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webscene-remade · 3 years

Note

Do you have a link to the What Pumpkin statement? I need the details.

i'll just paste the text because theres too much for me to get in 10 screenshots, it was in an email to hiveswap backers

For backers only

Over the years, a lot of misinformation as well as deliberate disinformation has spread around about the history of Hiveswap. The purpose of this post is to clarify these matters for backers who've been wondering what the truth is.

The Kickstarter was planned by the What Pumpkin business development team in mid 2012. One member of the team was a crowdfunding specialist who led the planning process and managed the contracts with the developer. Prior to the Kickstarter opening for pledges, What Pumpkin worked out a plan for a flexible game concept that could be refined according to how much the campaign ultimately brought in. As Hussie was still working on Homestuck full time at this point, the plan was to hand over his game concept and story outline to a development company that could deliver the project.

The crowdfunding campaign finished out at a gross total of $2,485,506, as well as a gross total of $207,930 from PayPal pledges. But because of platform fees, as well as the costs of producing and shipping merchandise to backers of the campaign, the effective budget was significantly lower than the gross pledged total:

The above deductions from the gross total do not include taxes.

After determining the final budget for the game, What Pumpkin signed an agreement with the contracted game company (hereafter “GC”) to develop Hussie’s game concept. WP and GC entered into a development contract on November 30, 2012, shortly after the conclusion of the Homestuck Kickstarter. WP paid $788,000 to GC in late 2012 for development.

Because there was an understanding that delivering the complete game development documents would take some time, during which it would be difficult for GC to make meaningful progress on the Hiveswap game build, GC inquired about getting involved with other Homestuck-adjacent projects to do immediate work. WP let GC know about the Act 7 animation plans. With an assurance that this work could be done in parallel with a flexible timeline and would not impact the development cycle of Hiveswap itself, Hussie and What Pumpkin saw this as a good opportunity to establish a working relationship with this organization prior to the start of development and agreed to contract GC to do animation work for the Act 7 project. WP and GC agreed that this project would have a separate budget from the Hiveswap Kickstarter money, paid for from WP’s regular operating funds. As the existence of this animation itself would not be revealed until its release in 2016, this was not publicly announced at the time. GC and the lead animator on the project specifically requested not to be credited upon release of the animation.

Hussie initiated the “Megapause” on April 14, 2013 in order to devote his full attention to finalizing the Hiveswap development documents. What Pumpkin soon provided its story documents so that GC could formally begin core systems development. In July of 2013 WP and GC mutually agreed to push back GC’s deliverable dates without penalty. Hussie would share an update in 2013 detailing the state of predevelopment: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/14293468/homestuck-adventure-game/posts/708686

In 2013 following receipt of WP’s deliverables, GC enthusiastically assured WP that it was positioned to begin development. GC would deliver its first prototype in early 2014.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qSXwWKD5Km1yL-3Cj_W5IevW-IA978zJ/view?usp=sharing

This prototype, linked above, was sent to WP on 2/18/14. At this point, it was becoming a significant concern among backers that WP had yet to show proof that the game was being made, so WP was looking for any sort of tangible progress update from GC that was suitable to share with the public. But Hussie and WP found the quality of the prototype somewhat alarming, and decided that sharing any shots from the game would only cause embarrassment for GC. Nevertheless, WP was still willing to assume that this was a very early draft of something that would develop into a more promising product soon, and gave GC some more time to improve on it.

But the improvements didn’t come. No other advancements on the prototype were ever made. After waiting weeks with no update other than assurances that progress was carrying on smoothly, Hussie initiated the “Gigapause” both to take care of personal matters and later to get directly involved in the development of the game himself. He decided to move to southern California from the east coast in hopes that working directly with the GC could help them overcome whatever obstacles they were facing with Hiveswap’s development. GC responded positively to the prospect of Hussie’s involvement, but when he made the move and tried to coordinate a time to visit the GC offices and meet, GC insisted it was a bad time due to office renovations and a busy schedule. Here is a timeline with quotes from emails exchanged between Hussie and GC:

May 12, 2014 - from Hussie to GC

“Just letting you know I actually moved to the west coast recently. I'm only an hour or so away from LA now.

I could drive down and check out the office, see how things are going with the game and animation in person some time soon. Is there a time that would work for you guys? In a week or two maybe?”

May 15, 2014 - from GC to Hussie

“That's awesome about being on the west coast. It'd be great to have you come to the studio.

Dev has slowed a bit on our end, as we wanted to take a step back and really evaluate what was needed and the best way to achieve the features that have been coming online in the docs. We're continuing to break that all down so we can build and plan most effectively moving forward. We also wanted to find some simple formats for input from your writing team for dialogue content and are getting that squared away.

The best time to come by would actually be right after E3. Things are a bit nuts until then.”

May 18, 2014 - from Hussie to GC

“[Name redacted], sounds good. I'll set aside some time after E3 to make the drive down. As we approach the date, just let me know what works for you.”

E3 was June 10-12, 2014. GC did not invite Hussie to visit at this time.

Hussie and WP representatives were in LA over July 4th weekend, 2014. When they inquired about visiting the offices again they were still not welcome. A GC representative insisted that they meet at a restaurant instead. Yet GC continued to telegraph that they were receptive to the idea of inviting Hussie to the office well into the summer:

Aug 18, 2014 - from GC to Hussie

“We'd love to set up a new time for Andrew to come to the studio as well as a skype chat to meet the other team members.”

Despite apparent enthusiasm about meeting with Andrew in their email correspondence, GC continued the pattern of refusing to meet at the office or supply any signs of progress on the prototype.

Over that summer, GC delivered several pieces of concept art that WP had been requesting since January. Hussie did his best to present this publicly as a positive development as WP felt it would be counterproductive to the project and harmful to GC to publicly detail the development troubles at the time.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/14293468/homestuck-adventure-game/posts/883860

There was no indication from GC that the Act 7 animation project was in any way in conflict with Hiveswap development. GC was enthusiastic about taking on this project, and bidded against other animators for the contract. They saw it as a useful tie-in to concept art work on Hiveswap, as GC leadership conveyed in an email to WP in early 2013:

WP also does not have any reason to believe that the Act 7 project in practice created a conflict that was not disclosed by GC to WP. Act 7 was a 2D animation project, and Hiveswap at the time was a 3D game, so it did not pull GC’s programmers or 3D artists away from work on Hiveswap. GC never mentioned the development needs of a separate project at all to WP, or cited any such reason as distracting from work on Hiveswap; GC instead repeatedly provided WP with various assurances that everything was still fine with Hiveswap.

Had GC communicated that they had scheduling conflicts or some other impediment preventing them from developing Hiveswap, WP would have terminated the contract even sooner.

WP moved to terminate the agreement with GC late summer of 2014, and Hussie pivoted towards establishing a new independent game studio while consulting with a designer who had stepped up into a leadership position during the GC development period. That individual lived in NYC, which is why that location was chosen to establish the new studio rapidly. They helped build the studio through a local network of professional contacts. While this “What Pumpkin NYC” studio shared a name with What Pumpkin, it’s important to note that all of WP NYC’s studio staff save for the aforementioned individual were hired without any prior affiliation with WP and thus had no association with the GC contract. WP documented this development on Kickstarter on October 30th, 2014. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/14293468/homestuck-adventure-game/posts/1035099

At this point, negotiations were very amicable; both parties agreed the project simply wasn’t turning out to be a good fit for GC, and were both ready to move on. There were no signs given at all that WP was about to have trouble recovering the remaining funds.

WP is legally permitted to discuss details of the resolution of the dispute only under very specific circumstances. WP may make additional disclosures outside of this post to individual backers in accordance with legal obligations.

Following resolution of the GC contract, in Spring 2015 the WP NYC studio was running at full capacity on Hiveswap. The main problem was the fact that WP management was blindsided by the revelation that much less money would be coming back than expected. The WP NYC project manager had designed the schedule based on the good faith presumption that most of the development funds would be recouped. When it was finally revealed the return was far short of what was expected, and the repayment plan could in no way keep up with the schedule as currently drafted, it threw the project into a period of chaos as plans were quickly redrawn. The length of Act 1 was slashed, and other modifications were made to try to fit the rest of Act 1 into the newly shortened runway. But in the end, the revisions still weren't enough to save the game as it existed, and the studio needed to be closed in order to reserve what funds remained to finish the project in some form.

This may have come across as a sudden or spontaneous decision. Part of this is because the WP NYC senior staff and WP ownership were doing everything in their power to save the project, including injecting WP regular operating funds into the project, until it was determined that going any further would be disastrous for the future of Hiveswap. Another is that WP was legally unable to give any detailed disclosures about the financial troubles, even to many of the WP NYC staff.

It should also be noted that originally the NYC studio was not going to be permanently closed, but only frozen for a reassessment of the project. But during this freeze period, there were some dramatic events. One staff member behaved in a destructive and threatening manner. For the protection of those involved, details shouldn't be disclosed. But these events made navigating the post-freeze issues impossible. Communication between ownership, management and staff broke down because of these events, and the freeze turned into full closure. This version of the project was then abandoned for many reasons, including these events.

Some misinformation claims that at the time the WP NYC studio was shuttered, its iterations of Act 1 and 2 were complete. This is wrong. Act 1 was very far from a shippable state and absolutely no work on Act 2 had been completed besides some concept and 3D art. Here you can see a video documenting one of many major bugs with critical path progression in the final build produced by WP NYC, where it becomes impossible to re-focus on the Simon Says toy if Joey fails and then exits out of the puzzle:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M2mmkMx8Wkwp1VU_5IpMKDvngmUFS0IG/view?usp=sharing

At the point the WP NYC studio was frozen it was still difficult to finish a full run of the critical path without the debug tool, and the UI was far from complete. With that build, Act 1 ended the moment Joey passed through the portal on Earth. The current version of Act 1, where Joey makes it to Alternia and meets Xefros, is more indicative of the original length of the NYC version of Act 1. Not only did it need to be slashed from what the original script proposed, the NYC version of Act 1 still wasn't that close to resembling a shippable product after those changes were made.

Because of the amount of time and resources already devoted to this project, WP was initially very reluctant to lay anyone off or scrap the work being done. It was for this reason that the studio stayed open for months after the contract with GC was resolved; WP made every effort to deliver a game with that team, but at the time WP NYC was shuttered, the funds just weren't there to keep the studio running at its current burn rate and schedule slips. The game was never going to reach delivery with the funds available. The studio urgently needed to be frozen for a full reassessment, and then it was closed after the freeze due to the reasons stated above. This was the only course of action that could have saved the project.

To WP's knowledge every artist whose work was used in the final release of Act 1 was included in the credits. The final version of Act 1 was in large part built off concept art and storyboards drawn during the WP NYC era, and many of the artists who made them continued to work on the team that produced the final version of Act 1; the roadmap for the completion of Act 1 was specifically planned because WP had determined that the existing 2D concepts could easily be refined into a final product that would both be visually appealing and more economic to produce. Unfortunately due to the transition to 2D WP no longer had a place for the 3D artists or the original 3D engine, and all of those assets were dropped. They were not used as a basis for the finished assets in Act 1, and visual similarities to WP NYC 3D assets are due to the fact that final Act 1 assets are in large part refinements of the original concept art. Any artist whose work was used incidentally was included in Additional Contributions.

Both the GC and NYC phases of Hiveswap were setbacks to the overall fulfillment of the project, but not insurmountable. WP reorganized the budget to establish a new version of the studio, and Act 1 was released two years after the closure of NYC.

As an addendum, WP has identified the primary source of a disclosure to a well-circulated document of the Hiveswap development process. WP has been aware of a pattern of false claims this former employee has made since the end of their employment at the beginning of 2014. As this individual was not present during the end of the development contract with GC, nor the WP NYC development period, all of the information they have shared is based on speculation and conjecture.

At this time, WP does not wish to invite more controversy into the lives of anyone previously involved with this project, and considers these matters to have been resolved long ago. The goal for years has been to turn the page on flawed attempts by earlier studios, and simply move forward and bring Hiveswap to completion without sparking the chaos, disruption, and threats to personal safety that would have resulted from disclosing many of the details stated above. Doing so would only make it more difficult for the staff to rebuild the project during these periods immediately following the termination of the GC agreement and closure of the NYC studio. Since preservation of the project was the primary responsibility to the backers, making destructive disclosures that put the project at risk along the way would have been at odds with that responsibility. This policy also served to protect individuals from personal or professional harm, including those who were responsible for serious setbacks with the project. Please respect the privacy of any persons affiliated with GC and WP NYC.

#homestuck #replies #anonymous #hiveswap

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thedamageofherdays · 3 years

Text

This week's (16-08-2021 - 22-08-2021) reading log is here. This week's reading log is super duper long and filled with lots of good things (my apologies for the long post, I really could not find a good spot to do a read more). I discovered some new favourites and re-read some old favourites and while I had an intense week personally at least the fics I read were absolutely phenomenal. I do recommend checking out the warnings as some fics are a bit heavier/angstier and you might wanna be prepared. Most of these fics are Stucky but there are a couple of other ships in between.

If you are looking for more fun and/or good things make sure to check out the @marveldisabilitycelebration as well to see all the awesome art, fics, meta, etcetera people created! And while I am mentioning events I am a mod for let me also just quickly mention that sign-ups for the @stuckygiftexchange are still open until the end of the month <3

Favourites are marked with a 🌻 Fics that are only available to AO3 users are marked with a 🔒 and Tumblr fics are marked with a 🍀

🌻 The Bends by dreamsinthewitchouse @dreamsinthewitchouse [Danbeau, side Stucky, 2k words, Teen]

Memory is not a house you can just walk back into after finding the key you thought you’d lost. It’s a thing you wade into and out of, rewriting it as it rewrites you.

It’s not without its rewards, either - recovering a memory about Maria and Monica, about her life, feels better than socking a thousand bad guys in the face, better than all the photon blasts in the world.

Then again, realising there’s still memories she can’t access, even after all this time, feels like drowning in space.

Not the one out there - the one inside her.

🌻 Sweet & Salty by musette22 @musette22 [Stucky, 3k words, Teen]

Idiots in love. That's it. That's the fic.

When life gives you lemons by moonythejedi394 @moonythejedi394 [Stucky, 34k words, Explicit] (11/15 chapters)

Or 13 Terrible Things to Do With Lemons Other Than Making Lemonade

Steve Rogers is a home health nurse. He works for an agency, which assigned him to the aging Winifred Barnes, the one and only Silent Era Hollywood darling. As her needs increased, she requested the agency assign Steve to her full-time. She could pay for it, so she got it. Steve then moved in with her, becoming her caregiver; he cooked, he cleaned, he managed her medications, he made sure she was comfortable.

Winifred's children treated him less than ideally. He was the help, after all. And then Steve had the audacity to go and turn out to be eldest son James Barnes's soulmate. No one saw that coming.

🍀 SamRhodey Tumblr Fic by ipoiledi [SamRhodey, ? words, Teen?]

“Wilson, this is Rhodey; Rhodey, Wilson,” Tony Stark says, and suddenly some six foot tall sexy guy is shoved right in front of Sam, and they both stumble a little, bumping into each other. This is a crowded party. “You guys have things in common, right?” Stark asks. “Uh, Army stuff. Talk about that. I hate wallflowers; stop wallflowering and talk to each other.”

Shorteralls by moonythejedi394 [Stucky, 6k words, Explicit]

The first time Bucky ever saw Steve Rogers, he was struck by how Neanderthal-like his response was. It was immediately followed by a bout of mental scolding. The second time was just about the same. The third time, it was actually appropriate for Bucky to start a conversation with him, at which point he was determined to be the gentleman.

No such luck. Steve Rogers is, always has been and always will be, a relentless flirt. These days, Bucky's Neanderthal-ist feelings about Steve are consensual and highly appreciated. More so now that they're having a baby.

what the fuck are perfect places anyway by tigerlilycorinne [Stucky, 6k words, Teen]

Steve clears his throat and stands. “Well, I should head in. I might want to begin packing.”

Bucky stills. “You won’t,” he says, trying to sound commanding. It only comes out uncertain. “Don’t.”

Steve shakes his head. “Maybe not tonight,” he says, and Bucky knows they’ll be discussing this again soon.

“Then stay. Play… play cards with me or something.”

Steve’s eyebrows jump up, his mouth tugging up in another of his bemused smiles that do things to Bucky’s insides, but he drops his hand from the doorway and steps back into Bucky’s room. Somehow, Bucky feels as if he’s won—not the war, just the battle.

Steve won’t stay forever. But he’ll stay for cards.

Steve and Bucky, on the run after Civil War (with a few alterations to canon), are laying low in Wakanda. But they can’t stay there forever.

🌻 honestly thought i’d be dead by now, but what you can trust is that i need your touch by moonythejedi394 [Stucky, 105k words, Explicit]

Bucky is 37 years old; he’s unmarried, hasn’t had a Sub of his own, is definitely not ripped, comfortable at his job as an Advanced Practice RN at Brooklyn General ER, and just got his Five Years coin from AA.

Steve is 26 years old; he’s unmarried, his last and only Dom has Alzheimer's, he's worryingly muscular, uncomfortable in his job as the government’s poster Alpha for masculinity and strength, and worries more than he should about his BMI.

Unfortunately, Steve and Bucky meet initially in a not-cute moment. Bucky’s tired as shit thanks to the sudden alien invasion that shook New York and Steve is tired as shit because he hasn’t slept more than 20 minutes at a time in – well, since 1936, probably. Bucky’s Alpha instincts get irritated at the sudden presence of another "Alpha" into his territory and Steve’s suppressed submissive tendencies latch onto this grumpy bachelor Alpha and he only suppresses it further.

Bucky’s grumpiness and Steve’s duckling impressionism aside, both of them are a mess. But since both of them are a mess? Their messes seem to fit pretty well together.

Deep Sea Diving by Aida Ronan [Stucky, 5k words, Explicit]

Steve's wallowing in heat-related misery under a shade tree in Central Park when a man walks by in bright red booty shorts and a crop top. RIP Steve Rogers. It was nice knowing you.

honey, make this easy by steebadore [Stucky, 8k words, Explicit]

Bucky likes the way he looks. His silk button up with the tiny gold polka dots feels soft on his skin and is tailored perfectly; no pulling at his chest or belly. His hair falls in shiny dark waves and his skin is smooth and dewy. He looks expensive. He looks taken care of. He looks like Steve’s.

🌻 let's take it back to the start by howdoyousleep @howdoyousleep3 [Stucky, 6k words, Teen]

How it all began.

This sleepwalking through my life. by barthelme [Stucky, 1k words, Explicit]

The internet is an interesting place and when Bucky came home (or, when he came to live with Steve), Steve did a lot of research. Apparently, it’s not safe to wake a sleepwalker. He assumes that waking a sleepwalker with traumatic dreams and PTSD is beyond just being frowned upon.

And he tells himself--has told himself--that this is safer for Bucky. That if he were to stop him and wake him up, that Bucky would be mortified to be slurping on his best friend’s cock. That all of the improvements he’s made would be lost, would be repressed, would be just--

They’d be back at square one.

So he lets Bucky do it.

🌻 the way i've been craving by howdoyousleep [Stucky, 3k words, Explicit]

"Lunch break at 12:30. My office. Hope you’re hungry…"

It’s the ellipsis that sends Bucky’s insides swimming warmly, his heart beating twice as fast against his ribs where he sits in class. Senator Rogers is concise, direct, to the point. Without an ellipsis this is lunch, this is a meeting. With it though?

This is a booty call.

nasty but classy by howdoyousleep [Stucky, 4k words, Explicit]

“No, you don’t have to know the purpose, that doesn’t matter. Nat showed me this challenge where couples drink a lot of wine and get drunk together but they can’t touch each other. And whoever touches the other first has to...has to give the other head.”

🌻 Put It on Repeat, It Stays the Same by giselleslash [Stucky, 20k words, Explicit]

Steve and Bucky have a one night stand that turns into a friends with benefits situation. A weekend snowed in at Bucky’s apartment brings to light how much that really doesn’t suit either one of them.

Greetings to the New Brunette by victoria_p (musesfool) [Stucky, 10k words, General]

"You said he should have a hobby. That it would help."

"I meant, like, knitting or coin collecting. Motocross, if he was feeling antsy. A baby's not a hobby. It's lifetime commitment."

🌻 Rogers & Barnes: Partners by triedunture [Stucky, 10k words, Teen]

Steve and Bucky have to pose as a couple for a mission. Nat insists it really is the only option. She's checked.

The complication: unbeknownst to even Natasha, Steve and Bucky's friendship has been rocky ever since Bucky confessed his tender feelings and Steve left him out in the cold. Can asexual, completely-in-love-with-his-angry-best-friend Steve complete the mission and win Bucky's heart?

(The answer is yes. Yay!)

this will be our year (took a long time to come) by biblionerd07 [Stucky, 4k words, General]

Bucky's therapist is worried he's using Steve as a crutch and wants him to try going on outings without Steve. It wouldn't be terrible, honestly, if Bucky could just manage to open his mouth and say something to Steve.

I'll hold my breath by Little_Lottie (tfwatson) [Stucky, 8k words, Mature]

Sometimes Bucky’s hands flex in Steve's direction. Neither of them knows exactly why, but at least one of them has a hunch.

Bucky touches everything but Steve, even though Steve is all he really wants to touch.

Start from the Beginning by Mumble_Bee [Stucky, 13k words, Explicit]

What about a sex pollen fic where the pollen-ed one doesn’t remember getting hit in the face with a sex flower, and wakes up midway through the depollenating?

Or: the one where Steve wakes up on his back with a stranger buried balls-deep in his ass.

Match by emphasisonem [Stucky, 4k words, Mature]

The situation’s actually kind of funny from the right perspective, Bucky thinks as he reads the message for what feels like the hundredth time. He’s finally matched with a hot, funny guy. Tall and broad and clean cut. An absolutely breathtaking smile. Bucky’s walking wet dream. And he’s good. They haven’t messaged on the app, but Bucky already knows him.

He knows him because Steve Rogers is an art history professor at his university. His art history professor.

Best friends and married since childhood by StuckySituation [Stucky, 1k words, General]

Inspired by @/peterssquill's post in tumblr: "bucky and steve got married on the playground when they were like eight and though neither of them would ever admit it to anyone, even each other, they still consider it official"

~♥~ ♥~ ♥~

“Natasha, stop trying to set me up with every woman you meet, I’m-”

“Too shy? Too scared?”

“No, I’m-”

“Too busy? You’re mostly retired these days, not a good excuse anymore.” Natasha smirks and then drawls: “Or just too gay?”

Steve flushes at that, even if isn’t true -- he’s bisexual, not gay. “Let it go, Nat, I’m not looking for anything. I’m already married, for fuck’s sake.”

Clearly not what she expected. “What.”

Steve grimaces. He didn’t mean to tell anyone that, ever.

“Sorry, can’t talk about it right now!” he says and jumps out of the plane.

Nobody Should Be Alone on a Holiday by emphasisonem [Stucky, 2k words, Teen]

“So, um-” Bucky begins speaking again, pulling Steve from his less-than-work-appropriate thoughts. The brunet has shoved his hands into the pockets of his dark slacks, and he’s shifting from one foot to the other as he smiles shyly. “I have a question for you.”

“Shoot,” Steve grins, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his broad chest. Bucky swallows deeply as one of his hands comes up to pull at the collar of his button-up, and Steve can’t help following the motion of his Adam’s apple.

“I was, uh-” Bucky continues- “That is, I heard you don’t have Thanksgiving plans?”

In which Bucky finds out that Steve's going to be alone on Thanksgiving and invites his coworker to spend the holiday with him.

🌻 It's Been A Long Season Through by thiccbuckybarnes @thiccbuckybarnesfic [Stucky, 49k words, Explicit]

Bucky Barnes is in desperate need of a change in scenery, which is why he makes the foolhardy decision to quit his job, leave his asshole of a fiance, pack up his life, and move to his grandfather’s old farm all within a single day.

He expects confusion, hardship, and maybe even failure. But love? He wasn’t expecting that.

Or, a Stucky Stardew Valley AU that nobody but me wanted and that’s ok.

oh, peach pit, where'd the hours go? by thiccbuckybarnes [Stucky, 10k words, Explicit]

Can't see the forest for the trees.

Or, Steve learns that just because he and Bucky got their happily ever after, it doesn’t mean the past won’t come back to bite them.

I'll find my way by rainbow_nerds [Stucky, 725 words, Teen]

Steve had watched Bucky fall, and nothing had been the same since.

AU-gust day 19: Daemons

special delivery by glim @glim [Stucky, 6k words, Teen]

It's not that Steve's bad at taking care of himself when he gets sick; he just wishes he didn't have to all the time.

At least he can order most of what he needs online. That's some small comfort, that he can have soup and ice cream and everything else brought to his door.

at first chance i'd take the bed warmed by the body by spacebuck @spacebuck [Stucky, 8k words, Explicit]

This close, Steve can see exactly how beautiful his hands are. He’s never really noticed before, or at least he’s never really had a reason to notice, but the man’s hands are large, tanned like he works outside all day. There’s an endearing callus on the heel of one of his palms, and Steve can’t quite work out when calluses became endearing.

Steve pauses the video. Swallows hard. Casts his eyes around for anything that’ll keep his mind off the hands on his screen, off the words inked into those hands, the delicate shape of a bird’s wing, the curling edge of a vine.

He looks down. The name of the channel is right there, blaring the man’s name right into Steve’s brain until it feels like he’s known it all along.

Bucky Barnes.

OR: the one where Bucky's a youtuber who solves puzzles on camera, and steve's smitten and horny

🌻 Rock On! by millesable @marvelousescapism [Clintasha, 700 words, General]

“Hey, Romanoff!”

He lifted his hand, index finger and pinky finger raised, thumb out, all other fingers tucked. Their secret sign; their confession for the world to see, safe in the knowledge that the world wasn’t listening.

“Rock on!”

🌻 You Like the Way I Look by dontcallmebree @iamthe-wo-manwhocan [Stucky, 2k words, Explicit]

Bucky sidles up to him, hand boldly coming to rest on his chest. “What about you, big guy? Care for a dance?” Steve watches Bucky’s eyes twinkle with satisfaction, somehow already knowing he’s got Steve on the hook.

A decade out of the ice, Steve Rogers returns to New York. Reeling from a battle against the Chitauri, a night with the troublesome Bucky Barnes might be just what he needs.

Join the Rebellion by rainbow_nerds [Stucky, 765 words, Teen]

Bucky knew he shouldn't be out after curfew, but he couldn't resist the urge. He didn’t know where he was going, but he knew it was where he wanted to be.

AU-gust day 20: Dystopia

🔒 Five Days in December by mywingsareonwheels @mywingsareonwheels [Evanstan, 4k words, Teen]

“Shit shit shit shit...” muttered Chris to himself, glad that the sound of piped Christmas carols was drowning out his swearing amid the picture books. Most of the store was heaving even though it was Sunday, he’d been recognised at least three times, finding presents for all of his nieces and nephews was proving far more of a headache than expected, and he’d just sent a pile of copies of "Strictly No Elephants" tumbling off the bookshelf.

He scrambled about trying to pick them all up, and then dropped them again as someone bumped right into his backside. He lost his balance, caught himself against a bookcase, and a landslide of "Carter Is a Painter’s Cat" joined "Strictly No Elephants" on the floor. He yelped.

“Ah fuck, I’m so sorry… Chris!”

* * * * * * * * * *

London, December 2021. Amid cats, books, and the cold English drizzle, Chris finds everything he was hoping for and thought he would never have.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Reaching for Fire by dixons_mama @dixons-mama [Stucky, 7k words, Explicit]

Bucky has always felt a fire in his heart (and other body parts) when it came to his boss, Steve Rogers, but he's made sure to never feed those flames. When he finds out about Steve's second job, though, he's tempted to let that fire out.

i've been dreaming of a face like yours by thiccbuckybarnes [Stucky, 3k words, Explicit]

Bucky is about to busy himself with making a small dinner for himself when he stops in his tracks at the figure drinking a cup of coffee in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and smirking at him.

It’s Steve.

“Surprise, sweet boy,” he says before setting his cup down.

Or, PWP reunion sex

🌻 Somewhere, Under Your Skin by thiccbuckybarnes [Stucky, 16k words, Explicit]

Bucky Barnes treats himself to a one-night stand after having a very bad no good day.

The sex is good--great, even. Might be the best sex of his life.

But Bucky wouldn’t have slept with the guy if he had known that he was going to continuously run into him every day for the next fucking month.

Or, a Big Grump Bucky has a hot one night stand with a college kid who is popping up everywhere in his everyday life and he doesn’t know how to deal with it.

(Written for HYBB Bingo Square: Grumpy Bucky)

i've played heartstrings before but not in your key by thiccbuckybarnes [Stucky, 11k words, Explicit]

He glances down, seeing a folded couple of papers, before peering up at Bucky. The older man is biting his bottom lip, making it pretty and red. Steve wants to run his tongue across where his teeth are digging into his flesh.

"What's this?" Steve asks, setting his phone down, emails forgotten. Bucky shrugs and looks away.

"I dunno. You tell me, genius," he says, sounding bratty enough that it makes Steve's dick twitch in his pants. Jesus, there has to be something wrong with him.

Steve glances once more at Bucky, who now has his arms crossed against his chest and is pointedly not looking at Steve, before picking up the stack of folded papers. He opens them, seeing a collection of maybe five or six sheets of paper. His eyes immediately land on the list of familiar words with negative next to each one. -- Or, Steve Rogers is a jealous, possessive little shit that wants nothing more than to mark up his boyfriend and stake his claim. And Bucky knows it. (And he likes it.)

🌻 I'm Home (With You) by BonkyBornes @padfoot-and-the-marauders [Stucky, 2k words, General]

In any other circumstance, the apartment would've been perfect. But it was today, and the fact that he was here meant he wasn’t out searching. He knew they hadn’t had any leads for weeks and he knew Natasha was right; all three of them were exhausted and a break would do them good. It just felt wrong to Steve that he was comfortable while Bucky was still out there—somewhere. Probably cold. Probably hungry.

The knock came again. Sighing, Steve unwrapped his hand from the dog tags and remembered how to move. Cold wind and snow greeted him when he opened the door. The solitary figure was walking down the steps, collar popped against the chill.

“Did you need something?” he called.

The person stopped. They were still. And then they turned. *

Or, the Christmas Steve deserved after Winter Soldier.

The portrait by rainbow_nerds [Stucky, 915 words, General]

Steve Rogers has a Gift. He can help people find their soulmates, all he needs is some art supplies, a quiet place, and eye contact.

AU-gust day 21: soulmates

Maybe A Muse by buckybarnesdeservestobehappy [Stucky, 2k words, Mature]

When Bucky Barnes needs extra money, he’s appalled that his best friends think he should become a model for the art department on campus. Shy, nerdy, and socially awkward, he’s not sure that’s something he feels comfortable doing. Still, he needs money, and he likes the idea of becoming someone’s muse. The problem is he had no idea two things would happen. First, one of the students in the class is exactly his type; second, he has to model nude.

#my reading log #r's reading log #fic rec #stucky fic rec #fics recs #stucky #danbeau #samrhodey #longpost #long post #clintasha #evanstan

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popcorn-kitten · 3 years

Text

new hiveswap info and development timelines just dropped on the Kickstarter ✌️

Over the years, a lot of misinformation, as well as deliberate disinformation, has spread around about the history of Hiveswap. The purpose of this post is to clarify these matters for backers who've been wondering what the truth is.

The Kickstarter was planned by the What Pumpkin business development team in mid-2012. One member of the team was a crowdfunding specialist who led the planning process and managed the contracts with the developer. Prior to the Kickstarter opening for pledges, What Pumpkin worked out a plan for a flexible game concept that could be refined according to how much the campaign ultimately brought in. As Hussie was still working on Homestuck full time at this point, the plan was to hand over his game concept and story outline to a development company that could deliver the project.

The above deductions from the gross total do not include taxes.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/14293468/homestuck-adventure-game/posts/708686

In 2013 following receipt of WP’s deliverables, GC enthusiastically assured WP that it was positioned to begin development. GC would deliver its first prototype in early 2014.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qSXwWKD5Km1yL-3Cj_W5IevW-IA978zJ/view?usp=sharing

May 12, 2014 - from Hussie to GC

“Just letting you know I actually moved to the west coast recently. I'm only an hour or so away from LA now.

I could drive down and check out the office, see how things are going with the game and animation in person some time soon. Is there a time that would work for you guys? In a week or two maybe?”

May 15, 2014 - from GC to Hussie

“That's awesome about being on the west coast. It'd be great to have you come to the studio.

The best time to come by would actually be right after E3. Things are a bit nuts until then.”

May 18, 2014 - from Hussie to GC

“[Name redacted], sounds good. I'll set aside some time after E3 to make the drive down. As we approach the date, just let me know what works for you.”

E3 was June 10-12, 2014. GC did not invite Hussie to visit at this time.

Aug 18, 2014 - from GC to Hussie

“We'd love to set up a new time for Andrew to come to the studio as well as a skype chat to meet the other team members.”

Despite apparent enthusiasm about meeting with Andrew in their email correspondence, GC continued the pattern of refusing to meet at the office or supply any signs of progress on the prototype.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/14293468/homestuck-adventure-game/posts/883860

Had GC communicated that they had scheduling conflicts or some other impediment preventing them from developing Hiveswap, WP would have terminated the contract even sooner.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M2mmkMx8Wkwp1VU_5IpMKDvngmUFS0IG/view?usp=sharing

#homestuck #hiveswap #kickstarter info #nothing was edited or changed from the original

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nakunakunomi · 4 years

Note

Hey there! I've been waiting for a while for your requests to be open and I just realized I didn't even think of a request for your reopening thing cause I was distracted by your other posts (Some of the best works of art, my friend). Could I request headcanons of Eustass and Zoro trying to help their s/o who's preg with their kid? I feel like these two would be the most confused, meaning the most entertaining to watch them figure things out along the way

Hi anon! Thank you for your kind words!! I definitely agree that these two would be amongst the most chaotic ones to become a dad! I hope you enjoy these!

Reacting to Pregnancy HC - Kid, Zoro

warning for pregnancy, and things that come along with that. Slight angst sprinkled in, overall happy.

Kid

Kid did not see this coming. Well, he’s not stupid, he obviously knows where children come from. But he did not expect for it to happen to him. He’s never even thought about having children, and he still feels way too young for it.

He doesn’t want a kid. And that’s his very first reaction. It scares you a little, because well, you were terrified to tell him in the first place, and him going from complete silence to a fit of anger of how you (and he) could be so stupid to let that happen, was enough to make you feel downright miserable.

It's Killer that is there to comfort you first, promising he'll kick some sense into his captain, reassuring you it was just a knee jerk reaction. Kid doesn't know fear and reacts to it with anger.

It takes him a good few days to come around though. Days that he's locked himself in his workplace, only coming out for food and bark orders. He won't even come sleep in the bed you share. It feels empty and you feel terrible. You spend most of those first days crying.

When he finally comes around, it's not with an apology, that's not his style. He just kind of barges into the room, where you are lying on the bed, overthinking your whole situation for the umptieth time.

"What do you need me to do?"

It's blunt, it's short. No hello's, no apologies. But still, a rare vulnerable moment in which he admits he has no idea what to do and asks for guidance.

You explain that it's gonna be nothing much the first few months, you are lucky enough to not experience any morning sickness, and the other pains and discomforts are things that are nothing compared to what you've already gone through being a pirate.

First weeks are spent teaching Kid what is going to happen with some books you stole from the library the first next island you dock on. Kid is positively grossed out by all the graphs of how your organs are going to have to make way and how your skin is gonna stretch. He is very vocal about it, but not necessarily disrespectful, and he does stick around for it all, many times wondering out loud why the hell people go through that whole ordeal just to have a mini-them. Disgusting.

As you start showing more, he gets noticeably more protective of you. He was already possessive and protective, but it's reached a whole new level now and he's not even denying it. Actively telling people to back off, having you in his sights 24/7, nearly almost touching you in some way or another.

When your due date is nearing, he’s completely abandoned plans to set course to an island with good doctors, like hell he’s gonna let you go into labor on the ship.

He’s insanely nervous. Besides you and Killer, no one has to ask him anything or bother him in any way, he’ll rip their heads off if they even remark something about his current state of mind.

When it’s happening, he’s not sure whether he wants to run away, be there, punch a wall, murder a civilian, or just hold you close so you could stop screaming because you seem to be in so much pain. (And well, he’s seen the pictures in the books you ‘borrowed’, he’d be in pain too)

When the baby is there, he’s completely silent. A rare sight to have Eustass Kid completely speechless and dumbfounded as he holds the tiniest, most vulnerable creature he’s ever met right there in his arms and makes up his mind. He’ll protect them with his life.

Zoro

You know he is completely shocked by the news when he doesn’t say a thing, just walks away and straight up goes to Sanji for advice.

You’re not really upset by the response, but not really sure what to think either. You give him the time and space necessary to work through it but it is needless to say that within a matter of hours, the whole crew knows about it.

Which is not a bad thing, they’re insanely supportive, and all work together to stomp some sense into your green-haired boyfriend, who was never not a speech waterfall to begin with, but has now been completely silent after the initial confusion and going straight to Sanji about it.

When the initial shock wears off, panic sets in. He is completely helpless. Wants to spend time with you, all the time, asking you all the questions. What is he supposed to do? How can he help? Can you walk? Are you in pain? Do you need more food?

He’s a bit of a mess and you need to calm him down a little. You explain whatever you know, and whatever you don’t know, are things that chopper can help explain.

For some reason, it helps Zoro a lot to just listen to you and Chopper explain what to do, and he does not remember everything, but he will surely do his best. He wasn’t prepared, but he’s not gonna deny responsibility and will definitely do his best up to catch up to all the information as fast as possible.

He starts to treat you as if you were made from glass. Literally carrying you around everywhere, even if you insist you can perfectly walk by yourself.

He doesn’t allow you to go out without supervision, preferably his supervision.

Oh, and he’s bothering Sanji all the time to ensure you have whatever food or drinks you need to ensure you’re happy and healthy. Luckily Sanji is more than happy to provide for you, but there are a couple of arguments about Zoro bossing him around.

Chopper helps you prepare and whenever you are scared about the whole ordeal, the whole crew is there to comfort you.

The closer you get to the due date, the more nervous Zoro becomes. He misses training sessions, barely leaves your side, and even the slightest groan or grimace from you he asks if it’s gonna happen.

If you weren’t feeling so uncomfortable, you’d think it is absolutely hilarious.

You try to distract him thinking about names together, fantasizing about what it would be like to raise a kid, focussing on the positives, but gently preparing him for the negatives too.

When the moment is finally there, there is absolute chaos, but strangely enough, Zoro himself is extremely calm. As if he’s preparing for the hardest battle of his life.

He’s incredibly calm and reassuring and it helps everything to go that more smoothly

The moment the baby is there, he has to go for a little walk before reuniting with the two of you - thank god he stays on the Sunny for that so you don’t have to go look for him after said walk -

His eyes are a little red when he returns, but you’re too tired to even make a remark on it You’re happy he is there.

#zoro x reader #kid x reader #roronoa zoro x reader #eustass kid x reader #eustass kid #roronoa zoro #One piece #one piece writing #one piece headcanon #one piece imagine #imagine #one piece x reader #headcanon #reader insert #one piece HC #request #HC request #Anonymous

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vaguely-concerned · 4 years

Text

The Mandalorian s2 ep1 Reactions Post That’s right I’m BACK

and none of you not even god himself can stop me from rambling about space cowboy dad and tiny green baby stuff for much longer than any sane person should

the TL;DR is that I still love this show SO MUCH, beware a bunch of spoilers under the cut!

- costume design wise I LOVE how badly the armour fits Cobb Vanth

especially when you get shots with him and Din side by side for contrast:

It’s not just that it’s clearly not made for him (it seems he’s a lot lankier and more wiry than Boba is), he simply doesn’t know how to wear it, and he doesn’t know how to take care of it, because he doesn’t know what it means. Remember when Din’s breastplate got bent completely out of shape by the mudhorn and he had it repaired to the best of his ability long before they even finished with the ship? That’s why he looks so grounded and natural in it and Vanth has sort of a clumsy Spiderman-in-his-first-home-made-costume air about him. (also Boba’s helmet has a beautiful heft and solidity to it in this, they make all the beskar have a Feel and weight to it, makes it feel important)

I like that Vanth is taller than Din; everything that drives home that Din’s strength doesn’t come from being naturally physically imposing or impressive is a joy to me

- Boba’s armour seems to be confirmed to be real beskar, which gives me so much hope that they’re doing something actually nuanced and interesting with Boba and Jango’s cultural identities as Mandalorians (whether they do consider themselves that or not, for example), unlike George Lucas’ inexplicable yet unbending stance of ‘They aren’t and never were lol get fucked Fetts’

the way the triumphant heroic part of the mando music sputtered and died when the man himself showed up tho... uh-oh this might be bad news

man but that’s a stunning and surprising way to introduce a well-known character divorced from what makes them so iconic, though, just from that I’m going to trust they know what they’re doing (AND they got temuera morrison back I’m so EXCITED!!!). without the armor there’s the face of someone who shared that face with literal millions and at the same time must be looking older than his father ever got to at this point, and that’s super interesting as a starting point to me. (I... guess there’s still a chance it’s a fakeout and that it’s actually another clone, but that would be such a letdown when they’ve already given us this haha)

- an excellent [mando sighs] moment

this opening scene did a great job of re-summarizing him for the audience -- establishing again that he gives you one chance at dealing with him fairly and if you insist on continuing to be an asshole about it, you’re toast, the fact that his fighting style is so much about being able to tank blows rather than not getting hit in the first place, the horror movie monster mando setup as he stalked the dude down and strung him up, the Poetic Justice predicated on some very careful word choices, and most importantly “where I go, he goes”... all wonderful, I’m sure I’ll watch this scene back for fine details and better looks at the background characters many many times

(word seems to have spread about him and the baby for real now, which makes me VERY nervous btw)

- Pulserifle’s back! Jetpack’s back! Razor Crest’s back! Grappling line’s back! PELLI’S BACK!!!!!! Tattooine... is also back *Finn voice* Why does everyone want to go back to Tattooine????

I really enjoyed the way they fleshed out and (for lack of a better word) humanized the sand people, though, if you are going back to this desert hellplanet again that is a worthy reason to do it

- Din swearing :O!! and one of the less egregious star wars swears too, I’m fine with this

- in campaign star wars news: I guess there was sort of both a binbon and a jubna in this ep! what a time to be alive

- as usual I love the jawa. a bright spot in any day, just a bunch of lil goblin-y friends hanging out having the best time loving sparkly crystals and rescuing silver foxes.

get in loser we’re going shopping

I uh. Do you think. Hm. Is there maybe a metaphor here somewhere. Is there perhaps a hidden, one may say double, meaning, at play, right here, in this image? Who can say, it’s just niggling at me (there’s a very similar set of shots with Toro in season 1, but seemingly the show went ‘I fear we might have gone too subtle with it, let’s amp it up this time’ over the season break loool)

honestly though this dynamic really highlighted everything I love about the ways Din performs masculinity. It’s so much softer and more community/collaboration focused and more comfortable to be around than Vanth’s version -- and Vanth isn’t a bad dude by any stretch of the imagination, it’s not hard to see why he’s like that considering where he’s from, he’s just such a... man. The lone person who can protect this village! The only man who’s got what it takes! It’s all on his shoulders and no one else’s, so do exactly as he says or he’ll put a hole in you! (I think it’s telling that one of his first comments to Din is ‘I’m sure you call the shots wherever you’re from, but ‘round here, I’m the person who tell folks what to do’, because as we as the audience knows, Din very much does not call the shots of where he’s from lol) I guess it says some nice things about the tribe of Mandos Din is from that this is how he approaches things, and it says some good things about Vanth how quickly he comes around to this smarter and less confrontational/domineering style of doing things once he’s been exposed to it and sees how it works. it’s just neat

(it’s smart of Favreau to set his ~*lone gunslinger*~ character up like this, too, it makes him so much more interesting and versatile)

- With the way Din says ‘a Mandalorian Armorer sent me on my path’ it does seem confirmed that’s the equivalent of a priest role or a sort of shaman -- I wonder if he knows the name of ‘The’ Armorer or if they take on the role as a whole identity

- the sheer contrast between the two people who wanted Din to take his helmet off for them in this ep tho... wants Mando’s armour off for horrible awful reasons and got exactly what he deserved:

wants Mando’s armour off for entirely sympathetic and understandable, just culturally uninformed, thirsty thirsty reasons & also having drinks together:

(the sort of... little lick over his bottom lip he does there? keep it in your pants vanth my GODjflsadf he’s a good dude tho he understands and respects the ‘no armour removal before marriage’ thing and backs down gracefully)

- This is a nuanced thing: I don’t think I actually ship it (not in a requited way from Din’s side, anyway, Vanth I’m 100% sure about lol), but the incredible potential for out-of-context-taking of “Take it off, or I will”/”...we doin’ this in front of the kid?” is uh astounding

(anyone got the vibe Vanth sort of had something with the bartender too? no just me? well well)

- I was never really scared Din was actually dead or hurt b/c baby wasn’t scared and I figure he’d know lol, a very useful fear barometer

- “What’s the plan?” “Take care of the child” “What are you gonna do?” “I don’t know, but wish me luck *yeets his new bro out of harm’s way before diving in head first himself*” fksdjhfkjlashdfkjsldahfkasldjhfskldajhfsadkjfh WHAT a summation of Din’s entire approach to battle & life, dad please you carry a not insignificant part of my heart around with you be careful

(Also with the heavy implication that Boba was watching the whole thing... can you imagine him just looking on as Din throws himself down that gullet like a madman. There must have been some ‘o_-7 *headscratch headscratch* ???’ going on for him there)

it’s kind of sweet that din trusts vanth will take care of the baby if something happens though, they really bonded quickly huh

- the sand people who kept willingly going over to the krayt dragon’s cave are honestly braver and more admirable than anyone else has ever been, I kept just shouting in anguish as they were gobbled up, they deserved better

- can we talk about how clear it still is that Din’s just... lonely. When he thinks he’s found another Mando and he sounds almost reverent with relief... and then it gets odder and odder (’uh... drinks? I guess... does he have drinking straws with him or -- HE’S TAKING THE HELMET OFF???’ oh buddy)

I wonder if they’re building towards something about him realizing it doesn’t have to be Mandos for him to trust and bond with people longer term? Basically all the characters he’s met and we’ve watched him form attachments to and get help from are non-Mandos -- Kuiil :’^(, Cara, Omera, Cobb Vanth, IG-11 :^’’(, Greef Karga to a degree. Establishing so firmly what he’s looking for this early would be good setup for a ‘what a character thinks they want vs. what they need’ thing later on just on a writing level, anyway, Boba Fett could bring in some interesting points of view about Mandalorianness too

- baby’s happy gurgles when he sees pelli!!!!!! din speaking sand people language and petting alligator doggies!!!!!!

- pedro pascal’s voice work remains an utter joy to me. din’s measured, earnest, occasionally slightly stilted way of talking is still so good, and then he does things like inserting some more... idk life is the wrong word but that more charged and dynamic tone he took on when he said (”I thought you weren’t a gambler”) “I’m not”. *chef kiss*

- if the pulse rifle’s stun is able to do that to a fuckn krayt dragon... that’s some serious shit din is carrying around with him lol (interestingly the actual shooty pew-pew part of it didn’t seem to do much to it, but then I guess he was shocking it from the inside out and not through thick hide, so idk)

- my only real complaints about this ep: Vanth’s backstory ran a bit long, and not enough baby & dad interaction. the concept art’s got me tho:

(din often wears his original/old armour in concept art still, incidentally, don’t know what that’s about)

awwwwwww

+ omfg ;______;

- this sand people person conscientiously brushing a bantha’s teeth... blessed

- Customary flame thrower report: there was a rare useful deployment of the flamethrower. Good job Mando’s flame thrower for furthering the field of diplomacy

ETA: I CAN’T BELIEVE I FORGOT TO MENTION THIS: DIN BEING COMFORTABLE(ISH) AROUND DROIDS NOW!!!! GROWTH????!?! IG-11 WE MISS YOU??????????

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #star wars #the mandalorian meta #meta #(I'm trying to label my meta more specifically these days b/c the general meta tag is a MESS on my blog lol)#mmmmmmmm feels good to break out the overanalysis goggles again it's time to OVERTHINK SOME SHIT my friends

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zenonaa · 4 years

Photo

ao3

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Super Dangan Ronpa 2 Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Hinata Hajime & Mioda Ibuki Characters: Hinata Hajime, Mioda Ibuki, Class 77 (Dangan Ronpa) Summary: Ibuki and Hajime put on a concert. Comments: I can finally post my fic for the @hinatahajimezine !!!! Thank you for letting me write something for it. This was my first ever zine! @707kuroyuki drew some gorgeous art for it, which I'll let them post. Gen Fic - Not a ship fic, I just like Queen a lot.

***

Mioda had taken me halfway across the island and she still hadn’t told me where we were headed. However, as I stumbled on the pavement on Jabberwock’s third island, with its cracks like spiderwebs and my arm straining toward dislocation as she pulled me along, my hand trapped in hers, I had a hunch.

Still not letting go of my hand, she swung a kick forward and forced the doors of Titty Typhoon open with a bang... not that they had even been locked.

“You should have heard Ibuki when she found out we had a whole freaking music house!” Mioda said. She flung her arms up, so by extension, one of my arms soared upward too.

A wide grin puffed out her rosy cheeks as she surveyed the gritty interior. To our right was a bar, fitted with neon lights spelling English words. Mioda must have already been here because a drum kit sat on the stage, accompanied by her guitar nearby, all ready to be used.

By far, Mioda was the brightest thing in the hall, with her vibrantly dyed hair, piercings that light glimpsed off and the way her body hummed with energy with every movement.

So unashamedly herself... I couldn’t help but admire that.

While I looked around, Mioda widened her stance. She swooped down, finally releasing my hand, and peered through the gap between her legs.

“Whoa! Did you notice the floor is the same as the ceiling? This gives Ibuki an idea... for our concert, we could tots have everything reversed,” she said. Her long hair piled on the floor, dangling past her head. “Nekomaru-meow-meow could throw us up, and we could swipe glue onto the ceiling and stick chairs there, and - ”

I raised my hands. “H-Hold on. Our concert?”

Emphasis on ‘our’. Mioda straightened, flicking her hair back.

“Oh! Did Ibuki forget to say?”

She pressed the pads of her index fingers against her temples and began garbling nonsense until she jerked her chin up. In hindsight, she had been speaking backward.

“Hajime-chan! Ibuki decided we’ve played enough and it’s time for us to perform!” Mioda thrust up a finger. “Tonight!”

By ‘played’, she meant the various activities meant to jog my memory in a very abstract-Mioda way, such as banging a drum kit and screaming until we passed out. I stared at her.

“But I can’t play any instruments,” I said. “Not even the drums, which I’m sure does require skill to play well.”

Mioda scoffed with a ‘pshh’ noise. She strutted toward the stage, hoisted herself up and grabbed her guitar, resting it on her lap.

“Hajime-chan! Come here!” she said, her legs hanging over the edge of the stage.

I shuffled over. Mioda watched my approach.

“Closer,” she insisted, motioning, and I ended up right in front of her. She reached a hand forward and placed it against my chest. I tensed. Her eyes flickered, but she didn’t say anything, her lips pursed in concentration.

After several seconds passed, she withdrew her hand. Mioda reached behind her ear, where she revealed a guitar pick that had been tucked away there, and adjusted her grip on the neck of her guitar with her other hand.

Bringing the pick to the strings, she began clawing at them. Their vibrations screeched, silenced by the pick’s next drag and how she lightly punched the strings with the side of her fist, stopping and resuming abruptly. Discordant, like cries for help. The noise made me wince.

“Right now, this is what Hajime-chan’s like,” she said, keeping her hand still now. “All jumpy and jumbled, like the biggest, jumpiest jumble Ibuki has ever met. And Ibuki has used some really cheap, hard-to-wash-out hairspray in her lifetime.”

I blinked, mouth ajar. Mioda seemed unperturbed by my lack of reaction though. She smiled softly without showing teeth and resumed strumming, but differently. The chords cried out, but they weren’t strangled, not pained like the rasps that had shrieked moments ago.

“Bad-dum... Bad-dum,” Mioda half-said, half-sang. Unlike how she usually sang though, she didn’t scream. Didn’t howl. “This is Ibuki’s heart... Ibuki may seem carefree, but when she dwells too much on friends no longer here, she gets so sad. But they wouldn’t want Ibuki to be sad, so Ibuki puts her feelings into her songs. People come and go, but music is permanent and they can live on through music. Like one time, Ibuki saw a band perform, and they all died in a plane crash the next week. But their music... their music and memories survived. They’re never really gone. You never know when the last time will be, so you’ve gotta make memories while you can.”

Mioda played a bit more before nodding at me.

“So... even if music isn't Hajime-chan’s talent, it can help deal with certain feelings,” she finished.

For a moment, she didn’t stir, but then she threw her head back and laughed, clutching her chest.

“Whoa! Whoa!” Mioda wiped a tear from her eye. “Sorry, Ibuki got so serious. Maybe this upside down concert is a bad idea. Hajime-chan should throw a custard pie and drop his pants so we flip over again and get the right way up.”

“It’s fine,” I assured her quickly with a small grin. “I think I understand... Okay, I’ll drum my feelings tonight.”

“Awesome! Let’s practice!”

So I sat at the drum kit, picked up the sticks and started beating them against the drums. Like how Ibuki had played the guitar after feeling my heartbeat, my tempo started uneven. Faster in some places, wavering in others. She watched me as she strummed, bouncing her head, and my beat developed as time went on. I found a beat I could stick to that felt in sync with me, and I practiced. I banged, and banged, fueled by a fire burning inside of me, and I practiced.

I practiced and practiced until evening fell upon me and I was peeking out from behind stage curtains. Everyone had gathered in the audience area, talking amongst themselves as they waited for the concert.

“You ready, Hajime-chan?” asked Mioda. She slapped me on the shoulder. “You look ready!”

With that, Mioda referred to my outfit. I wore a silver reflective jacket, a black vest top over a long checkered shirt that made it seem like I wore a skirt, tight jeans and boots. Oh, and chains. Lots of them serving no actual purpose.

I knew she meant my outfit because my hunched shoulders and tight fists didn’t give the impression I was ready, I imagine. My face was stiff with makeup and I was too afraid to touch it in case I smudged any of it.

“One, two, yahoo! We’re ready,” said Mioda, raising a fist, and her other hand squeezed my shoulder. “Remember... play with your heart! Even if Hajime-chan’s scared, Ibuki will support you and make you feel brave like you do with Ibuki.”

On one hand, her complete faith in me made my insides quiver, but I managed a smile, touched I could do that for her.

“Thanks,” I said. “Break a leg.”

Mioda saluted. “That would hurt! Sir!”

I didn’t give that response much thought and took a deep breath. Eyes forward, I marched out, and the cloud of voices snuffed out as they noticed.

“No way! Big Sis Mioda really is contagious?” Saionji gasped, with no Koizumi to elbow her and scold her quietly.

“Welcome, welcome!” Mioda waved her arm, ignoring Saionji, while I sat at the drum kit. “We’re playing a new song, and if you all want to join in, do so!”

Souda scratched his head, pulling a face. “Uh... if it’s new, how can we? We don’t know the words.”

“It’s a piece you can just shout or make up the words for or whatever,” explained Mioda. “So long as it comes from the heart, it’s alright!”

“That sounds dreadful,” grumbled Komaeda, wiping the back of his hand across his forehead.

I thought he would have been all over this and frowned.

Mioda flourished her pick. “This is called ‘Can you hear us up there?’ One, two, three!”

She slashed her guitar strings, loud and fast from the get go. I started soon after and struck the drums. My head bobbed and ahead of me, Mioda hopped around, shouting and screaming names even as tears pricked her eyes.

Initially, everyone stared silently, but then Saionji yelled too. Nidai released a roar next, and soon the whole class was shouting. Even Kuzuryuu. Especially Kuzuryuu. Shouting for Hanamura, Togami, Koizumi and Pekoyama. At that moment, talented or not, we were the same.

I took my eyes off Owari, who was uncharacteristically bawling her eyes out, and glanced at Mioda, leaping about and screaming and crying.

Mioda had been right. Our friends... are never really gone. You never know when the last time will be, so you’ve got to make memories while you can. And this one? This one I don’t think I will forget, ever.

#hajime hinata #ibuki mioda #sdr2 #fanfiction #one shot

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ajora · 4 years

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I never played ff5 but ngl I kind of want you to answer ALL the questions on that meme because I like hearing your thoughts about it. (and faris for the character part, because hm. yes. butch lesbian pirate. I can dig this. and your otp for the ship part, obviously.)

Oh boy, settle in because this’ll be looong.

So, for everyone else: warning: this talks about being nb/butch, a taboo ship, and spoilers for FF5.

001 | Send me a fandom and I will tell you my:

Favorite character: Toss-up between Faris and Lenna.

Least Favorite character: I don’t actually hate him because his recurring crossover character status is hilarious and he’s got great theme music, but, Gilgamesh. His final words to Faris ( 恋でもして　ちったあ　女らしくなりな | essentially: go fall in love, then you’ll become more feminine) always rubbed me wrong. The love that defines her is the love she has for Lenna, even if you don’t interpret it as romantic love, and her love should never force her to become what she’s not.

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Honestly, just Faris/Lenna. I’m chill with other people shipping other ships, but farilenna is my forever ship.

Character I find most attractive: I overrelate to Faris and Lenna is exactly my type. Gosh, but her squeak in DFFOO is adorable.

Character I would marry: I mean, I have a girlfriend I intend to marry, but Lenna would be a nice second option.

Character I would be best friends with: I’d probably get along with all of them, but realistically Butz is just the kind of no-commitment, independent friend I get along best with

a random thought: After the DFFOO event with Butz giving everything that makes him him to his dark world clone, I unironically want to redraw a SUF screenshot with someone taking Connie’s place to say that the only one who hasn’t had Steven Butz is Steven Butz. Largely because Butz shunts his personal feelings to the side to be the supportive friend and teen girl escort everyone needs.

An unpopular opinion: The GBA localization is great, but it’s not an accurate translation and sacrifices accuracy for the lulz. Which is fine!

My Canon OTP: I’mma reach and say Amano drew my otp holding each other on official art that got plastered everywhere in Japanese GBA-release media, so that totes counts as official, right? It’s the same argument the Butz/Lenna shippers used back in the day. (I even have this art in poster form)

My Non-canon OTP: Because FF5 has no actual endgame ships, obviously my otp.

Most Badass Character: Look, Faris dove into a dragon-generated whirlpool that could have killed her to save her crew when she was 15. She fell off a cliff and crawled back up for Lenna. Faris, hands down.

Most Epic Villain: tbh the most epic villain was one who wasn’t in the game until he became an optional boss added in the GBA revamp: Enuo. He might not have been in the game’s present, but his shadow loomed large 1000 years after his death/sealing away.

Pairing I am not a fan of: Not personally a fan of shipping Butz with any of the girls, largely because he’s shaped like a friend and has been a fantastic friend to all of them, and FF5 really isn’t a romance. I’m absolutely happy to ship him with Squall in the Dissidias though. Butz/Squall is my otp for him.

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): Eh, I feel like the ending sequence for Faris could have focused less on her being a woman and more on her actual acts of courage. Courage being her whole damn thing and defining trait and all.

Favourite Friendship: Faris and Syldra. Gosh, but all the Japanese texts on them makes me mourn Syldra’s death even harder.

Character I most identify with: Faris bc butch/nonbinary reasons and huge issues with being shoehorned into one gender (male) but not really feeling it (Faris does, in Japanese at least, identify as a woman; direct translation by me: “don’t treat me like a fool because I’m a woman”) and also not wanting to 100% be compliant with femininity.

Character I wish I could be: Look, who doesn’t want to be a pirate.

002 | Send me a ship and I will tell you:

When I started shipping them: 1997 baby. It’s been years and while I flitted out of FF5 fandom in the 2000s up til I returned now, I never stopped loving my ship

My thoughts: Yeah, the sibling incest complicates things, but also? They were separated very young, didn’t grow up together, and didn’t meet again until adulthood. There’s no actual power imbalance there. Even with respect to social status. Like, yes Lenna’s in line to be queen, but does anyone really think she’d abuse her position for anything? She adores Faris. Faris will destroy everyone in this room and then herself if anything happened to Lenna.

What makes me happy about them: Oh, gosh, they are so good together. Also? I adore how muddled up they are together. Lenna is the Light Warrior of Water, her defining trait being conscientious kindness. Faris is the Light Warrior of Fire, her defining trait being courage. But Lenna will absolutely kill that dragon if she has to. She’ll hare off into the unknown with only a knife to find her father. She’ll trudge through poison to save that dragon she was gonna kill. Her sky dragon turns into a phoenix. She’s the spirit of Water, but everything about her screams Fire. Conversely, Faris is bonded to a sea dragon, nearly drowned twice that we know of, and over the course of the game she does become a kinder person than she was. She’s the spirit of Fire, and yeah she does have courage aplenty, but she’s so inextricably bound to water that her skills in DFFOO are water-related.

What makes me sad about them: That they could never be together openly. Also? That modern/post-GBA fandom will absolutely shit on the ship’s fans. You’ve seen me talk in Discord about the hate I run across often enough. And it’s absolutely wild to me because I’ve been here since 1997, I’ve heard all the jokes about Faris/Lenna back then, and no one threw a fit about it like they do now. Nevar 4get the off-color FWAKs that were common back in the day.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: Mostly just... treating the girls as Butz’s personal harem. And this is a small thing, at least.

Things I look for in fanfic: Anything with my ship. Alternatively, anything where at least Faris isn’t straight.

My wishlist: God I just want to talk to fellow Faris/Lenna shippers! And if I have to improve my translating-to-Japanese skills for it, I will. Also, I wanna get involved in a Faris/Lenna doujinshi someday. Or an anthology!

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: their dragons

My happily ever after for them: A cottage by the sea, all regal responsibilities forgotten, with new dragon companions because theirs died over the course of the game and Highwinds must have dragons.

003 | Give me a character & I will tell you:

How I feel about this character: Superb. Fantastic. When I was a young butch in the closet with only Oscar to look up to, Faris stormed onto the scene with all her flaws and character development and a dragon friend! and yes, I dig this. Still favorite, though Lenna unseats her ever so often.

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Lenna. That’s it, really. World of Final Fantasy floated the idea of Quistis/Faris, but didn’t provide a lot to go on.

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: Syldra! Although I have been known to ship her with Syldra too, back in the day.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Faris is a very, very Asian trope character, her roots being in Oscar of Rose of Versailles, Takarazuka, and East Asian legends and histories of crossdressing women. I just feel really uncomfortable when white people, especially white cis people, ignore that, ignore that she herself says that she’s a woman, and insist that she’s a trans man.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I do wish the epilogue slideshow focused more on her deeds than on her feeling uncomfortable complying with traditional femininity.

Favorite friendship for this character: Syldra!

My crossover ship: Faris and Quistis becoming friends in WoFF after Quistis challenged her to a fistfight is just so Faris that I’d love to see fics exploring that.

#replies #jaspurr

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incarnateirony · 5 years

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Thoughts.

So I finally watched Good Omens. First of all I know some people were waiting for me to like, do breakdowns on the use of lore, sigils and whatnot -- I’m sure I’ll poke at it eventually, but so much of it reads of typicality, alongside strong artistic liberty, that when it comes to actual sigils there’s very few and I’ll need a good screen of them.

But that isn’t about that. This is actually about Good Omens and the audience response to queer content and queer coded content. I’m going to warn you, some of this shit is going to incense the fuck out of woke tumblr. It’s going to be a lot of hard pills to swallow, mostly in regards to parts of the LGBT community -- of which I’m a part -- moving around our own goal posts, inconsistencies in the placements of our goalposts, and the impacts of het culture. If you come into my mentions screaming away at me expect an ignore or a block.

No, this isn’t anti-Azri/Crow. It’s very pro Azri/Crow. And yes, I’m going to drag other fandoms I’m in, into it. But I’m also gonna drag general discussion into it.

First I’m going to source a link to a recent set of tweets someone made that I consider very insightful (x) and then highlight a bulk of it.

“When we call something queerbaiting, we're essentially saying: "source material X doesn't count as real or valid queer representation." Here is a thread on why we need to be cognizant about which real-life queer people & stories we're erasing when we expand our use of that term. First: actual queerbaiting, in which art-creators hint at queer representation in order to attract viewers and then insist their art was 100% hetero all along, sucks a lot. I am not advocating getting rid of the term. Nor am I saying it's not valid to feel jerked around when a show uses the promise of a specific queer relationship on their publicity circuit, and then doesn't follow through on it in the actual source. (Or follows through only to write out a character, a la #TheMagicians) However: when we narrow our definition of "real and valid queer representation" until the ONLY thing that counts as queer rep is on-screen queer *romance* or on-screen queer *sex*, we are telling a significant portion of the real-life queer community that they don't count. When we use the "queerbaiting" label to describe a millennia-long, loving asexual same-gender relationship (aka #GoodOmens) we are telling asexuals in loving life-long relationships that they don't count as queer. We are also telling sexual queers whose primary, life-organizing relationships are queerplatonic (me, this is me) that their queerness is defined only by who they fuck, not by who they choose to build a life with. I want a space where ALL kinds of queer stories get told: romances yes, but also stories of queer friendship; queer mentorship; queer animosity; queer competition and cooperation; queer found family; queer provocation and queer mistakes. None of that happens if we tell everyone whose queer content doesn't fit into the narrow box "Lead A & Lead B kiss and/or fuck onscreen" (even if A&B make a life together; even if A&B kiss & fuck other same-sex people) that their art is exploitative & doesn't count as queer rep. “

Why am I choosing to highlight this while implicatively mentioning my adjacent fandoms? Well, because blogs I follow that either haphazardly dismiss, say, Destiel as valid until (personally met goalpost, generally when arguing with the hetnorm or anti community wanting a kiss) are all on the Azriphale-Crowley bandwagon.

And let me say, I adore the Azriphale-Crowley bandwagon. I’m ON that bandwagon. Holy shit am I on that wagon, but we need to inspect our dialogue for people who are on one but not the other.

We can say, for example, “Well, Neil Gaiman and the actors have been supportive! So THAT’S why it’s fine!” I mean -- aren’t people always banging on about post-affirmation not being enough, or just vague support being enough, or this-or-that not being enough? Like people don’t flame Rowling over that? I mean, even if we handwave away that Neil Gaiman had literally uncontested authorship instead of 203492 hands in the author and ownership pot top-to-bottom which the average show doesn’t have -- which gives the liberty to say whatever the fuck he wants because it is wholly his product and under his contract and design -- do you notice that it’s actually a very, very small audience crowing about that? And rarely if ever the same ones that do about other pairings that could be considered similar? Like we haven’t gotten those moments from authors in other shows (Robbie Thompson “Destiel isn’t canon?” comes to mind) that we yell queerbait at then and decide isn’t enough. Because someone else moved a goalpost out.

Ah-- but they’re... confirmed asexual and agender and immortal! Okay... and... so is, for example, if we’re going to tilt this way, Castiel. And ace people can have queer relationships with bi or yes, even straight people. Mindblowing, I know, but that’s it, that’s reality.

So why on gods green earth am I seeing this disparity between blogs about the same content, banging on at different volumes of what we expect?

It’s something I’ve written about before, the loudest example being my Problem With DreamHunter post. Before any DreamHunter fans pick up the pitchforks, don’t worry. It, also, is in support of DreamHunter, but simply addresses the cultural problem in there not being a problem with DreamHunter. The blend of intersectional issue disparity between MLM and WLW, and also the simple fact that the fandom wasn’t positioned to have antis or rival ships screaming at it: het culture and shipping culture.

I’ve banged on about this before: in our race for representation, we often trample over content that’s perfectly good and valid and great in many ways, because we want to be able to win an argument against an asshole, we want to be able to bludgeon the gay so inarguably into somebody’s brain that they yield to the might of it, or at least, we imagine it reaches that point. Anti-shipping culture can be so loud that even slow burn het pairings that kiss will have antis explaining their way around it (eg, Mulder and Scully, off the top of my head). Anti queer culture will talk down men or women even making out on screen as experimentation. This cycle will continue.

So again, let me state: Good Omens is a masterpiece. I am utterly enthralled by it, but it does leave me sitting flummoxed about the uneven bars we put out there as marker posts based on trying to race to the finish of arguments.

I’m sure some hack job that doesn’t know how to rub brain cells together beyond “it’s straight” and, beneath the surface, “I don’t like it so I’m going to piss and moan about more expansive methods of thought than hard niching the complexity of human relations” is going to roll in here, thinking yelling “Jensen Ackles thinks it’s straight!” in supreme reductionism of things like authorship, be it intent OR death of the author, or whatever else is out there in this medium -- I’m sure they’ll show up, make the same repetitive ass of themselves as always, and roll on, completely missing the point that I’m not obligated to your arbitrary bullshit, and that nobody is.

I don’t HAVE to point out every single time a dickhat on a loop yells that, that Jensen Ackles himself spoke of the intangibility of the deepness of their connection with Castiel as an angel, and that a cishet dude from texas probably doesn’t understand the finest details of LGBT identity complexity despite being an ally while fumbling over talking about the difficulty of putting a label on it. I don’t have to explain that the actor doesn’t actually get to determine that. Viewership or author, take your pick. I don’t have to explain the “it’s never happening and wasn’t intended” never came from the authors every time some bumblefuck says it -- that it came from one account with a blurb that said he doesn’t speak for that writing room whatsoever. I don’t have to review the times that Jensen Ackles has almost verbatim mirrored the Good Omens creatives about the beauty of it being you being able to make your own interpretation even if it wasn’t his, and encouraging that. I don’t fucking have to, you entitled sniveling shits.

And no, it’s by no means about, say, Dean and Cas. It’s just about the dialogues I’m tired of seeing tilt unevenly even between typically well grounded and centered people.

So anyway Azriphale and Crowley are EternityMates and that’s the fucking tea. Call it queerplat or call it queerromantic I can see either, even if I do tilt towards the former. Destiel is queerromantic and you can fight me. Come at me. Except nobody really will over Good Omens, just Supernatural, because like magic, Good Omens isn’t geared for a fuckton of other bloated ships or antis who hate either of them by structure alone. And that, itself, is a point to be made, too.

And before some doodlefuck trolls along, no, there’s no such thing as incestromantic. Spare us the time and block me now if your knee jerk counter-troll is going to be subtextually along those lines, because I promise you’ll just get blocked when you try to roll into town with it. Since the Supernatural fandom seems to house corners of douchebags that don’t know how to control their primitive douchebag impulses and they do come into address in this post.

Moral of the story: Stop listening to homophobes, antis, or people with agendas. Listen to the content and what has actually been said. On all sides.

If you consider, for example,

the Ineffible Husbands canon with no admission of anything beyond friendship, with the hets loudly banging one scene over with “well the others are ace or whatever” as your reason (fair), a few lunches, basic dedication and a few well placed songs, and a few supportive notes from the general creatives,

But the Hunter Husbands not canon with talked-around love yous and need yous, intentional deletion of Castiel’s agender ace aspects, in spite of there being no evident banging or kissing in the show that hasn’t been a highlight of a problem since like season what six?; talk arounds of their meals together, infinite longer and classic romantic crafted dedication, innumerable well placed songs and yes, a few supportive notes from the creatives that are buried by yourself or others beneath intentionally obfuscated arguments and spun context,

You are, whether you want to gullet it or not, part of the moving goalpost problem. Whether it’s you running to meet a phobe or an anti, or just being coded into it by the screaming around you, there is no world in which one is representation and the other is not. It’s just fuckin’ not.

It’s not.

I don’t care what you yell and scream because it’s popular in your circles. It’s fuckin’ not.

It’s not.

Either both are rep or neither are rep. Personally, I adore both of them, and anyone that has a problem with that can eat me.

Good Omens is not a goddamn motherfucking breakthrough in representation. It’s the same very valid very real form of queer coding half this site screams at because someone got loud enough to scream about it early on, generally inspired by antis riding their ass, just it’s the first and second lead instead of second and third lead, and there’s no ‘rival’ in first and second leads as being intentionally dragged into vaguery. It’s. Fucking. Not. It’s literally. The same. Fucking. Level.

Now, I HAVE been banging on that it’s the level our content SHOULD be acceptable at (well, almost; frankly I’d consider Destiel better, as the show’s overall intimacy threshold is far lower while Good Omens has parallel overtness to the coupling in the actual canon, meaning Good Omens’ playing field, for fair treatment, would be indebted to matching volume -- not saying sex since ace but louder admissions and engagements that are just as clear.)

Unpopular? Good, I don’t care. I’m tired of people screaming about completely conflicting crap.

It’s where we SHOULD be taking ownership of our content. So if there’s any breakthrough, it’s the LGBT community themselves having some sort of spark of awareness that they can and should be able to own content at that volume, largely because the fandom isn’t swamped by asshats on the other side all yelling for their own crappy agendas clogging up your heads. There’s a few queerbait shouters. And you laugh them off, by and large, and accept it as canon and rep. Funny how that works without antis up your ass.

Sincerely,

A tired queer and newborn Crowley stan.

#not spn #but kinda spn #definitely good omens #but more lgbt commentary

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callunavulgari · 5 years

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TOP 25 FICS OF 2018

1. A Cornstalk Fiddle by @notbecauseofvictories | Devil Went Down To Georgia | The Devil/Johnny | 17k

Where Johnny goes, the Devil follows; where Johnny goes, the Devil is already there.

Heather Says: So. I never thought that my favorite fic of the entire year would be a fic written about a song - and one that I don’t even particularly like - but here I am. I read this fic the same night that I finally broke down and watched Moonlight, and ended up listening to Moonlight’s End Credits and Hello Stranger by Barbara Lewis on repeat while I finished that first chapter on my back porch. This is that perfectly atmospheric fic that you’ll find maybe once every ten years and could probably sustain you on its memory for just as long.

2. Work of All Saints by @kaikamahine | Coco | Imelda/Hector/Ernesto | 210k

Imelda Rivera (b. 1899 - d. 1969), a story that includes but is not limited to: the finest music school this side of the Santo Domingo, three traveling musicians and the mess they made of love, the twice-cursed assassination of Venustiano Carranza, all the patron saints, and ninety-six ways a man can try to cross a bridge.

Heather Says: This story blew my entire mind. It was lovely, and tragic, and hilarious, and everything that a good novel should be. The parts of this fic that map out the unseen lives of Imelda, Hector, and Ernesto, that hidden backstory that a movie can only hint about, were exquisite to the point that I was afraid getting to the point where, well, they die, would be a letdown. It really wasn’t. If anything, the story managed to get richer as it went along, until suddenly you’re in a room sobbing into a pillow at four in the morning and have to be awake in four hours. No regrets.

3. Under the Covers by @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger | Stranger Things | Billy/Steve | 87k

Steve is (maybe) a little bit still in love with Nancy Wheeler and (maybe) trying to figure himself out-- between the night terrors and the babysitting and the general weirdness that is Hawkins, Indiana-- before he graduates.

Billy Hargrove fits in there somewhere (probably).

Heather Says: Under the Covers was the first Harringrove fic that actually kicked me over the edge from ‘eh this ship looks like it would have good hate sex’ and into full-fledged believer. It’s an intricately crafted look into the world of Billy Hargrove and Steve Harrington post-season two and it is absolutely glorious.

4. Bloody Ruin by esama | Castlevania | Alucard/Trevor | 37k

Vampire hunter and a vampire try to get along.

Heather Says: Written before season two came out, this was one of those fics that I clicked on because the pairing interested me and I wanted to see how it worked. It did not disappoint, and even after I delved through the tag on ao3 after I marathoned season two, this is still my favorite.

5. a road less traveled and a life less led by Azzandra | Dishonored | Billie & The Outsider | 9k

She took him out of the Void, as promised. And then she kept him, she supposed.

Heather Says: You know all that fanart that started cropping up after Death of the Outsider came out? The ones where Billie and the Outsider crept around Dunwall or Karnaca stealing fish and safes and graffiti-ing buildings? The ones with that found family vibe? Yeah. This fic scratches the same itch that all that art did.

6. But I’m Not There Yet by sarahyyy | Yuri On Ice | Yuri/Otabek | 71k

“Are you not going to read the article?” she asks, flopping onto his bed. “Look who ranked second, just after Phichit Chulanont.”

Otabek reluctantly scrolls down, and oh. #2 - Yuri Plisetsky

In the embedded Instagram photo just under that subheading, a very grumpy Yuri is cuddling a very grumpy-looking cat. The caption reads: I found the cat version of me at the shelter today. #iknowisaidnomorecats #canyoublameme

Heather Says: And here, in the stupid cute category we have teenagers navigating love through social media. What’s more, there’s a companion fic.

7. flowers start to bloom in every different hue by orphan-account | Coraline | Coraline/Wybourn | 1k

Coraline grows up, gets a tattoo, and falls in love. In that order.

Heather Says: I read this fic on a slow day at work, often in quick bursts while I was waiting for the kitchen to finish my table’s food. It’s short. It’s sweet. It’s perfect. And honestly? It’s everything that I was looking for when I ventured into the Coraline tag on ao3 because I was curious.

8. Victory Conditions by @astolat | Transformers | Megatron/Optimus Prime | 37k

“Do you want me to tell you a story?” Megatron said mockingly. “You won’t like it, Prime. It’s not a very nice one.”

Heather Says: Fun fact, I’m not even in this fandom. I haven’t touched the Transformers fandom since the first movie came out in 2007 and I spent a very confusing week shipping a boy and his car. But Astolat has literally never lead me wrong, and I was having one of those bored days where nothing quite itches the right spot, so I sat down on the couch and spent two hours reading this. Worth it.

9. just in it for the game by grim_lupine | Thor | Thor/Loki | 6k

“It's excellent rehabilitation for my image,” Loki says, widening his eyes. “They love you, and because of that they'll trust me. You wouldn't ruin this for me, would you?”

Thor glares at him.

Loki’s mouth twitches. “Also, it's the funniest thing that's ever happened to me.”

Heather Says: The Thor/Loki bug never really bit me until after Ragnorak came out. I mean, sure, I read it and it was good, but hella’s Frostiron fics basically destroyed me for any other Loki pairing. HOWEVER. Ragnorak happened and screwed that all the way up. Also, you know, this fic is absolutely lovely and was just what the doctor ordered.

10. so this guy walks into a bar by MasterOfAllImagination | Pacific Rim | Newt/Hermann | 2.5k

“Bourbon,” Hermann says, hooking his cane on the edge of the bar and sliding by degrees onto a stool.

“Straight up?” the bartender asks.

“Please.” Does he look like the kind of man who enjoys having his nostrils fumigated by undiluted whiskey? “On the rocks.”

Heather Says: I coped with Pacific Rim 2 by reading a couple AUs and a couple very, very long fics full of tragedy and math. Weirdly, the AU of a chance meeting in a bar was the one that stuck.

11. cherry pie by @brawlite & @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger | Stranger Things | Billy/Steve | 133k

Billy Hargrove lives for summer. Endless sunshine, heavily chlorinated pools, roaming ice cream trucks, and unencumbered freedom? There’s nothing better.

Even being stuck in Hawkins can’t ruin the summer for him. He eats it up, devouring every day whole.

Heather Says: Yeah, okay, but this is the fic that made summer worth it. Highly recommend reading at the pool or with your feet hanging off the back porch. Every piece of this fic was dripping in summertime nostalgia. It was fan-freaking-tastic.

12. the ghost and the good queen val by Wildehack (tyleet) | Thor | Thor/Valkyrie/Loki | 27k

“What,” she says, her heart racing, “was that.”

“What was what?” Korg asks, frowning up at her. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Valkyrie squints suspiciously at the ship.

“Oh my god,” Korg says. “You did! You saw a ghost!”

Heather Says: So, remember how I coped with Pacific Rim 2 with copious AUs? This is how I coped with Infinity War.

13. For Better or Worse by DragonBandit | The Bright Sessions | Mark/Damien | 22k

All Damien ever wanted was someone who wanted him. All Damien deserves is to die alone, stripped bare of any of the comforts or affections of humanity, a title he willingly shed.

Mark Bryant seems to be the Universe's compromise.

Wherein Damien and Mark are soulmates, and this changes enough.

Heather Says: I think I’ve read this one three or four time this year? It’s 22k of well-written fic for a fandom that has a max of like 100 fics all with lengths that tend to vary between a couple hundred words to 2 or 3k, max. This fic is the one that really catapulted me into the fandom.

14. in waves by @lymricks | Stranger Things | Billy/Steve | 38k

It’s March and it’s too cold for Billy to be shirtless and wearing shorts, but he hadn’t noticed until Harrington appeared and made him hold still. Harrington can’t seem to stop looking at the bruises. “What’s it to you if I miss a little school, Harrington?” Billy asks. He feels goosebumps rising on his skin.

“I don’t know,” Harrington snaps back, looking uncomfortable. He shifts his weight from one foot to the other. Plant your feet, Billy wants to scream at him. I’m going to bowl you over.

Heather Says: And here we have the first fic that wasn’t written by either @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger or @brawlite that made me realize that this fandom was gonna be a good one. So fantastic.

15. the cure by aquaexplicit | The Flash | Cisco/Harry | 43k

“I guess I don’t really get what you need to fix? Harrison Wells is a hot, rich genius that pays you to make cool stuff with his daughter and is totally into you. If you guys boning is the biggest problem you have, I think this officially qualifies as your best relationship ever.”

When Barry puts it like that, everything sounds so simple and not at all as angst ridden as Cisco has been suffering the past few months.

Cisco hangs up on him.

Heather Says: I remember a couple years ago, I fell absolutely head over heels for this one Sterek fic where Derek had twin toddlers and Stiles was the hired babysitter. So I think there’s something about dad + babysitter fics that get me, even if this one in particular the ‘baby’ in question is a fifteen year old genius. Still. Dad + babysitter. I don’t even know, but apparently it works for me.

16. pull out the insides by SpineAndSpite | The Bright Sessions | Mark/Damien | 3k

“Stop,” Damien says again, more insistent this time.

“I’m not doing it on purpose.” Mark's heart pounds in his ears and he sees Damien’s hands shaking. God. They shouldn’t have started talking about sex. Shouldn’t have filled in the colors and shadows to this pencil outline of a sketch forming between them. They shouldn’t have given it a name.

Heather Says: This year seems to have had a theme when it comes to fics that I’ve liked and it seems to boil down to: people who are bad for each other have sex and catch feelings. Mark/Damien is not the healthiest ship. But it also hurts in this stupidly tragic way and hell if I didn’t fall head over heels for it.

17. tell me, get my shit together by paperclipbitch | Star Wars | Han/Lando | 5k

“I thought we were actively avoiding each other after the Trandosha Shitshow,” Han says.

“We’re actively avoiding each other after the Iridonia Shitshow,” Lando corrects him, “the Trandosha Shitshow is That Which We Do Not Speak Of.”

Heather Says: So, guess what I did in the two to three hours after seeing Solo? If you guessed: ‘combed through ao3 until you ran out of fic’ ding ding ding, you are 100% correct. This one was very, very good, which makes sense, because paperclipbitch has some good shit.

18. chases, escapes, true love, miracles by pepperfield | The Flash | Cisco/Harry 55k

Just because the timeline has been restored, doesn't mean things are back to normal. Cisco's got 99 problems, and Harry Wells is approximately 38 of them.

In which Cisco makes a bunch of plans, fails most of them, narrowly avoids being disintegrated, receives a hug or two, finds his groove, and gets his man. More or less in that order.

Heather Says: This one was long and wibbly wobbly, because it was basically what season 3 should have been. But it was also really great, and had some super quality Harrisco interactions.

19. Your Pretty Little Heart by Ever-so-reylo | Star Wars | Reylo | 64k

Modern day AU in which Ben is an Alpha, Rey is an Omega, and they are way better at having sex than at communicating with each other.

Heather Says: Speaking of people who are probably a little bit bad for each other... This particular fic was new to me, not because of the um, extensive sexual content, but because I’m usually not a fan of A/B/O. But this one was extremely good, enough that I actually liked it for a/b/o aspect rather than in spite of it.

20. Draconia by perceived_nobility | The Bright Sessions | Mark/Damien | 4k

"So I was driving. One ex wife and one ex husband later, stopping at the same fucking gas stations you and I stopped at."

Heather Says: This fic actually prompted a 3 hour long conversation on the ‘adult’ Mark/Damien discord where we basically outlined an entire fic that I never got around to writing where Damien is raising a child, has a farm, and runs into Mark ten years down the ride. One day, I might write it, because vaguely domestic, meet-again-ten-years-down-the-road fics always bowl me right the fuck over and just. There needs to be more fic like this one in the world. But until then, the world can marvel at the beauty that is this one.

21. Artifice by buttpatrol | Wolf 359 | Hera/Eiffel | 23k

A story told in parts about colour palettes, identity, robot uprisings, sensational trials, space, and messy love.

Heather Says: As I’ve recently finished relistening to Wolf 359 I have a fresh appreciation for this fic, which is one of the only longer fics on ao3 that just grips you by the heart and squeezes the same way that the series does. It might have been written before the end of the series, but it’s honestly just as perfect.

22. (shoot the lights out, hide) till its bright out by lipgallagher | Stranger Things | Billy/Steve | 93k

The most dangerous thing walking around Hawkins goes by the name Billy Hargrove.

And he fucking knows it.

Heather Says: I’m kind of cheating here, because this is a series rather than a single fic, but I’m not picking just one part. I read the first four or so parts of this fic when I was visiting my family in South Carolina and spent the next few days wandering around the place half-in Steve Harrington’s headspace. It was an incredibly surreal experience, which lead to a pretty strong combination of mania, depression, and an indescribable craving for ice cream. So like, maybe don’t read this fic if you’re in a bad head space? But also it’s very good and features one of the most fucked up and intriguing Steve’s that I’ve seen yet.

23. Until My Feet Bleed and My Heart Aches by Reiya | Yuri On Ice | Yuuri/Viktor | 197k

‘…Of all the rivalries in the world of sports over the years, perhaps none has become so legendary as that of Russian figure skater Viktor Nikiforov and his rival, Japanese Yuuri Katsuki…’

Heather Says: I actually read this one on the plane ride down to South Carolina, and kind of didn’t like it at first? I’m not sure if it was just the act of putting Yuuri and Victor into the position of rivals that made me uncomfortable or the goddamn delays that turned half a day of travelling into a full one, but eventually I was able to get into and enjoyed it quite a bit. I really like the rivals to lovers trope, so I’d been looking forward to this one a lot.

24. Traveling Far by @astolat | Game of Thrones | Jaime/Brienne | 24k

Three weeks into their delightful slog across Westeros, during yet another charming day of shitting in the woods, eating half-raw squirrel, and trudging his feet bloody, the single most dour and uninteresting woman Jaime had ever met in all of Westeros stopped in the middle of a field, drew a deep breath, and said, “When I was seven, my aunt came to visit with her son. My father told me that as the daughter of the house, it was my duty to show hospitality to my guests and to be gracious to them. I wanted to make him proud. So for three weeks, I let my cousin follow me around and talk to me about spiders.”

Heather Says: I’ve become very fond of astolat’s Jaime/Brienne fics, and I think this one is my favorite yet. Featuring Starks, found family, and a whole lot of walking.

25. lilies of the valley (cover me with kisses, make my garden grow) by diasterisms | Star Wars | Reylo | 8k

Every girl is entitled to the mistake. That one colossal fuck-up that permanently alters the terrain of who you are. You'll either learn from it or you won't, so might as well have the time of your life.

Heather Says: I just. I really like flower shop AUs, and the idea of a Kylo Ren who owns a sleek flower shop being menaced by a tiny gremlin in a leather jacket just. Kills me. It was really sweet and all kinds of wonderful.

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yukipri · 6 years

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YOI x Star Wars AU!

A sudden wild, unplanned AU appears! Happy Star Wars Day, or May the 4th!

Thought about doing this last year, brain was like Nah, thought about it this year, brain was like YAH!

For those of you who didn’t know, Star Wars was my main fandom pre-YOI, so of course I was going to bring them together eventually ^ ^;

As usual, way too much thinking, so story Headcanons beneath cut!

PLEASE DO NOT REPOST, EDIT, TRANSLATE, OR OTHERWISE USE MY ART. To share, please reblog! More detailed rules available on my Rules & FAQ Post.

MORE OF MY YOI ART HERE.

Headcanons beneath cut! V V V V V

WARNINGS: major character death (or at least assumed), minor character death, Dark!Victor, Dark!Yurio, prisoner!Yuuri, Victor aged up, non-graphic genocide, u know the general star wars stuff LOL

Really just editing and slapping together elements of SW as I see fit ^ ^;; Mostly set in the prequel era, bc that's my home LOL. I have not a CLUE how many of you are actually familiar with the Star Wars universe, so I'll try to add simple explanations when I remember ^ ^;

Explicitly mentioned ships are Victor x Yuuri and Yurio x Yuuri. But my brain always tends to default Everyone x Yuuri ^ ^;;;

Please keep ship bashing out of the comments/tags. Don’t like, just skip <3 Thank you.

HEADCANONS:

Victor - a powerful Jedi Master once believed to be the Chosen One, but Nothing Happened! so people just sorta let him be. A maverick who completely does his own thing and orders from the Council are "suggestions," but well, he gets results. Takes on Yuuri as a Padawan, and becomes super, SUPER attached, increasingly in ways that are forbidden by the Code...

Yuuri - As a child, almost lost his chance to become a Jedi when no one chose him to be their Padawan, until one day Victor sees him practicing one of his saber routines. Yuuri is more than delighted to be chosen as apprentice by the legendary Jedi Master who also happens to be his not-so-secret idol. They spend many years together and become the perfect team, though Yuuri is completely oblivious to his Master's growing internal struggles with attachment.

Then, Victor is killed by a Sith.

With his dying words, Victor makes Yuuri promise to take Yurio as his own apprentice. Yuuri is heartbroken and an emotional wreck, but does the best he can for Yurio, and slowly comes to be as close to him as he was to Victor. Still, the years take their toll, and Yuuri becomes more worn as they enter war. The ghost of Victor seems to forever haunt him.

Yurio - A former slave boy who was picked up from a frozen planet by Yuuri and Victor, the latter who claimed that Yurio was the second Chosen One. While Victor originally planned to train him, after his death, Yuuri becomes Yurio's Master in his place. At first Yurio has no patience for his Master's lack of confidence and constant tears, but he also knows what Yuuri's capable of and refuses to take any other Master.

They slowly become close and a team with a bond to rival the one Yuuri had with Victor. Yurio knows Yuuri loves him dearly, but only as a student. But his own feelings are rapidly spiraling into something else. Yurio has always questioned and rebelled against the Code and is reluctant to deny his own feelings, but keeps them hidden for fear of hurting Yuuri, even if the secrecy threatens to distance them.

Then, Yurio starts having nightmares that come true. He finds that his grandfather, left as a slave on his home planet, was murdered. He barely manages to save Yuuri from multiple near-death experiences. After each one, he senses a dark presence that Yuuri claims he can't (or at least, refuses to acknowledge).

Yurio one day manages to corner the presence, and is shocked to find that it's Victor. Visibly, he hasn't aged a day, but there's something off and Dark about him. Victor warns Yurio that the end of the Republic and the Jedi is coming, and that soon he'll have to make some choices if he wants to save Yuuri from a horrible fate.

The nightmares continue, the encounters with Victor continue in secret to Yuuri, and Yurio eventually realizes that Victor now serves a Sith Lord (and is likely one himself), fulfilling his role in the prophecy as the Chosen One. Yurio knows he should tell Yuuri and the Council, but at this point he's also become ensnared in their trap, and convinced that the only way to save Yuuri is to betray the Jedi.

Yurio helps Victor massacre the Jedi, and the two of them take Yuuri alive. The galaxy burns around them.

When Yuuri wakes up, he is shocked to see Victor alive, but also horrified at what he and Yurio have become. Yurio ignores Yuuri, and demands that he and Yuuri be let go, as promised.

Turns out, Victor's main motivation for aiding the Sith was to get Yuuri. He "died" as a Jedi regretting having never been able to tell Yuuri how much he loved him. As a Sith, those feelings have warped into an obsessive desire to possess Yuuri in every way imaginable.

Yurio is not happy with this. This isn't what he signed up for.

Yuuri, locked away on some isolated planet with Force restraining cuffs and collar wonders how it came to this. As two Sith fight over him, he tries to find a way to save them both, while also praying someone's still out there left alive...

Other characters:

Phichit - Yuuri's best friend and an influential Senator. He knows everyone, and is the People's champion. While Yuuri and the other Jedi fight in the field, Phichit seeks to end war with politics. When the Republic falls, Phichit immediately moves to rally and lead the Rebellion. Through his vast network, he manages to catch a rumor that Yuuri is still alive, and desperately clings to that hope as he sends rescue mission after attempted rescue mission...

Chris - Victor's best friend while he was a Jedi, and a former Jedi Master himself. He did his best to look out for Yuuri and Yurio after his friend's death, acting as their mentor and supporter even when the other Jedi turned their backs. After the Jedi fall, he goes into hiding, completely ditching his identity as a Jedi but still helping the Rebellion when he can. When Phichit tells him a rumor that Victor may be behind Yuuri's kidnapping, Chris finds himself reluctantly dragged in...

Minami - A Jedi who was one of Yurio's age mates, he idolized Yuuri and was jealous that Yurio got to be his apprentice. Still, he worked hard to become a Jedi worthy of Yuuri's respect. When Phichit finds a rumor that Yuuri's still alive, Minami's the first who jumps to find him. One of the few surviving Jedi who still swings his lightsaber, he's determined to rescue Yuuri, even if it means having to take down Yurio. Also a master pilot.

Otabek - A bounty hunter who befriended Yurio during one of his missions as a Padawan, and they kept in touch over the years ever since. Otabek was Yurio's only friend outside of the Jedi, and as such was a consultant for many things he could not share with his Master, including his developing feelings. Otabek tried to warn Yurio against making any brash decisions, but was still unable to stop his Fall, and the subsequent destruction of the Republic. Now, he's the only one who knows where Yurio took Yuuri, and while he's reluctant to betray his friend to the rebels, he's also beginning to feel that the only way to save him may be to bring him down...

JJ - A former Jedi and rival of Yurio, he's now abandoned his identity and leads and protects a massive refugee settlement. He's a core member of the Rebellion and works closely with Phichit, but is wary of Chris and Minami's insistence on wasting vital time and resources on a single Jedi who may or may not be alive, and following the words of a bounty hunter. He feels that protecting the survivors and saving as many lives as they can needs to be their priority.

Aaaaare the headcanons I have for now ^ ^; How will it end? Will Victor and Yurio be turned to the light? Or will it have a bad end? (but then again, "good end" in Star Wars sometimes means all happy dead ghosts so...) WHO KNOWS!

Thanks for reading!

Like this post? Interested in supporting the artist and encouraging the creation of more similar works? Please consider supporting through Patreon or purchasing the artist a coffee! Because Tumblr hides all external links, you can find the links HERE!

#Yuri!!! on Ice #Star Wars #YOI #YuriYuu #Victuuri

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catemagum · 5 years

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This has been a long time coming, but I wanted to talk about some of Sylas’ followers that I’ve created as NPCs. Yes, the majority of them are OCs of mine that were pulled in and used for just this, but they impact my interpretation of Sylas. These NPCs will be mentioned in replies, drabbles, and he may even feature some of their powers from time to time. I also decided to use this as an opportunity to really expand on how much foreign influence he has, and really showcase his allies from their respective nations. Of course, they’ve reached out in secret and met outside of Demacia’s borders, but Sylas has made quite a few terrifying acquaintances and friends. I will also update this post with new NPCs as I see fit, and will let everyone know when I’ve done so.

If you ever want to interact with any of these NPCs, as I’ll be linking this post to the biography directly, you’re free to send in asks or inquire about roleplaying with them. This isn’t a multi-muse blog, but I do genuinely love these characters and would love to build on them more. With that said, just specify if this is the case!

* Faceclaim names will be put beside the character name. All drawn image icons used feature art pieces that belong to me, either by commission or gift.

CASSIA WINCROFT --- RUTH CONNELL

A beautiful and strong individual who wields powerful and wild fire magic. Wanted for breaking the Laws of Stone, Cassia has managed to evade authorities on Demacia’s outer borders for decades with her wildfires threatening their forestry and putting a wall between her and the mageseekers. Intrigued by Sylas’ cause and determination, she sees the fighting spirit and overwhelming potential in his eyes and was the first to ally herself with him. Over these short few months, Cassia has become almost motherly towards Sylas, ensuring he cares for himself from time to time whilst being the first at his side in dire times if possible.

She finds Demacians amusing and toys with them for her own entertainment. While she isn’t one to endanger them purposefully, Cassia has a habit of forgetting the extent of her own powers. She and Sylas have an unspoken agreement that he may borrow her power whenever need be, and together they devastate the competition. She has burned down the homes of countless nobles with Sylas, and they are very rarely seen apart.

AMARAH KHAFRA & RASHAKEN

Shuriman born with a brief involvement in the Noxian military, Amarah was known for her unique abilities granted to her by the desert god RASHAKEN. A wielder of pestilent magic, Amarah causes widespread disease through magic locusts and scarab beetles, creatures summoned from the pendant around her neck. All it takes is one touch, whether by her hand or her insects, to inflict an individual with crippling illness. Exiled from Shurima for leaving the deteriorated and half-eaten carcasses of Shuriman nobles, and leaving Noxus when they pushed into her homeland, Amarah heard word of the chaos unfolding in Demacia.

Reaching Sylas through a few stray bugs, they met in secrecy within Demacia’s walls and formed an acquaintanceship. While she cares not for the freedom of Demacia’s mages, she is a loose cannon following discourse and Sylas himself has felt the power she wields. Gifting him a few messenger beetles, they communicate through her unique insect creatures while she returns to Shurima and scouts for new allies, undercover.

EVANORA STEROS

A demonic being that had lived in the world of a damaged magic painting within the Immortal Bastion long before Noxus existed, Evanora emerged from her world when the Demon of Secrets was claimed by Jericho Swain. Since then, she led a pretty quiet life within Noxus’ walls, opening a small shop of magical ( and cursed ) items and potions, becoming something akin to a traditional ( and stereotypical ) witch. Gifted with the ability to travel to any place through a painting or photograph, whilst also capable of creating alchemical reactions with a single touch, Evanora’s curiosity got the better of her.

She travelled to Demacia through one of many paintings she had acquired from a weary traveller, and found herself clad in their usual white and gold garments. She had arrived in search of trade, her goods for items she otherwise couldn’t find in Noxus, and had gotten caught up in an encounter between Sylas’ starting group of people and some nobles. Evanora minded her own business, but Sylas persisted when he saw the magic she possessed. He asked her to join him, and she agreed, insisting that she could bring him supplies from Noxus in exchange for things she needed. Agreeing, though wary of her Noxian status, he took a chance and has yet to regret it.

KIRAEL NOAVEK

Kirael was born into Demacian nobility, and hated every moment of it. Her childhood was spent at home, sticking to the books and learning proper etiquette, always deemed too good for the other Demacian children. She was later discovered to have psychic abilities, things akin to the powers oracles held whilst allowing her to utilize basic telekinesis. Appalled by her magic and deeming her as a disgrace to their family, Kirael’s parents locked her away in their home and reported her as missing. Several years later, during Demacia’s first Harrowing, Kirael could not escape the cellar as the corruption crept in. A spectre came with it, and took Kirael’s life only to bring her with it. Welcomed to the Isles as their oracle, Kirael swore vengeance on Demacia for what they had done to her.

Seeing Demacia’s future in a vision, Kirael headed for the shining city three days before Sylas’ escape. She arrived a day after and sought him out, travelling only at night and avoiding prying eyes until appearing before him. She shared her story, her mistreatment, and offered her psychic abilities to aid him. She would be his eyes for the future, so long as he would be her eyes in the present. Although it is unsafe for her to remain in Demacia for too long, she occasionally visits to share her information and to obtain stories from Sylas. Their close bond formed through similarities of imprisonment, and he values her and her connections to the Shadow Isles. It is said that when she lends Sylas her powers, she lends him her true sight ( with the consequence of losing his physical sight ) so long as the physical connection is not broken. Otherwise, he inherits her telekinesis for a brief amount of time when they separate.

YUYAKO KUROSAWA

Born in Ionia, Yuyako is known for adopting orphaned children in her nation. Afflicted with a terrible curse that allows her to raise the dead, Yu tries her best to ensure the safety of the children she adopts while also attempting to bring restless and vengeful spirits to peace on the side. She was once a prisoner of war after the Noxian invasion, told that she would either join Noxus and aid them with her powers or she would hang, Yuyako spat in the soldiers’ faces in defiance. Feeling the ancient corrupting energy in the ground below her, Yuyako needed a diversion for her escape. She brought back several soldiers of the Ruined King’s army to storm the prison while she managed to steal one of Noxus’ ships and set sail back to Ionia.

During her time in Noxus, she heard of Demacia’s mistreatment of mages and found herself disgusted. In a nation where magic was everywhere and in everything, Yuyako couldn’t fathom suppressing it. Her heart bled for those affected, and although she doesn’t approve of Sylas’ more violent means of fighting the government, she isn’t exactly anything short of a fighter either. Willing to participate by more peaceful means, Yuyako is the one to aid Sylas in breaking mages out of prison so long as innocents aren’t killed in the process. Sylas struggles to use her ability, attempting to force the dead to raise for him, but she knows he can learn to ask and reach them with practice. It requires peace, not violence, and she hopes he will learn to settle down with her teachings. Of course, she always returns home once her job is complete, as her loyalty always lies with Ionia.

DRAKKAR

A former Bilgewatian gambler who made a deal with a mysterious man, only to find himself later possessed by a wraith of sorts. With his body morphed into holding this malicious entity, Drakkar is capable of becoming smoke-like, whilst also choking others by bombarding their lungs with smoke. He is a terrible creature, known for slipping through the smallest of cracks and willing others to gamble their lives. He becomes stronger with each life he takes.

He and Sylas met in one of Demacia’s bars, the mystifying man attempting to coerce Demacians into gambling with him. One was brave enough, and Sylas had walked in to see the bar shrouded in thick smoke and fog. Intrigued by this power, whilst Drakkar assumed the worst, Sylas instead offered him a place among the other mages. So long as Drakkar promised not to harm the mages of Demacia, he would be allowed to stay. Accepting the offer, Sylas now has a personal spy and scout. Sylas does not enjoy using Drakkar’s abilities, and avoids doing so unless absolutely necessary to make his escape.

JAECAR

Drakkar’s son, or, rather, partner. He, too, was possessed by a spiritual entity and has taken up the job of a Zaunite medic. Unfortunately, he’s not one for healing, rather, experimenting. He specializes in turning anatomy into puppets of his, whether living or dead, and he controls them through terrible means. It isn’t unusual to catch a glimpse of severed limbs moving on their own, nor is it unusual for the corpse of one’s local soldier to shamble through the town at night. Suspicions of his activities grew larger, driving Jaecar out of Zaun before he was caught. While he does have healing abilities, he prefers to use them for unfortunate purposes.

Hearing word of his father’s stay in Demacia, Jaecar used his anatomical puppetry to cause a distraction and slip past the guards. He found his way to Sylas, reunited with his father, and offered his services as their medic. Despite his questionable morals, he promised he would not experiment on the mages and would, instead, use the nobles they killed as his research subjects. All too eager to lend his power to Sylas, mostly for research purposes, Sylas finds himself at an internal war over using it. While he has no qualms with controlling the dead, he does find it a bit unsettling to control the living.

ENJORRAN

Deep in the Freljord, there is one such individual that has suffered far more than most. Known as an assassin, Enjorran is a golem created long ago as a royal guard for the first king and queen. After so many years, those he was made to protect have passed and he finds himself without purpose, whilst hating the direction the Freljord has gone in. With his devastating ice abilities, Enjorran has made it his personal duty to restore the Freljord to its former glory, and has essentially become a menace to any who stand with the three current tribes.

Sylas reached out to Enjorran on a whim, hearing of this mysterious and powerful golem from books Lux had given him. He was surprised to receive an answer by way of snow owl, a letter written ( albeit poorly ) in response and affirmation of acquaintanceship. Enjorran agreed to seek out other mages in the Freljord, ask them for help whilst reminding Sylas that he cannot go anywhere near petricite. He has agreed to lend his aid however possible in exchange for some of Demacia’s plantlife pressed between books. He has never gotten to see nature. --- Although Sylas has never used Enjorran’s powers, it would be incredibly devastating. Able to cover an entire city of Demacia in snow and ice, Sylas hopes that he may be granted the ability to use this magic someday.

LUCINDA DAWNHEART

An orphan from the city of Piltover, Lucinda was adopted into the Dawnheart family and registered within Demacia’s group of mages. She has since then hidden her talents, but is among the Demacian youth who suffers from the discrimination against mages and magic. Living within one of the annulment slums, Lucinda has been protected by the other mages and has used her magic to both help and save people from danger. Magic that takes the shape of large claw-like manifestations that hover over her, this young girl has become a favorite among Demacian mages.

Sylas indeed witnessed her powers when scaring away a thief from taking their supplies, mages telling the tales of a young girl haunted by a violent spirit. They keep her magic a secret with such a tale, and she plays off having no control over this demon. --- Recognizing her strength, Sylas has asked her to continue to protect mages so long as she stays safe, but she isn’t one to listen. Lucinda has a fighting spirit despite the innocence she portrays, and is determined to fight alongside him despite his instruction. Sylas has used her abilities once, and consequently torn a mageseeker and their accompanying soldier to shreds to protect a child being taken from their family in the slums.

VEL’AAN & NAVRESHA

Not much is known about Vel’Aan aside from the fact that they were raised in Ionia. Trained to be a formidable assassin, Vel’Aan was given a task to hunt down accursed objects within Ionia’s hidden passages. It was their job to uncover the country’s secrets, and on one day they did uncover something. Hidden within the ruined temple, guarded by mages of all sorts, Vel’Aan heard the whispers of a voice with enticing promises. They slipped in through a hole in the roof, unseen and undetected, only to be met with a sinister-looking mask depicting the face of a woman. Introducing itself as Navresha, Vel’Aan would be given power in exchange for the mask’s freedom. Agreeing and leaving with the mask in hand, Vel’Aan would never be the same after putting the mask on.

Sylas sought this duo out when hearing tales of the accursed mask being free’d from its confinement, that a young shaman had appeared in a Noxian city and left more than half the town in comatose. Bodies mummified in branches and covered in white flowers that never wilt nor die, not dead but asleep with no means of waking them, Sylas was intrigued by these powers. He sent an invitation to where he heard Vel’Aan was hiding out in Ionia, and set up a meeting outside of Demacia’s borders. They agreed to work together, and Sylas realized the power’s potential. It was not violent, but peaceful, a calming coldness that felt as though he himself danced with death personified. All it took was one touch, and a body blossomed. The flowers bloomed and the body shut down to sleep. It was beautiful, a good means of disengaging people, and he felt as though together they could do great things.

More to be added in due time !

--- void mage --- darkin w/ hemomancy --- one ( 1 ) yordle --- targonian w/ weird space magic

#〖META〗ᵗʰʳᵒʷᶰ ᶤᶰ ᵃ ᵍᵒˡᵈᵉᶰ ᶜᵃᵍᵉ & ˢᵗʳᶤᵖᵖᵉᵈ ᵒᶠ ʰᶤˢ ʷᶤᶰᵍˢ #〖STUDY〗ᵗʰᵉʸ ᵇᵃʳᵉᵈ ᵗʰᵉᶤʳ ᵗᵉᵉᵗʰ & ʰᵉ ᵖᵘˡˡᵉᵈ ᵗʰᵉᵐ ᵒᵘᵗ #long post /

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ggoddammitt · 6 years

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Hiiii~ sorry to bother, but do you have any FrUK fanfic recommendations? You seem to like this ship a lot so I figured you read a lot of fanfics. Sorry if I'm bothering you btw,,

it’s no bother ^_^ and yep, i have a LOT OF RECS! (oh boy)

before you begin, i should let you know that i have a bias for certain themes, so these tropes may reflect in my list -*anything that doesn’t blatantly state “uke!england” or “seme!france”…*friendship, pining ;;*quirky/humour*consent

without further ado, here’s my list :D (to keep things simple, i will only be recommending fics that are complete! it is sorted by rating followed by word count) -

ARCHIVEOFOUROWN:

NATIONVERSE

La Douleur Exquise by DoritoDuck (Flightlesskiwi)

Beautifully descriptive ;v;

Rating: General | Wordcount: 811Fruk-centric; pining but also established relationship

Jane Eyre by Fudgyokra

I love fics like this one- with france being a teasing sap.

Rating: General | Wordcount: 1139Fruk-centric (with a bit more France)

Of Lily Petals and Rose Thorns by pantheralupus

Fruk as kids on Valentine’s day; france being in love with love (and england) :D

Rating: General | Wordcount: 2488Fruk-centric.

Darling, Let Us Be Quiet by saunatonttu

just… England being self-deprecating, lonely and trying to breathe past his anxiety. France makes it just a tad more bearable.

Rating: General | Wordcount: 5606ENG-centric.

Comme des enfants by newamsterdam

England looks after de-aged France. a really sweet fic ^^

Rating: General | Wordcount: 15096ENG-centric.

Match Point by Fishwichformylove

Quite suggestive but really light and funny ^_^

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 1098Fruk-centric; established relationship

and we carry on by courfelicious

Domestic; development of their relationship (including the fights and arguments as well as romance ;; )

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 1824Fruk-centric (with a bit more England), a pinch of FACE

Second-Hand Smoke by Shachaai

new years kiss: pining + denial = oh no.

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 2857ENG-centric.

behind closed doors, with open hearts by saunatonttu

Terribly, terribly romantic.

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 6764ENG-centric, they’re this close to being in love already (ffs)

It’s Hard for Me to say “I Love You” (But I do!) by Antimisma

i don’t remember much of this fic but i tagged it as ‘fav fruk fic ever.’ so it must be good x)

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 9226ENG-centric; bucketloads of angst and pining

Table Manners by boudicca

OK I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER THIS FIC BC IT’S SO FUNNY AND I LOVE SNARKY ENGLAND

Rating: Mature | Wordcount: 844ENG-centric… there’s handjobs

The Colour of Love by wintersyzygy

Twisted, unfiltered passion.

Rating: Mature | Wordcount: 1178ENG-centric, friends-with-benefits

don’t let the sun set on us by kevystel

France has commitment issues but he still wants England.

Rating: Mature | Wordcount: 5090Fruk-centric (a bit more England)

What Love? by FinduilasLissesul

it’s classic friends-with-benefits to lovers ^_^

Rating: Explicit | Wordcount: 32296Fruk-centric (a bit more England)

HISTORICAL FRUK

Historical Hetalia (FrUK) by crashedtimemachine (snowonpalecheeks)

A series of historical fruk ;;

Rating: General - Mature | Wordcount: 12965spans the beginning of their relationship to the day France passes marriage equality in 2013. ENG-centric (the first fic in the series)

Mon Cher Ennemi by LM_Artless (MariekoWest)

Some gore + death but ultimately bitterly sweet.

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 3516set during WW2ENG-centric (he speaks french)

A Glass of Wine by fierysuzaku

Mainly reflection and nostalgia with some cutting banter ^^

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 4524includes their childhood and some FACE FR-centric, has a theme of poetry

A Portrait of England by ZaliaChimera

France takes care of England after he is left bedridden and blinded. Romance.

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 5113set after the Great WarENG-centric.

To Betray The People by hybridempress

heavy angst + fruk friendship, i adore this fic!

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 6863Warning: Temporary Character DeathFR-centric; set during the French Rev.

L'Entente Maladroite by maxcellwire

i’ve read this fic three times already..

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 13716set during the the War of the Quadruple Alliance, 1718-1720 (eng and fr are allies)Fruk-centric, a bit of FACE family

Your Excuse (For A Lover) by InTheLoft

get ready for centuries of war, heartbreak and pining. imo this is one of the most heartbreaking historical fruk fics ever written.

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 23714from 1066 to 1994 (pretty much nearly spans the entirety of their relationship)Warning: violence, character deaths (most are temporary), dissociation at one point (further warnings are in the author notes)

Hurricane Verse by newamsterdam

This is a series with two works, one complete. It’s been a long time since I last read it but it is tagged as one of my faves! It’s mainly France being hurt and uncooperative hahah

Rating: Teen - Mature | Wordcount: 27437WW2Fruk-centric (a bit more England I think?)

If Loyalties Lie by GhostoftheMotif, qualapec

ANGST. Not quite romantic- I remember this fic very briefly but I have it marked as one of my fave fruk fics ever :o

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 29690post WW2 (includes Prussia’s dissolution if I remember correctly) FR-centric, some Pru/Fra and BTT

The One I Trust by celestialenigma

trans male England; this fic really stands out in my mind :’)

Rating: Mature (mild smut) | Wordcount: 9059Fruk-centric (with a bit more England), a bit of Jeanne d’Arc

gonna give my heart away by kevystel

epitome of a love-hate relationship between these two honestly.

Rating: Explicit | Wordcount: 4801Fruk-centric, friends-with-benefits to lovers.

HUMAN AU

it’s a quiet time, but it’s not solitude by [orphan_account]

It’s just england admiring France softly and sweetly, that’s all *heart clenches* god I wish this fic was longer. can be intepreted as nationverse if you wish.

Rating: General | Wordcount: 726ENG-centric; established relationship

The Love Song of Arthur J. Kirkand by mikkey_bones

Romantic and domestic with a side of banter x)

Rating: General | Wordcount: 2755ENG-centric; grad school

Demain, Qui Sait? by snark_sniper

Francis is planning Arthur and Alfred’s wedding.. but he falls for Arthur.

Rating: not officially rated, but it’s G I think | Wordcount: 24956FR-centric, some USUK, Rus/Ame and BTT, past France/Jeanne

What We Remember by bearwald

Burning romance, poetry and art.

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 1106Fruk-centric, they’re roommates in college/uni

What Happens In Vegas by DemonicCharm

France and england accidentally get married and they go to great lengths to make each others lives miserable xD

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 28544Fruk-centric (with a bit more England), BTT, brief Jap/Eng

Divulging Peculiarities by DestineyTot

Vampire!francis; this fic really left an impression on me x)

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 29442ENG-centric, lonely pining hahah

CARDVERSE

Heavy is the Crown by 0Rocky41_7

this fic was a ride from start to finish holy heck ft. arthur in denial

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 56445ENG-centric (some parts are from F’s pov)

FANFICTION.NET

NATIONVERSE

Surprise, Surprise byjoyouswolves

The one time England is a gentleman to France and France is hopelessly charmed :’)

Rating: General | Wordcount: 2818Fruk-centric (a bit more France)

When I Fall by hopefulmemoir

England has depression. France notices.

Rating: General | Wordcount: 3531ENG-centric; fruk friendship.

Not Jealous by Darkfire75

France purposely embarrasses England bc he’s jelly.

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 1476FR-centric; establishedrelationship.

Chalk Hearts by ApplesauceLady

France is passive-aggressively jelly of China.

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 2800FR-centric; establishedrelationship.

A Blind Man’s Quest by marinoa

England accidentally blinds himself, and despite his stubborness France insists on helping him through it.

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 7177ENG-centric.

On The Red Street Of Dover by Lynn Kroto

Mutual longing and pining.

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 9120Fruk-centric.

Running Passions by SpeakingThroughWrittenWordcount

50% smut, 50% humour.

Rating: Mature | Wordcount: 5476ENG-centric; established relationship.

HISTORICAL FRUK

Laissez-Faire Love by oh-cripe-my-fish

Passion and romance. France is bi af.

Rating: Mature | Wordcount: 62081187, 1715, 2008.Fruk-centric.

HUMAN AU

A Fitting Color by Geekies

Oh man I’m reccing this fic for Arthur alone. He’s absolutely endearing in this fic. and Francis is being French.

Rating: General | Wordcount:29239Office AU; Francis is a fashion designer and Arthur is a comp technician.FR-centric; fruk friendship +pre-relationship.

Anything For You byRaindropsOnMyTeaCup

Heavy romance. Arthur is so in love ;;

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 31555Francis is a world-famous singer and Arthur is his agent.Fruk-centric (a bit more Englandif I remember correctly)

Fortune’s Favour by Shadowcatxx

whenever I think of this fic I remember how badass Arthur is xD

Rating: Teen+ | Wordcount: 35748AU set in 1735; Arthur is part of the Royal Navy and Francis is a pirate.FACE-centric; fruk slowburn romance.

OTHER

i don’t read fics on livejournal but ik there are a lot of really good fruk fics out there. one of the authors i know is nuitdenovembre :>

rainingFRUK by IamREADING gets aspecial mention. It’s the My Immortal of fruk fics and I just about criedreading it.

this list pained me to write bc there are SO MANY fics i wished to include, but in the end i had to pick the ones i have a vague memory of reading.. haizz.

#ask #anon #long post #fanfics bring joy to my life #to all the authors out there: THANK YOU!! SO MUCH!!!!!!#writing is such a tedious process like #reading def does not take even 1% of the effort writers put into writing #iv so much respect TvT #fic #rec #i wanna get into writing comments more.. so far i have three in my drafts that i should probs finish lol #rosetea

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acuppellarp · 5 years

Photo

We’re excited to announce that Leigh has decided to level up Lola Alvarez from a mumu minor character to a main character! Please go through the checklist to make sure you’re ready to go and send in your account within the next 24 hours.

OOC INFO

Name + pronouns: Leigh, she/her Age: 26 Timezone: EST Ships: Lola/Chemistry Anti-Ships: Lola/No Chemistry

IC INFO

Full Name: Louisa Cristina “Lola” Alvarez Face Claim: Lauren Jauregui Age/Birthday: April 11th (Aries mood), 24 Occupation: Model/make-up artist/burlesque dancer/photographer Personality: enigmatic, magnetic, confident, lonely, passionate Hometown: Brooklyn, NY Bio:

[DEATH TW]

Louisa doesn’t talk about her birth parents, simply because there’s nothing to talk about. Her father, she can assume, was never really in the picture, and her mother left her on the stoop of a fire department in the 99th precinct of New York City, so it’s not as if she cared. Louisa rarely thinks about her birth parents, if at all. The truth was, Consuelo Migdas was sixteen when she gave birth to Louisa, and wasn’t ready to have a family. She had hoped that by putting her daughter up for adoption, she’d be put into a good home.

It took twelve years for Louisa to be adopted. Twelve years for the world to show Louisa its cold nature. By the time she turned ten, Louisa had been carted to four different foster homes. Every time it looked like there was a promise of someone wanting to take her home, she ended up being returned like a blouse that didn’t fit quite right. Louisa quickly began losing hope that anybody would keep her for good. She’d be stuck in the foster system until she was eighteen years old, and then she’d become a ward of the state. She’d have to fend for herself in the extremely cruel city of New York.

If you asked her now, she’d tell you that it could have been much worse, but that’s very much in line with Louisa’s character. She’s not dramatic in that way. She’ll downplay anything to make you think she hasn’t suffered, she’s perfectly fine. But truthfully? Not having the unconditional love of a family had more of an impact on her than she’d ever care to admit. Louisa was awful in school– on the days she came in and wasn’t starving, she found that it was tough for her to concentrate. Numbers and words didn’t make sense. Once, as a Christmas gift, she was given a book from one of her teachers: Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott. Louisa loved that they had the same name, and she loved the idea of growing up with four sisters who loved her and a mother who would do anything for her. All she wanted was a stable, consistent life.

Louisa found that she loved art from the very beginning, and would lose herself in drawings. She loved to play dress up. She liked to take things, too. It started small, like a pack of gum or a candy bar. Nobody was any the wiser, and Louisa would never steal from the same place twice. She would steal art supplies from her school and only got caught once. Crying, she explained to her teacher that she only wanted to be able to draw at home. Three days later, she was gifted a beautiful set of over a hundred colored pencils. Every hue and shade Louisa could possibly imagine was in that set. She saved the nubs of those pencils and strung them together to make a necklace. It serves as a reminder for her– how far she’s come, and how much farther she has to go.

Things changed rapidly for the better when Mimi adopted her. At least, that’s how she introduced herself to Louisa: “I’m going to be your Mimi and we’re going to be very happy together.” It took Louisa a solid three months to believe her. If she could last longer than three months, that would be all. But Mimi showed her a home that was full of love, and a place where she was accepted. She had dinner every night, she had a quiet, cozy place to read her favorite book, and Mimi made sure she did all of her homework instead of roaming the streets.

It was when she was thirteen that she started going by Lola, if only because that’s what Mimi called her. When she asked why, Mimi would start singing the song from Damn Yankees– whatever Lola wants, Lola gets. And honestly, Lola wasn’t used to being spoiled. She wasn’t used to someone loving her. She wasn’t used to a real home.

When she applied to FIT, she put the design on the side and instead chose to focus on the modeling aspect. She got her degree, fine, but found herself loving the idea of being someone’s muse. Someone’s obsession. Someone’s love. Lola began to become heavily involved in making her own clothing, with the sewing machine that had been passed down from Mimi’s dressmaking mother right into Lola’s greedy little hands. It cost them a fortune to send her to college, but Mimi swore Lola was going to be on the cover every fashion magazine someday. Lola assured Mimi that she was too short, and focused on building a following via social media, something that she keeps up with today.

Lola’s life couldn’t be without one more tragedy, though. Mimi was cleaning the floor of their apartment in Brooklyn when she slipped on a puddle and hit her head. The injury resulted in dementia-like symptoms, not uncommon in Mimi’s age. After calling emergency services, Lola was told that there was nothing more that the doctors could do. Mimi was transferred to a care facility in Queens, and Lola visits her as faithfully as she can. Mimi is lucid sometimes, but often has no idea who Lola is other than the nice girl who visits her and sketches her.

Mimi’s current state has broken Lola’s heart. She’s picked up a few random jobs trying to make some extra cash– including dancing at a burlesque club (she insists it’s for the glamor of it all, but it’s mostly because she likes the attention), modeling for a series of painting classes (again, Lola likes attention), and working as a make-up artist. All the money she makes goes to pay for Mimi’s care, and to keep her room full of fresh flowers. Lola feels lost, understandably so, which is why she’s been so happy to join April’s Growers. It’s given her a new sense of purpose, even if sometimes she’s still kind of sad. Lola is doing the best that she can to juggle her odd jobs, her newfound roommates, her beloved mother, and pursuing what she loves.

Pets: Lola recently rescued a French bulldog puppy named Donatella, who she loves more than life itself. Relationships:

[WANTED CONNECTIONS: Roommate for Nicola & Kitty, April’s Grower]

Santana Lopez

All things considered, they should be rivals– they’re both Latinas who can sing, they’re both drop dead gorgeous, and they usually go for the same modeling gigs– but Lola and Santana have somehow managed to become friends. It also doesn’t hurt that they’re now prone to admire each other’s beauty as often as they can in someone’s bedroom.

Reggie Clifton

Ah, how does Lola even begin to describe Reggie Clifton? They met at a rally in the city more than a year ago, which is only too fitting for the both of them. Lola fell for Reggie and she fell very hard. They flirted, they messed around a lot, and when they admitted that they had feelings for each other, it was peppered with the worst thing Lola’s ever heard: I like you, but I don’t want to be in a relationship with you. Reggie, apparently, wasn’t ready, and Lola took her broken heart all the way back to Brooklyn and away from Acup. She’s come back around, though, and Lola is wasting no time in showing Reggie what she passed up.

X Scott

X and Lola have a really beautiful relationship, based on a mutual love of art. Lola has become something of a muse to X, and she’s always willing to pose for a photo or painting. They’re very much kindred spirits and Lola would go to the ends of the earth for X.

Nicola De Rocha & Kitty Wilde

Her roommates, but also her best friends. She’s only moved in with them recently, after Mimi’s death. Her Brooklyn home got to be too quiet, and Lola loves their chatter. Lola thinks of them as three larger-than-life personalities who could gossip until the sun comes up. She’s not so subtly hinting to Kitty that she wants to shoot at Vogue, and always dropping her wishlist to Nicola. She loves her roommates and would do anything for them.

EXTRA INFO

lola/lolalvarez/description: some women fear the fire. some women simply become it.

Five latest tweets:

@lolalvarez: @PamelaLansbury if y'all decide that the internal dating becomes to be too much and you need a new member, my door is open #justsaying @lolalvarez: I posted a makeup tutorial from my latest photoshoot on Instagram, please continue to @ me and tell me how pretty I am. @lolalvarez: DO YOU WANT TO SEE A PICTURE OF MY DOG? @donatellanotversace @lolalvarez: I could go to Central Park, or I could binge ANTM. Or, I could order Insomnia cookies #3amthoughtswithLola @lolalvarez: @nicoladerocha @awildecard Tell me I’m pretty.

#accepted #acup: level up

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dndplus · 6 years

Text

In Depth - Character Creation

This post is still for Dungeon Masters, but I imagine players can glean a thing or two about this on how to make a character.

Now I know what a lot of people are thinking: this is too basic. The Player’s Handbook does an excellent job explaining this, and-

I’m going to stop you right there, because this isn’t just about the basics. Yes, I’m going to go over the actual steps of creating a character, but I’m also going to add insights on how a DM can help walk a new player through the character creation process, as well as how a DM themselves can get the most out of a character creation process themselves. It’s also a look at why DMs and Players should make their characters together.

Here’s the bullets on what we’ll be covering:

Rolling stats, and why we do it first.

Getting to know your player, and understanding what they want.

Picking a background before a class.

Choosing a class.

Incorporating the character into the setting.

Rolling Stats, and Why We Do It First

This is a big one. I can go on and on about the virtues of this step, but the reason we insist on doing it first is to talk about something that comes even before this step right away: how stats are handled.

There are many ways to handle stats, and it’s up to the DM to discuss with the players what they’re looking for. Here’s a few ways it’s typically handled:

A point-buy system, where all players are on even footing and can tweak their character’s stats to their liking.

Absolute chaos, the other side of the spectrum. You roll 4 D6s, add up the best 3, and pray you get a couple decent rolls to make something at least usable, and accept that the struggle is part of the fun.

A hybrid approach, whereby a player rolls 4 D6s and adds up the best three, and has the ability to turn one roll into a 16 (so long as they didn’t already get two 16+ rolls to begin with). This system basically removes the ability for a character’s stat-line to be completely screwed, while preserving the randomness that some characters will naturally be more gifted than others. Some players like the chance to be extra strong, and also like a challenge, but hate the possibility of being useless, so this can be a popular option..

My personal favorite, the ‘reroll’ approach. This one is hard to explain, but the results have always been much to my liking and never left a player in a bad spot. You roll 4 D6s like normal, add up the best 3, and keep going until you have all 6 rolls. At this point, whether or not the player rerolls is based on a few simple guidelines. Here are the rules I use: Did the player get at least 2 rolls of 16+? Keep. Did the player get at least 1 14+, 1 16+, and have no rolls below 10? Keep. If neither of these happened, the player is offered a chance to reroll. I’m a fan of this system because it allows for the possibility of character weighted heavily in one direction, giving them great strengths, but also great weaknesses. Likewise, the other option is a character that’s still pretty good, at what they do, but with no grave weaknesses. Finally, you can still end up with an incredible character, but I’ve yet to see anything obscene.

Regardless of whatever method you use, make sure you’re there for the rolling of the stats if the method requires it. Do not, under any circumstances, allow a player to roll their stats without your supervision. This is a mistake, one that can give rise to a player who fudges their rolls. A DM must always be vigilant for this kind of behavior, as once someone starts cheating, it can be very, very difficult to get them to stop, and even harder to get other players to ever trust them again once they’re caught.

Getting to Know Your Player, and Understanding What They Want

Now, while rolling/picking stats, it’s time for you to discuss with your player what they’re after. Not everyone plays D&D for the same reasons, after all. Some people are looking for a way to hang out with or make new friends, some want to escape reality into a place where they can be a great hero or villain of their own making, and yet more want a sprawling, somewhat theatrical experience for them to lose themselves in.

The biggest lie a person can tell you at this point is that getting this information out of your player will be easy. It’s not. It’s Hell. Expect that this is a process of you whittling them down, and start with a basic list of questions to find the angle that will get some answers you can work with:

What do you want to play? This is an underestimated question, but some players really are that easy. The ones who want to be powerful wizards or sorcerers (but don’t actually know the difference) should be introduced to the concepts of wizards, sorcerers, and warlocks. People looking to brawl should be shown Barbarians, Fighters, Paladins, Monks, and maybe Rangers. Players that want to be able to do a wide range of things should be shown Druids, Clerics, Paladins, and Bards. Players that want to play ambushing assassins should be shown Rogues, Rangers, and Monks. Giving them details of what each class brings to the table after narrowing things down usually results in a confident choice.

What do you want to get out of Dungeons and Dragons? This is a tough question with a low success rate. It usually hits well with players who are just there to have fun, though. When that happens, and you can’t find something the player wants to play, suggest suspending the character creation until the others have gone. Then, you can recommend a class that will be unique and useful in the group. This usually satisfies the player in this category. If it doesn’t, you’ll just have to keep working at it.

What do you want to be? This is an important question, and one that sets up the real next step of character creation. On occasion, you’ll have a player who can imagine the story of their character. They’ll see a soldier, or an acolyte to some god, or a pirate, or a thief, or an entertainer or... whatever it is they fancy. Not every thief has to be a rogue, and not every acolyte has to be a cleric, paladin, or monk. Some players are convinced what they want to do won’t work, and in those situations you need to remind them that what they want absolutely can and will work.

What’s your favorite fantasy genre? This one is a little simple, yeah, but sometimes it gets the ball rolling. Finding out that someone loves Lord of the Rings, and asking them who their favorite character can easily result in a recommendation that gets the player’s gears turning. Likewise, a big fan of kung fu, karate, or MMA might not realize that monks are martial arts masters, and not just sagely individuals who make wine in a monastery on some remote countryside.

Explain EVERYTHING. This isn’t a question, this is what you do when nothing else works. These supremely difficult players are typically joining the game for dubious reasons, mostly because they’re guarding themselves than for anything nefarious in nature. D&D, while being a game that’s classically attributed to shut-in nerds, requires a person to be surprisingly outgoing to get the most out of it. Guarded players are going to take extra time and attention, and might do odd things like wait till you’ve explained everything before making a choice, because for one reason or another they feel less embarrassed about looking excited about what’s looked down on in some circles as ‘just a board game’.

Whew that was a lot, but character creation can be incredibly taxing when dealing with newer players. The good news is that that step is now done with, and you have a much better idea of what the player might be after (unless they’re the guarded sort, in which case may the Upper Planes have mercy on your soul).

Picking a Background BEFORE a Class

It’s amazing how much you can do before actually choosing a class. Many of your players by this step will already have something concrete in mind, and that’s fine, but it’s still best to figure out a character’s background first.

The Player’s Handbook offers several of these in detail (Pg. 125/141):

Acolyte

Charlatan

Criminal/Spy

Entertainer/Gladiator

Folk Hero

Guild Artisan/Guild Merchant

Hermit

Noble/Knight

Outlander

Sage

Sailor/Pirate

Soldier

Urchin

It’s a big, BIG list, and yet somehow there’s yet more to it than just picking one and being happy about it. The biggest mistake a DM might make is seeing these and not realize that, from the very get-go, they’re just the framework of something you offer to a player. They can be mixed, matched, and tweaked in any way that fits a specific player’s backstory. Here’s a few examples to take note of:

Mercenary - All the flavor of a soldier, right down to the same possible skill proficiencies and tool proficiencies. A mercenary, however, may have slightly more or less gold (depending on the success of their group), lack an insignia, and have a completely different kind of Feature. Mercenaries who worked on the sea might have proficiency in sea vehicles instead of land ones, and share the Ship’s Passage feature with Sailor/Pirate. They could also be tough and wise to the road, giving them the Wanderer feature from Outlander, or be well known and respected, garnering them the Rustic Hospitality feature from Folk Hero. These are all ways to flavor a basic background and turn it into something that fits a player more appropriately.

Acolyte to a Dead God - Sometimes, bad things happens in a setting. A campaign can start shortly after the fall of a god, with one of your players being the stalwart champion who refuses to give up their late deity’s sacred charge. In this scenario, you often end up with an Acolyte devoid of the Shelter of the Faithful feature. Life may have been hard since the death of their god, causing them to become proficient Wanderers, or maybe beneath their first identity of Acolyte they are also a noble. My personal favorite is to mix Acolyte with Hermit, permitting the player to know a grand secret that may have a connection to their god. This can be some truth their god entrusted them with that has great implication going forward, or even an artifact of uncertain power with the potential to resuscitate their patron from death! Such an secret can be massive enough to create an underlying long-term goal for the campaign, and pit the forces that saw the god’s death against the players from square one. It might sound like a lot of responsibility to plant on a player, but for some, the idea of such a massive task to undertake is what they’ll enjoy most.

Disgraced Noble - Blood carries power, enough to bend the ear of local lords and the like. But what if that’s all a character has? A prideful urchin, refusing to stoop to nefarious acts, may be lacking in street smarts, but by virtue of their birth still has the power to invoke their bloodline to others in power. This character starts with little, possibly because what they had was taken or squandered by immediate family, but is rife with the flavors of determination and a sincere desire to return to their station. This character is well educated, and remains skilled in History and additional language, but lacks in the means to persuade as efficiently as their non-disgraced counterparts, and starts with less coin and crummy clothes. Their ability to be persuasive and throw their bloodline’s weight around may have been replaced with the skills needed to survive on the streets, like Survival itself, or perhaps with another language found where they live, or Athletics, or Religion from their need to visit local churches and pray for the strength struggle on through the shame of their fall from grace.

What I hope is understood most by these examples is that a player should be pushed to go into detail, not just so they themselves get more engrossed and invested in the events of the game, but so that the DM has more to use to that end.

Choosing a Class.

With a background selected, picking a class can now have more weight behind it. It’s the culmination of a character, not the start of it, and that too attaches yet more weight to the decision.

The flavor of a chosen class becomes more apparent now that we have a background chosen. Let’s look at how the decisions made in one of the backstories from before can affect the class outcome.

For this, we’ll use Disgraced Noble:

Barbarian - A Disgraced Noble forced to survive on the streets (Survival variant) can quickly become stripped of their more refined attributes. Their life is difficult, and it seems often like their anger alone is what gives them the strength to go on. In this way, a Disgraced Noble makes an excellent barbarian, combining the duality of their need to be proper and respectful with the ability to fly off the handle and wreak absolute havoc when pushed too far or disrespected too severely.

Fighter - A Disgraced Noble that’s especially devoted to the task of not succumbing to life on the streets acts the part of the knight even if they lack the resources to really be one. It’s a bullheaded strategy in life, one that’s forced them to toughen up (Athletics variant). Contrary to what would happen with most nobles, this seems to have emboldened the Disgraced Noble, and made him a paragon of discipline and strength that a locale can come to rally behind. In many ways, this Disgraced Noble can be more Noble than any other. They can also be cruel though, and don the mantle of a warlord looking to reclaim their birthright by force. Whatever the choice, the player and DM have a lot to work with.

Paladin - Faith can lead to salvation, something the Disgraced Noble who turns to the local church might quickly learn. The assumption by nobles that they are born to lead meshes well with the Paladin class, as they themselves are also natural leaders. This Disgraced Noble refuses to let what happened to them shape their life, and forges on for whatever cause they adopt as if becoming Disgraced never happened. Unlike the Fighter or Barbarian, this Disgraced Noble’s goals may not have to do with reclaiming their birthright, reacquiring it anyway will probably be in their future if they’re successful anyway.

In the instance of a player already knowing what class they want, you help them mold the background onto that choice in reverse. In some cases, you can have their choice of class come from a relatively recent event, such as a thief signing a pact with some patron who suckered them into a bad deal with a heavy, ironic personal cost.

Whatever the outcome, understand that your creative license (and the player’s) is endless! This is Dungeons and Dragons! You can play a Paladin Kobold Noble adopted by a well-off dwarven family who worships Moradin and supplements their paladin levels with sorcerer levels from their kobold heritage to create a spell-slot packed, divine smiting machine!

Incorporating the Character Into the Setting

Here we are, the part where it all comes full circle and you do your DM you to make a player’s character feel like a part of the world and not just tacked on.

For some characters, this is very easy. The Disgraced Noble, or the Acolyte to a Dead God carries heavy integration right into their backstory. You need only add the places and people in the world to highlight these things, and you’re all set.

For other characters, this can be more difficult. Consider pairing characters with compatible backstories to give their existence more weight and to speed up the formation of the party when you finally play. For instance, the Mercenary might remain friends with the Disgraced Noble after they can no longer be paid, and a Criminal and Pirate might bond after being forced to share a jail cell for a while. Likewise; clerics, paladins, and monks might all recognize one another of worshippers to a similar diety, or a gladiator fighter may have heard of an acolyte monk whose temple encourages dueling as a means to perfect their martial arts.

Not all character backstories are going to have grand outcomes. When you see one like this, ask the player if their character should have any special motivation behind them. What do they desire, or what grudges do they hold? What event pushes them out from their comfortable life? Did a family member die, and leave them seeking revenge? Is there something they find themselves needing to do, possibly because a dying, elder loved one wished it?

Whatever the case, look for a way to create a motivation in your player’s backstory. Why? Because some of your players absolutely will not go for this. Having content that the players feel invested in completing does a lot for their engagement in the game, and one player being energized about something is usually enough to set fire to the whole group.

With all of that said, this brings me to my last point of this post. Some players just don’t give a shit. Don’t feel bad, it’s the way of the world. They want to hang out, kill some enemies, get some cool loot, and then do it all again next week. They feed off the energy of other players, relying on them to give the campaign substance, and will oftentimes make you feel like everything you’ve done went unappreciated.

When you encounter this player, understand something very important and beneficial about them: they’re there to have fun. They keep things light, and do things unexpectedly in character as a gag that cracks the whole table up and makes the hours of play fly by. This player is a headache and a half, but every group would benefit from having one, so tolerate their nonsense when you have to.

#D&D #D&D 5e #D&D&EE #Dungeons and dragons #dungeon master #dungeon master tutorial #dungeon master guide #treasure #dm #gm #dm tutorial #characters #character creation #understanding your players #backgrounds #rolling stats #types of players #PCs #player characters

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one-of-us-blog · 5 years

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The Chicken and the Egg (TGP, Episode 24)

Today Eli is forced to watch and recap The Chicken and the Egg, the final episode of The Golden Palace. In this installment, Blanche entertains the idea of having another child with a random boyfriend, while Roland uses his martial arts mastery to teach the local elderly community to lay down some street justice. Will the final chapter of the show serve as a fitting conclusion to this epic saga? Keep reading to find out…

Well, here we are! I don’t quite know what to say before I dive into one last recap, as I want to save my thoughts on the project in general for my very last post. With that in mind, let’s do this.

Buttocks tight!

Episode written by Mitchell Hurwitz, directed by Lex Passaris

Sophia enters the hotel lobby declaring that “It’s gone.” Chuy guesses that she is referring to her short-term memory, but Sophia ignores him and wonders aloud who the Mexican is. She says that her purse was stolen by some thug and blames the Bush economy. With a few more questions, she reluctantly reveals that the purse was stolen while within Rose’s now also-stolen car, which Sophia “borrowed” without asking. Additionally, the thief might have gotten pretty far since Sophia had just filled up the gas tank using Rose’s credit card. Roland considers teaching a self-defense seminar at the hotel to deal with these situations, and casually mentions that he has a blue belt in Tae Kwon Do. Blanche is all dressed up and demanding compliments as she has a hot date with Bobby Lee, a cattle baron from Austin. Her daughter Rebecca is also coming to visit Blanche’s (shudder) birthday, so we have all the pieces in place for our final outing!

We cut to Blanche and Bobby Lee in the hotel lobby, and he wastes very little time in sitting Blanche down to propose. He wants Blanche to agree to be his wife! Oh, and he also wants her to agree to have his children. Say what now? She attempts to pump the brakes, but he says that he knows she is older than she claims. Still, breeding is his business and Bobby suggests letting the doctors worry about the details. She simply has to say “yes,” and caught up in the moment, she does just that.

Blanche soon makes an announcement to her friends about her engagement and receives congratulations. She then announces her plan to have a baby and receives mockery. Sophia calls her a fossil, and Rose suggests that perhaps that ship has already sailed. Like, way back in End of the Curse. Rose also speculates that this is all a result of Blanche’s hatred of birthdays, but Blanche says that this is something that Bobby Lee wants and she “owes” it to him to try. Gross. Blanche also points out that medical science has come a long way, and she could potentially have another woman’s fertilized egg implanted. Roland reminds Blanche that she should really consider adoption, and then probably laughs and laughs in his head as he remembers that he is totally off the hook with Oliver, or whatever that little burden’s name was.

Roland dons his Tae Kwon Do garb and prepares to instruct a class of elderly women on the finer points of kicking a man in the balls. Someone hurls a bottle of estrogen at his head and he shames a masculine-looking lady, so things are really off to a great start. Roland attempts to bond with a student names Sylvia, who mentions that she enrolled because she wants to put her bastard husband through a window for calling her frail. To get down to business, Roland reveals that Chuy will be playing the part of the “attacker” in class, and he enters in a padded suit, snarling like a bear. It takes the old ladies approximately 2.5 seconds to swarm and beat the shit out of him.

Blanche has checked in with Bobby Lee about the possibility of adoption and says that he (predictably) has no interest in caring for someone he didn’t help to create. Rose wonders where Blanche will find someone with a compatible medical history to give her an egg, and at just that moment her daughter Rebecca shows up. They hug, and Rebecca says that Blanche can have anything she wants for her birthday. Blanche only has her sights on an egg.

After having a presumably uncomfortable conversation with her daughter, Blanche tells Rose that Rebecca didn’t agree to her request right away and will have to think things over. Blanche insists that she isn’t as old as everyone seems to think she is, and Rebecca shows up again to mildly rain on her parade. Blanche doesn’t want to be lectured, but Rebecca says that although she doesn’t think any of this is a good idea, she is willing to give her mother what she wants despite her objections.

Blanche seems to be having a rough night, tossing and turning in bed. Unable to sleep, she goes downstairs and discovers that she is super pregnant with a huge belly! Actually, Rose says that she went to the clinic with Blanche, and she got pregnant too! The two show off their enormous midsections and Rose complains about all of the morning sickness, varicose veins, cravings, and back pain that come along with pregnancy, and that they had both forgotten about. The surprises keep coming as Sophia is pregnant too, maneuvering her own belly around on a wheeled contraption. The trio somehow manages to gather at the kitchen table, where Sophia gives Blanche a good kicking for talking them all into this mess. Blanche says that she didn’t mean that “anyone” can get pregnant, but it’s too late, this scene has already gone off the rails; Roland is pregnant too and experiencing some major mood swings. We aren’t done yet, folks, Chuy has a bun in the oven as well! More specifically, he is carrying his bun in his backside for the sake of a dumb joke. Blanche apologizes profusely to everyone…

…and then a worried Rose wakes her up from her dream! Can you believe it?

The parking attendant from the neighboring hotel shows up with Sophia’s purse, and everyone realizes that Sophia actually just accidentally valet parked Rose’s car. Unfortunately for the attendant, Sophia and her gang of newly-trained Tae Kwon Do grannies choose this moment to wander in, and they all swarm Sophia’s “assailant.” Blanche needs to talk to Bobby Lee, who arrives at the hotel at just this moment. She is about to tell him that she doesn’t want to have a baby after all when he breaks down and admits that he is sterile. Both parties continue to insist that they are not old, but Blanche says that perhaps they can accept that they are “approaching middle age” and still have some fun together. Bobby Lee throws out a parting reference to his freezer full of bull semen, and leaves. Rebecca then comes downstairs, and Blanche tells her that she was right. Rebecca says that she just wants Blanche to be proud of the person she is, and they hug it out in the show’s final embrace.

For one closing scene, we find Chuy fleeing into the hotel elevator to escape the gang of violent older women that Roland has unleashed on the world. He almost makes it to safety, until Rose foils his plan. The very last image we are ever to see in the Golden Universe is that of Chuy being descended upon by the angry mob.

The End.

I have to say, while this is the final episode of the series and I’d like to go out on a high note, I kind of wish that this episode and the previous one had been swapped. I know I enjoyed the wacky antics of Roland policing vacationing young adults and Chuy building a giant burrito, but the pregnancy dream sequence in this episode just seemed silly without actually bothering to be funny. That, plus I feel like the whole angle of one of the girls (specifically Blanche) lamenting her lost youth and reproductive capability was already done by The Golden Girls, and done better. Bobby Lee seemed like kind of a creep to me, and it also seemed weird that Blanche was ready to marry a character in the very first scene in which he was introduced. It wasn’t a total loss, as I kind of enjoyed the idea of a gang of pissed-off grannies wandering the streets of Miami and stirring up trouble, and I liked that the show’s final message was that you should love yourself just the way you are, so I’ll leave things with that very positive thought in mind. Still, I’m giving The Chicken and the Egg a rating of 3 poofy hairdos out of 5.

I can’t believe that I have written my final recap for this big, crazy project, but I’ll still return one more time to share some final thoughts on the series and what One of Us! has meant to me. But before then, you can still treat yourself to one more recap from the real powerhouse of this duo, as Drew will soon be sharing his thoughts on the most recent Bond film, SPECTRE. Until then, as always, thank you for being a friend, and for being One of Us!

#golden palace #golden girls #one of us

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