#mainly because i think about the lakes A LOT and by a lot i mean it haunts me daily

[seireitonin]

What alternative subcultures the Creepypastas would be in!!(pt 1)

This was an ask I accidentally deleted! Oops! I also listen to all the music I put in here! So it’s also a small glimpse into what I listen to! Also as some of you know I’m in the scemo and goth subcultures! But I know a lot about alternative cultures period so this was fun to make!

LJ: VICTORIAN GOTH 100%!! / Victorian Circus Core

I mean he’s literally from that era

The feathered shaw, the black and white color scheme, the black lipstick and guy liner with the pale white face!!

Literally a goth king. That’s an outfit I would definitely see at a goth club!(I’ve been to many)

Another part of goth culture is liking horror/ monsters. Since LJ is a monster he’d fit right in!

He’d be accepted by most goths despite his looks bc goths have morbid dark fashion senses themselves!

So if they saw his swirly cone nose and sharp teeth they’d be like: omg! I love your look!

He’d definitely listen to classical music and other goth music Specifically Switchblade symphony and Cocteau Twins

He definitely listens to old PATD

I can see him wearing other Victorian inspired clothes too!

Like dis:

Jeff: Metalhead/ with 90s emo(for nostalgia.)

I mean look at him

He’d definitely shit on nu metal and still listen to it

The long greasy black hair, not showering, thinking he’s better than everyone else yeah sounds like a metal head to me/ hj

He listens Cattle Decapitation, Peeling Flesh, Suicide Silence, Cannibal Corpse, Avatar and literally anything with machine gun drums

He listens to some 90s emo but will never admit

Definitely wears band shirts especially the ones he got from concerts when he was a teen

He loves a good mosh pit

You know, the ones where you come out all bloody?

Yeah he loves those

He can hurt people in them and it’ll be fine? Sign him up! (Man has no pit manners smh)

Definitely a metal elitist

“You like SOAD? Ugh that not REAL metal”

Stfu Jeff.

Yeah. Metalhead to his core.

LJill (I love her, so underrated)

Victorian goth as well, but she leans more in the gothic Lolita side of it

Wears pretty gothic Lolita dresses with lots of black and white lace, buttons and she’ll have a matching bonnet and parasol to match when she’s feeling extra fancy!

She feels so elegant and feminine when she puts her multiple layers of petticoats on! She wouldn’t be caught dead without them!

Her makeup and lipstick is always perfect.

Her hair is always either perfectly curled or perfectly straightened

The goal is to look as doll like as possible ( also because she is one!)

She listens to music box like music if that makes sense?? For example Swan Lake by Fairy Lullaby or Porcelain Eyes

She, like LJ listens to classical music and goth music

But mainly classical and music box!

Will go to tea parties and knows how to make tea cakes and sandwiches

Just a lady all around!

Jane: Trad Goth/ Casual Goth/ Amy Lee

Since Jane is always on the move and doesn’t really have time to get all dressed up

So she’ll usually be in a simple black dress or black pants and a turtleneck

But when she does get a chance to dress up

She dresses trad goth mixed with Amy Lee

She’ll have her hair long with bangs covering her forehead

Trad goth makeup, but a bit more modern,big eyeliner and arched brows

She’ll be wearing corsets and waist trainers

Long skirts, ripped leggings

High heel platforms

She goes all out and she looks great!

Listens to music like The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, New Years Day and The Birthday Massacre

Can do goth dances very well

God she’s beautiful

Toby: Midwestern Emo/ early 2000s emo/ a tad grunge/ indie

He just looks like one tbh

But seriously he had a hard life and emo music gives him comfort

Toby wears flannel shirts, grandpa sweaters, simple tee shirts and pants that are loose but not too loose

Hiking boots, sneakers

He listens to Chidos, The Front Bottoms, State Champs, Real Friends, Nirvana, Yawning, Hail the Sun, The Used, A Lot Like Birds, Static Dress, Mild High Club and many many more

He can play the guitar, drums and sing pretty well

He needed something to keep him busy while he was homeschooled after all! And it took his mind off of the horrible things he was going through

Plus with him feeling no pain, he could practice his hands bleed so his hands are really calloused

He likes to sit in the woods and just listen to music sometimes

He’s a loner like that

Especially in the fall when the leaves are so pretty

He feels almost peaceful. Almost

EJ: Tbh I can’t put him in a single box I feel like he’d be everything

He’ll listen to whatever whenever

Except religious music it freaks him out

Ya know because of the cult that took his eyes

But I see him liking dark ,dreamy music if that makes sense

His taste actually lines up with Toby’s pretty well

Static dress, MGMT, YKWIM by Yot Club, Homage by the Mild High club, My Bloody Valentine, Grouper

Also anything with sad guitars like wish by sign crushes motorist (Toby likes music like this too)

Sometimes even lo-fi if he has to unwind

Jack wears all black most of the time. Just so he doesn’t look too dirty

Black hoodie, black shirt, black pants, black shoes

He also feels like any other color won’t go with his now grey skin

But yeah EJ is just a dude with a wide music taste

We love that for him

Nina: Obviously Scene+Emo= scemo

Do I even have to explain?

She listens to Pierce the Veil, Sleeping with Sirens, Bring Me the Horizon, Paramore, AFI, FOB, Get Scared, Hey Monday, MCR, Ghosttown, Millionaires, Brokencyde, Medic Driod, Dot Dot Curve, A Skylight Drive, ISMFOF ,everything Toby listens too as well(and many more)

Nina wears either all black with colorful hair or has her signature black and pink with more colorful outfits

Cheeta print, skulls, DIY stuff, band shirts, tube tops, tutus, skinny jeans, brass knuckle necklaces, hoop earrings, black eyeshadow, big teased hair with raccoon tails

Yeah she’s 2000s emo fs

Goes to raves and concerts like crazy

But she’s not opposed to any kind of music and will do goth makeup for fun

And wear Jane’s clothes

She thinks goth is really pretty but it’s just not her

She’ll stick with scemo lol

Jason The Toymaker: Steampunk/ Victorian Circus Core

The copper in his clothes

The bright red hair

The long flowing jacket with intimate details

Yeah he’s definitely steam punk

Im not sure what kind of music steampunks listen to but I’d like to know!

Jason definitely listens to Emilie Autumn and old PATD

BEN: EDM

I mean…it was obvious

Skillix, deadmouse, xxxanteria, Luci4, old Flying Lotus albums, 9lives

He’s literally code so I think he’d like it

Not much else to say here tbh

I’m getting tired so lmk if you want a part 2 lol

#creepypasta #creepypasta hcs #creepypasta fandom #creepypasta headcanon #creepypasta characters #crp #ticcy toby #ticci toby headcanons #creepypasta nina the killer #creepypastafluff #eyelessjack hcs #eyeless jack hc #jeffthekillerhcs #jeff the killer hc #laughing jack hcs #laughing jack headcanons #laughing jack #laughing jill #ben drowned #ben drowned headcanons #jason the toymaker

[6rookie-writer0110]

Perfect dumb sacrifice

Hope Mikaelson X Male reader.

Request - Can you write Hope Mickelson X Male reader. The reader is Fullmetal alchemist and they are dating.

You were training with your girlfriend and you took it too far. While training hard, your metal arm ripped in half now Hope is mad at you. She did tell you not to push it hard but you didn't listen to her.

“Y/n, I told you not to push it hard. Now, your arm is broken in half” Hope said.

“I still can fix it” You sighed.

“Last time, you fixed it didn't turn out so well. We were fighting a monster and you didn't have control of your arm” Hope said.

“That was one time, Hope. Look, I got better at fixing my arm so everything will be okay” You said.

“You are so stubborn,” Hope said and rolled her eyes.

“Love you, too,” You said.

“Whatever” Hope said.

You winked at her. Hope uses her magic to fix your metal arm and it feels much better than you kissed her cheek.

“We go again?” You asked.

“No,” Hope said.

You and Hope usually train by the lake and far from others. You sit next to her and you start to drink your water.

“Y/n, I want you to meet my family,” Hope said.

“Are you serious?” You asked.

“Yes, I'm serious. We have been dating for a long time and it's time for you to meet them. Well, they know about your relationship and my dad wants to meet you” Hope said.

“Oh. Are they okay with us dating?” You asked.

“Yeah, but they still want to meet you,” Hope said.

“When do they want to meet me?” You asked.

“Come over for dinner on Friday and don't be late,” Hope said.

“I won't be late,” You said.

Hope moved closer and she starts to kiss you.

----

You are freaking out about meeting Hope’s parents tomorrow. You went to see Josie and Lizzie because they are close to Hope. You asked them for advice and details about Hope’s family.

“You have to impress her dad. Because he is can be scary and is very protective of Hope. And you can't mess it up, you have to be perfect” Lizzie said.

“And her mom?” You asked.

“She is nice but you have to impress both of them but mainly her dad. What are you going to wear?” Josie said.

“I don't know. I don't have a lot of nice clothes” You said.

“Yeah; that's true. You have poor taste when it comes to fashion” Lizzie said.

“Wow, rude,” You said.

“What? It's true, Y/n” Lizzie said.

Josie and Lizzie start to tell you about Klaus and Hayley and other family members. You are starting to feel even more pressure meeting her family. It is a lot of information that you have to remember. Now the girls will help you pick out an outfit.

✬ ✯ ✫ ✬

Hope is with her family setting up the table for dinner. Hope keeps checking the time, but you haven't called or texted her.

“Where is this boyfriend of yours?” Klaus asked.

“He will be here soon. Dad, try not to scare him” Hope said.

“I won't scare him away. I just want the best for you” Klaus said.

“You are always up to something,” Hayley said.

“I'm with mom,” Hope said.

“I do mean it, I won't scare him away completely. I need to know that he will protect Hope no matter what. He is late and the food is getting cold” Klaus said.

Hope starts to check her phone, but she didn't get any alerts. She sent you a text but minutes later you didn't answer it then she called you.

“Y/n, where are you!? Call me back now” Hope said.

“Hope, is everything okay?” Hayley asked.

“I don't think he will be joining us for dinner,” Hope said.

“Maybe next time. Let's eat the food is still hot” Hayley said.

“Okay,” Hope said.

Later, Hope called Lizzie and Josie and she told them you didn't arrive. Josie sent you a text but you didn't answer her, Hope starts to check your location on your phone.

You are fighting witches but their magic is strong. It's four against one, then you turned your metal arm into a blade. You start to run towards them and tried to stab them. But they used magic to move faster and dodge your attack. One starts to use magic and you got hit then you hit the ground hard. You see Hope, Lizzie, and Josie and they start to help you fight the witches. Hope comes up with a plan and you start to do what she said.

----

You passed out during the fight and you were badly injured. Hope took you to her family’s house and she used magic to heal you. You start to wake up and you see Hope and her parents.

“How are you feeling, Y/n?” Hayley asked.

“I’m feeling better now,” You said.

Hope hugged you and you noticed her dad staring at you.

“What happened?” Hope asked.

“I was on my way here, then I see them outside of your house using magic. I took their hex bags and started to run so they can chase me which worked. Then we started to fight and I couldn't call or text you to give you a warning” You said.

“I thought you changed your mind and didn't want to come, I was angry at you. But thank you for saving us” Hope said.

“Did you manage to know who they are?” Klaus asked.

“No. But one of them had this necklace that I managed to take” You said.

You gave him the necklace and he starts to look at it. Hope is holding your hand

“So, he really does have a metal arm. Half robot?” Klaus said.

“Dad!” Hope said.

“It’s okay. He isn't the first person to say that. No, I'm not half robot” You said.

“Could be” Klaus said.

Hope used magic to fix your metal arm. You stay and you start to eat dinner with them. Klaus and Hayley are asking questions and he starts to glare at you.

✬ ✯ ✫ ✬

You and Hope are on a date at the movie theater. You and Hope just took pictures at the photo booth now you two are looking at the pictures.

“It came out great” You smiled.

“Yeah, I love it. Oh, my parents are okay with us dating” Hope said.

“That’s great. I thought they wouldn't be since I was late for dinner” You said.

“You saved us and that means a lot. But you shouldn't be late for the next dinner” Hope said.

“I can't promise I won't be late” You winked.

You lean in to kiss Hope and she starts to kiss you back.

#hope mikaelson imagine #hope mikaelson x reader #Hope Mikaelson x male reader #x male reader #male!reader #male reader

[strangeshoepatrolbandit]

Really excited for how your brotherly love series will go. And I just love how you included Tim and Jason because they’re my faves.

Can’t wait to read about some bonding between Jason and the reader

Sorry this is gonna be a long ass ask because there’s just a lot of things I want to comment on and ask.

There’s so many avenues you can explore. I’m kind of surprised only Damian is the only one who decides to take up crime fighting while the twin is fine with staying behind and exploring the mansion. One question I have is does the reader ever feel as if they’re living in Damian’s shadow? Like especially since Bruce bonds with Damian since Damian has taken up the mantle of Robin, then I’m gonna assume that Dick and Tim also spend time training their successor. Between training, vigilante duties, and time running Wayne Enterprises, that doesn’t leave a lot of free time. Does the reader ever feel left out/ignored or that Damian is the favorite? Or in other words, since the reader hasn’t thrown a tantrum that they’re stuck at the manor and they mainly seem to keep to themselves, do Bruce, Dick, and Tim seem to think Damian is a higher flight risk/the twin that is more reckless and needs more attention?

Poor reader. It hit a little close to home on the insecurities of being irritating/a nuisance to those your love.

Two, I think it’s so sweet that the reader was able to open up to Alfred that Damian yelled at them. I love how at least one of the Wayne’s is able to be open and express their emotions in a healthy way.

Three, you know how DCAU’s Batman vs Robin, Damian has a hard time getting past the security system. Idk but especially since Damian is the one who took up the mantle of Robin and it seems as if his primary focus is on training, I think it’d be such a funny thing to see him frustrated that his twin can bypass the security system with ease when the last time they picked up a sword or did any kind of conditioning was months ago before they lived with Bruce. And even Bruce, Dick, and Tim are scratching their heads since they thought you were the more well behaved and quiet one they didn’t have to worry about.

Damian: *fuming* I trained 18 hours every day for the past two months and couldn’t bypass the electric fence. How were you able to get pass the security system and then travel all the way to another country without any one detecting you until you got back?

Reader: *shrugs* don’t know. Maybe you’re rusty.

Next point, I mean especially since you mentioned that Jason’s eyes were an unnatural shade of green and he has that white streak in his hair, you can have the reader get inspired after hearing Jason’s story. They sneak away from the manor and try to (or successfully??) revive Ra’s by digging up their grandparents corpse and dunking it in the Lazarus pit.

That would be such an interesting parenting moment between Bruce and the reader. Poor Bruce can’t catch a break. He has to sit one kid down to explain why murder is not justice and then talk to the other kid that death is a natural part of life and it is not normal and somewhat questionably unethical to sneak out of the house to dig up your grandfather’s corpse and dip them in a magical lake to bring them back to life

Bruce: *sitting across from the reader rubbing his temples* so hypothetically if your hamster died, would you dunk it in a Lazarus pit because you missed them

Reader: I don’t know. I’ve never had a hamster.

But judging by your tone, I assume you want me to answer no..? You told Damian it was wrong to kill Deathstroke to take revenge for killing grandfather. Hypothetically, if if a very very very bad parakeet killed your hamster—

Bruce: dear god you’ve spent way too much with Jason

Anyways sorry to bug you with the long ass ramble. Hope some of it made sense. Bottom line, I’m looking forward to what comes next and if you ever need a beta reader or just want to spitball/brainstorm with anyone I’m all ears

You were not bugging me at all, I'm so glad that you enjoyed my story!!<333.

(I hope I make sense in this I have issues explaining things so bear with me)

To go over some of your topics, I feel that Damian is more career driven and felt comfortable being Robin because his life was spent being trained to be an assassin. I feel as if the reader is taking a break from the life they were forced to have by trying to live a "normal" life at the Manor. I will now go more into the topics of reader's insecurities, as we know they feel like they are annoying the people they are around, after a while they start to see how everyone is treating Damian like a normal person, whilst they are being treated like a child(even though they are), and they start to think that since Damian has been proving himself they just like him more. Everyone in the Manor does love them though, it's just Damian has hobbies in common with them so they feel that they have more to talk about(Wayne enterprises/Vigilante work), plus reader just stopped hanging out with everyone so how can people get to know them?

Yes, I wanted the reader to be able to have a healthy coping mechanism such as talking, literally all of the batfam has bad issues with talking except for Jason because homeboy goes to therapy(he too is an ex emotionally constipated person). Also yes reader does just have that magic touch, they are an Al-Ghul/Wayne, everyone knows reader was trained the exact same as Damian so it's a little bizarre that they are so good at something after being away from their training.

The reader is much aware of Ra's dips in the Lazarus pit and how it's kept him alive all these years, but I think that they understand that there is no help for Ra's, just like Talia said "the pit can't help a body that far gone"(or something), the reader is a little upset that after Jason had been beaten and put in a building with a bomb that the Lazarus pit still had a way to revive him(Reader and Damian both love animals and have definitely been in trouble for reviving random animals with dips in the pit LMAO). Reader, Damian, and Talia all share the same hatred for Deathstroke and all want him gone, whilst Damian and Talia are attempting to find and kill Deathstroke, reader just sits back because they know Talia has it handled. After spending time with Jason and sympathizing with him about his death, Bruce realizes that reader is all for getting revenge on people, they never did anything about Deathstroke but fully agree and understand Jason's reasoning behind wanting the Joker dead.

This actually meant so much, I'm sososososo glad you enjoyed Pt.1 of Brotherly Love!!! I have had a terrible night and this made it better!!!<33

( I definitely projected in this story, does anyone else have sibling issues?)

....Much love, Strangeshoepatrolbandit....

#x reader #batman #bruce wayne #damian wayne x batsis #damian wayne #damian wayne x reader #damian al ghul #jason todd x reader #jason todd #batfam x batsis #batfamily #bat family #batboys #batfam #batkids #batbros #the batfamily

[95jezzica]

how do you think sweden is as a parent? any headcanons?

It's canon Sweden kind of spoils his kids quite a lot (with that I mainly mean Sealand and Ladonia, but to a degree this also includes Iceland). Not really spoiled in a bad way though? At any rate Sweden pays a lot of attention to his kids, constantly defends Iceland against Nor's and Den's teasing, and even pretends to lose wars against Ladonia. It's sweet, and I figure it's worth mentioning.

As far as headcanons go, this also means I headcanon Sweden as a pretty chill parent in general. As long as they don't endanger/hurt themselves or others, he allows them to do a pretty much what they want (within reason) - but he's still able to put his foot down if he thinks something is going too far.

With that said, if they want a tree house to hold their micronation meetings in? Then you'll be damn sure he's going to build a gigantic treehouse for them. If they're hungry they can usually just go and eat something from the kitchen - though Sweden likely has some rules about what they eat and when.

(Example: If dinner will be ready in 30 minutes they're probably allowed to eat a quick fruit like a banana, but not stuff themselves full on sandwiches. Sweden would probably also tell them to avoid sugary stuff like candy until after dinner, but as long as they don't overdo stuff he wouldn't be too strict on which days they decide to eat their candy).

For Sealand specifically I reckon Sweden & England have shared custody, and as a result Sealand technically has several rooms. (One in each house). To avoid Sealand having to choose between them on holidays they also make sure to celebrate major stuff together or alternate the days between them.

For an example Sealand's birthday is celebrated with everyone together. Meanwhile Sealand celebrates Christmas with the Nordics on the 23-24/12, then goes to that big party America is said to have (which probably is on the 25th), and then Sealand celebrates "Boxing Day" (26/12) with the "eyebrow family", NA-brothers and France.

They'd also have things they celebrate on their own, such as Sealand being with the "eyebrow family" to celebrate things like St. Patrick's Day, St. George's Day and Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes). Then Sealand would be with Sweden and the Nordics to celebrate things like the June birthdays (Ladonia/Den/Swe), Midsummer and Lucia. Just to mention a few examples.

I'd say Sweden and England try to keep the days where Sealand spend his time time pretty even, but they also don't stand and count every minute to make it "fair". One year Sealand might spend a few days/weeks more with Sweden, and another year Sealand might be a little more with England. Living costs are similarly divided. For an example I imagine England was the one who bought Sealand a mobile phone when it became more necessary, but Sweden was the one who bought Sealand a tablet.

Sealand strikes me more as a boy longing for adventures. Sure, he enjoys to sit down and play games/watch TV from time to time, but he's also boy with endless energy. I can imagine him and Sweden doing stuff like going on hikes, building rafts to sail on the local lake - etc - as quality time when they're alone together. Sealand strikes me as someone who if they don't get to DO enough stuff in a day to run off some energy he'll have a hard time falling asleep in the evening.

Now, Ladonia spends pretty much all his time living with Sweden unless he's having a sleepover with a friend or one of his many uncles. As a micronation who nowadays mostly functions as an internet nation, Ladonia has a lot of the latest technology available to him (through Sweden) since he's also more dependent on them.

Because of this Sweden obviously also make sure the house their family lives in has excellent internet connection. Though Ladonia mainly uses his own laptop while moving/traveling around, I headcanon Ladonia also has a robust PC inside his bedroom ("home base" in a sense) and a back-up laptop that he SOMETIMES let's Sealand borrow if they want to play games together.

(At some point Sealand got to choose between getting a computer, laptop or a tablet from Sweden. He chose a tablet).

I've mentioned in earlier posts that I headcanon Ladonia as literally having been born looking like a newborn baby, and as a result of that I think Sweden is/was very protective of him. Obviously Sweden is also protective of Sealand, but it's on a much higher level for Ladonia after Sweden spent YEARS not sure if Ladonia would even survive or how much "nation" Ladonia was since he grew at roughly the same speed as a human for the first 3-5 years of his life. It wasn't until Ladonia's aging slowed down a bit that Sweden could start to breathe easier.

Ladonia also has a big canon interest in Pokémon, so it wouldn't surprise me if he has most of the consoles and Pokémon games. Heck, some of the Quality Time stuff Ladonia and Sweden do together alone is likely a lot of video game playing, and they might even go watch tournaments and regionals being played. Sweden likely even ask Japan for favours to get tickets for the World Championships. I reckon Ladonia would enjoy amusement parks too, so that's another one of the few things Sweden can use to "get Ladonia away from the screens" for a few hours if Ladonia isn't having friends over. xD

Originally I also wanted to write about Sweden and Iceland's relationship as a bonus, but this post is getting really long and I've already done a few posts with them before, so I think I will end here for now. xD

Thanks for the ask, and hope you enjoy this!

#Hetalia #hws Sweden #hws Sealand #hws Ladonia #hws Iceland #hws #hws Nordics #hws England #hws Family #hws Ask #hws Asks #Ask #Asks #hws Headcanons #hws Headcanon #Headcanon #Headcanons

[padsmoony04]

My Favorite Headcannon of The Marauders pt.1 (maybe?)

Sooo ... long story short, I was looking for some headcannons about the Marauders (and because I love them and I love these thing of imagine how they would act and behave) I have decided to share with you some of my favorite headconnons about them.

Ps. Sorry in advance on my writing and all of that, my first lenguaje is not English sooo It might contain a lot of grammatical errors. Anyways it's my first time writing here so I hope you all enjoy this <3

| Sirius Black Pt2. | Remus Lupin Pt.3 |

James Potter EDITION.

First things first, you might agree with me, you might not agree with me, but I'm a truly believer that my boy here is certainly the reason the Marauders exist as a friend group. Maybe it was when they met on his first day on the Hogwarts express, kinda like a Harry and Ron dynamic. Or maybe it was at his first night in the castle when he realized who he was going to share his dorm with. Either way, it doesn't matter where, when, and how, but surely it all started with that sweet smile on James's face telling those boys to be his friends.

“It was James who had an ego the size of a lake but a heart to match it” THIS! This man was made to love people as much as he loves himself (and that is a lot).

We all already know he's one true passion and incondicional lover, Quidditch, I mean, that boy is obsesses.

He definitely has a lot of things in his wardrobe that have the color red, like shirts, shorts, coats, hats, a pair of convers, etc. And like they all are in different shades of red.

Blind. The boy is nearsighted, surely he has 4 or 6 myopia. And I know for a fact that if his glasses break, and he's not able to fix them, it would be the end of the world for him 'cause he won't distinguish a thing.

He is definitely stubborn, but like very, very stubborn. Tell James that he needs to stop, and for him, I'll be like, You just told him,"Go ahead! do it!".

He's literally a puppy, he's loyal, sweet, playful, he's always there when he's needed, and he also needs a lot of attention and love. Besides, when he makes someone that he cares about mad, he would do this thing of looking at the floor with a pout and regret in his ayes. How I said a literal puppy.

He loves to make jokes, most of them are bad jokes or dad jokes, which means that most of the time he laughs by himself.

He's the real definition of hopeless romantic and the definition of boyfriend material, and you can't change my mind.

He gives me the vibe that if he gets to the dining hall first, he will most likely save the boys a seat.

When he falls for someone, he falls badly. He would talk about that person every chance he gets. And of course, at one point, none of the boys will be able to stand him.

He's really persistent, which could be a positive or negative trait.

He's definitely the "You're doing it amazing sweety" of his friend group, and I'm here for it.

I like to believe that he has the snitch from his first game, which was given to him by Professor Mcgonagall as a memory of his first victory with Gryffindor, and think it's just something really sweet and I love it.

When someone makes a significant comment to him, he stiffens and blushes while blinking several times because he doesn't know how to respond to that.

He's really responsible in school (mainly 'cuase if he fails Euphemia would probably ground him). And yes, he doesn't reach Remus's and Lily's level, buuuut he has a tough competition with Sirius in "Who he's better that who?" When it comes to school.

Just because he's an only child and the complete center of attention most of the time, it hurts him a lot when people ignore him, mainly his friends and the ones he cares about.

He scratches the back of his neck slightly when he is nervous, and he also talks a lot.

He wakes up euphoric on the days that he has a Quidditch match, kinda like Harry when he drank the felix felicis/Liquid Luck potion in the 6th movie.

He is very protective of his friends, sometimes that can be too much, but he can't help it, he doesn't want anything bad happening to his loved ones.

Mommy's boy, all the way, he is literally Euphemia's little baby.

He's a little bit of the jealous kind. Not the toxic type, more of "Oh, that guy, it's flirting with you even though he knows I'm with you" type. (but he's never going to admit it thou).

you made him mad? Well, you better apologize really quick or just vanish. 'Cause whet he gets upset, he turns to the most mean, hateful, and biggest asshole you'll ever see, mainly cuase he's the type to keep his emotions to himsef, so when he explodes? He explodes.

An important fact is that after he "explodes," if he said something hurtful to you, he won't stop apologizing and cursing himself for being an ass until you forgive him.

His least favorite subject is potions, due to the fact that Severus won't stop bragging that he's a thousand times better than him.

If he gets drunk, he's the kind of soft drunk who gives hugs to everyone he comes across.

He is capable of learning about anything he's crush likes just to get into conversation with them.

He likes to stay late in the Gryffindor common room with his friends and talk about anything. It's a routine that he wouldn't change for anything in the world.

James always wanted a younger brother or sister, which explains why he couldn't help to be so happy when Sirius went to him the time he ran away from home.

He lends Peter his invisibility cloak so he can sneak into the kitchen to find food for the main fact that he's tiny.

He's very adorable in winter, his nose and cheeks turn red from the cold making him look adorable.

Talking about winter, the cold breeze gives him allergies. Don't ask me why I just know. Also, he LOVES Christmas as much as he loves Quidditch.

His favorite place in Hogsmeade is the three brooms.

Anyway, when it comes to color red, round glasses, dad jokes, butterbeer, quidditch, romance, loyalty, character, and determination are definitely the perfect words to describe James Potter.

#james potter headcanon #james potter x reader #james potter #marauders fanfiction #marauders era #james potter fanfiction #harry potter headcanon #james potter my beloved #aaron taylor johnson as james potter #aaron taylor johnson #hp marauders #marauders fanfic #the marauders imagine #the marauders #marauders #marauders headcanon #marauders x reader

[captainmera]

Can I ask if there are any Rå in IBWR and if so, can we have some info on them in that world? (E.g. tomtar, trolls, huldra, etc) Would there be regional differences too throughout the Nordics?

[IBWR comic]

That's a peculiar! Fae-type! :D

(skogs)Rå is the Swedish name for what the English would be a Nymph!

NYMPH (Skogsrå) - PECULIAR TYPE FAE

Their appearance key factors are thus:

Their rainbow eyes are constantly shifting. But more often than not, they will unconsciously take the eye colour of whomever they're speaking to.

POWERS

Their "power" is shapeshifting!

Now, to protect themselves from hunters; it is common practice to cut the tail off on them when they're babies. But doing so means they will have phantom feelings all their life.

Some cut it off when they're older to protect themselves or sell it to a witch-store for money. It's not an easy decision, but poverty is ripe within the peculiar community.

See, this is the "lucky peculiar" because they can easily hide amongst the regulars. A well-trained nymph can go a whole day, if not several days, in a different form.

Transforming into objects, animals, or camouflage with the environment is a skill that must be practised. They can also not become bigger or smaller than they are. Their mass must go somewhere.

They need to have seen a person to be able to copy them.

They can change pigment and hair type/colour, however! Furthermore, they can't produce more hair than they got. So if you see them grow their hair out all of a sudden, you can be sure their tail is currently bald.

Nymphs do not like showing their bald tails, or stumped tails.

Despite being "lucky," they often find themselves in predicaments of others adoration and desire.

UNFORTUNATE

They are popular in Molly houses if they do find themselves in the trade of selling sexual favours. For obvious reasons.

Their mental health is typically in the body dysmorphia areas of mental illness, as they are frequently asked to look a certain way, or feel pressured to morph themselves around. Insecurity is sometimes a fatality and not uncommon.

If it's very bad for them, they can get stuck in a constant morphism and disfigure themselves out of stress. After all, if you think you're ugly, or think you have to be pretty/look like someone else, you can get pretty messed up.

"You are what you think you are." is a common phrase in the nymph community.

SWEDEN

In Sweden, they are called a "rå."

it means "forest rå," Rå is short for "rådde" an old Swedish term for "watching/guardian", so; forest guardian.

There are various types in Sweden of the Rå: Bergsrå (mountain), Sjörå (lake), Gruvrå (mine).

The differentiation of them are not physical. They all look the same and are the same. The categorisation is defined by tribe that they belong to. You can recognise it on their clothes or their jewellery.

Skogsrå will wear leather, green colours and greyish white. Bergsrå will wear gold, red and dark grey, their jewellery is mainly copper. Sjörå will wear beautiful cotton garbs with lots of swirly patterns, often in hues of blue, and silver. Gruvrå wears black, silver, iron, and grey. Their skin is also mostly paler than the others.

................................................

Now you also asked about tomtar and trolls! Those are spirits!

But I will tell you some fun fact about the word "troll" that I have incorporated for Theodore's Swedish heritage as a witch.

The word for "magic" are two in Swedish: Magi and Trolldom.

Magi is pretty directly translated as magic, but the act of doing magic is "to trolla".

Trolldom is directly translated as witchcraft.

But a witch is not "troll" it is "häxa". Because a häxa "hexes" someone with their magic. It is inherently an evil act, while trolldom/witchcraft in and of itself is not evil.

Now in the world of IBWR, witches are seen as good - or rather a necessary evil.

The things you and I would attribute to have been caused by witches (you know, during the various witch trials and what witches were accused of doing). Is historically in IBWR what is applied onto peculiars - attributed to their powers and looks.

Peculiars are seen as half-human, especially in Scandinavia. It is an old pagan belief that the mother of monsters birthed them. Whatever that's true or not, who knows. It's kinda the same sort of shrug-history as humans being descendants of Adam and Eve.

They are thought of naturally causing mayhem, that they lack souls, and that (even if they are christians) are inherently pagan. (there is a huge double standard, as witches are christi-pagan themselves and are not thought of as heretics or evil)

But because of this, peculiars (in Scandinavia) are called Fanskap.

Fanskap is made up by two words: Fan (a nickname for the devil) and Skap (short for "skapad", meaning: something that has been made). So Fanskap means "Made by the devil".

Fanskap is a curse word in Swedish, or it used to be anyway. It's a bit of an old-man thing to say (I still use it, but my Swedish is quite old fashioned).

Peculiars (or in this case, fanskap) seek each other out in Scandinavia, preferably to whatever tribe of rå that will have them. The rå tribes are wealthier with status (often they make little villages in the woods/mountains/etc) and, historically, they and the witches have an understanding.

After all, witches and hunters are sometimes interchangeable. If a peculiar/fanskap fucks up; does a crime or is accused of having done something evil-magi, it can be solved between the witches and the rå-tribe.

----------------

I can't say more than that because I am still developing the Swedish stuff of IBWR, so that last bit might shift a little depending on how things develop when I get to that point. It is very late-game stuff of the story. But this is what I'm willing to share about it. :'D

#ibwr #ibwr ask #ibwr lore #peculiar lore #ibwr sweden

[wyverewings]

Knucker (Lindworm felpalus)

Habitat: swamps, lakes

Size: 10 feet long

Coloration: dull green, brown

Diet: rabbits, waterfowl, fish, carrion

Magical Abilities: toxic breath, acceleration of plant growth, toxin removal

So Smaugust is here, and I do not have the energy to draw for the entire month. I still want to participate in it, and I thought of the perfect plan for it!

So I haven’t really discussed it much here, but I’ve been planning out a fantasy setting and story in my head. I’m calling the planned story “Misadventures In Monstrology”.

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been deeply enamored with zoology, so I feel the fantasy story I am going to tell should have zoology as its heart, like how language is the heart of Middle Earth. It’s somewhat disheartening how uncommon fantasy biology is as a trope. So someone has to step in, and I’m gonna be that someone!

Some major inspirations for this setting are the Dragonology and Monstrology books, the Flight of Dragons movie, @tyrantisterror’s Midgaheim Bestiary, and @draconesmundi. (I think you’d both like to see this!)

So in this universe, monsters such as dragons exist due to magic. While magic doesn’t allow for too much craziness (there won’t be much fairytale logic), it does allow monsters to gain mutations that would be strange or impossible otherwise, and also allows them to locally control the elements.

Dragons are squamates (having evolved from monitor lizards), but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any hybrids. Chimeras also exist in this universe, basically through a fantasy version of horizontal gene transfer, which is a real thing with some rotifers! I am planning to make them kinda rare, because I mainly want to do it with creatures that make the most sense (and are more interesting to me) as chimeras, like griffins, pegasi, and some dragons I’ll end up drawing eventually…

Also, I felt I should talk about this dragon. A knucker in English folklore is a sort of water dragon, but unlike sea serpents, they dwell in freshwater “knuckerholes” rather than the ocean. They’ve got a lot in common with wyrms like the Lambton Worm and Hydra in folklore, with how they’re aquatic serpents. So they’re more like lindworms in appearance, rather than the more common modern portrayal of them having four legs.

Design wise, they’re very much based on crocodilians with their heads and back spikes, since they are swamp dwelling reptiles. They’ve also got some amphisbaenian in them, which is kinda inevitable considering their body plan. Also, they’ve got barbels like a fish to kinda add to the swamp creature aesthetic. Poison breath seemed like a given, the magic over plants is due to them probably living in more lush areas, and I like the idea of their body kinda absorbing the toxins they breathe out, keeping their environment healthy.

If you wanna keep up with these posts, click my #field guide to dragons tag which will update throughout the month! Or follow me, if you'd like.

Next ->

#artists on tumblr #dragons #worldbuilding #speculative biology #fantasy #smaugust #misadventures in monstrology #wyvere draws #field guide to dragons

[handsmotif]

what even is the plot of princess tutu? <- (your posting has intrigued me)

HEHE well buckle up this is going to be a long post.

so. there’s this creepy old dead guy named drosselmeyer and every story he wrote came true. he died in the middle of writing a story about a prince battling a monster raven, so the story had come to a halt.

now, the one big thing to know about drosselmeyer is that he LOVES tragedy, and that’s all he ever wrote. the town this takes place in is entirely infused with stories and fairytales because of him

in the story of the prince and the raven, the prince used dark magic to shatter his own heart and seal the raven away, leaving him emotionless. now the shards of his heart are scattered around town, basically possessing people and making them only feel whatever emotion they represent to an extreme.

it’s princess tutu’s job to find the lost heart shards and return them to the prince.

but the reason the story has been halted for so long is because well. nobody wanted to be princess tutu! she is in love with the prince but she’s doomed to turn into a speck of light and vanish whenever she tells him so.

and that’s where our man character comes in! princess tutu is actually a girl named duck (or ahiru which still means duck if you’re watching the japanese version) and that girl named duck is actually. just an actual duck! who saw the prince and fell in love with him, wishing more than anything to see him not look so sad and lonely.

drosselmeyer takes this opportunity to give the duck a pendant that gives her the ability to transform into a human girl and then into princess tutu, and thus the story is finally set into motion.

the other characters of note here are:

mytho, the prince from the story. even without his heart, he never lost his kindness and his want to save others

fakir, the reincarnation of the prince’s knight from the story who died before ever landing a single blow on the raven. he’s very protective of mytho and generally very much an asshole

rue, mytho’s girlfriend and the raven’s daughter. i have simply too much to say about her than i have time to put here

the four of them all attend an academy to learn ballet.

anyway ummm so princess tutu starts returning mytho’s heart shards, and he gradually starts to feel things again. rue and fakir do not like this because they both have their own reasons to leave mytho emotionless.

drosselmeyer appears to duck every once in a while to “help” her along, attempting to lead the story down a path of tragedy. because that’s all he wants.

there’s a LOT of meta storytelling in this, as you can probably guess!

the characters (mainly duck, rue, mytho, and fakir) are all over the place on whether they want to follow the narrative or break free of it.

i don’t think i can say too much else abt the plot without spoiling things so there you go lol

also, each episode is based off a different ballet or fairytale (and combines elements of the ugly duckling, swan lake, and the original the little mermaid into duck’s character) and i think all of the music is taken from those ballets which i think is really cool!

#princess tutu #i could talk abt this for hours lol

[inbarfink]

And the very very last, but certainly not least, after The Bonnieverse, and The Marcyverse, here’s the Simonverse! This one takes a lot of inspiration from @fridjitzu‘s Reverseworld, which has a very similar concept, so yeah, credit where it’s due (for the ideas of Simon using nunchaku as his weapon-of-choice, Gunter's 'magic' powers, and some of Marceline's characterization) but I think there’s a lot of essential things that are very different and make this a distinctive AU!

As usual, details under the cut:

Simon the Human: A human child found in the wild and adopted by a family of penguins, Simon is a very clever and nerdy adventurer kid who’s much better at solving issues with his brain then with his nunchaku (though he’s not bad at those either). He wants to be all responsible and mature, especially to his adoptive little brother Gunter. But he still has to deal with being a kid who’s emotional and confused about junk and especially love and puberty - since he’s not very well-adjusted when it comes to his crushes. Easily scared but usually fights through it to do the right thing. He likes books, history, archaeology (part of the reason he started adventuring is because that’s the best way to unearth ancient artifacts) and occasionally dabbles in magic.

Gunter the Penguin: Simon’s younger brother. Has “magic” powers to change his size and create clones of himself, which are actually a manifestation of his true identity as the amnesiac elder god Orgalorg, rather then simple magic. It also manifest in his more mischievous and destructive tendencies. He likes teasing his older brother and sometimes get annoyed with the way Simon babies him, but he still loves him a lot.

Queen Marceline: Ruler of the Monster Kingdom, a sort of Halloween-ish kingdom of friendly spooky silly monsters. Queen Marceline is like Simon’s cool big sister he never had before - and she’s often the person he feels most comfortable with: without the burden of being the responsible, mature one with Gunther or the awkwardness of being next to girls he's crushing on. Queen Marceline means well (she’s the one who overthrew the Vampire King and reformed the Monster Kingdom from a really evil place to a nation of mostly chaotic neutral pranksters) but she’s got a reputation for not being the most focused or responsible ruler around. While she is sometimes more focused on her music career or her own needs then actually ruling the kingdom - also she believes a hands-off attitude really is the best way to rule (especially since she grew up with her dad micromanaging the Nightosphere into causing as much misery and confusion as possible) and she hates how people just assume she’s lazy and doesn’t care.

Grass Prince: Once Finn Martens, a pre-war kid with an overactive imagination who dreamed of a life of adventure. Finn stumbled on a cursed magic item known as the Grass Sword - which bonded with him and slowly transformed him into a crazy grass warrior with plant controlling powers. Nowadays Grass Prince rules over the Grass Kingdom (an idyllic grassland populated mainly by jerky sheep and Grass Prince's beloved lazy herding dog Jake). He usually goes around believing he’s “saving” or “helping” people regardless of what’s the actual situation and if the people want to be saved/helped at all and he’s generally really destructive and obnoxious about it. Very hot-headed and quick to fight due to the influence of the Grass Sword. He view Simon and Gunter either as apprentices heroes/sidekicks or as villains he’s trying to reform, he’s kinda indecisive about this

Bonnibel the Mad Scientist: Firstborn of the Mother Gum, created shortly after the Mushroom War. Bonnibel is a full-blown mad scientist, who performs weird and often morally questionable candy-themed experiments in her spooky isolated cabin by Butterscotch Lake. Although reluctant at first, preferring to isolate herself in her lab far away from the outside world, she does become good friends with Simon due to their shared nerdy interests (Simon also has a huge one-sided crush on her. He finds the whole mad scientist thing equal part really scary and really attractive), and she also makes amends regarding her ruined relationship with Queen Marceline. Bonnibel also has a powerful bond with Finn Martens AKA Grass Prince that goes back the time they were both little kids surviving together in the post-apocalyptic landscape of just after the Mushroom War, before the Grass Sword had fully consumed Finn.

#ADVENTURE TIME #ATIMERS #ADVENTURE TIME ART #ADVENTURE TIME AU #PRINCESS BUBBLEGUM #BONNIBEL BUBBLEGUM #LADY RAINICORN #FINN THE HUMAN #FINN MERTENS #MARCELINE #MARCELINE THE VAMPIRE QUEEN #ADVENTURE TIME FANART #MARCELINE ABADEER #SIMON PETRIKOV #ICE KING #THE ICE KING #fern the human #AT Roleswaps

[the-wild-ego]

Insecure HCs - Part One

Requested: Yes. @musingsofmessa asks Hi again, @the-wild-ego 🙂 May I request another Anti x Reader? I was wondering what Anti would tell his darling for her to feel better about her body image? I have a lot of stretch marks and a big chest, so it kinda makes me self-conscious. So, what do you think he'd say to help his darling feel better about herself? I apologize if I'm bombarding you with these. 😅 Anti's just my favorite boi.

Fandom: JackSepticEye

Pairing: Antisepticeye//Reader, Chase/Reader, Henrik/Reader, Angeliceye/Reader

Pronouns: None 

Warnings: Insecure!reader, stretchmarks, thicker bodies, mental health, etc.  

A/N: I don’t mind a bombardment of requests, I just feel bad that it’s taken me so long to write about it... I hope it's okay that I turned them into HCs... If you would like me to add more for this fandom, let me know… Enjoy! 

Antisepticeye:

If he noticed you were feeling down, he’d crack jokes first.

“Come on, babe, you know I love your hungolomghnonoloughongous.” 

If you weren’t smiling and laughing by the end of his stupidity, he would place both hands on your shoulders and look at you with the sincerest look that he can muster. 

"Babe, did I cause this?"

He would always blame himself first, believing he wasn't giving you the attention that you deserved, or that he was away for too long.

"No, no, it's not that... it's just..." you would say, not knowing how to describe what you were feeling. It's just what you believed sometimes. Especially when new stretchmarks would appear.

As you trailed off, he would pull you into a hug, running his hands gently along your back. You wouldn't need to say anything else.

He would start by tugging off your shirt, kissing your stomach and shoulders as we went. Departing for a moment, to grabbing a shirt of his for you to wear.

"Here, for you." he would say, sliding the shirt over your head. He would kiss parts of your face as they appeared. Forehead. Nose. Cheeks. Lips. Chin.

He'd help you slide out of your pants and gently lead you to the bed.

He lays down first, wrapping you up in his arms and holding you there. Maybe playing with your hair or running his fingers over the stretchmarks that were visible to him. Anything to relax you.

His love isn't spoken, but he'll show you how much he cares for you through other means.

Chase:

Chase would start with kissing you the second you started talking bad about yourself.

"I just don't feel like I'm good eno-" Kiss.

"I'm too bi-" Kiss.

"My face looks fun-" Kiss.

You would frown at him, and he'd cup your face, pressing his thumbs against your downturned lips.

"What do you mean? You are my oceans, my lakes, my rivers, you are a long refreshing drink after 1 million years in a dry ass desert. You are the Sun that dries away my tears, the smell of flowers after it rains, the-" and then you'd smile and he'd smile back, eyes alight with mischief.

"What?" you'd ask in that oh-so-innocent voice that he loved so, so much.

He'd move his hands down to your waist before lifting you with the upmost ease. He loved how you squeaked and held onto him for dear life.

He would walk you to the bedroom, gently laying you down in the sheets. Then, he would unceremoniously drop down next to you, pulling you into him and pulling the blankets overtop both of your heads.

There he would hold, kiss, and just love you until you felt better. Reminding you between kisses and soft touches that you are enough, if not better for him.

Henrik:

Henrik has to work. A lot. So often times you are having to battle your insecurities on your own.

But after those hard days alone, Henrik can see it on your face, just how upset that you are.

Henrik won't say much, mainly because he understands those insecurities. He understands that you can't always fight them off and tell yourself that it'll be okay.

He'll leave you on the couch for just a moment, placing all of his belongings back into their respected positions.

Then he'll turn back to you, holding out his arms until you crawl into them, hiding away in the safety of your lover.

"I know, my dear." he'd whisper softly, squeezing you just enough to get his point across. He'd hold you there, swaying with you gently until you broke down.

Whether it be to cry or to shakily tell him how you feel. He'd sit with you, listen to your woes, and troubles. He would offer advice where you wanted it and listen where you needed.

Then, he would stand and make you a cup of something hot; tea, coffee, hot chocolate, whatever you preferred to drink for comfort.

And he always somehow managed to make it just right, as if you had made the cup of steaming liquid yourself.

Angeliceye:

Angel would want to shield you from anything that hurt you. Mentally, physically, etc. anything that he could do, he would.

If you were feeling especially sad, he would wrap you into his arms and cry with you. His wings taking on a mind of their own and wrapping the both of you up into the safety of their feathers.

The soft brushing of feathers against your back usually helped to calm you down.

"I-I just don't feel like I deserve... this." You'd whisper, and Angel would pull back, confused. You didn't feel like you deserved a hug?

"No... Not that, just everything. Everything that I've been given. Everything that you've done for me..."

He would frown then, the expression foreign on his face. Twisting his beautiful features into something that looked... wrong. A frown didn't belong on his face.

"You deserve all that and more... You are the light of my life, Y/N."

You smile shakily and begin to pull away, but he holds you firm, pulling you back in.

When those tears began to form again, he would wipe them away diligently.

"Please do not cry, my love... Talk to me." he would whisper. Spending the night listening to you. Letting you relieve all the stress that you felt from the day.

And he would hold you until you felt good enough to truly pull away, but no sooner than that.

You were made for each other, he would say.

His words of affirmation were something that always left you feeling warm and fuzzy. And he constantly reminded you that he needed you just as much as you needed him.

#antisepticeye x reader #chase brody x reader #angeliceye x reader #anti x reader #chase x reader #angel x reader

[merlinjoyer]

I want to talk about names in Merlin because I believe some of the names were chosen for a purpose.

For example, Freya. Freya who was cursed to turn into a giant Bastet a.k.a. a catlike creature. And she is also a lady of the lake, keeping the sword. Why Freya? Well, I already said in one of my posts about her connection to Scandinavian goddess Freya who has two giant cats in her chariot. And she is also a warrior.

And also Odin, who lost his only son. Obviously Odin in mythology has bunch of children but I wanna see a connection between Baldr and Merlin's Odin's son who was killed by Arthur. Odin (Merlin) promised to revenge and so did Odin (mythology). Because Baldr was the purest and strongest of gods and was not supposed to die. But he died. And in the show Odin has only one son, one heir to his throne. He would never think about his son being dead. (But idk if he was a real person like Cenred so I can be mistaken here).

Keep going, we have Kara here. In some languages Kara means "punishment". Mainly means "God's punishment". And yep. Her death brought a lot of troubles upon Camelot and was, indeed, punishment both for Mordred and Merlin. And mostly for Arthur as he let Mordred live by rejecting the old religion.

#merlin #merlin bbc #merlin thoughts #merlin crack #bbc freya #bbc merlin #mordred #bbc mordred #text tag

[jimblejamblewritings]

luck be a (leading) lady | part 11.

[Posted 2022.09.29]

Summary: Y/N has always been a background character. That’s just life for some folks isn’t it? But what if she’s determined to not just be another member in the ensemble? What if someone helps her step into the spotlight in her own special way?

Warnings for the Series: a teeny bit of angst but mainly fluff, slow burn

Pairing: ricky bowen x black!reader

Word Count: 3.0k

A/N: I’m thinking 3 or 4 parts left after this. It won’t go much further in the story than when Ricky and the reader actually get together.

A/N II: My writing style in this isn’t my favorite but I never realized how hard it would be to do hsmtmts as a series fic. I still love the plot though so I’m going to see it through but serious thank you to all the readers that enjoy this story because I’m honestly not sure about my own writing here.

Previous Part | (Series Masterlist) 

“EJ, care to share why we aren’t in a stretch circle right now?” Kourtney asked through a yawn. 

“Corbin and Channing need more.” 

“More?”

“Just some reality style juice to bring everything to life.”  

“What EJ means is that the docuseries and the musical are getting canceled if we don’t bring some pettiness to our performances,” Carlos explained. “So the three of us spent all night, and well into six am, making a plan. I present the RCOSL.” 

“What?” Ashlyn just stared at the first posterboard in confusion. 

“The Real Campers of Shallow Lake? I thought that was pretty self-explanatory.”

“Look, it’s easy,” EJ encouraged. “You know how as real people we pick up on social cues and other people’s feelings?”

“Do we?” Gina asked pointedly. 

Carlos cut in after EJ faltered. “Anyway, forget being nice. Think of the three Bs. Bombshells, betrayals, and bitch slaps.”

“Look I love the real housewives but we’re students not millionaires. We have no money to burn or kids to blame, so how are we pulling this off?” Kourtney asked. 

Jett leaned back in his seat. “Can I be Team Kourtney on this one?”

Carlos sighed and showed the next posterboard. “Here’s how. Everyone needs roles and we’ve already taken the liberty of assigning them. Play your part to a T.”

No one was quite sure about the plan but if it saved the show then they would consider it. Although, they were starting to wonder how much of these roles were completely made up. Some seemed a bit personal. The judgy one, the jilted ex, the one with a dark past, the crier, the one who's here for the wrong reasons, the one the audience pities, the one with a catchphrase, the shrink, the bad boy, and the instigator. 

“It’s a formula and the formula works,” Val said with a nod.

“Isn’t this a little tawdry?” Kourtney asked. 

“I was going to say the exact same thing,” Jett spoke up from behind Kourtney. 

“And that is why, Kourt, you get to be the judgy one,” Carlos said. 

Val slapped Kourt’s picture up on the board underneath the label that read judgy. Everyone else started getting parts assigned. Jilted ex— Ricky. Dark past— Ashlyn. Crier— Maddox. Wrong reasons— EJ. Pitiful one— You. Catchphrase— Gina. Shrink— Val. Bad boy— Jett. Instigator— Carlos. Everyone else could pick who they would stick by throughout the show.  

Ricky and Gina looked at each other. Gina raised her hand. “Um, is giving Y/N the role of being the one the audience pities a good idea?” 

“Of course,” Carlos said. “She doesn’t even have to act, it limits risks of everyone messing up the less actors we have. It’s why I’m the instigator. And Val’s the shrink because she’s a psych major.”

“Oh, good, so we aren’t stretching for these parts,” Kourtney said. 

Carlos pointed at her. “Good. I want a lot more of that energy today.” 

“Wait, why is it less risk?” Gina was focused on that part.  

“Because her social anxiety and the fact that she never gets the lead despite having enough talent is the perfect thing for the audience to root for.”

Ricky sat up. “Dude, that’s not cool.” 

“People have to be exploited, Ricky. Why do you think you’re the jilted ex?”

“I’m not jilted.”

“But you are an ex, just play it up.” 

Ricky’s nostrils flared slightly but he dropped it. Everyone started to get a bit excited about the idea, mainly Ashlyn and some of the ensemble. It was just another role. Besides, everyone knew that reality tv wasn’t all that real. They listened to their four goals for the day. Cry, Slap, Throw a drink, Get caught saying something scandalous on a hot mic. Aside from the drink throwing, it seemed easy enough. Even the drink wouldn’t be too bad— they just had to find a scenario that called for drink throwing. Carlos had already organized how the slap would be done. At some point they’d have an exercise on fake slapping for theater and someone would just “accidentally” hit someone else. It was brilliant. Now, they just needed to figure out who was willing to take a handprint to the cheek for the team. 

They were all working on slaps and other things while waiting for Corbin and Channing. Maddox and Ashlyn were backstage trying to figure out a way to make Maddox cry. She wasn’t someone who could just turn on the tears. Nothing Ashlyn was suggesting even made her think about crying. Carlos walked by. 

“We’ll work out the kinks… I know! You two are in love with the same boy. How about…” He looked around. “Oh, Jett! Perfect, everyone loves a bad boy. You both are in love with Jett but he’s obviously in a relationship with Y/N— But he’s looking at Kourtney. We get a love triangle and a potential cheating scandal all in one. We might actually be better than the housewives.”

“Jett? Oh, God, no,” Maddox protested but Ashlyn was so in. 

“Oh, God, yes. It makes sense that I, with a dark past, would be attracted to the bad boy.”

Carlos called Jett over to explain. “Jett, do you know Maddox? She has the hots for you.” 

A mix between a laugh and a scoff escaped his mouth. Before he could protest, Carlos held up a hand. 

“And so does Ashlyn. But you have the hots for Kourtney which creates a problem and is the source of mega angst in your relationship with Y/N.” 

“Woah, we are not d—”

“Channing is here!” EJ yelled. “Let’s practice Kristoff and Anna first so we can get some good ex stuff with Ricky and then we’ll move into Young Anna and Elsa for Carlos’ diva moment.”  

Carlos left before Jett or Maddox could protest about his idea. They both looked at each other and shuddered before getting to where they were supposed to be for the camera. You could feel the tension when you finally made it to The Barn for rehearsal. Everything started to go wrong as Alex and Emmy rehearsed the scene where Young Anna and Young Elsa created Olaf for the first time. Carlos had started complaining and the two girls who you watched be friends were suddenly at each other’s throats about who was in charge of the snow. 

“Is this supposed to be fake snow?” Carlos complained. “Because it looks like sea salt.” 

“Emmy’s the one that grabbed the wrong prop.”

“Me? You’re Elsa, shouldn't you be in charge of all the fake snow?”

You stepped in between the girls. “How about I be in charge of the snow? Remember what you learned as part of the Guppy Troupe.”

“Arguing about the problem doesn’t solve the problem,” the three of you repeated. 

“Perfect. So since I’m the Principal Snowflake, I’ll make sure the snow looks better and spread out more. Deal?” 

The two girls muttered an “I guess” and stepped aside. Val was waiting to see your dance planned for Anna and Elsa building Olaf. You wanted to make it simple and really highlight the girls since they wouldn’t be onstage for pretty much the rest of the show. You took off the booties protecting your ballet shoes and showed Val. It was really simple. You planned on starting behind Carlos. Emmy would toss snow and then Alex. Since Alex was Young Elsa, you thought that was when you would spring to life. In between the two girls you would do a couple of balancés to grab each bucket. 

“And then just simple soutenus as I throw snow, maybe a pique when I toss the buckets off stage to Maddie. Oh and all in demi pointe since Elsa’s powers aren’t very developed yet, so I wanted to use my standard ballet slippers instead of pointe for the first bit.” 

“That sounds decent,” Val said. 

“Decent? That’s what she came up with? That’s it?”

Your eyebrows knitted together as you looked between Carlos and Val. Was the routine that bad? It wasn’t the top of your skill set but that was the point. They knew that. They had seen your work before… Well, they hadn’t. No one showed up to watch you in The Nutcracker and you weren’t sure they ever bothered to watch the performance video of it. Maybe they did think this was the best you could do. You felt your breathing start to get a bit shallow. Ricky closed his script, putting his focus on you.  

“Carlos, I said it was decent. Decent means we have time to workshop it. The rest of the routines aren’t like this are they?” 

“You think Clara could put together something better.”

“I-I wanted the girls to sh-shine so—”

“Then what’s the point of having a principal snowflake? And where were you earlier? We had to push this scene back you know, we did Ricky and Gina song first. It’s not even close to the top of the show.” 

“I told EJ.” You gestured feebly to the director. “I was working on the dances and I had an audition fo—”

“An audition?” Carlos looked around you to focus on Val. “She isn’t even focused on our show.” 

“Carlos,” Ricky cut in. 

“Were you doing something else, Y/N?” Val asked you. 

You stuttered through another sentence about EJ knowing. 

“Are you always this unfocused because we can talk about it some other time but right now the show is our priority.” 

“She’s always like this,” Carlos added. “Not to be an instigator but that’s why she’s never been more than principal dancer. Her talent is probably the best but she thinks she’s better than everyone just because she’s gone pro.” 

He said the last bit in an exaggerated stage whisper. EJ winked at Carlos and Val, knowing Channing’s camera wouldn’t catch him in frame. This was going great. You could feel your face get hot as it got harder to take a proper breath. Ricky watched your fingers tremble as you tried to clasp your hands together. You took a couple steps backwards when the tears started. Both Jett and Ricky moved towards you— Ricky reaching first— to stop you from accidentally falling off the stage. 

“Are you okay, Y/N?” Ricky barely got the words out before Jett was moving him out the way. 

“Don’t bother her more. Y/N/N, look at me.” Jett held your shoulders. “We’re going outside now, okay?” 

You hit at your chest. 

“We can breathe better outside.” 

You followed Jett’s lead to stand on the porch of the barn. Inside, they were still rolling with the scenario. Ashlyn turned to Maddox. 

“Doesn’t it suck that he went to go help her? I mean I guess that’s his girlfriend and all.”

“They aren’t dating!” Maddox blurted out.

“We can only dream, Gadget, can—”

“She’s our cousin!” 

“I k— wait, what? Our cousin, you and Jett…” 

“Are siblings, yes! He’s the literal worst but he’s still my brother. I never want to date him, oh, and I’m gay.” 

Maddox stormed backstage to the props table. She was okay with the reality script just not okay with anyone ever insinuating that she and her brother would be a thing. Channing thought he got enough footage for the day and started to pack up most of his film equipment. He told the cast they needed to take a picture for promo. He’d be back shortly to show them the preview for the documentary to drum up interest in people watching the musical on livestream and also to watch the docuseries when it came out. EJ went to go get you and Jett for the picture. Ricky lit up at hearing Maddox’s words. 

“Wait, they’re cousins?” 

Even Carlos looked surprised. “My straightdar must be broken. Can we all agree they were definitely the grumpy sunshine trope?” 

Everyone nodded their heads. You came walking back in, immediately moving to sit next to Ricky. He was on the edge of the group and you didn’t want to be smushed in between everyone. It felt too claustrophobic at the moment. He wiped at the tear stains to try and make them less visible for the photo. Ricky looked down when you reached for his hand, barely lifting his head in time for the shot. While everyone else was discussing what to do next when Channing returned, Ricky took you outside. You both sat on the bench attached to the barn’s porch. 

“Carlos didn’t mean anything.” 

“I know, it’s for the reality show. Jett told me.” 

“I can’t believe you two are cousins.” 

“Of course we are. Why do you think I talk to him and Maddie with no problem? We’ve known each other since diapers.” 

“Everyone kind of thought you were dating.” 

You gagged. “Jett? Ew, really?” 

“You can’t blame us.” 

“Yes, I can. Come on, Maddie, Jett, and I are obviously related.”

Ricky raised his eyebrows. “Obviously?” 

“Same smiles.”

“When have we ever seen Jett smile?”

“Okay, fair enough,” you said with a laugh. 

“Hey, what audition were you talking about?” 

“Oh.” You picked at your booties. “For the ballet. Saltwater always holds auditions in summer for the first musical and ballet of the season but most pros are on tour so they can send in videos. Normally I do it in person but they moved up the date this year. I need to send it in by the day of our show or I’m not auditioning.” 

“What’s the show?”

“The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.” 

“Really? That’s awesome. Are you going for Susan or Lucy?”

“Do I look like I could pull off either? Don’t even think about mentioning Clara again.” You chuckled when Ricky closed his mouth. “I was thinking maybe The White Witch? They showed us the costume designs and part of her solo.” 

“Well, whichever one you want. It’ll be perfect. Hey, do you wa—”

“Y/N! Can we talk? Like sister time.” Gina stood in front of you. 

You gave Ricky a half-smile but he just brushed it off and encouraged you to go. You walked with Gina through the camp just so she could walk and talk. She was going through a somewhat rough patch with EJ. He was a bit tense this summer. But she was more pissed that he seemed to be confiding in Val instead of her. It wasn’t even jealousy over Val. It was the fact that maybe he didn’t trust her enough to say anything. 

“I just didn’t think my summer of firsts would involve my first boyfriend fight. We’re not even fighting. It’s like one-sided confusion.” 

“Maybe,” you started to suggest very carefully. “You need a break.” 

“What?” 

“Not forever. Just until the end of camp? EJ is going through a big transition in his life and it’s very clear what you want and where your boundaries are. It’s not like I’m saying go explore other options. Sometimes, you need alone time to figure out what you really want. You know what you want, G, but maybe he doesn’t? Or maybe he doesn’t know how to get what he wants?” 

“You think a break would help?”

“I think if you explained it clearly to him. Who knows, you might not even need the break then? Just talk to EJ, he might not even realize that he’s making you feel this way.” 

Gina gave you a hug. “This is why I love sister time. I’m gonna miss staying with you.” 

You laughed as you hugged her back. “You act like you’re leaving Salt Lake. It’s just your mom coming back to town, you can still come over for breakfast just like Ricky.”

Ricky went to go figure out something while you talked to Gina. He was pretty sure he saw a little campfire area with almost proper log benches and some bushes. Instead of seeing an empty bench, he saw Jett sitting there. 

“How do you always manage to find my hiding spots?”

“Dude, don’t.”

“You okay?” Ricky sat down next to him. 

“The blow-up Maddie and I had back there wasn’t even the half of it. She’s seen me as the bad guy for most of her life, she doesn’t think I was playing a role today. Forget it.”

“Why don’t you try to show her you’re sorry? You can’t be all that bad.” 

Jett huffed. “I see why you like Y/N, you two have the same blind optimism in people.” 

“I don’t l—” Ricky didn’t even bother finishing as Jett walked away. 

Carlos passed by. “Is he…”

“Oh, he’s fine. It’s about him and Maddox.” 

“Thank goodness. I just found Y/N. I had no idea she didn’t know about the plan, I thought someone would have filled her in.” 

“She knows now. And you killed it today.” 

“Thanks,” Carlos said with a smile. “So did you. Jilted ex suits you, bro… Oh, oh, I said bro and now you’re probably going to reveal something.” 

“It’s possible I wasn’t completely acting. Except I don’t know if I can be a jilted ex if I never got the chance to be an ex.” 

Carlos turned his entire body to face Ricky on the bench. “Wait? That wasn’t an act today? You and Gina—”

“Gina? No. We’ve always been just friends.” 

“Then who? The only other girl I see you wi— wait, are you gay? Are we talking about EJ, Jett?” 

“Close to Jett— I like Y/N. I’ve been trying to be just friends but I’m slowly failing. I think I more than like her. Is that crazy? I couldn’t even say it to Nini but with Y/N... I think I love her, Carlos … What?”

Carlos pointed, with wide eyes, behind Ricky. “I guess that covers the hot mic scandal.” 

Ricky looked to see Channing running out of the bushes. He squeezed his eyes shut. Did Channing just catch his confession on tape? This was bad. The entire world was going to hear it. You were going to see it. Ricky had to face the idea that he was going to have to tell you. It would be better for you to hear it from him than from a documentary. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. You had so easily told him about your past crush on him… but you had said it like it was nothing. You got over it but Ricky wasn’t sure he could get over his. He had no clue what he was going to do. 

(part 12)

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#hsmtmts fic #hsmtmts #ricky bowen x reader

[fredheads]

I just think about Fred fp and gladys always hanging out together and being known as like the three musketeers at school and I think about all the gossip because of course fp and gladys can easily kiss and touch in public but everyone’s always had this watchful eye on Fred and fp because no one knew a friendship closer than theirs and sometimes it would get a little suspicious especially if Fred was doing his whole goofball “I can do gay things but comedically so no one will take it serious” thing

And I think about Gladys getting the brunt of a lot of shit too especially by the rich stuffy north siders who already looked down on her for being south side and looking so different from everyone else (leaning heavily into her punk era doing wild shit with her hair, gender fuckery, you know how it goes) but then she’s constantly seen with two boys, one of which at least is public she’s hooking up with, so of course everyone assumes she’s fucking Fred too which like… she is lmao but they make it so gross and seedy like “ooo bet she gets double teamed” and calling her all sorts of names and spreading nasty rumors and for as thick as Gladys’ skin is you can only hear so much negative shit about yourself before it starts getting to you on some level, fortunately for her she could get over it pretty quickly tho cuz she has zero interest in pleasing these people

And then of course there’s Fred who everyone’s confused by how he ended up in a southside sandwich (surely that must be a riverdale sex name…like the sticky maple or whatever it was lmfao) but he gets shit mainly from Artie about how he needs to be more picky about who he’s friends with but if the rumors ever got back to his parents…oh boy

But like even tho they were facing a lot they still had so much fun the three of them together and they were all so fiercely protective of each other it really was if you go after one you go after all three situation. And they’d have so many date nights just the three of them cruising around town hanging out at pops or the movies or the arcade or fps trailer or Fred’s basement in a cuddle pile Fred and Gladys trying to throw popcorn and candy into each others mouths while fps in the middle getting whacked in the cheek with debris or Fred and Gladys trying to get fp to dance to the jukebox at pops or them cramming into a photo booth to take pictures or them having a day by the lake and Fred carefully drawing fp and gladys while they sunbathe (well Gladys is working on her tan fps just passed out from exhaustion)

It was just a very nice time overall 🥰 despite the horrors lmao

SOUTHSIDE SANDWICH!!!!! GET OUT!!! but yeah 😂 everyone was so judgy about fp and gladys just existing but here comes freds happy little ass hanging around with them all the time and he's so popular and clean cut and wholesome and no one knows what that means!! So I'm sure the boys on the baseball team and whatnot were making snide remarks about fred for that but fred is not the kind of person to let anyone trash talk his friends so he would stand up for them 😤 but it was an uphill battle for sure. It meant a lot to fp to have fred in his corner tho cuz unfortunately he did sometimes care what kids at school thought of him or at least would believe and internalize the shit they said.... Gladys did not give a fuck but you're right just cuz they're calling her a dyke and a slut all the time and are technically right does NOT mean she wants to hear it from Ricky from second period 😡🔪 she could fight her own battles but one of the things she thought was so sweet about fred was how relentlessly he stood up for people 🥺

What was hardest for fred was standing up to his dad cuz u are right artie was not happy about what he was hearing about fred spending all his time w southsiders and being down in that part of town a lot... Cuz news travels fast in that town and rumours were flying among the adults too and artie was just opposed to the Southside in general but fred would try to argue that these are his friends and they can't help where they were born!! Artie thought fred was just in a rebellious phase and flaunting it but fred meant that shit with his heart, he can't be any other way....

Also only slightly related but recently I was thinking about gladys and mary being thrown together for seven minutes in heaven at a high school party and while they're making out in the closet Mary's asking gladys if she thinks fred is interested in her cuz she hates herself for it but she thinks he's kinda cute 💀 lmaoooo and gladys is like no i think you'd be cute together this does not pass the bechdel test fnfnngkdnfnf idk why this came to me but there you are

[totemsp2blog]

2023 – Some Game of the Year

It occurs to me that a lot of games I played this year were in early access. Either way…

Sons of the forest (early access)

This is one of those games I wouldn’t have played otherwise, but now I have I don’t regret doing so.

What on the surface seems to be a horror survival game, seem to be more like a camping and off-grid living simulator, log homes, nature trekking, caving, and hiking included, now with wacky characters showing up and being uncomfortable to be around… that aren’t myself. Still, I’m they’re very fun to hit with implements.

The sequel to The Forest, now expanded with the ‘Sons of’ Prefix, my friends and I were playing the game during early access, with many plot details not complete. Not that I was paying much attention to that. Unlike my friends, I didn’t play The Forest, but from watching Mandalore’s video, I… know some things?

The plot of the game is not the point for me. Going camping in the woods, exploring the gorgeous forest, and the creepy caves to find cool new gadgets, like a zipline… or a shotgun, or a slightly better axe, working together to construct a log cabin on the lake, and then to construct a zipline system from said cabin, all the way to the top of the mountain, is absolutely the point for me. The game should be out of early access soon, so I’m looking forward to playing it again when it’s ‘feature complete’.

Pseudoregalia

If there’s one thing I was reminded of this year, is that I like 3D platformers. And there is many separate reasons why.

Enjoying the exploration of the wonderful little worlds these games take place in. Or enjoying the mechanics of scamping around a 3D space as effectively as possible.

Pseudoregalia firmly is in the latter category. It is firmly for the fans of movement and traversal.

The game is laid out in a ‘search action’ type of progression, where the items you find in the game add to your options for movement. Not long after you start the game and get past the ‘opening sequence’, and obtaining your slide, and slide jump, your options open up more than you realise at first, but once you know, you find out that sequence breaking using pure movement tech is a part of the game. You really wanna find out what you can get away with.

When I say that the game fits firmly in the ‘about traversal’ side of 3D platformers, it’s also because the exploration is kinda weak, as each area in the world is fairly simplistic and rather samey, while keeping to their theme. Getting lost is easy as there’s not a lot differentiating between most rooms, short of the odd monument. A map would be a small fix for this (and is in the works), but doesn’t solve the issue of the world design itself. Doesn’t make the world any less of a challenge to traverse, however. It’s ‘era-appropriate’ look is sort of grey-box design in a way.

There is combat, but it is easily the weakest part of the game. With how agile your character is, you’d think she’d be capable of brining the pain, but combat is basic, limited mainly to a 3 hit combo, with your other techniques usually used in solving puzzles in the environment. Not even your downward spike you use to high jump is viable, as you just take damage on impact. As a result, combat is infrequent and there’s only a couple of boss encounters.

What you have to understand is for what you get for about 5 bucks, it is actually impressive how much fun this is. I don’t mind getting lost as it means more time with the game. I would call this my top contender for favourite game this year, if only there was more. And all my criticism is because I care about more than most. I want it to do well, and thanks to the barrier of entry being so cheap, I think it has.

In short, this game’s pretty goat butt- sorry, pretty good, but it’s kind of short. Still, not bad for 5 bucks, for the one complete game on this list! And there is pants if you want, but why would you?

I’m of course not referring to the objectively superior professional outfit… yes, even better than nothing at all. So good it’ll give you Covid, yeag!

Volcanoids (early access)

This game’s premise is pretty ingenious, and technically impressive. It’s an open world survival crafting game, with a mobile base!

That said, you’re not there to live off the land and make your own, you’re there on a mission to retake the island from some robots gone wrong, that have been causing the volcano on the island to do a little trolling pretty regularly. So, its laser focused on getting you geared up to take on this threat, rather than living there.

To give you an idea of what kind of operation you’ll have in the late game, you’ll be automating not just processing of resources, but ammo, guns, health, armour, and repair equipment filling dispensers in your staging room, you’ll have mining drones going out to collect nearby ores, gun drones where you can use any of your weapons and deploy them in the field or anywhere on the map, and a really versatile support drone that has cover, health and armour regen, a tesla coil to shoot down projectiles, and a storage area you can put loot in to send back to the drill ship.

Ah yes, the drill ship. Your mobile base is mobile in the sense that you can set up in various locations. To do this, your mobile base can tunnel underground, and pop up in set locations, even into caves. You must do this to avoid the periodic eruptions of the island’s volcano. (Or if you’re out in the open, go hide in one of the many structures.) You can just sit there buried to do some basic prep, and fixes to the internals of your ship, but the modules you install into the slots of your ship require you to be deployed somewhere to function. So, there’s a difference between being safe and finding somewhere safe to get some work done… or having enough defences to protect yourself while you do.

All this comes together to make a technically, and mechanically impressive and fun game. I love pulling up next to an enemy drill ship, assaulting their position, getting inside, and stealing, and breaking everything. And all the tools given to you make taking on the robotic threat a blast!

But not for long. In its current state there is, I would say… about 12 hours of content total. But development is ongoing, and an embiggening of the island is coming in the future. Still, the 12 hours of content, is still plenty of fun, and I’ve certainly gotten multiple runs out of it. I’d call it, this year’s Signal from Tolva in that regard.

I will mention that playing with overseas friends, with all the lag that entails, makes it very hard to land shots… like, worse than I’ve experienced in most other games. But the recently added Tesla weapons do honestly remedy that. Hopefully that’ll improve over time.

Lethal company (early access)

Chances are you’ve played this one, and/or have seen enough to know what to make of it… or are not interested despite (or in spite of) the saturation.

So, I’ll forego the explanation for this one and get to my opinion.

It’s a funny game, that is very early in its days. As such, I feel after 20 hours I’ve gotten everything out of the game I can currently, and I’m not really interested in playing more until there’s a lot more to it.

Meanwhile, I’ve recently been playing Zeekerrs previous game The Upturned. Been finding it very enjoyable.

Void crew (early access)

Image source: Massively Overpowered, also how did I not take any screenshots??

Y’know, I ended last year playing a ship crewing game in PULSAR: the lost colony. Seems fitting I finish this year playing something similar.

However, this game is not as it seems on the surface. It’s not a game where a group of friends crew a ship and explore space. a game where a group of friends crew a ship, go out, do some missions, and come back and get rewards. It’s much more like Deep Rock Galactic in that sense. Each ‘pilgrimage’ has a set beginning and end.

The loop is lots of fun, crews will be all doing their own thing, and as an engineer, if I’m not helping shoot stuff, or being the only scavenger available, I can take time to wander around the ship (getting lost if we’re using the big ship), tending to the ship systems, moving items out of the scoop and into storage, or the recycler, which involves tossing them down the corridor a lot of the time.

One part of the loop I’m iffy about is at the end of every mission, in order to maximise our alloy bonus, we usually run around the ship, scuttling everything we built and collected, ship modules, ammo, upgrades, and other bits and pieces, sending it to the fabricator to get recycled one by one. I find this part of the loop to be pretty tedious and I feel like it should get a rework at some point, maybe taking account of your assets, and the value you would have if you had recycled everything. It’s not like you keep anything you find between missions. They made it easier recently with their rework of the void jump, allowing a ship to sit in ‘warp’, so that crews have time to prepare the next move, which at that stage is slowly chew through everything, and set the course for home.

Also, the loot in this game… It’s a random cosmetic lootbox system WITH DUPLICATES. At least it’s not monetized at the moment, I’m… weary, but still… just… no. And I cannot tell you how many crappy little visor gifs I’ve gotten… again, in duplicates of. Just let me purchase what I want with a form of in-game currency, and/or add items to progression.

But at any rate, this is still super technically impressive at this stage of development. After some bad habits are ironed out, I’m excited to see where this game goes.

Inkbound (early access)

I’m not normally a fan of turn based games. Inkbound sets out to take everything I dislike about turn based games, and effectively makes them fair. I suppose this makes the fight one sided in a certain way, but that doesn’t make it any less challenging.

To validate my feelings about turn based games, I have recently been playing through the Hylics series again, and I had my first game of D&D. The takeaway from all that being… preparation is key.

Inkbound allows you to prepare on the fly, as you’re making your move. While you’re doing everything you can, that your energy and availability of your abilities can permit, you know what the enemy is going to do, and you can either dodge, or get ready to take it, perhaps even influence them in some way.

One thing you cannot predict is how your adventure will go. If it plays like rouge, smells like rogue, it must be likewise… like rogue… a roguelike. ehem

The progression of your abilities, and the weird doodads you’ll find are randomised each run. You find yourself having to tend with multiple varieties of your ‘absolutely broken’ build. Oh but once you have one, it’s very funny to, say… do absurd numbers of damage concurrent to how tanky you are, like the harder you are to kill, the easier it is to kill others… which does make sense overall, but in this context… it couldn't be closer to the truth. Or how about the various ways to do DoT, and just watching the enemy die on their own. Or my personal favourite, outright removing the movement cap and literally running circles around the enemy… in a turn based game.

Also, it should be worth mentioning, in the antithesis of what Void Crew is doing, in more ways than one, the game started out having a premium currency to unlock cosmetics with, but they soon done way with that, and now you just earn the currency in game… as it should be. It’s unfortunate that it started that way, but I’m happy it’s where it’s at now. And they’re still offering paid Cosmetic DLC packages. Infinitely better than a random lootbox with dupes!

#sons of the forest #psuedoregalia #volcanoids #lethal company #void crew #inkbound #video games

[jackinalex]

Would love to hear your thoughts on Glitter & Crimson. It’s about Jalex isn’t it

I really gotta stop mentioning things I'm afraid people will latch onto. Sigh. But tbh, I've been wanting an excuse to use my English teacher knowledge to analyze the shit out of that song in particular. If you took an AP English class, you know that it's 90% bullshitting you're way through claims and that is absolutely why I am who I am. This is so fucking long, dude.

I spent an embarrassing amount of time on this. Like I literally printed out the lyrics and annotated it like I was in college. But this is my shit, y’all. I love to analyze things. So, there’s a few different ways that I went about this: what the literary devices mean vs. what Alex (the liar) says the song means vs. the Jalex conspiracy theories that keep me in Delululand. Please scroll on if you don’t want to read about me being delusional about Jalex. Also, the very, very last of this is where we get into the absolute most delusional theory I have, so scroll to the bottom if that’s all you want. 

Let’s start off with what Alex has said about the song so that it can provide us at least a little context. Alex told Apple Music: “To me, this song is about two characters who are deeply in love, whose love is not allowed to be that by [a certain] society. They’re gay, and they don’t feel like they’re accepted in their own skin for who they are, or for who they want to love. It’s a cry out to seize that power back and saying, ‘No. You don’t get to dictate how we live our lives.’ Obviously, I can’t speak to that, being a straight guy, but I know a lot of people who live that experience every day. And it was something that felt very meaningful that I wanted to address for them because they can’t [in this way]. They aren’t songwriters.” This is less helpful context-wise, but he also told Kerrang: “This was dramatic to record (laughs). It was one of the last songs we wrote – in fact, it might have been the very last one. The record was almost done, but I felt like there were a couple of missing pieces. We actually went out to Big Bear [Lake, in California] – me, Jack, Zakk and Andrew. We rented a cabin and locked ourselves away for a minute. As we recorded Glitter & Crimson, it was one of those moments where we went, ‘Oh, thank god! We’ve got the thing that we were missing!’ I think the performance in the bridge is me almost knowing that it was the last take. It’s like when the director is about to call, ‘That’s a wrap!’ and everybody is like, ‘Holy shit!’ You feel that swell of relief and appreciation for getting through it.”

Most importantly, during the Wake Up, Sunshine Twitch Listening Party, Alex literally says he wrote G & C about Jack (starts at 1:36:26). Idc if he's joking, bro. It's good enough for me.

I guess the best way to go about the analysis is just to go lyric-by-lyric. Then, I’ll go a bit deeper into more of the bigger symbols. I want to preface this by saying that Alex probably did not mean for a lot of these things to mean what I’ve interpreted them to mean. And when I say I interpreted them, I mainly mean that I took what was given to me and recalled the connotations that these words carry (that was so wordy; idek if that made sense). 

It’s a typical story, three in the morning

You’re holding my head. 

To me, this seems fairly literal. Sitting with another person at 3 in the morning with them holding your head is really intimate. It could be after sex or just an intense conversation. I think that this is one of the lines that points toward this song being about a gay couple the most. I know he doesn’t specify what gender the couple is, but since Alex simply cannot write a song without inserting himself, I’m guessing they’re dudes. The holding my head kind of gives off that vibe to me, too. Anyone can hold anyone’s head, of course, but something about it just gives me the image of a guy holding a guy’s head. No matter how you spin it (head on the shoulder, head on the lap, etc.) it is super intimate, which means that this is a situation between two people who are very close. It’s vulnerable, too. There’s also the idiom “to hold something over someone’s head,” but I do think that the meaning here is literal. The idiom doesn’t make sense here. We gotta remember that Jack and Alex (and Zakk and Andrew) wrote this song together at a lake house. Every time I hear the opening lines, I think about Jack and Alex being together at 3 am in the lake house in one of those bedrooms, Jack holding Alex’s head. 🥺 

Caught in the tension, silent confessions

At the foot of your bed

The tension line could be in reference to the relationship, which we know is not accepted by those around them. It could also just be another reference to sex lol. I’m leaning more toward the former, though. I think the silent confessions depend on where the couple is at in their relationship. If they’re established, I think it’s probably a confession of love (like, we’ve been seeing each other, but I’m actually in love with you). But if it’s in the very early stages, the confession could be the confession of feelings. These two people are really close, so if they’re not yet a couple, then they’re definitely best friends. “At the foot of your bed” makes me think about sex again lol (specifically head because…Yeah). 

Glitter and crimson, fighting the friction

What a perfect mess

Glitter and crimson are massive metaphors/symbols in this song, so I’m going to hold off on going too far into that just yet. For now, we can discuss how the two are contrasting. Glitter is pretty and can symbolize the beautiful things in life (it can symbolize a lot of other things, too, which we will get to, promise). Crimson, on the other hand, often represents blood and violence (and a lot of other things, too), so this is one of the first instances of conflicting ideas and feelings. The two ideas come together despite being opposites. “Fighting the friction” could be another reference to tension, whether it’s conflict brought about because of societal pressure, or sexual tension. It could even be both. 

While I know that Alex definitely wasn’t trying to reference pride or the history of it, the mention of glitter was an excellent way of doing so. Glitter has a rich history with the LGBT community. It is tied with queer nightlife and the performance arts of drag, burlesque, and cabaret. In the past, it was a way to signal queer identity to other queer people, a practice that some people use to this day. It was also used as a kind of beauty and/or gender defiance when men were ostracized for presenting femininely and women were ostracized for presenting masculinely (Dorwart). Overall, glitter can also symbolize fakeness, materialism, greed, treasure, and excitement. In the instance of the lyric, I tend to think that the glitter is representative of the beauty of the situation, but also having to hide the relationship (the “characters” are being fake by hiding their relationship. 

While crimson can symbolize blood, violence, anger, warning or revenge (which is what I believe its main purpose is with the lyric), it can also represent vigor, passion, love, and courage. I definitely think that love and passion are an important part of this, too. Every facet of this relationship is intense, whether it be a negative or positive thing. This is also hedging into Delululand, but crimson (it’s called red in the flag, but the shade is definitely crimson) was one of the colors of the original pride flag, representing life. I’m certain that Alex was not thinking of the pride flag when he wrote this song, but there are so many references that he did accidentally that this song could be a gay anthem tbh. 

With the “perfect mess” line, Alex has given us an oxymoron and another example of contrast. The two words are technically opposites, but when they come together, they create a new meaning. In the narrative, this refers to the relationship feeling so good and right to the guys, but not allowed by society, those around them, and even maybe themselves. If we look at it through a Jalex lens, the “mess” could easily be the conflict between them having feelings for one another and the pressures of the band and their friendship (a very classic fanfic trope for a good reason). There’s a lot to lose if things don’t work out, so there’s a very real question of whether pursuing a relationship is worth it. As we’ll get to later, it definitely seems like it is to them. 

I wonder if you feel kinda like I feel

Temporary

These lines feel fairly literal to me. To feel temporary means to feel impermanent or uncertain. I think that both could be prevalent here. I also think that those feelings pertain to both the relationship and just their lives in general. It feels like the relationship can’t last because that’s what society tells them, and the uncertainty comes from not knowing if they even want it to (because they too are influenced by society). Alex has always written a lot about existentialism and these two lines strongly evoke that concept (which, to me, is more proof of the song being written from his perspective vs some “character” but we’ll get into more instances of that later). 

Fixed on a moment just out of focus

And we can’t quite see 

Being us ain’t good for us

I put these three lines together because they finish out the first verse and because there is significant enjambment, too. The first line is literal in the sense that the two characters (air quotes) in the song are trying to imagine what a good life together could be like, but they’re struggling too because that future seems so impossible (as we see with the second line). However, “and we can’t quite see” also brings into the second idea here. They can’t see the future and it also seems like being themselves and together isn’t good for them (probably because it’s dangerous for a lot of queer people in the world, even still). That leads us into the chorus, which is where we get to the cry out of the chorus. 

And I don’t wanna wait till the sunshine fades

And bury our love in a shallow grave 

Sunshinesymbolized happiness and life, so by the sunshine fading, that has to do with the beauty and goodness of the relationship wearing off (whether that be due to societal pushback or just conflict between the two guys). Sunshine is also what the yellow represented on the original pride flag. Again, I do not think that Alex ever intentionally referenced the flag, but…Anyway, it could also just be a little wink to the album itself “Wake Up Sunshine” or the song on the album. That song is also about existentialism to a certain extent, though it’s directed toward someone else and not about the narrator’s issues with it. Meanwhile, typically, shallow graves are done hastily by criminals (not always, but that’s what it is most associated with) because they don’t take much time or effort to dig. Alex (and Jack; Jesus, I keep forgetting he helped write this song) probably chose to pair these two lines because they almost have the same amount of syllables (11 vs. 10), but it’s also possible that he chose this specific phrase because being gay was a criminal offense for years. A shallow grave also indicates urgency and haphazardness, which would mean that the burial would probably be unplanned and quick. The narrator (Alex) is clear about not wanting that. 

Cause the world could be cruel to us or

We could live for the dangerous so

Let’s start, let’s start a riot

Just like a few lines ago, I included these three together for the enjambment. The first line is straightforward, supporting the idea of society being unaccepting to the couple. When we put it with the second line, it’s reiterating that though the world is cruel, they could live for it instead of being afraid of it. When we pair the second line with the third, the narrator is saying that he wants to stop being afraid and instead embrace and fight for what he and his lover have. It is impossible for me to ignore the term “riot” being used here in a queer context because the first pride was a riot! I’m sure most of you know about the Stonewall riots, but if not, here’s a bit of background: there was a small dive bar in NYC called the Stonewall Inn, which LGBT+ frequented. In an article entitled "The First Pride Was a Riot: The Origins of Pride Month” for American University Washington DC, Patty Housman writes: 

 At the time there existed outdated “masquerade” or “cross-dressing” laws that suggested a “man” or a “woman” must be wearing a certain number of clothing items that matched the gender on their state-issued ID. The police took advantage of these laws to raid drinking establishments and arrest transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. Just after midnight on June 28, 1969, the police raided the Stonewall Inn like they had many times before. Only, this time, something unusual happened: Stonewall patrons fought back.

There are conflicting stories about what actually happened, but essentially queer people fought back against the police brutality that had been plaguing them for quite some time. They were targeted, attacked, humiliated, arrested, and even worse, and they were fed up. Since this event took place in June, we now celebrate in America every June. And again, I’m sure that Alex and Jack didn’t intend to reference Stonewall, but I’m deep into queer theory now, so there’s no going back. Sometimes meanings can appear in works without the original composer even realizing it. Long story short, the riot is a way to take power back, whether it be the metaphorical riot in this song or the proverbial riots at Stonewall. And since this is supposed to be a queer song that references a riot, Stonewall must be discussed. 

Hard to sit still when your head’s on fire 

Oh, oh yeah

The saying “my head’s on fire” means that one is stressed or overwhelmed. However, “your head’s on fire” indicates that someone is lying. Therefore, I think this line has a dual meaning. I think that it references both here because a) the narrator is frustrated with having to hide his love from society, but it can also indicate that they’ve been lying (i.e, hiding their relationship). “Hard to sit still” calls back to the riot idea. It can be difficult to sit idly by when you know for sure that something is wrong. The narrator is tired of sitting around and hiding their relationship. 

‘Cause I’m a supernova 

And you’re my four leaf clover

These two symbols are the most important (besides glitter and crimson) in the entire song. This is entirely metaphor; there’s nothing literal in these two lines. The narrator compares himself to a supernova, which is the greatest explosion humans have ever seen. They are the “extremely bright and super powerful explosion of a star.” Supernovas signify destruction and renewal, so the narrator is seeking a new beginning of some sort. On the other hand, four-leaf clover have always symbolized luck, but they can also represent protection and the uncommon. Traditionally, each leaf of a four leaf clover signified something different: hope, faith, luck, and charity. Therefore, the narrator sees his lover as somewhat of a good luck charm. He’s different from others, but he’s everything to the narrator. 

This is where I get the most Delulu, so just keep that in mind as you’re reading. I’m now going to argue that the supernova represents Alex and the four-leaf clover represents Jack. I’m not pulling this completely out of my ass, I promise. Alex is obsessed with space. He brings it up every chance he gets and if you listened to Full Frontal, you know how annoying it could get lmao. Point is, the man loves some fucking space, okay? To Alex, Jack has always represented goodness. Nothing sums it up better than his birthday post for him here. He literally sees him as a “bright light in this weird world” and loves him “times a million.” But there’s been countless instances of Alex singing Jack’s praises (and even more of Jack singing Alex’s). This last tour, Jack’s been spending every moment trying to make Alex happy and keep him laughing, and ya know, Alex can lie all he wants and say that “Kill Ur Vibe” isn’t about Jack, but it absolutely fucking is, even if he doesn’t know that. Alex sees himself as a supernova and Jack as a four-leaf clover. Jack is not only a rarity, but also just a constant sign of goodness in Alex’s life and that, my dudes, is fucking beautiful. 

There is also a specific species of clover called crimson clover. I doubt that Alex thought about this while they were writing this song, but when I started working on this analysis, it occurred to me that I’d heard the two phrases before in a Lana del Rey song. And if you guys know Jack, he loves Lana. In “Venice Bitch,” she has a line that says, “Me myself, I like diamonds//My baby crimson and clover.” This line is a reference to the song “Crimson & Clover” by Tommy James and the Shondells. It’s a song about the potential for loving someone and what a relationship could be. I don’t know if there was any thinking about this song during the writing of G & C, but it’s interesting how the two songs are essentially about the same thing (just in different contexts). G & C is about the potential for loving someone and what a relationship could be, but through a more cynical lens (at first). The use of the ampersand in both songs is curious, too. I don’t doubt that Alex is aware of this song, but I don’t know that it had much of an influence on it. I do love the idea that Alex wrote about crimson and clover in the same song for Jack (who loves Lana) or even that it was Jack’s idea in the first place. It’s just cute. 

Crimson clover doesn’t have a ton of ideas associated it with it, but some people tend to see it as a sign of growth, resilience, love, and affection. The latter two are probably related to it being red and I would assume that the Tommy James and the Shondells song helped with that connotation, too. It’s the growth and resilience that really intrigues me, though. They grow throughout the winter, which is fascinating and definitely lets that resilience ring true. If we’re to link those concepts to the song, the narrator believes that their relationship is resilient and growing, maturing in a way that it necessary for them to thrive. Winter can symbolize hard, rough times, and so the narrator views their relationship as troubled (whether it be because of the way they’re viewed or because of their own issues), but resilient and able to survive the difficult times. 

Time to stop being insane about the last two lines and get into the second verse and bridge. 

Heavy as ever, light as a feather 

I’m caught in between

“Light as a feather” is a common idiom (and synonym) for having very light weight and/or being light and free. Here, the narrator is contrasting the feeling of being free and light because they’re so happy with their lover with the fact that he also feels “heavy,” which means hard to endure or emotionally taxing. When used literally, heavy refers to something being hard to carry because of its weight. So while the narrator is happy, he is also sad and probably anxious and unsure because of the oppression he and his lover are facing. The second line is telling us that verbatim; he is torn between focusing on being happy with his lover and the negative feelings associated with their sexualities and relationship. 

Hard to stay focused, process the progress

How long can we be

Happy if happy ain’t meant for us 

This calls back to the lines before it. Again, it’s hard for the narrator to focus on how happy the relationship makes him because of how bad society and oppression makes him feel. “Process the progress” probably means that it’s difficult for him to focus on how much their relationship has grown because of how anxious he also is. Progress is also a term used frequently with LGBTQ+ issues. We use “progress” to describe how things have improved for queer folks in the last few decades. I think the narrator could be referring to that, as well, that it’s hard to look at how much progress has been made as a society when things are still bad (especially for trans folks). The second and third lines see the narrator expressing his anxiety again. Yes, he’s very happy with his lover, but society is constantly telling him that they won’t work out, and he’s worried that some part of that is right.

Cause being less ain’t good enough

But being us feels good to us

To be less means not as good or esteemed as someone else. In this sense, I take it as the narrator saying that he has been suppressing part of himself (his sexuality and relationship), since to suppress part of yourself makes you “less,” in a way (I hope that makes sense). Essentially, if you’re not presenting all of yourself, part of you is missing, hence “less.” The narrator says that being less isn’t good enough, which I take as meaning that not being their full, authentic selves is not enough, and by enough, he means he doesn’t want to settle for hiding their relationship in the way that they have been. And besides, with the line, “being us feels good to us,” the narrator is expressing that being with his lover feels right despite all of the anxiety he feels. 

I’m skipping the chorus, obviously, so let’s get into the bridge. 

No compromise, no second best

There’s no stopping now, this weight on my chest

This is the beginning of the cry out in which the couple takes their power back. No compromise means no more suppressing themselves, which reminds me a lot of the old idea of gay people being allowed to exist and be with their partners at home and in LGBT+ spaces, but nowhere else. The narrator is saying that he’s not doing this anymore. This could be what “second best” is, whereas the best situation would be where they are accepted and allowed to be themselves everywhere, though I do wonder if second best could also refer to the concept of “playing straight,” which is where queer people date only people of the opposite sex in order to fit societal norms. People have historically done this to stay alive. It’s not as common anymore, but it’s definitely something that still happens. This could be a reference to the men dating (or even marrying) women in order to hide their sexuality and not ruffle society’s feathers. 

The narrator is putting an end to whatever the compromise and second best are, though. He’s going to be open and honest with himself, his lover, and the world, and that’s what the “no stopping now” refers to. He’s done pretending and making himself lesser to make other people comfortable. “The weight on my chest” is the huge uncertainty and anxiety of his relationship. He’s getting rid of it. It could also be anticipation, though, which would be the anticipation of taking his power back. It’s an important, hard thing that is going to change the course of his life forever. 

I won’t settle down, won’t settle for less

I won’t settle for less, I won’t settle for less

I think this is pretty literal. The narrator is not going to sit down and be quiet (and thus, hide his authentic self), and he’s not going to settle for anything but being his authentic self. I do think that the “won’t settle down” could be read as an allusion to Stonewall, since the queer folks that protested those three days were constantly told to just calm down for many years before they finally fought back. “Settle down” could also be a reference to playing straight since settling down often entails getting married to someone of the opposite sex and having children (*I look into the camera like I’m on a mockumentary*). This could also mean that the narrator is not going to be with a woman to appease society. They utilize parallelism (and thusly, repetition) here. Repetition is almost always utilized to emphasize a feeling or idea, create rhythm, and/or develop a sense of urgency. I definitely believe that the use of repetition here is used for emphasis. Not settling is an important theme of the song. Parallelism is also used to create emphasis, but also to create flow between lines, which is always necessary for songs. I’m sure there’s probably more literary devices in the song, but I doubt you guys want me to go too much farther into that lol. 

To sum up, the song is rich with metaphors and allusions (even if Alex wasn’t aware of the latter when they were writing it). I think it has the potential of being a great queer anthem. I don’t know that it will ever become that, but all of these possible references to pride and Stonewall are so fucking good (even if it’s just from happenstance). This may make me totally fucking insane, but I can’t ignore the fact that Alex wrote this song with Jack at a cabin in Big Bear, the album was released, and then like eight months later, Alex and Lisa were split up. Then, like another month passed, and Alex was living with Jack. I’m aware that I’m delusional, but this isn’t even me speculating; I’m just reporting events in the order they happened. Take that as you will. 

Works Cited 

Dorwart, Laura. “Inside the Fascinating History of Glitter and Gay Culture.” Byrdie, 15 February 2022. https://www.byrdie.com/history-of-glitter.

Patty Housman. “The First Pride Was a Riot: The Origins of Pride Month.” American University Washington D.C.,10 June 2022. 

“What Is a Supernova?” NASA, NASA, 23 July 2021, spaceplace.nasa.gov/supernova/en/. 

#please forgive me for taking forever #also this is not proofread bc like #i'm lazy #anyway? i hope y'all can get some kind of enjoyment out of this? #kalina answers #jalex #jack #alex #glitter & crimson #wake up sunshine

[irithnova]

Hetalia Oirat OCS

I've procrastinated on this for far too long but here they are!

Here's a link to a previous post which is purely a historical overview of the Oirats, I suggest reading it if you want more context as to what I'm saying, however I've tried my best to give context behind my words and reasoning in this post.

Now onto the post, which is still a bit historically dense but oh well:

I'll be dedicating a lot of this section to talking about the Oirats of the 13th century who were subjugated by Mongolia and elaborate on his evolution into the figurehead of the four Qirat confederation and then the Zhyungar Khanate later down this post. The Oirats in the 13th century were ruled by Qutuga Beki, and during the four Oirats era, the Khoid Oirat faction in particular claimed to be of Qutuga Beki's lineage (there were many different clans that made up the Oirat identity).

It should be noted that "Oirat" during the four Oirat era became somewhat of an umbrella term to refer quite a handful of Non-Chinggisid peoples who came together to ally against the ruling Chinggisids Mongols. It’s a bit of a misconception that "Oirat" simply meant "Western Mongols". The aph Mongolia we all know is a Chinggisid Mongol, or moreso THE Chingissid Mongol. Of course, Oirats are now considered Mongols and it would be overstepping/insensitive at best to tell Oirats and other Mongolic people to not call themselves Mongols if that’s the label they want to go by (especially with the history of Russia trying to convince Mongolic groups such as Buryats that they have no connection to Mongols as part of their process of Russification) but from a more historical perspective, Oirats are a (mainly) Western Mongolic people.

Historically, Oirat groups considered themselves to be separate from Chinggisid Mongols and vice versa, and the term "Mongol" was only really applied to Chinggisid Mongols for a long while, despite all groups being Mongolic.

There's debates as to how the Oirats came to be Oirats. The Oirats were called so because when they were subjugated by Mongolia in the 13th century, they resided in forested areas, hence “Oirat” denoting "forest people" in the Mongolian language at the time. “Oi + “arad” = forest people. However there are other theories as to why the Oirats were called Oirats , such as coming from the Mongolian "oyira” meaning "near" or the name even originating from old Turkic words.

There is speculation as to whether the Oirats (overall) were Mongolic from the get-go or if the Oirats were non-Mongolic, perhaps Turkic people who, over the years, were Mongolised. This is the same debate that some have about the Buryats (people speculating if Buryats were the results of Mongolised Kurykans). There are some writings which claim that the Oirats settled from Khovsgol (Northern Mongolia) to the Southern Lake Baikal in the 12th-13th century..

Run down of Mongolic vs Mongol in the context of the Oirats of this particular era so we're not confused:

While all Mongols are Mongolic, not all Mongolic people are Mongols

You're probably wondering what I mean by Chinggisid Mongol vs non Chinggisid Mongols. I think this excerpt here explains it quite well:

"In the beginning of the 13th century, when Chingis Khan founded an empire under the name "Mongol", the land was settled by people with a pronounced clan and kinship system. Their political concept was an aristocratic and not a popular one, which defi ned the nation’s existence solely in terms of its ruler.

...Even researchers claim that the name Chingis Khan is connected to Mongols and the acquisition of their own national and cultural identity.

Yet, his rule was too short, and the world empire fell apart too swiftly for a uniform Mongolian identity to develop and to have possibly lasted until today. The death of Chingis Khan in 1227 apparently led to a crisis in the collective self-conception of Mongolians. When wielding their supreme power over the large areas conquered in Asia and Europe, the Mongolian Khans distributed their "ethnic resources" over competing territorial units. Despite or possibly due to that weakness, what is known as the "Chingisid Principle", according to which only men descending from the Chingisid lineage could become a Khan, was upheld" - The Cultural and Ethnic Identity of the Oirat Peoples by Otgonbayar Chuluunbaatar

In short, groups who's ruling lineages did not adhere to the Chinggisid principle could never become Khan. Chinggis Khan and the Chinggisid principle became embedded in the Mongol identity. One could argue that Chinggisi Khan has become somewhat mythologised. For example, in some Chinggisid Mongol propaganda against the Oirats, they depicted Chinggis Khan defeating a mythological tree that held significance to the Choros Oirats. During this era, Oirats did not call themselves Mongols but did however acknowledge similarities between themselves and Chinggisid Mongols.

The fact that the term "Oirat" during the four Oirat period denoted something like "alliance/confederation of non Chinggisid Mongolic people" rather than simply "Western Mongols" is shown through the fact that even Buryats were under the Oirat label for a time (not anymore obviously.) This is peculiar when you consider the term "Oirat” to mean "Western Mongols" and Buryats are an Eastern Mongolic group like the Chinggisid/Khalkha Mongols are. But once the definition of Oirat during this period is understood to mean "Alliance/confederation of non-Chinggisid Mongolic people (who yes, a majority resided in the West) against the ruling Chinggisid/Northern Yuan Mongols" then it makes a lot more sense.

Another example, one group, called the Koshuds, originally inhabited the South Eastern Mongolian plateau, but migrated Westward to ally with the Oirats against the against the powerful military of the Northern Yuan Mongols. Despite being orginally from the East, their migration Westwards to become part of the Oirat group designated them going forwards as Oirats. These Khoshuds then went on to form the Koshud Khanate, and the Koshuds are one of the Oirat groups who was originally of "Mongol" stock, and who's ruling line actually is related to Chinggis Khan (through his brother, so still not Chinggisid, but still far more closely related). Hence why Khoshud Khanate had a bit of a superiority complex over the other Oirat Khanate personifications.

The original “Oirat" subjugated by Mongolia, as I've mentioned previously, then went on to become something of a figurehead of the “four Oirat alliance" and then became the representation of the Zhungar Khanate. This is because when the "Four Oirat” confederation was disbanded, a majority of those Oirats (Choros - who was the overall ruling clan of this confederation, Dorbed and Khoid to be precise) who were scattered gave rise to the creation of the Zhungar Khanate.

So: "Forest people” Oirats who were subjugated by Mongolia > figurehead of the Four Oirat Confederation > Zhungar Khanate > (Modern day) resides in Western Mongolia

Elaborating on his and Mongolia's relationship during the Mongol Empire: His personal relationship with Mongolia was... Rocky, to say the least. It was like a boss-employee relationship but he really hated his boss's guts.

He was extremely keen on maintaining his individuality from Mongolia so the fact that Qirats were often used as marriage allies, “Qudas", to Chinggisid Mongol royals really peeved him off (reduced to becoming in-laws).

Other than Mongolia himself, he did confer with IIkhanate because there was quite a strong presence of Oirats in the likhanate. Though, he definitely didn't always have good intentions when talking to IIkhanate and he didn’t necessarily care about Mongolia's brats, but he couldn't exactly tell them to go fuck themselves either (even after the splitting of the empire, he was far too weak to actually try anything). Oirats closer to the Oirat homeland also maintained successful ties with the Golden Horde, and when the IIkhanate was weakened in the 14th century, a member of the Oirat ruling family there was a competitor in overtaking the IIkhanate.

Oirat was definitely... sly, in his own ways. Some may call his moves cowardly (often waiting until his enemy was weak until he'd attack or trying to spread his influence through alliances rather than violence) however he is just someone who bides his time. Mongolia also called him a coward because he tends to submit pretty easily the second his enemy gets the upper hand, for example, during the Khublai-Qaidu civil war when both were fighting for the title of great Khan, the Oirats at first sided with Qaidu, however quickly submitted to Khublai once Qaidu was defeated. Soon after the Northern Yuan was established after the downfall of the Yuan dynasty, the Oirats began rebelling once more. Oirat definitely saw the “Northern Yuan" as Mongolia’ s pathetic attempt to hang onto power, so was definitely elated to escape from his crutches and to stop the “marriage ally" and boss-employee relationship between them.

The Four Oirat period, from 1399 to 1634 still kinda makes Mongolia m mald to this day. The "Four Oirat” period refers to “Four Tumens (10,000) of Oirats”. It's not exactly established who these four Oirat clans are, but it was most likely the Torghud, Dorbod, Khoid and Choros Oirat clans allying together as one confederation. However there was also other somewhat prominent Oirat groups during this time, such as the Baatud, Barga, Buryats and Khoshud. But nothing is really definitive.

I want to point out how hilariously petty Mongolia was to the Oirats. When the Oirats called themselves "The Four Oirats”, the Mongols replied to this by calling themselves "the Forty Mongols" in order to show that well they were much bigger and more powerful. In addition, there were many claims made by the Mongols that they were being incessantly harassed by Oirat leaders, however it was found that these instances of harassment weren't committed by Oirats at all and it wasn't even harassment, just foreign visitors. Yeah Mongolia was incredibly butthurt that his authority was being challenged. He essentially established across inner/Central Asia the concept of the "Chinggisid principle” the idea that only those who's patrilineal line descended from Genghis Khan had legitimacy to rule. So, in terms of nation personification lineages, only those who descended from him (aph Mongolia who is like. THE Chinggisid Mongol) could use that to claim any type of legitimacy/wield that fact in politics or their own cultural heritage. For example, Kazakhstan could do this, but the likes of the Timurids could not because their ruling line did not descend from Chinggisid Mongols from the fathers bloodline (no matter how hard they larped).

The Oirat confederation was incredibly diverse and were comprised of different factions, as stated previously. For simplicity's sake, up until the end of the four Oirat era and the beginning of the different Oirat Khanates (Kalmyk Khanate, Khoshud Khanate, Zhungar Khanate), I'm making the "figurehead" of the overall "four Oirat" confederation the same Oirat as was in the 13th/early 14th century, the same one that was originally subjugated by Mongolia. I say he was the "figurehead" rather than-the single personification as there were other groups within this alliance/confederation that weren't completely absorbed into the Oirat identity nor were they considered Oirat outside of just joining this alliance. The "Four Oirat" alliance was also incredibly shaky and not exactly centralised (the Choros clan were seen as the overall rulers of the Four Oirat alliance though).

The Mongolic identities are quite diverse when it comes to the clans that comprise them and aren't exactly homogenous. The Khalkha Mongols were originally made up of 7 main clans and then 6 more were added, and I'm not about to split Mongolia into 13 different clan personifications in order to forgo a single personification. The Buryats also comprise of a diverse set of clans and I'm not dividing Buryatia into different clan personifications in order to forgo a single personification. I'm not against anyone who wants to delve into the different clans and making personifications for them but for this post I will be speaking about personifications as their whole/overall identity rather than trying to overly dissect what groups make them up. I know I kind of already did that already by talking about different Oirat clans here but that was mainly to explain the historicity behind what I'm talking about.

You've probably also noticed I'm using the term "clan" or "faction" rather than "tribe". This is because I am actively choosing not to use that word as much as possible. I don't necessarily want to go into the ins and outs of why I am making this decision as this debate could warrant an entire post in and of itself but in short I’m quite sceptical of the use of the word "tribe" in the context of describing these different groups. That doesn't necessarily mean that I think anyone who continues to use the word tribe is committing some sort of moral shortfall and there are contexts in inner Asian history where tribe is a suitable term, this is just a personal choice.

During the early Northern Yuan, Oirats began to question the rule of Borjigid/Chinggisid Khans, and by 1399 they overthrew the ruling Chinggisid Khan and throned their own Khan. There was a lot of back and forth between the ruling Chinggisid Mongols and the Oirats, with the Oirats ruling over the Eastern Mongols at some points and vice versa. In the end, the Zhungars pretty much lost everything when the Emperor Qianlong of the Qing conducted a genocide against them. A lot of the remaining Oirats of the Zhungar Khanate settled in Western Mongolia. This is an extremely sore topic for both Oirats and Khalkha Mongols alike as from what I've seen, Khalkha Mongols feel a lot of guilt over “allowing” it to happen and turning to the Qing against the Oirats.

I've decided to make 3 different personifications for the different Oirat Khanates. The Zhungar Khanate now resides in Western Mongolia and the Kalmyk Khanate is now Kalmykia:

Zhungar Khanate (now resides in Western Mongolia) - I personally see the Zhyngar Khanate personification being a continuation of the previous four Oirat personification (and therefore also the original Oirat personification that was subjugated by Mongolia in the 13th century). So originally just the Oirats who Qutuqa Beki ruled > "Figurehead” of the Four Oirat Alliance > Zhungar Khanate > Oirats chilling in Western Mongolia, as once the Khalkha Mongols scattered them a majority of the Oirats who fled then went on to form the Zhungar Khanate in 1634... Back with a vengeance me thinks. The Zhungars were hugely powerful, terrorised multiple Chinggisid states (Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Yarkent Khanate who was a descendant of the Chagatai Khanate) and enjoyed it. His Khanate ended as a result of the Zhungar genocide that was conducted by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty. Because the surviving few Oirats of the Zhungar Khanate relocated to Western Mongolia I think he's just chilling there now (Western Mongolia was also the original homeland of the Oirats so). Really hates Manchuria (because of the Zhungar genocide), historically had a very rocky relationship with Mongolia but it's gotten better. From what I've read, Oirats and Khalkha Mongols don't hold a grudge against each other over what happened. Still lowkey wants to strangle Kazakhstan though (they beefed.. A lot. Kazakhstan even made a few movies about the grrr evil Zhungars!) I think he's the most extroverted of the Oirat personifications purely because he's been around the longest. He also knows Mongolia the best out of the Oirat

personifications (what being a marriage ally does to someone).

Name: Galdan

Height: 5'11

Hair colour is black, shoulder length and somewhat scruffy but it suits him. Always leaning on something, face has softness to it but the bone structure is still visible. Usually has a relaxed expression, knows a lot of secrets, mainly about Mongolia. King of blackmailing and trolling. Probably has "Manchuria DNI" on all of his social media bios.

Kalmyk Khanate - Now Kamlykia, formed from the Torghud Oirats who migrated westwards, and he was the most "isolated" of the other Oirat Khanates as his Khanate was situated in the far West and now he is a part of Russia. By isolated I mean more in a geographic sense, the Kalmyks still kept contact with the other Oirat Khanates. He originally situated his Khanate in the lower Volga in 1630 and he really was doing a little trolling as the Tsarist government at the time couldn't really stop them, however Russia really didn't want them to start allying with the Turkic speaking people in the region so he didn’t exactly let it go (remember the results of the last time Mongols and Turkic people allied in his vicinity..lol). Kicked the Nogai Horde's ass out to make space for himself. He actually allied with Russia to fight against the neighbouring Muslim population and the relationship between Russia and Kalmykia was quite similar to Russia’s relations with the Cossacks, and at one point Russia actually allowed the Kalmyks to trade and mingle with the Turkic speaking population - under strict supervision though. Though they did still raid each other sometimes lol. Like the Zhungar Khanate, he beefed with Kazakhstan (under Ayuka Khan). His relationship with Russia became pretty bad when Russia reduced the authority on the Kalmyk Khan by imposing a council on him and through pressuring the Kalmyks into accepting Orthodoxy. Then the great migrations happened when over 200,000 Kalmyks-fled back to their original + heartland - but only 70,000 survived and were able to resettle. Empress Catherine of Russia abolished the Kalmyk Khanate and the remaining Kalmyks lost all remaining power. He went through further hardships under Russia, especially when Stalin mass deported thousands of Kalmyks to die in Siberia under suspicion of collaborating with the Nazis. Abandonment issues, odd relationship with Russia, uses Mongolia as his pay pig by guilt tripping, works every time. .

Name: Lidzhi (Meaning "born on Wednesday". No my love for Wednesday Addams did not influence my choice at all what do you mean)

Height: 5'6

Hair is short and dark brown which is often mistaken for black, his face is kinda innocent looking (perhaps because of his eyeshape), don't let that fool you though. Gets teased for being the shortest, Has a nice ass (he swears its because he wrestles often and is totally good at it!!!).

Koshud Khanate - Had a huge superiority complex because the ruling line of the Khoshuts originally claimed lineage from Chinggis Khan's brother, Qasar, and so out of all of the Oirat Khanates, he saw himseff as being the most legitimate. Obsessed with Tibet, the Koshud Khanate was literally founded by Gushi Khan invading Tibet and the subsequent relocation of 100,000 Oirat households in Tibet and Gushi was even titled the King of U-Tsang and Kham and his son continued on as the Khan of Tibet after his death in 1655. Super religious and gatekeepy about it too. Gushi Khan, who established the Koshud Khanate, actually went by the title of Khan to piss off the Chinggisid Mongols, this was done with the blessing of Tibet (yes Mongolia was crying dry heaving throwing up coping and seething that his ex wife would do this to him this was truly his #flop era). So yeah that also didn't help his superiority complex. Killed by the Zhungar Khanate in the early 18th century though when a Dzungar prince invaded Tibet, killed their Khan (Lha-bzang Khan) and installed the 7th Dalai Lama. Rip in peace!

Name: Chimid

Height: 5'10 .

Hair colour is black and when he was alive, kept it in the traditional two looped braids style, face is on the more angular side. Long spindly fingers, looks like he's always judging you, probably i is. Thinks he's better than everyone and he's right. Recite 10 mantras off by heart or GTFO!

I want to note that there are Oirat groups living in Xinjiang, the main one being Torghut Oirats. Oirat groups/disapora aren't just limited to Kalmykia and Mongolia, there are a substantial amount of Oirats in Xinjiang too and the history behind them is interesting. There are also the Sart Kalmyks who live in Kyrgyzstan, I think I'll make a separate post in the future about them.

Sources:

Encyclopedia of the Mongol Empire - Christopher Atwood

Were the historical Oirats “Western Mongols”? An examination of their uniqueness in relation to the Mongols - Joo-Yup Lee

The Cultural and Ethnic Identity of the Oirat Peoples - Otgonbayar Chuluunbaatar

Oirat and Kalmyk Identity in the 20th and 21st Century - Johannes Reckel and Merle Schatz

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