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fangsandfeels · 6 months

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The vagueness of Astarion sleeping mechanics drives me mad sometimes

So, the game says that elves don't sleep - to the point where it's ironically stated that the only way for them to experience sleeping is to either drink a potion of Angelic Slumber or "get hit really hard with a chair".

Instead, they enter a semi-aware meditative state (Revery) where they experience memories from their past lives (usually most positive and emotional parts). Or they just sorting through their current memories.

Now, we've seen Astarion meditating if his way of lying on a bedroll is anything to go by. He is also immune to sleeping spells. We could also see him sleeping (in a Durge run). I know that devs technically recycle the same sleeping pose for all romanced companions, but still. Also, Astarion has nightmares, which is not typical for elves.

Of course, when I was going through the lore, I scratched the surface, but from what I understood, Revery is supposed to be a controlled state, and nightmares aren't exactly controlled.

But, I've found a very interesting bit that (so far) is still considered part of the official canon:

Elves can sleep and dream just like any human, but almost all surface elves avoid doing so. Dreams, as humans know them, are strange and confusing to elves. Unlike the actual memories of one’s primal soul, present life, or past lives, dreams are uncontrolled products of the subconscious, and perhaps the subconscious minds of those past lives or primal souls as well. An elf who dreams must always wonder whose mind these thoughts first arose from, and why. Priests of Sehanine Moonbow are an exception: they sleep and dream to receive signs from their god, and elves consult such priests to interpret their own dreams."

From: Mordenkainrn's Tome Of Foes, Chapter 2: Elves

And not only does this little bit explain a lot, but it also provides some food for your fic writing purposes.

Now, I'm entering the headcanon territory, so be warned.

Astarion's access to Revery got horribly fucked up after he had been Turned. Not only does he no longer have access to his previous lives since he is technically dead and plucked from the cycle, but he also can't even have his happy or good memories before he became a spawn. Even if they are still there, somewhere in the memory palace, getting to them requires going through the catalog of traumatic and painful memories he acquired after being enslaved by Cazador. It's like running through a burning house trying to rescue your family photo - and the hall gets longer each time. So, entering a trance means confronting the worst memories of his life over and over because there is nothing else there.

Due to this Astarion may resort to sleeping, which elves don't usually do. Elves don't like dreams because dreams are subconscious, and they can't be controlled, which scares them. For Astarion, however, it means there is a chance of him subconsciously dreaming of something nice or just being blissfully empty. However, it doesn't safeguard him from nightmares which (because they are the product of his unconsciousness) get even more twisted than simple memories.

Additionally, there can be a possibility that after becoming a spawn he got cut off from meditation and trances completely, relying on sleeping only: at least, the cut spawn epilogue by Withers mentions how while Astarion needs to sleep again, he doesn't sleep alone. While we don't know what that means exactly (and whether it will ever be implemented in the game), I assume that the tadpole gave him the ability to meditate back, but it was a small improvement because his memory headspace no longer holds happy memories capable of offering solace or refuge.

So, my personal headcanon is that he switches between meditating and sleeping depending on how aware he needs to be, and whatever option feels less torturous at the moment.

For instance, in his Origin run, when he remembers the moment of Cazador carving scars into him, he is in a trance. Which is why the memory is so horribly vivid, as if he is reliving it anew.

However, when he has a nightmare where Cazador finds him, he is sleeping and experiencing a memory affected by his subconsciousness. Which is why he jolts himself awake and desperate to know the limits of his freedom.

So, yes, the man literally can't catch a break.

On a happier note (and for your hurt/comfort fanfiction purposes), once Astarion starts traveling with Tav and the group, his memory bank gets updated with memories that are actually fun and nice, so he has something to linger upon when he is meditating. Sleeping gradually becomes a bit more pleasant experience because his subconsciousness got more material to work with, so the quality of his non-controlled dreams has to gradually improve.

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 astarion #astarion #astarion brainrot #dnd elves are strange #feel free to correct me if i goofed up #because it's quite likely i goofed up

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xitsensunmoon · 1 year

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Biting the Hand That Feeds au FAQ (Vampires + donor au)

Any general content warnings for bhtf au?

Yes. A normal amount of fnaf warnings, a normal amount of vampire warnings. For someone who doesn't know I elaborate... For vampire stuff, the most obvious ones are blood, hypnosis, bites, and animalistic behaviour. Less obvious - slightly suggestive themes. For fnaf - fnaf's usual violence, dark themes, a drop of gore and murders. The lore is uh. Very dark. I will try to decrease the amount of all of the cruelty but man. People who know, know how hard it will be. But I will tag everything properly so don't worry.

Is there a fic for your au?

No. And currently, I'm not even planning on writing one.

How do I find the story?

For now, we have two comics that are directly connected and one that doesn't have a specific place in the story but is about canonical lore.

[ 1 ] - [ 2 ] - [ x ]

In future, we will have more and I probably absolutely will forget to update this post so I recommend checking the tags. Here's the tag list

Tip: don't click the tag. Tumblr hides half of the results. Type it in the blog's search instead :)

Are the comics the only canonical thing about au?

No! I answer asks and draw a lot of doodles with bhtf au all the time and 90% of them are canon. You can, yet again, find everything in the tag list linked in the previous question.

Can I draw/write fan stuff for your au?

Yes, please!! I'm always happy to see fanart and fan writings and literally everything that you do! Just tag me when you post and use a fanart or fanwriting tag for au specifically so I don't miss it!

Can you include my characters in your story?

No, unfortunately, I cannot. The story is already written and I don't have any "space" for background characters either. Maybe it will change but currently, things are like this.

I asked a question with an interaction with my characters and I never got an answer, why?

I don't accept such requests. I'm not ready to spend my time drawing other people's characters for free(if I personally don't want to, of course)

Is there any limit to how many questions I can ask?

No, not at all! You can ask all you want just please make sure your question wasn't answered before. There is a big possibility I will just simply delete it if it was answered beforehand many times. Check the ask tag for it.

What about limitations? Any boundaries?

Please no questions about tickling🧍‍♀️ I got so many of those it already makes me uncomfortable. And for some reason, a lot of people send asks that include violence towards my characters and while I don't really feel uncomfortable with this I just idk what to answer and why are you even doing this lmao

What questions I should avoid?

Well, not really avoid but I will mention it anyway.

The things I have planned to draw right now:

- Sun and Moon and y/n's first meeting

- The creation of Sun&Moon

- Why S&M are sensitive to light and darkness

- How they hunt

So no need to ask me about these. I will show it, I promise.

What about sexual themes?

I understand that I post a lot of suggestive stuff and it may appear I allow such a thing but no.

You can create content with it tho, I don't mind for the most part. Just be ready that I may not reblog it, as my Tumblr is a SFW place. It's always 50/50.

Romantic themes?

I do draw some kisses and cuddles when I feel like it and you of course can send ideas for cute interactions but in the story we're very far away from it lol.

My question gets ignored even though I followed everything that you mentioned here. Why?

Answered in main FAQ.

Can I share the ideas for your au with you?

YES!!! Yes, yes and yes! I'm very open to that, like yes! The only thing that I definitely want to mention - you should expect that I actually can take your ideas and use them. Some people are protective of their ideas so if you're like this you probably should not share them with me :)

The information that you're using for your au is wrong.

Happens sometimes yeah. I know nothing about any medical stuff for y/n so I usually improvise. After all it's an au about robotic vampires man, this information is absolutely wrong. But! You're free to drop feedback/constructive criticism in my inbox!

Will be updated later

#biting the hand that feeds au #bhtf au #my art #for pinned post

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tbposting · 7 months

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Thoughts on them meshing the Acrane and League lore? I am really unhappy with the decision because it means some of my favorite champions will be completely reworked. I honestly just wished they kept the two separate. I also think it's a horrible move on a story telling front, too, because now the Arcane team will be restricted by canon which is what made Arcane so fun and good in the first place. They got to experiment and explore characters and I am terrified for the future of Arcane after this decision.

Overall, I think it was a horrible decision and I can only hope they decide to go back on it, but I highly doubt it. Apparently Riot just really hates its writers and it's lore community lmao

It is a really, really bad decision, yeah. Arcane's greatest strength was arguably that it could tell good and interesting stories about its characters entirely unburdened by 13 years of shambolic canon MESS from the main game. Its version of Viktor simply could not ever have happened if Arcane had to respect canon, it could NEVER have done what it did with Singed or Heimerdinger or the Void.

The way they're trying to solve that is by saying "okay, ARCANE represents the canon now, and we'll change THE MAIN GAME to suit it" but that just creates exactly the same problem the other way around. Now the canon of the main game (and Legends of Runeterra and the Forge games) is going to be completely fucked by being forced to be shackled to whatever Arcane wants to do.

Arcane is predicated, it is a huge and important central part of its canon that magic is rare, that it is incredibly special and unusual, and that spellcasters and sorcerers are essentially fucking cryptids to the rest of the world. That is WHY being able to harness magic through Hextech is such a revolutionary technology, because it makes magical power accessible not just to the very few, but to the world.

But hang on a fucking second, the premise of DEMACIA AS A REGION is that magic is common, that it is normal and abundant and plentiful enough that the magical population of the country can launch a full scale insurrection to claim their rights.

The Demacian storyline requires it to be true that mages are commonly born into ordinary families, that everyone in the country knows someone who's a mage or someone whose kid or cousin is a mage, and that mages and magicians are commonly understood to be living in various states of hiding all throughout the country as a normal part of their communities.

And before anyone goes "yes but Piltover was founded to get away from the destruction of the Rune Wars so..." remember, so was Demacia, and it was founded inside a forest of magic-suppressing petricite trees.

Which means if Arcane is the central fount of canon now, Demacia... simply cannot exist in that universe. Not in any way that we would recognize it. And neither can any of the other regions, really. If magic is rare, mysterious and unknown to the vast majority of ordinary people, then Shurima doesn't work. Bilgewater doesn't work. The Freljord doesn't work. Not as they exist currently.

So either the main canon gets CATASTROPHICALLY retconned to hell to suit Arcane, or else Arcane has to very awkwardly retcon its own foundational premise to be like "uuuuh actually magic is normal and common in far away places in the world and everyone there is totally chill about it, and it's JUST Piltover that happens to randomly be founded in a place where mages don't get born and also they never travel to Piltover and also nobody from Piltover ever travels to places where mages are common."

Like, there simply is not a good way to merge the world state of Arcane with the world state of Runeterra as a whole without completely destroying important parts of either, and what gets me is there isn't even any real benefit to fucking doing it.

Seriously! What's the benefit? What does anyone get out of doing this? The only actual tangible benefit is that it will eventually (after like five years of constant retcons) be slightly easier for people who watched Arcane to understand what's happening on Summoner's Rift, which... who cares? The whole point of Arcane is that it expanded the reach of Runeterra to people who don't give a shit what League of Legends is! People who watched Arcane aren't going to tune in to Worlds and be like "oh my god that's Viktor getting a pentakill! That's the blorbo from my show, hooray, I am going to buy SKT T1 merch about it!"

This decision reeks from a million miles away of executive bullshit. It reeks of some bro in a graphic tee under a suit jacket wearing ugly $1000 sneakers being like "we should totally unify our brand appeal under a single consolidated IP umbrella to maximize audience engagement metrics" without any creative understanding of why different storytelling works for different mediums and you can't just find-replace a few keywords to turn 13 years of MOBA canon into TV show canon.

It's such a fundamental failure to understand that there is POWER in telling different stories in different mediums. Fucking Disney+-ass MCU-brained brand thinking is what it is.

#tb answers #arcane #league of legends

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halfetirosie · 1 month

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♡ An Edmond-Post for the struggling fanfic writers ♡

(NOTE: This post will be LONG. I tried to be thorough and include evidence.)

I feel an AGGRESSIVE MORAL OBLIGATION to make this post because of the writing homies that want to write Edmond into their fics, but feel like they don't know enough about him.

My recent Character-Ask post for Edmond might help you guys a little, but I think you could use more information.

The NU: Carnival Lore Spreadsheet (Google Sheets)

This isn't an Edmond-exclusive resource, but still helpful.

If you don't spend any time on the subreddit, you may not have seen this, but this is a fan-made lore spreadsheet contains information the game's world and each of the characters. It hasn't been updated for a little over 3 months, so it's a bit outdated, but it is teeming with practical information that can help familiarize you with characters' backgrounds and such.

(Quick note for Edmond's "Power" category-- although he is unfamiliar with actually using magic, in Frozen Echoes/Tranquil Cloud Edmond intimacy rooms, we discover that Edmond has recently started to practice magic (particularly Light/healing magic).)

2. The current Edmond Era (the most recent Ed Dynamic)

Many people seem to be intimidated by the prospect of writing Edmond because he's a "tsundere." However, to borrow the words from my Character Ask post, "that’s only out of habit (and shyness), rather an actual reflection of his desires." In other words, Ed's inner workings probably look something like this:

It also is noteworthy that, when Eiden initiates sexual activity, Edmond willingly goes along with him. By that I mean, he might scold Eiden a lot and say something to the effect of, "You are a pervert!" but he doesn't actually tell Eiden to stop what he's doing when they're starting out. And while it doesn't happen as often in recent rooms, the habitual "Stop♡" and "No♡" Edmond might say are very clearly insincere, considering his tone of voice (as well as his physical reactions).

And during the rare occasions where Ed does tell Eiden something like "Stop," Eiden will stop; but then Ed will look disappointed, so Eiden will ask him if he wants to continue, and Edmond will say yes. Here's an example of this type of exchange from Sweet Aroma R2:

There have also been times when [we can infer], at the beginning of H-activities, Eiden doesn't have as clear of a read on Edmond's opinion; in which case, he will verbally search for confirmation on whether he can do more. The most accessible example of this is Ed's SR R3:

Here is another example, from Tranquil Cloud R5:

While Eiden is still the one that initiates sexy activity (14/16 of the Ed H scenes), Edmond willingly goes along immediately. That is the crux of the typical Edmond dynamic: Edmond also has strong desires, but is usually too embarrassed to admit them, so he needs an understanding partner that will guide him along until he feels secure enough [and/or horny enough] to admit his wants.

Edmond is in a bit of a transition period right now. He's starting to be much more active in his H-activities with Eiden. He also might "blame" Eiden for his own desires, but he's beginning to own up to his feelings, too. From Tranquil Cloud R2:

3. Edmond Anatomy & Kinks

One word: SENSITIVE. Edmond is HELLA SENSITIVE.

(I'd argue he's even more sensitive than Olivine, but idk if you could consider that a definitive fact or not.)

If there's an area that can be considered a relatively common erogenous zone, it's most likely an erogenous zone on Edmond. Here's the one's that have been canonically confirmed or STRONGLY suggested:

Mouth - Edmond's mouth is very sensitive. When he kisses for the first time in Sweet Aroma, Eiden coaxes him into admitting which specific parts of his mouth are most sensitive; roof of his mouth, tongue, sides. Edmond likes kissing a LOT, and has initiated kisses himself at least 3 times (Elite Instructor R5, Flaming Secret R5, Tranquil Cloud R5)

Ears - Ed has a strong reaction in Tranquil Cloud R2 (Eiden blowing on his ear helps send him over the edge to finally cum)

Neck - Eiden kisses his neck and Ed has a verbal reaction in Tranquil Cloud R5

Nipples - Best example is in Sweet Aroma R2 (he can cum from nipple-play alone); also featured in Spring Chaos R2 and Elite Instructor R2

Hands - Many rooms include Suggestive Hand-Holding™ but White Lover R2 includes significant hand-pay

Stomach/Waist - White Lover R2 includes Eiden caressing Ed's stomach, and in Tranquil Cloud R2 Ed has a strong reaction to Eiden tightening his hold on his waist

Ass - In Elite Instructor R2 Edmond gets spanked and he is VERY into it

Penis - *obvious answer is obvious*

Anus - Has cum from anal-play alone multiple times (including fingering and rimming). It isn't explicitly sated, but I'm pretty sure Edmond's anus is more sensitive than his penis

Additional canon sexual preferences:

A Little Pain - As is famously known, Edmond enjoys a little pain during sex

Praise & Dirty Talk - Gets very embarrassed by it (and will usually scold Eiden) but he has strong positive reactions to it

Roleplay + Dom/Sub Undertones - We see it in SR R5; once Ed is convinced to try it out he gets extremely aroused and feels more comfortable engaging in *mild* dirty-talk himself. It's also sorta-kinda in Elite Instructor R2, but only a little bit on Eiden's part (calling Ed "teacher")

Kissing - I mentioned it before, but I must emphasize it again; EDMOND LOVES KISSING

Overstimulation - Most Ed intimacy rooms include some element of this

Semi-Public Sexy Stuff? - Depending on if you count sex-in-a-carriage, this happens in 7-8/16 intimacy rooms. Idk if this is necessarily Ed's personal kink, but Ed isn't exactly opposed to it as long as Eiden is being careful. He does appear to get excited when Edmond says something like "don't be too loud, or someone will come and see you like this!" From Elite Instructor R2:

Light Bondage - Only seen is Elite Instructor R2, but he seems to like it:

4. Some Ao3 reading recommendation that you can use for Edmond-specific inspiration/references

As a passionate Edmond-Lover, here are some works of fanfic that I think do a particularly good job of writing Ed-relationships. Obviously (by the nature of fanfic) many of them take a lot of liberties, but when I was reading these stories, I didn't need to suspend my disbelief at all. The way Edmond acts in these stories feels very in-character to me.

(NOTE: All of these recommendations are NSFW where Edmond bottoms. Be sure to read their tags!)

Literally everything luster_candy has written (6 works at the time I'm posting this) - just be aware all of it is Eiden/Edmond.

Reprieve, Release by kkuro (~11k words) - Eiden/Edmond, one of the best (if not the best) BDSM-heavy Ed fics. Only note is, because this was written in 2022, Ed acts a bit more stiff/repressed in the beginning than he would now. In-character for Early Era Edmond tho.

A Helpful Hand by dracula (orphan_account) (~4.3k words) - Olivine/Edmond, Olivine tops (a rarity) and Ed is cursed with a V. Don't worry, Olivine-Lovers, he isn't a hella OOC sadist or ultra-masculine dom. XD Just very sweet and very horny, and Edmond is ruthlessly subjected to his brand of horny nonsense.

Do You Know Where the Wild Things Go by no birdstofly (~8k words) - Yakumo/Edmond, idk if it's OOC for Yakumo but it's in-character for Current Era slightly-more-honest Edmond.

The Knight's Discipline by RiyeRose (~3k words) - Restricted to Ao3 members, Kuya/Edmond. I subscribe to the belief that Ed would put up with Kuya if he were horny enough, which is why I don't consider this OOC. I think this fic has the perfect amount of BDSM that Ed would realistically enjoy.

Fanfic where Edmond tops is honestly very hard to come across. That's understandable, because for Edmond to top, there would have to be extremely special circumstances, and it would have to be written carefully in order to not seem too OOC. The best example of an Top-Emond fic I've been able to find is this:

Hidden Guidance by Okami01 (~1.9k words) - Edmond/Olivine, Edmond shyly admits he wants to try topping Olivine, and Oli is obviously down for it. (Let's be honest here; out of everyone, if Edmond were ever to top anyone, it would 100% be Olivine)

♡I hope people found this helpful!!!♡

I know reading this giant post was like reading an essay, but hopefully it was worth the time and effort I put into it!

If anyone has extra inquires, or if other Edmond-Lovers want to chime in with extra information I might've missed, feel free to put them in the comments!

#nu carnival #nu: carnival #nu carnival edmond #i had to revisit many intimacy rooms which is why this took a while #Edmond is love Edmond is life

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infiniteanalemma · 6 months

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Nobility in Baldur's Gate

Edited to add: I never expected my silly, niche post to get as much attention as it has! I'm giving you all forehead smooches! 😚💋 I've gone through to clean up some things up as I've found new information. I also added a list of nobility that I've found in game and other sources to the end of the post. Thanks, y'all! I'm glad I'm not the only one to wonder about this stuff. Good stuff in the reblogs, too!

Baldur's Gate has dug itself deep in my brain, so I apologize to my poor mutuals who didn't follow me for BG3 content getting this onslaught of posts. Please bear with me until my hyperfixation wears off. 🙏

Now, I'll admit up front that I'm no expert in DnD lore*, so if I get things wrong, please feel free to correct me or just add in stuff I may have missed. I'm going off of what I've found in-game and my Google Fu skills.

That said, I do know enough about DnD to remember that Baldur's Gate nobility are called patriars, and that there are only a relative handful of actual patriar families. I was thinking about my "canon" Tav, Velassa, and her background in BG3. She's a modified OC that I plunked in-game during Early Access, so I made her a noble. It was just part of her existing character that I didn't think too deeply about. It was only after I starting playing that it occurred to me to wonder what exactly "a noble" is to a native Baldurian.

That got me digging a little more into the current state of the Baldurian nobility as of BG3. I don't know who--if anyone--needs or wants this, but I put this together for myself and decided to share it for anyone else who might be interested. I realize that this is probably pretty niche and it's rambly and long af, so I'll put it under a cut.

So, for starters, here's a list of all the patriar families, including "fallen" houses that are barely hanging on: Belt, Bormul, Caldwell, Dlusker, Durinbold, Eltan, Eomane, Exeltis, Gist, Guthmere, Hhune, Hlath, Hullhollyn, Irlentree, Jannath, Jhasso, Linnacker, Miyar, Nurthammas, Oathoon, Oberon, Portyr, Provoss, Ravenshade, Rillyn, Sashenstar, Shattershield, Silvershield, Tillerturn, Vammas, Vannath, Vanthampur, and Whitburn

From what I've gathered, Exeltis, Provoss and Ravenshade are all more-or-less destitute. Also, the Szarr family (Cazador's family) were patriars, but were believed to be entirely wiped out. No living descendants makes them a dead house, rather literally. 😏 (No, I'm not sorry.)

Now, we learn that Wyll's father is Ulder Ravengard, the Grand Duke. This brings us to the first point: There are four Dukes, known as the Council of Four, and the Grand Duke's job is to be the tie-breaker.

Traditionally, one of the Dukes is also the highest ranked officer of the Flaming Fist--that's Ravengard, who was a Fist promoted up through the ranks. Wyll tells us that his father was born lower class, and quite a few of the patriars seem to scorn him for that. The other Dukes are Belynne Stelmane, Dillard Portyr (more on him later) and Thalamra Vanthampur (more on her later, too). Of the four, two are patriars: Portyr and Vanthampur. We don't know much about Stelmane's past, except that she was a brilliant businesswoman, politician and--as we find out later--member of the Knights of the Shield. Apparently, you can't buy your way into the patriars, but maybe you can buy your way into being a Duke.

Skipping ahead a bit, when the player shows up to Gortash's coronation, there are a group of mostly patriars sitting in the boxes leading up to the front of the room. I'm listing them by seating arrangement, with box 1 and 2 being the left and right closest to Gortash, and 3 and 4 being farthest. (I don't know what, if anything, the seating arrangements imply. The second box has eight people, compared to four for all the rest.)

Lady Ailis Belt, Baron Callem Bormul, Lord Rugger Shattershield**, and Lady Alia Durinbold**

Lady Ruth Linnacker, Lord Sarken Eomane, Lady Freida Oberon, Lord Raylen Jannath, Lord Myer Ravenshade**, Lady Madeline Whitburn, Lady Beatrice Provoss, and Duke Dillard Portyr

Lady Winstra Hullhollyn, Admiral Peil Hullhollyn, Lord Randolph Vammas, and Lady Eshvelt Guthmere

Lord Milon Tillerturn, Lady Silifrey Sashenstar, Lord Petric Amber**, and Lady Haeril Birch**

Here's some pictures of the nobles sitting together. (Sorry for the terrible quality! I slapped it together for my own reference. 🙈)

The characters marked by ** aren't human, which is interesting because the information I found said all the patriar familes are human except the Shattershields. Myer Ravenshade is listed as human if you examine him, but he has a dwarf model. That might be a mistake, but I'm including him anyway. Alia Durinbold, from a presumably human patriar family, is a wood elf. Again, this could be a mistake, but unless Larian winds up changing it, it could mean that interracial marriages that once may have been looked down on are now becoming more acceptable. Petric Amber is also a wood elf, and Haeril Birch is a high elf.

Those last two are interesting because they are the only ones in the boxes who aren't patriars. If not for them, I'd have assumed the coronation was simply a demonstration for the patriars alone. Their inclusion means this is something else.

Digging around, my conclusion is that all the listed people are members of the Parliament of Peers--a 50 person advisory party to the Council of Four. However, what I found says that it's pretty rare for all 50 to attend meetings, and the usual group is between 20-30. There are exactly 20 named individuals listed, plus a group of unnamed "patriars" standing at the front.

Here they are, for what it's worth:

One thing I noticed here is that most of those listed here are Lord/Lady, but there are three other titles: Duke, Baron and Admiral. I've already talked about the Dukes. Looking into the patriars, the Hullhollyn family are notable for having a fleet of ships, so it makes sense that one of them would be an Admiral. That leaves the Baron.

I couldn't find anything about what it means to be a baron in Baldur's Gate. Going on real-world peerages, a baron/ess is generally the lowest "rank" of nobility. Basically, it's someone who was an official landowner (usually of an "important" bit of land) under the feudal system. Well and good, I suppose, but presumably all the Lords and Ladies of the patriars own land within the city. This particular Baron is also a patriar, but given that one doesn't need to be a patriar to become a Duke (normally a higher peer than a baron), that may not mean anything.

(Apparently, the term "Duke" was originally meant somewhat jokingly. That said, it still carries the weight of a title even if not the conventional one.) We don't see any other titles between Duke and Baron, so what does that mean?

This isn't canon, but my assumption is that it means the Baron owns important land outside of the city. This would make sense for Baron Bormul, given that the Bormul family apparently have investments in silver mines and vineyards. Assuming they own the mines/vineyards, that may make those lands "important" enough to the city for their owner to earn a title. Alternately, the Bormul family also has counterparts in Amn, so maybe baron is an Amnian title that got passed along. That's getting a bit far afield for me, though. 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, among the group at the coronation, pretty much everyone supports Gortash becoming Archduke, with the exception of Lady Sashenstar (an old woman who really isn't too impressed with this commoner) and Duke Portyr, who expresses some hesitation at the whole thing.

Duke Portyr is interesting here. Except for Ravengard (who is thralled and conducting the ceremony), Portyr is the only Duke present. Now, Stelmane is already dead, so that explains her absence. Vanthampur is also missing, which is interesting. Portyr first, though: he was Grand Duke before Ravengard. He's the one who re-instituted (Edited: and originally created!) the Parliament of Peers to make the day-to-day decisions of running the city, and ceded the title of Grand Duke to Ravengard. He's described as being conflict-averse, so it makes sense that he'd go along with Gortash's coronation, even though he's clearly unhappy about it. Also, the current leader of the Fists is also a Portyr, likely still Liara Portyr, the Duke's niece and Ravengard's second-in-command.

Thalamra Vanthampur is an interesting character, too. She's the head of the Vanthampur family, and part of the Descent into Avernus story. Apparently, she's the one who got Ravengard to go to Elturel before it sank to the Hells, intending to take his place as Grand Duke. From what I read, she also conspired with the Dead Three's cults to murder people in a bid to discredit the Flaming Fist. (The murdery bits were undoubtedly left to Bhaal's cult.) We never do find out anything about Thalamra Vanthampur in this game (I assume that's probably cut content). (Edited: She is mentioned in one of the in-game texts as having been killed, which was one of the possible outcomes of Descent into Avernus. Larian chose that as their canon, just like the fate of Elturel and Zariel.)

The only Vanthampur we do meet is Carnelia Vanthampur, who is in the Guildhall and describes herself as "a peer of the Parliament". She's willing to work with either the Guild or the Zhentarim. Nervously of course. Also interesting is that, on the Bloodstained Parchment hit list, is a Varri Vanthampur, whose gravestone you can find in Candulhallow's Tombstones shop, reading: "Varri Vanthampur. Unwanted in life, welcomed in death."

Interesting, hm?

Also on that hit list is Fridrik Hhune. The Hhunes apparently have links to the Knights of the Shield, from what I looked up--the same group the Emperor led with Stelmane. The only Hhunes we meet in-game are Blaise and Gheris Hhune, two of the werewolves in Cazador's ballroom who are brothers according to the dev notes. With them is another werewolf of a different patriar family, Duver Rillyn. This suggests Cazador has been going after members of patriar families, which sort of fits with what we know about his plans. We really don't find anything else out about them except that they consider Cazador to be their master and Astarion says they're new.

We also can talk to a Flaming Fist who mentions that Hurlbut Hhune is the father of Henrietta Hhune, who used to be secretly engaged to the Fist in question, only for her father to decide to arrange her to marry fellow patriar Derque Rillyn, who the Fist describes as "a major arsehole."

That conversation is interesting for a few reasons. For one, it tells you that arranged marriages within the patriar are a thing. Also, this Fist is a Manip (essentially a Sergeant) who can't ask the other Fists for help because "the Fists don't mess with wealthy patriars, they've got the Watch to back them up." That's aligned with what Devella can also tell you: "There are patriars on the murder target list. I'm oathbound to secure them first, so I'll be heading to the Upper City next." If you say that the Fist should protect everyone: "Not from around here, are you? We're in Baldur's Gate - this is just how things work."

This brings me back to my original issue: what is a Baldurian noble? The patriars are canonically nobles, of course, and they're undoubtedly seen as the "most important" of the nobility. From there, it's not much of a stretch to say that anyone who has earned the title of Duke is now a noble, even if they aren't patriars. I'd go so far as to say anyone on the Parliament of Peers (and their family by association) is a noble^, given that non-patriars Petric Amber and Haeril Birch are considered Lord and Lady. The information I found about that is that there are approximately twelve non-patriar members. If Amber and Birch are two of them, that leaves another unnamed 10.

^Edited: Looking at the dates, I realized that the Parliament of Peers is a very recent change to Baldurian governance. Duke Portyr originally created it after the three other Dukes on the Council of Four were assassinated. It was clearly meant as a temporary measure, but my guess is that the patriars liked having more official say. Not to mention the non-patriars who managed to get a seat. This has all happened within even the youngest of Tav/Urges' lifetimes.

Personally, I'd also assume that branch families of the patriars probably also count as nobility. By branch family, I mean those that marry out of the main line but whose ancestry stems from a patriar family. From what I've seen by naming conventions, Baldur's Gate seems to use patronmyic lineage--ancestry is generally passed to the sons, and wives take their husband's surname. So, if a daughter marries out of the family, she'd no longer be a part of her father's family lineage, but still would be considered nobility. These branch families likely still maintain powerful influence and connections from marrying into wealth, which would make them a good political/financial choice of marriage alliance, despite no longer having the main branch patriar family name. These families are also probably the ones most likely to find a place on the Parliament, too, but likely have to jockey for position if their "representative" dies (or otherwise leaves) and a new opening in the Parliament is created.

If you've read this far, as a treat you can have some crappy close-up portraits of the nobles at Gortash's coronation, grouped together in their respective boxes. 😚

* For what it's worth, I'd count myself as a casual DnD player. I have some knowledge of DnD--I've played BG1 and 2, Planescape: Torment, along with some general cultural osmosis. I've had friends who played the tabletop version, but for one reason or another, I've never played it myself.

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 spoilers #bg3 meta #fandom stuff #patriars #baldur's gate nobility #bg3 noble background #do I know what I'm talking about? no ❤#but I tried

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bracketsoffear · 10 months

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Cecil Palmer (Welcome to Night Vale) "I know he won last time, but I honestly think he deserves it. He is seemingly all knowing about current events in the town and sometimes reports them in a similar way to fear statements. I don't pay enough attention to all the lore to know exactly how he knows all the goings-on all the time, so it seems spooky to me. Though there is no canon description of him having a third eye he is often depicted with one, and a huge eye is a part of the logo. Being watched is also a theme throughout Nightvale, with the government agents who are always outside your house, or the faceless old woman who secretly lives in your home"

Ornithologists (Brian David Gilbert) "They start out seeming like two perfectly normal hobby ornithologists, but over the course of the song, it becomes clear that they are unwilling servants of the Bird God. They, as well as presumably all birds, are the messengers of the Bird God, sent to earth to spy on humanity. The birds they watch tell them about the things they've seen, and the two examples we're given are "a whole bunch of worms" and "a white collar crime". They seem to be actively recruiting people to the Bird God's cause. To quote the last line of the song: "We like watching birds, and the birds like watching you too."

Also, just go listen to the whole song. It's really good."

#eye poll #the magnus archives #the eye #poll #welcome to night vale #wtnv #brian david gilbert #bdg

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nightmareishomophobic · 1 month

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Hi! I'm gonna try to break down the (canon and not?) Lore of NM is homophobic!

PREPARE FOR A SUPER LONG ASK/RANT /VVPOS!

(TW for internalized and external homophobia and transphobia!)

Nightmare is a closeted gay man. Who suffers with EXTREME internalized homophobia. (From what I think, there's a good chance the villagers were NOT accepting of gay people, so NM has always been in the closet.)

(His brother however, is pansexual! There's a good chance after NM found out, he got even more jealous, but that's not important right now nor has supporting evidence!)

Dust working under NM, has been questioning her identity ever since she received a trans flag. Slowly coming to terms that, she is, a lady. Unfortunately as we've seen in a previous post, NM found out about the flag and yelled at her.

This, also proves NM is canonically a hypocrite. As he's previously stated (via a letter shown to us) that he supposedly doesn't care what his team are or aren't, as long as they still work for him.

Also, when Killer was asked, quote, "🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️❓️" He replied with a simple yes! This could mean, possibly, one of three things.

He's both trans and well, not straight.

He's in support of the LGBTQ+.

He is questioning his gender and orientation.

Either way, he along with the rest of NMs employees, appear to be pro-LGBTQ+ and even all part of it.

Going back to Dust, the sewn trans flag on her hoodie, along with possibly fake eyelashes? (I'm choosing to HC she got them from enby Lust) it looks like she's now canonically Transfem in the UTQV! (Note it's possible the HomophobeNMverse(?) and UTQV could be separate things, I'm not sure how you feel about it lol.)

We've also seen past NM, also known as passive. As normal, the bullying deeply effected him, but he isn't homophobic there, in fact, it's possible CURRENT NM isn't all that homophobic. He's said multiple times, he's 'just spreading negativity' and it looks like he's projecting more than anything. (Also the lie detector said so. When asked if he was REALLY homophobic, it flagged as untruthful!)

So lore— I believe, the main reason he has such bad internalize homophobia, comes from the bullying he endeared, and the things the villagers said about OTHER gay people—Causing him to remain quiet about his own identity. Now corrupted, he's projecting all his hurt, anger, and sadness.

Dust is trans fem, we also know Papyrus is an Ally, as in an older photo—It's implied Papyrus is suggesting to murder NM because he's a transphobe.

There might also be a chance that one of them (Most likely Dust, Killer, and or NM even.) Is a regressor. As we've seen they definitely have heard of it, and both Dust and Killer had a good understanding. It's not often someone knows about the community without having some attachments. However, this has no Canon evidence yet. And it's possible they're just Allys, which is super cool too! <3

Also, flowey has made multiple appearances and claimed to be gay. Meaning he's canonically gay in the HomophobeNMverse as well.

Another thing, NM doesn't like being threatened. Multiple times he's reacted with aggression if someone challenged him. I'm going to guess this also boils down to the bullying.

Also, he can break the forth wall. Seen when his creator was drawing, and he started yelling at it. (Fae don't deserve that, NM, you jerk-)

However, he seems a lot more tolerate of his own team? My guess, is he's either:

Has a teeny, tiny, soft spot in his cold heart for them.

Doesn't think it's worth the effort.

Coward.

All these save for the first one, has supporting evidence.

We don't know too much about Horror, save for the fact that he HATES milk before cereal.

Cross, appears to not be a Canon team member. It's certainly possible he'll come in later, but as of right now? He's not in the equation.

ANNDD with all that said! Everyone seems to have the ability to have hearts in their blush—It's adorable.

Sorry for such a long ask! I'm sure there's typos, I'm suspected dyslexic and apologize! Hope you're having a good day, and love your art! You're super funny, and nice!

🤯😨🤯THEORYSSSSSSS RAAAAAA

(I'll try make more stuff with horror. @hernameishorror can message me and help me. Lol :3( also Cross is not canonly in the bad sanses)

#UTQV #undertale #nightmare sans #dreamtale nightmare #dreamtale #gay #artist on tumblr #homo #homophobia #Trans #Transphobia #Undertale au #Headcanons #Theorys #Lore

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yanderehighschool-confessions · 3 months

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I feel like a lot of people just ignore Tokyo Soul season 2, which sucks because it was actually pretty good. And has some interesting lore implications.

In it, it's revealed that Sam has amnesia and is living in some sort of "fake world" held within the wasteland remnants of the original Tokyo Soul. When escaping with some scientists, an older Jerry who is trying to free Sam (to avoid using the Taurtis skin) and DoughBoi, they get captured by Wastelanders, and their leader is revealed to have the Necronomicon, who recognizes Sam.

Sam, despite having amnesia, immediately recognizes the Necronomicon and even calls out that he and the cursed book are supposed to be on good terms. It's as if seeing this book that helped him fulfill his destiny to destroy the universe unlocked his true memory, and perhaps his true personality.

Throughout Tokyo Soul season 2, while having some questionable moments, Sam is generally a good guy. He even questions why Jerry and Doughboi were his friends upon learning how terrible he used to be. Ultimately, Sam with amnesia is a lot like Sam from the first few episodes of YHS Classic.

But upon seeing and interaction with the Necronomicon, he suddenly shifts. While saying he does not want to kill one of the men he's working with despite facing death, he has absolutely no reservations in pushing the man into a death pit even after the man gives up.

At the end of the finale, Sam Jerry and Doughboi get the Necronomicon back from the wastelanders and use it to essentially wish for a new reality to be transported to (Well, Jerry makes the wish to go back to old times).

While the following series was a sorta YHS Reboot, it is definitely not canon as it isn't in the official playlist, unlike the current reboot and TSs2. So it is heavily implied that the current YHS Reboot is the new timeline, or possibly one of the many new timlines, as we don't know how long Sam has been doing this sorta thing since he got his memories back. With Jerry not being a part of the main series, it is easy to speculate that Sam is in full possession of the Necronomicon.

One other thing that Tokyo Soul season 2 does is help prove that Sam doesn't have amnesia in the Reboot and is simply acting oblivious at times. We know Sam is a kinder person with amnesia, yet Reboot Sam is very much worse than YHS Classic Sam and Tokyo Soul Sam.

I think the only question this leaves is why are elements from YHS Classic showing up in the Reboot. Well, I think it's because the more Sam destroys and recreates the timeline, the thinner the walls between realities become. So, due to all his meddling, Sam's past is starting to catch up to him.

#yhs confession #yhs #anonymous #samgladiator #c!samgladiator #fandom take #yhs theory #yhs reboot #tokyo soul #tokyo soul 2 #necronomicon #doughboi #jerry

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brainrotallthewaydown1312 · 7 months

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I've been seeing more and more people recently compare the current Good Omens/Our Flag Means Death/What We Do in the Shadows fandoms to the build up from the Superwholock days. and let me tell you, as someone who was just getting into fandom during the height Superwholock but was observing from outside those fandoms, i definitely see it.

similar amount of crossover within the fandom, similar types of crossposting. similar formats of engagement (response gifs, edits, and metas regularly breaching containment and being seen and engaged with by people outside the fandom) and similar intensity of theorizing and analysis. similar desire for comments and responses from writers and actors involved. I can even point out how they are analogous to each other as crossover fandoms.

good omens is the most obvious . it has the angels and demons and religious/mythological imagery of supernatural as well as the fandom engagement and irl stanning with the creators. it shares David tennant and several actors with doctor who. and you cannot look me in my face and honestly tell me that coffee theory and the similar theories don't have tjlc vibes and that the way we talk about and engage with Neil gaiman doesn't have the vibes of how sherlock fans engaged with Steven moffat and Mark gatiss if they weren't massively weird cunts to his fans and kind of homophobic.

our flag means death involves fictionalized and revised history as well as having several stories/arcs that feel like they are coming from different genres but that still fit together like doctor who. it also has the giffability and similar types of analysis for characters and relationships. it has both the capacity for mundane lines delivered so uniquely that they become deeply quotable like doctor who and lines that are so absurd that they are imminently quotable like Sherlock.

What We Do in the Shadows has the long running with a few different iterations thing that doctor who has. to a lesser degree, but still. it has the absurd dialogue and situations that Sherlock had but without the distain for its fans or weird homophobic subtext and queerbaiting. it has the wide representation of mythological and folkloric creatures and stories and consistent random out of context lore notes that supernatural had.

the most entertaining part of this is how deep we all seem to be falling into this. the depth of this crossover fandom hole definitely seems to go as deep as superwholock. I mean I've seen several friend groups that have a similar breakdown to what is going on in my house right now which is

me: has been a Tumblr kid since before the height of superwholock, escaped the curse of supernatural

roommate 1: was a supernatural fan on the Internet during the height of superwholock, escaped the curse of tumblr

roommate 3: was neither a supernatural nor a Tumblr kid but was in the Voltron Instagram fandom and has read more fanfic in total than the rest of us combined

roommate 3: has been busy playing Minecraft and Lego star wars the whole time all that mess was happening. knows nothing about fandom.

all of us right now: losing our collective shit about gay angels and pirates and vampires. at least one person in this house cries about them daily. there is at least one tortured wail echoing down the hall when someone gets a sad edit on their fyp/feed every day. we have regular in depth discussions of characters and head canons and different interpretations. we bribe each other to trade chores or do favors or let us win games by offering one shots of the other person's preference.

and I haven't seen this many people go this feral in this way since superwholock died down. and I'm having fun actually participating this time around

#our flag means death #ofmd #good omens #what we do in the shadows #wwdits #fandom #supernatural #doctor who #Sherlock #superwholock #our shadows mean omens

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bambiraptorx · 3 months

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I’d like to know more about your AU featuring Ferret Splinter.

I’m also a bit curious as to the associations you don’t like about the current canon design for a Rise splinter. In my AU he’s starting to slim down a little since I’m pretty sure things are a bit more rigorous.

But that is a long way of saying I’m curious as to why so please elaborate on why you don’t like the design

I'm happy to share! First things first, it's not a singular AU so much as a design I'm planning to work into all my fics. I just added the lore to the original post to make it a little more interesting and to explore what differences might arise leading to or because of Splinter being a ferret mutant instead of a rat mutant.

As for the reason for the redesign in the first place, it's not because Rise Splinter is short and chubby, I want to say that straight out of the gate. He can be an extremely competent fighter and fat at the same time. (And if you want a real-life example of this, look at sumo wrestlers. They definitely aren't thin.) My issue is specifically with him being a rat.

From here on, I'm going to be discussing racism and racist imagery, just a heads up.

In Rise, Splinter is a Japanese immigrant who gets turned into a rat. If you know anything about the anti-Asian and anti-Japanese propaganda that's been used over the years, that is very much not a good association. If you want to see examples, look at the first and third examples of WW2 anti-Japanese propaganda here, or this one here. Then compare those designs to Rise Splinter. It's bad.

(And there's other iffy parts in Rise, like the joke in the movie about him knowing what rats taste like. Given the history of anti-Asian propaganda in the US and the fact that Rise Splinter is canonically a first-generation immigrant, that's not great. The jokes about him being a bad driver when its a common stereotype of Asian people? Also not great.)

I'm not Asian or Japanese myself so I'm probably not the best person to explain this fully, but I don't particularly like the idea of using a character design that looks uncomfortably close to a racist caricature. And this problem of Splinter being an Asian-coded rat-man isn't unique to Rise by any means since it's been a staple characteristic since his character was created in the 80s, but that doesn't mean that we have to maintain that.

For me, that means redesigning his character to not be a rat, and using the redesign in my stories instead of his canon design. Does everyone have to do this? No. But I think more people should at least acknowledge that Splinter's design does have negative associations, and evaluate what that means for their own work. There's several good video essays on youtube if you want to learn more.

TLDR: Splinter being an Asian-coded rat man has racist connotations and Rise Splinter in particular looks like a racial caricature, thus my redesign of him.

#asks #bambi's rambling #cw racism #tw racism #racism mention #and again there are other people who can talk about this better than i can because i am very much a white person #but i want to at least be open about why i did the redesign in the first place #ferret splinter

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writingforatwistedworld · 2 years

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Phantom bride event-Seeing you in formal wear (suit/wedding dress/whatever) Pt. 3

Characters: Jade Leech, Lilia Vanrouge, Deuce Spades

Self-aware au

I do not take any responsibility for you reading this no matter which age group you are from!

WARNINGS: Yandere themes, violence, murder, religion, obsession, possessiveness, war, manipulation, blood

Jade is famous for his gentlemanly behavior whilst also being known as someone dangerous

So what would a wannabe gentleman who can end you mentally within a short amount of time (I'm sure he can) do?

Not letting missy kiss you that's for sure

But being a hatstand (aka slap-frozen) isn't exactly helpful for him so... imagine all the anger and bloodlust which accumulates under that smile (jokes on him because I doubt that ghosts have blood within themselves)

The thing is, the moment he saw you in that clothing he was lost for words (for probably the only time in his life)

And also you could see that something inside of him was breaking

And this is Jade we are talking about

But back to the non-canon-fan-fiction-written lore

You know, Jade would usually talk someone into something by making them insecure breaking them, finding out what they love and give hints at that in their conversation...

But no, all his tactics, gone

Eels are usually beings that can cooperate very good with other beings but once they fear something or feel threatened then those shiny teeth are used

But Jade is still too elegant for that, doesn't mean that he doesn't get desperate

He just freezes up

But the second he is free he will grind the princesses self-esteem to dust

“Oh my! It took you that long to find someone suitable? Well hopefully your future can stay that way.” is one of many sentences

But after this he also becomes way more paranoid

You had limited contact before but now? The whole hallway is empty the moment you enter

But don't you worry, Jade is there for you! He wouldn't dare to do something so mean to you like the others! Just depend on him and him alone

Oh my Overseer, you have done it!

Lilia had been slicing heads off like they were warm butter whilst imagining you loving him, marrying him

But no, that foolish... useless wench just took you from him, or so he thinks

He refuses to see her in a similar position like Malleus from that point on

No, she is just another sinner who dares to question and challenge you!

If you haven't noticed, he kinda imagines things because he doesn't want to accept that you are proposing to someone who isn't him, fake or not

Lilias mindset gets thrown back to the time he fought against that foolish king, ready to turn her into sashimi

And thank goodness that 1. he was turned into a state in which he can't more and 2. that he doesn't have a sword

Don't ask me how but he would be able to turn the ceremony way more red if he had one... and if missy wouldn't be a ghost

But there is also a small dying part of him which is tearing up

On no, not because he is happy but because you just look so good

Even better than in his dreams!

Now he would take your hand and... and he is not standing in front of you

That small part is now 100% massacred

Once he is free he will make sure that there is nothing between a shared future with you and his current self

And of he has to start another war in your name, then so shall it be!

Our dear, hardworking Deuce doesn't look like someone who aims to be an honor student at all in this situation

So what happens?

You uh... might want to hug him afterwards.... otherwise I can't assure that he won't punch someone in the face hard

He is having high blood pressure as well so a visit to the doctor wouldn't be a bad idea as well...

But anyway, you enter and he goes full tomato

Or if you need another comparison, like someone who has just eaten the spicyest pepper in the world and doesn't usually eat spicy food (all my fellow Europeans, how are we doing?)

So, our dearest tomato man really doesn't hold back

He screams the entire time that “This crazy woman should get a grip!” and that “She doesn't even deserve you!”

At some point someone took a piece of cake and shoved it into his mouth to force him to be silent

The view we have now is a guy, putting red roses to shame with the color of his face, munching on a cake whilst trying not to choke by how fast he is eating

Let's not forget the guard beside him who already has the next piece in his hand whilst waiting till Deuce is done with this one

But inside of him is a dream dying

The dream of having chances with you, the Overseer, the ruling figure over the Queendom of roses

But at least he knows now that bananas and mango don't work in a cake topped with extremely sweet icing

After this is over Deuce won't care less if he becomes an honor student or not

In the end he is the only one close to you. Why? Just... don't visit the school nurse and think too much about the fact that his knuckles are bruised, ok?

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unrivalling · 6 months

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"Just When Was Grell Sutcliff Alive?" Part 1: Establishing a Timeline

So as many of you know, I recently got into Black Butler (I know, about 17 years too late), and I'm almost caught up. However, I want to talk about how I'm still thinking about Vol 29 and some of the lore dropping Othello does at the beginning there.

Namely I'm fixated on possibly having a timeline for Grell's human life and death.

This wasn't intended to be a proper meta. It's been too long since I've written one, and there's probably important stuff I'm forgetting or don't know. But I wanted to write all of this down to get it out on the page, for posterity. Then it accidentally became a meta. Oops. Mild BB spoilers up to Vol 29, and heads up for some discussion of historical homophobia, transphobia, and state violence at the end. As well as a canon-typical suicide mention. I use she/her pronouns for Grell, but broadly interpret her as queer and transfeminine given the complexity of talking about identity in the time periods I'll be referencing (I use "queer" as a reclaimed, academic, blanket term). I'm also largely taking a Watsonian approach (Grell's experiences from her perspective), although a Doylist approach to Grell (as in relating to the author's intent and cultural context rather than the character's) is also really interesting one, but feels like more well trodden territory. With that out of the way, let's begin.

The info we have So. Something really interesting happened in Vol 29. We got a lot of great Undertaker backstory, but Othello said something relating to Grell that made me eyes emoji.

"Weren't you around 70 years ago?"

So, she never replies to this. But it seems highly plausible this means Grell was not a reaper 70 years before the current date in the manga. We don't quite know what the lag time is between someone dying and becoming a reaper, but I'm taking this to mean she had not died yet, as I assume she would have remembered an event like the one Othello describes. I believe this is the implication. Now, I am making some assumptions:

- To clarify, I know this is all guesswork. I'm just having fun with different possibilities. - Like I said, we don't know what the lag time is between someone dying and becoming a reaper (as in, the new state of being, not the job), and we don't know how long it takes to go from trainee to collections to senior. - That Grell was around 25 when she died. It's hard to tell anime character ages from 20-40 at a glance, but her design seems similar to me to characters that are in their 20s in other series. She could be older or younger, but I'm using that in lieu of a better option. It's not precise, but it'll get us in the ballpark anyway - Black Butler has a lot of anachronisms. However, Toboso is known to research things heavily and her changes are typically very purposeful (the purpose is usually "Rule of cool" and that's why we stan). I'm assuming historical events happening in BB to mirror the real world except where indicated otherwise. - I'm also assuming she's English. The names Grell and Grelle are both German in origin, but there are a lot of Germanic names in English and Sutcliff as a surname originated in Yorkshire. This is only based on a quick Google search--I could do more later, but this seems in line with Grell not being presented as "foreign" to England in any way in the series making her stand out in the same way her flamboyance or flirtation with men does. Establishing a range

The series takes place in 1888 and 1889. 70 years ago would put Undertaker's defection at 1818. If what Othello says is true, this means Grell became a reaper sometime after that date.

Let's establish the outlier possibilities first (again, assuming a pretty rapid transition from human death to becoming a reaper).

The earliest possible date Grell could have become a reaper: sometime in the following year, around 1819. This would put her birth at around 1794, and her death that year in 1819. This feels unlikely because it seems like she would have been exposed to people talking about Undertaker defecting since it was such a catastrophe, but who knows.

The latest possible date Grell could have become a reaper is 1887, which would place her birth at around 1862. This is massively improbable to the point of being impossible since she's a senior in collections and I assume that didn't happen in a year, but again, it's important for establishing a range. Basically, tldr, according to this framework, Grell became a reaper sometime between 1819 and 1887, which puts her human life (and death) in that timeframe as well. This would place her in the Georgian-Victorian eras, or possibly even the 8 year Regency period.

Will the Reaper OVA I've only talked about the manga so far since the 1st anime canon is wildly divergent in a number of ways, but if we include the Will the Reaper OVA, this would push things towards the earlier end of that timeline. I don't know much about the history of fashion (especially not middle and lower class dress), but it seems distinctly late 1700s/maybe early 1800s to me. Which if I'm reading right, would actually push Grell becoming a reaper back as far as the 1790s or 1810s, and would dispute the 1819 date implied by Vol 29. IF ANYONE KNOWS MORE ABOUT THE FASHION REFERENCES HERE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TELL ME. I WANT TO KNOW.

(Baby....Grell...furious and stark raving mad recently dead stray cat making it everyone's problem. I'm fine) This is subverted a little bit by the reaper outfits appearing more like Victorian businesswear, but Reapers always seem to be a few decades ahead of the world in terms of fashion and technology. My personal assessment is that the fashion in this is to make it immediately, visually clear that the OVA takes place in the Georgian rather than Victorian period, however that forces me to break my largely Watsonian approach for a Doylist one ("the animators perhaps decided it was necessary to show that time had passed since the events of the OVA"), but considering it came out so long before the lore drop in Vol 29, who knows.

I'm not inclined to take it as gospel truth for the manga canon, but considering Toboso did collaborate on that one, I think it at least worth talking about and considering as supplemental information.

I personally take this to support (but not solely uphold) the idea that "Grell became a reaper sometime during the Georgian period (1713-1837)", but again, grain of salt.

What would it mean for Grell to be a queer person in England in the 1700s and 1800s?

As far as I'm aware, we don't know anything about what Grell's life might have been like before becoming a reaper. Unless I'm missing something, that's a black box until Toboso reveals more.

But establishing this timeline gives us a great opportunity to consider the circumstances she would have lived under.

Understand that I'm not speaking in absolutes here, more "here are some interesting things I like to think about when considering why this character might be the way she is". I'm also not saying Toboso intended any of this to be read into Grell, but as readers I believe it's reasonable to assume Grell may have encountered these events or they might have impacted her unless stated otherwise. A brief list of things Grell would have been living under or around or could have been aware of. I want to do a part 2 talking about how these things might relate to someone like Grell, as well as talking about other major historical events not directly related to queer people (like, you know, the Napoleonic Wars), but this post is already feeling long enough: - The Buggery Act and the Offenses Against the Person Act, which made a variety of sexual acts punishable by death, including acts like anal sex. These laws were used to persecute people, usually queer men (although people who would today be called trans women and nonbinary people were also certainly prosecuted as well*), particularly in the 1700s and 1800s. I believe as of 1862 it was no longer punishable by death, but people still lived in fear of prison and hard labor (Oscar Wilde going to prison in 1895 being a famous later example). Here's an article about the men killed under the Buggery Act. *Trans men were not exempt from this, even if the specific legal and social threat was likely different. If memory serves, Dr. James Barry was jeopardized by rumors that he may have been Too Close to one of his cis male friends. - Molly houses. Generally considered places in the 1700s and 1800s where queer men gathered to socialize and find sexual partners. There was a lot of gender divergence in these spaces, and it's widely believed they were frequented by people who, again, today, could have a variety of gender identities. This article about molly houses and gender is really interesting. This article specifically talks about one in Whitechapel. - The Chevalier d'Eon. This one is just really interesting. While the Chevalier d'Eon was likely one of the first examples of legally recognized gender transition, this person was very famous and wealthy and the circumstances are buckwild. This video is highly watchable and informative. Grell

As a queer person and someone who likes history (I don't have any specific training, I just like learning about it), I already think a lot about what it must have been like to live during this specific time period, and Grell slots into that pretty well as a character to fixate on, since she dovetails with the other existing hyperfixation. By extension, I like using this information to think about what Grell's human life might have been like, and how those experiences could be aligned to explain a lot of her behavior, and seems especially poignant to me in light of all reapers having been people who committed suicide, another recent lore reveal in the manga. Maybe she lived closeted and lived in fear of discovery. Maybe she wasn't afraid! Maybe she was impulsive and endangered herself and others! Maybe she got blackmailed. What if she experienced her first taste of femininity at a molly house? Does she only go after men who reject her because she lived during a time where her affections being returned was intensely dangerous? Did she care about anyone? Is anyone she knew still alive? Thank you so much to everyone who read to the end! If I'm able to rally, I do want there to be a part 2 to this going more into detail about how it makes sense to me that these homophobic and transphobic societal pressures could have created a character like Grell.

#grell sutcliff #grelle sutcliff #black butler meta #black butler spoilers #black butler

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catbountry · 5 months

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Hi, I'm the one who made the Respawn of the Dead page on Fanlore. I'm sorry about the misinformation about you being an admin and it's fixed to be accurate now to say you were just a mod.

And I'm sorry about not disclosing that you've since distanced yourself from that site. Thats now in there too. I respect you as a fic writer both for your fic (loved the TF2 Harlan Ellison and Steven King-inspired ones) and because it's impressive that you've kept your username for so long. I think that literally everyone who's been online long enough can theoretically be "canceled" on the Internet if everything they've ever done was connected to only one pseud, including myself. Fandom's honestly a minefield that doesn't take to cultural changes at all. The culture of, say, 4chan, Tf2chan, those things, it's so different compared to today. Same with Kiwifarms when it was just known for being the CWCwiki. One day, the culture of social media will be just like those, and I think being able to own up to who you were then to compare with how you are now, as a better person, is a respectable skill to have.

I don't know everything you've done, (I know some of the Vade thing and some of what's on the receipt blog,) but it seems some Fannish people just see "Kiwifarms" and think you're supporting the site as it is currently, which wasn't what it was back in the 2010s. I tried to be very neutral since I figured TF2 Tumblr/Twitter would find my article first, but now it's more positive on you and your body of work on there. I'm sorry that the article brought up old wounds, hopefully all misinfo on it is fixed now.

Wow, I actually wasn't sure if I'd get a response. Thank you for being so considerate, for enjoying my fic, and being so understanding. I used the same pseud for years because, well, I'm proud of Respawn of the Dead, warts and all. I don't want to distance myself from it and I'm okay with it being my legacy. Also I'm just absolutely lousy at hiding myself. If I changed my name, people would figure out it's me, so I don't really bother.

If you don't mind, just for the sake of fandom oral history, I'd like to expand upon the period of Medic being a Nazi in fandom. This might be interesting to you as somebody interested in TF2 fandom lore.

Medic being a Nazi was assumed by a lot of fans, due to him fitting a bunch of "Nazi mad scientist" tropes. This remained the case until fans went to Valve's headquarters and straight up asked an employee if he was, to which they were told "no." And then people stopped writing Nazi Medic (for the most part) because it wasn't canon. People still made art but again, we did not know the horrors that the future had in store for us.

It really is wild to think how drastically things have shifted politically online since the late 2000's, when nobody could have predicted that being a Nazi would be anything but the most fringe of fringe, and these people would be regarded as internet sideshows to be gawked at and trolled. Also, Respawn of the Dead was written around the time Inglorious Basterds came out, so there were a lot of sexy Nazis or repentant Nazis in certain fandoms at the time.

There was a TF2 fic, I believe it was called Do No Harm, that legit had Medic working in a concentration camp in a position where he felt like he had to work there or he'd be shot, and he ate human flesh given to him by an evil, Aryan Nazi OC. I don't know if the author distanced herself from the work, because she did re-work it to make it into an original novel that she sold on Amazon. I absolutely could not see anything written like this now that wasn't some kind of dogwhistle, but the author was pretty progressive, actually. So much so we had a fight while I was in my anti-SJW phase and she did not appreciate me bringing up the things she wrote about that emphasized the humanity of a Nazi character, who in all fairness, did deflect in her story. I'm sure she's probably put a lot more distance between herself and that story in the years since, given the way things have gone since Trump's presidency. I wouldn't know, though, since we don't talk, and haven't in nearly a decade.

The person who wrote that is probably forgotten by anybody who wasn't in the fandom at the time, even though she was known for this fic and it was praised almost universally when it was being updated. But she was not the only one doing this. I cannot emphasize enough just how far in the past Nazis felt to us. At the time, being a Nazi was a stupid way of thinking that would never come back outside of attention-hungry edgelords co-opting its imagery, especially in America, an allied nation that loves using Nazis as villains in its media. If you told any of us in 2009 that fascism and white nationalism would make a comeback in America, we would not have believed you unless you were counting neoconservatives and evangelical white Christians as Nazis, and while I think a lot of those people are now pretty much that nowadays, back then it would have been a little bit of a stretch. But the thing is, the white supremacy on an institutional level was always there. We didn't really notice it until it started being pointing out, and at the same time, a bunch of fuckin' white nationalists and neo-Nazis just started popping up all over the place because someone with blue hair and pronouns told them a video game character having her titties out was bad or something. I'm still not entirely sure how that escalated that quickly, but Jesus Christ. It's a shame "clown world" got used mostly by right-wing people online because the label feels pretty apt and also applies to them a lot more. There is something deeply pathetic but also kind of hilarious about filming yourself letting a gas stove burn, or shooting cases of beer to own the libs.

I think most people that used TF2chan are pretty progressive now, a lot of them have come out as some flavor of queer, and the use of "-fag" as a suffix is frowned upon in the official TF2chan Discord server as being incredibly childish and cringey. We were all young adults but clearly we had a lot of growing up to do. I think it is important to point out that a lot of this edgelord shit done at the time, while hurtful and not cool, was done by a lot of people who hadn't figured out who they were yet, and weren't really bad people. Dr. Tanner, who was actually the first person to write a TF2 longfic and beat Respawn of the Dead by at least a few months with the first version of The Lessons (which is gone now), got cited by name in an interview with an old TF2chan user for being really racist, sexist, homophobic and transphobic, only to completely turn around once he came out as trans. I think a lot of this behavior kind of functioned as a shield, because there was still a separation between the internet and real life. Now, there's more people on the internet with less websites people visit, and fandom spaces where everyone is an adult are harder to find. Everything is very politically charged now. The right-wing is further to the right than it was even when I was a teenager and a young adult during Bush's presidency, which given that we got into two forever wars under his administration, is insane to think about. It doesn't feel real, but it is.

So yeah, that's why nobody writes or draws Medic as a Nazi anymore, and that's a good thing. Sorry for the tl;dr.

If you have any questions about old TF2chan and TF2 fandom, I'd be happy to answer them.

#tf2 #cavewomania #tl;dr #political bullshit #drama #I guess

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ambu1on · 4 months

Text

Welcome and hello!

This is a blog/askblog dedicated to Ambulon, but I wanted to try something potentially interesting with this instead of going into it blind like I used to, so you'll get all the info you need below.

Askbox is currently open.

Some information about Ambulon of this blog:

The present time of the blog is an alternate universe where Ambulon has survived being sawed in half by Pharma. It is a Lost Light post-canon. Which one? Oh, you know.

You are a member of the crew, and Ambulon will refer to you as a single person (especially anonymous), unless you specify otherwise! Please don't try to break the fourth wall or refer to tumblr - don't involve Chromedome into this (/joke).

Ambulon is a very private person. You can ask him about his job, his opinions, or thoughts on different topics, but to get an answer for a personal question about his past or his relations with others, you'll have to fill in the Trust Meter!

To fill in the Trust Meter, all you have to do is ask him about different things and give him the reason to trust you. It will be indicated at the bottom of the post as "Trust: +1 | n/100". Trust Meter does not overlap among each individual person. Keep in mind that it can be reduced.

Everything said from his pov is going to be in yellow.

Ambulon and First Aid are conjunx endurae, and Ambulon is an unofficial part of the Protectobots and Defensor.

Asking First Aid, Ratchet, or Velocity questions is possible, but it is a matter of chance if they answer those, as I will be rolling a dice for that.

Ambulon is your tamagotchi. Take care of him, and he will love you forever. It's not a joke btw.

Misc:

Mod is very busy and very tired all the time so there's no schedule to speak of, but I will try to keep the blog active at least with sharing art and whatnot related to the medical crew. To prevent my burn out, I can't promise individually drawn answer for each ask - I'll have to use my pre-drawn images. My headcanons will play a huge role and there's a huge chance Ambulon's gestalt will appear eventually. Feel free to ask any specifications or again, headcanons, to have a better idea of what kind of creature Ambulon is, or just general questions regarding the worldbuilding and transformers, cuz they Will differ from the canon a little.

Hope we all have fun here!

General tags:

#[he has something to say] - Ambulon pov posts #[curious much] - replies to asks #[it's rather personal] - Ambulon lore unlocked #[sharing is caring] - art/writing/meta reblogs #[he's a gearstick sometimes] - when i feel like talking about Ambulon or whatever else #.divine echoes - me talking about whatever the hell

Character tags:

#.it's a stupid name - Ambulon

#.show some initiative - First Aid

#.think of all the patients - Ratchet

#.dr djd - Pharma

#.we doctors stick together

#.hey super-soldier - Drift

#.just an mto - Getaway

#.pipes - Pipes

#pinned

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