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obessed-with-fictional-men · 3 months

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oh my sweet Gale

I will admit, the very first run through of this game i found Gale annoying, pushy, dumped trauma everywhere, narcissistic in his knowledge of magic, and the need to prove how right his in in the subject. I often found myself thinking and saying out loud "omg shut up"..... buuuuut... having romanced him...... i found that his personality traits are the exact same as someone born as a child prodigy, had his ego inflated, alienated by everyone around him, and made to think he was superior by someone higher up just to then land on his ass.

I wont go through what i think of his character development because each play through is different, and for each player its different... but this is what i think of him over all.

Gale doesn't know how to talk to people. He doesn't have social queues that almost everyone else picks up on. Gale has spent, up till the tadpole, the exception in a lot of the situations he was put into and thus it became his default personality. Yes, for those of us who have romanced him (keeps romancing him) we see someone haunted by their past choices and watch him grow. We see the nerd that he is, but this is more about the potential Gale before we meet him. So bare with me.

He was a child prodigy and put into a prestigious school where he flourished. I can only image how his professors loved him and his fellow students less than enthusiastic response. You know what happens when you become the teachers pet? You become ostracized by your fellow peers. You know what happens when you are really good at something that usually takes A LOT of practice for others? You either get used or don't make friends. Gale has had ONE story that involved other people and it didn't involve friends, he was at a bar and defused a brawl with ale. He has openly admitted to Tara being his only real friend.

Now this isn't to say Gale never had to work at his magic or arcane knowledge to get him to where he is in the game when he first meet him. He was an archmage and the chosen of Mystera, but his innate ability to wield it as a young boy is what got Mystera's attention. Gale has stated that she was his teacher first, then his muse and finally his lover. You can only imagine how special he felt when Mystera chose him to be his guiding hand..... and then to be a lover? I don't care who you are..... That shit would have to inflate your ego. That shit would make you feel like you were SOOO much better than your fellow peers. You would have those toxic thoughts and comments of "yeah, well Mystera chose me! So who needs friends/criticism/physical lovers/ect". What do you typically do when you catch the attention of someone you highly regard? You try to impress them and do what you can to be even more impressive! So Gale's ambition grew to newer heights. I cant imagine what Mystera poisoned his mind with while they were together. Like, i get she told him to just be content with the things were.... but come on Mystera... you couldn't have expected him to stop striving to be better with a simple "nah, you're cool how you are. you don't need to be my equal". Not when the poor man has spent the last 2 decades of his life striving to be the best. His most important years for growth and development have been spent on trying to impress others.

Gale learns of a way to possibly convince Mystera to allow him into her domain and it gets a carnivorous orb shoved into his chest, dumped, stripped of his titles and holed up in his tower without nary a reason why. That had to be the biggest blow he has ever received in his entire life. His act of what he believed to be a sure fire way into getting what he wanted ended up taking almost everything away from him. If it wasn't for Tara, i'm sure Waterdeep would have succumbed his to orbs blight. The man locked himself in his tower and turned away all his colleagues and family.

So imagine, you are this lonely person... squirreled away from others and any social interaction. No one to talk to except your pet *sorry Tara* and all of a sudden you find yourself on a ship.... with a parasite in your brain and then your thrust into an adventure with a bunch of strangers. You have this orb in your chest that could blow at any time and you cant really explain WHY you need magical items.... but that if you don't get them.... everyone is in trouble.... you find your group facing monsters and doing weird ass side quests.... and at any given opportunity, you like to drop a knowledge bomb on the group.... just to find that some of the group members don't like your input... or don't listen at all.. which doesn't sit well with you. You've been told how right you are for like... 20 years... You haven't been given many acts of kindness since becoming an adult, what with your abrasive "im more knowledgeable in everything and i've slept with a goddess" personality, so when you see your fearless leader doing something nice, you approve. You grown to trust this leader enough to tell them the truth.... knowing full well they may turn on you, but they don't! You continue to watch them, and share moments of magic with them, you fight along side them, and what is this? Are you starting to develop feelings for them? Are they reciprocating these feelings?

He gets a death sentence slapped on his back and these new budding feelings he has for you need to be made known. What better way than to show you how much you mean to him than to literally paint the sky in the weave for you. To take away the Shadow-lands curse and SHOW you something better. He thinks 'the most perfect night would have to be some place im comfortable and vulnerable.... so that i can SHOW them. This is me, Gale. This is my whole world and at the center of it, my very heart'. he is literally showing you who he is. he is this studious... lonely man.. who sits in front of his fire place reading and researching... or out on his terrace watching the sunset with a book. Like, do you accept this version of me that you have not seen yet? *Not to mention the weave/ astral projected 3 gale gang bang you get while spinning through the cosmos. He is such a show off... or he just isnt confident in his own physical/ mortal ability to woo and wow*

To watch Gale throughout my few play throughs grow as a person and learn that having to much ambition can oft lead to ruin... and watch him change to just be content with himself as he is... i get a lot of comfort from it. I haven't gone down the God route yet, nor have i tried to make him more villainous, but who knows lol.

I have a lot thoughts on pre-tadpoled Gale and how his life up to that point made him who he is when we are first introduced to him. Gale is definitely my comfort character.

Sorry for the rant... or maybe im not. Once again... these are my thoughts from my multiple play throughs.

#baldurs gate 3 #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #bg3 gale #bg3 #listen #this is a rant #shut up

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frenchfrywrites · 11 months

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Testing the Waters: An Examination and Exploration into the Devildom Demon’s Hierarchy of Status

MINORS DNI

Warnings: GN amab dom reader, sub demon brothers, brothers have ambiguous genitals, established polyamory (NO demoncest), culture shock, lots and lots of piss and wetting!!! Piss drinking, wetting clothes, marking with piss, involuntary wetting, etc!!, brat characters, nonverbal subspace, subspace, the demon bros have animalistic traits, implied sex, sir kink, assertion of dominance, safe sane + consensual, d/s scenes

This was a commission for @rosepetalhaven !! I had soo much fun with writing this (im sure u can tell bc i went 1k words over what you asked for.. teehee 😇), and while it's super different from how I normally write fics, I hope you enjoy it :D

You’re not sure when it started. You’re not sure with whom it started with, either. You do know a few things, though: that Belphegor wasn’t the first to do it, but he was the one that made you realize there was a pattern occurring.

The incident happened days ago, and you have been replaying it in your mind ever since. He’d plopped down on top of you while you sat in your room, and sprawled himself over your body, trying to sleep on you like you were a giant pillow. Typically, you enjoy napping with the avatar of sloth, but you had an important task that needed finishing (and now you can’t even remember what it was that was so pressing, it seems so minuscule compared to what was about to happen next). Belphie had whined, using a very small amount of force to push you back when you’d tried to move from under him.

“Belphie,” you had stressed lightly.

“Noo, don’t move,” he’d huffed. You tried again to move from under him, and then it happened. Belphie had wet himself on top of you.

Several emotions worked through your mind then, surprise, shock, bewilderment, and a bit of delight. The two of you stared at one another for a very long moment, Belphie looking both smug and sleepy, while you stared back with a very “deer caught in the headlights” look.

“It’s okay,” you choked out, even though Belphie didn’t seem upset in the slightest. "It's okay," and perhaps you were only talking to yourself at this point, reassuring yourself that this was normal– even though it very much was not.

Once the cooled wetness on your lap became hard to ignore, you’d then manhandled Belphie off your body and got up to change, not bothering to listen as he complained and whined about your absence.

You could not get the moment out of your head.

It dawned on you that this was not the first time a demon had wet themselves on you.

Your mind worked a mile a minute to find evidence for a pattern– as human brains are wont to do– and while you couldn’t remember when it started, you came up with a couple of times this had occurred before.

There was the time when Mammon wanted something, and he’d been begging for you to get it for him, or at the very least loan him the money for it. While you often indulge him, you’d told him no then, and he grabbed the front of your shirt, looking at you with big puppy eyes before relieving himself on you.

There was the time that Lucifer ordered you not to meet up with Solomon late at night; he’d pressed himself up against you, holding your arm tightly, practically pouting. Eventually, you caved, and you hadn’t noticed it until he pulled away that there was a slight wet spot on the front of your pants from where his crotch had pressed against you.

There was the time that Asmo sat on your lap and cutely demanded you to do something with him, because he was dying of boredom. When you’d rejected him in favor of something else, he had promptly wet himself. That time you assumed it was him being bratty from being ignored, but you now realize he had different intentions.

You came up with a dozen or so times this had occurred, and it finally clicked. Each brother had done this when they’d try to demand or command something. It had to be a dominance thing. It was failing horribly, of course, but now that you were aware of the situation at hand, things were going to change.

Deciding to get a bit more information, you crack open the demonology book you’d gotten from class for the first time in ages. There you find all the answers you need. Your assumption is proven correct, as the textbook spells out in detail how urine is often used as a hierarchical device for demons. As you read, you discover how, if one backs down and submits to the other, that they will involuntarily wet themselves as a show of submission. You imagine you’ve been disappointing the brothers when you fail to follow through on the other half of the societal expectation.

It’s hard to stop the images of your partners losing their self-control as they submit to you; wetting themselves, because they just can’t help it. You can’t ignore how flushed and excited you get from thinking about it.

The first demon you think of is Mammon.

Mammon is, as he is so frequent to remind you, the first you made a pact with, and so it’s only fair that he’s the first one that you decide to put your new knowledge to the test.

He makes it so easy, too.

He’s in your room, rummaging through your things when you enter.

“If you’re looking through my dirty laundry, you might as well clean it,” you tease, closing the door behind him, startling him lightly.

“Whaaat?” he turns around looking indigent, “why would I do your chores? You should be the one doing mine! I’m the great Mammon, and you’re a weak human, in case ya forgot. I’m not gonna do anythin’ for you” He could go on ranting, but he’s cut off by the sound of you unbuckling your belt. “What’re ya doin’?”

You don’t answer him, and instead step closer. He chokes on his spit when you take your cock out of your pants.

“Oh,” he starts again, putting two and two together. It takes you a moment to convince your body and brain that it’s alright to do what you’re about to do. Then, you’re pissing on him.

To your surprise and delight, Mammon’s knees buckle as he immediately loses control of his bladder. He falls to the ground, sitting unbothered in a puddle of his own pee, letting yours wash over him. You moan, feeling your loins burn at the sight of him. It's hard to keep yourself flaccid.

Mammon's hands clutch his thighs, keeping him steady as he experiences something that must be downright euphoric if his dazed expression is anything to go by. Luckily this isn't the first time he's looked at you with eyes like that, and you know how to handle the situation.

“Aw, don’t have much to say now, do you?” you coo, bringing a hand down to brush his wet hair from his face. Mammon only purrs and chirps in response, blinking sleepily up at you. You pet his face tenderly, “want me to take care of you?”

Mammon nods slowly in response to your question, his pupils blown wide. You coo, taking him up into your arms, and helping him onto your bed.

He’s so cute like this, you can hardly stand it. It makes you regret that it took you so long to figure all this out.

Satan is next, and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t manipulate the situation a bit. You made sure to drink a good amount of water before you sought out the Avatar of Wrath.

You knock on his door, hearing a faint “who is it?” come from within. Your heart rate picks up as you reply with your name. Satan quickly responds with a, “come in” and your hand is already on the doorknob.

His room is chaotic and messy, as it usually is, which is good for your plan. Satan looks up from the tome he’s reading, smiling at the sight of you.

As you attempt to walk over to him, you trip over a book (and yeah, you make it more dramatic than it needs to be, but whatever). You steady and collect yourself before Satan is up and on his way to you, eager to help.

“Sorry,” he sighs, taking the book you tripped on from your hands.

“You should clean this place up,” you suggest, only it’s not so much of a suggestion as it is a command. Satan shrugs,

“I’ll get to it,” he says, brushing you off. You harden your gaze,

“I wasn’t asking,” you remind him. A light flush begins to work itself onto Satan’s now irritated face.

“Excuse me-” he begins, but grows quiet when you take yourself out of your pants. It still takes a millisecond to convince your brain that your body is allowed to pee, and then you’re wetting his pants for him. “Ah,” he breathes, looking down at your stream in awe, his eyelids lowering as he begins to involuntarily wet himself. All anger has left his body, and he melts like wax under a flame as you make a mess of his pants and floor.

“I see you worked it all out then,” he purrs once you’re both done, giving you a dopey smile. You kiss him gently,

“Yeah. And you’re going to clean up this mess, along with your room. Isn’t that right?” He nods immediately, letting out another spurt of pee at your assertion of dominance.

“Yes sir,” you’re shocked– but try not to show it– when he then drops to his hands and knees and begins licking up the puddle of yours and his piss from the ground.

“Fuck,” you sigh softly, “good boy,” you praise, not sure if he can even hear you, with how quietly you’re speaking.

Diligently, Satan takes care of the mess then looks up at you, licking his lips before giving you a small smile. You let out an appreciative hum,

“Good, now,” you break eye contact to look around the room, “this better be tidied next time I come in here.” Satan makes a pleased sound at the promise that you’ll be back.

You turn, but before you can leave, Satan calls out your name quietly.

“Will you take care of me, if I do a good job?” he asks, his hands griping his thighs, and you’d have to be blind to not see how aroused he is.

“Yes sweetheart,” you smile as you look him over, “I will,” and with that you leave the room, already counting down the seconds before you return.

A couple of days later, Belphie has overslept, and Lucifer put you in charge of waking him. You make your way up to his room, while everyone eats breakfast. He’s dead asleep when you open the door, and you sigh, knowing you have a fight ahead of you.

“Belphie,” you don’t bother with being quiet, because you know Beel has already tried and failed with waking him nicely. You shake him gently, and finally he blinks his eyes open, moaning as he groggily rises from his deep slumber.

“Ugh, ten more minutes,” he groans, batting away your hands. You’re about to start badgering him again, but an idea hits you. You pull down your pants enough to pull your cock out, and aim it at his face. It takes you a moment, but you manage to pee a little on Belphies face. He gasps, a bit getting into his mouth at the action, and soon a wet spot forms on the comforter, signalling that he’s involuntarily wet the bed.

“Okay,” he whines, wiping your piss off his face so he can look up at you, “I’ll um… go take a shower,” he mumbles, rising up from the bed.

“I’ll throw your sheets in the wash,” you compromise, stopping him from leaving, so you can kiss his sticky cheek. Belphie purrs at the action, leaning into your touch.

“‘M glad you finally figured all this out,” he sighs happily, “took you long enough,” he teases. You huff, and push him towards the bathroom then tuck yourself back into your pants, and begin stripping the sheets.

Sometimes you forget how Leviathan can be such a brat. He’s very good at reminding you though.

“Levi, darling, when was the last time you… washed yourself with soap and water,” you ask, trying to be delicate about the fact that you’re not sure that he’s been taking care of himself very well these last few days.

“I don’t need to,” he replies, mashing away at the buttons on his keyboard, not sparing you a glance.

“Mmm, I’m not so sure, I think you probably should every once in a while,” you say, trying your best to persuade him.

“Not. Right. Now,” he urges, frustration evident in his voice.

“Levi,” you strain, and then realize there’s an easy way to win this fight. You drop your pants, and lean over to press the pause button.

“Hey!” Levi whips his head around, but whatever he was going to say gets swallowed as he comes face to face with your dick.

“Oh,” he scrambles out of his chair, his expression of annoyance easily shifting to one of surprise and excitement. “Here, here,” he says as he grabs your arm and drags you away from his electronics. You don’t give him much time after that, pissing on him without warning.

“Ah-I can’t hold it,” Levi’s voice quivers when he says it, looking at you with wide, wild eyes as he loses control of his bladder. He’s still holding onto your arm, and his grip tightens significantly as he lets go.

“S’okay,” you reassure, “you didn’t do anything wrong, I’m very pleased with you Levia-chan, my sweet baby, doing so good,” you praise until a soft purr erupts from him. His grip loosens, but he still clings to you, falling into you. Luckily you have the wherewithal to catch him and hold him gently in your arms. He’s still wetting himself as you hold him, but you don’t mind at all.

It’s not until he’s finally done that he speaks again.

“What a mean way of making me want to shower,” he pouts, still purring. You laugh,

“I promise I’ll make it up to you, okay?” he nods, and lets you pick him up, so you can get the two of you cleaned up.

It’s not unusual for you to wake up in the middle of night in desperate need of a glass of water. It happens more often these days, because you’re emptying your bladder (and filling it) more than usual.

Tonight, you see the light in Lucifer’s study on your way back from the kitchen. You gravitate towards it like a moth to a flame. Lucifer’s head snaps up when you enter the room, sighing when he sees it’s just you and not one of his brothers.

“You should be in bed,” you recommend. Lucifer lets out a tired laugh,

“I’ve got too much to do,” he explains, like that’s a valid excuse. You get straight to the point with him, ending up next to his desk chair with a couple of strides.

Lucifer looks up at you, perplexed by what you’re doing. You’ve gotten very comfortable with what you’re about to do, and without an ounce of shame, you pull down your sleep pants and take out your cock. A soft noise comes from Lucifer at the sight of you, his eyes flickering from it to your face, then back down again.

Since you’ve done this many times now, you are able to relieve yourself with ease; the glass of water from earlier helps.

As soon as your pee hits his body Lucifer gasps softly, then moans– an even more quiet sound– and he too, involuntarily, wets himself on his desk chair.

Once your stream ends, you shake yourself off, and tuck yourself back into your pants.

“Bed now?” you prompt, your voice low and soothing. Lucifer nods,

“Yes, alright,” he slowly stands, on shaky legs. You help him up, winding an arm around his waist. Lucifer leans into your touch, so much more pliant than you’ve ever seen him before, docile and malleable for you.

“I’ll clean up your office tomorrow,” you promise as you lead him to his bedroom. “First though,” you lean in, kissing his neck gently, and smiling when he chirps happily from the action, “let me clean you up.”

Rather than needing to be put in his place, Asmodeous is the one who approaches you. He knocks on your door, and when you give him the go ahead to come in, he practically bounces into your room. Flopping on your bed with a delighted grin, he makes himself comfortable next to you.

“A little birdy told me you figured out how our hierarchy works,” he hums, twirling a lock of hair around his finger. You laugh, wondering who must have told him.

“I suppose I did,” you confirm, already getting a sense of where this conversation may be headed. Asmo’s grin widens,

“It was sooo weird when you were all clueless. Kind of cute, but kind of annoying,” he giggles. There’s a moment of silence between the two of you, then Asmo giggles again, and a light blush dusts his cheeks.

“Did you want me to make it up to you?” you ask, because it seems like he doesn’t have the words for what he wants yet. “Now that I know better?” Asmo beams, delighted that you’re already taking the lead,

“Yes!” he reaches out to clutch onto your shirt, “oh yes! Please?” you smile, because he looks too cute laying on your bed, all excited and willing.

You slowly pull the hem of your pants down, just enough to free your cock. Asmo whines at the sight of it, squirming a bit, and rubbing his legs together. You then pull down his pants, and tuck yourself inside, to make sure he’ll get really wet.

Asmo trills, clinging to you tighter, writhing with anticipation. You almost want to make him wait longer, but he’s already been so brave and good, coming to you and asking so sweetly. When you start to pee, Asmo moans openly, nuzzling his face into your neck. He starts licking at your pulse point when he too wets himself. Your bed is going to be a mess, but that’s the least of your cares right now.

“Thank you, thank you,” Asmo murmurs softly, tickling you as his lips move against your neck.

You run your fingers through his hair gently, “we have to get cleaned up,” you remind him softly. Asmo whines,

“Okaaay,” he relents, because he couldn’t possibly deny you after all that. Laughing lightly, you take yourself out of his pants,

“I’m surprised you’d want to sit in this cold, wet, mess.” Asmo huffs, unlatching himself from you just enough for him to look at you properly.

“It doesn’t bother me, I literally asked for it,” you laugh again, because he’s right. And you think he might be asking for it a lot now that he’s had a taste of it.

Having to assert dominance over Beelzebub was honestly unprecedented. He is really so easy going and submissive for you a majority of the time. It shocked you when he huffed and shook his head when you kindly requested if he went grocery shopping with you.

“What,” you pause, shaking your head a bit, and smiling at how silly he’s being, “what was that?”

“I don’t wanna go help you,” he huffs, but he’s looking at you like it’s killing him to deny you. You smile to yourself as it clicks that you know exactly what it is that he wants.

“Ah,” you step into his personal space and Beel can’t help but smile, squeezing his fists into balls, then releasing them as energy courses through his body.

You unzip your pants, pulling yourself out of them, as you’ve now done so many times before. He’s already purring, looking at your cock longingly, waiting patiently for what is to come.

Beel doesn’t have to wait for long. Your piss comes, and Beel’s hands reach out to touch your stream. He practically falls into you, knocking his head against your shoulder, still so consumed with watching you.

“Oh Beel,” you coo softly when he begins to wet himself as well. You reach a hand up to pet his head affectionately.

He brings his wet fingers up to his mouth, sucking your pee off of them.

“Thank you,” he mumbles from around his fingers, as soon as he finishes. “Feels good,” he hums, rubbing his thighs together.

“I’ll bet it does,” you hum, kissing his skin lovingly. There’s a moment of comfortable quiet between the two of you before he breaks it by saying,

“Let me change, and I’ll come with you.” You laugh, kissing him again,

“Good boy,” you praise, and smack his ass gently when he turns to leave.

You can tell by the way that the tips of his ears burn a bright red that he’s smiling to himself as he leaves.

#ehehe >:) pee time #spice #p/iss #sub obey me #cw subspace

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geekgirles · 9 months

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i see NOTHING circus-themed in bee's design 😭 she just looks like a cluttered genero mess k can't believe we got her after asmodeus

Personally, I adore Bee's design, but I must admit it took me an embarrassing long amount of time to realise she was indeed the show's version of Beelzebub and not another character altogether. Seriously, until I first came to Tumblr after the episode's release and saw people saying she was the Lord of Gluttony herself (which I get she literally introduced herself as, it's just that Cotton Candy had way too much going on for me to lock onto that particular detail), I was convinced she was supposed to be like a "higher class" breed of Hellhound.

Like, I thought she was Beelzebub's pet and that somehow made her more powerful and different from other Hellhounds; I legit thought that was why her name was practically the same but with a hyphen. I was legitemately convinced she was some sort of "tailor-made" Hellhound made to resemble her master Beelzebub more closely to make her stand out from the regular Hellhounds. Though the reason behind this misundertanding is due to her mention of Belphegor not letting her use her party drugs. I misheard her, thinking she said Beelzebub, and immediately assumed she was subservient to her instead of, well, being her.

Having said that, I do think Bee's design is appropriate. It just represents and reflects so much behind-the-scenes stuff!

Firstly, we have, of course, the inlusion of Kesha. I'd say Vivziepop owes a huge chunk of her fame to her Die Young animatic featuring her werewolf character, Jay Jay, singing the song in what was essentially a tribute to the artist. So with that in mind, it's obvious Bee's more canine design is clearly the crew's way of saying they've finally come full circle now that they got Kesha herself to voice a character for them. Further proof of it is that obvious reference when Bee even ended looking like Jay Jay during Cotton Candy by getting Jay's blue fur and pink hair.

(Well, to be fair, Jay Jay began appearing more often with light blue fur and bright pink hair after she debuted in Die Young, but I remember a sneak peek of another animatic where she would have her later colour palette and be singing Kesha's C'mon. So the point still stands).

Secondly, I personally think she does embody the circus troop theme, deep down, just maybe not in the way you'd expect her to.

Just like Lucifer and Ozzie's are ringmasters and Mammon is a jester, Bee is supposed to represent confectionary stands (hence, her constantly conjuring up fast food and sweets) and animal acts. Now, if you ask me, I'd say the animal act side of her is both very subtle and incredibly on the nose, as much of an oxymoron as that is.

On the one hand, the only thing really reminiscent of animal acts are the hoops and loops she has around her house, which are very easy to overlook.

But on the other hand, there's also the fact that her subjects are Hellhounds, or at the very least they seem to feel the most at home with her. In fact, Loona's adoption papers have her signature, meaning she oversees the process to some degree.

In a way, the Deadly Sins resembling their subjects is another recurrent trait, though Asmodeus looking nothing like a succubus is a clear exception (and Mammon seems to be a literal money tree).

We have Lucifer, whose Ring is mostly inhabited by Sinners and his standard form is the most human-looking one...

There's Bee being essentially an alpha Hellhound (Fox)-Bee Hybrid...

And if his app is anything to go by, Satan might just as well end up being a more powerful kind of Imp.

For all we know, Belphegor might be a Baphomet too! Especially seeing as the Sloth Ring seems to be mostly populated by them.

(I know this one in particular works in the Lust Ring, but you know what I mean).

And there's also the fact that it seems to be a reference to the Divine Comedy, if my memory doesn't fail me, where the Gluttony Ring was inhabited by Cerberus. So in that respect, Bee being a Hellhound is very consistent, especially because going back to the act she's supposed to represent, her ruling over Hellhounds essentially turns her into a beast master!

And of course, we can't forget she's supposed to represent Gluttony, over-consumption, over-indulgence, excess... All things that can easily be found in wild, out-of-control parties. And what is Bee's character deep down? A literal party animal!

So yeah, in my humble opinion, Queen Bee-lzebub is both a very imaginative and faithful take on her character, as well as the character that best reflects how far Vivziepop and Spindlehorse have come. Though that might just me being biased by how much I love her design LOL.

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se7ens-oc-heaven · 7 months

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Fun tip from your local oc hoarder: if you have old ocs or concepts that never went anywhere, didn't quite grab you, just didn't quite work - re-insert them into the world as the npcs. The background character. The side cast.

And here's why, in a nutshell - it'll help your world feel more cohesive, to you and to anyone seeing it.

Yeah, sure, you can hastily slap together a bland shopkeep during a shopping scene, or slip in generic fan designs at a concert. But if you have someone Established, specific, someone who doesn't Have to reoccur, buuuuut... maybe the main characters always go into the store during so-and-so's friday shifts, or maybe you have concert scenes frequently enough that you'd start picking out the same fans who always attend for their favorite band... Adds to how natural it all feels, you know?

Does it have to be an old oc? Can't it be someone made to fit, I hear you ask? Well, sure! And obviously if you only have one or two ocs that aren't active, you'll have to anyways. But it's a two birds with one stone exercise - because now you've streamlined your process for having an established npc. You already have an idea of how that old oc looks, or talks, or acts. You may already know what setting they'd likely frequent, or even miscellany like what music they like or hobbies they have. Your generic npc doesn't have to have speaking lines or relevance - but if they needed to or you wanted them to, now they can. They'll have substance that keeps things from feeling too flat.

And idk, obviously some people don't pay much attention to things like that - but I've found that it makes a huge difference to me even when I hadn't realized it. It adds some extra depth to the world in small ways, that you may or may not ever use, but that way it's already built in. No scrambling or extra work to project traits onto some faceless character who talks to your protag about musicians for one scene.

This is also helpful for subverting "kill your darlings" a bit, for those who struggle a lot with that concept in their writing and worldbuilding - because for me, my problem tends to be that it's not that the darling is Entirely Pointless, it's just that they aren't a good fit. Killing a really good idea and banishing it to the drafts forever can suck. But learning how to Recycle the darling helps keep it in relevance, but by plugging it in to a better purpose than the original draft. That makes it easier to cut ideas out of my writing - because I can rest easy knowing I have it in reserve for its time to shine elsewhere.

I'd imagine this won't work for everyone, but I've found as I work on my hero story that it's added a lot of joy. Characters who fell to the sidelines or into obscurity simply because they weren't cut out for hero business now have time to shine in other small ways.

I have a girl who realistically will end up just being a background jogger. But she's also on a track team, and likes handmaking pottery in her spare time. I have a guy with weather powers, but he's focused pursuing being a talented violinist, with minimal active involvement in the hero business beyond happening to have heroes who are fans of his work.

Heck, one of my favorite characters is a duo of guys sharing a body that are just waiters at the local diner. One of them can reverse gravity or even practically rewind time with the snap of his finger if he so chose. These are powers that he studies endlessly for so he can hone and refine them better. But all he cares about is protecting his family and friends, so all you typically see him use his powers for is preventing glasses from being broken or saving his crush from tripping.

It makes me happy to see my kids just going about their day, filling a role in the background. Will they be more relevant? It's possible! But even if they aren't, there will always be glimpses - of the redhead jogging down the street, of someone in the middle of listening to a track from a classical violinist, of a waiter effortlessly stopping plates from being dropped in the middle of taking an order - all in the backdrop of whatever panel or scene or what have you that comes up.

It helps it all feel more like a world everyone belongs in, rather than a staged play. You know? And it's a very fulfilling feeling for me, both as author and as reader.

So yeah. Don't be afraid to recycle those old ocs. Tweak or streamline them if you need, but if you hold them even a little dear to your heart and can get them to click, I promise you won't regret it.

#ocs #original character #original #writing #drawing #storytelling #tips #ig???#oc tips #man idk what to tag this all as or if it's helpful ajdsjfjdjfjdkcj #for now im tagging the ocs i mentioned just bc im sure ill want to read it again or smtg #spcverse #atalanta #cloud #jason #invert #long post #blablablah

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justavulcan · 4 months

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Backgrounds With Class: Simic Scientist

I'll be honest: Ravnica has always fascinated me. I was a high schooler when the first set came out, and I was immediately consumed creating characters for the setting. Now that we've actually received my long-awaited crossover, I thought it would be nice to write a love letter to the setting in the form of another Backgrounds with Class series. After all: some guilds have natural class choices tied in, from a conceptual standpoint. Boros and Fighter, Izzet and Wizard, Selesnya and Druid. But guilds aren’t class-restricted, and so I wonder what it would look like if you paired every class with every guild background, even the ones that seem at odds, like Izzet and Barbarian, or Gruul and Artificer. So I thought about it, and this is what I came up with. Some character concepts for each class, and each Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica background for each class.

The Simic Scientist Artificer was always a practical sort. Enamored with the surgeon’s art from his youth and with a fast friend of decades working in the Izzet League, he’s found ways to adopt the other science guild’s technology for medical use on a number of occasions, particularly their chemistry. The reverse is also true- unbeknownst to those around him, he’s been trading insider secrets for his colleague’s aid. He doesn’t view this as a betrayal- to his mind, it’s a crime that there isn’t already an exchange of innovation in the regular course of things. Surely their fields would advance much more quickly with the aid of other points of view.

The Simic Scientist Barbarian is an experimental direction for the Guardian Project, a soldier with adaptive talents flexible enough to change specialization on the fly or between engagements. Trained with weapons and spliced with at least a little sluiceway scorpion, she believes wholeheartedly in the assurances of her experimental overseer that she will one day no longer need armaments of steel, as her hybrid traits and experimental mutagenic adrenal glands grow into full maturity.

The Simic Scientist Bard has a job as an educator, putting her keen understanding of biology and biomancy to work in the classroom imparting wisdom to her students. Adept at teaching by multiple avenues to suit different learning styles, she is always conscientious to mix the practical and hands-on with deep concepts, and takes the careers of her students very seriously after graduation. In her off hours, she works as a consultant for other matters, both in the lab and on the street, and has started to make a name for herself as one of the public faces of the Combine.

The Simic Scientist Cleric kneels at no altar that the people of Ravnica would know, but many of her peers would understand, if not condone. The Simic Combine is not a religious organization, but surely they can see that knowledge itself is a thing divine no less than the Worldsong of the Conclave or the Orzhov’s Church of Deals. While her colleagues view this eccentricity with bemusement and even occasional suspicion, she is more than welcome in the lab, as her work has an uncanny prescient feel to it, often making breakthroughs just when it would be useful.

The Simic Scientist Druid is an oddity even among Simic Biomancers. Originally a Guardian Project volunteer, this druid is technically a krasis rather than a hybrid, as the ratio of hermit crab to vedalken is too high to qualify her as a simic hybrid. Still loyal to the combine that reforged her into a clumsy new shell-bearing body, the druid serves the Hull Clade, her defensively-oriented mind an asset to guardian squads in the field and biomancers working with shell, carapace, and scale in the lab.

The Simic Scientist Fighter is a typical product of the Guardian Project: a disciplined, careful, and tactically gifted elf with latent mollusc traits. Trained for both long-range and short-range combat, he is being groomed for a position as a squadron leader to field both terrestrial and aquatic threats- a true amphibious soldier. This flexibility is reflected in his mindset- despite his participation in the Guardian Project and aggressive skillset, he is a Holdfast advocate, claiming it’s far more important for the Combine to ground themselves than to expand aggressively; overreach is a mistake.

The Simic Scientist Monk is an experimental departure from tradition. Raised deep underwater as a potential Deepsage, their tradition of unarmed combat has met with modern biomancy and medical knowledge to produce a warrior with a literal healer’s touch. Mastering the flow of vital energies and fluids through their own body and those of others, they are as skilled a healer as a bodyguard, equally adept at setting bones and force-healing contusions as bringing death with a touch.

The Simic Scientist Paladin follows an uncommon tradition among elves, a holdover from his time among the Selesnya growing up. While he’s firmly an Upwelling adherent, confident that change is the way forward for the Combine, his own magical tradition is among the oldest on Ravnica, as he swore an oath to life itself to be a light in the world. Many of his colleagues shake their heads at the juxtaposition, but he’s not dissuaded by their confusion- after all, Upwelling is a resurgence of old matters and ways, not an act of genesis.

The Simic Scientist Ranger is a field researcher, a lab assistant who, after his amphibian hybridization, seeks to assess the results of his guild’s work in the field. From chill ocean below to lofty aeries above, he ranges to see that the Combine’s work finds its niche, and observe how the web of life on Ravnica changes to fit. He’s also one of the hunters the Combine turns to when they have need of samples from exotic wildlife, or when a krasis proves disastrous for its environment and must be euthanized.

The Simic Scientist Rogue was part of the Combine’s covert troubleshooting force before the inception of the Guardian Project, and remains so to this day. Usually dispatched as an investigator or recovery specialist, as the guild has ramped up its preparations for wartime she has found herself more and more involved in guerrilla action against threats preemptively. Always a proponent of striking harder sooner, she is keen to do whatever she can to keep the Simic at its best.

The Simic Scientist Sorcerer, as a prospective member of Gyre Clade, often finds herself involved in the less physical of the guild’s pursuits. Be it assessing the mana currents of the hidden oceans or seeking strange weather phenomena to observe the dispersal of energy, her apprenticeship has been anything but dull. It’s helped to give focus to her talents, though, which run toward the stormy, and often leave her struggling to pay attention to things if she’s not confronted with novelty now and again.

The Simic Scientist Warlock came up from the zonots with the second generation of merfolk to grace the surface. Having long ago made peace and pact with a great beast of the deep, she quickly found her talents for team support in high demand among Guardian Project strike teams and Crypsis Clade scouting missions. She’s very protective of the fine abalone necklace she wears loose around her neck; it’s both a mark of her pact and the only thing she brought with her to remember her parents by.

The Simic Scientist Wizard is, by all accounts, brilliant- surgeon extraordinaire and transmuter-scientist of the Fin clade, it seems there is little he cannot do if he sets his mind and hands to it. Of the two, the surgeon’s path is far more important to him, as he would rather save lives with tools and expertise than work at biomancy- so much so that he’s rejected or missed opportunities for more profitable apprenticeships in favor of earning his surgical license and trying for a private practice. Unfortunately, the money’s run out, and he’s recently had to turn his mind from clean, sterile lab work to the rough conditions and uncertain developments of field work.

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panlight · 28 days

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I know you did astrological charts and the birthdays of the Cullens a while back (btw I want to see an updated version in case your opinions changed becuz mine have lol) but I'm pondering those of Bella, Edward, and Jacob. (Also if Ren was a "normal" pregnancy what could her sign be?) I know canon has them as Virgo, Gemini, and Capricorn respectively, but I feel like at least one of those signs isn't very accurate. I'm especially conflicted about Jacob as I did research on the 12 signs but it didn't connect. Your thoughts? Any new headcanons for the main trio and/or the Cullens?

I don't really know enough about the common traits of the signs off the top of my head to say. I'm not so much an astrology girl in real life, but I think it's fun in fiction as a tool to help flesh out a character. Pick a birthday and look up the astrological traits and pick some of those for your character, etc. Or, to work backwards when the author didn't give any of the major secondary characters birthdays to try and pick one for them based on traits. That's sort of how I settled on Feb 18 for Carlisle. We knew he "recently" had a birthday when Bella visits the house in March, so his birthday would be presumably in March or the later half of February. Feb 18th puts him on the cusp of humanitarian Aquarius and compassionate Pisces so that seemed like a good fit.

I think Virgo broadly works for Bella; they're practical, useful, hardworking, can be judge-y and perfectionistic. They aren't super creative or artistic, but they get stuff done but are prone to stress for all the pressure they put on themselves.

Edward's a Gemini (Jun 20) but on the cusp with Cancer, so he could have traits of both. From one website: "Gemini-Cancer cusps are playful, sensitive, romantic, and intelligent. They're highly perceptive and are more emotional and sentimental than they outwardly seem." I mean other than maybe playful (he has his moments but overall takes everything Super Seriously) that's not a terrible surface description of our vampire Romeo.

Jacob's a Capricorn (Jan 14). In descriptions I see a lot of words like persistent and loyal, which works. Negative traits like arrogant and controlling, which could fall into his post-wolfening character shift I guess. They aren't conventionally romantic but show affection and love with smaller gestures. He's not saying Bella is his life now or his life has no meaning without her, but he gives her candy hearts and warm sodas and spends time with her when she needs his sunny presence.

If I could assign a different birthday to one of the three it would probably be Jacob. I could definitely see him as more of Leo; loyal, a natural leader, generous, charming, talkative (telling Bella the secret history like, right away). I think that might fit his original sunny personality better?

Renesmee would probably have been born in late April or early May if she had been the product of a typical human pregnancy based on some rough dates I threw into a pregnancy calculator. That would make her a Taurus (like me!). Stubborn, dependable, set in their ways, appreciates the good things in life, gentle until riled, maybe with an artistic streak. I don't think I'm a very good Taurus example (the whole hedonistic thing is not me, lmao), but maybe Nessie would have been? I see some common traits with Virgo, which might complicate the mother-daughter relationship in the future. Sometimes people who are too similar don't get along well (looking at you, Rosalie and Edward).

#asks

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literary-illuminati · 6 months

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Book Review 63 – The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia

This was the last WFA finalist for best novella I was able to get at the library, so I will I suppose just have to accept that I am not going to have an informed opinion on the category. The book is, well – Jamnia’s only other work listed on Goodreads is “Positive Interactions with At-Risk Children: Enhancing Students' Wellbeing, Resilience, and Success”, and you can really kind of tell. Not a bad book – there really is a lot of good stuff here – but subtlety is just nonexistent. Though I suppose better a plot that telegraphs itself from a hundred miles away than one that feels like the author was coming up with it as they went.

The story takes place in a ‘free and democratic’ city state established after a successful war of independence from a struggling and unstable empire, and now a not-particularly-enthusiastic sanctuary to refugees from the rest of the empire. Firuz is one of those refugees, with the added issue of being a mostly-trained blood magic adept, the proximate reason why they and their family had to flee in the first place. Disguising the exact sort of magic they practice, they get work as an assistant healer to the one of (and soon the) only free clinics in the city, doing their bits to try and help the refugee populations through the plague ravaging the city. The meat of the plot is about their investigation of the source of a second strange disease that begins spreading among the refugee population a year after the first plague dies down – looks a lot like anemia, though the word’s never used – and how they try (and just totally fail) to balance their relationships and family against the good they do working in the clinic.

The book is just very earnest, and awkward, and trying to do altogether too many things at once for its length. Also the fantasy!Iranian refugees are called ‘Sassanians’. Which, like, come on. That’s literaly calling your fantasy!France ‘Gaul’.

The medical mystery was fun – strange diseases! Dissections and autopsies! Hiding the magic that’s the only hope you have of figuring out what’s happening! - but it was too strangled for space competing with family drama and a subplot of Firuz adapting and teaching another natural blood mage and just general ruminations to really shine. Which is to say there were exactly two named characters who could possibly be responsible, and it was almost instantly obvious which of them it was.

Which left the book needing to be carried on those interpersonal relationships and character dynamics. Which were like, fine? But every character basically had their key traits and the point of their arc announced on the page – the only character written with any real subtlety or layers was the eventually revealed villain.

The book’s very much queernorm – the protagonist is nonbinary and their kid brother is trans and spends about half the book lashing out as he struggles to cope with his dysphoria. Absolutely no one cares. The brother does get hatecrimed on account of being an ethnic minority and a refugee though, which I admit is a mindset about what bits of reality need to be softened I struggle to wrap my head around. More annoyingly (and, like, actually important at all) it is kind of disappointing that it cuts off any real worldbuilding about sexuality or gender; there are three major cultures in the book, and we go through the entire thing without learning anything much about any of their standards or expectations of femininity or masculinity. The brother’s dysphoria is portrayed as a purely physical ailment – you could replace it with some exotic variety of chronic pain and his role in the narrative would remain functionally unchanged.

Which just seems like a profoundly wasted opportunity to me – it’s fun that there’s one pronoun set that’s used exclusively to refer to the divine! But also I desperately want to know what the differences in cultural understanding between the usage of the two different neopronoun sets used to refer to random tertiary characters are, y’know? If you’re going to devote such a relatively big chunk of wordcount to this stuff then, like, dig into it.

Anyway yeah – as a debut effort, this is really very good. But I’m pretty surprised to see it on any best-of-year lists.

#book review #the bruising of qilwa #naseem jamnia #sff

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shinjisdone · 1 year

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Hear My Voice - (Riddle SR Suitor Suit)

[Voice lines of char. and their opinions on you joining the event of their cards. Style of Genshin Impact. Still just an idea of mine based on this post. Idea still WIP]

Trying it first out on one of my favorite characters! Feedback is welcome, I'm just trying to execute my idea lol

"You will be trying to decei - I mean, join in on the...rescue mission, too? Hm, no offense but you don't seem very prince-like..."

Good Evening: "'Well, good evening, dear.' ...Don't look at me like that, that's what you are supposed to say. With more vigour, more soft confidence! Now, after me...What?! Don't you dare laugh at me!"

About Riddle: "To be honest, I'm used to act so proper. I don't enjoy it much though...especially if I have to keep lying to that bride's face...Mother wouldn't like it..."

About Us: Princes: "Pretending to be a dashing prince seems like a lot of work, now imagine actually being one. In a strange way, it makes my troubles being the only child of a high family seem like nothing...I guess both you and I can be glad about that."

About Us: Ideal Partners: "...My ideal partner? Well, someone who follows the rules of the Queen of Hearts, of course! Certain traits?...Uhm, well, you know w-when you...do that thing when you visit me - I mean, us...!"

About Us: Dances: "If you want to suceed, you have to be immaculate in every way, shape and form. Come now. You can't impress the bride with sluggish movements like that. Take my hand...I'll show you everything I've learned. Heh, don't worry, we can practice as long as you want."

Something to Share: "Hm, I think I'm all set but you...lack something. Ah, here. Have the bouquet of roses from our garden. N-No, it isn't for you! It is for you to give to the bride! ...But if she rejects them, then it can be all yours...and only yours..."

About Ace: "Strange to see Ace being so genuine. He isn't even like that during his basketball games, it's like I'm seeing a different person in front of me. Handsome? Yes, I suppose he looks fine for once."

About Idia: "My apolgies, I didn't mean to ruin my make-up by rubbing my eyes but is that truly Idia? He's...so different. And he has the courage to propose to the bride...Oh, his hair is pink now?"

More about Riddle I: "Why I seem so calm? Why should I be nervous? As a dormleader, it should come easy to show my honest good side. Besides, I often went to parties and weddings such as these with my parents, so I'm used to it. Not to the specific demands of the bride though..."

More about Riddle II: "I have to be honest though, this play pretend of proposals feels so...wrong. Injust even, maybe. We are doing this to save a fellow dormleader but I can't help but feel we are being a bit too deceiving...this certainly breaks a rule somewhere...ah, I'll just turn a blind eye..."

More about Riddle III: "...There were a few discussions between my parents about my future wedding and who my future spouse should be...they've become...less seldom the more I grew up. I don't wish to get married anytime soon yet. ...Though I believe I know what my type is now...w-what? I-I am NOT blushing! No! I...I was looking at you because I was TALKING TO you!"

More about Riddle IV: "...How would you plan your wedding? Is all of this to your liking...? Ah, just asking. You seemed a bit in awe when we arrived here, like a star-struck child. I just had to wonder...Someone like you does deserve a perfect wedding just like how you envision it. I myself would prefer...white roses to be the main decoration. Do you like them too...?"

More about Riddle V: "...I can't deny it, this was just tiring. It makes want to never be a part of a wedding again! Even being a guest sounds horrible!...But, well, it seems like the bride finally found her prince. Look at them dancing...huh, how about one last dance between the two of us? I won't criticize a thing this time, I promise. I just want to have one relaxing activity with you as the last dot of this very tiring fairytale..."

#twisted wonderland x reader #twst #twst scenario #twst voicelines #riddle rosehearts #riddle rosehearts cards #twst x reader #gender neutral imagine #twst imagines

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clydesavage-thefox147 · 5 months

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Okay, I have a 50/50 standpoint on the recent Asides. It has its little charms, interesting little moments and just a short quick thing that kept me at least satisfied enough.

But, I have my slight issues with it. One issue I'll talk about first here is how Janus looks. Now the outfit is cute and works well but...where are the rest of his scales? I get it, the idea of more scales being other places has been a fanon thing for a while but Thomas has admitted that we have really cool ideas(and it was drawn at some points in the calendar arts, not every idea has to be used but still). But, why not go for it and attempt to make the scale go further? Because, having JUST the face kinda takes the "snake" out of the "snake-man". Some have complained that the makeup has dropped in quality and I do notice it. Sure, it could be a change in makeup by color and/or brand. Could be the lighting that effects it too. Maybe..MAYBE in the finale it will look better? I'll probably make a post further pointing out differences without being too pretention about it.

I understand that the makeup for the extension would be difficult but I know for a fact that it's usually Quil or Rene who does the makeup, originally Talyn. I think they could've added some scales to the shoulder or hand/forearm or at the bare minimum green splotches. Again, it's hard to tell what's canon or not anymore in the Asides episodes(I've just accepted anything Sides related as potential canon at this point). Maybe it'll be retconned at some point and he will have scales other places throughout him eventually?

And I know you'll say "Why would he do something that detailed for something short?" Well...he could've just worn a different outfit that covered the exposed skin instead. But, maybe he didn't have plans to extended the scales more because they tried on the neck once but it wasn't working how they wanted which lead to the "scale patches" headcanon...but the scales could still work on the arm and hand somehow. I'm just thinking that not extending them takes away what makes Janus intriguing and mysterious...his implied snake DNA. Is it laziness? Is it time constraint? Is it difficulty? Will something more snake like about him make up for it in the future? I don't know but I hope so. There is so many twisted and cool ideas that can be done with Janus, both characteristically and biologically and I don't think they should be wasted.

There's a crack head theory going around that "what if it is makeup and Janus is just doing an act?" Yeah..I kiiiiinda get it but, it's been implied several times that he's half snake physically and biologically that it's too late to retcon it like that or at all. Especially because like I said previously, it's a waste of a very interesting character with very cool skills that he could possess, being this genetically altered. Plus, all the fanfics would be worthless about him having snake like traits. If you get rid of the snake parts and behaviors of Janus, you practically kill what made him so eye catching and shocking in the first place and make him a less interesting and compelling character. Janus would no longer be Janus, ya get me? This could all just be me and nitpicking but..if ya going to have genetically altered character like this, snake wise no less, go big or go home.

#ts criticism #ts critical #ts opinion #thomas sanders critical #sanders sides critical #sanders sides criticism #janus sanders

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frozen-spaghetti · 3 months

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Papyrus' Heaven Theory - Fixing Papyrus Knight

An attempt at fixing a popular yet widely disliked theory.

Part 1 - The Flaws with Papyrus Knight

a. "It's out of character"

Well, this is the main flaw that Papyrus' Heaven is made to address. However, this section is to run through the argument, so let's see here:

Papyrus is often seen as a simple, happy, and whimsical guy. And on the surface level, in Undertale at least, he does seem to be.

He also has one core difference when compared to the rest of the main cast: He cannot kill you. Toriel can kill you if you're not careful. Sans can kill you in his battle, though it's hard to reach. Undyne and Asgore have essentially made it their job to do so. Mettaton lives in a killer robot body designed to murder humans, a body created by Dr. Alphys. Flowey is a genocidal maniac who will kill you, only to revive you and do it over and over again.

But Papyrus? The only instances of him being able to kill you were a rare glitch in older versions of Undertale, which appears to now be an impossibility.

Now, someone this nice surely cannot have been an evil Knight in another timeline, right?

Well, let me present you a mini-theory within this theory:

Papyrus' Disremembrance Theory

There is a LOT of evidence that Papyrus is intentionally making himself forget many things, many important things.

Dialogue from the King Papyrus ending as well as the Lost SOUL battle paints a dark picture for Papyrus' backstory. Him saying absolutely nothing during part of the fight is haunting, and could imply that he's unable to remember what he would've said at that point. This is especially relevant as it comes at the same time Sans says "you'll never see 'em again," which is a very likely reference to his time in Deltarune's reality. The King Papyrus ending is quite terrifying too, it alludes to his "usual encouragement" not always working, which seems to imply there are past coping mechanisms of his.

This—coupled with the evidence that he's from the DELTARUNE reality—implies he is deep in denial and has forced himself to forget nearly everything. By the way, if you're not aware of said evidence, check out my post detailing the evidence Sans and Papyrus are from the DELTARUNE universe. It's fairly good, but I did not address the sun argument...so I will now.

A major argument against the Papyrus Deltarune theory is that he doesn't know what the sun is. Clearly, he cannot be from Deltarune's Light World if he does not know what the sun is!

Well, my answer to this is fairly simple. He likely has beaten the Deltarune reality out of his mind so hard that he doesn't remember what the sun is. He has to strain himself to even remember there was grass, after all. He does use the term "sun on my skin" but I believe he isn't fully aware of the connection between "the sun" and a big ball in the sky.

To wrap up Papyrus' Disremembrance theory, I'd like to point out that it nicely contrasts Sans' whole "don't forget" thing. This is even reflected in the Lost SOUL dialogue; Sans is clearly grieving while Papyrus has fully made himself forget.

Now - back to the main point!

Since we have established Papyrus is in denial, and has made himself forget practically everything that occurred in his time in the DELTARUNE reality, we can now treat his Undertale incarnation as a "soft reset" of sorts. Many traits of his shine through, but he is a fairly different person.

For example, I believe one of his core traits is his "I WILL BE THE ONE!" mentality.

If Papyrus really is the Knight, him being obsessed with a goal of causing a world-changing event to happen would add up. The core motivation for both would be to become worshipped and to achieve what he perceives as the greater good.

It would also be consistent with how Asriel—the Angel in Undertale's world—deceived him into doing his bidding. Assuming that the Knight is working for Deltarune's Angel, that could be a recurring theme for Papyrus' story.

Lastly, I will mention how most Papyrus Knight theories mess this up. They often claim he does not know about the Roaring, or that he makes the Dark Fountains just to get some Darkner buddies. And, while that may be on the surface level closer to his Undertale characterization, it does not add up with the in-game evidence. Queen makes it clear that the Knight goes by 'Roaring Knight' and King implies he was ordered to fight the other kings by the Knight. This clearly implies they are devoted to doing the Angel's bidding, regardless of if it's morally wrong.

b. "He's from Undertale, so he can't be the Knight"

I won't spend too long on this one since it is absolutely unchangeable, but I will bring up a counterpoint, one that I explained earlier.

Papyrus is kind of a Deltarune character???

If anyone who first appeared in Undertale counts, it would be the skeletons.

Hell, W.D Gaster in Deltarune is very heavily implied to be the same Gaster who built the CORE in Undertale's reality.

It appears the skeletons are strange, interdimensional beings. Gaster exists everywhere at every possible time, and Sans and Papyrus are known to have hopped realities.

Essentially, this argument is a bit weaker for someone like Papyrus than someone like Undyne who isn't the same character across both games.

c. "Nobody knows who he is"

Well, this flaw is near-unfixable. However, it is possible to turn it into a slight strength.

Firstly, though, there are ways for him to be more known to the main cast.

Deltarune has teased a Papyrus hangout in a similar vein to Undertale's date. Not only has Sans directly told you that you'll hang out with him soon, but the Steam page hints that Papyrus is busy—implying he will show up later.

This could easily pay off in a hangout later in the game, which causes the Fun Gang to familiarize with him. Hell, it's possible there's a Dark World adventure with him later on. However, I have a question to pose to you:

Does it really matter?

Well, likely, yes. Though, it is potentially not as much of a flaw as you would think.

Consider, for a moment, who else do we know for sure has created a dark fountain? Kris. And, tell me if this sounds familiar.

"Antisocial person lacking friends, who—in the grand scheme of things—lives under the shadow of their older brother."

Sure, this isn't exactly that unique of a character archetype, but if the two Dark Fountain creators share those traits, it could mean something.

Kris isn't as unknown as Papyrus is, but still— many people do not know them very much. Some don't even know their name; Undyne addresses them as "Asgore's kid" and even the ones who do know their name are not quite familiar with them.

Now.

The main issues with Papyrus Knight have been fairly addressed.

They will be hard to correct, but I have gotten them out of the way in order to pave the foundation of my theory. If the Knight is creating these worlds, why? They don't just want little Darkner buddies...if so, why would they order Spade King to overthrow the other kings?

Well, the motivation comes down to one word.

Heaven.

Part 2 - Papyrus' Heaven Theory

The General Idea

If you just want the key details of Papyrus' Heaven, here you go.

Papyrus doesn't want the Dark Worlds for friends, for fun, for adventure, or whatever. He wants it for Heaven, and anything that comes with it.

In Undertale, we see his "I WILL BE THE ONE!!!" mentality with his ultimate goal of saving monsterkind, by capturing the final human. I believe he felt that very way about Heaven.

He wants to be hailed as the Messiah of all monsters, and the Angel has been deceiving him, a little voice in his ear at all times.

That would be very much like the Angel in Undertale, Asriel, whispering deception and eventually using him for his plan.

This is also very compatible with Angel's Paradise theory. Essentially, that is a theory that the Angel's Heaven is a false paradise, and in the context of this theory, Papyrus has been shown his Heaven. Every wish of his, everything he's ever wanted, he will be able to have it.

What he does not know yet is that the paradise is false.

Later on, he comes to the realization that it was all fake, and that it was all a plot by The Angel.

What he did hurt him so much that he made himself forget everything, in contrast to Sans, who intentionally kept his memories as much as he could.

Now, let me look at a few of these points in further detail.

"Papyrus doesn't want to make fountains for friends, fun, or adventure. He wants to bring Heaven."

Well, I can smell a counterpoint coming.

If he is so desperate to bring Heaven, why would he not just start the Roaring right then and now?

Well, this is a fairly easy point to refute. The Angel told him to wait a few days.

Why? Well, this is quite simple to explain. Depending on whoever the Angel is, a day such as the Festival works. If it is December, she might allow Papyrus to bring the Roaring on the date of Asriel's return, which is actually quite interesting in its own right.

Sans says you'll most likely see Papyrus again when Asriel returns. This is likely sometime between Chapter 5 and Chapter 7, however it is most likely during Chapter 5 proper, as that chapter is likely to take place in the Flower King shop. There are also many reasons to believe Chapter 5 will end with the Roaring beginning and heavily feature the Knight, such as Chess Theory and the original release schedule.

Why would Sans know this? Well, he has demonstrated that his power of 'reading minds' is still something he can do. He has a strong amount of knowledge that is not normally explainable, such as the general release window for DELTARUNE: Chapter 2. Alternatively, he could have come from a previous DELTARUNE timeline which was destroyed, in other terms Take One. Such a thing is nothing new for Sans and Papyrus, after all. This would explain that amount of knowledge far more definitively, however it does also create some questions, so for now we will leave it at that.

Other than that, we can make sure the Knight isn't in it for fun as I previously discussed they have a more serious purpose, and are even creating purpose for some Darkners such as Spade King.

"In Undertale, we see his 'I WILL BE THE ONE!' mentality which may carry over into his attitude as the Knight."

So, back to Lost SOUL Papyrus. I believe this line from him, "THEN EVERYONE WILL" holds the key.

At first, it seems like it's continuing his previous line, being "I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!"

But, this line is weird. It appears to be a full sentence. "THEN EVERYONE WILL." Some may argue this is just referencing another line of his—him talking about being showered in kisses and whatnot—but this line ends in a period. This is a full sentence.

I believe that this is a double meaning; Papyrus longing for love from those who he 'saves' in the Undertale world, and him longing for outright worship from those who he gives Heaven to in the Deltarune reality.

One important thing to mention about Papyrus' attitude is that the way he presents himself is often different than the way he is. For example, in Japanese, he changing his "I" pronoun depending on if Sans is with him.

"The angel has deceived him into believing he will be the saviour of the world."

This one plays into his dynamic with Asriel, so let's just run that back a bit.

As you most definitely know, Papyrus was deceived by Asriel into becoming his friend and eventually executing a major part of his plan in Undertale's pacifist route. However, this is FAR more lighthearted than an Angel deceiving someone into causing mass destruction and cataclysmic events.

Well, this is why I believe Angel's Paradise theory ties well into this one. If the Angel showed Papyrus a vision of Heaven, a perfect heaven designed to make him as happy as possible, he would be compelled to do anything for that reward. It doesn't even need to be out of selfishness, that Heaven could have included happiness for Sans as well.

But, how are we to believe an Angel can create a false reality?

Well, first of all, Heaven is a heavily hinted at thing in Deltarune. But beyond that, Asriel has shown himself capable of destroying true realities.

If a god-level being can destroy a reality with a single attack, then I can absolutely see one creating false realities.

Now, if Papyrus was deceived into believing he would truly bring Heaven, and he was shown that this Heaven was good, it would absolutely convince him to overthrow kings and to risk destroying everything he knew.

It would simply be a more extreme form of what he did in Undertale's Pacifist route, after all.

"What he did hurt him so much that he forced him to forget."

I already covered this earlier, during the Papyrus' Disremembrance segment.

However, I do want to expand a little more on a specific argument against it here.

I've seen Papyrus' ignorance at what a human looks like being used as a point against him being from the Deltarune world, or a point against him having met Kris.

Now, if Papyrus' Disremembrance theory is correct, that explains that argument away.

Next, let's look at another popular Knight candidate and how he could fit into this theory...

Alvin's Relevance

This is more of a random thought than a core part of the theory, but Alvin could play an Undyne-esque role in Papyrus' journey here.

I know that sounds like a stretch, but hear me out.

Undyne was inspired by Gerson into hunting humans and wanted to be the one to get Asgore the final human SOUL.

She eventually led Papyrus into wanting the same.

Now, Alvin is Gerson's son and he is worried about living up to his name—he asks if it it right for this hammer to do something strange—which is very interesting.

Gerson "got his ideas from dreams" and very likely was a creator of Dark Fountains.

Now, Alvin is devoted to the Angel and may be intrigued by Darkness.

I do not believe there are multiple Knights, but he could absolutely be in some sort of cahoots with Papyrus.

Papyrus' Heaven - Conclusion

This is my first long-form theory, and I hope you liked it. Please point out errors or holes, and I'll go back and edit them!

Now, I know this'll absolutely be a landslide for "No" but here's a little poll for fun!

#undertale #deltarune #papyrus

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arezenithofyouthlove · 5 months

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Congratulation manhwa. You managed to turn hell arc, one of the most emotional parts of the novel, into some half-half shitty ass comedy show. I'm so disappointed I swear. My quick review of current arc, beware of strong language

Chap 112: overuse of Lloyd's face as normal. Javier has better interaction with a demon than with his master???

Chap 113: using the information in the hell Internet with only 40% true to bet for your life is stupid Lloyd. Why don't they just stick to the original where Lloyd knew Helkaro's personality through the Knight of Blood and Iron novel??? Wouldn't that make so much more sense??? All Helkaro's inner thoughts were removed. Javier casually asked Lloyd about his real identity. Urgh Lloyd's faces again 🤢

Chap 114: I don't think in the novel Lloyd acting like that or it's just manhwa adaption. But the fact they draw Lloyd tried to kill a satan crossing the lava river is disgusting. Also Lloyd's face 😮‍💨

Chap 115: the reaper adaptation is fucking stupid if you are asking me. Why didn't the reaper get that dark wizard dude soul from before? So if you practice dark magic you won't be dragged to hell at all? And you can stay on the living realm killing more people??? And the reaper talk with ogLloyd. Please shut up. Pretending to be a meaningful life lesson but it just didn't work. If Suho has system power back in Korea would he still be hardworking? Or will he also get corrupted by it too? That hypothetical question is so stupid. They are trying to make original Lloyd to be less hate-able. Since when did him care about the estate at all? Why do you need to reduce his crime?

Chap 116: this is when I feel they massacre Lloyd's character trait the most. They already did it for a long time but I will focus on this chap. How he treat to ogLloyd is completely different to the novel. Novel Lloyd knew he stole OgLloyd body so he tried to find a way to compensate him back, but manhwa Lloyd just told him to get lost cuz he didn't gain anything from doing that? Suho would never say something like that. Deep inside he is a kind hearted so he always felt guilty and wanted to help ogLloyd if he could. But look at him now? He only helped OgLloyd cuz he think he is a nuisance. Next we have the rail building situation. Lloyd was clearly in the wrong side but he acting like a real scum. He didn't even say sorry and just told the lava monster to accept it? And told Javier to kill it? For real? I can understand in the novel it was self defence since the lava monster didn't accept Lloyd's apologies but I can't make any excuse for his wrong doing in the manhwa. Are they trying to make him look like a jerk as much as possible in front of the satan eyes? Even Javier knew what Lloyd doing was wrong. Lloyd even shoved the satan to the ground while he is running away. Where is his "safety first" rule now? I know they are in hell but he didn't care about life of other at all. Novel Lloyd even built a grave for the unlucky satans died in the lava monster attack in secret but I guess doing that is too ooc with the current manhwa version of him.

Chap 117: Really? They draw Javier having fun by putting Lloyd in danger? Is this really the same Javier who swear he will protect Lloyd with his own life? And let Javier question that? This is just absurd and not funny at all. They are too focusing on drawing "comedy panel" to the point of making a person who already read the novel like me get sick of it. What irritating me is the fact that the adaption team knew they are ruining the novel source just so they can make Lloyd a money-making machine for them. Manhwa good art can't save it completely from a badly written plot lack of character development and interaction.

Chap 118: The summon acting like Lloyd. Also it seems like they forgot Bibelhyung original size is a giant beaver so they just draw the chibi version of him. Lloyd and OgLloyd talk... I wanna to strangle LHM so bad. This is not my Lloyd at all! HE DID NOT TREATING OGLLOYD LIKE THAT IN THE NOVEL. Now helping ogLloyd is just he doing free charity, oh how noble of him is that? Here come Helkaro and thing about system. I can see the adaption team try to make thing more interesting by bullshiting all the stuff about higher-being and upper side but I think it won't come to anywhere. The system is helping Lloyd too much, acting just like a convenient plot armor. This bring me back to the Destiny Point system, another stupid adaption in my opinion. It's an attempt of them to spoiler about the Prince Making Drug sequel, which in turn end up a total plot destroyer. It is literally a free version of Ending Spoiler now since it could notice Lloyd something bad happen in the future. The way it works is also questionable. How long can the butterfly effect last? The way it calculate the number of people life like mere data? Isn't it behaving like a chain sackle Lloyd at a predestined future now? It appeared after Alicia got that eyes but it didn't take that into calculation?

Phew. I will wait for chap 119 to get translated first then continue to vent, unless Tumble shadowban me like last time lol

#tged #the greatest estate developer

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femmefatalevibe · 2 years

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How do I stop feeling jealous and compare myself with anyone who seems to be doing well in life? Why can’t I feel happy for them? I feel so inferior when I see anyone flourishing esp people I personally know. I feel super competitive even if it is not what I truly want. How can I stop feeling jealous, please help me. It’s making me feel miserable 🙏🙏🙏

Hi love! First, I’m sorry that you’re struggling with some insecurity and jealous thoughts now! I want to validate your feelings and let you know you’re not alone. It sounds like you’re dealing with issues related to low self-esteem and need to build up your confidence/sense of self.

Here are my tips on how to build up your self-esteem and confidence, practice self-love, and manage your jealousy/deal with insecurity. Hope this is useful for your journey! xx

HOW TO BUILD SELF-ESTEEM & DESTROY JEALOUSY/INSECURITY

Get out of your scarcity mindset: Jealousy and envy all come from a place of lack. When you feel like you’re in competition with others, you’re essentially saying that there are limited opportunities or spots available in the world for you to claim the same achievement or title. E.g.: If you’re jealous that someone is getting better grades than you, has a lower body weight, has certain clothes, etc., you’re perpetuating the narrative that only a few people can have these accomplishments. This assumption is simply not the case! There’s always room for another high achiever, athlete, creative talent, employment within a certain career/industry, etc. Even if your success and route to success look different than the people you’re currently perceiving to be your competition, their accomplishments don’t take away from your potential in any way. Seek ways to cultivate an abundance mindset (can answer more specific questions on this, if desired, or dedicate another post to this topic, too!). Remember: There are an infinite number of unique opportunities, definitions of success, accomplishment, and fulfillment in this world and within your community/circle of influence.

We’re all the stars of our own movies: By nature, we are all self-focused. The only person you spend your entire life with is yourself. So, by design, we all see every decision or action (whether of our own or that of others), relative to ourselves – either how it affects us or how it stacks up against our own accomplishments or lived experiences. One of the most freeing facts to realize is that we all think this way! The person you feel jealous of is also probably thinking about how they’re doing in life relative to you and others as well. We are all the stars of our own movies – aka our life paths and lived experiences – everyone else is an extra, supporting character at the end of the day. While it’s important to form connections and live with respect and consideration for others, it’s important to focus on how your decisions, actions, and words affect your life trajectory. People don’t think about you nearly as much as they think about themselves. Remind yourself to focus on doing the same.

Stay in your lane: On a similar note, cut out the noise. Decide to focus on what you want out of life instead of thinking about what others are doing. Every second you waste thinking about what someone else is doing, you’re taking time away from working on your goals or doing something you love. The only person who can truly bring you happiness and fulfillment is YOU. Never give this special power away to anyone else!

Cultivate your sense of self: Once you start focusing on yourself, it’s time to find yourself. I’ve linked a few of my previous posts HERE, HERE, and HERE on how to cultivate your sense of self, design your dream girl archetype (ideal self/self-concept) and write out a personal manifesto – essentially a written document affirming all of your unique qualities, strengths, goals, and affirmations.

Design and implement daily confidence-boosting habits & self-love rituals: After you define who you are, your ideal self, and the qualities, character traits, skills, and values that define your current/future identities, you need to implement the right mindset, habits, and rituals to help you transform into the highest version of yourself. Think of habits or rituals as a form of confirmation bias to affirm any new self-perceptions (e.g.:I am worthy, confident, and self-sufficient. I succeed in my career field of choice, hold my own in conversations, and communicate with class and elegance), ways of living (I’m an early riser who knows how to prioritize and focus and get things done, go to the gym 3-4 days a week, etc.). In other words, once you start refining your speech, time blocking tasks, going to the gym, etc., you’re living as the person you want to be, so by the law of assumption, you’re attracting your ideal reality into existence through taking these consistent actions. Here’s a simple strategy to help you discover the most important habits and self-care routines you need to implement into your life:

What are my priorities in every area of my life (school, career, physical/emotional health, self-development, relationships, personal branding, finances, etc.)?

What goals do I consider non-negotiables in my life (short or long term)?

What areas of my life need the most improvement? What story do I tell myself about this situation? What are my current habits/thinking patterns in this area of my life? How can I reframe these thoughts to help myself? Why am I self-sabotaging?

What activities and people make me feel my best? What gives me energy? What helps me to unwind, relax, and destress?

Practice self-respect: While it takes some practice, the best way to unlearn jealousy is to practice self-regard, take care of yourself, and stay unbothered when it comes to the choices of others and their opinions about you. It becomes easier to remain unbothered once you create a life and personhood you love. Once you cultivate your sense of self and practice habits that build your self-love and confidence, you understand why we all need to look out for ourselves and the freedom this personal agency provides. This mindset and way of life also help you better empathize with others and value their need to do the same.

Remember, this process takes time, but the best thing you can do when you feel jealous or insecure is to focus on yourself and the unique qualities you have to offer yourself and the world. This mindset and understanding that there are infinite pathways to success and fulfillment, open your mind to help you get creative and strategize ways to reach your potential or satisfy your desires.

Once you cheer yourself on, you realize the competition is an illusion. The right members of this former club become your allies. Together, you can lift each other up to create an unstoppable support team. Haters only offer white noise or envy that proves you’re doing something right. Only those who take time to think about you privately will share their assumptions about you in public.

Best of luck! You got this xx

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discountscoobyart · 9 months

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hii, i just wanted to ask if you have any tips you have for someone who is just starting to do digital art and fan art in general? im just kinda lost because i don't even know where to start (for context, im a 2nd year art student but i only draw and paint traditionally bc im terrified of digital 😭)

im asking you because I've been following you on here for a while and i LOVE LOVE your art, i love how you draw intimacy so much and how you give the characters some different traits or details, it makes your art feel so special i love it<3

sorry for the long ask don't feel pressured to answer if you don't know what tips to give me (and im sorry for my awkward english, it's not my first language and im also autistic so it's Even harder)

have a great day/night <3<3

thank you so so much for your sweet message!!! 🩷

ive been in the spot actually, because for the majority of my art journey ive been drawing traditionally- ive started doing digital art like 3 years ago now

as far as tips go it really is just a lot of trial and error. digital art can be overwhelming because suddenly you have all these tools on your hand that you didn't have before. trying all the brushes and not being afraid to go out of your comfort zone are probably the most important things- don't be afraid to adjust and tinker with brush settings!!! one of my favorite brushes is one i custom made myself because i realized what i wanted in a brush!!

and don't be afraid of using the tools digital art has to offer!! a lot of them are different (and some people keep saying it's cheating but it's really not) but they're so helpful!! the lasso tool, color picking, references and 3d models, flipping your canvas etc.

doing studies, especially when it comes to colors and composition, help a lot too!! i was so overwhelmed with the coloring process in the beginning and eventually you'll figure out what works and what doesn't!!

fanart really is just drawing what you want to see but i really can't stress enough how fun and inspiring fan projects are!! big bangs and collabs and zines are the best way to meet other artists and find a community!! i've made so many friends through these things and they continue to inspire and help me out 🫶🏻

but yeah, other than that it's a lot of practice and trying things out and connecting to people- but that's also the most fun part 🩷

#you can do it!!!#ask #anon

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amphiptere-art · 5 months

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All right. The general consensus behind this post, Is that I really should give my sona a name. Which yes. They currently do not have a name. This is mostly because I had no idea what I would name them as. I still really don't.

Cheedon is a mixture of the two parts of that character. A cheetah and a smilodon. Dragon horse is a similar situation. A combining of two names. My dragon sona does not mix with this naming strategy. It is singularly a dragon. Particularly an amphiptere. Which is my favorite dragon type. It is not two animals.

Neither am I going to name this Sona The writer, The dreamer, or The creator. Those titles are God like only, and my other sonas also go by them.

So perhaps you can help me come up with some ideas?

Looking back... Well the creation of a new Sona was needed for the shift to going digital and because I haven't used Cheedon in ages. Cheedon has become a symbol of my youth. The days at school and the general fun and freedom at that age. I have in recent years given them the title of the god of paper. As they are legitimately supposed to be a representation of every work I have done in physical notebooks.

Where are the design came from? Well it's a funny story. I have something I call recurring drawings. Reoccurring drawings is usually a design that I have drawn million times over. Usually just under a different story or perhaps a practice in a pose or skeletal structure that I remember doing but just don't want to dig for the old notebook. These are also usually things I draw during an art block or when I'm bored.

My dragon sona is based entirely off of these reoccurring drawings and the thousands of dragons faces I draw when bored. If I really wanted to I could go through a notebook and I could probably point out at least one illustration that had at least one trait that is on my dragon sona now.

The fangs are taking directly from a reoccurring drawing where I draw them in that exact fashion. Amphitheres are of course my favorite dragon. They're legitimately everywhere. The fin crest I have drawn many times on many different creatures, not just dragons.

I basically just boiled these favorite design choices I always have into a character. Creating my dragon soda as we see it.

Now of course they have other powers. Other than of course being an avatar for the writer like God placement. They also have the specific choice to change their size. This is actually stolen from another one of my characters. Clockwork once known as tick tock. Is another shape-shifting amphithere. Although they specifically shift into weapons. The last thing they can do is light themselves on fire. Usually though I refine this to the fins on the tail and wings.

So now you have a bit of traits and a little bit of history. Hopefully that gives you guys a chance to maybe think of names?

I of course tried the brainstorm myself. Most of the ideas for names are usually creativity or art-based. Pencil, creativity, art, margins, artistic, memory, future, etc. these are all random and based more so on why they were made. I'm not really sure which one of these names is good. Neither do I know the naming convention is smart. I don't want to necessarily name them Amphiptere Art. Mostly because calling them what they are feels weird.

#please help me name them #cuz I don't have any good ideas.#dragon Sona #dragon squeaks #little dragon #dragons #dragon #fantasy art #artists on tumblr #artist of tumblr #artists of tumblr #character art #art #sams #tsams #tsams au #sams au

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birlwrites · 3 months

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(Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw anon) Well, now I am definitely intrigued about Hufflepuff. If you would be willing to do a spoiler post, I'd be interested.

wow look at me tackling my askbox

i got this question from a few people so here y'all go!! (and here's the original ask)

as always, if you DO NOT want spoilers about atfhv and have not yet filtered the #atfhv spoilers tag, do that now!!

much of my thinking about hufflepuff in this universe is that, like...... hufflepuff is SO underutilized. jkr's personal beliefs about valuable traits really bleed through in how she a) defines and b) treats the different houses, and i find canon hufflepuff to be such a bland treatment of what it means to actually take a bunch of people whose main character trait, as defined by jkr, is not being unafraid of a hell of a lot of hard work, and putting them in a room together and saying 'okay, your house was founded on the principle that nobody should be denied an education based on an outsider's opinion of their merit. the other three houses at this school take pride in their Qualities and think of you as kind of the catch-all house for people who don't fit anywhere else. now what are you going to do about it'

i also think of hufflepuff as being a house that does value tradition - they're the counterbalance to ravenclaw, and eminently practical, in a 'this works, so i'm going to buckle down and get it done while you're busy fantasizing about a better way to do it' way. they've never cared much for sweeping changes being imposed on them by others, especially when those changes don't seem particularly useful, or when they seem like fruitless (or actively impedimental) lip service to an agenda

and, perhaps most importantly, they are realistic. they firmly believe that you have to accept what reality is (in the sense of not being in denial about The Real State Of Things, not in the sense of *approving* of it), and then you can actually get things done. if you're in denial, pretending things aren't the way they are, you're going to waste time and effort on not getting anywhere at all.

like, here's an example: if you're taking ALL the students who aren't deemed 'worthy' of the other houses, you're going to have to teach them. anything else is a violation of your house's founding principle. and you can't teach every student exactly the same way and expect them all to succeed. you have to accept that different students learn differently and struggle with different things, and some of them will need more help than others, and some of them are going to struggle a lot in a traditional academic setting, and it would be really, really difficult to change the way hogwarts teaches when you'd be likely to get resistance from the (very conservative-minded) board of trustees, the ministry, people who are worried about standardized test scores, etc.

you have to accept that reality before you can go 'okay, so, how do we make sure these students succeed anyway?' otherwise, you're just wasting your time on something futile and not getting any results.

what does all of that mean?

it means hufflepuff has a thriving tradition of studying dark arts, and bringing new people into their group, that has lasted as long as slytherin's has. like, why would they throw that out the window just because the ministry told them to? this shit is powerful magic. it's useful, too. they're not just going to stop because it scares the muggles - they're always going to scare the muggles, it's part of having magic. might as well just accept reality and get on with your life

'but wait!' you say. 'why doesn't regulus know about this, if this tradition has really been going on for so long?'

to which i say: because hufflepuffs are great at accepting reality. the slytherin dark arts study group is an open secret. they don't face consequences because people either dismiss it as superstition or know that there's no way they'd be able to make anything stick, what with slytherin's very deep ties to the wizengamot (and the government in general). hufflepuff does not have the advantage of a dark, creepy aesthetic and an immediate connotation of shitloads of money and political power. plenty of people think that lots of hufflepuffs probably aren't very bright since they got put into the Everyone Else house. even their slytherin counterparts might be skeptical about hufflepuff's ability to keep this a secret - after all, they weren't put in the cunning house, were they?

so hufflepuff uses the slytherin group as cover - or rather, the rumors about the slytherin group. who on earth would look at *hufflepuff* for evidence of dark arts, especially when slytherin is right next to them being all cunning and ambitious?

and, unfortunately, this means that they have to keep the existence of their study group VERY much on the DL. the stakes of people suspecting them are a lot higher, since they don't have the same smokescreen that slytherin does. they can use slytherin as a shield, but there's a limit to how useful that shield will be

the hufflepuff study group tends to be smaller than the slytherin study group. they are also more likely to bring in people who weren't raised in the dark network, because continuity is important to them and they want to keep this group going, even though hufflepuff tends to get fewer dark scions than slytherin does. that being said, the love of tradition and pressing need for secrecy is a double-edged sword - there are blood purists in hufflepuff, they're just polite about it. and a lot of those purists can be found in the dark arts study group, politely Not discussing politics with each other since arnold macmillan is like, right there, and he's a *macmillan*, and all of that

blood purity in hufflepuff is less about magical capability and more about safety from muggles, which is why it flies under the radar in comparison to slytherin

but they're often not big voldemort fans. bc like, wtf is he doing.

and, similar to ravenclaw, there's a range of opinions re: dumbledore, generally highly correlated with their ties to the dark network or lack thereof

and this will all become important very, VERY soon.

#atfhv spoilers #should i make an inbox tag #dark lord wip

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