#Also for the record I do like her design it's just one of the weaker ones I've received for this bingo whoops

[cak31ssuperi04]

thoughts on annika for the character opinion bingo 🎤

My favorite barbie character ever personally.

#I think I do talk a bit about what I like about her in the tag game but one thing I left out is just. How much I kind of empathize w/ her? #A lot of people clown on her for the “You're ruining my life” bit and I GET that #she's a loudmouthed teen and it is extra. #But as someone who had to deal with overbearing parents I also see how the frustration can build up #and why she might act out to feel some sense of control over her life #especially as someone who's established to be kind of a hothead(which is actually established In that scene but yk). #Like she has been dealing with this her whole life and blurts out #something dramatic and vindictive to air her frustrations without thinking it through. #Which isn't to say that she's entirely justified in everything she does or that I don't see where her parents are coming from to a degree #but. I get. where it would come from #And her being flawed makes her development/character more satisfying to me I guess #pieceofcake.txt #Also for the record I do like her design it's just one of the weaker ones I've received for this bingo whoops #barbie should go purple more htough I hold that belief #cakeasks

[genericpuff]

"oh my god, the comic that opened its plot by saying that removing corporal punishments from schools was a bad idea and the teachers need to go back to beating up students turned out to be racist, who could have seen this coming!!"

Listen, okay, I don't want to dunk on the people who enjoy Get Schooled and genuinely didn't see the racism coming, but like... as someone who doesn't read Get Schooled and checked it out to see what the plot was even about following all the controversy these past couple days, y'all, the description is a hard fucking pass.

And I still checked out its first episode to give it more benefit of the doubt and... nah fam. Not saying we should have seen the racism coming a mile away but I'm baffled as to why people read this at all. I'm all for manga and webtoons with senseless or comical violence, but you still need to set the baseline for where that violence is taking place and what context it exists within. Naruto? Yeah, sure, students fighting the teachers, this is a fantasy universe based around the ninja arts, makes sense they're gonna fight each other and it seems like a mutual agreement. Assassination Classroom? The teacher literally isn't human and he's training his students on how to kill him otherwise he'll destroy their whole planet. Shit, even fucking Matilda handles it better because it's one kid being abused by the principal and that principal is so ridiculously abusive that the parents don't even believe the abuse is happening (to the point that this form of abuse and manipulation is often nicknamed "The Trunchbull Method" because it's designed to be so absurd that no one will believe the victim), so it winds up being on Matilda's shoulders to use her newfound gifts to teach her a lesson - but the story itself is meant to remind adults that kids are people and just because they're smaller and weaker than you doesn't give you a free pass to be abusive.

Point is, in all of those examples, you can create that suspension of disbelief in how the teachers and students behave towards one another because their entire plots require suspension of disbelief.

But Get Schooled is literally just... it's set in Korea, it's a normal high school story, there's nothing supernatural or unique going on with the students or the teachers, and there's no moral or lesson it's trying to express, it's literally just taking real life and saying, "hey, adults should be allowed to beat up kids". When has combatting violence with more violence ever been a solution in that kind of context? Why is this a comic that even exists, let alone on a platform that's regularly marketed to teenagers?

It's depressing. And just for the record, I was spurred on to make this post by the recent response from the team behind Get Schooled regarding the VERY racist plotline it recently released on the Korean version of the app.

Like... this is shit WT shouldn't have even been allowing to fly under the radar to begin with. The bar is on the floor. I also love how the creators of Get Schooled admitted to the fact that they were raised in a homogenous society but still thought they were up to the task of "bringing the issue [of multicultural racism] to light", when they, in fact, do the complete OPPOSITE within that episode by suggesting, "actually, if you're mixed race then you're the REAL bad guy, it's the pureblood Koreans who are the oppressed minority, there are so many immigrants these days!!" And "stopping hatred" sure is a big claim when the entire point of their comic is combatting hatred with hatred, or in Get Schooled's case, bullying with corporal punishment.

Yikes. Big fucking yikes.

#tw abuse #tw racism

[roxineedstosleep]

Hello how are you? Can i ask for headcannons of yandere batman/bruce wayne (romantic) with a sickly darling? Not bed ridden but their health is kinda on the weaker side? I always kinda wondered about that

Darling doesn't really have a fucking chance of living independently again.

The mansion also becomes a mess every time the weather changes and the seasons change, so much so that even the city's cleaning companies offer him promotions for all the disinfecting work they do at Wayne Manor. The entire old mansion is refurbished so that there is always a medicine cabinet or something to rest in case you are exhausted.

Not to mention that the medical room in the Batcave is always well stocked and the telephone for an ambulance with a direct line is in every room.

Bruce, in the first place, would set up a whole room for his special someone.

Have you ever seen, either personally or in photographs and videos, those hospice rooms? You know, those permanent patient rooms? A room that is always clean, in neutral colours, with good lighting and ventilation; no overdone decorations and extremely comfortable sofas, beds and furniture. The kind that has handrails and facilitators on all sides, so that the individual can have support without the need or urgency of someone to be by his or her side.

Well, that's what the room Bruce designed for his beloved looks like.

Of course, he prefers to surgically clean his room every day so that his precious loved one is not far from him. But you can imagine what I mean.

Always, whether in his character of Brucie, Bruce CEO, Batman, or Bruce father and husband, he has in one of his pockets medicines and other things he feels you might need in case of a relapse.

He would always be at his beloved's side, offering his arm firmly, he would give you hugs when he feels you're a little cold, he wouldn't let you get overwhelmed by actions that could easily be skipped (why go to the shop and cross several blocks carrying terribly heavy bags, if you can order a delivery?) Going into a controlled panic when you notice that you've simply caught a cold again.

He would keep a medical calendar with all your medical records, he would take you to the doctors himself for your annual check-ups, he would ask his children to help him create a peaceful and calm atmosphere inside the mansion so that he wouldn't have to stress you out during your treatments.

Not that the dear one is bedridden. No.

Darling has allergies, like anyone else; occasionally gets the occasional muscle ache from overdoing things, like most of us; sure, they gets colds, but nothing that a nice hot cup of tea and an electric blanket won't fix. Yes, they also get allergies, migraines and cramps from extreme temperatures, but you're not going to die from them.

Even if it's really all down to a genetic factor that makes his Darling have to be much more careful than other people (like having a screwed up family genetics).

But Bruce doesn't get it.

Simple as if.

Of course, Dear, you must take a significant number (4) pills a day in order to remain stable. They're not even sick pills, just vitamins and iron supplements.

But for Bruce it's as if those four little pills implied one more nail in your coffin. He would have whole crises when he sees a used handkerchief near you, or when Alfred or one of his children notifies him that that day his special person lost his appetite or the food made them sick.

So pending, everything that could put a minimum of your bodily integrity at will be completely prohibited.

So, you should be lucky if it falls into their hands.

#yandere and reader #yandere batman #yandere #yandere bruce wayne x reader #yandere bruce wayne x y/n #yandere bruce wayne #bruce wayne #bruce wayne scenarios #bruce wayne x reader

[hyperray]

Hazbin Hotel episode 1 Review

Now that the first two episodes have been released, I intend to make a review post pointing out what I find negative and positive about them. Now, truth be told, I'm kinda expecting the show to flip because of how Viv is mismaneging the whole thing with the prodution to her socials, but I don't want to be biased and have my perspective completely be compromised by my dissapointment and rage, so I hope this review will shine a new perspective on the episodes for critics like me to enjoy them more, and by the time of this writing I haven't watched episode two yet so to not base my judgement of future context, but I'll bring up context from past episodes to future ones, let's begin. Negatives: -Sooo, does God exist, or are there just these Elders who I'm assuming are the equivalent of archangels? Even if this is a book with left out parts Charlie might be reading, I don't see why discluding God from the story would change anything, though I have a theory on that later. -In the shot where the sad Lucifer looks at the angels surrounding Earth only Sera has her own stand out design. I think this implies that we won't be given focus on any other angels of her level besides Emily, so that's a bummer. -"Equals as the first of mankind, but despite this, Adam demanded control and Lilith refused to submit to his will" Okay so I'm getting this; If Lilith is fabricating a lot through this book, or maybe written by someone else who isn't including the 'whole' story, then Lilith might have been the victim of this situation and Adam is a typical male bigot and the female the hero against the male's tyranny and she did nothing wrong, which is tiring to accept. -If Lucifer did give Eve the apple of knowlege purely out of good will, then he and Lilith are dumb. Surely he must've forseen the consequences of what Heaven might do to him and Lilith for this rebellion as well the dangerous road humanity would take from that point, right? -Also, Lucifer isn't an angel the level of Michael here, he is just some random middling angel? Well that makes it all really dissapointing. He is supposed to be the peak of Hell's might, and if he is that weak by default then he and Hell shouldn't be that of a threat, logically, but also they'll likely be a threat which doesn't make much sense. He is much weaker than the higher up angels yet somehow accumilated power to rival them, through what? Aren't Heaven's and Hell's magic basically the only source of power anyone can siphon from in this universe, or is there another power system to draw from? -"Never allowed to see the good from humanity" okay that's highly unbelievable. Lower demons can access the human realm, so wouldn't he at least hear or see some recordings about what humanity has achieved? And it's extremely hypocritical since Hell and it's demons largely contribute to the human's pain and suffering, which fuels my willingness to believe this story isn't entirely written truthful.

[theoutcastedartist]

Shadows & Lights AU

Page 3 of designs for my Sonic Boom AU. This time with Sonic and Shadow.

They basically look the same, but I instead give them both funky fur patterns and Sonic is cursed with eye bags.

.......

Sonic = Project Light (Ver. 17)

Shadow = Project Shadow (The Ultimate Lifeform)

Project Light is built to be smaller, lighter, and more streamlined than Project Shadow. They are faster in speed, but physically weaker in pure strength as a result.

Project Shadow is built to be larger, heavier, and have a greater muscle density than Project Light. He is slower in speed than Light, but is able to pack more of a punch in strength compared to Light.

Both projects require special bracelets that keep the energies from leaking out of their bodies. The energy is necessary to keep their bodies stable and functioning, though after losing their bracelets after the incident with G.U.N over 50 years ago... Light has unfortumately gotten accustomed to the depleted energy in their body. Always tired and in pain.

....

In the AU,

Project Light is an organic replica of Iblis the Flame, while Project Shadow is an organic replica of Mephiles the Dark. Iblis and Mephiles are the two halves of the deity the Ancients worshipped, Solaris.

Sonic has amnesia. They don't remember their childhood at all. No A.R.K Facility, no Project Light. They only have the vague phantom sensation of being prodded and experimented on, but nothing concrete comes to mind. They don't remember why they're so scared of the water, but they're sure they've nearly drowned in it on multiple occasions... not that they can actually recall an instance of such before they woke up. Since the moment they "woke up", Sonic has only really known battles with Dr. Eggman and other baddies. They don't really know what to do with themselves when there's no fight to win and hardly anyone has the patience to deal with Sonic when they're like this.

Despite not knowing their own origins, despite the evils and wrongs they've witnessed, Sonic still sees the good in everyone and everything, including Shadow. Which is why they won't stop trying to reach out to him.

Shadow, on the other hand, has most of his memories from the A.R.K Facility in tact. Though few of his memories seemed to have been tampered with. He doesn't ever recall the existence of Project Light nor what the original intent of his creation (one of the Eclipse Projects meant to replicate the abilities of the Two Halves of Solaris) was. He does recall being hailed as "The Ultimate Lifeform" by Gerald and the other scientists who played a hand in his creation. He remembers Maria and her kindness, her positivity, and ability to see the good in everyone around her (in a way, Sonic reminds him of her. And he resents them for it.)

Shadow also recalls a Dr. Chris Thorndyke, a man he never really like to begin with. Always so secretive and cold, especially to him and Maria... He doesn't really know why he was at the A.R.K Facility in the first place. The Ultimate Lifeform also recalls the painful memories of when he lost Maria and Gerald to the G.U.N soldiers over 50 years ago and feels resentment towards the entire world because of it. After all, why should everyone else get to live their lives when Maria couldn't?

Shadow is a bounty hunter with a flawless track record, who also happens to be friends with Rouge the Bat, a very skilled treasure hunter.

Tags for AU on this blog are:

#shadows&lightsau

#ShadowLightAU

(Sonic and Shadow's dyanmic CAN be read as Sonadow, but I intend for their relationship to be open and up to personal interpretations. Doesn't necessarily have to be romantic. The two just happen to quite literally the other half of the other.)

#sonic boom #boom sonic #sonic boom fanart #sonic boom au #sonic #sonic fandom #boom shadow #shadow the hedgehog #shadow the ultimate lifeform #sonic the hedgehog #shadows&lightsau #ShadowLightAU #artist on twitter #artist on tumblr #digital art #sonic fanart #sth #sonic au #TheOutcastedArtist's art

[killmebythebeach]

A bunch of head cannons (Maybe too much). Also in talking about the characters.

I think Dream is that one design where his skin is just the static tv screen. He just constantly emits that fuzzy noise, Sam crafted him the smile mask that he can see through so he doesn't scare people.

George is just kind of the server itself. He's the same species as Hannah, but a mushroom and more powerful. If he stays awake too long, the server just kind of freezes. This is also a reason XD keeps him sleeping, it's his way of talking to George and he thinks the server is like his soap opera of mortals.

Callahan is sort of like the person who makes sure George doesn't get killed or dies while asleep, making sure he's surrounded by mushrooms and such. Deer hybrid <3

Alyssa joined the server because she knew all her friends were idiots and didn't want them to die immediately. But once the elections rolled around, she felt the pressure of choosing sides and ran away to the desert, only keeping contact with Ponk. She actually lives just a couple miles from Foolish's summer home. Her communicator actually died after a couple months and she had no way of charging it, so she lost contact with everyone.

Sapnap is a magma cube hybrid and can jump higher than most, his natural temperature runs hotter, and is fire proof. Bad found him in the nether when he was maybe 10-15 years old.

Sam was actually a normal creeper, but gained player like sentience from being struck by lightning. Instead of becoming charged, he gained intelligence and met the others on the server. Callahan taught him some Redstone, but from there he figured out a lot on his own. He's also a creeper centaur.

Ponk is actually a descendant of a fairy, a lemon tree. Their mask was also a gift from Sam because after the second or third time their tree was burnt, their immune system was weakened a considerable amount. Alyssa also wore her mask for them.

Bad is a size shifting demon from the nether, more specifically soul sand desert. He uses soul fire to gain strength, so because the egg died when near it, he was just a little weaker than normal. Because he's a demon he needs a tie to the overworld to stay there, he tied his soul and lives to Skeppy.

Tommy was grown in a lab to be a hero, project: THESEUS. The lab gave him small enhancements, like slightly stronger and just a bit more resilient, to make the Above Average Boy (TM). He then ran away to meet Wilbur. When Dream asked Wilbur if he wanted to come to the server, he asked if Tommy could go first to see what it was like. He also actually really likes gardening and making up funny songs to Wilbur playing guitar. He also made funny lyrics for his discs, but he's still a bit scared to take them out of his ender chest. Other than bringing attachment, Dream also exiled Tommy to see what his lab enhancements could do.

Tubbo is an adaptive hybrid! His hair was blond, shifting to brown when Wilbur found him, getting blue eyes from Tommy, growing small horns under Schlatt, parts of his skin being static when Dream was "helping" him with his presidency, and parts of his scars tinging black and green from Ranboo and Micheal. Tubbo also helped Wilbur write part of the anthem. He likes living in the snow because the Manberg flag had magma blocks on it, casting a heatwave over the country, and after L'Manburg blew up it got really hot from the exposed stone in direct sun.

Fundy can actually hold his breath for a very long time and swim very well because of Sally teaching him and his salmon genes. The yellow things on his hat are actually shells, and the stripes on his jacket are trans colors. Also with his dreams, he saw Eret was going to betray them but didn't think it was real, or didn't want to. He also saw Wilbur blow up L'Manburg but chose not to believe it, thinking his father could still be saved. He actually saw pretty much everything, but didn't quite understand what they were until after doomsday.

The necklace Punz wears is one of those picture lockets, but he lost the picture and can't remember what it was. The first time Dream paid him was when Dream asked for help and Punz made an off hand joke about getting money, and then Dream thought he was being serious. Him, Dream, and Sapnap were like brothers, and Punz got sadder every time he saw Dream pushing people away and diving deeper into darkness.

Purpled is an aliensent to see if the planet was colonizable, but then crashed and was stranded, all his communications down and his ship barely able to hover fifty feet off the ground. When Quackity blew it up, he essentially got rid of his chance of ever going home. Purpled's species can shapeshift, so he turned himself into the first person he saw, Punz. Eventually before trying to communicate with the native life forms, he edited his form a little so they weren't identical, keeping purple eyes and antennae, changing the colors slightly, and changing the voice up. When he moves away from the main SMP, Ponk makes sure to check up on him and that he has a way to check his communicator.

Wilbur came a month after sending Tommy. His father being a patron of life and his mother the goddess of death, he met in the middle being born as a human. The only reason Ghostbur was as active and present as he was was because he was so connected to both life and death. Since his corpse was decaying for as long as it was, Wilbur is now super weak, his flesh is thin and his eyes are rotted and gone. Much like Ghostbur, Wilbur in limbo saw what people said about him, and Ghostbur could hear that from the back of his head. Now Wilbur can hear what people say about Ghostbur and he hates it, not wanting to be connected to what he thinks like a shell of himself.

Schlatt is a ram (duh) and actually does the fainting goat thing. So when he died of a heart attack, no one knew at first if he was actually dead or not. His alcoholism stems from the revive book, as the possibility of tampering with death made him existential and scared, so to cope he drank. There are also a ton of other stuff other than revival in the book, but it's in galactic.

Skeppy was just a normal human, but after making the pact with Bad, Bad put a spell on him. Parts of him turned into diamond, protecting both his and Bad's lives. He however, is unaware of this. With the egg, he would just sit on it, the diamonds chipping away to make room for the vines.

Eret was cursed by the Wither Cult, giving them white eyes and a slowly deteriorating memory. Not sure what to do, Foolish dropped them off at the SMP. Sometimes they would dream about old memories from before the curse, but it was just glimpses so he could never tell what they meant. Once they were king, they made the Herobrine shrine subconsciously, not really sure what it was after. They also had a strange affinity of beacons and resurrection, some of their memories resurfacing when they tried to help Phil and Ghostbur revive Wilbur after doomsday. The reason people are more scared of their eyes than any other wierd eyes was because he generally looks like a normal human, but the wither along with their Herobrine origins creates an uncanny valley that people are shocked by.

Jack had red and blue irises before crawling out of hell, but after coming back the whites of his eyes also turned red and blue. He always wears 3d glasses so no one noticed, but he just thought no one cared enough to mention it. He also has a bunch of scars and burn marks that no one but him can see, therefore no one asks about them or thinks something is wrong, cementing the idea that no one cares about him.

Niki is a blaze hybrid (stole this from @/420technoblazeit) whose fire hair color changes based on strong emotion, something she bond with Tubbo for as a fellow shifter. A soft yellow in L'Manburg, brighter orange in Manburg, hot pink on Doomsday, a soul fire blue with the syndicate (which Techno hates), and a dead grey when she found out Wilbur was alive. She was also old child hood friends with Ranboo and Eret, leaving Ranboo for the SMP. Ranboo, unfortunatly, doesn't remember much more than her name. She also knows galactic from Ranboo, so she talks about her troubles to Shy the Enderman. She doesn't really know how to talk to Puffy anymore after Doomsday or finding out how she wants to protect Tommy.

Quackity can perfectly replicate someone's voice and, with a lot of effort, can completely change his form to another player. He also has very small yellow wings, too small to fly, so he almost always hides them. He used to constantly change his voice for jokes with Karl, Sapnap, and George, but he doesn't like doing it now in Las Nevadas, as he sees it as unprofessional. However, sometimes he uses when he visits Dream, changing his voice to people like George and Sapnap to make torture more effective.

In the In Between and Other Side, Karl actually looks like his old skin, or his natural state (the big purple one that inspired his sweater). But most of the time in the normal world, he looks human. With effort he can bring out the interdemential being thing, something only Quackity and Sapnap know about. The more he time travels, the easier it becomes to change, and he's even started defaulting to the other form.

HBomb is actually just a normal news reporter, sent to interview and record what's going on in the server, his first big story being the election. Upon Doomsday, the stress of seeing everyone alone, fighting, and disconnected, he ran away from the world, essentially becoming a cat lady. His undercover reporter persona is actually the cat maid. He eventually came back to the server to see how he could help after Doomsday, befriending Niki again and living with her in the underground city.

Techno is a piglin, so he's scared of soul fire. He forgot to tell Phil before he decorated the syndicate room, so he just suffers in silence. He also does better when around a lot of gold, like in the nether, and he feels drained and slightly weaker without it. Instead of just putting gold around the area (it would ruin his property value), he just hibernates. He has an emerald earing, like all of the syndicate, but his is a locket that unfolds into pictures of the syndicate.

Ant always wears a red hoodie, now ruined by the egg, that used to be Red's. On Red's death anniversary, him, Bad, Skeppy, and Sam would make cake and put flowers on his grave. He missed the last one because it was during the egg, but for a brief moment after Puffy killed him he saw Red. Red then promptly and bluntly told him to stop being a pussy (haha, cat) and that he shouldn't do all this just to get him back, one of Ant's motivators to make amends with the people he hurt while with the egg. Ant is also a shapeshifter, but can only turn into a cat.

Phil actually used to work under Foolish as a patron of life but then he had a son with the goddess of death, so his title was removed so he could be with her and he became an Angel of Death. Kristin noticed how sad he was after being released, so she gifted him wings. They were however, destroyed on November 16th. His chat also serves as messenger pigeons, which were used to send letters to Wilbur.

Connor is actually just a hedgehog who somehow befriended Schlatt. Even before the haunted mansion, Karl vented to him about his time travel troubles, not knowing he was a sentient player. As a hedgehog, no one really cares where he goes, so he goes outside the server limits to meet his friends from the haunted mansion.

Puffy is a distant relative of Schlatt, but instead of politics she went into piracy. With her mom, she went travelling the seas. One say, a storm came and wiped out her ship, her crew, her mom, everything but her. The reason she survived was because Foolish saw her and saved her. Unfortunately, Puffy hit hee head in the crash and doesn't remember anything.

Vikkstar is the equivalent of a big time celebrity, so of course his endorsement of POG2020 was a big deal.

Lazarbeam is literally just a ginger bread cookie.

Ranboo has actually met a lot of the smp before actually joining. He's met Niki, Fundy, Eret, Punz, and Dream at least. He also sees the inverted colors Enderman see. His suit was actually a gift from Eret before they forgot how to tailor. He got the crown from Techno after joining the syndicate, claiming he didn't want any syndicate members to look like trash.

Foolish came to the server most recently to check up on Eret, but he couldn't bring himself to leave again. When Puffy adopts him, he can't say no because he remembers saving her. His initial goal was to kill an ender dragon to claim the XD title and become a full god like DreamXD, but after realising someone already killed it he went into his totem if death phase. Upon meeting Eret, he got over it and they went on some silly adventures, Foolish now taking a more peaceful route.

Hannah is essentially a weaker George, as her power is tied to the plants themselves and not the entire server. She however has a lot more physical power because rose dryads like to fight because they have thorns. Since roses can be taken out a lot easier, she is essentially a glass canon. Also when around any plant, she can make it grow faster than normal.

Any guest on the server? Corpse, Pokimane, Lil Nas? They were all Slimecicle. That's how he knows where everyone is from, even outside of Las Nevadas. No one else knows this. He's also ancient, if he met Phil they would probably recognise eachother. There was an actual Charlie Slimecicle who was not a slime, but after being launched into orbit this Slimecicle decided to impersonate him.

Michael Mcchill is a sort of bounty hunter. He came to the server after hearing of all the crime, assuming there'd be a lot of bounties to collect. However, he soon learned that no one really cares if you commit a crime. He then took to reading news articles made by HBomb to see if there were any past open bounties. But after reading for a while about the server's wronguns, mostly Dream, he began to sympathise with them. And he's also a speedrunner, so maybe he could help with some bounties across other servers!

This was a very long post and i apologize, but it was so fun to finally write all these thoughts down! I hope you liked them! I can't even fit all the tags I want.

#dream smp #c!sapnap #awesamdude #dropsbyponk #badboyhalo #tommyinnit #tubbo live #fundy #c!punz #purpled #wilbur soot #skeppy #schlatt #dreamwastaken #georgenotfound #eret live #jack manifold #niki nihachu #quackity #karl jacobs #hbomb dream smp #antfrost #technoblr #philza #captain puffy #connoreatspants #ranboo #dsmp foolish #hannahxxrose #slimecicle

[digital-heart]

So before solmare can give any official archangel designs, I figure I'd finally show my archangel oc designs. Some I've had for months, others are newer.

Some of these might be more obscure archangels lmao, but I saw them on a list and got ideas

My council of archangels:

Michael

He is the golden boy, with a thousand watt smile to draw in people and put them at ease; he's charismatic with a loud presence. But, he's like a politician. He specifically keeps up this act to bring himself loyalty and support, to make people think he's got their back and is capable of no wrong. There's cruelty behind those eyes, masked by his brilliant radiance, he's selfish, truthfully. He wants people to follow him and listen to what he says; he'd say it's in father's name, but it's for himself. He can't stand disobedience, and likes his fellow archangels like they're collectable porcelain dolls he keeps.

The eye patch comes from the rebellion, in my own version of it where lucifer and Michael were fighting, lucifer's wings were torn off (I like to imagine sometimes Michael cutting or tearing then off lucifer's back for effect), and from behind Michael Satan emerged from the wing's pool of blood and jumped on his back full feral mode and clawed out his eye before being shaken off.

Raphael

The healer. He holds himself highly, in that smug way you can tell someone finds you less than their equal and more just amusing to watch. He does care, just more like someone cares for someone weaker than them. Like he'd see a person struggling with a thing and be like, awe, you poor fool, of course you can't do it right, here, let me guide you. Has an appreciation for music that seems intellectual, and he holds himself as such; in his own eyes, no other compares to him. He thinks nothing of letting others know this and what he perceives as what they get wrong and their flaws and points them out. Bitch.

Camael

The celestial judge. He is justice and righteousness in humanoid form, he's a good himbo who wants peace and to protect everybody. He decides the sentence of all crimes in the celestial realm, and that includes angels who are judged to deserve to fall or be executed. He values justice above all, but there are times where he can't help but feel for those he judges. He's too much of a good boy, too soft on the inside to be the calculating judge who only sees the facts like he presumably should be, and sometimes he thinks he's weaker and broken for it. He holds himself up as a warrior, but he can actually get startled easily; fire scares him most.

(His eyes are golden, not white; this picrew hadn't had yellow options lmao)

Ariel

The lioness. She is a lover of and protector of nature. Less in the tree hugger way, more the, if you step on that flower she is going to shoot you with her arrow. She's very rough along the edges and intimidating, preferring plants to people or angels or demons, but anyone who is nice to nature she likes. She is in charge of the celestial lions, a flock of golden, winged lions she rides in battle, and leads other angels who also ride them.

(The physical traits shared with cam started accidentally, but now I keep thinking of them as twins possibly)

Pravuil

The record keeper. Nearly always annoyed at something, he writes the records for important meetings and acts as the celestial librarian, managing every book and scroll and note in a grand library containing all the knowledge in the realm. His memory records everything, and he's the actual smartest of the archangels. He acts like he dislikes everybody, but he actually sincerely cares about and would protect his angelic family if it came to it, even putting them above his library he cares for. Secret softy under a crunchy shell.

Jophiel

The understanding one. She is seen as one of the most beautiful angels, and she always has a gentle hand. She's always trying to help with issues and be there for everyone with a cute smile. The only time she's upset, is when others are upset and she's unable or unsure how to help. Never has anything mean to say or harsh actions, only kindness. She loves humans, and thinks even demons can be taught better, she adores all. She's delicate, but she's been known to roll up her sleeves to help with physical work if someone needs it, and she's a great solver and logical, which people underestimate a ton. A sweet, sweet baby.

Gabriel

The messenger. She delivers messages not just in her realm, but between realms. She also delivers prophecies to humans, and alerts her fellow archangels of possible futures as well. She can see hazy branching futures while it is undecided, but if something is set then a clear vision can cause her to feel faint with its weight. Clear futures are rare, and often only comes from eventful things, but it's common to see her distracted as she flicks around possible small futures, and a lot of the time bumps into things if no one is steering her while she walks and does this. She can turn it off, but she's fascinated by it and chooses not to unless she needs to put her full attention on something, and even then she can feel the prophecies itching at her mind all around trying to get back in, so it's also for comfort she keeps the visions in her mind.

Sandalphon

The director of prayers. He closely monitors the human realm and makes reports often on the realm and how it's doing. He can be soft spoken and often reserved, but he's very nice and loving. He adores kids so much. He likes it when his siblings are enjoying them selves, and often rather watches than gets involved unless he's dragged to join. He enjoys art a lot, and can't play any sports with any skill even if you payed him.

He and metatron are twins.

Metatron

Scribe of the book of life. He keeps meticulous records of the human realm and the lives of most beings who reside there. He is rather shy, but with his looks and the way he talks in trying to act not shy, he sometimes accidentally seems flirtatious, he's mostly unaware of his effect, though. He often gets distracted observing things, as he likes to write journals on things unrelated to his job as well, and can sit for hours so he can write a vivid description of something, like water or trees or stones. A secret poet, but he rarely let's anyone see those books.

He and sandalphon are twins.

Uriel

The light. He's a teacher amongst angels and sometimes humans, bringing literal light and the light of wisdom. He's pretty laid back and prefers to achieve what he wants and needs with only the amount of energy absolutely needed. He has a calm energy, and is generally unbothered. He's curious about humans, but in the way researchers are curious about a discovery. They're more like funny little curiosities to him than anything equal to his fellow angels. He's not likely to be involved in matters that won't effect him, and would rather sit and keep watch with a small, unbothered smile. He's surprisingly stern under that calm smile, though, and is capable of being a bit harsh occasionally, but he acts more like it's a joke to him.

Part 2 with more angels coming soonish !

Also gonna add links to the picrews in a reblog.

#obey me #shall we date #om oc #obey me oc #obey me angels #om angels #obey me archangels #angel oc

[sanseru]

Tell me more about the poly demons! They look cool

I'm sorry, it takes me too long to draw stuff so I'm gonna go ahead and just do a small info dump. These will be relatively minor things but some of them do hint to some backstory.

(Also yes, all my characters are somehow a part of the LGBT+ community. However, I will say, it isn't the main focus of the overall story.)

Melisende

- Is pansexual but incredibly socially awkward and has never been in a romantic relationship with someone before

- Hates when anyone that isn't close to her calls her Meli. Instead, she tells them to call her Mel or her full name, Melisende

- Absolutely refuses to cut her hair

- Is the kind of person to come off as very aggressive and mean at first, but once she realizes you actually like her, she does a complete switch and refuses to do anything that might make you leave

- Loves making dresses with her sewing machine but is too nervous to actually wear one of her outfits in public

- Definitely has ASD based off my own personal experiences

- Primary abilities are explosives and spear magic. She can summon a spear from thin air and cause them to explode at her command.

Zed

Btw, his design will be undergoing some changes because I've only recently gotten some new backstory ideas that'll affect his physical appearance. Zed also doesn't have as many details yet so I apologize. He's a work in progress.

- Is a bisexual trans masc and has had multiple relationships. However, he's never been in a polycule before

- Has multiple adopted siblings but no biological ones, nor does he know his biological parents

- Protects his heart earring with his life

- Has ADHD because of course he does

- Primary ability is shield magic. His powers used to be stronger in the past but due to some events, they're a bit weaker now. Despite that, he's incredibly good with his magic

Stryker

- Is an agender demisexual. They have never been in a romantic relationship before

- Has a pretty significant criminal record but powerful connections have kept them out of prison for most of their life

- Hates being confined or immobilized

- Specializes in using firearms as their magic isn't useful in combat

- When they enter someone else's mind, Stryker falls unconscious but the other person is still fully aware

- Demon's minds look like the insides of houses. I don't know why but I thought it was a neat idea so it stuck

- They don't have any living family at the time of the main story

#textpost #notart #oc #original character #zed #stryker #melisende #hybrids #demon #polyamoury #agender #demisexual #transgender #bisexual #pansexual #asd #adhd #lgbt #info dump #ask #answer #simply-ash-drawing

[five-rivers]

Doctor

The final continuation of Science and Stuck!

.

.

.

Jack and Maddie had never been in the Ghost Zone before, and they watched with fascination as the camera they had attached to Phantom dipped and bobbed, weaving through a complex maze of impossible and decaying architecture. Really, this whole endeavor would be worth it just for this.

But they'd already learned so much more. The interaction between Phantom and the box-obsessed ghost had been enlightening, giving insight to why Phantom did not simply destroy weaker ghosts who trespassed on his territory. They hadn't believed that ghosts could make deals like that.

It put Phantom's fights in a very different perspective. He might be coordinating with the ghosts he 'fought' to make himself look good. After all, if he could bargain with that ghost, why not others?

Admittedly, that theory was a bit out there, but it was plausible.

They had also been interested to see that Phantom was aware of the camera and its function. They had designed it to bond with the ghost's body, to trick it into accepting it as part of itself. They had assumed that the ghost's mind (such as it was) would be similarly fooled. But, it wasn't. Phantom appeared to have understood the camera almost immediately and had attempted to remove it.

Phantom swooped around another twisted staircase. Maddie tapped on the glass screen.

"I wonder what he's trying to hide," she said.

"Well, we'll see it sooner or later," said Jack, cutting off a corner of his emergency fudge. "There's no way he'll be able to get the camera off." He snorted. "Even if there was a ghost intelligent enough, they don't have the equipment."

Maddie nodded. "I suppose it's just frustrating. All this time, trying to figure him out, and now we have to wait even longer." She sighed. "Him knowing it's a camera is going to skew our results, too. He'll be on his best behavior while people are watching. We already know that from his whole hero routine."

On the screen, Phantom turned a corner, and the Fentons were treated to a view of a vast, open expanse. Floating islands charted their own paths against a green and swirling sky. Clouds of ectoplasmic mist scudded along the not-horizon. Disembodied doors flew by without rhyme or reason.

The picture shifted from side to side as Phantom took in his surroundings. It stopped, lingering on an oddly skull-shaped island for several long seconds before Phantom turned away.

.

Danny had known the portal the Box Ghost had shown him was close to Skulker's island, but he hadn't quite realized how close. It was a good landmark, he knew exactly how to get to the Far Frozen from here, but he didn't really want to run into Skulker.

He didn't want to deal with any of the ghosts he usually fought with his parents watching, and maybe listening, through the camera. They might not actively try to expose him, but a number of them were too comfortable with shouting out things like-

"I'll wrap Ember's gifts with your pelt, halfa whelp!"

Ugh. Like that.

Danny twisted and froze a tracking missile, not watching as it began to arc to his left, caught in the orbit of the staircase maze Danny had just left. He sent a few blasts at Skulker.

"I think you should find something to put in the gifts first!" he shouted. "Unlike last year. I heard you were begging MP3 players off of Technus minutes-" he cut off to dodge a net. He hated nets. Why did Skulker even bother with them, when he was trying to kill Danny, anyway? "Minutes before the party!"

"Like you're one to talk! You completely destroyed the party!"

"Hey, blame Ghostwriter for that one!"

"And you don't understand! You don't even have a girlfriend!"

"Well, neither will you for much longer if you don't come up with better present ideas!"

The fight had wound down into the two ghosts just yelling at each other. For all the violence Skulker regularly subjected him to, Danny sometimes wondered if Skulker actually wanted to skin him, or mount his head on a wall, or any of the other threats he belted out, or if he just wanted the thrill of the chase.

"Can't you just give me a break for once? I don't have time for this!"

"Oh, please, you have all the time in the world, whelp!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, what with you being a hal-"

Danny flew over and clamped a hand over Skulker's mouth. "Not another word," he hissed. "We're being watched."

"What do you-?"

Danny cut him off, pointing significantly at the camera. Skulker immediately started laughing.

"Oh, yeah, laugh it up. Wait 'til it happens to you."

"Ha! That is why I, with my modifications, am superior! Something as ridiculous as that could never happen to me!" He started laughing again.

"Whatever," grumbled Danny. "Are you going to keep attacking me, or can I go to the Far Frozen in peace?"

Skulker waved him off. "Consider it an early truce present!" he said. "But don't forget! I'll get your pelt eventually!"

"Sure," said Danny, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He floated backwards for a ways before turning, wary of being stabbed in the back. Or shot in the back. Or blasted in the back. Or whatever having missiles or nets launched at him from behind would be called.

But, once again, he was on his way to the Far Frozen. With his luck, he'd only be interrupted a dozen more times before he actually got there.

He sighed, thinking of ways he could block the camera in an emergency. Ice, perhaps? He could always put his hand over it, too. Maybe he should have done that from the beginning, but a part of him, the part that had argued with them before, wanted to show them the truth about ghosts. Part of him wanted them to see.

So, even though he kept fiddling with the camera as he flew, even though he definitely wanted it off, and quickly, he couldn't quite bring himself to cover it.

"Hey! Phantom!"

Danny turned, trying to place the voice. "Sydney?" he asked, surprised, spotting the sepia-toned specter. "What's up?" He slowed so that the other ghost could catch up to him. Sydney didn't often leave his lair on his own.

"Wow! It's lucky you came out here! I thought I'd have to go through your portal to find you." Sydney shuddered. He caught up to Danny. "I'm throwing a truce party this year!" he said, happily. "I'm inviting everyone." He handed Danny a small envelope. "It's a bit early, because I wanted to make sure that it didn't overlap with anyone else's party."

"Thanks, Sydney," said Danny, both surprised and touched. "I don't know if I'll be able to make it, you know what my l- my afterlife is like." His smile turned into a grimace at the awkwardness of his phrasing.

"Afterlife? But you-"

"I have a camera strapped to my chest right now. I'm pretty sure it's broadcasting. I don't really want to talk about it."

Sydney blinked at him. "Your existence is very difficult, isn't it? I'm glad I didn't manage to steal it from you when we first met."

"That's both of us. The shades in your lair still behaving?"

"Oh, yes. It's all fine. Thanks for asking! I've got to go deliver the rest of these! Good luck with your camera situation!"

"Yeah, stay safe, okay, Sydney?" called Danny, as they sped away from each other.

"You betcha!"

Danny tucked the invitation into a pocket. He'd have to check out the details later, when he wouldn't have to hold it at a weird angle to keep the camera from seeing it.

Now, if there were no more interruptions, he could get to the Far Frozen before- He stopped. That forest had not been there before, and, usually, the floating islands didn't move like-

Not a floating island Undergrowth oh Ancients he looked mad run run run.

It was a good thing Danny was faster than Undergrowth. He didn't want to fight the plant ghost on his home turf... if there even was any turf underneath all those plants.

The chase (not to mention dodging and fighting off the seed bombs that Undergrowth had lobbed his way) had drained Danny, and he was flying significantly slower. The hope that he'd get back home before dawn looked distinctly forlorn. He sighed. That was just his life, though, wasn't it?

.

Maddie had filled half a notebook with questions.

Ghosts appeared to be much more complex than previously believed, even if it was clear that what rudimentary social structure they had was founded entirely on violence. The three encounters Phantom had had in the Ghost Zone thus far illustrated that perfectly.

The first, with Skulker, served as a sort of average. The ghosts had fought, demonstrated that they were more-or-less equals, and then parted, apparently not wanting a more definitive contest. The second had been with a smaller ghost who was obviously submissive towards Phantom. The third, with the plant ghost was more along the lines of what she and Jack had expected: Strong ghosts attempting to defeat and consume weaker ones.

"I wonder what this 'truce' they keep talking about is," said Maddie, tapping her pencil on her notebook.

"I wonder what that sound is," said Jack. "The microphone shouldn't be picking up this kind of interference."

"I think it's core noise," said Maddie. "We can analyze the sound later and compare it to his ectosignature, after we find out where he's going." She glanced at the clock. "And after we get some sleep. Everything is being recorded."

"I'll have to double check all the connections before we do this again. I bet it's a loose wire." Jack pouted.

Maddie nodded. "Where do you think he's going? You don't suppose he thinks he has some way to get it off?"

Jack shrugged. "His lair, maybe? The distance might be why he stays in Amity Park."

"Lairs are still pure speculation, though," said Maddie. "Although, one hypothesis is that they help ghosts reform and heal, so he might think it'll get rid of the camera."

Jack grunted in acknowledgement. "What do you think that white dot is?" he asked, pointing at the screen.

"I think it's one of those floating islands," she said. "It's a different color than the others."

They watched as it grew larger on the screen. "I think Phantom is heading towards it."

"Maybe it's his lair," she said. "He does have ice powers. Ice and snow could be what gives it its color."

"It does look like that could be," said Jack.

The island grew larger and larger, and eventually the picture showed that they had been right. The island was covered with snow and more.

"I think those are buildings," said Maddie, pointing out little mounds. "Crude, but still buildings. Perhaps Phantom is trying to replicate features of Amity Park in his lair?"

"You don't think it could be some kind of," Jack waved his hand vaguely, "rudimentary ghost settlement?"

Maddie wrinkled her nose. "What would they have to gain? Why would you say that?"

"Because I think I see some ghosts moving around down there."

Sure enough, Maddie could see movement where he pointed. The ghosts were white-furred, and difficult to see against the snow, but they were there. They looked fierce. Animal ghosts of some kind, Maddie assumed, but warped over the years.

"They all look so much alike," said Maddie, fascinated. "I wonder what could have caused that."

"Well, they say form follows function!" said Jack. "Or the 'native' theory could be correct, and they formed that way, without human consciousness involved!"

"Hm," said Maddie, making a note. "We'll have to look into that again."

Phantom's hand flashed in the camera's peripheral vision. "He's waving to them," said Jack.

"Great one!" shouted one of the ghosts on the island, voice made small by distance.

"Frostbite!" yelled Phantom in return, voice much louder. He swooped down, and was embraced by the other ghost, who was much, much larger.

The other white-furred ghosts cheered. Maddie frowned.

"If he has this sort of reception here, why come to Amity Park?" she asked. "If his Obsession is attention..."

"Maybe it's human attention he wants," said Jack, rubbing his chin. "Either way, they're... enthusiastic, aren't they?"

"I can't believe they've banded together like this," said Maddie. "It doesn't make sense. The structures... they don't make sense, either. Ghosts shouldn't need things like that, especially not in the Ghost Zone."

"Maybe they're a different species of ghost that does need things like this," said Jack, most of his attention on the ghosts greeting Phantom. "We've never seen any like them here. They might only be able to exist in cold. Or they could have Obsessions related to, uh... igloos?"

"They aren't really shaped like igloos, though," said Maddie. "I think there's stone under there."

"The ice could just be dirty."

"That wouldn't surprise me."

.

Getting to the Far Frozen was a relief. Danny felt a the tension he'd been carrying within him relax as soon as he spotted Frostbit.

It was replaced with embarrassment once everyone started fussing over him. Technically, this was in front of his parents. Still, he'd take embarrassment over what he was feeling earlier. His core was singing that he was safe safe safe among allies and friends, and the cold felt wonderful against his skin.

"What brings you to the Far Frozen today, great one?"

Danny chuckled nervously and reached back to rub his neck. The motion was stopped when he encountered the collar around his neck. "I'm actually here to see a doctor. I've got a bit of a medical problem. At least, I think it's a medical problem." Danny touched down on the surface of the snow, wilting slightly as he tugged fruitlessly on the collar. "I don't really know. Can you help?"

Frostbite's eyes went wide for a moment before shifting into pure concern. "Of course, great one. We'll take a look at you right away. Unless you need to rest? We know we are far from your home."

Danny shook his head. "I want to get this fixed right away," he said.

When Frostbite scooped Danny up and put him on his shoulder, it wasn't a surprise. Neither was the short flight to the Far Frozen's medical 'cave.'

Oh, to be sure, it was a cave, but Danny always felt like calling it something like that, something so crude, was a disservice. For one, the entrance chamber was gorgeous. A huge, underground atrium with an intricately grown and carved ice ceiling, geometric patterns spiraling down the walls; ghost writing above graceful arches, indicating what each space was used for. Shining, high-tech devices that made even Tucker salivate. Some people might judge them on what lay above ground in their village, but appearances were often deceiving in the Ghost Zone, and the Far Frozen was one of the most advanced societies around.

Only an idiot would mistake the tribe of the Far Frozen for savages.

Frostbite carried Danny into the diagnosis area, set him down in a chair, and began going through the routine of cleaning his hands and putting on medical equipment.

"Oh," said Danny, leaning forward, "Frostbite, you don't have to, I know you're busy."

"Nonsense, great one! You deserve the best of care, and I am here to provide." He sat down on a stool across from Danny. "So, what seems to be the problem?"

Danny began to explain.

.

Jack and Maddie weren't talking. This is because they were in shock.

The ruins at the beginning had been one thing... Those were expected, the ghosts of buildings, so to speak, ectoplasmic echos. But this place? This level of technology- It shouldn't be possible!

"I know," said Jack, and Maddie realized she had spoken out loud. "But... it's here, isn't it? We're seeing it."

"It could be a trick," said Maddie. "A facade. There's no way any of this is actually functional."

"But if it is... Jazz and Danny, they might be right," said Jack. He sounded troubled. "If ghosts can form societies, and create technology and art like this, even if the societies are based on violence, that indicates some form of sapience, of intelligence, even if it isn't human intelligence."

Maddie nodded. "I think we should withhold judgement until we actually see results," she said.

"Yeah," said Jack. "Just... I feel sort of like the bad guy in a sci-fi movie, you know? The one who insists the aliens or people with superpowers aren't really human."

"It isn't the same, Jack. These are ghosts."

"But what does that even mean anymore?"

Maddie sighed. "We'll have to change our theories," she said.

"Ah," said the ghost known as 'Frostbite' on the screen, scanning Phantom with some kind of unknown device, "yes. I see what the problem is. I'll take the camera out, now, and then we can work on the other bits."

The screen went blank.

.

Getting the collar removed was both easier and harder than Danny had expected. Easier, because all he had to do was take a drug and let Frostbite peel it off, harder because he had to come down off the drug before he went home, lest he get into a fight and wind up with semi-permanent injuries. At least he was able to send a message to Jazz to ask her to cover for his absence.

He didn't get home until four in the afternoon. Nothing remarkable happened on the way back, because the Far Frozen decided to send some warriors along with him to make sure he got back safely. He was a bit surprised, however, to find his parents passed out at their desks in the lab, apparently reviewing recordings from the camera they had stuck to him.

Recordings like that could be dangerous to him. Should he delete them?

No, he hadn't said anything incriminating, and they were unlikely to be able to use the footage to attack the Far Frozen. The floating islands moved, after all, and he had entered the Zone from a random portal. It should be fine to leave it like that.

He let himself turn human. The air down here was chilly. He should get them blankets or something and let Jazz know he was back, then he'd pass out himself.

While he was draping a quilt over Maddie's shoulders, he caught sight of her notebook and the last line she had written.

The kids are right. We'll have to revise our theories concerning Phantom and the other ghosts.

#danny phantom #dannymay #dannymay 2020 #day 11

[katewaliss]

! write with me or fight with me!

you either die by my sword or the most painful head canons imaginable! *merida vc* choose yer fate

just kidding!

 hey there gaymers, i am crissy! i am 22, live in pst, go by she/her pronouns and honestly would very much like a distraction from life -- preferably in the form of 1x1 and rp in general. i am currently doing online school plus trying/failing at adulting, being a crazy pink haired college student living on microwave dimsum with my crazy fluffy demon cat, but that still leaves me with a lot of time and what better way to spend that time then crying and dying, am i right, boys? 

so without further ado ( adieu? idk gusundheit ) here are a list of discomboblulated plot things that have been floating around in my head that i might be fun to do ( plot fragments, ideas, ocs, fcs i like, settings, genres etc )! i’d prefer a message if u liked any of these in the inbox or dm form, my tumblr ims are open and my discord user is mr. worldwide#2918 ( pitbull supremacy ) but if ur shy i will message u and be annoying! 

lastly: i prefer hcing in the dms to replies, however i will do replies/ask memes slowly, i don’t really like making blogs and prefer google docs/discord and i ask ( gently and respectfully ) that minors do not interact.

thank u and happy hunger games! xx

COLLEGE TOTALLY SPIES -- i was really obsessed with this picture right here and i thought that the picture would be a good premise for a little four person group based on totally spies. i was thinking that these three college students/young adults some friends maybe not some enemies or just on completely different ends of the social agenda get bonded together when they accidentally end up roped in a top secret spy organization that is fronted by a record store. the details and flesh of the plot i think would be cute to figure out all together maybe in a google doc or a big discord so we can make the rp to perfect world building specifications. right now i have two spots open! 

my friend lexi over at comradc has taken the cool goth asian girl and is using lyrica okano

i am playing the freckly backwards hat lesbian in the red polo named aj mccallis and i think im using diana silvers ( not sure might switch to tati rodriguez )

we also have the cute blond girl w the dyed hair who is giving me kind of like sydney sweeney energies, blonde girl maybe like lalisa manoban/jinsoul,

and we have the rad black girl with the bandids who i would only accept black fcs for for such as diamond white, ryan destiny, salem mitchell, 

i’d prefer if this stayed kind of sapphic and female and enby friendly. we can def make make npcs and characters but i’d prefer if the characters looked like they do in the picture ( minus the white girls who can be racebent as long as there are vibes ) mostly bc i want the poc people to stay the correct poc! but yeah! if u like this message me specifically!!!!! seperately and hit me w a role ud like maybe an fc an idea anything < 3 im working on a google doc and discord sever

- i really want to play a himbo skater boy evan mock like its my dream i know nothing abt him other than he probably goes by something like mouth or juice or tris or dex or dante but !!!! he has buzzed hair he buzzes designs into, does stick n pokes, hates cops, will kiss anyone, likes to mosh at house shows, smokes a lot and sounds like crush from finding nemo, probably ur parents worst nightmare if im honest rodrick heffley energy -- adopt him for any plot

- i also really am obsessed with simay barlas who is my mascot rn -- i want to play her in some sort of dark academia setting with like gossip girl blair waldorf energies lu from elite and have her be really mean and cold and pretentious and play the cello and probably have secrets and be uptight idk the name mallory is resonating hard w me ( we could even do a gossip girl the secret history type group if people liked that ) 

-ok i also really really want to play streak aka silas montgomery who is like very like sidekick best friend to the golden boy main character, does a kick ass goat impression, class clown, relentlessly hits on like the most difficult person in school, does crazy things for laughs and attention, just wants to make people happy, only wears hawaiian shirts, finger guns, is going nowhere in life, his dad is probably the dean at whatever prestigious school also he is very very depressed and drinks often! love u! a I Feel Like Im The Worst So I Always Act Like Im The Best electra heart baby PINTEREST

also yes his hair is pink reg verse he did it on a dare but hp verse he did a potion wrong and it never came out

SOMEONE DO A LADY HANNIBAL WILL GRAHAM RP KILLING EVE RP W ME! i made this will graham adjacent gal for a genderbent hannigram rp her name is bisexual disaster enida johnson and sometimes goes by needy or will bc her middle name is willamena! has basically all the will things wears flannels is a mess but has a bunch of cats instead of dogs in her woods log cabin and im using crystal reed bc it fits perfect in my head idk if u like her hmu hit me w a lady hannibal PINTEREST

other stuff

ok i really want to do a princess and knight plot but with knight zendaya and princess anya taylor joy ???? ALKHALKSHALK LITERALLY HELLO literally modern or like dnd style i do not care but know i love dnd! we could make it like them goin on some skyrim quests like hi

speaking of dnd and skyrim if anyone wants to do like anything based in dnd stuff or skyrim stuff i am DOWN

jennifers body plot!!!! maybe set in college!!!!! sounds spicy i will do a f/f or m/m version leggo leggo 

UNTIL DAWN UNTIL DAWN!!!! i wanted to do a little like 6 person or mumu until dawn thing where everyone either makes new characters or characters based on the existing six! i made a girl adjacent josh character named riley PINTEREST who i love very much ( fc might change im thinking maybe medallion rahimi ) pls hmu if ur down

i looooooove breakfast at tiffanys!!!! like i really love breakfast at tiffanys we love a call girl broody author ship and i want to play a mishti rahman holly golightly type character so so bad 

pygmalion plot!!! basically like an author and the main character of their book comes to life and the book character is probably from a different period of time or realm so doesnt know how to do modern 2020 stuff like microwaves and the tv! and then maybe they get sucked into the characters book world thats written by the author and have to navigate that! enchanted! w the kdrama! energy!

GOSSIP GIRL PLOT ENERGIES

any sort of the secret history murder society until dawn ahs horror type setting i am on a kick rn 

i still really want a deaf sailor and siren plot bc that is so spicy or even like anything involving sirens like maybe one thats like vegetarian and doesnt like to eat humans so it ariel rescues one and keeps it safe!! or like only men are susceptible to the sirens song but aha! i am a woman! Romance!

anything in the realm of percy jackson i love mythology lets go i kind of want a echo narcisuss plot and i want it to hurt me so bad 

i will do harry potter stuff but only if its completely removed from the current canon like years in the future no existing families also maybe beauxbatons salem and drumstrang plots bc thats what matters

iiiiiiiii really like anime so i will do anything kakegurui, soul eater, ohshc

i kind of like grew up on the hunger games so i will gladly take any hunger games plots like young effie and haymitch is spicy or like a career tribute and one of the weaker poorer distracts enemies to lovers leggo

i have a kind of oc that had their parents die in a factory gas leak that was the governments fault and it turned them into a vigilante assasin that is slowly picking off bootlicker government people one by one pretending to be one of them until bam! gets attached to the rich asshole son or daughter of the head hauncho or one of the higher ups ... drama

rich little celebrity fussy wussy being held captive by the mafia and the tired stoic mafia guard but they fall in love 

i kind of like any plot that involves one person that is really loud or angry or dramatic or whiny and the other one is kind of sweet and gentle or does not talk much idk make brain happy 

speaking of!

no nonsense law student studying abroad in a european country and an artist there falls in love w them and is all romantic and gush and is like ur my muse!!! and they are like Go awAy and they explore the city together and themelseves its nice!

i want to be an avan jogia super villain idk why i need to but i do 

not to be a disney adult bc i am not but anastasia princesses dont kiss kitchen boys 

rival cheer captians? best friends brother? pop princess celebrity singer and like antiestablishment really angry rockstar in a publicity relationship? broody detective and sunshiney diner person that works at the diner they eat at everyday?

idk i will think of more hmu these can all be made f/f or m/m if they arent 

#1x1 #1x1 rp #1x1 roleplay #plots #this is so long and messy and weird idk it repeats a lot hit me up im emabrrassed already

[twdmusicboxmystery]

FTWD 6x10 - Handle With Care

How did everyone like Fear? I have to admit, the first time I watched it, I didn’t’ see much. But that’s probably when I first watched, I was SUPER tired. When I re-watched, I found much more. Amazing how that works. ;D

***As always, spoilers abound for Fear 6x10 below. Don’t read until you’ve watched!***

This episode centers mostly around Daniel. Grace starts having contractions, and they don’t know if they’re Braxton Hicks or if she’s really in labor. Morgan wants to go get a fetal monitor he left at the water tower. Since Sherry is there, she lets him use the MWRAP so he can get there and back quickly. He leaves Daniel in charge.

When everyone first comes in, they make everyone lock their weapons in the armory. Only Daniel and Morgan have the keys. After Morgan leaves, Daniel gathers everyone to talk about the situation with this other group, but they just all end up fighting and not trusting one another. Then something explodes.

They run over and there was some dynamite that went off. No one was hurt, and Daniel says it was probably an accident. But everyone starts getting really suspicious of one another. The sound of the explosion brings walkers. A lot of them. Daniel decides to get into the gun locker, just in case, but when he goes in, all the guns are gone. Someone has taken them. No one knows who, or at least they aren’t telling.

Afraid the walkers will breach the walls, Daniel sends Grace to a *fishing shack* (not only symbolism but remember that) just in case. He later sends Charlie to be with her.

Some of the walkers get in and it’s revealed that Strand has a gun he didn’t turn in. So Daniel thinks he took the guns and puts him in jail. Just as it seems the walkers might get in, and Daniel is ready to shoot Strand, Morgan returns and the guns on the MWRAP take care of the walker problem.

Then Morgan goes to find Grace and Daniel still doesn’t believe Strand didn’t take the guns. But Morgan radios when he gets to the shack and says Grace isn’t there. She radios them later and is fine and they go get her.

Daniel asks why she didn’t go to the shack and she says he told her to go to the caverns. Charlie confirms that, and he even marked it on the map for them. The caverns.

Couple of things here before I go on.

1) There’s a major hallucination/delusion theme going on here. Given the Leah episode, that caught my attention. Let me say that it doesn’t LOOK anything like the Leah episode. No colors, no haziness, nothing. (I don’t think I’ve actually posted about that, but the more we see the color saturation and haziness of that episode as evidence of the hallucination.) For the record, we don’t see anything like that in this episode. I think there’s a specific reason for that, which I’ll get to in a minute.

2) They chose a fishing shack and caverns. Obviously, we can tie the fishing shack to Beth in 12 different ways. But “caverns” are also where Connie went missing. And while they found her very quickly, for a short time, Grace, Morgan’s love interest, was a missing girl. And in this pic, she’s…um…wearing a bright yellow sweater?

Okay, moving on.

So, it seems that Daniel isn’t entirely in his right mind. Right after that, they find all the guns hidden in his person shed. He says he has no memory of putting them there.

It’s actually very sad. He first says someone is framing him, but then says he’s confused and isn’t sure if he’s okay. It then reveals that he’s talking to June. She does some neurological tests and says the condition isn’t neurological. It’s probably psychological.

At the end, Dakoka tells them about Dallas. Luciana says Alicia and Al are probably halfway there. So, Luciana are going to go meet up with them and they’ll all go to Dallas. (That may happen next episode).

And Daniel decides to leave. He gets teary-eyed, saying he put Grace and Charlie in danger without knowing it, and it’s not safe for him to be in the community. He said the last time weirdo things started happening in his mind, he burnt a building down (S3).

So, he plans to go back to the warehouse he was living in before. But then Strand invites him to come to Lawton. So, he does.

That’s pretty much what happens. But let’s talk about this in more detail. The first time through, I thought it was very sad for Daniel. But by itself, it’s kind of a bottleneck story, designed to bridge the time between John and Virginia’s deaths and when they go to Dallas. So, perhaps not the most interesting episode, even if it was interesting to watch.

Watching it a second time…I think there’s a good chance Daniel is faking it. That may be why it doesn’t feel as ethereal as Leah’s episode. We, the audience, still hear him tell Grace to go to the shack. But that may have just been a bait and switch to trick the audience. If Daniel is faking, it’s not REALLY a hallucination.

And I’ll say up front that I’m not certain he’s faking it. I just suspect he might be.

So why do I suspect that?

When they’re all talking before the explosion, Luciana says the “end is the beginning” group took down Tank Town because they infiltrated her group without her even knowing. And they all start wondering if one of that group could already be among them. (Trust issues.) I’m wondering if, somehow, it’s Daniel. The mention the idea so many times, it makes me think it’s a hint. And there’s really no one else it could be.

And I will say that if it is him, and if he was faking, I have no idea why he would do that. I mean, clearly, he’s trying to sow discord, but to what end? I have no idea.

There’s also a lot of tension between him and Strand. They talk about how Daniel’s fake memory problems at Lawton was him playing Virginia. Strand says, “we were both playing our own game. The better man won.”

When Daniel thought Strand took the guns and imprisoned him, he talked about how Strand shot him in the face (I barely remember that) and how much pain Strand caused him. He really comes very close to shooting Strand.

I also noticed that in the “inside the episode” at the end, the showrunner said that Strand inviting Daniel to Lawton was part unselfish (he says it’s for Ofelia) and partly selfish because it means Daniel is weaker than Strand is. The showrunner says Strand, “outfoxed him.” And the fox reference is what caught my ear there originally. But there’s definitely a rivalry between these two.

I also noticed that Daniel offered to go get the fetal monitor early on, but Morgan said he’d get it. The place would be too hard for anyone else to find. So I’m wondering if Daniel was looking for a reason to leave. I don’t think he could have known that Strand would invite him to Lawton. But maybe he just wanted to get outside the walls.

So yeah. I could certainly be wrong about him faking it. Let’s put it this way. If I’m right, it’s a very intriguing episode. If I’m wrong, it’s kinda bland. So, I lean toward the conspiracy theory. ;D

Other symbols. Sarah in lots of pink is interesting. (Pink Theory.) I think it’s probably because she’s June’s assistant. So, she’s Beth to June’s Dr. Edwards.

There’s a blond walker that gets in. And this is pretty interesting. I didn’t think much about her at first except that she’s blond and therefore kinda Beth-ish. But I noticed this time that she’s also wearing a pink shirt under her denim jacket. She ends up wrestling with Dwight and getting a saw in her mouth (ew). 

So it could be a “speak no evil” sort of theme. Then Strand shoots her to help Dwight, and when Dwight looks up, he has almost a perfect circle of blood around one eye. Sirius anyone?

The other thing from what I mentioned above is that the fishing shack Daniel told her to go to ended up being part of the delusion (if it was real). So, it definitely feeds into the hallucination imagery.

I think most of the rest of it is just run-of-the-mill imagery. We see tomatoes.

It starts with Daniel saying three words, which we later learn June told him to remember because she’s running the neurological tests. He says beach ball, elephant, grape.

Beach ball I tie to Sasha because Negan told her she had “beach ball sized” lady nuts. And of course there was all the beach talk around her and Abraham.

Grapes can tie to Beth in Inmates. And we have seen a few elephant symbols. So all of this is inline with the symbolism.

So how does this all tie into the grand scheme of things? Not entirely sure yet, but there’s definitely hallucination symbolism going on. 

The other thing is that memory issues could possibly be a foreshadow of Beth having memory issues. After all, Daniel has had more than one death fake out and then returned. Plus he specifically referenced burning down a building here. So there’s that. 

Mostly, this felt like a bit of bottleneck episode with some fun TD symbolism thrown in. I have no complaints, but I’m excited to see what happens in Dallas. 

So yeah. I think that’s all I’ve got for Fear. How did everyone else like it?

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

[calypsoff]

Forty Seven. Part 2

Slowly opening my eyes, the sun is shining all in my face and interrupted my sleep. Lifting my head up seeing Robyn stood at the balcony doors just looking out from them, she could have actually just stepped out, but I guess it is time to wake up for me. Clearing my throat as I stretched out, Robyn turned away from the balcony to look at me “morning” Robyn’ sweet little voice, she sounds so cute “morning” I sound bad “did you purposely leave the curtains open so the sun could wake me? I think you did” Robyn made her way over to the bed “erm, maybe. Well I want to enjoy Jamaica, so I don’t want us to sleep in even though I am so tired” she sat down on the edge of the bed, placing my arm behind my head “I’m tired too, that is down to sex” placing my other arm just on Robyn’ lap “you naked under this?” She nodded her head, which made me grin “I mean I’m not going to tell you that we going to have sex now but I’m just smiling, how are you feeling?” Playing on the ties of the robe, she is making me so happy right now “erm, ok. Well I am not sick I guess but I am ok I would say, but I haven’t ate. I did read into it and they say it’s the first trimester that this happens, but it will get better eventually, I think this baby is a pain in the ass already. But this baby is very different from the first time around, I feel like the first baby was a different sex, they say boys are the weaker sex so it may have been a boy. I am just guessing now” nodding my head “don’t say that what if this is a boy again and he can hear you” I shushed her “you’re so annoying, get up so we can have breakfast, dramatic as hell” Robyn got up from the bed, I smiled so wide just watching Robyn walk off, she is really the love of my life.

I have been to some beautiful places thanks to Robyn of course, I have many more places to visit but I am experiencing such beauty in the morning in Jamaica “better than Barbados this” I knew to say it because Robyn is about to get her flag out “don’t make me get you kicked out of my country” I snorted laughing “you took the bait, I am joking of course. But it’s beautiful right? You have to admit to that at least, you can’t just front like that and say it ain’t beautiful when it is” Robyn is not happy that I said that “Barbados is better and you’re not allowed back in my hometown now” I snorted laughing “you’re unbelievable, but if we talking this is my roots though, Jamaican and I have Irish” Robyn is not interested, cannot say anything bad about Barbados “you a whole white man Chris, so now you Irish. But is this the first time here for you, I mean if this is my hometown well where my heritage is from, I would be here. I am so glad I was bought up on the island, imagine having to live that life in America” now she is being petty “imagine being an exchange student” staring at Robyn and she just stared at me “you are an asshole” she laughed “but my mother never really bothered with it, well my dad so we just left it alone. And yeah, I am so light skinned but I’m black and people struggled with that, I’m sure you probably felt the same, because you’re light skinned as hell too” me and Robyn both are “I did get bullied for things you wouldn’t think, like my skin colour, my forehead. My nose and it was stupid, but it happened and now I think back to it these bitches just wanted to be me, you know. And now I’m working with puma, I am working with fashion designers, I am being called beautiful for things I did get bullied for, I wish no child gets that because I could have been depressed and you know, killed myself about it and it didn’t help when I got to your ugly ass school, but you were there. I am so glad you came late that day, I was your punishment” Robyn giggled “I hated it, I was like I have to walk around with you. I was so mad but then I got to know you, life is good” I grinned, I am happy “be honest, like we are adults now. Did you actually like me when you first time saw me?” I know I did, I was shook “when I first time saw you Chris, you’re eyes just lit up seeing me. I think at first with your attitude because you was so moody with me I was like oh god no, this boy is not going to be nice to me so I just followed behind you like a lost child and then after you loosened up I fell for you because you was so kind to me” rubbing my chest smiling “I was an asshole, I don’t blame you on that” I don’t know how she could like me.

Drinking champagne for breakfast is what kings do, because that is what I’m doing “what? You’re jealous because you can’t” pouring the champagne in the glass, noticing Robyn recording me so I drank from the bottle. Moving the bottle back “this is how kings drink in the morning” holding the bottle up to the camera “you’re stupid” Robyn moved the phone down “you posting that? You know you can see my ring in that, or don’t you care?” Robyn shrugged so that means she don’t care “I am putting it on my story, mornings in Jamaica. That is what I put, I mean I wouldn’t post me, I look terrible without makeup” placing the bottle on the table “also no more drinking, I am not dealing with you drunk” Robyn pointed at me, I saluted her “gotchu, alcohol hits hard in the morning” not even going to front, I feel it. I let out a burp “no more” she said again “I won’t, relax. So I was looking because we need to do pregnant friendly things right? So I set up a few things for us to do, private of course” I won’t say it to Robyn, but Jamaica is better than Barbados, the views here are amazing and the hotel is so much better too. I won’t say it again because she will ban me from her country altogether “that’s cute, and Dennis sent me a link. He’s already processed the photos and selected ones he thinks we should post, he says that these are magazine worthy, but I said I am not selling them, it’s not what I want. I will post these because I want too” she has a point; I agree with her with that but if she can make money out of it, why not.

Stood behind Robyn as she is scrolling through the pictures, these some cute ass pictures right here “you seen them all?” Putting my tee on “kind of, getting there anyways. You know what, since putting that video of you being a fool I have had people ask me are we married, I haven’t confirmed or denied it though, I just feel like I want to keep it a secret. I feel like when people see you happy they want to bring you down and I don’t like that feeling. I just want to keep us quiet, I don’t know, what you think?” She asked for my advice “why do you care if nobody is happy for you? Talk to me, what is going to upset you the most?” Walking around Robyn, pulling the chair out and sitting down “I do care when it upsets you, they will attack you and say things, I mean you have felt the shit with just dating me but marrying me, I just feel like people will attack my bubble. I mean there will be more happy people than anything, but I don’t know, what do you think? I will listen to you, please tell what to do?” Turning the laptop to me, seeing the picture of Robyn and I sat together at the evening event, so much love in Robyn’ eyes and I love that about our pictures, flicking through to the ones where we are walking down the hall “Dennis wasn’t lying about these pictures, these look like they come from a wedding magazine, I mean I for one look so good” Robyn grinned at me “how about I post your face for Puma, get you modelling” shaking my head “I am just saying, I think let us enjoy our honeymoon and then we will think about posting it. I think we should do it, but let’s forget this and go and have some fun yeah?” I think Robyn is really in two minds with this “ok, we will wait it out, but I want these pictures framed at our house, they are beautiful” nodding my head agreeing, she is right, they are beautiful.

We finally left the hotel; I mean after ages we finally left the hotel room and are in the car to go to my little adventure I did for us “why does your dick look big in the shorts” lifting my butt up and pulling my shorts down “better? These are baggy as hell actually” Robyn placed her hand on my thigh “I better enjoy wearing my bikinis because I won’t be able too soon” Robyn poked her lips out at me “I know, but it’s all for a good cause. Do you feel your body changing?” I asked, I mean she may feel it “I do, I feel it a lot. You like my bikini though, you like the clear swim wear I got on over my bikini” nodding my head “I do, of course I do. I mean I am always going to say yes” I chuckled “I would hope you would tell me the truth, oh we here?” Robyn pointed out “we are, you feel nervous yet?” Robyn turned away from me to look outside the window “we are rafting!?” nodding my head “I mean not us but someone is going to do it for us” Robyn looks so excited “oh my gosh, this is amazing, so quiet around here too” the car came to a halt “that is because I booked it off, I said I want it to be private for us from this time, I paid extra for this. You excited?” she seems it “I am, this is amazing. I can already imagine how beautiful the scenery is going to be. Can I leave my bag in the car? I can yes, I mean I don’t want to drop my things in the water. You have your phone?” nodding my head “yeah, he is waiting here for us” I pointed out.

I feel like all the workers came out for us which is funny to me “welcome, I am your raft captain miss Rihanna” he shook her hand first, I mean who am I, the spare part of course “thank you” she shook his hand “and you sir, welcome” he gestured for us to get on the raft “I am about break my ass with these slides on aren’t I” I didn’t think this through “you want to get on first” I gestured “no, you get on first and you help me on, you hold it steady” the guy is just watching us go back and forth “I step on first, hold it still. Don’t be scared” he laughed, I could do it but I want to be careful with Robyn. She is sensitive and I don’t want anything happening to her, he waved us on. It was nothing for him, he just jumped on the raft. Stepping on the raft “oh this moves” the guy got his hand out to me “come friend” grabbing his hand as I stepped on it “see, you’re ok. Just be easy” turning around “I do not trust you oh my god, get the fuck outta here Chris” Robyn laughed “I trust the captain more then you” I feel offended now “Robyn quit playing, come” holding my hands out to her, this guy just come up to Robyn “hold my hand, I won’t let you fall” she is such a pain for this, she held the guy’ hand and then mine as she came onto the raft “shake this thing I will scream” shaking my head knowing damn well I will not be doing that, helping her to sit down on the raft.

Placing my arm behind Robyn, this river is so beautiful. I made the right choice in this because it’s so beautiful and peaceful “I am still annoyed that you didn’t trust me, if like I would let anything happen to you” Robyn shushed me “I was thinking what if there is crocodiles in this water” side eyeing Robyn “now why would you say that? Stupid, there won’t be” there is rafts coming back down the river slowly approaching and are going by us, there is a little girl on the raft with her parents, her parents stared so hard and then realised “Rihanna, oh my god” the lady said ever so loud, Robyn’ fault she is busy waving at the little girl “hey baby” the little waved back as the raft went by “well this is fun” there other rafts going by us have clocked on now “why couldn’t you just not wave at the girl” I questioned “she was too cute, she waved at me first Chris, oh my gosh. How adorable was she” she was cute “but still, you got your fans wanting to swim over to us now” I pointed at them “we love you Rihanna, oh my god” licking my lips just watching them just take pictures, Robyn did respond by waving “quit it now, it’s about us” this was really her fault in this, she caused the drama.

We reached the end, which is a nice meal out here, it’s actually very peaceful here with nobody around besides the workers “please picture together with your wife” I looked dumbfounded “how did you know?” I questioned “your honeymoon, see you forgot. But we want to put you on the wall with all the famous friends” letting out an oh, he is right I did say honeymoon “Robyn, come. Take a picture for the nice man here” I pointed, Robyn is busy looking at souvenirs “I want some things, you got money on you. I left my bag” digging into my pockets “I do twin, let’s just take a picture for him” Robyn made her way over “of course, Captain has been so good and I felt more safe with him then my husband” she playfully rolled her eyes “whatever” placing my arm around Robyn and held her close as he took the picture “you want a picture with her too” I asked, I think he did “oh please” I knew that, moving away from Robyn. Taking the camera from him “thank you” holding the camera up “smile” taking the picture of them “thank you and I wish you both all the blessings on your new journey for the three of you” he took the camera from me, Robyn and I just stared at each other confused “what?” I said confused “how?” he smiled “I sense things, her aura. You both will have a happy and blissful marriage. I see the future; it will be a girl you both have. And I see you both having three kids, maybe four or maybe that forth is because you lost one, but I sense four but it’s vague with the fourth. Happy memories for you both, thank you for these pictures please sit and eat, I will wait for you at the bar” he smiled walking off, this guy has took me out, what the hell just happened.

#chrianna ff #chrianna #chrianna fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #chriannaff

[radramblog]

Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Commanders

Due to circumstances I won’t get into at time of writing (don’t worry it’s mostly good) I’ve been forced, dragged over, and required to actually fucking read all the new Commanders from Magic’s newest set, Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. I’ve only recently gotten deeper into D&D, I don’t know who like any of these clowns are (except Tiamat, obviously).

Also due to circmstances beyond my control (that are less good but understandable) my Commander night has been called off and I don’t get to play with my shiny new Cabal Coffers. It’s a bit sad, and it means I want to get my fix elsewhere.

What better way than to combine these two and just write about every AFR ‘mander? That’ll pass the time. There’s like, what, 30? I can manage that if I’m quick. Let’s get into it.

(No I’m not doing the precon cards I haven’t been staring at those all week)

Acererak the Archlich

The way I see this guy going is one of two things. You either do infinite Venture by making him free (not too hard in Black, what with Heartless Summoning, Carnival of Souls, etc.) and have a probably fine combo commander. For the record, infinite Venture does kill your opponents flat-out, BUT only because of Lost Mine of Phandelver’s Dark Pool room, and only if their life totals are lower than your deck count because you’re going to be drawing it in the process. That shouldn’t be an issue, but you never know.

The other option is just playing him fairly, which requires completing Tomb of Annihilation, and you just have a kinda mid Stax commander I guess? Eh.

Asmodeus the Archfiend

This Devil is clearly trying to echo prior Demons like Griselbrand and Vilis, but I’m not sure it’s going to be successful- if only because the mana investment means it’s a lot slower. And if he gets killed when you don’t have B up? Blown the fuck out. Add in no evasion and this is a God I’m happy to pass on.

 Barrowin of Clan Undurr

Okay so this is kind of like Alesha, in less colours and more mana, if you manage to complete a dungeon. And there aren’t that many dungeon cards, so you’re probably playing some bad ones to make up for it. This is definitely a 99’er in that Esper Dungeon precon, and certainly not a commander.

 Bruenor Battlehammer

In an attempt to solve one of Boros’s problems, Bruenor saves you a bunch of mana on equips and makes shit like Argentum Armor substantially more playable. He also gets kinda fuckin beefy with even just a few on him, hitting that 7 no matter what the first one is and 11 not long after. As far as Boros Boys go, you can do a lot worse!

 Delina, Wild Mage

Didn’t we just get this card? Like, in C21? This is harder to make busted than Rionya, but it is cheaper and works with legends, so fair call. There’s not enough “advantage” dice mechanics in Red, certainly, so you can’t go probability-mad with this, but it’s pretty decent value. It also happens to be a Shaman, so it works with that new MH2 card, and that’s fun.

 Drizzt Do’Urden

This guy has a lot of potential, and for added bonus, he has a cat! A lot of the cards that are good in this are the ones that are good in, say, Varolz, but honestly if you just want to play Selesnya Beatsticks then Drizzt might be the way to go. Can’t play him in Cats, though, unless you want to lose Kaheera, so.

 Ebondeath, Dracolich

Yeah I don’t think this one was for this format? I mean it’s super recursive, and probably a really good candidate for a Homicidal Seclusion/Deadly Wanderings deck. I think we need one or two more of that effect to make it actually playable, but I still like the idea.

Wait why isn’t this fucker a skeleton? WoTC Pls.

 Farideh, Devil’s Chosen

Look, I tried. I really tried, but there really just isn’t enough to make Farideh work yet. At least in black-border, as I think she’s probably one of the best silver-bordered commanders printed in a minute. A shame, because I sure do enjoy Tieflings, and the effect is legitimately solid if you can trigger it consistently.

 Grazilaxx, Illithid Scholar

While I imagine it’s a perfectly solid commander in their own right, basically Mono-Blue Edric but not group-huggy, where this is going to really shine is in Ninja decks. Holy shit, this is so nutty for those. Honestly, ETB decks in general are going to like them, because the choice of either taking damage and letting them draw or letting them reuse a powerful ETB is pretty tough. I like everything about this, except the art, because I’m not into tentacles no thank you.

 Gretchen Titchwillow

When Strixhaven came out, I thought Zimone was going to be the most boring Simic commander we’d ever see. But here comes Gretchen to outdo them.

Look, Simic can do good designs. Even at uncommon- Imoti, Moritte, and Eutropia are all super interesting in my opinion. But Simic being just draw and lands has become a meme, and I’m sick of it. Extremely so, for three main reasons- one, it’s boring, two, it’s been all over the place since WoTC decided +1/+1 counters being their only theme was bad (and, fair,) and three, it’s good.

Gretchen is the most boring card in the entire set, in my opinion, and I sure hope she isn’t a cool character in the lore because that’d be such a waste.

 Hama Pashar, Ruin Seeker

There are 21 venture cards in Azorius, and some of them are even good. Most of the Room effects are pretty minor, however, save for some of the endgame ones (and copying Cradle of the Death God is pointless, Atropal is legendary), so copying them isn’t actually a huge amount of value. I’d still play this in Esper Venture, but I don’t think I’d build around it.

 Icingdeath, Frost Tyrant

While this clearly isn’t built for this format, equipping this dragon with it’s own tongue is kind of a hilarious idea. You could do worse for Voltron decks, I guess, and in the 99 it’s both a thing to slap equipment on and an equipment itself- like a flying (and weaker) Halvar. Eh? I just wish the token wasn’t legendary- like yeah Flavour but this effect gets a lot worse when you can’t recur it. It’s rare that someone goes out of their way to kill an equipment that isn’t super busted, so Frost Tongue is probably hanging around for a while anyway.

Man, it feels awful if they bolt this one, huh?

 Inferno of the Star Mounts

Okay this is fucking cool. It’s a Shivan Dragon with haste, and that ability is probably pretty feasible to activate- keep in mind Braid of Fire and Neheb and the like are in the format- and combined with a swing will just kill someone. In fact, when I saw this, my brain immediately started looking for ways to shrink it, just so you can get multiple 20-damage wallops in a turn.

…there aren’t very many. But still! Even if you can’t get to 20 multiple times in a turn, getting to 21 once or twice is pretty good!

 Iymrith, Desert Doom

The fourth of our dragon cycle, because hey, it is Dungeons and Dragons. Iymrith reads basically identical to Dragonlord Ojutai, but without White- and for that kinda control deck, White is pretty nice to have. Iymrith can draw you more cards than Ojutai, but only if you’re low, in a blue deck, in Commander, so. With that said, a deck that just loads this with cheap auras/equipment might actually be pretty good, since they can load you back up on cards and keep the Voltron flowing, so, maybe? I’d honestly consider it if I didn’t already have Mono-blue Voltron as a deck.

 Kalain, Reclusive Painter

Okay this is super interesting. He is, unfortunately kinda fighting with the RB precon face, Prosper, for the new RB treasure deck, but for an uncommon there’s a fair bit going on here.

Actually, wait, is there? I thought about this for another couple seconds, and I don’t think this card actually does that much. It’s one treasure, and it benefits you a little bit for doing something you frankly don’t really want to be burning treasures on? Like it probably plays a mean Marionette Master, but everyone does that.

There really aren’t any other RB Artifact commanders, though, aside from Prosper or a partner deck. So ehhhh? Why are more people playing this than, like, Bruenor?

 Krydle of Baldur’s Gate

That’s a lot of words that don’t actually do a whole lot. I like the second ability, but Commander and especially Dimir aren’t hurting for evasion options. This is probably pretty good in Rogues, but that deck has a de facto best commander now, so. If this came out like, five years ago, it’d be kinda hype, but not anymore.

As an aside, I do kinda hate it when they just print a Tribal commander (or anything like this) that’s just miles and miles better than every other commander for that archetype, like with Anowon 2 or Edgar Markov or Anje Falkenrath. Wait….those are all vampires…….

 Minsc, Beloved Ranger

Shivam Bhatt did a fucking excellent breakdown of this character’s lore on twitter, which I recommend reading- the history of D&D’s lore is fucking wild. As it is, this seems like a pretty fun Naya commander- there’s plenty of creatures that get way better if you make them large, even if targeting Boo seems kinda pointless.

Also, I need someone to explain to me why the “Top Cards” on EDHREC for this guy right now are, like, all combo cards.

WAIT NO FIGURED IT OUT, unlike Marath he doesn’t say X can’t be 0 so you can use him as a sac outlet, for fucks sake people.

 Nadaar, Selfless Paladin

Hey remember all the things I said about the WB and WU dungeon cards? I mean, at least this guy could theoretically complete the dungeon on his own, but Mono-White is even more restrictive for what you could get, so. At least he draws a card every so often. And that anthem isn’t even remotely worth it, at all.

 Old Gnawbone

Green eating up more of the colour pie, I see. Now to be fair, I’ve pondered Mono-Green artifacts for a while, and this is probably a better leader for that list than Oviya Pashiri (but…I like her….), but beyond that I’m not sure what you’re doing with this. I guess people playing Sakiko because they think she’s actually good and not because they like her have a new commander.

This is fuckbusted in the 99 of like a million decks though. So there’s that.

 Orcus, Prince of Undeath

That…is so much mana. In a colour combo not especially great at garnering lots of it. The second ability scales fairly well, and it is a decent body on its own, but I don’t think this is going to be a particularly popular commander. Like, you have to pump 6 mana into this just to get a 2-drop back or to Infest the board? And that’s just the first time you cast it? Nahhhhh.

 Oswald Fiddlebender

Artifact Pod? Yeah, okay, sure, that seems reasonable at two mana. Keeping this mono-white was a good idea, I can’t imagine how insane this’d be in blue. I’m no artifacts expert, I’m no pod expert, but this has to be busted, right? Like surely there’s an easy way to infinite this? Someone with more brains figure it out for me, but either way it’s still a bunch of value and also a tutor in the zone.

(convert two random 2-mana rocks or wellsprings into Basalt Monolith/Rings of Brighthearth, okay that’s a good start)

 Shessra, Death’s Whisper

…ehhhhhhh. Okay, so, it’s a significantly worse Deathreap ritual in the command zone, and also a terrible Lure effect. Along with the flavour words on this taking up much more space than necessary, making the effects look much bigger and better than they are. Would it have hurt to give this deathtouch? Make it trigger on every end step? Lure more than once? I dunno, this just seems painfully weak to me. We’ve had an overabundance of Golgari commanders recently, to be fair- MH2 had 3, and before that was the enemy focused Strixhaven/C21, but that’s no excuse for this to be such trash- just look at Bruenor.

 Targ Nar, Demon-Fang Gnoll

I hope you like Gnolls, because that’s gotta be the only reason you’re playing this. Hello Tuya Bearclaw/Syr Faren/im sure a bunch of other boring commanders, this is another one of you. This looks so bad next to the Gruul precon (which is apparently somehow the first Gruul precon) and, well, every other RG general from the past couple years (save, again, Tuya Bearclaw). Even the fuckin Walking Dead guy is cooler than this.

 The Tarrasque

Disappointment part one over here is at time of writing the only commander from this set with a fat zero decks. Considering there were like 10 commanders at that number when I last checked, people are clearly trying out the set, so The Tarrasque being abandoned is particularly sad. It just…doesn’t do anything? It’s the fucking Tarrasque, and it doesn’t have trample, or a fear ability, or anything? Ward 10 is cute, basically being hexproof unless they have infinite mana (or an uncounterable spell), but really? I want more than this idiot for my 9 fucking mana commander. Ugh.

 Tiamat

I believe I’ve talked about Tiamat before, when she got spoiled, but I can’t be arsed finding that and dredging it up. I’m still disappointed, basically, especially since I’ve now read her statblock and know what she actually does. They could’ve given her a cool ability per head like Cromat, or had her recur like she does in the lore, or something. I genuinely would have preferred if she was an Emrakul-style massive game-ender (with a no-reanimation no bullshit clause) than this. How utterly meh.

 Trelasarra, Moon Dancer

This is literally just Ajani’s Pridemate but Selesnya and in the zone. Also you scry. Sure? It does also have two relevant creature types I guess, and they’d probably be good in a Soul Sisters deck. But it’s not like Selesnya was hurting for Lifegain commanders- this is basically just Lathiel but much leaner and voltron-ier.

 Varis, Silverymoon Ranger

Wait you can’t even play this in Esper Venture, fuck. With Flash effects, you can start clearing dungeons well quick enough, but like, for what, a Wolf? And these defensive keywords aren’t getting you anywhere either. Blegh.

Side note- I’m a big fan of tokens, and collecting various token arts, and I was extremely disappointed when I found out that the Wolf token from this set is just…the Zendikar one again? They didn’t reuse the 3/3 Angel or the Goblin or even the Zombie, why just that one? Something must have happened behind the scenes here.

Also….Silverymoon? That sounds like shit.

 Volo, Guide to Monsters

Hey, I know you, you’re from that one book. As much as Anti-Tribal sounds fun, I’m pretty sure this just turns into generic Simic value. Copying things is fun, I suppose, though not working with Legends hurts. I also appreciate that this supports playing a bunch of weirdo cards or ones that have fallen out of favor because they have more unique creature types- Anphin Mutineer, Acidic Slime, and Diluvian Primordial all seem like a lot of power here.

That said, is anyone ever letting this fucker stick around for a turn?

 Xanathar, Guild Kingpin

Hey, I know you, you’re from that one book. This card is completely awful to play in webcam-commander, so it’s a good thing we’re all getting vaccinated, right?

So this is UB Gonti, I guess? And also unironically not the worst combo commander, since it stops people from playing spells on your turn in a very White-like effect. Add in some Lantern-style effects and you can get a real stew going with this guy. He looks like a lot of fun- and I’m sure he’ll end up popular as a result. Well, that and being on the cover of an expansion book gets you a lot of notoriety.

 Zalto, Fire Giant Duke

 Our final card, our final Venture card, and the only red one. So, uh, there are literally 4 other Venture cards in mono-red, and at least one of them is complete dogshit, so I can’t imagine this being very good. Also, it’s an Enrage trigger on a 3 toughness 5-drop? Far from ideal. I guess it’s a 7 power trampler for 5, but that’s kind of faint praise to damn with. Maybe if someone makes 5C Venture, or if Giant/Barbarian tribal feel lacking, then this guy can find a home.

Shoutout to the exactly one person who built this deck, by the way. I see you, Elder Demon Highlander, and your 100ish views on your deck tech.

 And that’s the lot of them. Honestly, a lot more misses than hits, but that’s perfectly okay by me. 30 legends in a set is a lot, not to mention the 12 from the precons, and we’ve had so many actively playable legends recently that I’m fine with, like, half of these being trash. Trash is more fun anyway! Get yourself a fuckin Varis, why not.

Okay but seriously though who’s biting the bullet and building Tarrasque first? It’s not going to be me.

#ramble #mtg #commander #edh #mtgafr #adventures in the forgotten realms

[quakerjoe]

"Why are people so hostile towards President Donald Trump?"

Chris O'Leary:

Before you pass my answer off as “Another Liberal Snowflake” consider that 1.) I'm an independent centrist who has voted Republican way more often in my life than Democrat, and 2.) If you want to call someone who spent the entire decade of his 20’s serving in the Marine Corps a snowflake, I’d be ready to answer the question what did you do with your 20’s?

Why Liberals (And not-so liberals) are against President Trump.

A.) He lies. A LOT. Politifact rates 69% of the words he speaks as “Mostly False or worse” Only 17% of the things he says get a “Mostly True” or better rating. That is an absolutely unbelievable number. How he doesn’t speak more truth by mistake is beyond me. To put it in context, Obama’s rating was 26% mostly false or worse, and I had a problem with that. Many of Trump’s former business associates report that he has always been a compulsive liar, but now he’s the President of the United States, and that’s a problem. And this is a man who expects you to believe him when he points at other people and says “They’re lying”

B.) He’s an authoritarian populist, not a conservative. He advances regressive social policy while proposing to expand federal spending and federalist authority over states, both of which conservatives are supposed to hate.

C.) He pretends at Christianity to court the Religious Right but fails to live anything resembling a Christ-Like Life.

D.) His nationalist “America First” message effectively alienates us and removes us from our place as leaders in the international community.

E.) His ideas on “Keeping us safe” are all thinly veiled ideas to remove our freedoms, he is, after all, an authoritarian first. They also are simply bad ideas.

F.) He couldn’t pass a 3rd-grade civics exam. He doesn't’ know what he’s doing. He doesn't understand how international relations work, he doesn’t understand how federal state or local governments work, and every time someone tries to “Run it like a business” it’s a spectacular failure. See Colorado Springs’ recent history as an example. The Short, Unhappy Life of a Libertarian Paradise And that was a businessman with a MUCH better business track record than Trump. We are talking about a man who lost money owning a freaking gambling casino.

G.) He behaves unethicaly and always has. As a businessman, he constantly left in his wake unpaid contractors and invoices, litigation, broken promises, whatever he could get away with.

H.) He is damaging our relationships with our best international friends while kissing up to nations that do not have our best interests in mind. To his question “Wouldn't’ it be great to have better relations with Russia?” The answer is Yes. But it is RUSSIA who needs to earn that, who must stop doing the things that are damaging to that relationship, or we are simply weaker for it.

I.) He has never seen a shortcut he didn't like, and you can’t take shortcuts in government. “Nuclear Option, Remove the Filibuster, I’ll change the Constitution by Executive Order…Don…what happens when you remove the filibuster and the other side retakes the majority in the Senate? Suddenly want that filibuster back? What happens if you manage to change the Constitution by Executive Order and an Anti-2A President wins the next election?

J.) He behaves and has always behaved as an unabashed racist. Yes, I’ve seen your favorite meme that claims he was never accused of racism before the Democrats…Absolutely false. Donald Trump’s long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2019 See the Central Park 5, the lawsuits and fines resulting from his refusal to lease to black tenants, the 1992 lost appeal trying to overturn penalties for removing black dealers from tables, his remarks to the house native American affairs subcommittee in 1993. The man sees and treats racial groups of people as monoliths.

K.) He is systematically steamrolling regulations specifically designed to keep a disaster like the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis from happening again.

L.) He speaks and acts like a demagogue. He sees the Legislative and Judicial branches of government as inconveniences, blows up at criticism no matter how deserved and actively tries to countermand constitutional processes, not to mention attempts to blackmail and coerce people who are saying negative things about him

M.) His choices for top positions, with the exception of Gen. Mattis, who is a gem, have been horrendous. A secretary of Education without a resume that would get her hired as a small town grammar school principal, A secretary of Energy who didn't know the Department of Energy was responsible for nuclear reserves, an EPA head whose biggest accomplishments to date had been suing the EPA on multiple occasions, an FCC head who while working for Verizon actively lobbied to kill net neutrality, and an Attorney General who thinks pot is “nearly as bad as heroin” and asked Congress for permission to go after legal pot businesses in states where it is legal. (There goes that great Republican States rights rally cry again, right? *Crickets*) An Interim AG after Firing his First AG who’s appointment is probably unconstitutional.

N.) He denies scientific fact. Ever notice that the only people you hear denying climate change are politicians and lobbyists? 99% of actual scientists studying the issue agree that it’s real, man-made and caused by greenhouse gasses. Ever notice that every big disaster movie starts with a bunch of politicians in a room ignoring a scientist's warning?

0.) He does not have the temperament to lead this nation. He is Thin Skinned, childish, and a bully, never mind misogynistic, boorish, rude, and incapable of civil discourse.

P.) He still does not understand that the words he speaks, or tweets, are the official position of 1/3 of the US government, and so does not govern his words. He still thinks when he speaks it’s good ol’ Donald Trump. It’s not. It’s the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. You have probably spread a meme or two around talking about how no president’s every word has ever been dissected before…YES, THEY ALWAYS HAVE. It’s just that every other president in our lifetime has understood the importance of his words and took great care to govern his speech. Trump blurts out whatever comes to his mind then complains when people talk about what a dumb thing that was to say.

Q.) He’s unqualified. If you owned a small business and were looking for someone to manage it, and an unnamed resume came across your desk and you saw 6 bankruptcies, showing a man who had failed to make money running CASINOS, would you hire him? He is a very poor businessman. This is a man it has been estimated would have been worth $10 BILLION more if he’d just taken what his father had given him, invested it in Index Funds and left it alone.

R.) He is President. But he refuses to take a leadership position and understand that he is everyone’s President. Conservatives complain about liberals chanting “Not my President” while Trump himself behaves as if no one but his supporters matter.

S.) He’s a blatant hypocrite. He spent 8 years bitching Obama out for his family trips, or golfing, or any time he took for himself, and what does he do? He was already on his 20th golf outing in APRIL of his 1st year in office. He constantly rants about respect for the military, yet can’t be bothered to attend the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day because of a little rain. (And that excuse about Marine One not being able to fly in the rain is HILARIOUS.)

T.) He’s a misogynist. It's not really ok in this day and age to be a misogynist, but it’s not a huge deal if you’re a private citizen. It’s a pretty big deal if you hate half the people you’re elected to lead. The disdain for women seeps out of his …whatever…. and he just can’t hide it.

U.) Face it. In any other election “Grab Em’ By the Pussy” would have been the end of that candidate’s chances. Back in the 90’s I used to marvel about how Teflon Bill Clinton was. I no longer do. The fact that he managed to slip by on that is as much a statement about how much people hate Hillary Clinton as it is about what is wrong with politics in this country right now.

V.) He has one response to a differing opinion. Attack. A good leader listens to criticism, to different points of view, is capable of self-reflection, tries to guide people to his point of view, and when necessary stands his ground and defends his convictions. Any of that sound like Trump? His default is not to Lead, its’ to attack. Scorched Earth. The Jim Acosta reaction is a good example. There was no defense of his convictions when Acosta was asking him repeated questions about his rhetoric on the caravan. His response was to attack Acosta.

W.) He takes credit for everything positive while deflecting blame for everything negative. Look at him with the Stock Market. He’s been bragging about it since day one, and to give credit where credit is due, speculation on coming deregulation early in his presidency did fuel some rapid growth, but to pretend that it’s all him, that we’re not in the 9th year of the longest bull market in history and THEN, when the standard market volatility that deregulation inevitably brings about starts to show up? Yeah. Look at yesterday. Hey! Stock Markets losing because the Democrats won! Do I need to bring out the Stock market chart for the last 10 Years again?

X.) He emboldens the worst among us. Counter-protesters are slammed into by a car while countering actual Nazi rally, and the response is there’s fault on “Both Sides” The media is at fault for a nut job sending them and Donald’s favorite targets pipe bombs. The truth is not all Republicans, not all Trump Supporters are racist, fascist lunatics. Many are just taken in by the bombastic personality and are living in an information bubble made worse by the fact that they unfollow anyone and ignore any source of information that makes them feel uncomfortable. People on the left do that too. The Biggest problem the right has right now is that the worst of the Right is the loudest and the most in your face, and the actual right, especially the Freaking PRESIDENT needs to be standing up and saying No. Those are not our values.

Y.) He seems to think the Constitution of The United States, the document that IS who we are, the document he took an oath to support and defend is some sort of inconvenience. He demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of Constitution, from believing he can alter the 14th through executive order, to thinking The free exercise clause in the first amendment somehow supersedes the establishment clause (not that he really understands either) or that the free exercise clause only applies to Christians. Or his attacks on freedom of expression and the press. He repeatedly makes it clear that if he’s read them, he does not understand Articles 1–3, and that’s something he really should have before he took the job, because they’re not going away.

Z.) I’ll use Z for something I do blame him for, but the rest of us have to carry the blame too. Polarization. This country is more politically polarized than I can remember in my lifetime. Some of you who are a few years older than I may remember how it was in the late 60’s when construction workers in New York were being applauded for beating up hippies, I think it’s pretty close to that right now, but that was before my time. And he is the cause of much of the current level polarization, but also the result. It didn't’ start with Trump. We’ve been going down this road I think since the eruption of the Tea Party in the early years of the Obama Administration. I do hope the tide turns before it gets much worse because the thing that scares me more than anything is what if that keeps going the way it has been? "

[jed-thomas]

Addiction as a Political Strategy

On Saturday, the Gaza headquarters of international media groups, including Al-Jazeera and the Associate Press, was felled by an Israeli air-strike.

According to the Independent, a spokesperson for the Israel Defence Force revealed that the building housed ‘Hamas military intelligence’, remarking that such a situation is common-practice for the organisation: ‘Hamas deliberately places military targets at the heart of densely-populated civilian areas in the Gaza Strip’.

Gaza’s contemporary population is estimated at just over two million. In terms of density, this estimate considers there to be, on average, around five thousand inhabitants per square kilometre. For comparison, according to the 2011 census, the population-density of the City of London is roughly equal. Can an area of this sort of density ever be a legitimate military target? Our nation’s capital remembers the Blitz with a shudder, still.

Indeed, there are serious questions to be asked. Asked of both sides, of course. For starters, if an offensively- and defensively-advanced nation-state is attacked by a far weaker neighbouring power, is it decent to expect some form of restraint from the former? Of course, it depends on the extent of the disparity between the two. But, given that there is such an inequality in terms of firepower, it is hard to discern what a proportionate response to certain attacks could be - one side simply cannot match the other, in any reasonable sense. Therefore, a focus on defence must be the answer. Perhaps, if paired with diplomacy, such a stance could contribute to meaningful, long-term de-escalation. But can a nation-state bare to suffer civilian casualties - or, even, fatalities - as a price? As has been evident from reporting on the latest conflagration, casualties in non-occupied regions of Palestine always outnumber the casualties in Israel. If you know that retaliation will endanger more of your opponent’s civilians as a rule, does it mean you must simply stomach the endangerment of your own civilian population? Nevertheless, that’s treating it like they are mere numbers, not human lives. On this asymmetry of death, however, must we simply reject claims that guerrillas use, to borrow a somewhat cynical phrase, ‘human shields’? Hiding amongst the crowds and the landscape is the recourse of the less armed. This does not, of course, justify the practice morally. But, again, given that you have considerable (but, necessarily, imperfect) defensive procedures, can your opponents’ guerrilla tactics justify your endangering civilians? Finally, is it proportionate to respond to evictions and police brutality with indiscriminate rocketing of civilian areas? In no uncertain terms, this is a terrorist tactic. But if you can expect nothing short of devastation, what do you have to lose? It may not be rational or moral, but it is understandable. It’s all understandable. Who of us would be rational?

In Britain, there is a species of common-sense which draws lines around areas of human activity deemed exempt from discussions of ethics and justice. Of course, in general, words like that tend to get laughed at or ignored - they smack of un-seriousness, a teenager’s petulance at reality. But of these international waters of morality, the war-zone is the most grey. Perhaps, this foggy British intuition grasps something: matters of war are also matters of the human condition, not only matters of geopolitics or morality. Despite the cynical manner in which it’s usually uttered, it allows us to raise questions about the nature of war which side-step the labyrinth of moral calculation as a facet of military strategy.

Last week, in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, former Israeli politician Zehava Galon raised these questions and others, penning a column entitled: ‘Human Beings Are Able to Talk, Not Only to Carry a Club’. Her writing is fiery, polemical, but one turn-of-phrase in particular is fascinating: ‘addiction to the club’.

In Israel, all Jewish citizens over the age of 18 are required by law to undertake at least two years of service in the Israel Defence Forces. Usually, states introduce conscription in times of war. For around a decade, the IDF has adopted a set of strategies with regard to the Gaza Strip that are colloquially referred to as ‘mowing the grass’. In short, it is a strategy of long-term deterrence, periodically weakening militias in the area in order to produce periods of respite. The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, which researches ‘Middle Eastern and global strategic affairs, particularly as they relate to the national security and foreign policy of Israel’, produced a study of the strategy, concluding that ‘Israel finds itself in a protracted intractable conflict’ requiring ‘a strategy of attrition designed primarily to degrade the enemy capabilities.’ The Center chalks this up to the nature of the conflict - it being against ‘hostile non-state groups’ - but, as Galon alleges, there may be an additional reason.

Personally and nationally, national service can take on a definitional function. To be blunt, if you have an enemy, you have an identity, a role, a community to which you belong. Perhaps, such negative-identifcations are an inevitable by-product of nation-building. But a video has been doing the rounds on Twitter which compiles a series of vox pops in Jerusalem that portray a violent scorn - ‘I would carpet-bomb them .. It’s the only way you could deal with it’ - for those in Gaza/Arabs/Palestinians - a sort of composite figure of the objects of the IDF’s strategies. One interviewee suggests that ‘Jews should have rights to hate them’. The interviewees justify these attitudes via the facts of the historic embattlement of the Jewish people, casting the state of Israel itself as representative of ‘divine justice’ or an incarnation of some redemptive new direction of history. Another video supposedly recorded by IDF soldiers has been shared widely. From the translated chatter, the video itself appears to have been recorded as part of attempts to capture exciting killings. This particular killing, seemingly of an unarmed young person milling around with another, is terrifically exciting to the group, the cameraman’s voice resounds with sheer glee at having caught it: ‘What a legendary video … He flew into the air and his leg was like…’

The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement, the founding charter of the organisation now known by a colloquialism, Hamas, abounds with poetic images of war. Article 33 reads:

Ranks will close, fighters joining other fighters, and masses everywhere in the Islamic world will come forward in response to the call of duty, loudly proclaiming: ‘Hail to Jihad!’. This cry will reach the heavens and will go on being resounded until liberation is achieved, the invaders vanquished and Allah's victory comes about.

In the ruins of the Gaza Strip, some may have sought to make a pact with their fear and despair, to discover in it the howlings of history. Let it point the way. The recklessness of the militias’ attacks on Israel resonate with this particular desperation - and the scorn for human life that is its price. In the Covenant, ethnic hatred is expressed openly and in unashamedly violent terms. Article 7 reads:

The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them.

In the Covenant’s view, the Jewish people represent a grand historic force which all Muslims must devote themselves to curbing. Article 22:

The enemies have been scheming for a long time […] They stood behind the French Revolution, the Communist Revolution and most of the revolutions we hear about […] They stood behind World War I […] and formed the League of Nations through which they could rule the world. They were behind World War II, through which they made huge financial gains […] There is no war going on anywhere without them having their finger in it.

Organisations like the IDF and Hamas blend claims to land with existential certainties, rationalising violent desires. Like a junkie rhapsodising about his creative break-throughs, these are political and historical arguments which obscure an addiction. A newsletter from the National Institutes of Health, a branch of the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services, notes that at a certain stage of addiction, ‘people often use drugs or alcohol to keep from feeling bad rather than for their pleasurable effects.’ All addicts are, to use a pop-psych phrase, running from something. Under the influence of addiction, one’s despair and fear become engines of joy, pressing you onwards towards release. Therefore, like some anti-Addicts-Anonymous, organisations like the IDF and Hamas provide infrastructures of protection and facilitation for war-addicts.

And that is the kicker: none of this constitutes some personal particular fault with Jewish Israeli citizens or Arabic Palestinian Muslims. Nationalist political organisations are cynically perpetuating themselves through these methods. Indeed, they are the agents of these conflicts, ordinary people are merely their addict-conscripts. Your dealer is not your friend.

Therefore, we raise issues of justice in matters of war to avoid these all-too-human eventualities. Raising those issues retains our focus on the central questions of the validity of a violent action, of vested interests and consequences. What is needed - in any war, anywhere - is an orientation towards the discourse of war which accepts that it is always susceptible to the distortions of the addicted mind. Forever, the question is: should this war-zone exist at all?

Galon and Tair Kaminer - a 24-year-old Jewish Israeli citizen who, having served a short sentence for refusing national service, was arrested in Jerusalem over the weekend for organising a solidarity protest of Jews and Arabs - and the legendary Hanan Ashrawi are pointed examples of a banality which is nevertheless worth re-emphasing: no nation falls totally under the spell of this addiction. The collective delirium of war never swallows populations nor individual minds whole. Always, always there are other ways. For instance, questions of rights to land are the (literal) solid ground to which we can return. Bring them into focus.

Footage from the Snapchat of an attendee at a Free Palestine protest in Nottingham City shows a car aggressively parting a line of protestors. The perpetrator has not yet been identified.

#palestine #israel #gaza #netanyahu #west bank #jerusalem

[smokeybrandreviews]

Cherry Blossom Festival

I’m on record as being a massive fan of Azur Lane. I love this soulless gacha game to bits and i do not know why. At least with Fate/Grand Order, i can quantify my obsession; I was already a Fate, or rather, all around TYPE-Moon shill but Azur Lane? What? I picked this thing up on a whim about a year ago when FGO was being ridiculous and never looked back. What little game play there is, was more than any other phone game I'd ever played short of the title being a port of an old sixteen bit title. Try playing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on a phone and talk to be about being a real life gamer. Shenanigans.

Azur Lane ain’t that. It’s built for phones and the controls direct reflect that medium. I was a little surprised by how much fun it turned out to be and immediately fell in love with the Iron Blood faction. This blog i riddles with why, Prinz Eugen is best girl, but I've amassed a decent fleet without spending too much loot. My chosen faction i a little light on ships and they only really ever come around during events, which sucks, but I've got a nice little set that i run with. Two actually. I’ve rolled enough Iron Blood ships to build two, separate, fleets and they’re glorious. I’ve even developed on Priority ship and am in the process of accumulating the insane experience for the second. That said, this ain’t about the A Faction. This is about my B Faction; The Sakura Empire.

I love these ships, man. They’re all gorgeous and laughably powerful. The versatility in this faction is incredible. There are a ton of ships to choose from so you can essentially pick exactly what you need, exactly when you need it. The sheer volume of ships available in the gacha is incentive enough to main Sakura but the Priority choices in that faction are pretty hard-body, too. I have, probably, twice as many Sakura ships than i do Iron Blood and my second favorite, Taihou, is native to my dear cherry blossom gang. The most recent event also gifted me another favorite ship and the first Ultra Rare that you can roll instead of build or Retrofit, Shinano. She’s not only stupid strong, but a legit Aircraft Carrier. I am always looking for Carriers like this because Iron Blood sucks for them. Graf Zeppelin is the only Super Rare and Zeppy, a chibi Elite version of Graf, herself, is the only other option. Sakura is lousy with them, Akagi, Akagi Muse, Kaga, Ryuhouu, Shoukaku, and my sweetheart, Taihou. And those are just the ones available in the Super Rare category. There’s about nine more you can get, albeit, substantially weaker than the ones listed above. Still, if you spec them correctly, they can be pretty formidable

I am Iron Blood for life but Sakura Empire is easily my second favorite faction available. While i am focused on building up my not-German girls at the moment, I’ll definitely work on my faux-Japanese fleets next. I’ve already kind of started, maxing out my Atago, Takao, Yukikaze and Taihou. The current event, Dreamwaker’s Butterfly, has bolstered my silver medal ships considerably. In the last week, I've rolled Chiyoda, Suzutski, Kii, Chitose, Mogami, Kumano, and the whole point of this event and essay, Shinano. Yeah, i was able to roll Shinano. That bit of luck was rather surprising and it made finishing this event completely unnecessary. But I'm gonna. There might not be anymore Ultra Rares available for me to get but I'm still going to go hard in the effort to build out my already substantial Sakura Empire dock. Plus, I really want Kinu. Not sure if she's available in the pool but I love her design and she can be Retrofitted into a Super Rare ship. Dope boat is dope and I NEED her. Also, I mean, she's probably my third favorite Sakura ship so... Also, Tosa!

#Azur Lane #Sakura Empire