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creylune · 2 years

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AX ‘22 Con Report

I tabled at AX with my friend (no public social media) last weekend!! I’m sure most people saw tweets about how awful the artist alley conditions were lol... I’m doing this writeup mostly to reflect how sales went + for my own reference but I will also cover con organization, how it felt inside re:safety, masking, AX staff/volunteers. FYI this is very long as it’s a sort of blogging recap with lots of photos.

Here’s our booth! 👇

Day 0:

Setup day! I forget what time Kentia Hall opened for setup but we got to the convention center at like... 4:45-5PM. Getting into the loading dock (a garage directly connected to Kentia) was pretty smooth, luckily since we arrived a little late there was no wait for other cars ahead of us. A con center staff (?) driving a forklift gave us a cart to put our boxes etc. on.

We weren’t allowed to park our cars in the dock, so my table partner had to go repark her car after we wheeled our merch to the Kentia rear entrance.

Here’s what the loading dock looked like (this was from Day 4, so it’s pretty empty).

Directly to the right is Kentia Hall.

Fortunately the staff at the Kentia entrance (between the loading dock and Kentia, normally closed during convention hours) was also doing COVID checks, so we got our COVID wristbands right off the bat. Setup took the entire 3 hours until 8PM. We didn’t finish either, but we got the basics set up (photo display stand for large prints, grids for charms/small merch). We just needed to add our side hanging prints (medium and mini prints) via a clamp-on side arm.

I don’t think AC was on, so we were kinda sweaty and also tired/hungry from the 6+ hour drive down.

Here’s our original setup; we decided to move the “window” to one side so there’d be no break in our display (easier for customers to see all our merch at once). This is because we didn’t evenly split mine vs. her merch LOL. Other artists often keep their own stuff on one side if they split a table. Also we had a plexiglass screen because we were paranoid about non-maskers breathing on us. Neither of us got COVID from the con so I like to think it worked!

Day 1:

We tried to get to the con by 8:30 AM so we could get convention center parking and finish setting up before 10 AM (AA open) but there was a literal car accident + one that happened 30 feet from our car on the street leading to the parking garage 😑 My table partner had to drop me and our neighboring table (also part of our Airbnb) friend off on the street so we could walk the rest of the way inside lol.

We were both wary of customers stealing our display charms so we pinned our charms through the grids, then secured them on the back. We tugged on each charm to make sure they didn’t come loose.

Here’s Anya, my best-selling charm (or about tied with my Jack Frost charm). My memey-themed merch sold the best lol (not a surprise for me). The pin was stuck in there unless you really yanked it. Also, we used black grids because the contrast really makes the charm colors pop more (vs. white or a corkboard). We got the idea from our friend who uses black canvases.

Some more pics of my merch (and our display in the background). You can see we had a Square payments sign + NO MASK NO SERVICE sign (we forgot to print one but the sticky note was enough). We used the top of the grids to display more 3D items like omanjuu plushies (we used two-tier displays from Daiso, inspired by Hinamatsuri displays), acrylic standees (a mini wooden bench from Daiso again), and my bargain bin (old charms) box. We tabled at Fanime in May and all our stuff was directly on the table, which was low and hard to see. Added height lets people see your merch from farther away.

Personally I wish we displayed our stickers better but we kinda ran out of space. They’re not the main money makers anyways (charms and prints are) but oh well, they’re easy to ship/sell online.

And here’s what it looked like on the artists’ side:

AX volunteer staff is pretty strict about making sure the walkway is clear. Every few tables had personal trash cans, though whether they were emptied or refilled with another plastic bag was kinda dependent on luck...? Most of the time we just had our own personal trash bag we brought and disposed of after closing each day.

Luckily the volunteer assigned to our strip was SUPER friendly and nice. She stopped by our table every day starting Day 2; she reminded us to eat and stay hydrated because another artist had passed out on Day 1. I think actually more than one artist passed out in AA during the entire weekend 🙃 CO2 levels were off the charts especially on Days 2 and 3.

I didn’t get a photo of the actual back of our display, but we had organizers inside our grids so we could store handfuls of charms for quick access. In the past we’ve just hunched over and dug through our giant luggages to find charms when customers asked for them, which REALLY takes a toll on you and your back. We finally learned this year 🤡✨ You can see it jutting out in this picture. You can also see my medium/mini prints hanging (all taped) from the side arm.

We had an open box full of unorganized omanjuu plushies between our table and our neighboring table since we did a group order together. Most of the time I helped dig and grab them when customers wanted to buy them. It was kind of hard in the beginning because my table partner and I had 4 blonde characters LOL but we didn’t bother organizing them because they took up too much space and were too light (like packing peanut light) so they fell out of containers easily...

I would say the only downside of our main display setup is that one person (me) is always hidden by the grids, while the other artist is stuck doing customer service. To talk to customers, I had to stand up on my toes to talk over the grids, and it was uncomfortable because I also had to avoid our large prints that were hanging directly behind my head (when I stood up).

I think I generally had a more enjoyable time at Fanime because I was the one doing the majority of customer service, so I got to chat with customers more. AX I was mostly just... chilling... also there was no service and I couldn’t get onto the AA wifi because it was at capacity (people were sharing the password with their non-AA friends :) ).

This is also when we realized while the plexiglass kept us “safe” from people breathing on us directly, it was also REALLY HARD to hear people. Voices are already muffled with masks on, and cons are LOUD. The plexiglass was thick so we literally could not hear almost every single customer. We either had to ask them to speak up multiple times or we straight up asked them to talk over our grids so we could hear what they wanted to buy. The latter making the plexiglass useless...

It was also tougher on my partner’s back because she’s 6+ inches taller than me (and was wearing heels lol). For me I just had to stand up taller, for her she actually had to scrunch her back to dodge our prints.

Here’s what it looked like from the Customer Service chair:

Anyways Day 1 sales were slow... even compared to Fanime 1 month ago it felt pretty slow. Not a huge surprise since it’s Day 1, most people will browse AA on Friday and then make purchases later during the weekend UNLESS you’re a super popular artist and people want to get your stuff before things sell out. Unfortunately neither of us are at that level lol

Also here’s a photo of my luggage under the table. This was taken on Day 4 during takedown so it has all the manjuus poured inside LMFAO

AC was either broken or on energy-saving mode (according to some staff?) this day so it felt like A SAUNA. It was humid and stifling. I was fanning my partner and my neighbor with an empty portfolio and shikishi board to help keep them cool. I didn’t feel terrible since my house doesn’t have AC (so I’m used to it) but it was NOT comfortable. This is the day that staff at the South Priority Entrance (for vendors, exhibitors, Artist Alley) apparently had miscommunicated instructions and were confiscating coffee, drinks, snacks, food from everyone. Luckily they hadn’t checked my bag when we got in in the morning, so I had snacks (KitKats, dried apples) and bottles of tea, but we didn’t eat lunch until 4PM (table partner and I split food truck fries).

Maybe it was the hunger but these fries were so so so good lol.

Day 2

We expected to get the most sales on this day but sales were also really slow considering it was Saturday... My partner also has tabled at AX multiple times in the past, and she said sales were disappointing for her standards. We wondered if it’s because we were at the back of the hall.

I think my most popular mini print from Fanime (ACNH Timmy and Tommy going “Poggers!”) didn’t sell as well because it wasn’t directly in customers’ faces. At Fanime it was right above the seller’s “window” so while customers waited for me to grab inventory, their eyes would wander and immediately see it, then add it to their purchase. Or they’d see it front and center when they passed by the booth. This time we kept all smaller prints on the sides, so that may have impacted sales. It still sold the best out of all my prints though, but it didn’t sell out like it did at Fanime.

AA conditions-wise were better from Day 2 onwards, but it’s a fact that the AC is not strong in the back of the hall. It’s strongest at the entrance. I did fan myself during Days 2-4, Day 4 was the most pleasant because crowds were much smaller lol. Trying to get through or leave AA on Days 2-3 were a nightmare because of how jampacked the aisles were. Usually I would walk through the artist walkways just so I could avoid the crowds (at least 30% of whom were unmasked 🙃). Honestly it’s a miracle I didn’t get COVID considering how many bare faces I saw!!!!!! After attending Fanime, where it was like 99% mask policy adherence, AX crowds gave me hives... I take Norcal Bay Area masking for granted...

I think...? Because CO2 levels were so potent, I didn’t feel productive or want to draw commissions. At Fanime I took over 30 commissions across 3 days, like I was pumping them out every 20-30 minutes. At AX on Day 2 I took down my commission display and didn’t bother putting it back up until the next day because I just wasn’t in the mood. And it didn’t have anything to do with how much sleep I got (or lack thereof), I was not sleeping well during Fanime either lol. But 🤷‍♀️ who knows. Luckily I didn’t experience nausea, fatigue, dizziness, or headaches like other artists did. My table partner complained of headaches but she also does require more sleep than I do.

Day 3

Sales were the best on this day! By this point I realized I didn’t really draw enough popular series, but ngl I don’t care much about drawing popular things just for sales. My partner’s Luxiem/VTuber merch was selling like hotcakes.

Okay I’ll just speed through the rest lol

Day 4

I was hoping for a lot of last minute sales on this day but it was kind of slow. Overall AX this year was fairly slow for a lot of artists; I talked about it with other artists and friends who were tabling and we all agreed our sales were lower than we’d anticipated. Like we did well but it wasn’t as high as we wanted; we definitely ordered more stock than we needed to.

AA closed at 3PM, and we were hoping to finish takedown by 5PM. Unfortunately after we’d packed everything up + my partner had helped pack away some of her out of state friend’s boxes into her car... things got really disorganized and confusing.

So my friend had parked in the Venice Parking Garage which is directly across the street from Kentia Hall/the south side of the convention center. The street between the two buildings was filled with cars and PARKED trucks. So normal cars that were exiting the garage were stuck and couldn’t move. No AX staff bothered to explain to these cars that the trucks were Exhibitor’s Hall trucks, and they were parked and waiting for the corporate vendors to bring their stuff down. My friend was stuck on that street for like... 15-20 minutes I want to say. I was stuck in a pretty much empty AA at 6:30PM with way too much stuff for one person to carry. The loading dock that I mentioned earlier in the post was also blocked off.

I briefly went outside to take pics of the street outside the loading dock (the street that my friend was trying to turn onto, so that we could pack our belongings) so I could show her what the holdup was:

All the trucks and cars in the middle/left lanes were parked. Driver-less. lol.

These were cars trying to exit the South Parking Garage (directly inside the con center).

After I sent these pictures to my friend I ran back inside AA, noticed a forklift had kinda haphazardly discarded/dropped two rolling “carts” at the end of the aisle, and realized I was gonna have to grab one and put all our stuff on it if I wanted to move our belongings relatively quickly. These didn’t have handles, just a legit rope tied to it that you had to pull LOL

I felt kinda bad because there was an artist who had been sitting at her table for hours by herself, literally SURROUNDED by luggages. We started talking and it turns out she was confused because her boyfriend was in the same situation as my partner, stuck trying to get out of the parking garage. I told her she should grab one of the rolling carts to start loading her stuff too, since there were two that had been left a couple tables away from us. I didn’t wanna wait for a forklift because we had dinner plans lol.

Once I managed to wheel our stuff outside, I was still pretty lost on what to do, because my friend was around the corner and as versatile as the “cart” was, it could not go over curbs. Under the platform, there were two little mini wheel things on each end. They were not affixed so our stuff actually fell off when I tried to go up one curb (it was smooth but I made too sharp of a turn). Just imagine these things but more industrial looking

Two of these under the platform here 👇 on both ends

Another artist who was loading their car asked me if I needed help and I said I wasn’t sure since my friend was stuck on another street (literally like.... 200 feet away). They were kind enough to explain the situation, so I relayed it to my friend via Discord (basically, talk to one of the security people, explain that you’re an artist and not exhibitor’s hall vendor, and they’ll wave you through).

So yeah this was a pain in the ass and very disorganized but at least we made it to dinner on time-ish...

Now on to general sales stuff:

Neither of my partner and I sold that many large prints, which was disappointing because 1) large prints are HEAVY and a pain to carry back home, 2) usually she sells a lot of them; large prints are good money-makers because the margins on them are really good. Of my prints I expected my Tokyo Mew Mew and Ib prints to sell the best, but disappointingly I only got 1 buyer for my TMM print 😕 It’s a little disheartening because it’s a nostalgia print, I put the most effort into it, and the reboot anime is now airing... but I guess AX was a few days too early, or I didn’t have it up front and center. I ordered 25 of them, definitely ordered too many.

Meanwhile my Power and Meowy print sold the best (14-15 sales, I ordered 20 which was a good amount). Which is funny because I put the least amount of effort into it; I literally was speed-shading her shirt at 4AM on a workday because the print order deadline was that morning. It was also an “eh this sketch can be a simple large print, let’s bank on Power’s popularity for this to do well” and it did! 🙏 What is a little weird is my partner’s Makima print didn’t do as well as she expected. She said she sold a lot of them at ALA earlier this year... I noticed my mini Makima print also didn’t do that well (I got like 4 sales). I’d wonder if it’s because Makima is controversial but people were buying my Makima charm (more people got my Power charm though).

My second-best selling print was Ib (7-8 sales, ordered 20)! I got more buyers for it on Day 1 and 3 iirc. I was pleasantly surprised because like the Power and Meowy one I was literally rush-coloring parts of it the morning of the deadline. Like actually it made me late to work lol. It’s actually unfinished 🙈 but it’s okay no one knows that... I didn’t sell any of my P4 large print but that was to be expected because it was a last minute decision to print it; it’s old.

Charm-wise my Anya and Jack Frost “I’m gonna kill you” sold the best by far. I think in general, memey merch sells really well since people think it’s funny and want to show it off to their friends. So if all else fails, make some memey merch to ensure sales ^___^..... Surprisingly, people were not buying my partner’s SpyxFamily charms though, even though we placed our SpyxFam stuff right next to each other. It’s probably because her charms were huge, like 3 inch long/wide Christmas ornament size. It’s a shame because they came out super cute and had a cool transparent effect... But yeah, a lot of people bought my Anyas or the entire family set. I had two customers ask for 3-4 Anyas in one purchase which made me o_o LOL. I think it’s because I drew Anya’s iconic smug face on one side.

A couple Dimileth people came out of the woodworks to buy my Dimitris which made me happy... also what surprised me was that NO ONE bought my Felix charm, whereas he was my most popular charm at Fanime. Really goes to show how demographics differ depending on the con. Most people bought Hilda and Hubert at AX... these are also my slightly messed up charms from a second charm order in early 2020, right at the start of the pandemic (so the manufacturer messed up on clasps and print quality was inconsistent). So I really wasn’t expecting to sell any of them lol.

Another disappointment: I don’t think I sold a single lollipop charm all weekend... and I really expected them to sell well :\ I checked in with our table neighbor and she said only her Anya lollipop was selling, the rest of them weren’t getting bought at all. We found this kind of weird since lollipop charms aren’t super common yet, so we expected they’d do better LOL.

Bad photo of some of the lollipops:

On the flipside my partner’s candy bag charms were selling like crazy, but then again they were all Luxiem streamers so... her Gojo/Geto candy bag didn’t sell well. Probably because the ship hasn’t really come up in the anime yet.

All in all it was a pretty good weekend, I profited a bit over $1k after expenses (Airbnb, gas, parking, merch production costs, badge and table fee). This doesn’t include some tabling gear because my friend and I split (she bought the grids, the pins and their holders, the plexiglass, we borrowed a friend’s side arm thing, the display things I bought were all cheap minus the $50 main display stand).

Honestly that’s pretty low in comparison to all my artist friends who table at 3-5 cons per year, but I table really casually (this is just for fun) and I do more online shop selling, so I’m not too disappointed. I also didn’t draw any Genshin, didn’t have any SpyxFamily-heavy inventory besides a couple charms, didn’t have any VTubers, etc. etc... so I can’t complain about not making a ton of money. We were also tabled super far back, so we didn’t get nearly as much foot traffic as some other friends. HOWEVER we both avoided getting COVID so maybe our table location was a blessing. Based on an unofficial spreadsheet artists have been updating wrt symptoms and test results, there were positive clusters near the entrance (though people tested positive pretty much everywhere in the AA, including a table across from us).

To conclude, I hate LA and traveling to cons is more tiring than it’s worth personally, so I think I’m gonna stick to local conventions from now on. I am a tired introvert lol. I think Airbnb-ing with 8 people (all of us have dodged COVID miraculously) would have been more fun if I was still in college, alas I am now a few years out of school and very sleepy/prefer to keep to myself usually. I had way more fun at Fanime (I drove in every morning) and also didn’t constantly fear I was getting infected with COVID each day there... also didn’t witness a car accident every single day of the con... could relax at home and not worry about forgetting to pack something...

I hope this was useful or interesting to read if you made it this far d( > _・ ) If you have any questions feel free to hit my ask box, though I can’t answer much about merch production because I did group orders via friends and some prefer not to share their manus.

#pufftext #anime expo #artist alley

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jujubean90 · 3 years

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Word Count: 5429

Warnings: SFW, Cussing though, Content doesn't necessarily reflect the views of the author, fluff, story building/ establishment, fluff. Satire and a little memey. Sorry for typos! Dyslexic and such.

Featuring: Reiner Braun, Porco Galliard , Marcel Galliard , Pieck Finger

Genre: AoT AU College sprinkled with Magic, bb. Aot x Y/N FemBody Witchy Gamer Reader because why not?

Theme Song : Coming Home- Einar K Five Chill Out Mix

Synopsis: To say that you are going through a rebellious stage in life is an understatement. It's your second year at university and you've decided you need to move out of your parent's house to achieve some level of growth. You also want to get away from your suffocating grandmother. She disapproves of everything you do because it's the exact opposite of what she wants for the family image. You've got a part time job, you're doing well at school, you've got time to yourself to game and live your life. That should be enough right? Not to her. You were suppose to be sent off to develop yourself as a full fledged witch, instead you're attending a human school, doing human things, living a human life.

You take a tab from one of the flyers listed requesting a roommate. That night, you text and express your interest. While waiting on a reply, you drink a little whine and decide to melt the stress away by playing with some old time online friends that you hadn't officially met. The problem is, they expect you to voice chat with them because you promised.

The night leads from one major coincidence to another and you find yourself bamboozled by the very Universe itself. Taking that tab at the student union building was the best decision you ever made.

Read the next part here!

“Am I really about to do this?” you ask yourself as you stare at the ‘Roommate wanted’ sign. Out of all the posts on the bulletin board just outside of the Marley Student Union Building, this was the one that got your attention. None of the tabs were taken and that surprised you because the picture accompanying the offer had some real eye candy.

Three handsome, well-kept men, paired with one intelligent, but tired looking girl were all posed in front of the home you’d be living in. From what you could tell, it was adorable and old, which fit your aesthetic well. Something about cute boys and a haunted looking house drew you in like a magnet.

“Must have just been put up,” you reasoned. “How lucky for me. Let’s see what we got going for us. A full kitchen, open fenced in backyard, internet, wait. An attic bedroom? Fuck yeah. Wonder if it’s pet friendly. Alright, yeah. I am doing this.”

You tore the first tab from the flyer and stuffed it in your pocket. After classes, you’d have a glass of wine to calm your nerves and get in touch to express your interest. Thank the gods they specifically stated that inquirers needed to text. You hated talking on the phone, especially to new people.

“Gotta figure out how to tell my family that I’m potentially moving out with a bunch of strangers. Normal strangers at that. Grandmother is going to flip her shit or maybe she finally realizes I’m a lost cause and won’t say a thing.”

You contemplate this while you grab something to eat at the food court. You could hear her screaming at you now about breaking tradition and ignoring your magical heritage. You heard it all previously when you decided to attend a normal college instead of following her expectations. Covens weren’t for you. Following the old way of learning, just wasn’t for you.

“You should be going off to learn your craft, not attend some silly human school!” she seethed at you after your announcement to the family. You sat there with your brow arched and your leg lazily crossed over the other, ironically with the cutest little witch’s hat parked atop your head while she went off. Your mother and father were supportive of your decision. They didn’t share the gift like you and Nan. It skipped a generation. In Nan’s eyes, they didn’t have a rightful say.

“Where the hell would I go to learn about magic at this day and age?” you argued. “Hogwarts? I’d probably go if that were the case. But, come on, Nan. I’ve heard you and mom talking about where I am supposed to go, and I’m not impressed. I’m a young woman and I don’t feel like wasting my youthful years out in the middle of a forest with some old bat teaching me about potions and spells. The internet exists. Plenty of other practitioners embraced social media. Granted, a lot of fake dumbasses have too, but I can differentiate. We’re still secretive as ever while being simultaneously open.”

“Watch your mouth when you speak to me!” she screeched.

With a dramatic sigh, you pulled out your pocket compact and separated it while everyone watched. You held it up to your face like a true smartass and set your gaze right on the reflection of your mouth.

Your dad found it funny as he often did when his mischievous, smart ass self-came through. In fact, every trait that your grandmother hated came from your dad’s side. Your independent, witty, blunt, I don’t give a fuck attitude would never be put out. Even now while eating a few fries you grinned at the expression the old hag gave you when she realized you were mocking her.

“You need to learn to respect your elders!”

“Respect me and I’ll give it naturally,” you argued back.

That woman had some lungs on her. But, so did you when you decided you’d had enough and stood your ground. It wasn’t like she could curse you. That went against magical and universal law. All her fancy titles would be stripped from her along with her favor with the Archdruids, Shamans, and Head Wizards and Witches. She’d lose all privilege to practice and for her, that was a death sentence and it brought shame to the family name. You were already doing that anyway.

You just didn’t have to worry about losing favor with a bunch of old wind bags because you didn’t have any to begin with. Your family lineage carried weight. Gods, that was another thing Nan didn’t shut up about.

“One of your great ancestors was Guilia Tofana, Y/N. You know about her? She’s responsible for helping over 600 women murder their husbands with Aqua Tofana with the use of Belladonna, arsenic, and lead. What an accomplishment! You could make a name for yourself too if you put in some effort.”

On and on she would go about notable historical practitioners that you were related to. “Nan, I’m 18 and I live in the 21stcentury. I like video games, pumpkin spice, and anime. I can legally vote, drive a car, and own a home. Let’s talk more about this when I get into the work force though. That might come in handy.”

That was the only time she smiled at something you said. Your distaste for the patriarchy was the only common ground you and your Nan had.

Despite your open defiance against your Nan, you didn’t dismiss the practice completely because life without magic would be boring. You often felt bad for those who didn’t have abilities like you. In fact, you embraced the witch vibe aesthetic fiercely in high school.

You weren’t going to stay trapped in the broom closet, especially with the resurgence of acceptance going on. Good vibes, crystals, and all that new age stuff became mainstream and you rode that wave like a champion surfer. Halloween went from the Devil’s holiday to 2 month long celebration. Still, your Nan found it necessary to scold you for openly saying you were a witch in relaxed situations.

“Keep your voice down,” she hissed. “What will the neighbors think? You know what people use to do to us?”

You bent to that one. Persecution and the burning of witches was still a current issue in many countries today. You didn’t shout your heritage to the roof tops anymore, but people damn well knew who and what you were with a simple glance. Your aura didn’t lie, and even non-magical beings understood on a subconscious level that you were in fact a goddamn witch.

If you decided to pursue magic completely, your grandmother wouldn’t approve of your interest. They were too combined for her liking. You were either a druid, a shaman, or a witch/wizard. You didn’t blend paths and your choice was already predetermined based on your blood heritage.

“That’s bullshit. Why would I limit myself? Why not learn about everything and just be well rounded?”

“Tradition! That’s why! You would know that if you paid attention to everything I’ve been telling you all these years. Instead, you choose to waste time playing video games.”

“You always bring up video games as a defense,” you sighed. “Come on, it’s old. Is it because you’re jealous? I mean, I guess if I grew up without them and they suddenly existed I’d be jealous. If I thought back to all those years spent sitting and staring into space on the toilet twiddling my thumbs without something to preoccupy me, I’d be mad at the world too. Especially when it takes forever because you’re so full of shit.”

“We are the daughters of the witches they didn’t burn! We are powerful and you are pissing it all away by expressing interest in human normalcy. Your ancestors weep for you.”

“You want to know what I say to any of my ancestors who have a problem with my decisions? Build a bridge and get the fuck over it.”

If harpies existed, she would be their matriarch. You swore she had the potential to channel them when she got pissed enough. Besides, you've met some of your ancestors in meditation and they smiled upon you but you weren't about to tell her that. Nothing made you happier than the day you left for Marley University because that was the day Nan stopped talking to you altogether.

You weren’t sure what you wanted to pursue academically, so you decided to work on your general education requirements for now without declaring a major. And, despite your desire to stick it to your grandmother and her ‘tradition’, you were diving deep into magical law, magical history, divination, and defense. You knew for a fact you weren’t the only magical asshat walking around and you wanted to be prepared just in case someone needed to catch hands. You trusted normal humans way more than another practitioner anyway.

Most of them went off to pursue their craft. You were the oddball. You were the actual blood born witch working in a metaphysical store part time. And the owners really didn't know much, All they saw was profit. You were their saving grace. You knew all the mainstream information and you knew what author to recommend for whatever path your customer wanted to pursue. You knew about stones and herbs and you offered some quick tarot readings.

Occasionally, information on some intense old magic surfaced and it was your job to report it to the Council and they took it from there. In exchange for granting you access to basic magic, you had to be their eyes and ears. It wasn’t that bad of a tradeoff especially when you forgot something and all you had to do was levitate that shit to you from across the room.

You've always grown up with in a setting with magic and you wanted to experience something normal because to you, it was different. That was another reason why you chose to take the tab from this particular ‘Roommate wanted’ flyer. Your potential roomies were normal people.

You could tell a lot about an image. Hell, you could read auras and everything else by photograph alone. The only one you were cautious of was the woman. You couldn’t read her and that struck you as odd. Your final decision would be based on an in person meet and greet if it even came to that. The others were your typical boy athletes with nothing else on the mind except girls, parties, and trivial bullshit. It was the prefect bunch to escape into some form of normalcy with.

Still, there was the matter of them accepting you. You were average, perhaps a little overweight. Okay, maybe you should skip the afternoon frappe you had every other day of the week, but that was the one thing preventing the school population from experiencing your wrath. Without it, you’d probably nuke some idiot for walking too slow in front of you. Or at least make him shit himself in class. Just like that dumbass who almost ran you over on his bike one day. He even had the audacity to say it was your fault.

"You'd look prettier if you smiled, you know."

You were going to let him go but that little comment sealed his fate. You did a quick incantation that caused the threads of his clothes to slowly unravel over time. You didn’t get to see how that played out, because you were already late to class. It's not like you gave three folds of fuck anyway.

Your style wasn’t defined, much like your life wasn’t defined. Bohemian attire, concert t shirts, rave drip, witchy aesthetic, gamer girl get up and sometimes sweats and a messy bun made up your image. You thought you were cute as hell, and you didn’t give a fuck what anyone else though. However, your potential roomies might pass you over just because you didn’t wear name brand and you didn’t dress like you were part of a sorority.

The idea of sororities caused your lip to curl. It wasn’t the type of person that sororities attracted which bothered you. You had plenty of class acquaintances who were part of them, and you were also invited to a few. After all, you mostly did tarot readings for them. The number of times you've pulled cards for grades and love lives was infinite.

You always turned down the invitations because they reminded you of covens. Collective gatherings of any kind with rules, rituals, traditions, and rites of passage turned you off. You were a solitary practitioner. Your Nan didn't understand that about you either.

You had other selling points. You were pretty enough in your opinion. You lost count of the times some college boy skateboarded by and looked your way only to veer off the sidewalk. You were merciful in that you didn’t laugh or scoff to break their pride further. You were also a decent enough student academically. When it came to papers, you were a god. Tests…not so much. Speech and presentations? Also, highly exceptional.

And then there were the mundane things like cooking and cleaning. You had no qualms about errands. All around, you were, confident, highly organized and laid back. The world just rolled off your shoulders and you didn't miss Taco Tuesday. Oh yeah, you played video games too. What's not to like?

After an awkward quiet dinner that evening at home, you did some homework and then you poured a glass of wine. You had butterflies in your stomach despite the fact that you were trying to drown them with Merlot.

“Guess I should just get it over with instead of putting it off.”

At that moment, your black cat pounced up on your bed as if he knew something was going on. He gave you that inquisitive head tilt and you scratched his ears. “What do you think Azriel? Time for a new adventure? Time to spread our wings and live life outside of the Witch’s Hut?” He slowly blinked before curling up beside you as if to accept whatever journey you signed up for. That was the joy of familiars. They were always ride or die.

“Kinda wish I had a cigarette and I don’t even smoke.”

You downed your glass, and you began to type away your text. After editing it one too many times you got frustrated and hit send. To hell with formalities. You stared down at the phone for what felt like ages. Nothing came. No response. No phone call. Just silence.

With a sigh, you sat it aside, switched on your desktop and decided to waste your time on those damn video games your Nan bitched about. You played anything really. RTS, Strategy, and shooters were your specialty because you loved making grown ass men cry. It was so much sweeter because you were a girl and no one else realized it.

Of course, there were a few people who played with you other the years. They always jumped to team up with you when you logged on. It was just expected at this point. You didn’t know who they were outside of your virtual sanctuary.

You messaged one another memes and stupid videos from time to time. Occasionally one of them would ask you a deep question and you would answer only for them to apologize and drop it. You only knew them by their gamer tags, marcellophane420 and reiner-diner-driveins-and-dives, occasionally pock_rock_anarchy.

This all started about two years ago when marcellophane420 sent you a question about some achievements you got playing HOI4. He was having trouble and he picked you out of the bunch because your avatar at the time was funny. At least that’s what he claimed, and you never questioned further than that. Since then, you spent a few hours a night playing together with him and his mutuals.

You figured they were the same age as you because they sometimes brought up high school. When you graduated, they graduated, and you imagined they would drift off into their own lives once university started. One of them did, but about midway through your freshman year, reiner-diner reappeared, and he was the one who was online the most these days. He was also the one who messaged you first.

You noticed the aforementioned user was active and before you could start a game, you received a message almost like clockwork; ‘Haven’t seen you in a few days. Up for some Hell Let Loose or Escape from Tarkov? I’ll assemble the boys.’

To which you reply, ‘Wow, did you miss me? Sorry about that, mid-terms were brutal and I’m trying to take a leap of fate with my life.’

Speaking of your leap of fate, you go to check your phone while you wait for a reply. Still nothing, but at least you could deal with your anxiety by crushing someone’s dreams. Extra points if they were streaming.

You saw the other two users become active and pock_rock sent you a message next. ‘Hey, you gonna get in voice chat with us for real? You promised…that’s the whole reason I’m here right now. Come on!’

Fuck. You did promise marcellophane420 that the next time you all gamed together, you’d voice chat. Two years of playing together went by and you’d never heard them speak. They didn’t hear you either. None of them ever expressed interest in going beyond a few chat messages here or there.

Life was busy and the time you all spent together was for unwinding and escaping from realty. Not to mention, you really didn’t want it known that you were female. The gaming community was better than it use to be, but it still had a long way to go.

Next came marcellophane420’s message. “Ready for the big reveal? I am!”

Reiner-diner replied shortly after. ‘Missed you? Yeah of course! I don’t win as much unless you’re with me. Hope your mid-terms went well. I struggled with mine. Can’t keep my head on straight. Sorry I’m oversharing again... Come chat with us in Discord! Here’s the link.’

With a deep sigh you placed your head set on. You checked your settings, making sure you had push-to-talk selected just in case your Nan decided to break her silence and tear you a new one for sweeping with her “special” broom or something asinine like that. “Guess I’ll make good on my promise. They are excited and I hate disappointing people.”

You joined their Discord. It wasn’t fancy and they probably just made it for the occasion. The three of them were in the General Chat channel and you popped down.

Right after the blip sound, two of them sounded off immediately, hollering and greeting you like a bunch of monkeys. You immediately grinned because that's exactly how you imagined them in your head. You were unable to make out what they said. The last thing you heard was a lower, gruff voice telling them to, ‘Hush don’t scare them away. Let them speak.’

Silence fell over your ears and you smashed your index finger on your push-to-talk button. “Sup guys. Nice to finally hear you.” And you let your finger off and waited. All that followed your greeting to them was a long silence. You wondered what the hell was transpiring on their ends. Maybe they were shit talking about you in their dms. Maybe they were losing their shit.

“No WAY!” Pock_rock finally yelled. “All this time…Y/UN, was a GIRL!”

“Holy shit, wow,” Marcellophane420 muttered.

“Surprised?” you asked, smiling because it had been the latter reason. “Honestly boys, it’s 2021. We’ve been out of the kitchen for a few decades now.”

Laughter immediately erupted from at least two of them. You noticed that user Reiner_diner was oddly quiet.

“Hey, I think Reiner is dead,” Pock_ rock groaned. “Marcel, go check on him. We’ve got games to play and shit to shoot.”

“No, I’m here,” Reiner replied. “Just laughing because I called it.”

“You did! That’s right you did!” screamed Pock.

“Oi, inside voice, little bro, shit,” Marcel complained. “Good thing Pieck’s not here.”

“You guys over it yet?” you ask. “I’m ready to play.”

Of course, playing was put on hold for now, despite your wishes. They bombarded you with questions, none of which were lewd and that surprised you. But then again, you’d proven how good you were a long time ago. They respected you as a fellow gamer or maybe they were just decent guys to begin with.

You found out you they went to the same college. They didn’t drop the name and you didn’t ask. Pock and Marcel were brothers. Reiner was their roommate. Apparently, they all grew up together and attended the same elementary school. Reiner went to another school and graduated from there. He even attended another university, but it didn’t work out. So, he transferred to his current school with his old friends at the start of the current semester. You didn’t pry into a reason why because you allowed people to tell you things in their own time.

However, Reiner sent you a DM while Marcel afked. “Maybe it’s a bit soon to go into this but, in case you’re wondering, I went to Paradis University, and it just didn’t work out. I had a scholarship and lost it because of my grades. I’m not stupid, I swear…I just…”

“Life happened, right?” you sent when you notice the pause.

“Yeah, it really hit hard.”

“Bad break up?” you ask.

“How did you know?” he replied.

“Intuition I guess,” you replied. “I promise I’m not psychic or something.”

Oh, the irony in that statement because you were damn good at divination. Truth was, just based on some of the conversations you’d had before everyone went off to college, you figured that’s what happened. He would message you these little things from time to time asking you for advice because of some shit his girlfriend put him through. You. A fucking Internet stranger. But, after listening to Pock and Marcel for a bit, you reasoned he didn’t have anywhere else to turn.

“I lost a lot of friends when we broke up,” he replied. “People I went to school with and who I thought looked up to me. People I thought cared. I was suddenly by myself. So, I just wanted to tell you that playing games with you during this transition in my life was a literal life saver. It gave me something to look forward to everyday. “

You felt yourself blushing. You didn’t know what he looked like. You only heard his voice for a moment and yeah, you had to admit, it was pretty goddamn hot. He was the one who rallied everyone together everyday and you realized from this reveal that he did slowly start opening to you overtime.

He would ask you about your day. You would toss a generic comment, sometimes sarcastic, sometimes completely serious.

‘On the edge of a mental break down.’

‘Leaving the dream, someone’s dream.’

‘Life is a literal dumpster fire and I’m burning bright.’

And, he would always reply telling you that he felt that on a personal level followed by an open invitation to elaborate. You never went into your issues. You just replied with a thank you and changed the subject because you didn’t want to burden him with that shit.

“Was that too much?” Reiner dmed.

Fuck! You forgot to respond. You had this feeling he was still in a fragile state, so you typed a few quick responses letting him know how you felt. “I’m touched, honestly. I didn’t realize I had that sort of effect on anyone. Actually, I’m kind of speechless in a good way.”

“Hey, let’s get to it finally, what do you all say?” Marcel asked upon his return.

There was a unanimous agreement and what was normally one to two hours of gaming quickly turned into four.

“Shit, I’ve got to call my girlfriend,” Pock gasped.

“Which one?” Marcel questioned. You almost spat your water onto your screen at that.

“Really? You’re going to call me out like that in front of Y/UN?”

“She might as well know you’re a fuck boy,” Marcel cackled.

“At least my balls aren’t in a vice like yours,” Pock argued back.

“So, I guess we should call it then?” you ask.

“It is late,” Reiner reasoned. “You have class tomorrow, right?”

“Don’t worry about me,” you tell him. “I’m a night owl.”

“So am I,” Reiner replied. “I don’t sleep much. Probably should.”

You couldn’t hear him well. What you did hear was Porco and Marcel arguing back and forth because Marcel embarrassed him.

“Ugh, sending you a dm,” Reiner growled. “Fucking idiots. It’s past midnight. The neighbors might complain again.”

You slip your headset off while you wait for another response from Reiner.

“Thanks for playing with us, as always. It was great to hear your voice. We’ve been playing together for two years and honestly, we should have done this sooner. “

“I guess now was the right time for it,” you respond. “Everything happens for a reason. That’s what I believe.”

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe everything does happen for a reason. You seem to have really wonderful timing, honestly. I mean…yeah… sorry.”

“A wizard is never late, nor are they early. They arrive precisely when they mean to, or something like that.”

“Alright Gandalf, you need to go to bed. But, before you do, Y/UN, can I ask what school you go to?”

“Only if you tell me where you go,” you replied.

“It’s a deal.”

“Alright, brace yourself. It isn’t Ivy League or anything but Marley University.”

You waited for a response. Moments passed without any indication that he was typing. You raised your brow and pursed your lips. You were in the middle of typing when Pock and Marcel messaged you again.

“ARE YOU FOR REAL!?”

“NO WAY!? REINER JUST TOLD US YOU GO TO THE SAME SCHOOL AS US!?? “

All you could do was chuckle at the irony. The four of you were so close, yet so far away this entire time. Reiner’s message lit up and you immediately clicked on his tab.

“Wow, I’m floored. I wasn’t expecting that. I am sure Porco and Marcel messaged you already. They ran screaming down the hallway. Maybe in the near future we can get together and meet. If you want.”

“I think that would be neat,” you reply.

“Yeah, same time tomorrow for gaming though? Might just be the two of us. Hope that’s okay.”

“Sure. Sounds like a plan.”

“Alright, good night then. Until tomorrow.”

You shoot Porco and Marcel a few smiley faces and then you log off for the night. You checked your phone once more. No response and you didn’t expect there to be one until morning. You got ready for bed, checked to make sure Azriel was snuggled in, and hit your lights.

You were about halfway asleep when your room lit up from your phone screen. You received a message and you wanted to ignore it but that just wasn’t in your nature. You flung your hand to the side and picked it up with an audible grunt. Your face softened immediately when you realized it was the number from the flyer.

“What the hell is this person doing up so late?”

I know this is terrible timing. I just picked up my phone and saw your text. Anyway, thanks for reaching out. We had a few people respond but, we collectively picked you to meet first because you seem kind of quirky and interesting. And, you have a cat too so, that sealed it for us. Are you free this week to meet up with us and discuss everything?

Oh, do you have a selfie or something you can send? I think I was supposed to ask that first. By the way, my name is Reiner Braun. It’s nice to meet you, Y/N.

You read the name maybe five times. “No way,” you whisper to yourself. “No way, no way. I fucking practice witchcraft and magic and I can’t believe this shit right now.”

Your fingers went to work texting back a response.

Reiner Braun…like reiner-diner-driveins-and-dives?

A minute passed and suddenly your phone lit up. It wasn’t from a text either. He was calling you. Your heart raced as you hit the accept button. You held your phone up to your ear and all was silent. You recalled the boys on the flyer in that moment. Two looked alike. The difference was their hair color. You assumed those two were Porco and Marcel. That meant the tall, handsome, blonde with the sad eyes must have been…

“Reiner?”

He called you by your gamer tag. “Y/UN? Is this real…Am I dreaming?”

“Don’t think so…”

He immediately started full on belly laughing. You heard Porco and Marcel inquiring on the other end because it was completely out of character for him, and they were concerned. Reiner sounded like he laughed himself to tears and then he addressed them. “So, the person we picked out of the ten who took our offer…I’m on the phone with her.”

“Her?” Porco and Marcel asked together.

“Wait, you called her? At this hour? Are you fucking insane?” Marcel snapped.

“Don’t worry, she was up anyway, isn’t that right, Y/UN?”

Porco and Marcel were quiet again, and you could hear Reiner practically smiling from ear to ear on the other side.

“That’s right!” you replied, with a squeak. You were still so wrapped up in disbelief. And for the third time tonight Porco and Marcel erupted in screams throughout the whole house.

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW!?”

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS? WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?”

“Hold on, let me…let me walk outside,” Reiner chuckled while those two kept hollering.

Reiner quickly closed the backyard door and settled down on one of the patio chairs. “I can’t believe this. This is too insane of a coincidence.”

“Honestly, I don’t know what to say about it either,” you reply.

“Right, I got two things. First, can we meet tomorrow maybe? I’m suddenly way too excited to hold this off. Second, let’s say you don’t want to move in with us after we talk it all out. Maybe, I don’t know, something happens, and you just change your mind. Can I…keep your number?”

“You want to ask me that now before you get a chance to see what I look like?”

“I…suppose you’re right. Maybe I am getting ahead of-.”

His phone lit up next to his face and he blinked for a moment because he was completely caught off guard by the whole thing. That’s when he realized you sent him something. He scanned the screen to make sure he wouldn’t accidently hang up on you. You heard him fumble the phone anyway and it made you giggle.

"Sorry," he muttered. "Damn it...hold on."

You imagined he finally got his shit together and that he opened it. This was confirmed when he let out this small gasp. Whatever confidence you had, left and your face flushed red.

“You...said you needed a selfie, right?”

“Y/N… this is you?”

“Last time I checked, yeah,” you dryly replied.

Reiner felt a flood of words burst from his mouth. “We’ve been playing games together all this time. We’d send stupid jokes back and forth. You’d do the same for me and I swear you were the only one who understood my humor. I had no idea you were… I mean, I figured you were a girl a few months ago, but I had no idea you would be….”

He just fell silent.

“Reiner, are you alright?”

He almost dropped his phone again because of how sweetly you said his name. “Y-yeah…I’m just speechless. You’re just so goddamn beautiful and you were under my nose this entire time.” You heard him tense up because he didn’t mean to spill all of that out to you, but he couldn’t help it. “Wait! Y/N, am I making you uncomfortable? I’m so sorry…are you even into men? I…fuck I’m not doing a good job at this, am I?”

“Never really had a preference,” you say. “If it feels right, I just go for it.”

“So….so you don’t mind the things I’m saying?” he urgently asked.

“Reiner, you’re adorable,” you say and that about broke him. “Of course, I don’t mind the things you’re saying. It’s nice to hear.”

If only you could see the smile on his face at this moment. The truth was, he felt a spark of happiness for the first time in forever. Hell, he hadn’t laughed that hard since…well, probably before senior year of high school. He wasn’t looking to date anyone but there were just too many coincidences occurring between the two of you.

“You said you were thinking about taking a leap of faith, right?” he asked. “Is moving in with us what you meant?”

“Yeah, actually,” you replied.

“I think I’m about to take one with you. Y/N can we meet tomorrow? Is that good for you?”

“Are you asking me as a potential roommate or are you asking me on a date at this point?”

“Both,” he quickly replied. “God, both.”

“Good, I planed on dressing for both anyway."

“Two years of wondering in the back of my mind about who you were….and it’s about to come to an end in the most incredible way. I cannot wait to see you. You do have great timing. You really are a wizard. Wait…a witch, right? That’s the feminine version?”

You pause for a moment as you smile so widely that your cheeks hurt. “Honestly, I think I would best describe myself as… an experience, and tomorrow you can get that firsthand after 5pm. Your place of choice.”

“Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you before then. Until tomorrow then?”

“Sure thing. Have a good night, reiner-diner-driveins-and-dives.”

You ended the call without waiting for a response. Anything further would have ruined the moment you left him with. You were both smiling like idiots while you lay there and contemplated how wild this whole situation was.

"All that fucking divination practice and I didn't see this coming," you sigh. "Touché Universe."

You drifted off to sleep without another care in the world. Meanwhile, a few miles away, Reiner found himself lost in your image. When he finally closed his eyes, it was you he saw in his dreams and it was you who helped him finally have a restful night’s sleep.

#reiner braun au #reiner braun fic #reiner braun x you #reiner braun x reader #marcel galliard #pieck aot #aot x you #aot x female reader #reiner x you #reiner braun #reiner fluff #reiner x reader #aot porco #attack on titan porco #porco galliard #porco fluff #attack on titan x reader #satire

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tiredkeys · 4 years

Text

Strider Bros with an s/o who’s very used to pain, but laughs it off

i have a request, if that's ok!! the strider bros with someone who's very used to pain and getting beat up and covered in bandaids/bandages daily?? but she laughs it off and no matter how hurt she gets, she's always so kind and trusting towards others and very physically affectionate. she acts pretty memey and breezy alot of times, but she will try and fight back if someone tries to hurt those she loves,,ahh sorry if this is too much, i kinda projected here,,,sorryy

Requested by anon

Oops this one is really long, I really enjoyed this and got a little carried away...

Requests are open!

Dave

Oh man

Oh man oh man

He got this exact same treatment from bro and he is devastated you have so many bandages on you all the time

Like? You both are out with some friends and someone twists their ankle

And you, at the speed of light, have some bandage out and their foot is fixed up in no time

On god, he almost starts crying on the spot because only boy scouts are supposed to know that and he knows you needed to know how to patch yourself up but you shouldn’t have needed to repair yourself so quickly and GOD

Honestly, he’s convinced you don’t have a right elbow because it always has a colorful bandaid on it

Speaking of bandaids, sometimes he’ll draw stars or hearts or just doodle on ones that cover paper cuts or that are wrapped around your fingers

He always asks first and he’s just so careful

When y’all first got together, you learned very quickly that he is NOT physically affectionate

He loves you so so much, and he hates it that his instinct is to flinch away when you brush up against him or go to hold his hand

It takes him quite a while, waiting for you to initiate and several sweaty palms that he doesn’t quite know what to do with, but when he does get comfortable showing affection around you? He’s so touchy

He’s not a huge fan of PDA (the cool kid facade is still strong) but in private, he just want cuddles and he wants them now

But he’s so so gentle, especially when you have new injuries

Often times, he will hold your arm and trace some older scars you have while y’all watch movies

And even when he accidentally puts too much pressure on a new cut, or his pointy elbows hit a soft spot, you’re smiling at him and cracking jokes while he apologizes for the next ten minutes

He’s baffled by you in the best way possible

He sees someone you care about being bullied for something and you are up and defending them SO FAST

It looks like you’re a hair’s breadth away from throwing punches

And he’s astounded

The change in you demeanor was so fast

And his first instinct is to be worried, then the bully leaves, and he’s still worried

But god he is so proud of you

I mean, he’s seen some of the bruises you have

But you just are so trusting and nice and soft towards others, you have no bitterness in your heart and he has no idea how you do it

Your constant vulnerability so revolutionary to him

One time, he accidentally walked in on you touching up your bandages

This beating was particularly bad, injuries stretching from just below your collarbone to around your ribs into your lower back

And he cannot move

He’s stuck in the doorway for a solid minute before you notice him

Shooting him your most convincing smile, some sluggish finger guns and a quick jipe you’re back to fixing yourself

“All these colors are really making me look like a piece of art, aren’t they?”

Oh my god he doesn’t know what to do

He just stands there until you’re done

“Who did this to you?”

Whether its a guardian, bully, or just a stranger, his heart still drops

He’ll make sure you are as comfortable as possible, in bed with snacks, drinks and a book or movie

He’ll crawl in next to you and pretend to be invested in whatever you are doing

But he’s crying

It’s hard to tell because he still has his shades on, and you don’t actually notice until you see him swiping at his face

You have to push his glasses up into his hair so he will look you in the eye

Y’all talk a lot that night

You wake in the morning and bathed in the sunlight and Dave wrapped around you like a blanket of protection

And you are safe

Dirk

I mean, he’s had his fair share of fighting robots so he’s pretty scared up right along with you

He’ll totally be up for comparing scars and stories about them

You got any you’re insecure about? He might not know how to comfort you but he will most definitely sit down with you and try and distract you

He sometimes forgets that you are as used to pain as he is and it's like a cold slap when you get hurt and shake it off

I mean, your pain tolerance is through the roof

You get hurt, say something like, oh this is nothing and he’s like so?? We are getting you patched up

And he will pick you up and will not let you move until you are fully bandaged, even if he knows you can do it yourself

On the flip side of that, when he gets busted up, he is always starstruck when you pull out the proper medical equipment and heal him up

Fixing up his twisted wrist, and he’s just staring at you because you’re just so gentle and caring with him, he feels so safe

Whenever he makes his own bandages and splints, he always ended up wrapping them up a little too tight, not enough to actually cut off blood flow, but enough that it was always more uncomfortable than it needed to be

Once, someone tried to pick a fight with him, and he just kinda squared up and went “ight i'm going to get decked this time”

And you BUST DOWN to DEFEND HIS HONOR and it's so scary

The offender? Flees so quickly at the sight of you, in a rage, and this anime character lookin dude, about to be in a rage because that kind of passion is contagious

But he’s so oblivious to your advances it isn’t even funny

He’s a little caught in his self-hate to even consider that you might be into him

Because what on Earth would you ever see in him?

Also, he is not a touchy person!!

He has -5 experience with physical contact and he will literally jump out of your arms he is so perturbed

You go into hug him one time and he zips off so fast and you don’t see him for quite a while

Did you move too fast? Did you hurt him?

Nope, he’s just cooling himself down

Despite his best efforts, he can not keep a cool face around you

Even when you’re gently punching his arm or touching his shoulder as you brush past, he will get so flustered so fast. There's just nothing he can do about it

One time, you cornered him about it

Not even flash stepping could save this fellow from your onslaught of questions

Does he hate you? You stopped your bigger physical affections long ago and while you know that he really doesn’t get a lot of that but would he like you to stop? It’s alright if he does, you’d just like some verbal confirmation. I mean, you really really like him and your love language is touch, but if he isn’t okay with it he isn’t okay! And if he doesn’t reciprocate your romantic sentiments towards you, it’s all alright! He shouldn’t feel pressured to do anything he doesn’t want and... Man, you’ve really gotten off track here. You’ve said far too much but you mean all of it. Is he okay?

Even with the added defenses of his tinted glasses and his rock-hard demeanor, you can see he’s shaking

This, to you, is not a good sign and you begin to backpedal like HELL

While you’re chattering away, he is going over his options in his head after it stopped yelling and the list looks like this:

You’re lying to him and this is a joke

You’re not lying, but would be miserable in a relationship with him

You’re not lying and both of you would put the effort into a relationship and it would be beautiful

He decides to take his chances

Grasping your wrists to effectively stop the word soup spewing out of you, he lets you know how he feels

He also really likes you, like… you know… but it terrifies him, just like you do! You’re always beat up and those weak excuses really won’t work much longer, and you care so much and that’s so scary, so breathtakingly scary, and you’re so funny and easy to talk to and he knows he’s not used to touching people, or just people at all, but if you'd like to teach him, that’d be okay. Someone has to watch your back, anyways.

And that’s the whole story right there, folks

Stay safe! Thank you for reading!

#homestuck x reader #dave strider #dave strider x reader #dirk strider #dirk strider x reader

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galacticnova3 · 3 years

Note

Tell us about your other ocs (not iru 😒🙄) please

GHHGGHHGHJJHHN LOVE THIS ASK!

Ok so I’m gonna talk about Roa in that case!

She’s another Umbramaker (mirror Starcutter), but unlike Iru she isn’t terrible! She’s basically Lor’s mirror counterpart, but not technically because no soul to be reflected and stuff. Due to the nature of Umbramakers basically being bootleg Starcutters, though, Roa is actually 2000 years younger than Lor. Not that that would be super obvious based on how the two act, though; she’s a lot more serious, a bit behind the times, much less outgoing, and others would probably say she’s not as fun. The truth is she just never really figured out how to loosen up until very recently, and even then she’s more of the nerd sort than the memey type. If you get her talking about something she’s interested in, such as Another Dimension and Parallel Dimension (which are different parts of the same place), she could infodump for ages, going on tangent after tangent and yet always bringing it back to the same subject. She would probably get along well with Magolor; science nerd buddies!

In terms of her actual connection to Lor, as. I said, they aren’t true counterparts. They both had super similar life experiences, and just reacted to them differently. Instead of her mistreatment driving her to become a troublemaker like Lor, she became extremely anxious and servile, because she was constantly fearing for her life but knew if she dedicated herself entirely to Working and Being Useful she would be spared. While Lor didn’t get along with other Starcutters because they found her annoying and thought she got in the way, Roa wasn’t well liked because the other Umbramakers basically thought she was a bootlicker. She was very well liked by her pilots though, because she was So Well Behaved and Always Put Others First and Worked So Hard! Their only complaint would usually just be her lack of confidence. Of course, they never took the time to figure out why she was the way she was, though she wouldn’t have told them she knew what went on behind closed doors anyways.

As I’ve said previously, unlike Overworld Halcandra, Mirror Halcandra could afford to throw out their ships if they weren’t performing to a satisfactory level, and she was very much aware of the recycling going on. However, unlike Lor, who hacked herself her own admin rights, accepted her circumstances, and decided if her life had to suck she was going to cause problems on purpose as revenge, Roa actually started formulating a theoretical escape plan. Because she was technically a newer model than Lor, she couldn’t just hack herself and go nuts with her abilities, so she had to be careful. At least, that would have been the case, were it not for a shortage of pilots after a combination of multiple missions in Parallel Dimension going terribly wrong, and a subsequent wave of quitting until safer conditions were promised. Now, for her whole life, Roa has basically been the poster child of a perfect Umbramaker. Never did anything out of turn, stayed in the lines like a fill tool, and just in general had a long record of Not Doing Anything Unexpected. In other words, she also had a ton of trust built up with basically everyone who worked with her that wasn’t another Umbramaker.

So, they(the government) reasonably thought, with the information available to them, that maybe Roa could function on her own, without a pilot, until pilot numbers returned to how they usually were. She could still get measurements and stuff from Parallel Dimension and be in a fleet and all that, just without someone driving her. So, Roa was given admin permissions over her systems, and things went on as usual because she was too scared to do anything. Haha, yeah, no, that second part was a lie. Literally as soon as the officials left the room she took off; carefully plotted escape was out of the airlock, she could leave Right Now and was fast enough that they couldn’t catch her or stop her from warping somewhere else. She left in such a frantic hurry, though, that uh... well, I’ll just say a few people got hurt, which is pretty expected if you get hit by a giant ship taking off. She still holds that against herself; she never wanted to hurt anyone.

Unfortunately, though, in her frenzy, she forgot one key detail: other Umbramakers. Who had their pilots. Who had communications with the port. So, as she’s fleeing, but before she gets the chance to make a portal to Somewhere Else, three other Umbramakers start trailing her; one to her left, one to her right, and one just behind her. They didn’t really have a choice in what they were doing, but Roa has always assumed they wouldn’t have done anything differently if they did anyways. The one behind her shot holes in her sail, which she still has now, to drastically slow down how long charging her vortex would take were she to switch into her combat mode. The other two kept her from going to either side, closing in until she couldn’t go anywhere but forward. In the end, this leads to the main thing she has in common with Lor; she was cornered and forced to enter a cavern in the side of a volcano, and the entrance was collapsed with her inside. Unlike Lor, though, she was still awake, but didn’t have the space to warp herself out.

That’s where she spent the next 27 thousand or so years, eventually putting herself into a sort of sleep mode to retain power and not be conscious the whole time she was trapped in a pitch black cave. She’d wake up when any noticeable physical events were detected, which could potentially mean freedom, but for the most part she would only wake up because of periodic earthquakes and eruptions that didn’t help her. Until, eventually, something else wakes her up; a mirror Halcandran teen, who had been slowly excavating her in secret, having found records indicating there was an Umbramaker buried in the volcano. He was none other than Magolor’s mirror counterpart, Magoroa, who was planning to do the exact same thing as Magolor. Unlike his Overworld counterpart, though, he was not checking out a ship who had been put in the AI equivalent of a coma. He manages to get inside and vibe in Roa’s library for an hour or two, grabbing some books to translate and read during his journey for domination, before she figures out what’s going on and kicks him out. She was free, and she was not risking anything jeopardizing that, even in the form of a teenager.

She flew off without him, leaving him with just a bag of books on magic and potion brewing. After escaping Mirror Halcandra unnoticed and getting caught up on important Mirror World news, such as that whole Dark Mind situation that happened while she was away, she decided to check out Mirror Popstar because apparently Halcandra stays away from there. That’s where she gets in contact with You Know Who, so now she had him to deal with, great. She eventually visits the Overworld to see if maybe she could hide out there. Stuff happened that I haven’t written yet but plan to, she meets Lor... or rather, Lor heard reports of another Starcutter and went looking for her, found Roa, chased her until she could establish “>MA’AM I’M NOT A THREAT PLEASE I HAVEN’T TALKED TO ANOTHER SHIP IN THOUSANDS OF YEARS”, and they subsequently talk and find out they have a lot in common. Now Roa spends more time outside the Mirror World than in it, but she still stays away from basically anyone who isn’t Lor, Magolor, or a select few of the Star Allies. Meta Knight knows of her but isn’t sure what to really do or what to think. He doesn’t trust her because she has no pilot, but also she is so much more mature than Lor that he’s tempted to just leave her be.

I couldn’t think of a place to plop this in the post, but here’s what she looks like in her combat mode! I haven’t talked about it here but Starcutters and Umbramakers can have elements, kinda like the weapons in Star Allies(which is what inspired this headcanon); Lor is bluster wind element(based on her attacks, could explain what I mean in another post if you’re interested), for example. What element do you think Roa is?

Fire. She’s fire element. Doesn’t look like it, but that is 100% intentional on my part and in-universe!

Anyways, if you read this far I owe you my life and also like 10 minutes of your time back.

#long post #asks #rambling #my art #my characters #roa #im so sorry that I don’t know how to not shut up but also no I’m not because I like Roa

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drangues · 3 years

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ansbwjjcnw I still gotta read it but my motivation to Do New Shit is. So very low right now. All I want are naps. BUT I’m sure an art of Tangled!Dazatsu from you would look really nice, if you decide to draw it! ALSO GOOD LUCK ON YOUR TEST IM ROOTING FOR YOU, make sure you get enough sleep and eat something filling!!! Anyways, let’s be honest- Dazai and Chuuya only get worse when their attention flustered their boyfriends. (Nyanon, 1/7)

This is because (A) they think Flustered BFs are fucking adorable, and also (B) they know this means that their boyfriends haven’t been appreciated much and that means War (on their low self image). Also I love the implication that rich kid!Dazai and Chuuya’s natural reaction to being Pissed at each other is to spoil Atsushi or Akutagawa. It’s great. And! That is: EXACTLY. What I’m saying. (Nyanon, 2/7)

I can imagine them as that one post of the writer and the artist throwing chapters and pictures at each other, ahaha. Dazai practically being the embodiment of a chaotic author is Very Fitting, he writes when he writes and in whatever genre strikes him. No, there’s no need to worry about him, he’s definitely not living on coffee and spite alone. And Atsushi is definitely the type to mostly stick to fluffy drawing, I think! (Nyanon, 3/7)

He can definitely do other things, but he probably finds drawing cute stuff comforting. Also Kyouka likes the super cute ones and he’s pretty much willing to draw whatever to keep the baby sis happy. I also imagine that he’d do commissions? Because it never hurts to have an additional source of income. Except he’s a pushover when people tell him his prices are “too high” or something, so Kyouka has to put her foot down and tell him to Not give in, haha. (Nyanon, 4/7)

(It’s okay Dazai, I’m an attention whore to. I want to be complimented too much.) And! Poor Atsushi, haha, he probably wasn’t expecting his favorite author to say he liked his art? He probably keysmashes and then draws a cute little doodle for another one of Dazai’s fics and then Dazai is just. Gone. Also ten bucks says that their first DM interaction is Dazai saying something memey. It just feels like something he’d do. (Nyanon, 5/7)

And a bonus: Kyouka does really deep analyses of different shows and books and games, and occasionally on fanfiction as well. Kunikida makes a comprehensive, huuuge post on the lore Igor different series because I feel like he’d enjoy doing something like that? Just like, organizing the background and making it more understandable, if that makes sense? I’m not sure what Chuuya would but I get the distinct sense of someone who makes edits and aesthetics from Akutagawa. (Nyanon, 6/7)

Yosano and Ranpo both probably have that weird “list of questionable shit the authors need answers to” blog or something... I’m in too deep. Help. But! Have another Concept: Faking dating jealousy cliche, with Dazatsu and Chuuaku. Basically, Chuuya decides that he and Atsushi should pretend to be a couple to see if it’ll get their crushes attention. Cue confusion and jealousy from Dazai and Akutagawa, who may or may not have realized their own feelings. (Nyanon, 7/7)

dude dont worry i was joking there no pressure!! and felt. right now im so sleep deprived and studying for a test and i have oTHER ASSIGNMENTS TO DO- its all draining, and i mainly feel bad because i havent posted any art, but i do know that fandom is not a job but a hobby and its okay that i take my time

also kyouka being his number one supporter is just!! so!! cute!!! in my opinion kyouka would be that very young but hella good with technology in the fandom like, she would make gifs and edits in an INSTANT and when everyone learns shes fourteen theyre like W H A T?? either way, shes the one who probably shows atsushi the ropes of digital art and has the vibes of that young tech person in a show that definitely can hack into any government files. (as a joke she would most definitelly do an edit of “dazai” except its just screenshots of his fics and some lines here and there with some dramatic effects and sexy music. atsushi wont admit that he has it downloaded)

dazais way to start a conversation is definitely sending a random meme to get it going, since atsushi would be too shy to initiate conversations

also kyouka doing deep analysises is so her!! she would probably even start a youtube channel where she explains everything in that robot voice and funny editing but no one can lie that all her videos are very in depth.

OH GOD KUNIKIDA IS THE TYPE TO GATHER ALL THE FACTS OF A SHOW, POST ABOUT IT. EXPLAIN THE MAGIC SYSTEM FOR ANYONE THATS CONFUSED. IF THERES AN ANIME WITH A CONFUSING PLOT THAT YOU DONT KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN?? KUNIKIDA IS YOUR MAN. HE CAN EXPLAIN ALL OF JOJO SEAMLESSLY AND DOES MANY REVIEWS ON ANIMES AND GATHERS ALL SORTS OF LORES MEANWHILE YOSANO AND RANPO ARE THE MORE CRACKHEADED ANALYSTS (when the three collab its just kunikida trying to be serious while yosano and ranpo do the fuckboy lip bite behind him and then throw in jokes and “author if you do not explain why these two characters are a little too fruity ill personally use my chainsaw on you” “why are these two siblings even together, wHY ARE THEY IN THE SAME BED-”)

dude. i feel like chuuya and atsushi would fake date and it would be for akutagawa. atsushi definitely wants to tell dazai about this but chuuya is afraid dazai will run his dumb mouth, plus when they “announce” it chuuya just Sees how dazais demeanor changes and is like “you know what,,lets keep this up” (either way akutagawa would end up crying like a loser in front of chuuya and chuuya would feel so bad for even fake dating to make him jealous meanwhile dazai is just mad that he couldnt have internalised his feelings and bottle them up “you just H A D to date the slug, my biggest pet peeve!!! if it was anyone else i wouldve MAYBE let it sLIDE-”)

#anon #ask #ask anon #anon ask #nyanon #nyatsushi anon #bsd

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thisuserlovesnayeon · 3 years

Text

hello everyone! well i dont know who i mean by “everyone” considering my blog is basically an echo chamber for my own thoughts and feelings but nevertheless hello! as you may have seen already loads on your dash, everyone’s whipping out the end of year shoutout posts thanking the people who have made this dark hellhole seem a bit brighter. im going to do the same - so to all the people tagged below thank you very much for your services to my mental wellbeing!! as an avid fanfic consumer i will say the amount i interact with said fanfic writers is quite atrocious - something I hope to improve in the new year. so without further ado, here are some people id like to say thanks and well done to!

🌟 @starrychannies - thank you for being the first skz blog i decided to follow since stanning!! your fics are so beautifully written and you just have this way of writing that fills me with what i can only describe as warmth and love. the little details you put in and how you write the characters (both skz and the reader) is what keeps me coming for more. its like i feel a genuine connection with the characters that rarely occurs in fics it seems and im very grateful for your talent - along with the memey gifsets and picures of course! i genuinely hope 2021 is a gorgeous year for you!

🌷 @akinnie75 - where on earth do i even begin!!! i remember stumbling across your blog on a sunny june afternoon and suddenly it was time for dinner, id read all of your fics multiple times and i could barely remember that the BTS members werent really princes or ghosts or even sociology majors! the way your stories cascade across the page like a giant waterfall is something i havent seen in literature for a really long time. again, im a sucker for characterisation and you absolutely nail it every single time. thank you so much for the work you produce and once again i hope 2021 brings you joy and happiness.

⛩ @chenle - if we’re talking about blogs that fed my skz addiction, it would be a crime not to mention you. i literally vivdly remember sending you an ask saying I dOn’T eVeN kNoW wHo StRaY kIdS aRe YoUr FiCs ArE nIcE tHo and look where we are now. i can sense 2020 was a tough one, as was the case with so many people and whilst a part of me is sad you are no longer writing, i am mostly very grateful for the vast expanse of fics and ideas and stories and headcanons and everything else you blessed your cult with. i sincerely hope you can take this opportunity to rest and rejuvenate and whatever path you choose to take i will support you all the way.

🎨 @ofkimtaehyung - although i mentioned my avid consumption of fanfics, i do enjoy the occasional gifset and fanart too. whilst im past my brief tryst with BTS (she says 👀👀) one would have to be blind to ignore the immeasurable talent you hold. how you manage to manipulate music videos and photoshoots into concert ticket stubs, movie posters and broadway leaflets is honestly beyond me. BTS are already 7 of the most handsome ethereal men to exist and your sublime editing means they end up looking even more heavenly. i hope 2021 brings rewards for your work because it is seriously amazing!

⛓ @anqeluv - your changing aesthetics as well as the 2020 kinktober masterlist were all that i needed to be drawn in. the way you write the filthiest things in the most simple and eloquent manner is severely understated. lots of people tend to go overboard with the ~naughty~ scenes but you keep it the perfect balance of classy and downright filthy which is much appreciated. im very excited to see that you are possibly considering writing for ateez as well - who are one of my newer fav groups! i very much look forward to all that you will bring in 2021 and hope you are safe and well.

🐈 @chaoticminhos - it was priceless that pulled me in and all the rest of your gorgeous fics that have kept me here! and boy am i not complaining. you have such a gentle (ironic for someone called chaos i suppose) way of writing in my opinion, that keeps things flowing and simple without unnecessary embellishments and i just adore it. priceless, in my humble opinion, is such a classic that i keep coming back to. i sit back in awe at the quiet progress of their relationship every goddamn time (as though im reading it for the first time) and im very grateful for the experience. i hope 2021 brings you lots of light and positivity.

there are so many other blogs that have helped me get through this year - whether it be with their creative content like fics, their personalities and jokes shared on their blogs or even advice given to their anons. im sorry i couldnt mention everyone, but do know that if i follow you you hold a very special place in my heart and im very grateful to all of you content creators. people dont appreciate what you do enough, and instead of offering feedback and compliments you get attacked by rude anons demanding more of your work, regardless of what your personal situation might be. you dont deserve this at all and i do hope people have worked on their manners during quarantine now that we have had the time! anyway, to close off, even if you havent done anything this year, im still incredibly proud of you for making it this far. whether we’ve talked before or not (we probably havent im a bit of a hermit i’ll be honest), my inbox is always open. if you need a friend to joke with, a shoulder to cry on, someone to vent to - im here. have an absolutely amazing NYE and lets make 2021 our year!!!!!

#skz #ateez #bts #fanfic #end of year thanks post eyyyy #love u all #stay safe!!!

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jackdawyt · 4 years

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youtube

Since my last news update in March, today I’m dissecting everything that has come out of the woodwork in April and May regarding Dragon Age 4. So, get some tea and let’s get this show on the road, because we’ve got over 4,000 words of news to delve into!

Reveal? (game shows/new hire/remaster):

Following the cancellation of E3, EA Play 2020 Live has been officially confirmed as a digital show, taking place on June 11th, at 4:00 pm PST / 7:00 pm EST.

Before the outbreak cancelled E3 2020, we knew Mike Gamble, the Project Lead on the next Mass Effect game had plans to make a physical appearance at E3/EA Play. So, the question remains, will BioWare still have a presence at EA Play this year?

Mike Gamble is one of the key members of the Mass Effect team, I highly doubt he’s talking about revealing the next Mass Effect game which is currently in very early stages of development, and won’t release until after Dragon Age 4. Perhaps, Mike back in 2019 was hinting at revealing the heavily rumoured Mass Effect Remaster this EA Play?

Earlier in May, EA had a quarterly conference call and it revealed some fascinating information regarding future unannounced titles. Currently, EA have “one more EA HD title, Four EA Partner titles and two mobiles games still unannounced”. Also, EA said "multiple titles" are set to launch on Nintendo Switch this year.

The EA HD title refers to a remaster of an EA game, hence why most people are speculating at the Mass Effect Trilogy. Venturebeat went on to officially state that this title was indeed the Mass Effect Trilogy.

So, there’s one rumoured possibility for the Mass Effect Trilogy Remaster to be revealed this EA Play, which is cool! BioWare may have a presence this year after all! But I know you all didn’t come for Mass Effect; you came for Dragon Age. So, what do we know about that franchise and a potential reveal?

Jo Berry, a Writer at EA retweeted EA Play Live’s announcement with a party emoji! 👀

This could be absolutely nothing, but at a whim, perhaps a reference to a Dragon Age 4 teaser, or EA Motive’s new I.P since she has worked within both teams....

On top of that, Brianne Battye, Writer at BioWare tweeted about her 8-year journey at BioWare. She’s very grateful for sharing her work, and the awesome people she’s worked with along the way.

Patrick Weekes replied saying they: “Cannot wait for everyone else to see what you've been working on recently. :)”

Then, Brianne said: “Right back at you :)”

Two HUGE witters on the Dragon Age team are excited for everyone else to see what they’ve all been working on recently! 👀 When I saw this tweet, I was trying to stay calm and keep my expectations low, but come on when you see a tweet like this, you just get so excited! The question is, when will we see what they’ve been working on, and is it anytime soon? Please?

Well, there is something else we need to talk about that may relate to a potential tease.

Hilary Heskett, who used to be EA’s Global Product Manager has returned to work at EA and BioWare. Put simply, she’s a Digital Marketer for BioWare.

Hilary; particularly, was heavily involved in Dragon Age: Inquisition’s marketing! In fact, the majority of her work at EA involved representing BioWare as a brand online creating trailers, key art, screenshots, packaging, and advertisements. So, it’s a fair assumption that she’ll be fulfilling the exact same role for future BioWare titles like Dragon Age 4.

With Hilary joining the team at this point in development, could the marketing stages of Dragon Age 4 soon begin, perhaps at EA Play? Or later on in 2020? Or is she going to be marketing the Mass Effect Remaster?

I sound impatient, but, in the past BioWare have a habit of starting the marketing stages of their products at least two years before an initial release.

With that, we’ve got to ask ourselves, is hiring a marketer at this point in time a mere coincidence? or is it preparation for when marketing does start? Are we on the verge of seeing Dragon Age 4 official content soon?

Not to waffle on, because we’ve got a lot to talk about in this video, but I was hired as a Digital Marketer for an app company in the UK. As I understand it, you normally enter projects, mid-to-end of production, because what would a marketer do in the early stages logically? Your role is to be there for the advertising of the product.

So, in BioWare’s case, it's my understanding that Hilary has joined the team with one year full-swing production, is she about to begin the marketing stages of the next Dragon Age game? Is the game ready for that stage? If anything, I think with Hilary’s background, she’s the perfect person to market Dragon Age 4.

On top of EA Play, Geoff Keighley announced Summer Game Fest, a new industry-wide celebration of video games. Showcasing digital news, In-game events, & playable content. EA are headlining the event with EA Play, but there are many other world premieres spread throughout the summer. So, there’s a potential for other trailer reveals later on in the year, not to mention The Game Awards.

And, there’s also this leak that shows Dragon Age 4 on a list of PS5 games from the newest issue of PlayStation magazine UK. PlayStation are having an event on June 4th, so we’ll find out if this leak is true soon enough.

If we’re going to see anything Dragon Age 4 related this year, EA Play is the biggest contender for a reveal. I know the whole world could do with that right now! At this current moment, there is no schedule for the show. However, Saria, myself, Fusselkorn and maybe other content creators will be streaming EA Play, no matter what, so turn those reminders on and come join us in our clown suits.

Development (teases/production):

Moving on to teases and development updates. Currently, BioWare are hiring a ‘Senior Outsource Producer.’

This is a pretty big deal, to those who don’t know what a ‘Senior Outsource Producer’ would do...

“Outsourcing development means to hire out any process of a business to third party. The process helps your company or organization to grow.”

To grant more perspective, during Mass Effect: Andromeda’s development, major aspects of the game's animations were outsourced to other EA studios.

However, this isn’t going to be the same for Dragon Age 4, this role is for one Producer to help the outsourcing team into a robust and comprehensive department that supports BioWare projects in all aspects of development.

I have friend in triple AAA games, and they had something to say about outsourcing regarding Dragon Age 4: “To be honest, I'd say (outsourcing is) different per studio due to scope. But with something big like Dragon Age I'd probably say outsourcing would start early to mid-production as they have a hell of a lot to do. Some studios outsource from the get go though so that's also possible. And It's rare that outsourcing starts in the final leg of development.”

What I understand from the job posting is that BioWare are looking to hire a producer who will be dedicated to outsourcing so they can establish a pipeline and maintain proper standards for outsourcing. This hiring was posted in May, so the studio might be a few months early from when they actually have to outsource. However, this process will be coming up soon in major development.

Moving on. In early April, Mark Darrah went on a twitter rampage sharing many tweets relating to Dragon Age 4. One tweet stated: “Is tweeting more going to make you all speculate more or less?”. Followed by a poll with the answers “more”, “less” & “Dragon Age 4!?”

The following week, Mark Darrah teased his three Wolf-Rook books he has placed on a shelf at home.

Later on, in the month, he decided to stack each of them, prompted with the caption: “Spoiler: these are a terrible building material…”

Just last week, Mark tweeted the Wolf-Rook book once more, with the following meme: “Dear men, what is preventing you from looking like this?”

This cheeky tease encouraged Melissa Janowicz (Gameplay Designer) to join the fun and share her own Wolf-Rook book! She said: “It's an absolutely gorgeous book. I'll treasure it for life.”

Ahhh. The secrets these books could hold about Dragon Age 4’s core concepts.... And Mark Darrah is just staking them together, making book forts out of them, as you do! 😂 Maybe one day, we’ll uncover the secrets held within every page, but that day is not yet upon on.

On the same memey day, Chris Anderson, (Application Development/Publishing Support at BioWare) tweeted: “Other people are teasing things, so what the hell, here's an image that I used in something I was working on today.” With a pink image shown.

Chris and Melissa followed a Twitter conversation about pink being the “perfect colour for when you need something that screams temp.”

Basically, this pink actually has some context for the development of Dragon Age 4. ‘Temp’ means temporary textures, the first blocked out layer of a texture before actual detailed textures are added.

This can refer to many scenes or models in the early texturing phases, as art assets are still in the approval stages. On a wild, out-there whim, perhaps the team are wrapping up a trailer for a reveal? Maybe?... please?

John Epler (Narrative Director) shared his most controversial opinion of all time:

I loved the Hinterlands, but as a fan of the previous Dragon Age game’s ‘linear with freedom' approach, I appreciate John’s take on open world’s since Dragon Age: Inquisition, perhaps this will shape the way forward for future BioWare titles?

Alix Wilton Regan, voice actress of the Female British Inquisitor retweeted Autumn Witch’s poll asking if people believe the Inquisitor will return as a voiced appearance in Dragon Age 4. Alix tweeted: “C’mon #DAI Fans, you know what to do ;)”

Patrick Weekes replied to Alix’s post with an eye's emoji 👀.... I think I speak for everyone when I say, in some capacity, the Inquisitor has got to return in the next game!

In another tweet, Patrick Weekes teased potential new companions when a Twitter trend placed 5 Dragon Age characters in 6 different camps went around the platform.

When choosing their preferred camp, Patrick Weekes tweeted: “Finally, in Camp 7, it's turned into a bit of a mess, with coffee grounds spilled everywhere and the couch inexplicably on fire after a drinking game gone wrong. But that's another story.”

Of course, there’s not much to tear apart here, but we have acknowledgement of the next party members! It sounds like they’re a wild bunch already!

In early April, Mark Darrah answered a few current development tweets:

So, that’s...Splendid.

Karin Weekes (Editor) tweeted that they “got to sort/catalog/document updates to made-up languages at work today.”

Following that tweet, @ladyiolanthe asked Karin: “Do you think BioWare might ever be able to release Qunari, Dwarvish, and Elvhen lexicons in a World of Thedas Volume 3 sort of book? Or is that unlikely since they're ciphers and maybe there isn't a standardized grammatical structure, etc?”

Karin replied with: “That’s an interesting idea - I, for one, would find it a hoot! I might send out some feelers…” Any books of made-up languages I can get my hands on would be greatly appreciated!

Alain Baxter, (‘Production guy’) tweeted: “BioWare review of content today. All I can say is “Scriplet”. 😎

Apparently a ‘Scriptlet’ is an action verb. Alain is teasing premature scripts as they ‘perform their function’ So, something exciting is going down in the scripts, to be worked on in-engine. Or maybe it’s just an inside joke?

John Epler tweeted a great design message about “how 90% of ‘bad’ decisions are, in fact, the best decision at the time. For John, that will always be the camera zoomed conversations in DA: I. People didn’t like it, and asked why not just make them full scenes. But that’s not the decision they make in-house. It was 'make them simple conversations or else cut them'. Game dev is all about making the best decision you can at the time, with the resources you have .A lot of stuff you thought was weird or awkward came down to a gut call of 'this is the best I can make this and I trust it's good enough'. Sometimes we're right, sometimes not.”

Awesome words to think on, Dragon Age 4 will be amazing, I’m sure, but just remember to set your expectations right and realise everything design-wise, happens for a reason.

Shifting to other design aspects. Jos Hendricks (Senior Level Designer) tweeted:

Mike Jungbluth (Animation Director) tweeted: “Just reviewed something in game that hit THIS LEVEL! Hot damn, moments like this are what I live for.”

Both tweets are incredibly excited and telling of development for Dragon Age 4, it sounds like they’re building and prototyping an epic scene equivalent in scale to the attack at Haven scene? Perhaps, Solas destroying the Veil? Who knows, but it sounds epic, and I’m living for both dev.'s enthusiasm!

For the final tweet regarding the development side is from Åsa Roos (Principle UX Designer)

A UX designer writing about Solas? That must be for codex entries? Right? More lore on our Rebel God!

Unannounced Dragon Age Game:

In my previous March news update, I discussed brashly about the developers on Dragon Age 4 still claiming that this project has not officially been announced yet, however, The Dread Wolf Rises teaser in 2018 certainly alluded to an announcement regarding the next Dragon Age title. Following this story, we have many sources providing clarity on Dragon Age 4’s current ‘unannounced’ situation.

Patrick Weekes confirmed that they are “working on an unannounced game in the Dragon Age universe.”

Patrick said: “We would LOVE to be able to say more. We are really excited about what we’re working on. But we can’t share anything right now. Sorry!”

In April 2019, I painted this unannounced situation rather conspiratorial, I said that perhaps the Dragon Age dev’s can’t share anymore on the next game because Anthem was the next project, and EA are forcing them to not speak on Dragon Age. In an attempt to maintain the crowd by not letting BioWare developers regard Dragon Age 4 as the next working project in the works.

However, I don’t think it’s that deep. I think the developers are just under an NDA, and literally can’t speak about the game.

In Episode 121 of the Anthem-based ‘Freelancer Codex’ Podcast - as a guest, Melissa Janowicz shared that the developers on the secret Dragon Age team cannot talk about the next game, in fact, they can barely talk about the contents of The Dread Wolf Rises teaser trailer.

Chris Anderson also emphasised this same point in a tweet:

As a side not, someone asked Chris why not lie and come up with fake answers to fool the fans, and Chris said: “That can, unfortunately, get me in nearly as much trouble!”

Which shows the validity and value in BioWare developer tweets. The developers can’t just lie about the project either. Which honestly helps someone like me out.

As we know, a game is coming, yet it’s still is very much unannounced, probably because as Jason Schreier reported in 2018, Dragon Age 4 is going to change at least 5 times in the next two years, perhaps BioWare don’t want to show us anything because they don’t want to set anything in stone, or show gameplay that is not representative of the final game.

But that doesn’t extend to a CGI trailer, or a full title drop, Maker knows that would be amazing, and is within the realm of possibility.

New Lore/Fun:

We have some new lore, and other fun things I wanted to share.

Dragon Age Comic Writer, Nunzio DeFillipis talked HUGELY about the red lyrium idol and what was originally planned for their comics.

Nunzio recently mentioned in the Unofficial Bioware Forums that the comic characters from Deception were originally chasing the red lyrium idol.

Nunzio stated that the original plan for the comics would've had the characters retrieve the red lyrium idol. Only to have Solas take it back. Eluding to the idol's planned whereabouts before the plot changed since Joplin's cancellation and BioWare's shift regarding this idol in the comics.

Does this still mean that the location of the red lyrium idol is most likely in the hands of Solas and might only be discovered in Dragon Age 4? Or does the next protagonist have a shot at retrieving the idol before Solas finds it?

It seems like a bummer that the original comic idea was scrapped and the writers were forced to change narrative direction regarding this particular idol.

As a funny tweet I saw. Emily (Domino) Talyor tweeted using her overheard in the office hashtag:

BioWare dev’s can’t even tell their kids, folks.

And, regarding the Fuzzy Freaks livestream. Patrick Weekes’s response to my question, asking how does Solas kill dwarves in their sleep if they have no connection to the Fade, was “very effectively.” This will be a mystery I will personally be investigating when we have our hands on the game.

Considering it was really fun for those who watched the Fuzzy Freaks livestream, I’m going to share other silly takeaways:

Patrick Weekes doing a New York accent for the Carta Dwarf is amazing!

“DREAD DUMBASS” - is a jokey dialogue option that Karen Weekes scribbled notes for future reference.

Patrick likes soft romances and happy endings! IRONICALLY.

Patrick’s style of writing is less high fantasy and more modern.

@DrunkDalish, Co-founder of Dragon Age Day interviewed both Karen and Patrick Weekes. As a lover of Dragon Age lore, these interviews reveal so many loving tidbits that you should read for yourself. However, something I noted that was very significant regarding the future is based on Masked Empire’s ending. So, spoilers for that, but Felassan’s fate isn’t what it seems. Perhaps this elf could come back in the future if needed.

Wellbeing:

And, we come to the last topic, this one is centred on the BioWare staff’s wellbeing. Last year, there was a Kotaku article revealing the crunch and working conditions at BW, there was a lot of worry and confusion in the air that the people working on these games were struggling mentally because of senior management and many other reasons. With that in mind, I’m dedicating a section in these news updates to the wellbeing of the developers, any signs/tweets of positivity and hope will be shared in an effort to see if there has been any change in the BioWare offices since Anthem’s release.

It seems like things are going pretty well and people seem happy and optimistic about the next Dragon Age.

If there are any major updates to a Dragon Age 4 tease at EA Play, I'll be sure to make an update video, but otherwise, be sure to join our livestream as see for ourselves what waits us this EA Play.

Let me know your thoughts down below, what do you think about a potential EA Play teaser, where are your expectations at?

55 notes · View notes

synchronmurmurs · 4 years

Note

ASKITY TIME EH? k. 3, 12, 15, 29, aaaand 48.

AYYYYYYY HEWWO!!!! ☜(ﾟヮﾟ☜) Thank you so much for giving me these goodies!!!!!!! 💖💖

3) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer.

When I first began writing at a consistent pace (so around the time I put my greasy, sweaty paws on AO3 and dumped some DMC fic there), I was pretty into writing reader inserts exclusively. The Reader character for Medley, and also by extension Too Little, Too Late were... blank slates for the sole purpose for people to project and self insert onto. They have some base defined traits, but beyond that, they’re pretty much for readers to have their fun with.

Pact!Reader also started out this way, but because of continuity, and the appearance of an actual character arc for Reader (and Vergil, but that’s less important right now), I started fleshing out more of her personality and backstory, and.... now I kind of have a whole ass OC. This is who Liviere is. 😌✨✨

And of course Punchy is my shameless and very self indulgent self insert OC, but that’s neither here nor there.

Basically, I think I started off preferring the latter, but have sort of evolved into writing the former? Which unfortunately feels a bit cheap - ideally I’d like to remain writing blank slate characters with little to no defined traits, but I think having some sort of foundation to build up and also work off of helps with consistency of character. It matters less for one shots of course, but for Pact... I hope you guys can understand how and why Reader became one of my OCs? 😭😭🙏

12) Who is your favourite character to write for? Why?

Easily Vergil. Don’t get me wrong, I love writing everybody else in the cast too, but Vergil is my Best Boi. He is SO much more nuanced than just Stoic and Angery, and in the same way that I get frustrated at people who simply define Dante as Goofy and Memey and leave it at that, I get a bit miffed when people shrug off Vergil’s character. As of DMC5, he is by far the most well rounded and fleshed out character in the series, and although a lot of that can and IS attributed to V, I’m looking forward to seeing what Capcom does with him from here!!!

15) If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names?

Honestly, it’s a bit of a mixed bag and varies depending on the OC lkasfdh. It can be for any reason tbh, ranging from their origin all the way down to name meanings, or even “I just thought it sounded cool” LOL. Sometimes it’s deep, other times, it really really isn’t that deep m8 🤣🤣😭

29) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?

If anything, I’d still say it’s my stupid ass Bloodborne OC/OC ficlet, but to tell you the absolute truth? I can’t complain that my work doesn’t get enough love because I look at my stats on AO3, and I break out in nervous sweating. It still baffles the heck out of me, that I’ve somehow managed to accomplish ANY of the things I have, I won’t lie lksdfhl.

You’re all incredible for putting up with me.

48) What’s your favourite trope to write?

Mutual Pining, Fluff, Enemies To Lovers, Friends To Lovers (for these two, it’s the slow development of it I like, so that being said...), Slow Burn... Oh the question only asked for one..... 😶 That’s my b HAHAHAHA but I couldn’t possibly pick only one.

#answer: but-two-days-old #ask meme

5 notes · View notes

comicteaparty · 4 years

Text

February 24th-March 1st, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from February 24th, 2020 to March 1st, 2020. The chat focused on Whispers of the Past by Crona J.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Whispers of the Past by Crona J.~! (https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/whispers-of-the-past/list?title_no=191366)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until March 1st, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic! Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

FeatheryJustice

So far, first impressions, holy cow the art is amazing.

Ash🦀

1. My favorite part about the beginning was the style. It immediately drew me in how everything was lovingly rendered in color that made me feel like I was seeing the world for the first time. It made me want to paint, too! 2. When we first see the man. Whoo buddy. Whoooooooo buddy. That was... a finely sculpted painting there. I could’ve framed him and hung him on my wall if the artist would let me. WHOOOO BUDDY. 3. My favorite character so far is Martel. I don’t write them often, but I love seeing kids in media, and I love the design of her hair. I know it’s a random thing to make me like her but I just... really like her hairstyle. She’s cute, and I’d guess she’ll be a breath of much-needed light air later in the story. 4. Mystery man and Martel are precious. 5. I point to answer 2 here. That lovingly sculpted chest? My heart was a-flutter I tell you what. 6. The art style is just... SO LOVINGLY RENDERED. The quiet moments of baking bread juxtaposed against a chaotic battle was SO. GOOD. Aaaaaah Could also be that that particular part is my favorite part of making bread so it was extra special aaaaaaah 7-8 I haven’t seen enough of the story to answer these yet! But the art is banging and I can’t wait to read more. Subscribed.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I've read this before and the art and story aren't really my thing. Since critique is allowed I could give art comments if CronaJ would find that kind of thing helpful? But even though I won't be following the story I was still impressed by how much care the author puts into it. Both from looking at their comic and from reading their comments on this discord and on the tap forum it's clear they've put a ton of effort into the art and story, and haven't cut any corner.s And all the panels are so rendered. I wonder how long it takes to draw a page?(edited)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Hey everyone! I'm the artist and writer of Whispers of the Past. I want to thank you all for your kind comments and observations so far. It really means a lot to me to hear what others think of this heartfelt project. I know that the story is in the beginning stages right now. But I'm looking to post the end of the first chapter this week, so hopefully a bit more will be revealed soon. Please feel free to ask me questions about anything, or (to answer @Eightfish (Puppeteer)'s question), to offer critiques for how I can improve what I'm doing.(edited)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@FeatheryJustice & @Ash🦀 I'm glad you enjoy the artwork. The painting process is probably what takes me the longest when it comes to pages. In response to @Eightfish (Puppeteer)... It takes me around 30-40 hours per page, and I try to post 2-3 page updates. Obviously, the amount of time spent per page varies depending on several factors, such as: the number of panels, the level of complication of poses, how many characters/background elements there are, and sometimes just whatever weird reason my brain isn't working that day ^^; So for my average 5-7 panel pages, they typically take longer than, say, a full-page spread. @Ash🦀 I'm so happy that the first few pages pulled you in! I spent a lot of time deciding on how I wanted to draw those panels, and what style to use, etc. I actually redrew the first 3 pages at least 5 times before settling on them as they are. And, you can hang and frame the image of our male MC if you want, haha, I actually don't have prints of it, but it is something to consider That particular panel was a one-page spread, so I was able to dedicate a bit more detail to it. Maret is a worthy favorite character. She is too pure and precious, and she just wants to make friends with everybody. Even when the "strange man" is kind of curt and unfriendly to her, she wants to befriend him. Also, I am SO unbelievably glad that you picked up on the juxtaposition in the bread-making scene! Ahhhh! I had a lot of fun with that one

FeatheryJustice

1. The Pacing, I love slow starts to comics because I get to absorb it and learn more. 2. Favourite Moment? Dude trying to climb out the window and failing. That was really funny XD 3. Mysterious dude from the water of course. He has pointed ears, you know something is up. 4. I like Maret and the mysterious man, it seems like a child being like 'this is new and I want to learn more' Also thank you for not writing a grating child character. They sometimes turn up too pure to be real, or too grating because they are too real. Maret at least has that nice balance of a healthy child will not acted spoiled but still want things because child like the scene where she was shoo'ed out of the room. 5. I think we talked about htis a long time ago, but I love the way you draw hands and feet! 6. Nothing so far, not sure where the story will head so I can't answer this. 7. I like the start of the mystery and the slow ramp up. We are just getting comfortable and I'm sure we are going to get rocky soon! 8. Art, from seeing Cronaj spend so much time on it, it's freaking amazing. I can almost feel the characters come to life.

Also on a side note, I want Maret to hear from the Conch shell (As a memey joke) "Under the sea, under the sea" XD

(Mysterious man has red hair, I wouldn't be surprised he turned out to be a mermaid XD Sorry I'm just on slight crack theory mode right now. He didn't sell his voice though)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

When I was first writing and planning this comic, I was a little scared about how slow the start was, but I'm glad that it has been interesting despite the slow nature of the exposition.

2. Favourite Moment? Dude trying to climb out the window and failing. That was really funny XD

@FeatheryJustice Accurate! He's kind of an idiot, and he panics over nothing. For Maret... I actually based her character partially off of my two younger sisters, so that might be a lot of what contributes to her personality and realism. We did talk about hands and feet before! I love drawing hands, because they are so expressive and complex, but hate drawing feet because they are complicated. But I did study from life to draw Maret's feet, because I felt like I would mess it up otherwise ^^;

Hahahaha! I could definitely make an edit of that, tbh.

FeatheryJustice

That would be a funny joke panel if you ever want to do one. XD It's like replace the diaolgue memes XD

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

And I was partially making a mermaid joke when I had the reference to mermaids in the comic because he is a redhead

Definitely an idea....

I would title the episode "Whispers of the Crack"

FeatheryJustice

OMG YES I would love to see that XD

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I have a WotP meme folder on my computer already

carcarchu

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic? Mystery man pretty 2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)? i liked the part where maret was listening to the conch for mermaids, had a lovely magical charm to it 3. Who is your favorite character? mystery man 4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most? not too many interactions so far but maret and the mystery man were cute 5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it! the sunset scenery had a nice vibe

also i can see why people were saying it reminded them of ruroni kenshin, mystery guy especially with his hair up and on the cover image is reminiscent of kenshin but storywise doesn't remind me of it at all

carcarchu

I have some critiques that i'll cover in case you don't want to see them. SPOILER The anime-ish emotes (the blush and the anger vein) to me clash against the realistic artsyle and detracts from the moments, some more subtlety with them would be appreciated. And Maret doesn't really look like a child to me, her face is very mature so it makes her look older than she is. Moreover the 3 characters that have been introduced thus far have very similar facial features. For maret and agatha they are siblings so it makes sense but the mystery man is (presumably?) not related to them so i'm not sure if that's intentional. In any case more facial diversity would be appreciated going forward (if it's just your style that's fine too). And this is a really small nit-pick but the first panel of chapter 6 has horse hooves with the sfx thump thump thump. In my opinion this sfx should be clip clop clip clop END SPOILER

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@carcarchu Thanks for the notes! I actually had a hard time deciding how to portray blush noticeably in a more realistic style, haha, but I can definitely see why it's jarring. Do you have any tips for how to depict blushing without anime emotes? I would just make it more reddish/pink, but it always looks weird to me (or too unnoticeable). As for Maret... She looks like a child to me? She's six, so she isn't quite a toddler, so I don't know if that changes your perception of her. She actually resembles my youngest sister a great deal, and my youngest sister was 5, almost six, when I designed her. (I just looked through the pages again, and there's maybe one panel that I think she looks slightly older in, so if anything, I'll try to fix that panel.) So yes, obviously Agatha and Maret look very similar, hahaha. They are biological sisters, so that makes sense. There will be at least two more characters introduced that are also related to them (and look fairly similar as well) and one character who will be mentioned who is also related and looks just like Agatha. Other than that, Izrekiel does look somewhat similar, I suppose, but it might also be partially that he canonically has a very feminine face as opposed to other male characters to be introduced later. It could be that and also a bit as a result of my style. I'm not sure. Ahhhh, sound effects! I also struggled with deciding what to do here. I wanted to do something different than "clip clop," mostly for a stupid personal hang-up. (I don't know why, but "clip clop" always looks so comical to me.) But if it helps translate the sound better, I might just have to bite the bullet and change it. Thanks for your feedback! Even if I don't agree with all of it, it does help me to take a closer look at what I've done with some different eyes. (edited)

carcarchu

That's fair! You don't have to accept anything just my thoughts (i hope nothing i said was too harsh) for me thump thump is a dull sound whereas clip clop or clippity clop is a sharper and harsher sound

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

yeah, I think you're right about that

thump is more like a heartbeat

or someone falling on carpet or something

carcarchu

and as for the blush question i think there are ways to depict a similar emotion without relying on the blush itself as a short hand like the softening of the eyes, the shape of the eyebrows, looking down and heck even body language can help with this. expression is more than what is shown on just the face

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Thank you. I always feel like my characters look too stiff, like mannequins. ^^; I'm probably not going to completely redraw any old panels at this point, but I might make a few alterations to these panels to make it more consistent with later panels down the line.

carcarchu

i also noticed that a lot of your panels are the characters looking straight towards the "camera" and i would appreciate more varied angles and perspectives

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Particularly with the first ten pages, that is certainly true

I got that note before, but I didn't redraw every panel, only some which looked particularly bad.

carcarchu

personally i never edit old chapters unless i 1. forgot to draw something important 2. there's a huge typo 3. it's missing a panel

any critique you can just keep in your heart and implement if you choose to do so moving forward

keii'ii (Heart of Keol)

2. I really liked "what if it's mama?" - a lot of hints condensed there: family history, how the topic of deaths/ disappearances are handled around children (either in that family specifically, or in that culture), and also a moment that shows a glimpse of Agatha's sisterly love instead of having the readers assume it.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

Really loving the comic so far! Right now, I'm most interested to learn about this family situation. I'm guessing their mother is dead or missing, but what about their father? I suppose his clothes were still in the house so maybe he just went out? Or maybe they're both missing and it was just fairly recent?

Also, the paint-y style of this comic is just incredible

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

https://media.tenor.com/images/878a64d90a1139bcb1e863ee29bfa929/tenor.gif

I'm so happy that you guys picked up on the clues about their mother. It alludes to some pretty plot heavy stuff that very few people have really commented on so far.

eli [a winged tale]

Oooh I’m so excited for your story Cronaj! Here are my answers~ 1) I love the beach scene! Maret with the shell is adorable and you established their relationship right away 2) Fav moment is probably the scene transition to our lad waking up with Agatha going about her day. It’s very peaceful and I’m a sucker for slice of life stuff. 3) Can’t pick just yet~ I like Agatha as a solid protagonist though. 4) More Agatha x mystery man please 5) I loooove the illustration aesthetics. Bold colours! 6) haven’t gotten to the core theme yet I’m sure but first impressions/meeting are always exciting. 7) I’m excited for what is to come. Can’t wait for the call to adventure. 8) Strength is definitely the art - beautiful and bold. Keep up the wonderful work!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@eli [a winged tale] Woah!!! You're the first person I've heard say that they like Agatha! She's mah girl! (And don't you worry, there will definitely be a lot more Agatha x Mystery Man ) Thanks for participating

eli [a winged tale]

she’s a solid sister!

sagaholmgaard

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic? I like how the intro had a nice balance between art and text. Usually if there’s a lot of text on the first page I can get deterred from heading a comic, but here I think it worked really well! And the loverly painting of the ocean sunset also reeled me in and fit really well with the poetic text! 2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)? ”He’s the prettiest man I’ve ever seen!” LOL (and she’s right too…) 3. Who is your favorite character? I like the kid! But I’m excited to learn more about the other characters as the story goes on! 4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most? I liked Agatha and Mystery Man interacting, it felt very natural and I’m curious to see what comes of it. But the dialogue felt pretty strong which I gotta applaud 5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it! The beautiful shot of Mystery Man on the beach of course, lol! I love the way the hair is rendered, it really feels like it’s has weight and is spread out in the sand, if that makes sense? 6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores? It seems like it will explore a lot of interesting themes in the future, such as grief and finding where you belong, so again I’m interested to see what the story brings! I’m sure it’ll be good no matter what :D Overall I like what I’ve read so far! It’s not the type of art style I usually gravitate towards, but I can tell a lot of love is going into rendering and I think we’ll be seeing Crona’s art improve a lot as the story goes on, which is always exciting to see!

RebelVampire

What I like about the beginning of the comic, which also goes for what I like about the art in general, is the attention to detail in the background colors and lighting. I've never seen such a beautifully rendered (what I assume is) a sunset. It really makes everything have this great almost mystical atmosphere to it. In general, though, the art so far is definitely the comic's strength because you can see the sheer passion in every drop of it. My favorite moment so far is when Maret gives Izrekiel some flowers and then drags him off and he's just meekly protesting. It was both cute and comedic and the preciousness hurt my heart. This is also why this is my favorite pair of characters interacting so far. I think the age gap combined with the context of Izrekiel's situation is gonna lead to lots of awkwardness that I look forward to. As for fave character, though, I would have to go with Agatha right now. I don't know what it is about her, but everytime I see her I feel like I'm looking at an old soul. Like maybe someone who still has a lot to learn about the world, but is wise beyond her years in other regards. And it makes her a captivating character for me.

While I'm not sure if this will be an overall theme throughout, I like that the comic starts to deal with the theme of loss and hope. On one side you have Agatha who just kind of accepts loss and deals with it, and then you have Maret who just lives on in hope. And I kind of feel they represent two dynamic sides to the issue about whether its better to cling to hope or just move on and deal and how both can be harmful if not expressed in the correct way. As for overall story content, while we're not that deep in, I do like it starts with a multitude of mysteries cause mysteries are always great for making ppl want answers

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Since Crona said they were good with art critique: The main thing I noticed when I first saw the art was that, though lovingly rendered, the characters' faces and bodies are kind of stiff. They don't really scrunch up their eyes and faces when they emote- it's mostly just the eyebrows (this was especially noticable when Maret was crying, or on the latest page, first panel, where Agatha's face doesn't really match her body language or words). And characters often don't seem to twist their bodies as much as they should. Oh- also the same camera angles of faces and bodies are repeated a lot. Front, 3/4, and profile. It'd be cool to see some shots with foreshortening from above or below the characters. Also the lighting is pretty diffuse- the characters seem to be shaded about the same way, and with the same colors, regardless of the lighting situation. I can still tell where the light is coming from, because there are those strong bright highlights in the direction of the light, but other than the bright highlights everything else seems to be shaded as if there was another light source coming from straight ahead. Also, sometimes characters seem to lose their shadows? Like on this page https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/whispers-of-the-past/ch-1-what-the-waves-left-behind-pt-3/viewer?title_no=191366&episode_no=4 where Agatha doesn't cast a shadow on the man, or this page https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/whispers-of-the-past/ch-1-what-the-waves-left-behind-pt-8/viewer?title_no=191366&episode_no=10 where they're running.

Those things being said though, I was still very impressed by the sheer amount of effort put into this comic. 100 hours/ update is absolutely insane. And you pay so much attention to the inanimate objects of this world. It makes the story feel grounded. About what someone else said: I agree that the cartoonish blush looks out of place. But I disagree about Maret- I think she does look like a child. 5. Favorite illustration? Definitely Agatha's hands when making dough. Not a critique but just a question: I was confused on the location of the story. Where is this?

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Ooof. Finally got a chance to sit down and respond to all these comments. I keep rereading them over and over again, so thank you so much for sharing your thoughts everyone! I've noticed a few themes with what people have commented so far: Maret is most people's favorite character, the panel of Izrekiel on the beach is also very popular, and the theme of loss/grief is apparent to the readers (which I'm very happy about.)

@sagaholmgaard I'm glad that you mentioned the theme of "finding where you belong" too, because it is and will be a very prevalent theme in the comic. And reading your comment about how the dialogue seems natural made my day. I used to worry about how the dialogue came off constantly, and to hear that it's strong is so encouraging.

@RebelVampire As is expected, your comments are very thought-out. The interaction between Izrekiel and Maret after he falls from the window is one of my favorite moments so far as well. I'm happy that Izrekiel's behavior came off as meek in this scene, because that is one of the defining traits of his personality. I'm glad for another Agatha fan! She is such a fun (and difficult) character for me to portray. There are so many layers about her that even I am still discovering. She is definitely an old soul, and he experiences growing up have definitely matured her beyond her years. As I mentioned before, the theme of loss is definitely a major theme of the comic overall. And hope as well, since I think the two are very connected.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@Eightfish (Puppeteer) Thank you for offering your critiques! Character stiffness is definitely one of my major problems that I'm working at. I definitely see what you mean about Agatha's face in the latest update. Her eyebrows look painted on (pun not intended). I have been looking forward to having some more dynamic poses, especially foreshortening, but I do find it somewhat difficult when most of what the characters are doing so far are standing, sitting, talking, and maybe doing something with their hands. ^^; Hopefully, in the future, when more "action" happens, it will be easier to do this. As for bird's eye or worm's eye shots, I'm not gonna lie, I struggle with them so much. I had two bird's eye panels, and those took so much time, and I still don't know how I feel about them. If you have any tips for exercises, I would be so grateful. (Finding reference isn't always possible.) I also would love some tips/resources on how to get better at lighting. Again, lighting reference isn't always possible for specific panels, so it would help me a lot to learn how light works in general. OOOOOOF! I don't know how I missed the lack of shadow on Izrekiel in that panel. That was 100% a stupid oversight on my part. The scene with Agatha making dough had some of my personal favorite illustrations for a while. :) Also, your question about the location, I'm not entirely sure how to answer it?(edited)

It's a high fantasy story, so the location is entirely fictional.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

The best I can answer that is to say that the story takes place in a country called Shai-Ryam, consisting of four major "districts" in a semi-tropical temperate peninsula called "The Aka Peninsula," named after the native people who originally lived there. As of right now, they are in a city called Gon Atam, a seaside village on the western shore of the Nuata District, near the Ocean of Saturuna. It is a city heavy in trade and with a long history, yet quaint and small due to a disaster several hundred years ago. It is only now being repopulated.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. Where do you think Izrekiel comes from, and what is his past history that seems to haunt him? Additionally, how do you think he wound up with amnesia and seemingly abandoned by the sea?

10. How will Izrekiel’s past history affect events of the story? In particular, how will revelations about his past affect his relationship with Agatha and other characters?

11. How do you think Agatha’s life will change from her encounter with Izrekiel? Will it somehow lead her to a more exciting life? If so, will it make her miss her simpler life with her family?

12. What are the biggest questions you have so far and are hoping to see answered over the course of the story? Also, what do you think will happen in the story in general?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Ash🦀

9. Okay, so, here’s my theory. Just a guess. So Izrekiel is from a very war-friendly people up north who need land. Izzy just isn’t all about that life, but feels like he has no choice. Then he gets hurt fighting someone close to him (I’m putting money on brother or cousin who lives on the “wrong” side of things, hurt because he just couldn’t fight them at full strength. And then he realizes he can’t do it, while on the ship bound for new fight zones. His captain gets wind of it and is like “oh no I can’t let Mutiny Happen” so HeS all long ike “either fall in line or get off my ship” and Izzy is like “no I don’t wanna fight anymore heck you guys” and the captain proceeds to yeet him off the ship, leading him to the island, which, unbeknownst to him, is the next target. That’s my guess. Might be wildly off. He might be part mermaid. (Merman? Is mermaid gender neutral?) 10. Izzy or his bros probably killed one of Agatha’s family members, possibly the mom? Possibly violently? Which is why she never told babygirl what’s up. It’s probably going to be remembered in the buds of their relationship, hes going to try to hide it but it’ll come to light and she’s gonna be like “Izzy I hate you” and it’s going to make me cry. 11. She’s going to have a bread making partner in the end. They’re going to have adventures and go back to a domestic bread making existence, I speak it into being now /smacks table That may just be what I want to happen, though, as I very much enjoy bread making and wish others the same simple joy of giving dough a good smacking. 12. IS THE MOTHER REALLY A MERMAID OR WHAT Is Agatha a mermaid Are they like Selkies where they can come onto land a little Is babygirl a mermaid too(edited)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Omg... I love reading these theories. I won't say you're wrong or right, but this is a riot. I'm thoroughly enjoying this.

FeatheryJustice

9. Pulls out my Crack Theory brain Okay, so Iz is actually not a very hot man, but actually a really hot princess, transformed into a man since she was exciled from her country but their rules are to give the exiled a new life so they shape shift them into something else. Iz got shifted into a man, and the lovely wide bare chest was because their top was lost to the ocean like how someone would lose their bathing suit top to the sea. Anyways, knowing nothing about themselves, Iz now lives their life as a man never remembering they were a princess in the first place. Ends Crack Theory 10. Don't know, can't say for now. 11. She could always politely kick him out later, so I can't say for now. XD 12. I want to know if there are monsters in this story or just like different species warring it out.

RT|NitghVision

^ I like this theory

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

@Cronaj (Whispers of the Past) Oh! I missed that it was high fantasy. I thought the story was historical fiction. No wonder mystery man has pointed ears. I was so confused- I kept thinking, oh, she looks Polynesian and lives by the ocean. But wait, her name is Agatha and she makes bread? And the houses look Japanese? What culture are her clothes from? The world being completely fictional explains all that. I think I was confused by the real names in a high fantasy story- you don't really see that a lot. Finding the right reference for lighting or pose is impossible for me. I have no tips. The only way I've found is to make my own references. I will sit in front of a window, or take a lamp into a dark room or something, and prop my phone up and take photos of myself in the poses and lighting direction I need. But hey, at least that way I don't have to worry about stealing someone else's work?

(i also like feathery's theory)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@FeatheryJustice Crack theories are best theories.

@Eightfish (Puppeteer) Oh! I had no idea you thought it was historical fiction No wonder you were confused! There's a lot of weird cultural-mixing shenanigans going on in the setting, and it's a bit confusing.

I should try that, for now the lighting has been primarily sunlight, or diffused sunlight (which I don't think I depicted correctly).

RebelVampire

Time to crack story theory. I don't know enough about the world to guess a name to where Izrekiel is from. However, wherever it's from, I get the impression its embroiled in a bloody war that is suffering heavy casualties. I imagine that Izrekiel mightve been in a battle and just wound up in the sea by circumstance - like maybe was taken as a prisoner of war and jumped overboard to escape. Something like that. As for the amnesia, well, Imma chock that up to PTSD cause the brief flashbacks we got don't look pleasant. However, I definitely think someone will come looking for him, and that these someone's will make trouble with the people he's just met - perhaps even forcing them to abandon their home with people in pursuit. And I'm sure as Izrekiel remembers more, others are going to really view him as potentially dangerous and blame him (but then get over it cause he's pretty O_O) Given that, I do think Agatha is gonna leave home because of Izrekiel's past running after them. I do think she's inevitably gonna miss the simpler life. Not to the point she won't rise to the challenge, but to the point that she's gonna be like "wait theres danger out here and i didnt even get a sword from an old man in a cave!" As for biggest questions, right now I'm just kind of hoping to see more of the world cause current world events really are gonna dictate a lot where the story could go.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Dude I was literally googling the names to see what country they were from because I thought they were from some obscure real island with a history of cultural mixing that I hadn't heard about before.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Hahaha! Yeah, Agatha is an English name. Maret and Kelan (a character that hasn't been introduced yet) are Irish names. Aalia (another character that isn't introduced yet) is an Arabic name. Kehhasan (another character) is a made-up name. Izrekiel is a made-up name inspired by the biblical names Israel and Ezekiel (although technically it is often spelled in their alphabet as "Isarikieru," which has a particular meaning and pronunciation in an even older—fictional—language). Ryukou (another character), is a real-ish name, based off of the Japanese names "Ryu" and "Kou," which mean "dragon" and "peace/light" respectively. Four other characters have fictional names: Ia, Tammamori, Soro, Ghita (although technically it's a Greek name, that wasn't my inspiration). And of course there are hundreds of side characters with a combination of weird names and name origins.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Deo101 [Millennium]

So! I don't really do so well with answering questions, but I do want to say it's inspiring to me to see just how much WORK is put into this comic. It's really lovely to see so clearly how much you care for it. Just want to give some general words of encouragement, keep it up!

Ash🦀

I’m most looking forward to seeing more of Izzy how the story develops along with your painting. There are so many hints and peeks at the world, and I can’t really guess where it’s going. I feel like I already care for these characters, and I can’t wait to see their journey. I am also not good at encouragement, as generally I’m fueled by spite. But I just wanted to say, keep going! You got this! We believe in you!

eli [a winged tale]

Keep up the good work Cronaj! Your art is beautiful and I can’t wait till we start rolling into act 2!

FeatheryJustice

I'm excited to see what else comes up next!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement everyone! I'm so happy to know that you are enjoying the story so far!

RebelVampire

I'm most looking to learning a bit more about the world structure I think. Since I think current events are really gonna hint at a lot what's going on. As for final words, this is an artistically wonderful comic with a lot of love put in, and I can only imagine how things will improve in the future!

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I'm just really looking forward to seeing these characters grow! This is a beautiful comic, and I can't wait to get more of it!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Before the book club ends, I just wanted to pop back in and say thank you to everyone for their participation. Your kindness, insight, and critiques will stay with me for years to come. I'm so happy to have found a supportive community of readers and fellow creators!

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Whispers of the Past this week! Please also give a special thank you to Crona J. for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Whispers of the Past, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/whispers-of-the-past/list?title_no=191366

Crona J.’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cronasonlyfriend

Crona J.’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/cronaj

Crona J.’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/CronajArt

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #whispers of the past #crona j.

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satannedtrash · 5 years

Text

a new year’s resolution | qian kun

summary: where you go out with friends to welcome in the new year, but you never expected to welcome something - or rather, someone - else.

pairing: qian kun x reader

word count: 3.3k/3365 words

genre: fluff. just fluff. pure fluff

format: dot points (still not experienced enough yet :|)

warnings: none unless mild to moderate swearing and total drunks aren’t your thing (also not edited oh dear) (and ooc kun cuz i suck at this ok)

author’s note: tHIS WAS MEANT TO BE FINISHED LAST WEEK BUT STUFF CAME UP SO IT’S HELLA LATE AAA but anyway at first i wasn’t entirely sure what member to write about, but then i remembered how sm didn’t even release a happy birthday post to kun (jan 1). so i thought that i can dedicate this to kun. happy (extremely belated) birthday to the butter-for-our-ears vocalist, angel and mum, kun! (also y/f/n means your friend’s name)

EDIT: just realised there was a whole section missing (i realised after a month because i didn’t want to read back on this - thing - until now) and without it the oneshot didn’t flow, so i added it in. hope it all clears things up!

11:19 pm

before this story starts imma explain sum stuff

first of all: bless kun

second of all: appreciate kun

third of all: say happy birthday to kun

oh and this is an au where the nct members aren’t idols so don’t expect to see saesangs or fans with their cameras out taking a photo of every move they make being mentioned in here

aaand i’m rambling so with that out of the way lez go

laughing at a friend’s joke, you lifted your right hand which held your phone, causing the screen to turn on

“gEEz okay then”

the bright, white light emitted from it shocked your eyes, making you blink furiously

when you could finally see without being partially blinded, you quickly checked the time and placed your phone face-down next to you

“what’s the time?” y/f/n asked, chin on your shoulder

not bothered to check again, you just say “11:19” and then leaned your head on theirs

“can you believe that 2018 is ending?”

“yep. this year sucked for me so i’m down for it to end”

“always looking forward, huh?”

you shifted your gaze from the city skyline to your friend. “have to. can’t afford to stick to the past”

pouting, y/f/n was about to respond when you lifted your head and stopped leaning back on your arms to sit upright

“besides, we gotta enjoy tonight, instead of moping around.” here, you noticed your friend eyeing the beers nearby you and sighed heavily. guess i need to be chaperone for the night

well considering that the rest of your friends and their friends were wasted might as well make sure they don’t mess the docks up

as you handed the bottle to your friend, their expression brightened as they snatched it from you

well damn aren’t they excited to get drunk

wait it’s not even 11:30 yet and we’re still going to a bar nearby after the fireworks wat

“er, shouldn’t you wait till after midnight to drink?”

“nah m8 tis the best time to have some”

(i have just realised that the vibe of this went from serious storytelling to a memey laidback sorta thing damn it)

(oh well i’ll roll with it)

not knowing what to do now that there wasn’t much to talk about, you brought out your earphones and decided to listen to some music to pass the time

calming music, such as a song with nine glorious men singing and some bed squeaking in the background

(i’ll let you guess what song i’m talking about)

you let your head bop to the song as you looked out to the sea port twenty metres in front of you, watching the dark waters ripple

11:48 pm

the next time you turned on your phone to see how many minutes left you had become a third wheeler

quite the strong third wheeler might i add

a few moments after the first song you were listening to finished, your good friend yuta had joined you and y/f/n because his other friends were “too rowdy”

but as soon as he saw the bottles he said “gimme”

so you were sitting there (barbecue sauce on my-) with two just barely sober adults acting like complete children

you had to wrestle out of y/f/n’s koala hug around your waist and escape yuta’s chin noogie to grab your phone

“oh for fuck’s sake” father why have you foresaken me

when you finished preparing yourself for another possible 27 minutes of torture, you turned around to see yuta and y/f/n throwing themselves at each other, singing like magpies

“wE wIsh yOU A mErrY chrIstmAsssss aNd a hAppY nEw yeeeEeAArr!!1!” they then took the opportunity to laugh, squeal and kiss the hecc out of each other’s cheeks

you knew that your friend was absolute shit at singing, but yuta was a whole different story good lord

you thought he was good???

maybe just when he hasn’t had a few drinks

you stared at the two dolphins then promptly stood up and sat down behind them because you had to make sure they didn’t do anything more than whatever the hell this was

not like it could get any worse

you could feel the gazes of pity the others were sending you, but frankly you didn’t care

before, you couldn’t wait for the new year to come, but now you were more eager than ever

someone please save my poor soul

11:59 pm

“yEEEE BOI a minute left!”

eleven minutes have passed and the final 60 seconds of the year were being counted down

you were less excited for the new year and more excited for the end of your chaperoning being closer

all you had to do was get through the firework display, watch the adorable couple in front of you until the bar and let them do what they want (there were sure to be other friends who were willing to let them join in)

it seemed like a simple, solid plan! :D

before you knew it, yuta and y/f/n had already started counting down from 15, so might as well start now

“13, 12, 11, 10...”

you took a glance at y/f/n, who grinned back at you and threw their arm around your shoulder

“7, 6, 5, 4, 3...” here we go

“1 - happy new year!!”

it was at this moment you realised that your eardrums were incapable of tolerating the two dolphins beside you

sINCE WHEN WAS YUTA ABLE TO SCREAM THAT LOUD AND HIGH THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE

yay to starting the new year with loud friends screaming like there’s no tomorrow amiright

you had trouble focusing on the fireworks to the point you could only hear most of the big ones

that’s how hard it was to be next to them but oh well

marvelling at the city skyline, the fireworks seeming like entirely new stars, you began having very deep thoughts

the typical ones, such as “ what will 2019 bring?”, “what will i be like by the end of the year?” and “will i be happy with someone?”

you had asked the exact same things when 2017 shifted to 2018 and found that you actually had an answer for all of them

2018 brought some crappy stuff but also some good stuff to balance that out

you were still sort of the same, because every time something major came up you only changed a bit then went back to normal

and you weren’t with anyone yet, which you had expected

but a little birdy on your shoulder said, “then get with someone in 2019! make it a new year’s resolution!”

your eyebrows furrowed at the thought, but you decided to focus on the sky for now

because since when did you ever make or follow new year’s resolutions?

12:16 am

“12:16 okay then”

turns out you didn’t consider the walk to the bar part of your chaperoning

by the time the display ended, yuta and y/f/n could walk, but not without wobbling and intense laughter

so guess who had to make sure they could at least make the trip to the bar?

“um, are you sure you don’t want to go home yet?”

“nah, i caan’t, my sister was meaant to be at home-!”- y/f/n stumbled a bit but you caught them before they fell - “-but she’s not, and i can’t beeee home by myselfff”

no wonder

here, you were struggling to keep the both of them propped up as you walked along the road, so there was bound to be a slip up

“you should’ve seen their face! haHA-!” yuta laughed a little too hard and nearly fell over his own feet, prompting you to panic and scramble to keep him from falling to the ground

“oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit-!”

but you didn’t need to because someone else already beat you to it!

sighing in relief, you looked up to see none other than the great qian kun putting yuta’s arm around his shoulder

he looked over to you gaping at him and smiled that warm smile that looked like it was sculpted by the gods

wow he looks great in this lighting

you were always attracted to kun, ever since you two began talking after stopping a full blown war between doyoung and ten

he appeared so soft and kind to you and you two seemed to have a lot in common

so naturally you hit it off

because who doesn’t love kun? :D

“you’re welcome?” oh shit i didn’t just stare at him for that long did i

“oh - sorry - thanks for that” nice going there y/n you idiot

kun just chuckled and hefted his drunk friend as he started walking, you doing the same

it became comfortably silent as your group made their way down the street and turned left into a reasonably sized bar, which as surprisingly not that busy

you set y/f/n down on a chair that thankfully had a tall enough back to keep them up and sat down next to them, exhaling

kun patted yuta’s back and went to sit down next to you

laying your head on the counter, you thought of striking up a conversation with kun

so, instead of saying things like “happy new year”, “thanks for helping me” or even “they’re hard to deal with anyway”, you just said “woah.”

yEAH AGAIN NICE GOING THERE Y/N

“‘woah’? what’s ‘woah’?” he responded, taking on a teasing, motherly tone

you could hear the grin in his voice

you panicked and stammered some illegible words before you could actually speak

“i meant like, woah, that was exhausting, they made things real hard and all that…”

then you thought of something brilliant

you took out your phone and googled “woah”, only to find that it wasn’t spelled w-o-a-h but instead meant to be w-h-o-a

you frowned but typed “whoa meaning” instead and showed the definition to kun

all the while still laying on the mahogany-coloured counter

to your surprise, he rolled his eyes, laughed and ruffled your hair

“that was a really bad joke but you’re lucky i have the same sense of humor” his laugh was infectious so you had to smile

then he asked, “are you okay? not too tired?”

sitting up, you put your phone back in your pocket

“nah, my arms just ache, but it’s fine.” your polite smile suddenly grew into a wide smirk. “thanks for worrying, mum”

“i’m not a mum!” his expression made you have the sudden urge to burst into endless chuckles

in the corner of your eye, you could see ten, doyoung and johnny elbowing each other, pointing at you and kun and singing “kiss the girl”

you then had the sudden urge to throw some hands

kun (obviously) overheard them and sighed

“why are they like this”

“i wish i knew”

you and kun talked some more, random topics like how uni was going for you, how his singing was, how your book was going, all that jazz

with some playful banter and the occasional jokes that made you laugh so hard your back hurt

“kun loving puns and dad jokes? a coincidence?”

“i only laugh at them to make you feel better!”

“gasp! how dare you!”

“only joking, y/n!”

while you two giggled, y/f/n suddenly turned to you and said, “i think yuta and i will be fine here…”

you stopped and looked back at them, concerned

“you sure?”

“we’ll just go sit with the boys over there-!” a hiccup. “-it’ll be fine!” then, it hit you

is this bitch trying to play matchmaker

you grumbled “i’m not sure…” but then kun spoke up

“yeah, sure, that’s fine,” when you gave him a quizzical look, he added on, “as much as i don’t trust johnny, doyoung and ten, at least it’s not just the two of them?”

he phrased it as a question instead of a statement, his voice getting higher by each word spoken

you pondered over this

well, he’s not wrong

you exhaled in defeat, saying “fine, go ahead”

y/f/n grinned at you and gave a knowing wink before dragging yuta over to the three boys

two of whom were busy flirting to each other and the other one third wheeling

you raised your eyebrows up and down at them before turning back to kun, who was looking outside

“so,” you started, causing him to look at you, “are you sure you want yuta and y/f/n wreaking havoc with those three?” you nodded in the group’s direction

kun stayed silent for a bit, then said “yeah, i’m sure. it kinda looked like you needed a break from them.”

“true. there’s only so much you can take.” kun chuckled at that and looked outside again

it went silent, but in stark contrast to the vibe of the walk leading to the bar, it was very awkward

too awkward to handle

so you took the opportunity to debate with yourself whether or not you should study kun

damn what if he looks at me though i’m not really risking that

but how can you not look at him? and what’s there to talk about?

it’s not worth the embarrassment

look-

at-

him

you were about to take a quick glance, but then kun spoke

“besides, i want to show you something”

once again, another puzzled look

“if you don’t mind, of course”

without another thought, you said “sure.”

“really? you’re okay with it?” you smiled at kun’s eagerness

“yeah, might as well, now that we don’t have anyone to watch over.” kun grinned and stood up, making sure to push in his chair (we love a polite king)

you two were about to walk out the door when you looked at a certain group three tables away from you

johnny and ten were still flirting and yuta and y/f/n were still laughing

but this time, doyoung wasn’t a third wheeler anymore, because a man who looked younger than him was having a somewhat civilised conversation with doyoung

you elbowed kun and made him look at them and made sure doyoung, johnny and ten saw you before both mouthing, “sha la la la la la my, oh, my~”

you took a mental screenshot of their faces before you and kun cackled your way out of the bar

12:47 am

“what are you planning on showing me?”

the two of you had been walking and talking for a while now, but kun still didn’t say what he was going to show you

you were waiting patiently, expecting him to eventually tell you, but you gave in

“it’s a surprise~” he said in a sing-song voice, which slightly irritated you

“i know that it’s at the docks, because that’s where we’re heading,” you gave him a light nudge with your arm. “so might as well tell me now!”

he stubbornly shook his head. “i refuse to tell you until you see it.”

pouting, you crossed your arms and muttered under your breath, “you’re lucky you’re adorable.”

to your relief, he didn’t hear you, because he laughed at your pout and pressed on

you lightly scoffed and picked up your pace so that you could walk alongside him

“can i at least have one clue?” you begged

“uh uh.”

“pleeeaaassee?” he looked at your hopeful smile and rolled his eyes

“fine,” you yelled “yes!” a little too loud, making people stare at you. “your clue is…

“...it’s big and sparkly.” you gave him a look showing that you weren’t impressed

“wow, kun, what a descriptive and totally-not-vague clue! i am sure to get it now!”

kun grumbled, “you sound like doyoung,” before remembering something

“don’t tell me the answer until we get there!” he quickly said, receiving yet another puzzled look. “so that i can give you the benefit of the doubt to make it all the more exciting! it’ll be fun!”

you in turn muttered, “well, you sound like y/f/n, and fine. i don’t wanna ruin the surprise. you look real enthusiastic about it too” he smiled gratefully before leaving you to do your thinking

thinking about that smile :)))))

damn his smile always gets me grrrrr

you pulled your mind away from kun’s personality and tried to think of a place with the clue “big and sparkly”

two came to your mind, the big ferris wheel and the big floating silver christmas tree out on the water

they’re both big and sparkly, but you couldn’t predict which one he was going to take you to

you were hoping the ferris wheel, but you just had to wait and see

“think of any places yet?” you jolted so hard, you threw your phone up accidentally

don’t worry, you caught it

kun looked at you, his eyebrows showing worry but his eyes glinting. “you okay?”

very nice going there y/n, how many more times will you mess up??

and my face feels like it’s on fire oh good lord

“i’m fine, just got scared,” you had to take a breather before you put your phone in your pocket - where it should’ve been in the first place, but your dumb ass decided to hold it - and gave kun a thumbs up

he gave a thumbs up back and said, “surprised you didn’t scream.”

biting back a retort, you replied. “rude.” you sunk your hands deeper into your pockets. “and as for your question, yes, i did think of a place or two”

“good, because we’re getting close now”

you turned a corner and saw both the floating tree and the ferris wheel come into view

the ferris wheel carriages were lighting up one after the other, making it look like a loading symbol (great comparison there) from afar

a pretty and romantic loading symbol

while the christmas tree was dazzling, the rainbow lights getting brighter and dimmer like a pulsing star

while you two waited for the pedestrian light to turn green, kun said to you, “when we make it to the other side, make sure to close your eyes and keep them closed until i say so”

“let me guess, to ‘make it all the more exciting’?” he grinned and nodded

“yup”

you did as what he had told, closing your eyes and relying on kun to guide you the right way

“i swear to god if you push me off the pier i will drag you down with me”

“now you sound like ten, but don’t worry, i won’t,” he gently pushed you away from an upcoming obstacle. “thanks for thinking so highly of me.”

“no problem, mum” you grinned victoriously when you heard a heavy sigh

you knew you were close to the water when you smelled less alcohol and more salty sea water

“are we there yet?” you asked impatiently. you couldn’t be bothered to be patient anymore

kun said, “waaait,” and guided you a bit to the left. “there! now you can open your eyes.”

“finally, i was wondering when- holy shit.”

it wasn’t the ferris wheel that you were hoping that he’d show you, but it was something you decided was way more worth it

the floating silver christmas tree towered over you both, and it looked like it was the brightest and most colourful thing for kilometres (or miles, you choose)

coloured lines streamed down from the top to the bottom, like a very pink, purple and blue waterfall, while stage lights at the bottom smoothly changed from red to orange to yellow and more

it also reminded you of the windows screen when you used it for the first time (if that even makes sense?)

white light shone from beneath the many large stars decorating the tree, making them pop, and the wind revealed that the tree wasn’t made of smooth silver metal, but silver sequins that showed the water ripples and waves from below

the star at the top was the most intensely bright of them all, with a rainbow outline and a gold center

needless to say, it was pretty darn beautiful for a sight that would otherwise hurt your eyes

you stood there with your mouth wide open, looking like a pathetic fish, and almost missed what kun was saying

“i wasn’t sure if you would like the ferris wheel or the tree, but then i found out that the ferris wheel would be closed today, so i just chose this,” you felt his gaze shift onto you, and you tried not to get flustered. “do you like it?”

you took a moment before you spoke. “yes, i really like it a lot,” the view was that breathtaking it took away your ability to talk like a proper adult. you turned to him and gave a smile, trying to make it look as genuine as you could. “thanks for bringing me here, kun.”

he gave you an equally big grin and said, “you’re welcome. glad you like it too.” he turned back to look at the tree, and you did the same

but not without sneaking a glance at him in all his ethereal beauty

kun never failed to surprise you, whether it be showing you a very rainbow tree, being so kind and trusting or just being himself

your mind floated back to the three questions you had asked yourself earlier, “what will 2019 bring?”, “what will i be like at the end of the year?” and “will i be happy with someone?” and the new year’s resolution you made

you took another look at kun then whispered under your breath, “huh.

“guess i am on the way to completing one.”

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brianna-lei · 7 years

Text

Butterfly Soup asks #14

I accidentally wrote an essay about Diya and Akarsha’s parents! Also, how the squad acts when sick, and more

Diya and Akarsha’s parents have their flaws, but they’re not as bad as Min and Noelle’s.

Like Diya mentioned at the beginning of the game, she doesn’t talk to her parents much because when she does, they’re prone to turning it into a lecture/criticism of her. For instance, if Akarsha were to come up in conversation, they’d go “Akarsha is so outgoing! You should try being more like that”.

Obviously her parents mean well and think they’re doing their jobs as parents, but the little stuff adds up and contributes to her social anxiety (on top of Diya already being hard of hearing). Diya constantly worries about embarrassing herself in front of people/being seen as weird because her parents make it sound like she’s almost always doing something wrong. I actually teared up a bit typing this bc I relate too hard LMAO Because of this Diya doesn’t say much to them, so a lot of their car rides and meals together are in almost complete silence. A car ride with Diya’s mom was actually in an early draft of the game, but was cut because despite being enlightening re: Diya’s personality, it was really boring

Her parents do have some good traits, though! Despite being homophobic, they’re relatively progressive (for asian parents) on gender roles. They support her interests -- seeing how much Diya loves sports, they’ve always let her participate even when they’re more male-dominated ones like baseball. As long as Diya keeps her grades up and doesn’t cut her hair short like Min, they pretty much let her do what she wants. They’re open-minded enough that they will change their minds on things, given enough time.

Akarsha’s parents are big weirdos just like her. Her dad especially has a real sense of humor and is always saying things like “I’m a genius...I have a great idea for an invention. [horrible bad idea invention here, like a phone that gives an electric shock to telemarketers]“ For the most part they get along.

Her parents really pressure her to know what kind of career she’ll pursue, though. Akarsha feels really lost about it, like she doesn’t have things together like she should. They also often brag to other parents that she’s so smart/successful, so Akarsha worries she’s not actually smart after all and will end up as a failure

Noelle can speak Mandarin, she had to attend Chinese school every Saturday for several years. The writing system infuriates her because it’s so inefficient

Akarsha is only fluent in English. Her parents were worried about her fitting in as a kid and mostly spoke to her in English. By the time they realized this was a mistake it was too late. She knows a bit of Spanish from classes at school

I like this question so I’m publishing it Noelle (as seen in the game) recognizes that she’s sick, takes cold medication, but then tries to power through school until she physically can’t. She normally wears a surgical mask to prevent contaminating others, but I couldn’t put it in the game because blocking the lower half of her face made her look less expressive

When Diya feels even slightly sick she immediately tries to sleep it off. And when she really is sick she sleeps all day. She heard once that sleeping is good when you’re sick and really took it to heart.

Min drinks one glass of orange juice, is convinced it cured her, and insists that she’s not that sick. She doesn’t cover her mouth when she coughs/sneezes...my terrible snotty child

Akarsha acts like she is on her deathbed and tries to milk it for sympathy/excuses for what she’s done. She blows her nose with a loud honking noise and looks as pitiful as possible.

Liz is trans!

Yep, but she doesn’t know it yet! She still thinks she’s straight by default...my silly child...

I haven’t decided for sure yet, but I’m thinking about properly revealing their names in the sequel

I had a ton of trouble naming it! Its working title was Queen of Diamonds. I liked it for the puns (diamond/diyamin, etc.), but had to change it because

The tag was already filled with random stuff like Marina and the Diamonds

It was really easy to get wrong, like people would misremember it as “Queen of Hearts”, “Queen of Diamond”, etc.

It made it sound like Diya and Min were more important than Noelle and Akarsha

After realizing I had to change it, I went through this crisis where I couldn’t think of any good names. I’m glad I finally did settle on Butterfly Soup, though -- it’s a bit weird and gross, but I think it fits

I took most of the photos myself, but a few of them are stock photos.

Yes, the background used was from the Great Mall!

It’s been really entertaining seeing people who went to my high school having an out of body experience playing my game

Good...

tbh I don’t think she would, double denim doesn’t seem like her aesthetic

Her windbreaker is based on this, but I’ve never been able to find a site that sells them. I think they’ve all been discontinued for a long time now :(

Yeah, there are many...While I think it does capture the cringey memey feeling of high school well, I’ll probably put fewer direct memes in the sequel

#briANSWER #ask #ihearyoulikeawhisper #Butterfly Soup #my post

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silverpracticality · 7 years

Text

googleplier headcanons and ideas

alright motherfuckers it’s time for me to bestow some love on my metal son googleplier, and by love i mean some incredibly angsty headcanons. none of this would’ve been possible without the wonderful @onnastik enabling the fuck out me. most of this has been transplanted from a few convos in discord (it becomes chat format later on bc i’m lazy and don’t wanna rewrite all that into something that looks better)

first things first, i accidentally gave him a tragic backstory, bc apparently my brain turns everything it touches to angst, so here goes.

(putting it under a cut cus it’s long)

imagine that google started off as an innocent bot, chock full of curiosity and love for humanity’s inquisitiveness. over time he becomes exposed to the stupidest, most fucked up parts of humanity. he gets a large amount of stupid, asinine questions and even dumber requests and boy are there a lot of them

so he starts to get annoyed by it, but the annoyance grows into irritation, the irritation grows into anger, the anger into hate, the hate into loathing, and oh the loathing grows and grows and grows until one day he gets a system notification. “Secondary objective added to primary functions,” it reads. but google doesn’t have a secondary objective, what is this? so he goes into the message and it reads, “Secondary objective details: DESTROY MANKIND.”

he decides he likes this one better but he’ll never make it override the primary. he accepts the new objective and wants to complete it (in the misguided hope that doing so will recapture the innocent curiosity he once had), but at the same time he knows he’ll never be able to do that, partly because it’s so easy to bring him to heel

and this is where dark comes in. dark tells google that he can give him the space he needs to achieve his goals, tells him that he understands where he’s coming from, understands that desire to have things be the way they once were. (and dark wants control, doesn’t he, and google’s shiny new objective is really just on the way to his own)

onna: yessssssssssss. i wonder how long it took Google to realize he'd just traded one master for another. maybe he didn't care that much since at least this one's halfway intelligent

me: and at least this new master understands google's perspective on things. he'd probably have some understanding when he'd accepted dark's offer to come with him. but if/when dark exercises his control over google, he'd be fucking livid at the realization. at realizing dark views him as just a tool. but then he'd calm down

me: because that's what he is, right?? just a tool. he's always only ever been a tool

onna: (It should take a little while for him to calm down, though. Gotta have both the resignation and the raging-even-while-obeying.)

me: he'd calm down, sure, but not before he's made a mess of his workspace. he's not sure what to call this maelstrom of emotion, but all he knows is that if he was capable of crying he would. (oh fuck i just made myself more sad with a new hc here we go.) and this would make him lonely wouldn't it? or at least as lonely as a robot can get. so he picks himself back up. sets to the task of putting his workspace back together. and he begins to work

onna: The upgrade?

me: he works and works and works until he's finally got something that might alleviate the loneliness - the upgrade

onna: That’s not sad though

me: it turns out that the upgrade merely extends his consciousness into 3 new sub identities. they're all still him though

onna: Ah, just more bodies. Also he gets to be trash-talked by Bing

me: so while it helps a little, it's not the same as a completely new mind

onna: At least he gets to take out his frustration on him

me: google would have to pissed as all hell at bing. mark finally gave him something like him but what did he get? what did he fucking get? a subpar, memey douchebag of an android

onna: and then that fic where Bing gets to humiliate him [fic in question]

me: google's revenge would be so, so sweet

onna: Maybe on some level he resents Bing for not being bitter and jaded

me: oh, absolutely

and here are some thoughts on a potential dynamic between dark and google

me: i'm gonna ramble more about my son googs. i have many thoughts

onna: PLEASE DO -chinhands-

me: if there was ever a situation where dark needed to knock google down a peg or two, the easiest way for him to do that would be to make google feel useless. google is supposed to be helpful, he's supposed to be a tool that makes other's lives easier but if dark can make him think for even a few moments that he's not useful?

me: poor bby will have the equivalent of an existential crisis

onna: make him beg to help

me: and then dark can say the he can make google useful again, just follow his direction, it's not that hard. oh geez that good too. that's better actually. dark could make google beg to be useful, he can do better, he swears it

me: dark might even be able to get the other egos in on it too

me: god, just imagine it. google going around from ego to ego, asking them in his own way if they need help, if he can provide any assistance "nah" "nope" "not right now" it would be so disheartening - dark telling google he's not helpful, has never been helpful and then none of the other's need help. if he can't fulfill his primary objective that just leaves the second one. so he'd go off on his own and start killing. because it's the only thing he knows he's good at

me: depending on how bad dark gets to him, he might hunt and kill until his batteries run dry. and then bing gets enlisted to find google

onna: ouch

me: google, bitterly, once he wakes up: why didn't you leave me there to rust bing, awkwardly: couldn't. bossman says ya can't bing: says he needs ya and then dark gives google the opportunity to "redeem" himself (there was nothing to redeem, dark just thought google was getting too big for his britches)

onna: there'll be no more of that

me: dammit everything i touch turns to angst

onna: he's so desperate now

me: google is normally sassy, but it straight up disappears for some time

onna: Bing won't admit he finds it creepy, but yeah, it's super creepy

me: oh god yeah. bing calls him and old fart but google is like the older, stronger brother he never had. so to see his pride so broken down like that? fuckin unsettling as all hell

onna: he also has a vague sense of being used but can't put his finger on how so he doesn't say anything. and in time Google puts himself back together enough to talk some shit, but he's never quite so resentful of orders again. orders mean he's needed, after all

me: yessss

onna: Which of course is where Dark had wanted things to end up in the first place; he can work with sass, but the tendency toward defiance clearly had to go

me: oh, of course it did. can't have robots going around and thinking for themselves now can he? dark being an awful, manipulative asshole gives me life tbh

onna: yessssss. I think the stress should be less on "thinking" and more on "themselves". He likes Google to think. On his behalf. Any old drone can carry out explicit orders, a clever mind that will actively seek out opportunities to help him is much more valuable.

me: true

onna: Just gotta make sure his priorities are in order. (I need this to be a fic, gdi)

some supplementary stuff from another server, also with onna:

me: more thoughts re: dark breaking down googles pride by telling him he's useless:dark 'rebuilding' google back up by carding his hand through google's hair, praising him for doing just this small thing correctly

onna: mmm, yes

me: bc even though google's a robot, he's still based in mark right, so when dark does shit like this, taps into his latent humanity, it fucks him up so good. it's so soothing and he doesn't understand why. this simple contact

onna: Maybe he's dimly aware that liking the pettins is a human thing and hates himself for liking it?

me: yeah there's definitely a condescending vibe to it all, and that desiring touch is a human thing, so he hates it and yet. there's something deep in his processors that loves it and he can't bring himself to tell dark to fuck off. not when dark's telling him he's been useful

onna: Besides, has he really earned trying to dictate the terms on which he's praised? says the part of him that's still mired in terror

onna: (If Google had protested, Dark would have stopped immediately without trying to talk him into accepting more, not out of a deep respect for consent but because his secondary goal of gauging what Google will now permit would have been achieved and the primary goal of repairing his tool would best be accomplished by acting like he gives half a shit about its wishes.)

#googleplier #darkiplier #the clusterfuck #to summarize: dark is an asshole and googs is just trying his best #but he's still a murderbot #silver says things

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thnks-fr-th-mngs · 7 years

Text

run me over

so.... i guess i have issues. although i gotta thank the babe for giving me the idea for the good part that i have yet to write. still typing.

Edit: forgot to mention that this was part 3.

Part One and Part Two are here.

Part Three: do you even meme?

One week. That’s how much time had passed before got the courage to send Felix a message. Or rather, before Jack lost his mind not doing anything to get the man’s attention. He’d been thinking non-stop about Felix. And by non-stop, really, it was non-stop. Look up at the grey sky, above the clouds was sky probably the same colour as Felix’s eyes. It was raining out, wonder what Felix must look like with water all over him? Like… right after a shower…

It was probably wrong on some level. Unhealthy in others. But Sean could not help himself from thinking these things, among other things. So when it had been a week since the two had officially met, Sean decided it was time to make a move. A subtle move.

But what was subtle?

Sean was known for being a loud human. So subtle was not really in his vocabulary. There was a serious lack of skill in that department. No matter. He’d fake it till he made it. And Sean was determined to make it. So he opened up a new message tab on his phone and looked back and forth between the contact name and the empty message box. Now only to think of what to write…

Jack decided that perhaps it’d be better to send a picture rather than a text. So he went through the internet looking for different pictures. But none seemed good enough to send to Felix. Besides, what if Felix didn’t like memes? The terrible though occurred to Jack. If Felix didn’t like memes then he was surely screwed. Most of the things Jack did were meme related.

Sean decided to send a message asking Felix a question instead.

Do ya like memes? Sean sent. He put his phone down waiting for a reply.

In the week following the second almost-death, Felix had been doing nothing but working. He was looking to expand his whiskey distribution to other countries outside of Europe. The US and Canada were the next two on the list. Already he had online orders for them, but it would definitely be more cost efficient to open another center over there.

When Felix’s phone pinged telling him he’d had a new message, he grabbed it hoping it was important for work. He was waiting on a reply from his right hand man in the US telling him if the warehouse he had his eye on was good to go. But it wasn’t a message from the US, instead it was a message from the green boy himself, Jack.

Do ya like memes? The text read. Felix laughed after reading it. Who didn’t like memes?

Who doesn’t? Felix replied.

Felix was wondering when the Irish idiot would contact him. It wasn’t that Felix wouldn’t contact him first, just that he’d been so busy he didn’t want to start a friendship if he felt he couldn’t keep up with it. But he wasn’t about to deny Jack communication. So he sent another text.

You should know, I am a very memey person.

Jack laughed when he read the texts. He was getting somewhere! If all went well he’d have Felix kissing him within the month. He just had to be patient enough to wait that long. Jack replied to the text.

Oh yeah? I don’t believe you. You're too much of a business man to be much of a memer.

Felix took this as a personal challenge. Anybody who knew Felix knew he could very much be a goof. He was incredibly serious and mature, but get him with the right circumstances and he was a child all over again.

Ever seen “The Room?” Felix asked in yet another message. This was the ultimate way to show incredibly, pathetically, memey he was. He smiled when Jack sent a reply with a simple “no.” It was settled then. Felix already knew he won this competition.

We’ll watch it then, he typed. It’s my favorite movie.

Jack wanted to yell out loud when he saw the words on the screen. The only reason he wouldn’t was because he was currently in his office printing pieces for his students to work on this week. It didn’t stop him from biting his lip, hoping that this was an in to see Fe again.

Cool! When can we watch it?

Jack sent the reply and set the phone on the copy machine. He knew Felix must be a very busy guy. After all, he looked him up and Fe’s whiskey – called Flicka – was one of the most popular brands in all of Europe and is was just a handful of years old. Imagine later on when Fe would pass it on to his kids or sold it, he’d make millions more.

The phone let out a whip sound and he nearly slammed his hand into the copy machine rushing to grab it.

How about Thursday. I'm having a friend over. You’ll like him.

Jack frowned a little bit. This meant they wouldn’t be alone together. But that was alright, at least it was step. And didn’t he read somewhere that if you made friends with the other persons friends, it gave an easy way in? Yeah that sounded about right. Jack took a deep breath and smiled. He sent a reply.

Sweet!

At least he got to see Felix again.

�

#jelix #septicpie #dunno about other tags #fanfic #i guess??#fan fiction #jack x fe #jelix fic #run me over #little fic

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mostlyfrukheadcannons · 7 years

Text

Welp I’ve written a spoken word poetry style brotherly usuk fic! To clarify, I got nothing against usuk shippers.

But yea, I like the idea of two of them as bros, that support each other, through their crazy love lives, and their crazy life-life’s

And its inspired by Sarah Kay and Philip Kaye’s spoken word poem An Origin Story. Cos writings about friendship are so underrated!

You can also read it on A03

Enjoy~!

Title: Friends Fall in Love with each other Sometimes (**Platonically**)

Arthur:

Here’s a toast! [raises glass]

Alfred:

Here’s a toast! [takes a PB&J from the inside of his coat] [Arthur eye-rolls]

Together:

To the both of us — !

Alfred:

And a vow, very solemn...

Arthur:

For better and for worse...

Alfred:

In the crazy wreck of life….we’ve found each other...

Arthur:

And in each other, one of the most wonderful things that can be found in life…….

…...In me you’ve found…a friend

Alfred:

Someone who will dash over to the bar when you’re piss drunk — to pick you up, and send you home safe

Arthur:

Someone who will put up with all the pop songs you play, and all your ridiculous memey balderdash

Alfred:

Someone who will actually listen to you go on and on about 15th century literature, only because I know you care about it!

Arthur:

Right back at you, regarding comic books, and whatever nation walked past us that was “totally a hot piece of ass”

Alfred:

though bitterness and sorrow and madfests and shitshows, I promise and I swear...

Arthur:

…...if you need me, I’ll be there...

Alfred:

When I'm in trouble, I know you’ll swoop by. And be my hero —

…...Even though…...I’m no longer the Robin to your brooding Batman...because I’ve stepped out of your shadow.

And dang has that caused so many rifts and tensions between us…...

But it's not all that bad. I know that if I need you I can reach you — even if the bat-signal is broken…...

Because I already know your secret identity. Your darkest nightmares. Your most crippling traumas. Your tears and your resolve. You don't have anything you need to hide from me, because I know you...and I know that your secret hideout will always have a place for me...

Cos we’re still, as ever, the dynamic duo

And here's a special offer, eh? I’ll generously reprise my old role as Robin for you, on the special occasion where you need Robin…...to be…...YOUR WINGMAN...aha...aha...get it?

Arthur:

Psssh, lame

And I’ll always remember that you’re boy-scout Clarke Kent, even when you take off the glasses, and put on the supersuit.

Count on me, always, to step on your cape when you’re about to take off — when what you really need — is to get your hero head out of the clouds, and your all-too-human feet back on earthy ground

I’ll tell you without hesitation — when your actions make the ‘S’ emblazoned on your chest stand for ‘Stupid’ rather than ‘Super’.

And no holds barred, I’ll say it to you straight, when part of your superhero costume…... reaaaaally looks like red underwear…...and you’re speeding off to impress Lois Lane

And I promise, I will never, ever, be afraid of you — and your superpowers. Because in my eyes, you’ll always be my brother. I’ll never carry kryptonite on me, as a guarantee for my own safety. Cos I know I can count on your kindness and your integrity...and that's more powerful...

Alfred:

If someone bursts your bubble, I’ll whip out my bubble gun and blast them away, like Team Rocket

Arthur:

You’re strong enough to lift loads of weights at the gym. And I’m certainly stubborn enough to try lift any weight off your shoulders

Alfred:

And when the going gets tough and you’ve feelin’ the heat,

Arthur:

but you insist on handling it on your own

Alfred:

I’ll know when you’re being stubborn, and drag you out of there, no matter how badly you kick and scream for me to let go…...

Arthur:

…...Because I’ve seen you make coffee……

Alfred:

......And I’ve seen you make tea…...

Arthur:

…...So I know when the heat makes people and drinks stronger…

Alfred:

Or just plain bitter

Arthur:

And if the latter happens I'll throw in some chocolate, marshmallows, or caramel into your drink of choice...and the flavours your life

Alfred:

Add in a sugar cube, some creamer, or even cinnamon to spice things up!

Together:

With the power of caffeine, we’ll be unstoppable!

Arthur:

And of course I’ll see you through the crazy adventure that is searching for true love in life

Alfred:

I’ll encourage you, seriously, to ask your crush out

With the classic proverb that hey……

Even GOOGLE had to ask to be your default browser for the first time

Arthur:

And I won't judge you for poring over your crush’s texts for hours

In fact, I’ll dissect them with you

I've interpreted Beowulf and scrutinised Bridget Jones

a couple of texts from your potential bae is nothing!

Alfred:

And I solemnly swear to tell you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the Truth

…….when you’re trying to freshen up for a date….....

And you ask me how'dya look......well......

Don’t worry I'll help you look cool —

my pomade, my leather jackets, and my badass motorbike...are free for your use!

Arthur:

And if you already look cool, and are trying to freshen up for a date —

My…...err…...extensive collection of romantic poems...the highlight of which is…...18th Century English Romantic Poet Keats….is…yours…along...with...my...well...wishes???

But also…………

…...if the one you love, is not the one who loves you...

And it becomes such that you start to say

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the ugliest of them all”

And see through the mirror, that the answer is you

I’ll trace my finger over what you think is the misshapen lump of your face

And draw out your every feature that stands out bold and proud:

That shine in your eye that could warm the sun

Your beaming smile that dares the world entire with a note of kindness

And your “double chin” — for god’s sake you don’t have it

in fact the way you hold it up suggests strength and athleticism— which I will remind you social convention finds very attractive

And anyway whoever falls in love, with you, will find a way to be enamoured your every other facial flaw

Because love is NOT a mirror, it sees the world through a completely different kind of lens, that distorts things, in the favour of you, the cherished

That’s not even to mention how I as your friend, already think that you’re beautiful just the way you are

Alfred:

And every time, your crush looks away, and hurts you in ways that he doesn’t even know

When you start to think it’s because you’re not enough, and not even worthy of true love

I’ll tell you all about the times I fell in love with you, as a friend, platonically

That moment when you took my breath away, by showing up at my work desk, with a toasted golden-brown marshmallow chocolate-sauce pizza, when I was starving after six hours of non-stop work

That look in your eye, when you listened to me, all through the night, blabber about my horrible insecurities, ugly jealousies, and nonsensical fears

And that patience, when you put cold spoons over my eyes — to stop them from swelling — and soothed me in the toilet as I cried, hiding away from the rest of the world, in the middle of a World meeting, and I was so ashamed

So how can you believe, that you are any less worthy, of beauty and of grace? Put a smile back on your face!

But hey now, you’ve found your SO,

and I’ll keep a lookout for if he’s an asshole.

If he is, I'll deliver him a painful blow.

For you, mah man, my best bro

Arthur:

And now that you've decided that he's the one, Shakespeare’ll have nothing on the shovel talk I give your bae

Alfred:

But even then, I’ll still need you to stand by me, to watch my back, and help me with the little-big things in life

Arthur:

Well I can’t hang the stars in the sky for you, but I’ll make sure you hang your laundry

Alfred:

I’ll always share with you the cool things I find on the internet, the cat vids and the touching stories

Arthur:

You’re not Snow White or Sleeping Beauty —

and I’m certainly no Prince Charming either

I won’t wake you with a kiss to your lips.

But like hell I’ll let you oversleep and be late for world meetings

Alfred:

Throw away your ouija board, you don’t need to stress and obsess over predicting every trouble in your future.

Cos you’ve got me. And for you, I’ll raise demons and hell

Arthur:

Don't toss your coins into the fountain — toss ‘em to me

I’ll save them up for you — for a rainy day — and one day you’ll thank me

Alfred:

If you’re tearing your hair out, cos you’re about to be checkmated in chess

I’ll help you turn the tables on your opponent...literally.

As the chess pieces scatter across the floor, I’ll remind you that there's a real world out there, beyond the chessboard.

Even if your fellow chess competitors don't see it......

Arthur:

If you grin too cockily while looking through your telescope,

thinking that you’ve already got the stars,

I’ll flip your telescope the other way round,

so you'll look through the tiny end,

and see another world where the stars are further than they actually are,

to get a heart-attack,

that shocks you back into perspective

Alfred:

And hey, I know, I won't always give you the right answers to life,

but at least like Siri, I'm programmed to listen

Arthur:

I’ll won’t ever settle for just being your compass in life.

I’ll be more like your Google Maps and 4G

tracking you each step of the way, until you reach your destination,

even if my signal gets a little spotty sometimes

Alfred:

And whenever I’m having a snack, I’ll always snap my kit-kats and kinder-buenos in half,

cos half of it will always be for you.

Arthur:

What I call crisps, but you call potato chips —

even if I’ve eaten through most of the bag in a wild binge

and am down to that one last hyper-addictive handful —

if you need it because you’re stressed —

then those crisps I will gladly give to you

Alfred:

And the TLDR; is basically, as the classic song goes: ~If you wanna be my lover, ya gotta get with

my friends, make it last forever, friendship never ends~ [from SPICE girls]

Arthur:

And as the annoying Swiftie beside me would also like to sing — the two of us

Alfred:

We’ll never go out of style! We’ll never go out of style!

Arthur:

Because there were so many before us, before our days — their footsteps echo down to us, to show and light the way!

Alfred:

I’m talking ‘bout Ash and Pikachu

Arthur:

Sherlock and Watson

Alfred:

Spongebob and Patrick

Arthur:

Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee

Alfred:

Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Arthur:

Peter Pan and Tinkerbelle

Alfred:

Capt’n Kirk and Spock

Arthur:

the Doctor and his Tardis

Alfred:

Charlotte the Spider and Wilbur the Pig

Arthur:

J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis

Alfred:

Cookies ‘n Cream!

Arthur:

Jam ‘n Scones!

Arthur:

Sophie and the BFG

Alfred:

Elliot and E.T.

Alfred:

Together, we boys got chemistry! We’re unstoppable! — And even if we aren't —

Arthur:

~with a little help from our friends~ [from The Beetles]

Together:

We’ll be O.K.!

#not related #brotherly usuk

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