandfather in this one. i bet we won’t even learn the significance of katara’s necklace

SHE IS NOT A MASTER STOP SAYING THAT. SHE LEARNED OFF OF ONE (1) WATERBENDING SCROLL WITH ZERO SUPERVISION

sorry are you relying on bumi for earthbending training? you haven’t even started waterbending. this bumi is barely reliable from your interactions with him

oop there goes omashu. weird that we’re seeing the takeover

okay. sozin’s comet. i thought you were taking that out? was that just a lie then? shouldn’t aang know about that? might actually make him learn waterbending. considering the series just ended. and he HASN’T EVEN LEARNED WATERBENDING YET

liked: the visuals went so hard, no kataang romance

worried about for potential season 2: zuko's arc

disliked: zuko and zhao's fight, katara "mastering" waterbending despite never having trained with a master, aang literally not even once showing that he was the avatar outside of the avatar state (not learning ANY waterbending)

#atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender live action #atla live action #atla netflix #long post #that's all folks #stay tuned for full series recap

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hungry-skeleton · 1 year

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And if you want an actual question: what exactly is Skylanders? You post about it frequently, but only serve to vex me further each time.

I'll get to your first ask soon I need to go off about this

Skylanders is a toys to life game from 2011-2016!! Toys To Life is a genre that's died out but basically it means using physical toys to interact with the digital game world. In this case Skylanders uses figurines of the characters called.... Skylanders.. And placing them on the "portal" allows you to play as them!!

The skylanders themselves have things called NFC chips inside them that store data about what character they are and the progress you made with them. So you aren't just using a copy of some specific character, your skylander is truly yours. The upgrades, money, and cosmetics you give them are saved on them forever unless you actively choose to reset them.

^^Not an actual skylander character. This item is called a creation crystal! I'll get to that later!

Over it's run skylanders has made at least 175 unique skylanders characters. Each character coming with their own special animations, personality, and back story. This isn't including any of the gimmick items that could also be used on the portal like the creation crystal from above.

Each game came with a unique gimmick that introduced new skylanders that could do special things in game!

Spyros adventure - the first installment. No special gimmick yet, at this point the entire gimmick WAS the toys to life gameplay

Giants - the Giants!! Characters that were VERY big and could do "feats of strength" and other special actions in game

Swap force - characters that could swap their top and bottom halves to combine and mix abilities

Trap team - introduced traptanium crystals!! A neat idea, you could use a physical crystal item to capture special enemies and use them to fight for you in game! What was cool about these is that they really tried to sell the immersion of the villains being inside the crystals you trapped them in by having the crystal on the portal occasionally glow and talk. It also functioned similarly to a skylander in that the game remembers what crystals you used to capture what villains. Or more specifically the chip inside the crystal itself stores that information

Superchargers - THEY HAVE CARS NOW. Also this game had incredible writing for absolutely no reason what

Imaginators - whatever!!! Make your own skylander!!! That's what the creation crystals are for! To store your custom made skylanders! The character customization is actually pretty good. Also the sensies but all they really do is unlock stuff for you lol

As for the actual gameplay it's a platforming beat em up with puzzle elements, every installment mixes up the gameplay a decent bit though, especially superchargers which focused a lot on it's vehicles. In the end they're still kids games so they aren't SUPER challenging and the story isn't too complex but they're enjoyable nonetheless.

I think one of the biggest appeals of playing is how important the game makes you feel. Like, skylanders tries to make itself as immersive as it can be. There's a canonical explanation for why the skylanders are in your possession and in the form of figures. The player themselves is canon to the story and is referred to as a Portal Master. Essentially, only you can command the skylanders and everyone's lives are counting on you. If that doesn't inflate your ego enough one of the first things that happens in the first game is a major NPC calling out to you like a god. Very good for a 9 year olds self confidence

The overall vibe of skylanders is very goofy and whimsical but it has its more serious action moments too. Skylanders is all about character, I think. Both the skylanders themselves and the NPCs. There's not many characters I can really say I don't like. The lore is surprisingly intricate... Though it also has it's goofy moments.. Like the ancient race of sapient robots having all of its moral members being killed by exploding volleyballs. I don't care who you are that's top quality writing.

Skylanders is very important to me, it was one of my first full video game experiences and it's influenced my art a lot. Not to mention my um... Collection..

Still trying to complete it!!

But anyhow, this game means the world to me. I love having other people I can share that love with, :) I wish the game was more accessible nowadays but I've heard there's some functional emulators!

I.. Wow I really fucking went off here.. Hm.. I guess that counts for your first ask too lmao, I hope this was legible!

#An ask #Skylanders

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wolgraugorimilir · 11 months

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I need to put my thoughts in order.

I had a very long, and ultimately very good, but nonetheless frustrating conversation with a friend about history. They knew quite a bit more about the last 400 years in Europe than I do and they wanted to tell me about what they knew.

Which was fun. But the theme of the conversation ultimately bent around hopelessness and the nature of humanity.

They wanted to talk about terrible things that people had done. Royal families. Fascism. Individual people who were responsible for terrifying inhuman depravity. And.

And they knew ~so much~ about the human capacity for violence and terror that I struggled to defend my conviction that ~mostly we just want things to be better for ourselves.~

I’m very interested in ancient history. And archeology. I’m subscribed to the antiquities journal which I’ve been tearing up for the last few months.

Mostly archeology news looks like this:

“A cemetery in a highland Tajik village was discovered to observe Islamic burial customs - carbon dated to c. 800s CE -”

“A tomb in Armenia was discovered with an image of a procession of gods - dated to the 870s BCE based on carbon dating and a reference to Assurnasirpal II - figures identified as belonging to the local religion are depicted besides other figures from the Assyrian religious tradition”

BORING SHIT, RIGHT?? But the synthesis of a lot of boring information can let people make better judgements of what the past was like. And in these boring cases we don’t see much violence.

That village of medieval Tajiks seems to have adopted Islamic burial customs without terrifying bloody conflict. - there would have been evidence for this by way of damaged skeletons. - They seem to have been attracted by the wisdom of traveling Muslims, and they were willing to bring new information into their worldview.

And those Assyrian-Armenian artists were simply interested in the fashions and prestige associated with Assyrian courtly culture, and they wanted to depict their local gods belonging to that tradition.

AND ALMOST EVERY NEW ARCHEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY IS LIKE THIS.

Humble. Peaceful. Curious.

29 times out of 30, the material evidence for human activity is, like, a campfire. Or art. Or houses where there are toys and shoes.

But on the internet, that’s not interesting like violence.

My friend listens to podcasts that are about violence in history. Pretty much exclusively it seems.

And most people who are interested in history are similarly attracted to ~the craziest things that have happened~ because of course they are!! It’s more fun!! Ancient stories of heroism and war were popular for the same reason!! Everyone likes a good horror story to pull out from and shiver and say “gosh I can’t believe people ever lived like that”

But.

But there is so so much information on the internet.

You can immerse yourself in oceans of historic violence forever.

And when you do that. It seems like that’s what’s usual. Even though it’s not.

And this is how ALMOST EVERYONE seems to engage with history!!! To such an extant that whenever I suggest that humanity is not inherently depraved, and maybe we’re not doomed to maul ourselves into oblivion forever, most people are wholly dismissive, armed with a thousand case-studies in our worst behavior.

And it frustrates me so much !!!!! What on earth should I say? Should I explain how excited it makes me to see pictures of makeup from ancient Egypt? Plumbing in Chalcolithic Harappan cities? Animal-shaped Incan toys with wheels that look so cute and so fun for little kids to play with?

Almost everyone I know is trying to build a better life for their people. And it really seems like that’s what almost all of us have been trying to do for tens of thousands of years.

We just do it quietly, and I wish more people knew that. It’s hard enough out here.

#ancient history #history #humanity #I just think we’re going to be ok. I think it’s going to be hard and scary but I think it’s going to be ok.#sorry for the rant

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