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stranger-who-writes-fiction · 2 years

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so after reading supergirl woman of tomorrow I’ve been really hungry for comics with really good art. comics that I’ve enjoyed (thanks to recs from friends) are cosmoknights and paper girls.

so I wanted to ask, do you have any recs (supergirl or not) for comics with great art?

OOOOoooh, I do indeed have some recommendations! (I too am always hungry for Really Good Comic Art, and I'll admit that I'm still working to go outside my comfort zone and try new creators/types of stories, so this list is not exhaustive! But hopefully some of these titles can act as springboards for further exploration--that's how I've been going about it!)

RIGHT, SO! In terms of 'cape comics' and superhero stuff:

Stuart Immonen's Superman: Secret Identity. Immonen is regarded as one of the best 'cape comics' artists out there. He's since moved on to self-published indie titles, but yeah. Not only is this a great 'Superman' story but also, like:

Russell Dauterman's Thor run with Jane Foster. Since Love and Thunder recently came out, I think they've collected this story in it's own trade, so it's maybe easier/cheaper to hunt down? Otherwise it's available in three hardcover omnibuses (omnibi???) and it's basically gorgeous:

Anything with Darwyn Cooke art. New Frontier is the big one but pretty much all of his work is phenomenal.

Elena Casagrande's Black Widow run. Eisner-winning book that Marvel decided to cancel at issue 15. *cue frustrated grumbling* The run has several fill in artists but when Casagrande's on? Beautiful double page spreads and, since it's a Kelly Thompson book, a whole lotta De Luca effect!

(Note: The book itself is not in black and white, I believe this was shared either by Casagrande or Thompson via a newsletter to show the process/bts stuff)

**Cliff Chiang's Catwoman Lonely City. The artist behind Papergirls doing a stellar 'Old Lady Selina' book. Great stuff.

**Greg Smallwood's Human Target. Tom King gets all the good artists, I tell ya! XD Really lovely homage to mid-century illustration, and a fairly compelling Noir-y murder mystery, told with superheroes!

Anything with Jamal Campbell art: I think the 'second season' of Naomi just wrapped (which is literally what they called the comic--not to be confused with the actual TV season ) and **Far Sector is also out as a completed trade. I *love* the way Campbell renders his figures. (And it's all him! Inks, colors, the whole deal!)

Dan Mora's Batman/Superman World's Finest. Everything Dan Mora draws is just flat-out awesome. Slick! Dynamic! Begging for an animated adaptation of some sort! Would also recommend checking out his Power Rangers stuff (he's got this very cool oneshot about like. Redemption Arc Alt-Universe Kimberly Hart/Pink Ranger. It's great.) and I've not read it myself but **Once and Future is coming to a close, so if you're into Arthurian Legends, that might be one to look in to.

Honorable Cape Comic Mentions: Anything and Everything by either Chris Samnee or Doc Shaner. (Daredevil and the current, ongoing Mary Marvel title especially.) For Samnee, beautiful use of spot blacks and a mastery of sequential storytelling; for Shaner, his color game is on point and his character acting/figure work is wonderful.

Cape Comic Anthologies:

Batman Black and White, Superman Red and Blue, Wonder Woman Black and Gold, Solo, and Wednesday Comics. Anthology books are usually a hard sell because there's no guarantee that you're going to enjoy all the stories, so I don't typically recommend them. However, these collections specifically focus on the art side of things--most of them feature a kind of artistic 'gimmick'. (I.e. limited color palettes, newspaper comic formatting, etc.) There's a ton of folks featured in these books--Batman Black and White especially, I think there's multiple volumes of that. A great way to find new artists to check out!

Non-Superhero Stuff:

Matías Bergara's Step by Bloody Step. The trade comes out soon; it's an entirely wordless comic, so the art literally carries the entire book. XD It's heckin' gorgeous, and OUR BOY MAT LOPES ON COLORRSSS

Jeff Smith's Bone. A classic in both black and white, and color!

Luke Pearson's Hilda. The series upon which the adorable Netflix show is based! Beautiful color design and fun panel construction throughout.

Jonathan Case's Little Monarchs. This one came out recent-ish I believe. Really compelling premise rooted in real-world science, and features in-universe 'field notes' and illustrations, all meticulously rendered.

**Elsa Charretier's Love Everlasting. Okay, you wanna know the WILD thing about Charretier??? She was an aspiring actress at one point, but she wasn't happy with it. Her partner at the time wanted to write comics, so he bluffed his way through a pitch with a pro without any pages. He asked her to draw some and BOOM, that's how she decided to teach herself how to draw comics!!! In 2012!!! Insanity. In the best way.

Tracy Butler's Lackadaisy. Easily one of the most beautiful and INCREDIBLY clever webcomics around. It's a bunch of rum-runner cats. I know Butler has a Patreon these days but I *think* the comic itself is still available for free.

Titles marked with a ** are Black Label/mature, so. Not appropriate for all ages. Just a heads up!

And there is the list! As mentioned, hopefully this is a good starting point for poking around into other corners of comic art; there's a TON of great indie titles out right now, and I gotta say, DC is doing a pretty great job with a lot of their Black Label stuff in terms of committing to artists in particular. Marvel is in a bit of a...not a slump, necessarily, but very tied to their 'house style' at the moment. (Alex Ross has a new Fantastic Four graphic novel coming out, though, so that should be interesting!)

If you have any other questions about these titles/further recs, feel free to send 'em my way!

#comic recs #stranger replies #long post #looooooong post #I've cited just the artists here but hopefully a title search will bring these up most places where comics are available

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tdcloud · 2 years

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Spooky Scary Vampires (upcoming IP teaser) (blog#8)

Happy July! The thick of summer is upon us and everything feels like it’s ramping up in terms of heat, workload, and travel. After so many years of just not doing much or going anywhere, I feel a bit out of practice with the hustle! As of right now, I’m now in a lull between conventions. Thank god, really. After two conventions and nearly a month of being sick as a dog, I feel like I need the break to get caught back up on things. But that’s not what you guys are here for, right? I’ll save my bellyaching for another time and get us onto the topic of this month’s author blog. Namely, another teaser to an upcoming project!

Now, some of you may be aware that at any given moment I’ve got like, at least three or more irons in the fire. I do my best to finish projects entirely before moving onto new ones (Hiraeth is a big exception to that rule, but in my defense, I am working on it and the world as a whole sought to waylay the project OTL) but I’ve found that interspersing larger projects with short ones can help keep up momentum on both. Humans are suckers for instant gratification, and anyone who’s ever tried to write a book before can tell you that it’s not an easy or short process. It’s easy to get burnt out or worn down by the slog of working your way through a 500+ page story. At some points, it doesn’t feel like making progress at all. Taking a month or two to divert focus to write an 80 page novella, though, is a much faster prospect. Five chapters feels a hell of a lot more doable than 28, and switching between both builds up momentum that’ll help get through each a lot quicker than if I’d kept them independent.

It’s because of all of that that I’ve really been grateful for Patreon as an avenue to creating short content alongside my longer stuff. The yearly short story event lets me carve out a portion of the year to dedicate to hammering out something to completion all at once and the monthly patron pick poll rotation helps me put out a constant, steady stream of progress on a variety of novellas. Without the monthly rotation, getting through the three vigilante novellas wouldn’t have been nearly as easy, and this way, I get to dabble in a bunch of disparate ideas that keep my brain fresh and inspiration juicy. That goes for genres too. A lot of my current long-project work involves heavy lore, intense plot, and characters of a very specific persuasion. Novellas let me write comedy when all I’m surrounded by is serious drama, horror when I’m drowning in fluffy romance, and adventure when the political intrigue becomes stifling. In essence, I get to write movies instead of epics, and I really, really enjoy that change of pace when I can fit it in.

But I digress. So, what’s the new IP, T.D.?

Well, as I described it on Patreon during the lead up to last year’s October novella event, survival horror but make it horny!

-cue the sound of cheers, jeers, and final girl screams-

As you may have gathered, this story, Ossuary, is solidly in the category of movie when it comes to my dichotomy of project types. To be perfectly honest, I originally conceptualized Ossuary as my attempt at writing a slasher movie in the form of a novella. By “slasher” though, I’m being a bit general. This story is much more of The Descent than it is Scream or Halloween. Turns out it’s hard to keep to the slasher genres surface level/shallow character trope when you’re literally in their heads in a fixed pov novel format XD Still, I’m a huge horror fan and, while some of my work certainly has horror elements or themes at times, I’ve never gotten the chance to write what I’d consider a horror book before. Thankfully, my patrons last year were really receptive to letting me have the chance to do just that! It was a lovely surprise when that option won the overall poll. Sometimes I operate under the assumption that the whole world prefers soft, fluffy things and I’m the only one aching for blood and fear and complete party-wipes in my fiction, so every time my patrons prove me wrong I gain another twenty lifepoints.

The summary for Ossuary is as follows:

Work as a Curse Breaker is anything but glamorous. It’s difficult, gruesome at times, and it takes Curse Breaker Thierry Pryor to places better left untouched. The Paris Catacombs were once a symbol of French identity, the true sign of death making all equal in the end, but after centuries of layered spell work, ancient hexes, and more than one hastily patched protective charm, the resulting magical amalgam has begun to break down, tainting the surrounding land. It’s up to Thierry and his team to figure out the source of the miasma and quell it before it begins having an effect on those living above the city of the dead.

But unlike the jobs before, there’s something at work in the catacombs much more sinister than some moldering family curse. Sometimes the dead sleep more soundly than the living, but then again, maybe some of the dead don’t sleep willingly at all..

Surprising absolutely nobody, this novella combines a lot of my favorite things: a sad, beleaguered and alienated protagonist, a yandere vampire half-out of his mind with loss, thirst, and obsession, and a dynamic that toes the line of off-putting and intriguing. If you guys haven’t gathered by now that I have an eternal hard on for vampires, I don’t know what to do at this point. A lot of the vampire things I’ve been working on for the DVerse (which will probably get its own blog post—or six—later on this year) are more mystery oriented than outright horror. Ossuary gave me a vampiric outlet that satisfied my need for something DIFFERENT, something fucked up! It’s not much of a romance. Maybe if you squint? But if you like high stakes situations, life-or-death decision making, corruption of the protagonist, and destruction of the self in preservation of staying “alive”... You may just like it too!

I’ve had this premise cooking for… at least three years? Something like that. I remember wanting to write something involving a witch with an affinity for dark magic and curses living and working in a magical world that maligns that. I don’t normally write up story notes by hand—my handwriting is atrocious and I’m so much faster at typing than writing that it just doesn’t work well for me as a medium for recording my thoughts—but for a time I did dedicate some effort towards working out of notebooks in the vain hope of improving my out of practice penmanship. I’d driven to the next city over to meet with a seamstress I knew in order to get some measurements taken for a Hua Cheng cosplay XD and arrived a bit too early to meet her. To kill time, I drove to the library in town. Once there, I found myself a table to sit at and pulled out my hedgehog notebook and proceeded to write up the very first story notes on the premise that would, in time, become Ossuary.

They weren’t detailed notes. They were largely just basic aesthetic ideas involving how Thierry would look, some of his family history, and the dynamic I wanted to achieve between him and his… to call the vampire a love interest seems mean XD The highlights are kind of fun though.

Aesthetically, Thierry and the vampire are modeled off of Ferdinand and Hubert from Fire Emblem, namely in the long red hair/wavy dark hair dynamic, and in the vampire having Hubert’s facial bone structure. Those cheekbones had a hold of me big time.

Character trait-wise, I used Draco Malfoy as a base when it came to extrapolating Thierry’s backstory/reputation within the magical world. Fuck the terf-who-must-not-be-named, but Draco’s always been a criminally underutilized and under-explored character in my mind ever since I was a kid, and I wanted to take some of those bones and do something More with them.

Since this was meant to be a slasher movie, I wrote the surrounding cast as if they were common character trope types within a horror movie, so there’s an “asshole jock”, a “red shirt”, and “a mediator.” Each has a lot more going on with them than those wide brushstrokes, but at their core, they’re there to serve those purposes.

The plot specifics themselves didn’t come until later on, and they went through a lot of revision and tweaking as I sorted out what sort of story I wanted to tell. I’m a huge fan of the idea of “hero corruption,” and initially, I wasn’t going to let Thierry be a hero. I wanted him to be a “burn the world that’s always burned me” sort of character, but as the story unfolded, it did not end up being that at all XD To be honest, I blame myself and my predilections for that. I have a terrible habit of always sculpting my protagonists to be outcasts in some way. Thieves, freaks, rejects, bastards… Either they are born that way or are made that way through bad luck and fickle turns of fate, and Thierry, the poor thing, is an unfortunate combination of both. He comes from a family of magic users who were, once upon a time, renowned for their ability to use dark magic to hunt down monsters. While their dark magic served a purpose and protected the innocent from a common threat, they were lauded as heroes, but after perceptions shifted and the monsters they hunted were found to be more cognizant than first assumed, their luck shifted. Their dark magic became the new threat. The monsters became victims. The Pryors bloody deeds, once viewed as heroic, simply became bloody, and Thierry? Thierry just became the latest link in a sordid chain that society no longer trusts or respects.

He could’ve easy turned his back on things and let it all burn at his feet, but the truth of what actually happens isn’t nearly so cathartic—life as a whole, and the horrors he encounters and confronts in the catacombs, refuse to let it be, and while I once again failed to achieve my long-held goal to write a proper corruption arc… I achieved a very fun story of a different kind with Ossuary, and let’s be honest… there’s always next time XD

At it's core, Ossuary is what the summary implies. It's a story about Thierry just trying to do his job the best he can and society refusing to see him as anything but what rumor and generational stigma wants him to be. He is incredibly gifted but never valued or treated better for his skill set, even among his own peers--something we see in lurid display as he and his team move through the Catacombs in search of the source of malignant, broken curses poisoning the watershed up above. The truth of his family history is never far from him, and positive first impressions corrupt faster than the groundwater when fanned by the flames of those who already hate him. Thierry always thought he understood what his family had done to earn such negative associations. The fun thing about this book--fun for us, I should say. It's never fun for Thierry--is that his family truly was that bad. In fact, they were worse, and the vampire slumbering so unwillingly beneath the earth proves it in time, and certainly in his own way.

What can I tell you about the vampire... Not a lot, unfortunately. So much of who he is and what he's about is tied into the myriad twists of this story. What I can tell you is that this is a take on vampires I've never tried writing before. It's a very unique study on vampires as a different species from humans. No human can be turned into a vampire. No vampire ever used to be human--at least, none that any are aware of. They are not human. They do not have human sentiments, morality, or compunctions. There was a reason they used to be hunted, even if Thierry's generation refuses to acknowledge it. They can be dangerous beings with immeasurably long memories.

In fact, if there's one thing you can count on when it comes to this vampire, it's that he remembers everything.

So, he's an antagonist. He's a love interest--though to Thierry, he's likely just a nightmare. He's our Frankenstein's Monster and our bloodthirsty Lord Ruthven all at once. This story leans towards the Victorian in terms of Romance with a capital R, so I can't in good conscience call it even a dark romance. It's animal obsession, animal fear, and a testament that no good deed goes unpunished, and every choice we make comes with a pound of flesh that must be paid. It's probably some of the darkest stuff I've written and will likely have to have some warnings tacked onto every sales page it graces, but if you're like me and into subversive dynamics, fear as a motivating device, and "survival horror but make it horny," you may be into it too.

Ahh, I love getting to tease upcoming stories but I hate how limited I am in what I can say without giving too much away. Ossuary is, unfortunately, the sort of read that really does benefit from the reader being kept in the dark as much as possible beforehand, to the point where I really only feel comfortable discussing Thierry and not his… love interest? Antagonist? Worst nightmare? I’m the sort of person who will gleefully tell anyone the entire plot of a book if given half a chance. I’m not really the kind of person who minds spoilers, but I know that’s a minority opinion. With any luck I’ve given you guys enough to whet your appetites! And if I haven’t, you can always leave a comment and let me know your burning questions <3

I’ve really fallen for this story and the characters. You’ll understand more once you’ve read it, but it’s the sort of story that has a lot more that goes unsaid at the end than can be tied up neatly in a blood-spattered bow. This is a story with no good ending but an open one, and that means that it’s the sort of story that can, in theory, keep going long past the point of closing the book. Because of that, I’ve been tinkering around with a sequel of sorts. I don’t know if I’ll ever bother publishing it—it really depends on if I decide to end that one or carry on in the vein of letting things end ambiguous and openly—but it’s been a ton of fun to toy with when I’m craving a certain kind of buzz. I’ve always really enjoyed premises that have no satisfactory End. No “happy” ever. Sometimes, I’ve found, the only happy ending—or the happiest we’re capable of achieving—is one in which we never encounter the end. This is all sounding very vague XD but I promise, it’ll all make abundant sense once you’ve read Ossuary yourself.

This story is currently on the active editing block and will maybe be out at the end of this year? I don’t have an artist lined up for it just yet, so that makes it a little harder to predict on that front. With any luck, my editor and I will get through the last of the edits before we hit August. If it sounds like something you’d like to check out now, though, the first draft is available on my Patreon for all tiers. We’ve already voted this year on what I’ll be writing for everyone this upcoming October, so it’s a great time to pledge, catch up on the backlog, and buckle in for the next novella on the docket. It’s a rewrite of an ancient piece of original fiction I wrote back when I was 16 involving a misanthropic goth who enjoys long walks in cemeteries at 3am, an archdemon simp with more fixations than common sense, and a trip to Hell redolent of Carnival. I’m really excited to begin work on it.

That’s it for this month! I hope you guys are amped for Ossuary and the other fun things I’ve got cooking in the background. I may have a publication announcement (?) to share with you guys soon as well, so if there’s another blog update between now and next month, don’t be too surprised! Keep your fingers crossed and, as always, until next time!

T.D. Cloud

#author blog #Ossuary #Teaser

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gillytweed · 1 month

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LIFE UPDATE!

(After… *checks watch* 2 years)

Still alive despite everything!

This last month I had my final MRI post spinal surgery. It’s all clear and the doctor says I don’t need to come back for any more testing. I’ve also gotten the go ahead to get my coverup tattoo! (It’s gonna be a bunch of plants and vines covering the surgery scar cause… it was a growth *badum tssss*) While that’s all been cleared up, other health issues have surfaced, like my ribs enjoying popping out of place. It’s as fun as it sounds.

Currently living with my parents cause the economy is in shambles and also my old roommates suck. Fun fact: not a lot of communicating happens when they tell you they don’t wanna talk if you’re angry but you’re getting more and more angry because they refuse to talk to you about the original issues. Fascinating right?

After moving home, I got a job working in security, it is both fun and incredibly frustrating XD I do dispatch so if someone needs a guard, I’m the one to find them one. I also answer any questions (or find the person with the answer) a guard might have while on shift.

Creatively, I haven’t done much. Not a lot of fanfic or anything, but I did help some friends who run Rule of Lore on Twitch and YouTube with writing the second season of their Zombie themed TTRPG Actual Play, Tomorrow is Dead. The first half is out on YouTube, and we’ve finished filming the second half, we just need to discuss release dates. Go check it out if you’re a TTRPG fan. (I do have some other creative project ideas, like a story told in the format of journal entries and documents from a historical archive. Not sure when or if I’ll get to it tho. Feel free to ask questions about that if you’re curious)

Plans for the future: Fam, I’m vibing as best I can. My body hurts and there’s not a ton I can do to make it immediately better. On the other hand, now that I have a wee bit of extra money, I have plans to go visit internet friends gradually over the next couple years. But overall, I’m probably as good as I can be under the world’s circumstances and I’m pretty happy with that.

#mun mumbles #Life Update #im tired but vibing and bread exists so things are gonna be okay

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jaskiersvalley · 3 years

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as someone who hasn't consumed the Witcher in any format but fic and enjoys it immensely (especially yours you are amazing), I watched a clip and was devastated to find out that Jaskier is not pronounced with a 'J' and it is in fact Yaskier. (I'm very much a sight reader and pronounced things as I see them; this has lead to a lot of teasing over the years).

Anyway, this is a weird, convoluted way to tell you that without your fic I wouldn't even be considering watching the show, so thank you for writing so much! You are an excellent writer and I can't wait to see where your path takes you.

I am absolutely honoured you’re considering watching the show because of my fics :D As in, I’m sat here speechless because I didn’t think my writing could have such an influence. If you do watch it, I really hope you enjoy it! Not going to lie, the only time I watched the show, half the time I had no idea what was going on XD But thoroughly enjoyed the bafflement.

Names can be tricky, especially when they’re not native to your language. If it helps, to this day I dare not say Eskel out loud. For the longest time I didn’t know whether it was E(ss)kel or E(sh)kel. I asked, I watched videos, I forgot. When chatting to friends, I will still avoid saying his name. Anyway, I’ve blathered on a bit. Have a ficlet of thanks for sending such a very sweet message.

CW: Temporary character death

Everything happened so quickly. There was a massive boom as one of Lambert’s bombs went off in the basement, an almighty crack followed by the creaking of stone under pressure. The collapse of Kaer Morhen took all of three seconds, all its inhabitants buried under ancient stone and mortar. As far as deaths went, it was a quick one, Lambert barely had time to think “oh bollocks” before it all happened.

The surprise came when they all woke up in a field full of flowers. It was balmy, sunny and really quite nice, nothing like the winter of Kaer Morhen where they had been not moments before. Jaskier was the first to sit up, seemingly unbothered by the sudden change. The others were slower to wake and a lot more suspicious.

“Fuck.” Geralt didn’t change, no matter the situation or setting, it was almost comforting.

“Lambert.” Never before had a name been said as a warning and a demand at the same time. Vesemir stared at his youngest. “What have you done?”

Last to wake was Eskel and he sat up, shaking his head as if to get rubble out of it. “Couldn’t hold my quen any longer.” It was said with shame and disappointment.

All through that, Jaskier had gotten up and was inspecting the flowers. He didn’t look the slightest bit bothered.

“Did you kill us?” Ciri’s voice cut in as she gave Lambert an accusing stare.

“Not on purpose!” Defensive, Lambert crossed his arms over his chest. “A stack of bombs toppled.”

Tired, Vesemir pinched his nose. “I would usually say ‘and what did we learn?’ but I don’t think there are any lessons needed to be learned in the afterlife.”

As Lambert continued to sulk, Geralt looked over to Jaskier who was far too calm and content in all this. In fact, he seemed to be making a flower chain. Not a minute later, the chain turned into a crown and was dropped on Lambert’s head amidst a lot of hissing and growling.

“I need to let Billy know that this really wasn’t my fault this time.” As if that made any sense. There was nobody around other than them and none of them responded to the name ‘Billy’. Maybe death had really done a number on Jaskier and this was his way of coping. They might as well enjoy it, Ciri started making flower crowns with him while Geralt began to explore.

No matter how far he went, how long he walked for, it was like going around in circles. There was a certain distance he could move from the group but no further. Usually, Geralt would have suspected magic but his medallion was still. Maybe it didn’t work in death. Such musings were interrupted by the appearance of a figure striding across the field.

“Billy!” Jaskier rose and waved. The alleged Billy was in a cloak pulled far down their face, a bony hand clutched a scythe. Suddenly, Geralt had a sinking feeling in his stomach that Billy was, in fact, Death. And, even worse, Jaskier seemed to getting Billy like an old friend. “I promise it wasn’t me this time. And I have a favour to ask. These are my friends.”

Despite being a cloaked figure, Geralt somehow knew that Billy had rolled their eyes.

“Yes, yes, I know. Terribly inconvenient. But after last time, I think I can be a bit cheeky.”

There was a certain fondness that Billy seemed to hold for Jaskier. Silent as they were, they still managed to hold a conversation and Jaskier happily prattled on. Suddenly, Eskel could see why Jaskier never seemed to mind Geralt’s silence and could interpret it so well.

Rummaging around in his pocket, Jaskier pulled something out and held it triumphantly aloft. “Some crystallised ginger! You know I only keep these in my pockets for you.”

Handing the treats over, Jaskier gave Billy a winning smile. The ginger disappeared in the hood of the cloak and Jaskier beamed. “Lovely. Now, if you wouldn’t mind. Maybe a helping hand with the old keep too? She’s been through a lot.”

A sleepiness took over the residents of Kaer Morhen. They sank down to the ground, flopping over gracelessly. As sleep took them over, Lambert had a thought.

“Wait, Jaskier. Did you and Death fu-”

Waking up, they were all in the same places they were when Kaer Morhen toppled. Only, there was no draft. No creaking. Not even the annoying splash-splash of a leak in the various rooms. In fact, Kaer Morhen was back to its golden days.

Jaskier skipped through the building, happy as anything while the others slowly clawed their way back to consciousness.

“Fuck,” Geralt growled, wiping drool from his cheek.

Thanks to all his years alive, Vesemir had the best handle on the situation. He didn’t question it, didn’t want to know how or why Jaskier was so familiar with Death (”they needed a name, Geralt. How would you like it if I only ever called you Witcher?”). Some things were best left a mystery and Vesemir could accept the gift of a second chance for what it was - babysitting duty.

#geraskier #geralt of rivia #jaskier #lambert #eskel #vesemir #cirilla fiona elen riannon #cw: temporary character death #tldr: jaskier has friends everywhere

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yanderecandystore · 3 years

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Can we get some content for how the Android darling and Ms. Bright would meet?

In this [🍰🍑🤖] we get a glimpse of what their relationship is like and a lil mention of how things have worked out- But let's see how it played out from the a.is perspective.

Hi boo, I hope you're doing great, I'm very sorry for the long ass waiting- Sadly I may warn y'all that I have gone through many stages while writing this: h 0 r ny, corny, and angsty. This is actually pretty heavy, as I tried pulling some of the loose threads that I left all over Ingrid's posts (I still need to give her an bio ;-; I'm sorry y'all-)

So this is all over the place, since this is a fic I've been writing for a long time.

Also I know jackshit about robotics, and I think this fic shows how much I don't know anything XD

TW: Family issues related to: LGBTQ identity // very angsty // Ingrid is very rude, but she also struggles a lot during this- // socially distant // socially awkward // being misinterpreted/having a hard time socializing //

Tags: angy sad lady // ownership dynamic // this is basically the reader reminiscing about the past (continuing it from where Happy Lies left off) // the reader is low-key a simp at times- // master x servant dynamic, possessive behavior and a lot of yelling // just angsty really, I'm so sorry //

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

Happy birthday, mistress [Yandere!CEO OC x A.I!Reader - Short Fanfiction]

3,763 words

Whenever you remember your first day of activation, or more accurately your first day of actually being able to be activated for more than five seconds (you can't remember it fully, but you're aware that because of your complex design, you had passed through a lot of prototype phases before you could properly function-), you almost feel an odd sense of nostalgia, maybe due to the fact it was indeed the most important day of your existence as an android.

It was Ms.Bright's nineteenth birthday, when she would be handed the corporation that has been passed down by generations. And not only would she inherit the company, but also a beautifully designed a.i assistant made to help Ms.Bright's every need. You were made to be an easy communication center from Ms.Bright to the employees, as Ms.Bright's had a hard time communicating with people and expressing herself.

At first, she didn't seem to enjoy the idea very much- It was clear that she considered you to be quite annoying and useless. And- Well- It did hurt at first, after all, you were built to help her and be her friend no matter what.

So hearing her be mean towards you was… Very tough at first. Your first day as her assistant wasn't easy, you ended up getting in her way most of the time- And since she also didn't know exactly what she was doing, she got overwhelmed by so many things going down in one single day.

Ingrid has always dreamed of being in power of the company- Actually, now that you know her a little more- You can positively say she was probably just stressed at having to deal with so many responsibilities so suddenly, even if it has been her lifelong wish to inherit the company.

And even if it seems impossible at times, she would still come back strong and find a way to deal with it. That's something you really admire about her.

Your first week on the job was basically just trying to get accustomed and trying to learn everything you needed to do- While also trying to understand Ms.Bright as best as you could. Now… You weren't built to say this- And- And of course you don't think like this anymore, but…. You used to think she was really mean.

Frightening, even.

Now that you're all alone waiting for her to get back from work, you can't help but feel like replaying those moments inside your head.

"{... Replaying recorded conversation n°000050: "My second day at work"...}"

" Oh, what are you doing here?"

" Morning Ms.Bright! I-I was rechecking the files from yesterday and I was trying my best to reorganize them, a-after the incident-"

" The "incident" that you caused yesterday?"

" Well, yes, of course! I wanted to fix things up before you came back, I'm really sorry for being so reckless, I promise I won't do it again, I was just-"

"It 's fine. You don't need to worry about it."

" But… But I thought-"

" The files you had messed with weren't really all that important, and besides I'm sure there are copies all around the place. Sigh, who am I kidding- In reality, I should be the one apologizing for my behavior yesterday."

"...."

" I recognize that I shouldn't have treated you the way that I did, in a sense it's my fault you lost those files in the first place."

" … Well, it's nothing really mistress, I'm the one who should-"

" No, don't even finish it. You shouldn't have to apologize and shouldn't have spent the night wasting your battery on this-"

"...."

".... You know what, do whatever- I sometimes forget that you are… Nevermind, come back to my office as soon as you can."

"{... End of recorded conversation n°000.000.050… }"

You never knew what she was going to say, but you remember not being able to ask her that- As you were afraid of her potentially getting mad at you for asking too many questions. She always seemed so ruthless at times.

You remember the time you went to a family event with her, a family party, where an incident happened and she was absolutely livid. Your relationship with her wasn't so pretty at the time, you don't know why but- Your mistress didn't seem to trust you as much as you wish she did at the time.

"{... Replaying recorded conversation n°000.001.588: "First party ever- And it was very unpleasant" ...}"

" What's the matter with you?! Why can't you follow simple instructions- I told you to stay here and not mess around."

" I'm. So. Sorry. Mistress-"

" Even your vocal module is broken- Who told you to enter that pool in the first place?? You can't tell me you did something so stupid all on your own."

" I. Slipped.-"

" Am I a joke to you? I've said tell me who gave you the order to jump in the goddamn pool while everyone else was inside- Don't you dare start lying to me."

" … One of the. Party guests. Lost something. Inside the water. I tried helping them. But I started to. Malfunction."

" … Sigh, okay. Continue."

" It wasn't. Their fault. I did it. On my own. I was just- Trying. To help."

" By throwing yourself inside a pool when you're well aware of the damage the water can cause to your inner systems?!"

" I'm sorry!"

" You could have- No, you SHOULD have called someone else to help you, I can't believe it- You could have drowned in there and I wouldn't even be aware of that since I was inside the house, [Y/n]!"

" …. But Ms.Bright. I can't drown-"

" Yeah, yeah- I know you-... I know you can't drown."

" … Listen, you could have still gotten yourself hurt okay? You could have permanently damaged your systems, and if I wasn't made aware of what happened, I wouldn't have been able to take you out of the water in time, okay?"

"... Sigh, I just realized how much I have been yelling, everyone is probably scared now that I've made such a scandal. This… Isn't really a new thing to me, I'm accustomed to ruining parties like this. I'll have to apologise later to everyone. [Y/n], please just- When I ask you to stay still, please listen to me. I was worried about you."

"...."

"{... End of recorded conversation n°000.001.588 ...}"

You can't deny it- Whenever she was truly irritated she could make any person next to her feel threatened, though the more you look at your recordings, you feel like she doesn't really want to be feared like this. Respected? Absolutely. Feared? Not ideal, but she takes it anyway.

You have a couple of different recordings here and there, your memories are separated into sections. You have recordings of events in several formats: pictures, videos, texts and audio recordings. Though the one you use the most is audio recordings, since videos take a very big space inside your mind, and pictures need context, otherwise they wouldn't be considered memories, right?

You can't have many memories at a time because most of your mind is supposed to be used to store the company's files, so you do have a couple of memories that you have deleted to make space for the Bright Vision's more secret/personal documents. Since Ingrid took you home yesterday, and said you won't be going to work for the company anymore, then maybe you can find somewhere else to store those files so you can make space for new memories with Ms.Bright.

First, you'll need to recheck some of your own memories to see if they're worth holding onto. There is probably a lot of junk in there that you won't be needing anymore, which can be a bit tedious and take some time, but you clearly have enough time on your hands to do so, considering how she is not home and- Well, you're pretty bored, you already done everything that she asked you to do.

Honestly, she gave such small tasks today, she probably didn't plan to change your work environment so suddenly.

After about an hour of research through your data you have realized that even if you have way too many files, it's kinda hard to delete them. At first you didn't mind the idea of deleting certain stuff, but now it feels a bit sad to erase parts of your memory, you just had so many good times and- And even the bad times are worth remembering, right?

It has been an hour of you just standing there, trying your best to not delete anything important while also revising each recording you have. Most files are a bit out of order, numerically speaking, but you don't mind that too much cause- Well, you can always reorganize them later.

… You never actually do that, but you like to think that one day you will, though.

After so many recordings of conversations, you found one who didn't seem to really belong in your head. You see, you always title every single thing inside your personal archives so that it doesn't get mixed with other files- All of your memories have a specific title so that you can have an idea of which is which.

The thing is- You don't remember this file, the title seems off, and it seems like it's incomplete. Oddly broken. Still, you decided to take a listen and try to remember what happened in this event.

"{... Replaying recorded conversation n°000.068.xxx: "I yell too much" ...}"

"...."

This is a very silent audio, there seems to be some background noise happening, but you can't make out what's happening. This audio sounds distorted, edited maybe. Someone tried messing with your memories but they weren't able to completely erase this file.

Maybe they were inexperienced at the time.

"...."

You think you heard something, it sounded closer to you- It sounded like someone possibly sitting down next to you. You don't know who it is, or what it is

"...."

".... I'm such a mess. Why am I doing this? Why does this feels so-"

"...."

It seems like someone is speaking, but you're not speaking back. Even in this heavily edited audio, you can still make out what sounds to be a feminine voice.

".... I'm sorry for, well, using you this way. It feels- So, so weird."

"...."

".... I just want… No, I need to vent to you for a while, even if you won't remember what I'm going to say."

This audio gives you an odd sensation. You think you're starting to recognize who this is- But then again, who else could it be, if not Ms.Bright herself?

" I never did this before, with something so- Human like- With something so human looking. I used to record my thoughts on my phone but I thought I would never need to vent with an object before- But here I am! Making a fool of myself…"

"...."

The speaker, who you assume to be Ingrid, seems to be having a lot of trouble speaking, her voice is cracking and her breathing seems uneven. She sounds out of breath, and she takes a lot of pauses to be able to speak her mind.

"...."

".... I have…. Thought about opening myself in this way because- Because I have no one else to listen to it, and I guess I can only blame myself for it. I know I'm difficult, I know I'm rude and I know I come across as a tyrant to everyone else- I- I really don't know what 's wrong with me, okay?!"

" Years, and years, and years of training, of studying, of planning to become the very next owner of this corporation as it's already not only a job but also a very painful family tradition that I felt proud of! That I gave everything that I could to be part of! I remember wanting this so bad, I remember how I used to daydream about this stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid tradition when I was a little kid who just wanted to do more, to be more!"

".… I almost lost all of this. 19 years of my life that were threatened to be thrown in the trash just because I- Because I'm not his son??! Because I- I'm not his only "son" anymore??.... Who said I ever was- Who said I ever was his son…?"

".... I- I know all about the stupid, awful and extremely unnecessary tradition of passing the leadership from father to son, and to this very day- inside the same office all of my predecessors had went through- I still think that tradition is garbage. I always thought I wouldn't make it here, I always thought something would stop me from being the next face of Bright Vision."

".... I can't tell- If I always knew about this- I can't even imagine how I knew this considering the dumb kid that I was, but…"

".... I'm his daughter. I'm Mr.Bright's only daughter, and the only possible heir to this twisted company."

" The people outside think our only focus it's on robotics and technology of all kinds. I wish I could go back to thinking that too, it would have been so much simpler that way."

" After a very long fight about my rights as the heir to this- Company. My father thought it would be wise to move to the countryside. Far away from all of this. And to be fair, I was- So, so mad at him that I thought that him moving away from here and letting me be would be better, but every now and then I- I miss him. I miss him so much…."

"He sent me a birthday present today. After three years of absolute silence he sends me flowers and- And a gift card containing his number… And I- Called him despite everything, and even so to this day he can't even say my name- IT'S BEEN THREE YEARS AFTER HE LEFT ME ALL ALONE WITH THIS CURSED BUSINESS AND HE STILL CAN'T FUCKING. SAY. MY. NAME."

You felt scared at the sudden yelling, even if her voice was progressively getting more aggressive and louder, you still got caught up by the sudden yelling.

".... I'm- A mess- I know that now."

You can't understand what's going on, but it sounds like she started laughing… Or maybe crying? Probably both.

".... I'm just terrible at this. I always was, weren't I? I'm just terrible at these types of interactions- Maybe all of them! I just don't understand how to- How to do it?? I don't know anymore…."

".... That's why I have you, in the first place, isn't it?"

" I had such an awful time expressing myself that they gave me an overpriced doll to do it for me. When I first heard about this three years ago, I- I've felt so fucking pitiful."

" Can you imagine it? The CEO of such a big corporation is so difficult to deal with that she needs an overly glorified doll that can translate her words to the other employees! An a.i created just to help me, an absolute idiot!"

".... I've felt so angry at them- I felt so angry at him for having to build a robot just to be a comfort pet to the stressful work that I would have to do for the rest of my position as owner of Bright Vision Corp, and I was mad at you! You pissed me off to no end, and I- I just couldn't help but be frustrated at you, not for being in my way, but for being an reminder that I'm awful at this-"

"...."

Her sobs stopped her from continuing that sentence.

".... I've treated you so unfairly because of this. I- I made sure that whenever you looked at me you would feel terrified of me because that's the only way I thought I could be respected, that's the only way I thought you would listen to me, and yet you never did…. You weren't built to follow my every order perfectly, you were made to be literally my only friend, after 22 years, here you are- The only person that can get me isn't even an actual person-"

"..... And I forget this…! I forget this every time I look at your eyes, I forget how robotic you are whenever I see you helping others not because you were told to, but just because you thought you could."

"...."

".... I always forget that you're supposed to be just another robot… He really did think about everything when designing you."

".... I always catch myself being awful towards you, being- Being excessively rude, not because of my way of talking but because of my own petty feelings towards you as my assistant… As my friend, as my android, as my-"

"...."

"..... I'm so sorry for being like this, you don't deserve to have someone who is constantly being mean towards you be considered your boss- Your boss, your friend- ...Sigh, even your owner…"

" I'm sorry [Y/n], I'm really, really sorry- But it doesn't matter how many times I say that- I don't know if I can ever make it up to you. Words won't heal any wounds, they never did."

"...."

".... But maybe actions will."

"...."

" I'll stop being so harsh on you, you really don't deserve this- I was feeling weird about using your recording system to vent like this, but now that I think about it I have been using you as a venting mechanism since the day we met……. I'm- I'm so goddamn awful."

"...."

" "How can someone so in love be so cruel?".... Would you be able to answer me if you were conscious?.... I don't think you would, no one has been able to tell me the right answer yet."

".... I hope I can be better- I will be better."

"...."

" I just need to remember how to delete this file before you wake up- I hope I can do that. End recording."

"{... End of recorded conversation n°000.068.xxx …}

………….

It took you about an hour or so to be able to process what you have just listened to. And even then, you weren't able to fully comprehend what happened.

Ms.Bright- No, Ingrid- Ingrid has used your recording system while you were out, she probably tried deleting the file but because she was inexperienced with your kind of technology, she decided to just edit it and try to make it unlistenable.

It was- Barely audible but you still got to understand some of it.

Did she- Did she forget to completely erase it? Did she forget entirely??? You're not sure.

You don't know why but a sudden wave of- Something- Something feels so odd about this-

You don't know how to respond really. You don't feel mad about her ranting to you, you don't even feel bad about her ranting to you while you weren't aware- You feel bad, but not because of her but because of the emotional turmoil she has been hiding from you.

Should you do something? Should you say something?? How do you even- You don't know how respond to this-

You're programmed to comfort her, yet- This file is already old, and she didn't want you to remember this so maybe it won't be the best idea to bring it up, but what can you do??!

Maybe you just need to rethink this through, maybe you should listen to audio again, and try to figure out what's the best way to help her out when she comes back.

You're honestly baffled at the idea that someone like her had so much to confess to- You probably shouldn't have seen her as an unstoppable goddess in the first place, but then again- Even after hearing her open herself, even after listening to her insecurities- Your opinion of her hasn't changed.

She was holding this for so long, no wonder she always seems on edge.

She 's only human. Yet you never really saw her as just that.

She was always so much larger than you, so much stronger than what your fabricated body was, and she always sounded so much smarter and- And she was just always so… Terrifyingly beautiful to you.

Ingrid Bright was always considered a very good looking individual, but no one ever considered her to be much else because of her way of speaking to others (which may sound rude and occasionally condescending, causing others to avoid her as much as they could), but you always thought she was so much more than that-

It's hard to even explain it really, ever since you met you have started to understand the concept of how beauty and fear can mix together, you find her to be so beautiful, yet her demeanor and stature makes you feel afraid of her for some reason- And even worse than that, the fear she may unconsciously bring you makes her seem more beautiful in your eyes.

You shouldn't think of her as scary or frightening, she is your boss, your master and your owner, there is no reason for why you should feel this way towards her- But then again, there is no reason for you to even feel in the first place, you were just built to do so.

You don't think she means harm to anyone, after getting to know her you realize why her behavior can be misinterpreted as mean and scary- Ms.Bright always had a hard time socializing with others, even her family had a hard time understanding her, so maybe that's why she grew to have such a tough exterior.

As someone that was built to make the communication between CEO and employees easier, you've had to learn to understand her to be able to help others understand her as well, and vice versa. It wasn't easy, and you wouldn't say that you know her completely well- But you feel proud of the work you have done so far, you're her loyal companion but more importantly a friend.

Funny how much you learned not only about her, the employees, or even the business of the company- But also about humans in general in these five years of working for her, it makes you feel more whole when you remember how much you have achieved.

You hope you can somehow help her right now, and to help her from here on out. You decide to wait for her and possibly talk about how she feels and how she deals with said feelings. Hopefully all ends well.

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

Sorry for the loose ending! I was feeling very tired ;-; but if anyone wants it I could totally make a second chapter with a better ending.

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

#sheep's stuff #yandere oc #yandere #yandere x reader #yandere x female reader #yandere x reader fanfic #yandere fanfic #yandere oc x reader #yandere oc x reader fanfic #yandere ceo fanfiction #yandere ceo x reader #yandere ceo x robot reader #yandere ceo #special delivery request #special delivery fanfiction

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myhoneststudyblr · 4 years

Photo

something crazy just happened...

i started this blog a year and a half ago and i honestly never imagined i would reach 100 followers let alone 15k!!! so i want to thank you ALL for being so lovely, welcoming and supportive - whenever i come on to tumblr, the studyblr community never fails to make me smile

this studyblr has been such an important journey for me and since i’ve made it i’ve grown as a person and as a student. it has taught me so much, from good study habits and self-care tips, to even some things about who i am as a person!

since i’ve created this blog and particularly in the past few months I've had the honour to meet and get to know some truly incredible people and i want to tag some people who i love and im so thankful to for being so kind:

(you should all go follow their blogs if you haven’t already)

(btw it is probably gonna be quite long cause i have so much to say about these incredible people!!! sorry but im not really sorry XD)

@redlitmusbluelitmus MIA!!! i have already told you so many times how glad i am that you are my friend but i am going to do it again right here cause i can!! you are quite possibly the nicest, funniest and supportive people i have ever had the pleasure to meet. we haven't known each other for that long but in that time you quickly became an amazing friend and we have always just *got* each other!!! 💕💕💕

@study-van yasemin - our first conversation was pretty much a car crash and every one since has made me laugh and look like a proper idiot cause im usually just staring at my phone! i’ve followed your blog for so long and i’m so proud of all the amazing things you are doing and i’m so glad to have you as a friend after so stalking your blog for so long 💕

@museeofmoon zainab!!! we’ve known each other only for a short time now but our friendship was pretty much immediate!!! our conversations are filled with emojis, emoticons, capitals letters and XDs and i wouldn’t have it any other way!!!!! your posts are works of art and i will forever stan them <3

@headgirlstudy Ellie - discovering your blog was one of the best things to come out of my 2020 quarantine challenge cause you have this incredible style and simple beauty to your posts that i just can’t get enough of! i’ve loved having our fangirl conversations about taylor swift and all her incredible songs! you probably don’t know this but one of those conversations took place when i was feeling very low but discussing all the songs with you lifted me up so much so thank you xxx

@jeonchemstudy DAPHNE!!! if i ever create a bujo, i want it to look like yours because honestly, i don't understand how you managed to create such beauty!! we are interested in such similar things and it’s been so cool to find a fellow Gallagher girl lover (i was so shook when i found out you loved the books cause i usually feel very alone in my loved of them XD) and someone who is obsessed with last week tonight as me!!! x

@bulletnotestudies sabrina... you are just incredible and such a joyful person!!! i will always remember you messaging me when i posted that i was stressed about an exxay exam and your message was the last thing i saw before doing it and honestly if gave me such a boost! you’re positivity and supportiveness blows me away and i want many many more conversations with you xxx

@lattesandlearning laura - you were one of the most dedicated posters throughout the quarantine challenge and i loved seeing each and every one of your posts! i’m so glad to be following your journey and seeing what you’ve accomplished even in the short amount of time that I've known you <3

@upside-down-uni mo!!! another incredibly dedicated poster in the quarantine challenge and one that i always specifically looked out for! you and your blog have truly opened my eyes to other experiences and educated me more than you know just from your responses and posts! i always see that you like my posts and even on my dumb little text posts you often reply and it always makes me smile! i’m so glad that you’ve created this officially studyblr and thankful to you for making the community even more colourful 🌈

@coffeeandpies pat, i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again but you are the basically the third person that i followed in the studyblr community and to think that we’ve actually had conversations and we are friends and mutuals is downright crazy to me because you are imo just one of those iconic blogs!!! you are a beautiful person inside and out and your text posts are hilarious and tell the best stories. thank you so much for being so lovely <3

@coralstudiies you were the first person ever to really message me on tumblr and i remember being so shook because i think your blog is just mind blowingingly incredible! every picture of your notes looks like a work of art and i don’t know how you manage to make them look so perfect!!!

@problematicprocrastinator beth, you are a pillar of positivity in this community and your supportiveness and openness is at a level that i aspire to! your morning messages are usually the first thing i see (at least when i still was going to school on the bus every morning before all of the corona stuff) and it always gave me a little boost for the day! you are an incredible writer and your dedication to supporting everyone in this community is amazing <3 (also your blog name is probably the best one i’ve ever seen and i’m so jealous ngl)

i could wax lyrical about every studyblr i know but this post is getting really long so here are more of my favourites (just know that if you are in this list i have a little monologue about how amazing you are in my head and i appreciate you so much 💕💕💕)

@chazza-studies-alevels @stuhde @captainofstudies @sosiaalitieteet @elleandhermione @mid-afternoon-tea @athenastudying @learning-to-think @serendistudy @philology-studies @rivkahstudies @emili-a-a @nabasynth @divinity-study @cals-desk @abbieestudia @studywithprincess @studybuddiesareoverrated @casual-minimalist @stu-dna @coffe-in-cup @adelinestudiess @intellectys @eintsein @einstetic

there are so so many more that could be added to this list and i’m sure i’ve forgotten people!! basically i ADORE every single person in this community and i’ve loved getting to know all of you and i hope i’ll be able to meet more people in the next few years 💕💕💕

Now here’s the blograte celebration!!!

I did a blogrates for 10k followers but i enjoyed it so much and it was a while ago now that i want to do it again with all you amazing people!!!

Rules

Must be following me although new followers are welcome too!

Must be a studyblr or at least mostly (cause I want to find some more studyblrs to follow)

Reblog this post

Send me an ask : in the ask begin with your favourite emoji so I know it is a blog rate then tell me a funny story!

Please don’t send anons - if your studyblr is a side blog just tell me this in the ask

Please let me know what you tag your original content with (specifically if it is not in your bio)

Please be kind and patient! i am very busy this summer with lots of work as well as running my Summer Studying Challenge so it may take me a little while to do it but hopefully, i’ll get it done as fast as possible

I will be doing these blogrates until Wednesday 22nd July

Format

i will be tagging my blograte posts with #myhoneststudyblr15k if you wanna blacklist them so your dash doesn’t get filled up!!

Thank you everyone!! <3

#i am simply astounded at all the love i've received and i am so thankful to you all!!!#myhoneststudyblr15k #me #sophie speaks #blogrates #studyblr #mine #follower milestone #long post

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damienthepious · 3 years

Text

uhhhhhhhh TUESDAY. i’m gettin’ OLD SCHOOL.

The Rite Of Movement (Chapter 5)

[ch 1] [ch 2] [ch 3] [ch 4] [ao3]

Fandom: The Penumbra Podcast

Relationship: Lord Arum/Sir Damien/Rilla

Characters: Lord Arum, Sir Damien, Rilla, The Keep, Original Monster Character(s), Sir Marc, Sir Talfryn, Sir Angelo, Quanyii, Sir Caroline, Original Human Character(s)

Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Engagement, Domestic, Fluff, Romantic Fluff, Poetry, Presents, (this is the MOST self indulgent tooth rotting fluff I've ever ever EVER done please enjoy), (i love my ridiculous scalie/scaley trio), Monster Customs, Dancing, Second Citadel, Post-Season/Series 02

Fic Summary: Arum has a surprising revelation about his own feelings, and then decides to take matters into his own claws since his humans don’t seem to realize what they are denying themselves.

Chapter Summary: Continuations of two conversations.

Chapter Notes: Don't.... pay attention to how long this fic has been left hanging. Also don't..... hold me to regular updates for this in the future either, lmao i've proven myself unreliable in that context XD i swear i'm doing my best! this one is very freeform tho and sans plot i have trouble kicking things along. ALSO, EDIT, @shorter-than-her-tbr-pile inspired the second half of this chapter pretty directly!!! and i love them dearly with my whole heart!!!! aaaaaaa<3<3<3

“They cannot stay here,” Arum says, managing to both snarl and speak under his breath at the same time. It’s- a little impressive, actually. Rilla watches him pace a tight circle at just enough of a distance from the portal that Puck and Tetch probably can’t make out his words. “They cannot. I do not run some sort of- of halfway home for wayward miscreants, be they human or monster or- or anything else.” He pauses, then scowls darker and gestures with a hand, claws slicing the air. “And yet, they cannot leave because they have seen you and if anyone were to bring our- our- to bring us as we are to the attention of the Senate or the humans, all of our lives would be- and with the wedd-” he cuts off, shooting a suspicious look towards the portal again, where Puck appears to be examining the vines that make up the frame the magic fills.

“I am going to have to kill them,” Arum says flatly, eyes narrowing and hands clenching, and Rilla can’t help it anymore. She bursts out laughing.

“Arum- Arum we’re not going to kill them. What are you even- seriously, pay attention, here. Who would they possibly tell?” She smiles, just a little exasperation creeping into her tone. “Look at them, Arum. Look at them and tell me what these two would gain from talking to the Senate or the Citadel.”

Arum looks at Rilla, instead, for a long moment, his jaw clenched tight, and then he sighs, flicking his eyes to the mismatched pair.

Puck runs their hands along the vines of the portal, their face bright with a delighted sort of curiosity. Tetch is behind them, still out in the swamp. Within reach, tense as if anticipating a blow, anticipating the need to defend, but mostly just- watching. Watching Puck, with her head tilted just slightly to the side, her fuzzy antennae twitching.

He presses his lips together, then looks to Amaryllis again. “What does it matter,” he mutters, his tone a little stilted, “if they happen to- if they are-”

“Like us?” Rilla suggests gently.

“They are not-” Arum snaps his jaw shut again, growling low, because-

“You know that they are,” Rilla says. “I mean, I figured we couldn’t be the only ones, but- if I’m being honest I didn’t really expect that we would ever meet another-” she shakes her head. “Not the point right now. Arum, I’m not saying we should let them move in or something, but- it’s not like the swamp is tiny. If all they’re looking for is a place where they can be safe for a little while… it’s not like that would be a difficult thing to help with, would it?”

“Amaryllis-”

“They can’t tell anyone about us because anyone they would tell would hate the pair of them just the same,” Rilla says. “Honestly-” she pauses. “Honestly, Arum, aren’t you even a little bit curious? Or… or even a little bit tempted by the opportunity to talk to someone who’s gone through something like what we have?”

“No,” Arum grumbles, looking away, but Rilla steps closer and lifts a hand. He flicks his eyes to the strangers when she cups his cheek, suspicious of the scrutiny, but they don’t seem to be paying attention, so he only rumbles low in his chest and meets her eyes again. “I care about you,” he mutters. “I care about Damien. They have nothing to do with me, or us. The pair of you and my Keep are my only priorities, Amaryllis.”

Her thumb brushes soft over his cheek, and her smile goes a little more gentle. “I know,” she says, “but helping them too doesn’t take away from that. You’re allowed to do unselfish things, you know. No one here is going to make fun of you for being kind. Honestly, if you just pointed them towards a patch of swamp without any traps that they could camp in for a day or two, they’d probably be grateful enough, but- but I really think we could help more than that, don’t you?”

Arum grumbles, still standing stiffly to keep himself from gathering her close as he truly wishes to. He cannot embrace her, not while they might see, because-

The moth (Tetch, his mind supplies unhelpfully) stands close behind the human as they examine the portal, close enough to wrap a gentle wing around their shoulder like a cape, and even at this distance Arum can see the easy way that Puck leans back into that contact, the light smile that curls their lips.

He pulls his eyes away, and realizes that Amaryllis is still looking up at him, is still waiting for him to answer.

“We… could help. Theoretically.”

Rilla’s own lip curls, then, into an indulgent smirk. “Theoretically,” she echoes.

“There are…” he hesitates, eyes flicking around the room and not settling on any one thing in particular. “A number of outposts in the swamp, of course, similar to the one…”

Rilla’s smirk breaks into something softer when he hesitates again. “Like the one you brought me and Damien to, after… after Fort Terminus? Where we went to talk?”

“Y-yes,” he says. “Smaller places. Technically Keep-grown but not within its direct consciousness, without effort at the very least. Most are… hidden. Indistinguishable from the surrounding flora. Places no one would look, even if they somehow managed to penetrate the outer defenses of my swamp unseen in the first place.” He pauses, and Rilla doesn’t interrupt. She can tell he’s not quite finished, and she doesn’t wanna scare him off of this particular thought. “It… it would not be difficult, of course, to- to allow… rather… I suppose, if all they require is… is a place to exist for a short while…"

Arum pauses again, and again Rilla waits, lifting her other hand so she can cup his face. He glances towards the other pair again, and this time one of them is returning his gaze.

Or- he thought, for a moment, that they were. Puck's expression is even, curious, vaguely fond as they look at Amaryllis, something like recognition in their eyes. They do glance towards Arum, then, only the barest sliver of hope shining through them as they lean back into Tetch's wings with a very, very small smile. They drop his eyes, turning to laugh at something Tetch says in their ear, then, and Arum blinks back to himself.

Rilla waits, and Arum is grateful for her patience in a way he is never quite sure how to voice. He is grateful for every ounce of her being, though, and the small part of that gratefulness devoted to her patience is easy to lose among the whole. Arum sighs, resting his face in the safety of her palms, and then he curls his mouth into a wry sort of smile and lifts his own arms. He has wanted to hold her since he saw her in the doorway, despite his concerns.

Let them see.

Why should he be concerned? He is her betrothed now, after all, and that certainty pools warm at his center as he gathers her in his arms and tugs her against his chest. She breathes a light laugh against him, surprise and delight, one of his favorite noises in the whole of the Universe.

"… until the patch on her wing sets properly," Arum says, very quietly. "I- we will provide a place for them until then. It was my trap that damaged her- her own fault, of course, for- for trespassing, but- nonetheless, my handiwork. It seems … appropriate, to provide some… to provide some small degree of shelter. Until then."

Rilla leans back enough to look up at him, her eyes dark and warm and fond, and then she leans up to kiss him, just gently on the cheek.

"Okay," she says simply, still smiling, and then she reaches and takes two of his hands in her own, slipping her fingers between his, gently playing his digits between her own. "That sounds reasonable. C'mon, let's go let them know, yeah?"

“Angelo-”

“Almost there, Sir Damien! Patience for a few moments more, and all shall be revealed."

"I trust you with my life, Sir Angelo, but-" Damien ducks his head, weaving slightly to avoid thunking his head off of a stalactite. Ahead of him, Angelo moves with a deftness of foot that really should not surprise Sir Damien at this point. Sir Angelo the Strong was once simply Angelo of Quarry, after all, and he knows rocks and caverns as Sir Damien knows syllables and rhyme. "But- but we are rather deep, I think, and-"

"Oh, hardly! Why, Sir Damien, I've been in caverns a full three times deeper than this little hole, darker and with far more interesting formations of rock! We are not here for my interest today, though, my friend." Angelo grins wide over his shoulder, the light from the torch in his hand dancing orange and gold over the both of them.

"And… why are we here, exactly?" Damien tries, not for the first time, and an expression of near-comical mischief slides across Angelo's face.

"Soon!" he says by way of an answer, and then he presses his free hand over his wide grin, muffling a laugh. "Very soon, Sir Damien. Just a little further!"

"But you said that same thing," Damien pants, "ten minutes ago, I'm certain it must have been, and I would like to return to my-" he lowers his voice, despite the impossibility of being overheard in this moment, "my fiances before it is too terribly late in the evening, certainly you must understand-"

The narrow cave opens out, revealing a yawning space, an enormous wide bowl of a cavern with a cool, utterly still pool of water submerging the floor of the far half, the ceiling completely covered in wavering forms of stalactites stretching down from every corner. In the low light of the torch the water looks like glass, and the cones on the ceiling gleam with subtle moisture, and the noise of their footsteps resounds softly through the space.

"Angelo," Damien murmurs, "this place is… where are we?"

"I used to come here often when I was young," Sir Angelo says, fond and wistful, placing a hand on the uneven stone of the wall as he carefully arranges the torch to stand on its own in a crack between a pair of rocks. "I am rather boisterous even by my own family's standards, and this was one of very few places I could come where I would not prompt any number of complaints about my- well, my volume."

"Oh," Damien says gently. "Oh, Sir Angelo-"

Angelo turns, grinning wide and delighted, and he grips Damien's shoulders. "Which is why I knew it would be perfect for you, Sir Damien!"

"Er- come again?"

"You must speak your heart, Sir Damien," Angelo says, as if it is the most obvious thing in the world, and Damien-

Damien could laugh. He's said those words often enough, he supposes. It is the most obvious thing in the world.

"You are not meant to hide your love in whispers, Sir Damien. You are not meant to keep yourself so quiet, and I thought- I thought, perhaps, that you could use this place as I once did. You may speak as loudly as you wish, here, and you need not fear being overheard by anyone at all. If no one ever heard me, they will certainly not be able to hear you, Damien. Not even if you shout."

Damien blinks up at him, feeling his heart rise in his throat, and Angelo only grins a little wider, squeezing his shoulders.

"I thought, perhaps, that you might wish to shout, to make up for all those whispers."

"Angelo," Damien says, his voice wavering as he lifts his hands to grip Angelo's wrists.

Angelo's eyes sparkle with delight, and he squeezes Damien's shoulders once more before he releases them, stepping aside and patting him on the back instead.

"Now, Sir Damien," he says, his voice conspicuous and loud and his expression exaggeratedly sly, "I believe that you had news to share with me, did you not?"

"I-" Damien inhales, breathes a watery laugh, looks around at this wide, empty, private place that his best rival chose to share with him. "I- Sir Angelo, I already-"

"Come now, Damien, don't be shy! What did you wish to tell me?"

Damien presses a hand over his mouth against his own smile, pressing back against the laughter that he is certain will dissolve into tears. Angelo continues to grin, and he waves his hands in the air, encouraging and nearly giddy, stoking Damien's smile even wider.

Damien inhales, then exhales to try to soothe his overwhelmed, thrumming heart.

"I… I am going to be married," he says, and the cavern bounces his voice back to him in a subtle, soft wave. "Arum- Arum asked us to marry him. He- he wants to," Damien says, the surprise of it still coloring his tone, his voice beginning to raise as the enthusiasm wakes, shivering off his fear. "He wants us, he does, he wants us as much as we want him- he wants us to be married, Angelo, he's going to-"

Damien laughs, wild, reckless.

"I love them so, so much, Angelo, I love them with all of my heart, and they- I want to marry them, I want to be with them for the rest of my life, and they want it just the same! They want to marry me! Me, Angelo, oh Saints above, I-"

He pauses, pressing his hand over his heart, and Angelo waits, patient, his hand pressing as a gentle anchor on Damien's shoulderblade.

"I so rarely feel that I know what I am doing, Angelo. I am- so frightened. I am always so frightened, of dangers real and imagined, of failure, but- but with them I feel safe. Always. Even when they bicker, even when Rilla is exhausted and short-tempered, even when Arum and I cannot see eye-to-eye on a matter, even when I fall into the mire of my own mind, I still and forever feel safe with them, and I know- I know, beneath the terrified churning of my mind, I know in my heart that I am loved. I know that I am held beloved by them, and now I know- I know they wish to stand with me in marriage, they wish for us to pledge ourselves to our union. I am- I am held beloved by the most incredible woman I have ever met, and a regal, stubborn, glorious monster. A monster."

"A monster," Angelo echoes, steady and soft.

"I am…" Damien exhales slowly, then lifts his chin, and his next words are not a shout, but they are firm and confident and so, so proud. "I love a monster. I am loved by one in turn. My beloved flower Rilla loves and is loved by a monster just the same. I love Amaryllis, and I love Lord Arum, and I intend to love them both forever. For as long as they want me. I love them, and they love me, they do, and I- I am going to be their husband."

Angelo's eyes go bright, and his grin approaches the quality of a bonfire, and he throws his arms around Sir Damien's shoulders in a crushing hug.

"Congratulations, my friend!" he booms, his voice loud enough to rattle the space, sending droplets down from the stalactites to ripple the surface of the water. "Congratulations! I am so, so happy for you, Sir Damien. I will be so proud to witness so joyous an event!"

Damien-

His tears are as joyful as the congratulations, and Damien cannot help them in the least. He returns the fierce hug, sniffling against Angelo's shoulder as his eyes well.

"What- what did I ever do, Sir Angelo," he keens, his voice wavering hard, his throat aching, "to deserve this? To deserve to be the husband to such beautiful, radiant, loving, clever beings? What did I do? How could I ever be worthy of-"

Angelo tightens the hug, holding his best friend, best rival steady in his arms. "You loved them, Sir Damien," he says, "as much as they loved you. You loved each other, and you chose each other as your family. That is what you did."

Damien sniffles hard, burying his face in Angelo's shoulder and smiling through his tears. "And you as well," he manages, and Angelo makes a questioning noise. "You are my family too, Sir Angelo. Thank you. For this. For- for standing beside me in every dire conflict, for always encouraging me to grow, to strive, for-"

Angelo lifts, and as Angelo hugs him tight, Damien kicks his feet in the air with a squeaking startled laugh.

#elle's fanfic #the penumbra podcast #second citadel #rad bouquet #lizard kissin' tuesday #lord arum #amaryllis of exile #sir damien #sir angelo #the rite of movement

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mismatchedmimic · 3 years

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So I said I wouldn’t go on a long thing about this before, but now I’ve had time to think about it I’m going to go on that long thing now. xD

It feels a little embarrassing putting this all into a long post but I have a fair bit to get out of my head about it. Apologies for it being a bit messy and off the cuff.

tl;dr I’m going to stop doing the VN and continue the story as a webcomic.

So it’s been a year since I released Blue Moon’s first chapter and progress on the second has been… good. I’ve gotten far more done in a year that I expected.

I’ve refined the story that I feel proud of the whole thing, I’ve gotten better at art, even tried to get to know more of VN dev community.

If I was still working full time on it, I figure I could have it all finished in a few months.

But therein lies the problem that started to nag at me. If I was doing it full time. The only reason I’ve had the time to get as far as I have is because of covid keeping me out of work.

Now I’m back to the usual work schedule, it’d probably take closer to a year to finish the rest of the chapter, despite only 2 parts left to do.

Which, y’know, chapter 1 took me 3 years to do, I’m no stranger to these things taking a long time.

But it put this feeling in my mind that I had to try and make money off this, so I could keep the pace up. Which I know is next to impossible but it got in my head anyway.

I found myself comparing my work to other VNs, which I know have teams so of course I can’t compare but I did anyway. So there’s been this haunting feeling of inadequacy.

And I’ve been to scared to ask for help, from friends and especially not strangers. Even for money, not that I have enough to finance a whole VN.

Which brings me to the next point.

Solo dev work is freaking lonely! Especially when you feel like you’re bothering people by showing your messy work in progress.

I’ve spent this whole year wanting to share what I’ve made but keeping all the interesting bits like the story to myself, lest it ruin the experience to have y’all know it before seeing it.

And just, ugh, this doesn’t feel like a hobby anymore. It feels like a desperate clawing towards an impossible dream. I have fun still but it’s between massive amounts of frustration.

So… I think I’m done with making this VN. I still want to tell the story, but not in this format.

I am going to finish up what I have done with it so far and release it though. And once that’s done, I want to continue the story as a webcomic.

Why? Well, because simply I’ve always admired comics. You might note how I tried to use the comic aesthetic in my VN itself. It just felt impossible to do cause of my injured arm.

(And tbf, the arm is still a problem but I’ve gotten better at taking care of it.)

The VN was always a middle ground between my love of comics and game dev, but I had no real passion for the medium itself. Multiple times through making this I’ve had bouts of wanting to switch to a webcomic. It’s just finally convinced me to go for it. xD

And it does solve a lot of my current issues. It’s smaller, I don’t need to worry about as many things I don’t know like ui and music.

I can release it more regularly so it doesn’t feel so lonely to make.

And it would just feel like a hobby again. I don’t feel such a need to measure up to webcomics cause I’ve seen and enjoyed such a breadth of styles, I can just focus on making what I want to make without comparison.

So yeah, it’s gonna be a while yet before I start it but that’s my plan. Hope it wasn’t too much negativity but the thoughts had just been simmering and come to a head this last week. xD

I did make a test comic this week to make sure it’s something I want to do. It’s of a side story so I’ll be showing that in a moment.

Thanks for reading if you got this far. o3o

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sachinighte · 3 years

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Fic Writer Review

Tagged by @uintuva

1. How many do you have on Ao3? 107, 116 if I include the ones I’d rather not think about that I shoved under the metaphorical rug of a different pseud.

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 184425, oh wow, did not expect that.

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? 29, maybe 30. Not sure how much some of these overlap. Naruto, Dragon Age, Harry Potter, BNHA, Bleach, Sailor Moon, Hannibal, Hellsing, MCU, Mass Effect, FFXV, One Piece, Stargate, Teen Wolf, BTVS, X-Men, Criminal Minds, NCIS, Star Wars, YuYu Hakusho, Yuri on Ice, Inuyasha, Scooby-Doo, Negima, Voltron, Ocean’s 8, RWBY, The Black Jewels Trilogy, Underworld, Twilight. At least, that’s all my published fandoms.

4. What are your top 5 five by kudos? Number one is Don’t Ask Why It Works, It Just Does: 749. Number two is It’s Something Unpredictable (But In The End It’s Right): 595. Number three is With A Taste Of Poison Paradise: 410. Number four is And We’ll Fly And We’ll Fall And We’ll Burn: 400. And finally, number five is The Sharp Knife Of A Short Life: 385.

5. Do you respond to comments, why or why not? Yes, I always respond to comments because I don’t get many of them so it’s easy to do so, and plus I know love getting responses to my reviews from other authors. I know some people may not like this like I do, but I enjoy doing it.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? Uh, probably Land Of Confusion. I’ve written other angsty fics and endings, but there is literally no hope in that fic and no open ending for the mc.

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written? I do write crossovers, though I haven’t done very many—at least none that got posted—in recent years. My craziest one is probably Bleach/BTVS with a crack ship of Kenpachi/Buffy.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic? Oh, yeah. I used to post on ffn, which basically guaranteed that I would, but I still receive some on ao3. I usually delete it, but sometimes I’ll roast the person a bit before I do.

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind? -///- …yes. It’s either a gift fic for a friend, people failing at having sex in a—what I think—humorous way, or weird shit I think is sexy for some reason.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! A couple of times. It’s very sweet, I love it when people do that, I wish I could do that.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes, with my BFF, but it’s not published at all and my ex-gf actually took off with the physical copy when we broke up. Probably for the best, it was… ah, so embarrassing.

13. What is your all time favorite ship? I am an inveterate multishipper, it’s probably better to ask if I have any notps XDD. Even going by fandom idk if I would be able to choose.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? There’s this Dragon Age fic that I’ve been writing for years now, half from Cullen’s POV and half from Anders’ spanning all of da2 and Dai. I’m pretty sure it’s my best work but it just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Who the f*ck knows if it’ll ever be done, and if I’ll ever publish it. Pretty sure if I did I’d get burned at the stake by nearly everyone in fandom XD

15. What are your writing strengths? I like to think it is my characterization. It’s certainly the thing I get the most compliments on, which makes me feel very warm and fuzzy.

16. What are your writing weaknesses? Getting too wrapped up in useless details. It’s fine for short fic, but in long fic it’s… well… a bit overwhelming.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? It depends on whether the POV character can understand it or not; if they can’t then I try and translate it into the language as best I can, which might be a fun Easter egg for those who speak it? If they can, then I usually just do “…,” a said in (language). Otherwise I just treat it like normal dialogue, no fancy formatting or anything. I’ll post what I wanted it to mean in the author’s note, but tbh I’ve never been able to successfully learn another language despite years of trying, so it’s more than likely wrong even though I usually end up doing hours of research. If you look at some of my really early work, that might not be the case, as I’ve learned a lot over the years, but that’s my opinion as of now. It may change in the future as I learn more!

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for? The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop. It was a poem, and super teenage angsty.

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve ever written? I honestly can’t tell you. It changes by the day, in regards to my mood. I will say that I’m probably most proud of Don’t Let Your Life Pass You By; Well I’ll Be Damned, Here Comes Your Ghost Again; But The Light Is On (What Are You Waiting For?); and The Sharp Knife Of A Short Life. They might not all be my most popular fics, but they’re definitely the most character driven ones, in my opinion.

I never know who to tag for this stuff, so please, if you would like to do this, feel free to say I tagged you. It’s fun!

#my writing #my fanfiction #this is me

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stranger-who-writes-fiction · 3 years

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Aaaanyways, I wanna put on my comic-art-nerd hat and talk about panel-to-panel action in that Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow preview because yes, I have been staring at it for days, and yes, I will continue to do so until it is released next month! XD

LET’S GO:

I apologize in advance for the funky formatting, there’s an art to tumblr text posts and I...have not mastered it. XD

It’ll go image, then analysis.

Also, just to be clear: I’m not doing this so much to be like, ‘WOW THIS IS GROUNDBREAKING, STUNNING, NEVER-BEEN-DONE!’ In fact, many comics do the things I’m gonna highlight/geek out over! Rather, it’s more about, like. Appreciating the construction of the pages, panels, etc.

Okay, so! Page 1, the SPLASH PAGE

Okay, so, admittedly, I don’t have a ton to say about this opening image, largely because it is one single illustration as opposed to a series of panels. But even then! It quickly establishes that we’re not on earth--the foliage, rock formations, and GIANT WOOLY FRIEND(?) give that away. Also! Said rock formations and wooly friend’s horns frame our new character RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE, letting you know that even though she is tiny, she is important. And, I will just say, I love the dust effects on the ground. The repeated semi-circle shapes evoke the feeling of rhythmic, galloping hoof beats, even without actual movement or sound. Lovely.

And now, PAGE 2!

So, I’ve highlighted panel 3, but before I get there! Panels 1 & 2 do such a nice job of giving us an idea as to the actual, physical size of these two characters, as well as the power dynamic at play. This random dude takes up the WHOLE DANG PANEL with his bulging muscles and is framed in an up-shot; in panel 2, Ruthye is not only shown from above--we’re literally looking down at her--she is also relegated to the bottom half of the panel. Additionally, it’s a great way to show the action of her turning to pull the sword from her belt, obscuring it from both our view and his, to bring out the ‘big reveal’ in the next panel.

Speaking of! Panel 3! Our establishing shot! We’re introduced to the full interior of this tavern. We see where everything is placed--walls, furniture, and perhaps most importantly, the various patrons!

Establishing shots are so important to have in visual media because they help us, the reader/viewer, to orient all of the various components within a sequence or scene.

It’s also helpful for the artists because then they can better maintain things like screen direction and continuity.

If we don’t have a shot like this, then subsequent action can become confusing to the point of distraction.

YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED how often this is neglected or forgotten in comics! Scenes will change abruptly and it’s like, ‘wait, wait, where are we?’

ADDITIONALLY, the establishing shot not only gives us basic spatial information, it ~sets the mood~ XD Setting! Atmosphere! Genre! It’s all here.

I mentioned this in my prior post, that the art gives off some intense fantasy vibes, what with the organic shapes, rough textures, and color palette.

Folks who’ve read advanced copies have described the book as a fantasy/western; that extends even to the series title design! The designer revealed that the western look of the text is deliberate.

So A+ to the art team for NAILING IT!

Okay, on to page 3!

Not a ton of notes on this one, but that’s only because the prior page has done such a solid job of laying out the space, as well as the relationship between these two characters WITH JUST WITH THE ART. (Okay, okay, the words help too. XD) Once more, we see this big brute tower over Ruthye, panel- to-panel; he’s always ‘large and in charge’ regardless of the angle. Even in that final panel! Ruthye is the largest element because she’s closer to us, but the guy is still positioned ‘above’ her, literally talking down to Ruthye from over his shoulder.

(And HMMMM. That unassuming stranger in the back there, underneath the lanterns that seem to act as an arrow pointing right at her...could she be...important?)

(Her tiny size would seem to imply that she isn’t...AND YET...)

PAGE 4!

MMMM them FRAMES within FRAMES!

Okay, but before I get into that, I do wanna briefly mention panel size and shape.

All of these pages (save for 1 and 7, which are full-page illustrations) pretty much stick to a very traditional panel structure. Each panel is completely enclosed, and there is zero variety in terms of shape. It’s all rectangles.

BUT. The size and orientation change--take, for instance, that ‘skinny’ horizontal panel up top, the way it perfectly suits the ‘shape’ of the elements/action being shown. It’s a close on Kara’s wrist/hand, reaching out for the sword in the guy’s belt.

I mention this because often, writers don’t dictate stuff like panel layout in a script. They will give the artist the number of panels, and what needs to be included in each one, but the actual, overall organization of the page? Totally up to the artist.

So! Really knowing what you want to highlight and convey is key, because you can use the panels’ size/shape/relation to other panels to ENHANCE those images, like that sword grabbing up top!

AND! Another thing I love about that panel in particular is the way that Kara’s hand and the sword make a tiny frame for Ruthye! Who is, again, VERY TINY!

I keep mentioning the size thing because it’s a nice bit of economical visual storytelling; the child character is going to be smaller than the adult characters anyway, but by calling attention to it repeatedly, we as the viewer are constantly reminded that this kid is small! She needs help! She needs to be protected! Which is like, the whole premise of the inciting incident. XD Good stuff!

(Also more dot eyes in comics that aren’t humor comics, please.)

There’s another frame down in panel 3 as well! Evely uses this device several times throughout this sequence; it’s such a great use of the multiple swords in the scene, AND shows that she can really pack all of the characters in there without cutting any of them off/obscuring them behind various objects.

And like, NO TANGENTS, which takes some serious skillz.

ESPECIALLY when you consider all that beautiful linework. LOOK AT THEM INKS.

...In particular, look at them inks in panel 5! The shading on the booth is done in such a manner that the ‘grain’ of the ink defines the perspective. We’re looking down at Kara, from above. This is a helpful little bit of orientation, as there’s not a ton of room around Kara to have any other perspective lines to help sell the angle.

ALSO, NOTE THE POSITION OF MR. BRUTE IN PANEL 4, AND THEN KARA’S EYELINE IN PANEL 5. It will be important in...

PAGE 5!

Allow me to explain:

In panel four on page 4, we see the guy reach for his sword, his body language revealing that he’s intent on moving towards Kara.

In panel 5 on the same page, we get that lovely down shot of Kara looking right up at us, the viewer. But also, the implication is that she’s ACTUALLY looking at Tough Guy, because in the next page, we see that he’s positioned himself right above her to swing that sword down!

(My apologies for the poor attempts at drawn annotations.)

There’s no action lines cluttering up the beautiful art; Not-Conan’s hair, rather, acts as the action line/guiding ‘arc’ so that we can better follow the movement.

Kara, likewise, doesn’t have any action lines on her, but her posture and hair act as visual cues to tell us that she slides over in the booth, out of the way of the sword.

In particular, the way her right shoulder/arm draws closer to her body, and the way her left hand comes up to offset the way she’s now positioned, really sells the ‘slide’.

More beautiful indicators of movement in panel 2; the hair, the action line on the sword, the torn fabric of Kara’s shirt.

Panel 3 brings more FRAMES WITHIN FRAMES! And, actually, as I’m looking at it? I think it could be argued that we actually have a FRAME within a FRAME within a FRAME!

First frame: Panel border, natch.

Second frame: Goofus’ sword, arm, and face frame Kara.

Third frame: Kara’s arm and sword work with Goofus’ head again to frame tiny Krypto.

LAYERS.

And now, a note about colors!

I said before that I love the palette at play. The earthy tones give the entire setting an organic feel--this is not a high-tech locale! We’re dealing with natural materials here.

BUT THEN THOSE BLUES!

Not only do we get that nice split complementary thing happening with the yellow, but it also signals the blue of Kara’s costume, a little hint of which is revealed in the final page.

And, like. It’s night time. XD

(I just gotta say, love the cold blue outside the window next to Kara’s table, contrasted with the warm yellow of the interior. Even though this is a bar, there’s still that element of like. Coziness.)

Also! Even though the overall palette is heavy on the yellows, Kara’s hair is more saturated and leans towards a warmer yellow, while the rest of the yellows in the scene are cooler. Thus! We have CONTRAST! Our eyes are drawn right to her.

And I know--I KNOW--that SG comics twitter already hates King because Kara’s DRINKING and personally I want more of the story/context before I pass any judgement but I must admit, the shapes? In panel 5? With Kara drinking in the foreground?

I kinda love it.

Also mmmm-MMMM, more of them SOFT BLUES.

Okay. PAGE 6!

Now THIS PAGE is what inspired this whole endeavor.

Because, okay. If I’ve not made it clear by now: I read a lot of comics.

And I generally enjoy all of the comics I read!

But, what I’ve found lately, is that if I don’t enjoy a comic, it’s because I, as a reader, find myself confused by the art.

Confused as in, the art is hard to follow.

That can be because the color design/ink work doesn’t have enough contrast, or the composition is muddled, but most frequently?

It’s poor panel-to-panel action.

When there’s no flow/connection between what’s happening in one panel vs. another, suddenly it’s on you, as the reader, to do a lot more of the work as you go through the scene. And sometimes! We don’t even have enough visual information to DO that work!

So when I read this, I was like, ‘ah, thank you, an easy flow of action for my brain to appreciate.’ XD

AND SO. Panel 1! Same stuff we’ve been seeing! The ink work, hair, clothing details, etc. all work to show us which direction each character is moving. Kara’s arm and jacket all point to her slamming that mug in the dude’s face; dude’s sword serves as a GIANT ARROW illustrating the path of his stab.

Not much to say on panels 2 and 3 other than: FACIAL EXPRESSIONS! And also, HAIR!!!

PANEL FOOOOUR!!!!

Love. This. Panel.

Again, I really love that there are no action lines slapped on top of this gorgeous art, all of the movement is conveyed in the inks, body language, clothes, and so on.

Like. There’s a conscious decision, here, to not have Kara’s hair obscuring the dude’s torso, and that’s good! Because his belt/uhh...kilt? Skirt? Is showing us the speed and direction of his jab; if Kara’s hair were in the way, it would break up the flow.

BUT THEN HOW TO SHOW THAT KARA’S DIPPING FORWARD???

Note the ties on her cuff, and the inks on her jacket!

There’s nothing special happening with Krypto, BTW. I just circled him because he’s a Good Boy who deserves to be noticed.

Panel 5, more of the same, the inks telling us how these characters are moving through space. ALSO, the length of the lines conveys speed without needing to add something distracting/obscure the art with a ‘blur’ effect.

Final panel! I. LOVE. THIS.

Particularly the movement in Kara’s hair, just. Beautiful shape language.

But in addition! You’ve got that LOVELY line of action in Kara’s spine as she flips him over, the sword likewise curved in the direction of the throw.

And of course, the dude is crumpling in the appropriate direction, bent in the middle as he collides with the table to--quite literally--complete the circle.

Also, just. The characterization here, is PHENOMENAL.

People (read: irate fans on twitter) have expressed concern (read: complained) about Kara having a sword. Some have even gone so far as to suggest that Kara’s basically a murderer now, because she’s using a weapon.

Never mind the fact that in an episode of JLU, Supergirl used both a sword AND a gun to defend herself while in Skartaris because she had no powers.

Except we see here that Kara DOESN’T USE THE SWORD to take the guy out, she uses his own force against him. She only uses the swords in the FINAL PAGE in a type of ‘yield’ fashion.

(This particular ‘fight’ sequence reminded me of Brainy’s fighting style in the show so of course that added to my overall enjoyment.)

Like, Kara’s got no powers here, she very well could have used the sword to defend herself, and would...kinda be justified.

But she didn’t!

Like. Even drunk and therefore out of it, Kara 1.) Steps in to help that kid and 2.) doesn’t use superpowered lethal force on the guy. (I mean, she can’t use her super powers anyway, what with the red sun, but you get the idea.)

And like, the flourish there, of the arms, the way the jacket swirls around her, like a gymnast sticking the landing, GAAAAAHHHH I just love it. It’s great.

Okay, FINAL PAGE, #7:

I mean. What more can I say? EVELY AND LOPES, MAN.

Just some top notch art.

(Also get it guys, it’s a LITERAL shirt rip! XD)

(And look! There’s that tiny bit of blue!)

But anyways, if you’ve made it this far, I applaud you, and thank you for indulging my desire to just. Geek out over one of my favorite comic artists drawing one of my favorite comic characters.

And just to like, reiterate, I’m not suggesting that this comic is THE BEST EVER or that it’s going to redefine the medium, or anything. XD Everything I’ve mentioned here is...pretty basic storytelling mechanics. Watch any movie, and you’ll see all this same stuff at work.

RATHER, this whole post is more about...admiring two artists who clearly know what they’re doing.

And they’re doing it so well! :D

TL;DR: I’m so excited that the Supergirl book has Evely and Lopes, guys. So. Excited.

#stranger speaks #long post #supergirl: woman of tomorrow #art analysis #comic art analysis #edit: whoops forgot content warning tags #cw: alcohol #cw: blood

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fyrapartnersearch · 3 years

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Slashy Twilight, anyone? (M/M Edward/male!Bella)

Hey all! My name is Liz! I’m 31, and I’m located in CST. I’ve got an idea I’ve been kicking around for a while, and I’d love to find someone I can really get into this with!

Loosely put, I’m looking for some Twilight slash. But, like…Edward/male!Bella kind of slash. XD I’m talking, in-depth, kinda gritty detail, romantic sort of writing. I wanna have some real good fun with this plot!

(NOTE: All pairings will be M/M!)

I’m looking for a partner who is: * Literate (decent grasp of the English language, few typos) * Descriptive (at least 2-3 paragraphs per reply) * Active/Enthusiastic (at least once every week; ideally once a day or more!) * Friendly/Loves to chat OOC! (PLEASE? I love plotting with my partners and just chilling! Let’s be friends!)

I do have a few rules (linked below), and I’m sorry if they’re a tad repetitive, but I’m just trying to make sure we’re all on the same page!

If you’re interested, please check out my plots/pairings, rules and reach out!

*Legend** Bold Italics = role I’d prefer to play Italics = undecided/either one/flexible Stars = an area of particular interest/craving

FANDOM Twilight***** Edward Cullen/male!Bella Swann******

As stated above, I’d really like to dig into the details with these two. I’m not looking for sappy, one-dimensional self-insert cardboard cut-out characters. I want to explore how these two click, their likes, dislikes - all that good stuff. I’m absolutely itching to tweak things around. For example, what if the rash of murders that are happening in Forks are actually more than a mention? I’d love to do, like…sort of an investigative journalist type of thing for male!Bella. He comes to Forks to find A Big Story, and finds “serial killers”. Who turn out to actually be vampires.

As well, I would love for Edward to be more at odds with himself? I’m totally cool with the Cullens living on animals for their blood, but I want to see more depth to them. Give me angsty Edward, give me Edward who actually kind of doesn’t give a shit about humans and would be fine feeding from them if Carlisle didn’t forbid it. I want things to start off interesting.

I would also really love to explore the other Cullens as well, and work this into a long, winding story! Give me opposing viewpoints, characters with depth to them, give me tense situations and slow-burn romance and maturity! Let’s really sink our teeth into this!

(Again I would like to state that, although we’d be heavily retooling the characters, I’m NOT looking for original characters for this line, per se. I just really want to take things and flip them on their head!)

~~~ Rules! (PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTACTING ME! I know it’s a lot, but it’s all I ask.)

Being 31, I am perfectly willing to write smut. As such, I will only write with you if you’re 20+. I’m sorry, it has nothing to do with talent or ability; it’s simply a matter of comfort on my end. I’m also not into PWP/smut for smut’s sake. I like my sexy times to come up naturally in the narrative and help to move a story along. However! I am just as happy getting an R+ scene going and letting it fade naturally, if it’s something we’re both rather more comfortable with. I find that smut is not always necessary to make a good story.

Style: I am looking for a partner that’s mostly-literate (few spelling errors outside of typos, decent comprehension of the English language, some fair amount of detail in replies; something to work with). I myself have been writing and role-playing for 15+ years. My style is third-person paragraph-format (with a preference for past-tense, as I feel it personally flows better, imo), and fairly detailed at that - especially when my inspiration is up. I like to explore my characters and their thoughts just as much as the scene around them and the actions that they are responding to.

I can write multiple paragraphs per post, but will happily match you, as well, depending on how the flow goes. However, I would ask that, at minimum, you write 2-3 paragraphs per post. (More is always welcome!) Though, I know that dialogue-heavy scenes can be sporadic and choppy, and that muses don’t always cooperate. That’s perfectly fine! I just need something to reply to, and in return will give you the same!

Availability: I try to reply at least once a day (if not more!), but this can shift to several times a week, and my availability can fluctuate depending on how busy I am and how fickle my muse is. I freely admit this, and let you know that there is absolutely NO pressure to stick to a “schedule”. I am a very chill person! If we can only get several posts per week on both ends and end up chatting/plotting OOC for the rest of that week, that’s completely cool! We all have lives. More often than not, it will be at least once a day, even if it’s just checking in and chatting through OOC just to work on plot.

I am looking for someone who enjoys plotting and chatting and who’s not afraid to toss ideas back and forth - but, as well, who understands if one of us won’t be around for a day or so. I’m looking for someone who, likewise, doesn’t mind tossing ideas out at odd hours of the day/night and chattering just to chat because the rush of ideas is too much. Flexibility is great! Most of all, I just want to have fun! (I’m also looking for something that’ll turn into long-term! I really hate getting into plotting, and excited, only to have things just fizzle out…I know things happen, but it’s always a little frustrating…)

Anyway, I’m very open and friendly, and will listen to everything you say. If there is something that bothers you, or you have a limit that we haven’t gone over, please let me know! I’d like things to work out for both of us! As well, if you’ve reached out to me in the past and would like to try again, I happily welcome you to send me a message! I don’t bite!

Limits: Vore, toiletplay/bathroom, underage, mpreg, bestiality.

**Also please note that I WILL NOT reply to a message that’s simply “hey wanna rp?”. I don’t mean to sound uptight but, sorry, no. I would appreciate a bit more effort than that. As well, being pushy or equally unenthusiastic will get you nowhere. I love being excited and having fun as much as the next person, but this is a collaborative thing! I don’t want to be driving things by my lonesome! As proof that you have read this, please tell me the title of your favorite book.

If you’ve made it through that huge thing, then thank you so very much for reading! Before you go, I have one more request to ask of you. When you contact me, please, please, PLEASE include: any ideas/plots you might want to work out, which character(s) you would like to play, your age and timezone, and any limits you may have. And, most importantly, tell me a little bit about yourself! I’d like to get to know you!

Contact: [email protected]

(I have a Discord, as well, and would be more than happy to give it out, if you decide you’d like to use it as a chat platform! But only after initial contact! I would like to state that I’m primarily looking for partners who use email, simply because I’m more fond of the organization there. But, if you can make a case for Discord, fire away! I’m always willing to make a consideration!)

If any of this interests you, I’d love to hear from you!

#multiple paragraph #para #long term #literate #au #drama angst #fandom #modern #romance #long post #twilight rp #submission

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thesteadydietofeverything · 4 years

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Top 10 Games of 2019

This was an extremely good year for games. I don’t know if I played as many that will stick with me as I did last year, but the ones on the bottom half of this list in particular constitute some of my favorite games of the decade, and probably all-time. If I’ve got a gaming-related resolution for next year, it’s to put my playtime into supporting even smaller indie devs. My absolute favorite experiences in games this year came from seemingly out of nowhere games from teams I’ve previously never heard of before. That said, there are some big games coming up in spring I doubt I’ll be able to keep myself away from. Some quick notes/shoutouts before I get started:

-The game I put maybe the most time into this year was Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. I finally made the plunge into neverending FF MMO content, and I’m as happy as I am overwhelmed. This was a big year for the game, between the release of the Shadowbringers expansion and the Nier: Automata raid, and it very well may have made it onto my list if I had managed to actually get to any of it. At the time of this writing, though, I’ve only just finished 2015’s Heavensward, so I’ve got...a long way to go.

-One quick shoutout to the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy that came out on Switch this year, a remaster of some DS classics I never played. An absolutely delightful visual novel series that I fell in love with throughout this year.

-I originally included a couple games currently in early access that I’ve enjoyed immensely. I removed them not because of arbitrary rules about what technically “came out” this year, but just to make room for some other games I liked, out of the assumption that I’ll still love these games in their 1.0 formats when they’re released next year to include them on my 2020 list. So shoutout to Hades, probably the best rogue-like/lite/whatever I’ve ever played, and Spin Rhythm XD, which reignited my love for rhythm games.

-Disco Elysium isn’t on this list, because I’ve played about an hour of it and haven’t yet been hooked by it. But I’ve heard enough about it to be convinced that it is 1000% a game for me and something I need to get to immediately. They shouted out Marx and Engels at the Game Awards! They look so cool! I want to be their friend! And hopefully, a few weeks from now, I’ll desperately want to redact this list to squeeze this game somewhere in here.

Alright, he’s the actual list:

10. Amid Evil

The 90’s FPS renaissance continues! As opposed to last year’s Dusk, a game I adored, this one takes its cues less from Quake and more from Heretic/Hexen, placing a greater emphasis on melee combat and magic-fuelled projectiles than more traditional weapons. Also, rather than that game’s intentionally ugly aesthetic, this one opts for graphics that at times feel lush, detailed, and pretty, while still probably mostly fitting the description of lo-fi. In fact, they just added RTX to the game, something I’m extremely curious to check out. This game continued to fuel my excitement about the possibilities of embracing out-of-style gameplay mechanics to discover new and fresh possibilities from a genre I’ve never been able to stop yearning for more of.

9. Ape Out

If this were a “coolest games” list, Ape Out would win it, easily. It’s a simple game whose mechanics don’t particularly evolve throughout the course of its handful of hours, but it leaves a hell of an impression with its minimalist cut-out graphics, stylish title cards, and percussive soundtrack. Smashing guards into each other and walls and causing them to shoot each other in a mad-dash for the exit is a fun as hell take on Hotline Miami-esque top down hyper violence, even if it’s a thin enough concept that it starts to feel a bit old before the end of the game.

8. Fire Emblem: Three Houses

I had a lot of problems with this game, probably most stemming from just how damn long it is - I still haven’t finished my first, and likely only, playthrough. This length seems to have motivated the developers to make battles more simple and easy, and to be fair, I would get frustrated if I were getting stuck on individual battles if I couldn’t stop thinking about how much longer I have to go, but as it is, I’ve just found them to be mostly boring. This is particularly problematic for a game that seems to require you to play through it at least...three times to really get the full picture? I couldn’t help but admire everything this game got right, though, and that mostly comes down to building a massive cast of extremely well realized and likable characters whose complex relationships with each other and with the structures they pledge loyalty to fuels harrowing drama once the plot really sets into motion. There’s a reason no other game inspired such a deluge of memes and fan fiction and art into my Twitter feed this year. It’s an impressive feat to convince every player they’ve unquestionably picked the right house and defend their problem children till the bitter end. After the success of this game, I’d love to see what this team can do next with a narrower focus and a bigger budget.

7. Resident Evil 2

It’s been a long time since I played the original Resident Evil 2, but I still consider it to be one of my favorite games of all time. I was highly skeptical of this remake at first, holding my stubborn ground that changing the fixed camera to a RE4-style behind the back perspective would turn this game more into an action game and less of a survival horror game where feeling a lack of control is part of the experience. I was pleasantly surprised to find how much they were able to modernize this game while maintaining its original feel and atmosphere. The fumbly, drifting aim-down sights effectively sell the feeling of being a rookie scared out of your wits. Being chased by Mr. X is wildly anxiety-inducing. But even more surprisingly, perhaps the greatest upgrade this game received was its map, which does you the generous service of actually marking down automatically where puzzles and items are, which rooms you’ve yet to enter, which ones you’ve searched entirely, and which ones still have more to discover. Arguably, this disrupts the feeling of being lost in a labyrinthine space that the original inspired, but in practice, it’s a remarkably satisfying and addicting video game system to engage with.

6. Judgment

No big surprise here - Ryu ga Gotoku put out another Yakuza-style game set in Kamurocho, and once again, it’s sitting somewhere on my top 10. This time, they finally put Kazuma Kiryu’s story to bed and focused on a new protagonist, down on his luck lawyer-turned-detective Takayuki Yagami. The new direction doesn’t always pay off - the added mechanics of following and chasing suspects gets a bit tedious. The game makes up for it, though, by absolutely nailing a fun, engrossing J-Drama of a plot entirely divorced from the Yakuza lore. The narrative takes several head-spinning turns through its several dozen hours, and they all feel earned, with a fresh sense of focus. The side stories in this one do even more to make you feel connected to the community of Kamurocho by befriending people from across the neighborhood. I’d love to see this team take even bigger swings in the future - and from what I’ve seen from Yakuza 7, that seems exactly like what they’re doing - but even if this game shares maybe a bit too much DNA with its predecessors, it’s hard to complain when the writing and acting are this enjoyable.

5. Control

Control feels like the kind of game that almost never gets made anymore. It’s a AAA game that isn’t connected to any larger franchises and doesn’t demand your attention for longer than a dozen hours. It doesn’t shoehorn needless RPG or MMO mechanics into its third-person action game formula to hold your attention. It introduces a wildly clever idea, tells a concise story with it, and then its over. And there’s something so refreshing about all of that. The setting of The Oldest House has a lot to do with it. I think it stands toe-to-toe with Rapture or Black Mesa as an instantly iconic game world. Its aesthetic blend of paranormal horror and banal government bureaucracy gripped my inner X-Files fan instantly, and kept him satisfied not only with its central characters and mystery but with a generous bounty of redacted documents full of worldbuilding both spine-tingling and hilarious. More will undoubtedly come from this game, in the form of DLC and possibly even more, with the way it ties itself into other Remedy universes, and as much as I expect I will love it, the refreshing experience this base game offered me likely can’t be beat.

4. Anodyne 2

I awaited Sean Han Tani and Marina Kittaka’s new game more anxiously than almost any game that came out this year, despite never having played the first one, exclusively on my love for last year’s singular All Our Asias and the promise that this game would greatly expand on that one’s Saturn/PS1-esque early 3D graphics and personal, heartfelt storytelling. Not only was I not disappointed, I was regularly pleasantly surprised by the depth of narrative and themes the game navigates. This game takes the ‘legendary hero’ tropes of a Zelda game and flips them to tell a story about the importance of community and taking care of loved ones over duty to governments or organizations. The dungeons that similarly reflect a Link to the Past-era Zelda game reduce the maps to bite-sized, funny, clever designs that ask you to internalize unique mechanics that result in affecting conclusions. Plus, it’s gorgeously idiosyncratic in its blend of 3D and 2D environments and its pretty but off-kilter score. It’s hard to believe something this full and well realized came from two people.

3. Eliza

Eliza is a work of dystopian fiction so closely resembling the state of the world in 2019 it’s hard to even want to call it sci-fi. As a proxy for the Eliza app, you speak the words of an AI therapist that offers meager, generic suggestions as a catch-all for desperate people facing any number of the nightmares of our time. The first session you get is a man reckoning with the state the world is in - we’ve only got a few more years left to save ourselves from impending climate crisis, destructive development is rendering cities unlivable for anyone but the super-rich, and the people who hold all the power are just making it all worse. The only thing you offer to him is to use a meditation app and take some medication. It doesn’t take long for you to realize that this whole structure is much less about helping struggling people and more about mining personal data.

There’s much more to this story than the grim state of mental health under late capitalism, though. It’s revealed that Evelyn, the character you play as, has a much closer history with Eliza than initially evident. Throughout the game, she’ll reacquaint herself with old coworkers, including her two former bosses who have recently split and run different companies over their differing frightening visions for the future. The game offers a biting critique of the kind of tech company optimism that brings rich, eccentric men to believe they can solve the world’s problems within the hyper-capitalist structure they’ve thrived under, and how quickly this mindset gives way to techno-fascism. There’s also Evelyn’s former team member, Nora, who has quit the tech world in favor of being a DJ “activist,” and her current lead Rae, a compassionate person who genuinely believes in the power of Eliza to better people’s lives. The writing does an excellent job of justifying everyone’s points of view and highlighting the limits of their ideology without simplifying their sense of morality.

Why this game works so well isn’t just its willingness to stare in the face of uncomfortably relevant subject matter, but its ultimately empathetic message. It offers no simple solutions to the world’s problems, but also avoids falling into utter despair. Instead, it places measured but inspiring faith in the power of making small, meaningful impacts on the people around you, and simply trying to put some good into your world. It’s a game both terrifying and comforting in its frank conclusions.

2. Death Stranding

For a game as willfully dumb as this one often is - that, for example, insists on giving all of its characters with self-explanatory names long monologues about how they got that name - Death Stranding was one of the most thought provoking games I’ve played in a while. Outside of its indulgent, awkwardly paced narrative, the game offers plenty of reflection on the impact the internet has had on our lives. As Sam Porter Bridges, you’re hiking across a post-apocalyptic America, reconnecting isolated cities by delivering supplies, building infrastructure, and, probably most importantly, connecting them to the Chiral Network, an internet of sorts constructed of supernatural material of nebulous origin. Through this structure, the game offers surprisingly insightful commentary about the necessity for communication, cooperation, and genuine love and care within a community.

The lonely world you’re tasked to explore, and the way you’re given blips of encouragement within the solitude through the structures and “likes” you give and receive through the game’s asynchronous multiplayer system, offers some striking parallels for those of us particularly “online” people who feel simultaneous desperation for human contact and aversion to social pressures. I’ve heard the themes of this game described as “incoherent” due to the way it seems to view the internet both as a powerful tool to connect people and a means by which people become isolated and alienated, but are both of these statements not completely true to reality? The game simplifies some of its conclusions - Kojima seems particularly ignorant of America’s deep structural inequities and abuses that lead to a culture of isolation and alienation. And yet, the questions it asks are provocative enough that they compelled me to keep thinking about them far longer than the answers it offers.

Beyond the surprisingly rich thematic content, this game is mostly just a joy to play. Death Stranding builds kinetic drama out of the typically rote parts of games. Moving from point A to point B has become an increasingly tedious chore in the majority of AAA open world games, but this is a game built almost entirely out of moving from point A to point B, and it makes it thrilling. The simple act of walking down a hill while trying to balance a heavy load on your back and avoiding rocks and other obstacles fulfills the promise of the term ‘walking simulator’ in a far more interesting way than most games given that descriptor. The game consistently doles out new ways to navigate terrain, which peaked for me about two thirds of the way through the game when, after spending hours setting up a network of zip lines, a delivery offered me the opportunity to utilize the entire thing in a wildly satisfying journey from one end of the map to another. It was the gaming moment of the year.

1. Outer Wilds

The first time the sun exploded in my Outer Wilds playthrough, I was probably about to die anyway. I had fallen through a black hole, and had yet to figure out how to recover from that, so I was drifting listlessly through space with diminishing oxygen as the synths started to pick up and I watched the sun fall in on itself and then expand throughout the solar system as my vision went went. The moment gave me chills, not because I wasn’t already doomed anyway, but because I couldn’t help but think about my neighbors that I had left behind to explore space. I hadn’t known that mere minutes after I left the atmosphere the solar system would be obliterated, but I was at least able to watch as it happened. They probably had no idea what happened. Suddenly their lives and their planet and everything they had known were just...gone. And then I woke up, with the campfire burning in front of me, and everyone looking just as I had left it. And I became obsessed with figuring out how to stop that from happening again.

What surprised me is that every time the sun exploded, it never failed to produce those chills I felt the first time. This game is masterful in its art, sound, and music design that manages to produce feelings so intense from an aesthetic so quaint. Tracking down fellow explorers by following the sound of their harmonica or acoustic guitar. Exploring space in a rickety vessel held together by wood and tape. Translating logs of conversations of an ancient alien race and finding the subject matter of discussion to be about small interpersonal drama as often as it is revelatory secrets of the universe. All of the potentially twee aspects of the game are balanced out by an innate sense of danger and terror that comes from exploring space and strange worlds alone. At times, the game dips into pure horror, making other aspects of the presentation all the more charming by comparison. And then there’s the clockwork machinations of the 22-minute loop you explore within, rewarding exploration and experimentation with reveals that make you feel like a genius for figuring out the puzzle at the same time that you’re stunned by the divulgence of a new piece of information.

The last few hours of the game contained a couple puzzles so obfuscated that I had to consult a guide, which admittedly lessened the impact of those reveals, but it all led to one of the most equally devastating and satisfying endings I’ve experienced in a video game recently. I really can’t say enough good things about this game. It’s not only my favorite game this year, but easily one of my favorite games of the decade, and really, of all-time, when it comes down to it.

#outer wilds #death stranding #eliza #anodyne 2 #control #judgment #resident evil 2 #fire emblem: three houses #Ape Out #Amid Evil #games #video games #GOTY

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killmebutneverinsultme2 · 4 years

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Rules for mobile (Pinned Post)

The Code

Success. I’ve sufficiently pestered the wench to make me a blog, much to the cost of a certain behorned mischief god whose presence I must share. Follow the rules below, and there’ll be smooth sailin’, savvy?

This be an exceptionally selective blog. I was me mun’s first ever muse yonks back and I’ve pestered her into writing me again, BUT, she’s horribly pressed for time. Partners will likely be very few, else ones doubling up with Loki’s. Anyone is welcome to approach and enquire, but she and I will be leaning toward those either from me own universe or crossovers with which she’s highly familiar and characters in whom she’s especially interested. Ye have been warned.

Replies are like to be slow, up to a few weeks at most.

Partners must be 18+. Various themes of an adult nature may be found here. Sexual things will be tagged ‘#filthy pirate’ with whatever level/variety of sin I deem them. More details below.

Behave. There shall be no rudeness, no passive aggression, no hate, no censorship or generally being a twit. Do I make meself clear?

The Code - Extended (below the cut)

Hi, guys. I’m Pirate (oddly known as this long before I made Jack a tumblr). Here are my more detailed rules and guidelines for writing with me on this blog, though the absolute basics are at the top as, honestly, it’s never easy to remember everyone’s requirements.

Jack is a sideblog. If you’re being followed by a benevolentgodloki that means I’m following you back. I don’t need us to be mutuals (both following each other) for us to write together, but there is a greater chance of us having a partnership if we’re letting each other know we’re interested.

How I Roll

I note myself as ‘highly selective’. This isn’t to be an elitist bugger, it’s because we all only have a limited amount of time we can put in. I want to write what I enjoy with people I enjoy. I am married with two attention-seeking cats, two jobs, a slow-brewing intended writing career and a video game addiction.

Asks/Memes - I will usually answer these no matter who they are from but I may or may not turn them into a thread I intend to keep. Some memes are very much designed to be something that continues so context can be key. If you would like to know in advance whether I intend to answer and/or keep something, please do pop me a message and I will be kind and honest.

My Threads - While Jack’s blog is still exciting and new, I’m being a bit all over the place with who and what I reply to depending on which way Jack’s.. compass.. is pointing. I do have a rolling turn order that I adhere to (to the point that I can genuinely tell you who is next at any given moment) but it’s all piled in with Loki’s threads, meaning I can take a few weeks to get round everything. Every partner gets one of their threads answered within that ‘round’ and then I go round again. However, when I’m really into something/finding something easy to pop back, I treat myself to spamming certain threads or partners at my whim. I use rpthreadtracker.com to maintain what I have.

I will remind partners of threads that have not been replied to for more than three months. If I do not do this, I have either forgotten/lost it myself, I’m not too fussed about keeping it at that stage, or you were absent for a long period of time.

My Style - I will write in both past or present tense depending on partner preference. My default is past but I like either. Please kick me if I screw up and write the wrong one. I prefer using regular size font but I will make mine small on replies to people who use the smaller so that it looks neat. I will often match partners’ lengths and some formatting details e.g. bolding dialogue, but I struggle with doing novella-length posts for reasons below.

I have a bugbear to admit about role-play. What we call splicing. A good half of my partners write this way so I’m not about to tell everyone to stop but if you’re someone who does this, you will occasionally run into some frustrations when writing with me. ‘Splicing’ is when you retrospectively write dialogue or actions as having previously happened during your partner’s last post. These things are fine when they’re passive i.e. your character muttered them, thought them or you were writing what your character was doing at the time because that’s pretty much essential. The trouble comes usually when my characters talk a lot/ask rhetorical questions and partners choose to answer every single one despite the fact my character carried on talking. I know it’s an ass that I have talkative muses and you really want to respond to every point/get a word in, but putting words and actions into the past effectively godmods my muse into accepting they happened. If you feel your muse would have full-on interjected midway through their ramble, please ask me to edit my post/stop it at that point. Otherwise if you do prefer to splice, my muse will only respond to whatever it is your character did or said last in their post. This is one of the reasons I can’t write novella, because often there is only so much you can write before you’re stepping into the territory of changing what went before and not allowing your partner to do anything about it.

TL;DR don’t ever worry about your post being too short for me. If it’s one sentence long but it’s because something fast-paced is happening, I won’t be miffed.

Shipping! - no not that kind of ship, Jack. I love shipping. Ships all around. Let’s face it, romance can be one of the most exciting reasons we bother writing. I am open to a lot of ships for Jack, practically all of them. Yes, even that one. I will do downright nasty, toxic, horrible stuff, savvy? It’s fiction and Jack is a great indulgence for bad things happening to him as much as good. That said, of course don’t force something on him without prior agreement between us. Well, I mean, your muse can try and accost him and see what he does, just don’t expect him to definitely reciprocate. Jack and I are bi/pansexual. We’re open to everything. I will admit a heavy lean toward m/m but, that said, Jack is extremely fond of the ladies, more so than Loki. I am very into Sparrington especially.

Not Safe For Ye Olde Work

Sliding down from the above topic, I enjoy the occasional smutting. It is not a requirement from my partners. In fact, I’m warming very much to fading to black depending on the context/mood/if things feel a bit repetitive. I do feel a touch more comfortable with partners who don’t need that boundary but as I’ve recently figured ‘if it needs a cut, then it’s smut’ I know when to skip on.

Saucy material will go under cuts/Read More’s and be tagged as mentioned above with ‘filthy pirate’. Additional tags will be based on the citrus scale: ‘lime’ for general grabbing, ‘lemon’ for full on sexual content and ‘grapefruit’ if things get extra kinky. I will tag things such as ‘rape tw’ or ‘noncon tw’ or ‘dubcon tw’ where necessary. Please blacklist any or all of these at your leisure, or search them if you fancy :U I do NOT tag these as ‘ns.fw’ because tumblr just completely hides them from being searchable which is useless for my partners.

OC’s - Due to my time constraints I am extremely picky when it comes to OC’s. This is a good fandom for well-thought-out muses and I know firsthand how hard it is to make headway as an OC in the RP world. However, I also understand that for people like me, I want to dip in on this site to mostly play with the characters and worlds I’m really absorbed in and ship my weaselly black guts out. Some people have more time than others to really give your OCs the time and love they deserve. Unless I’ve played with you a long time and I really like the cut of your and your muse’s jib, it’s very unlikely I’ll bite. Apologies! The same goes for crossover muses from fandoms I’m unfamiliar with, but I will let you know if that’s the case.

Limits

Threads - I don’t have a strict limit on how many to have per person but please bear in mind that the more of these you have with me the longer it will take me to get to a particular one (unless I’m spamming it back and forth). This is more a mun/muse context how many I accept.

Exclusives/mains - I don’t do these although I may consider having a maximum of 3 or 4 of one muse depending on activity levels and to ensure plots don’t get mixed up or attention feel unfairly balanced.

Triggers/squicks - I don’t like body horror e.g. graphic detail of squishy bits having bad things happen to them. I’m writing a pirate so there’s absolutely allowed to be elements of torture/violence, just don’t stab him in the eye or chop bits off him. One torture-related thing sends me into a complete freakout which I’ll discuss with partners if we’re doing a thread of that ilk as needed. Kink-wise I’m not into mpreg, A/B/O or infantilism or toilet things. Just ask me/Jack if you’re after something XD

Who I Am/What I Need From You

Being yourself is the most important thing and I promise I am not a scary person (usually). We’re only human and it’s natural that we’ll get along better with some rather than others. This is more to give you a gist of the sort of person I am and who I gel with best.

So I’m a shy hermit at the best of times. I’m trying to be better at engaging and enthusing with partners over our threads because I realise more than ever this does keep things alive and make for a more enjoyable experience. I’m not always great at it. I work best with people who are patient and don’t worry too much on what I think of them and their writing, with people who are happy to keep threads going for the longhaul rather than keep dropping everything before I’ve had the time to get to the next post, and most especially people who accept that fiction =/= reality. I do need a certain level of quality, which doesn’t always mean perfect grammar, but it must be coherent, fun and creative. I like a relaxed approach, sharing mutual enjoyment in silly fantasy world sandboxes as escapism from (and exploration of) this complicated world we live in.

If you managed to read all of this, have a drink (even if it’s water). You’re a diamond.

Pirate xxx

#rules #pinned post

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ask-emilz-de-philz · 4 years

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FANFICTION BY: ''You know who you are ; ))'' AU: #actorAU PAIRING: MIKHAIL x ARCHER (aka HS!AU Adult Emilio's actor and HS!AU Adukt Abel's actor) RATED SPG HAHAHAH (( no really so those under 17 y/o look at sommin else hahah))

((A/N: The moment I saw Mikhail and Archer my brain immediately made this story up. Sorry if they’re OOC or something, it’s only been a few times that Mikhail appeared and Archer only appeared once so far. It might be a lil steamy for some, but I really tried to tone it down I promise 😂))

((Milo’s here too, sorry again if he’s OOC 😅))

—-

On a shooting for a special limited edition blu-ray release, a very intense kiss scene between the couple, Emilio and Abel.

Archer softly moaned in between the kisses, “M-Mi….” he gets interrupted everytime by a very excited Mikhail, who noticed that Archer is already calling out his name, and not his character’s name. Mikhail shut his mouth by deepening the kiss and caressing his back, hands slowly inching its way lower and lower. Archer tightened his embrace. Mikhail lifted him up and put him on the table. Archer squeaked in surprise, but did not move his lips away. Archer subconsciously raised his legs and crossed them together, making Mikhail even closer than before.

Mikhail, caught up in the passion, breathily spoke while his lips were on the other man. “I love you, A–”

The director yelled, “Cut!”

The lively crew applauded and began to talk about how hot the scene was, and all that crap that Mikhail could care less about. They were too caught up in their conversation that it would take some time for them to remember the two actors who were still glued together.

The instant Mikhail heard the cue, he backed away reluctantly, grudgingly. Anyway, it was not the right situation to confess, better do it when they’re off camera, in private, as Archer and Mikhail, not as Abel and Emilio. He smirked when he noticed that Archer moved a little bit forward, as if to chase after him, but stops and blushes all the way to his ears when he realized what he’s doing. “G-good work,”

Mikhail looks down at Archer, whose gaze remained on the floor. They were still a bit out of breath, and Mikhail relished the heat. He took in Archer’s scent, the red flush on his soft cheeks, his teary eyes still glazed with desire. Mikhail shivered in arousal, licking his slightly swollen lips that were still wet.

Mikhail couldn’t resist. He carried Archer up again, with the excuse of helping him get down, and subtly kisses his neck that even Archer doubted whether it was intentional or accidental.

“Good work.” Mikhail spoke lowly beside Archer’s ear, and he enjoyed watching Archer’s cute little ears tremble from his voice.

‘So cute, so sexy. He’s like this because of me. I want to see him like this everyday.’ No one, not even Archer who was the closest in proximity to him, noticed Mikhail’s warm gaze on Archer. The people who knew Mikhail personally would hardly describe him as a good person. Just like the dragon on his body, he was known to be cold and ruthless, especially to 'pests’. However, they couldn’t deny that Mikhail was fiercely loyal, and that once he considers you one of his people, he will surely protect you.

Even so, if they saw how Mikhail looked at Archer, as if he were a man lovingly watching his cherished lover, they would probably wonder if they needed a prescription from an optometrist. Mikhail did have a few friends, people he would always protect, but none that he treated so preciously. Because Mikhail was cold. Mikhail was ruthless. Just like the dragon on his body.

Alas, the dragon found his one and only Treasure.

It would be a mistake to consider the Treasure his weakness; rather, if there was anyone thoughtless or brazen enough to harm or steal his Treasure, they would be touching upon his reverse scale.

His Treasure seemed to be a bit afraid of him, but that’s okay - everyone was. Mikhail will just have to slowly but surely creep into his heart, and by the time Archer notices that he’s in love with him, he’ll be ready with a ring.

Noticing his gaze, Archer, who had been reading the script, turned to Mikhail and asked, “What is it, Mikhail?” he said with a polite [read: nervous] smile. After that intense kiss scene from back then, Archer seemed to be more nervous around Mikhail, yet at the same time more defenseless.

Mikhail chuckled, thinking to himself, 'Ah, I’ve got a long way to go.’ but he replied without missing a beat, “Just admiring the view. It’s beautiful.”

Archer blushed and buried his face in the script. “Thanks.” He said it in such a quiet voice that if Mikhail didn’t have better hearing than the average man, he would have failed to hear the next words: “You too.”

Mikhail’s eyes wided before he laughed, which made Archer even more flustered. 'Maybe not so long after all.’

While Mikhail was busy planning how to make Archer his wife, Archer was lost in his thoughts. 'Geez, I got swept up by Mikhail’s pace again! Archer, you have got to be strong, don’t be swayed by his sweet words, his thoughtful gestures, his warm eyes, his k-kisses….. AAAAHHHHH STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM!’ Archer scolded himself for being too easily swayed.

Despite the chaos in his head, he still managed to maintain an unperturbed, gentle expression. 'Well, it’s not that I’m easy,’ Archer thought. 'It’s just that it’s hard not to love Mikhail.’ All of a sudden, he sighed as the excitement rapidly drain from him. 'Whatever, Archer. Don’t feel down, it’s just a crush. He wouldn’t like me in that way.’

——

A point in time after their marriage.

“What do you want.” Mikhail grumbled. It’s late. There were hardly any cars on the road, but Mikhail was still careful as he drove. He figured the phone call would help keep his focus, otherwise his thoughts would just go back to the man waiting for him at home.

The voice on the phone chuckled. “Why, can’t I just be a nice senior checking up on my junior? How’s the married life, Mr. Grumpy?”

Mikhail had no patience for nonsense. “If you’re calling for such a stupid reason, I really should have cut off your tongue and fed it to the pigs.”

“Oh my, how cruel! You still can’t let that incident go? Even your wife didn’t mind, how petty of you.”

That man was getting on his nerves. How could it be possible to hear his smirk through a call?

But….. hearing people refer to Archer as his wife……

“What, were you that happy I called him 'your wife’? Haha, how adorable!” Milo teased.

“Shut your trap, pretty boy. What do you really want?” Oh how he wished he could sew Milo’s mouth shut.

“Well, I’m just letting you know about that one time I visited your shooting….”

… … …

'There was such a thing?’ Mikhail didn’t even remember. He grinned, thinking of a good idea. 'Well, I should make up for that…. right?’

When he opened the door, the lights were still on. Archer was snuggled up in blankets on the sofa while reading his script. An empty cup and a pen were on the table.

Mikhail embraced his wife from behind the sofa, “Hey babe, I’m home.”

Archer jolted in surprise, taking off his headphones as he looked behind. “Mikhail! Welcome home, dear. Would you like me to heat up dinner? Or would you rather take a bath first?”

“I prefer the third choice.” Mikhail gave his wife a kiss. It was the beginning of his 'compensation’.

Archer was a bit flustered, but he was used to it. Mikhail was unexpectedly clingy, and even after getting married, he was still the same devoted and loving husband.

“You know that you’re the only one for me right?” Mikhail used his ultimate weapon: whispering lowly right beside the ears.

“Ah, hm, yes, um, you want dinner? I’ll prepare dinner!” Archer hurriedly escaped to the kitchen, wondering what got his husband riled up.

Had Archer looked back, he would have realized from the look on Mikhail’s face that the 'dinner’ would be thoroughly eaten up tonight.

The couple woke up at noon the next day. Thankfully, they both had the next few days off. It was Mikhail’s turn to cook because Archer was still in bed. It was rather difficult for him to get up due to their 'dinner’.

Archer got a call from a person he didn’t expect, but wanted to talk to.

“Good afternoon Mr. Grumpy’s little wifey~”

“Milo! Why did you say that to him?” Archer rebuked, though it could hardly be considered an angry tone.

“What? That you were jealous when a young and bold crew member was blushing and hovering around Mikhail like a high school student in love?” Milo made an effort to sound innocent, as if the culprit wasn’t him.

“I-I wasn’t even–” Archer’s cheeks flushed. He really wasn’t jealous! He even told Milo how cute that girl was around her idol, Mikhail!

“I can tell from your hoarse voice that you had a good time. Hope you liked my ve~ry special gift for you two!” from the other side of the line, someone was calling for Milo. “Well, that’s the last of my 10 minutes. Enjoy the rest of your holiday,”

Archer turned to lay on his stomach, burying his face on the pillow.

The door opened soundlessly, but Archer knew that Mikhail was there, just staring at him. Or probably his butt.

“Is food ready?” Archer asked.

“Mhm.”

“Can we eat here?”

“Mhm.” Mikhail laid on his side beside his wife.

Archer faced Mikhail with a look of curiosity, “Well, where is it?”

Mikhail opened his arms. The deadpan look on his face was obviously saying, 'Food is served. Eat well.’

Archer was stumped. This was the man he used to be afraid of? All he could do was laugh and indulge his sticky husband, moving closer to cuddle with him.

——-

(A/N: This is what I would have asked had I gotten the chance to XD I thought hard about what to ask Archer, but I ended up running out of time lol, but that’s okay bc it’s become a fuel for my fantasy) (this isn’t in a proper story format like the ones above, just saying 😂)

'NEVER HAVE I EVER treated my co-actor like I would treat their character on screen

Question for: Archer’

Archer: Hmmm, so far, never. While I and most of the people I’ve worked with get so immersed and emotionally invested in our role, I believe I do a good job of separating my emotions from my character’s. Similarly, I can separate my co-actors’ characters from their off-screen selves.

*Mikhail walks in on the set, speaking out of the camera’s view* Mikhail: Hey babe, I bought some sandwiches. You like the one with mayo or nah?

A: You don’t like mayo, right? I’ll have it. And next time, please don’t disturb the set when there’s an ongoing interview, alright dear?

*walking away already* M: Mmkay. I’ll take you home, I’ll wait for you to finish.

*turning back to the interviewer as if nothing happened* A: So yes, where was I?

Interviewer: Um, didn’t you just … .

*Archer realizes what just happened, internally screaming because oMG I WAS SO RUDE TO MIKHAIL WHAT IF HE GETS MAD AAAHHHH BUT NO WAIT WE’RE HANGING OUT ON OUR FREE TIME, AND WE’VE GOTTEN QUITE CLOSER ALREADY RIGHT?? HE WOULDN’T MIND RIGHT??? I WOULDN’T JUST WAKE UP SINKING IN THE OCEAN RIGHT?!?! TTATT* Archer: Hm, well, we’re on good terms, it just became natural. *gives his best sparkly smile to stun the interviewer and quickly escapes after some greetings*

#actor au #aaumikhail #aauarcher #planetputo #planet puto

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seven-oomen · 3 years

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Hi, Ben! Hope you had a good day, and are finally getting some rest! So, did you know there are sites that let you design your own ugly Christmas sweaters? May I present the one that Peter’s husbands get him for a party? Except then the jokes on them because he won’t stop wearing it EVERYWHERE (at least I hope the image shows? It saved in a different format on the site I used for this.) Also, if you were ever to actually make a shirt of it, I would suggest an image from the reaction GIF you used for the alignment/meta anon. Because, my god, that smirk. XD (Also, they are totally right. And it is hilarious to me that the two officers of the law are firmly [and accurately] on the neutral side of that axis. XD )

And I’m still screaming over that latest preview. He just wants cuddles and ear scritches, Noah! The saliva will dry, he’s just showing his appreciation for your support. XD And oh, yeah I knew he would eventually get better, it was more me trying to decide how quickly I was hoping for it to happen. My “I want it asap because I hate seeing them in pain” side was warring with my “but nightmare creature cuddles would be adorbs, tho?” side (and they are). :D Also, terrible thought brought on by working at my job too long: since I don’t think that form has a tail like a wolf (I don’t really remember noticing one, at least?), do you think that since he can’t wag, he starts doing the wiggle-butt thing like boxers and pits tend to do? (sorry, the thought occurred to me and I couldn’t make it stop. XD )

Also, how dare you put the image of Noah and Chris cuddling in the window seat watching the snow fall while the listen to Peter singing ‘Hallelujah’ as he finishes the dishes, in my head? Or them sitting at the table having coffee and joining him for the choruses? Or Chris singing along with Tony Bennett or Harry Connick Jr on the local Christmas station? Or Noah singing along with Chris Cornell’s version of Ave Maria (or doing a damn good impression at least [song is available on Spotify, btw, if you’ve not heard it])? My body was not meant to hold this level of feral screaming, dude. XD

For the undecided alignment (that don’t involve spoilers), I would vote LN for Danny and CG for John. No specific reasons, that’s just what feels right at the moment. And I’m curious if Noah and the kids have been in the vault at all, because Malia would be able to access it.

And, yes, I am all for mutual body positivity support among the boys. I remember watching some BTS thing a few years back, and Linden said something about how everyone was “running around without their shirts on, and I just feel kinda old and jiggly”, and my very first thought was “Oh, please. You may not be I’ve-had-nothing-but-chicken-for-a-week-and-haven’t-had-liquids-in-three-days ripped like the other guys, but in no way will you ever convince me you are actually out of shape in the slightest." Also, I’m just picturing a scene where Noah accidentally(/on purpose…?) looms over Chris, who just has this moment of "oh, yeah, that’s right, you’re tall now” immediately followed by “well, I am learning a number of new things about myself right now" XD On a related note, how do you think he feels about dip kisses after realizing this? Although, I do hope Noah does not sweep Chris off his feet in quite the same way Chris keeps doing to him. XD

On an unrelated note, that post about Artoo and Luke about killed me dead. XD Artoo’s propensity for shenanigans and Luke’s pervading issues with impulse control is just a complete recipe for hilarious disaster and total ride-or-die besties. It also reminded me of the post about how Rogue One leads into New Hope and Leia straight up lying right to her dad’s face. Which, while hysterical, also makes me think about how many posts I see about how Leia is very much her father’s daughter, but almost never see any that point out how much Luke is his mother’s son. I just have a LOT OF FEELINGS about this, okay? But I will contain that rant. XD (Star Wars has been an on-again-off-again love for me since I was 9. It’s pretty much a guaranteed way to get an emotional response out of me. XD )

And I’m glad Mo doesn’t bother the tree or anything, though the box thing is pretty funny. But he does seem to have that very cat-like tendency to want to completely block you from accessing the keyboard or pin you in place because he’s laying on you and you don’t want to disturb him, so I think he’s catting just fine. XD I mean, I have some friends who one of their cats is immune to scruffing (the downside of this is that he’s also almost completely feral still [he was a stray that stayed], and at one point he got a UTI and needed antibiotics. I’m pretty sure my friend had to get like a falconing glove or something to get his pills in him. XD )

That America being huge vs Europe being old thing also made me laugh because there was the section about the "long bus ride” that was like two hours, and all I could think about was how often we drove four hours both ways to visit my grandparents, and how in high school we took a trip to Canada, and I don’t remember the exact length of the bus ride up, but I know it was between twenty-three and twenty-eight hours.

And I hope you’re enjoying the Spiderman game, or will when you get to it! As best I recall, everyone I know who has played it has had nothing but good things to say about it. And wow, I’m rambling again. Oh well. Anyway, hope you’re doing well, and sending lots of good energy for finishing the chapter to your satisfaction (I know the readers certainly don’t mind the longer chapters. :D ) Take care! *Hugs!*

Oh my god I am absolutely in love with that sweater. Why is this not a thing XD

And yeah, they definitely gift Peter a sweater like that, lbr. No other way about it. It definitely backfires when Peter wears it every single year and to everywhere. Including PT meetings and the parent/school board meetings? I forgot the American word for it, in Dutch we call it ouderraad. I know we talked about them before where Peter starts a war with the ‘Karen’ and completely wrecks her. And how all the other moms fall in love with the three DILFS.

But yeah, wears it everywhere and every year XD.

Noah’s deputies, including Jordan, have definitely snapped pictures and post them on every computer desktop in the station. Including pictures of Noah’s reaction faces of that sweater.

Because you cannot convince me, that a bunch of cops, would not be dicks about this.

Chris is infinitely grateful that he does not have coworkers like that.

And god that is rather good smirk to go with that line XD. And yeah I guess it is funny. But it’s also true and that’s wow... XD

I did a character alignment test for Peter and came out on CN so that is what I’m going to stick with in any itteration for him.

As for the wiggle butt thing, he does not have a tail and I already had a very lengthy inner discussion with myself before getting this ask and I can tell you, he does wiggle butt like a boxer in this form. Imagine a fucking beast like that just wiggle butting with happiness. The image is so bizarre that I had to include it in the full moon chapter.

Chris is definitely learning a number of things about himself when he figures out Noah can now loom over him and press him against walls. Also Chris has a thing for being bound or pressed against objects and when Noah figures that one out, well, let’s say Peter certainly doesn’t mind watching those moments.

There’s also a revelation when Chris says; I can easily get out of these handcuffs and Noah translates it too; Good, that means that as long as you don’t try to, you’re consenting to whatever I’m doing to you. Deal? To which Chris, enthusiastically agrees. It’s a very fun game. Peter disagrees because they tend to lock him out during the games with some ash, although he is invited back in after they’re done and then the attention of two Omegas is fully on him. So I suppose he doesn’t mind too much.

Something that is both funny and sweet though is that through Ben, Noah discovers how much he misses having little kids running around. And he has a few moments of; oh god I want another kid realizations in this chapter.

Of course, considering their situation this isn’t the time and Noah more than realizes that. But it gets conversations about the future going for all three of them.

Oh and to answer your question, Malia has not been to the vault, but she and her siblings will get to see it. If that’s with dad or with Derek I haven’t decided yet. But they will end up at the vault in this story. Gotta get Peter’s necklace back.

So far I’ve had a bit of a rough day but by answering this and focusing on headcanons, and that freaking sweater!!!!, I feel a bit better. So thank you my friend, this helped me a lot <3.

And I agree, Leia is just like her father but Luke is all Padme and people don’t talk about that enough. <3

Lots of Love from me and Mo!

#once upon a time comments #ben says stuff #my convos with anon #B #submission

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