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onepiece-oc-archives · 6 months

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Oda-approved questions to help build your OC

If you head to the One Piece Wiki page of the Straw Hats and take a look at the Miscellaneous section, you'll find a lot of trivia questions about the Straw Hats that Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, has answered in the Q&A portion attached to some manga chapters, called an SBS. I like to call those answers "Straw Hat Fun Facts" and I love them, because they work really well if you want to flesh out your OC and give them a bit more life and depth.

So, even if you're not planning on making your OC a Straw Hat, these questions might still be helpful for you to think about.

The way I'm gonna structure this post for the sake of avoiding spoilers is I'm gonna list all current LA Straw Hats with their facts and all future confirmed Straw Hats will have their facts mentioned without their name, if it makes sense to mention them. That way you can avoid duplicates within the crew if you want to do that and still have no clue about who's gonna join. I'm also gonna comment on how the various fun facts apply to the live action adaptation wherever applicable.

If you're looking for people's birthdays, I'm gonna make another post about them, don't you worry. But you won't find them here.

Animal Resemblances

Luffy: Monkey

Zoro: Shark/Tiger

Nami: Cat

Usopp: Armadillo/Chameleon

Sanji: Duck/Bighorn Sheep

Others: Reindeer, Red Panda, Crane, Falcon, Bull, Rhinoceros, Horse, Giraffe, Whale Shark, Bear

I don't think any of them were mentioned or referenced just yet in the live action, aside from Luffy's name having the word Monkey in it, but that doesn't count. I'm pretty sure we'll get some hints in the future though since these just have such great potential for easter eggs.

Specific Numbers

Now, this is a category that's a bit more complicated because each Straw Hat has at least two signature numbers, for very different reasons. Everyone has a main number based on when they joined, with Luffy being number 1. The second number is the same but it skips Luffy, making Zoro number 1, but this version is rarely used, if ever at all. Then there's the possibility of a Straw Hat getting a number assigned to them based on a pun, whether that be based on their name, their devil fruit, or something entirely different. I'll explain pun numbers in a bracket.

Luffy: 01, 56 (go-mu)

Zoro: 02/01

Nami: 03/02, 73 (na-mi)

Usopp: 04/03

Sani: 05/04, 32 (san-ji), 59 (ko-kku = cook)

Others: 06/05 - 10/09, 110, 87, 26, 43

Now, you may ask: "Evie, I wanna have a pun number for my OC, how do they work?" I got you, buddy. You can make your own pun numbers using a technique called goroawase, using this handy chart I made based on a Wikipedia chart. Everything I added is in (brackets) and consists of variants that would technically be possible due to my own understanding of goroawase, but might not be commonly used.

On a very basic level, all you have to do to create your pun number is to grab the readings from this table and glue them together. I took some work off your shoulders by adding the phonetic changes you can use, indicated by the arrows. You can also only use the first syllable of a reading or add or remove an n at the end of readings that end in vowels or n's. As you can see whith Sanji's ko-kku, you can duplicate consonants, and you can also turn short vowels into long vowels (tsu -> tsū, for example), both for spelling reasons. If you need to transcribe a c, either use an s or a k (or whatever else fits), depending on the pronunciation.

Here are some examples with my OCs:

Cora: 96 (ko-ra) or 25510 (a-ka-i-to - would be very unusual due to its number of digits, but I think I'll use this as a plot device in a future fic!)

Luna: 67 (lu-na/ru-na)

Inari: 576 (i-na-ri) or 53 (ka-mi)

Create away!

Specific Colors

This was in the live action! And I think we'll definitely see something similar again later.

You can't really see it that well but here are Luffy, Nami and Zoro lit up in their respective colors - red, orange and green respectively! I tried to take a better screenshot but, alas, Netflix will not let me.

Luffy: red (aka)

Zoro: green (midori)

Nami: orange (orenjī)

Usopp: yellow (kiiro)

Sanji: blue (ao)

Others: pink (pinku), purple (murasaki), light blue (mizuiro), white (shiro), black (kuro), ochre (ōdoiro)

As you can see, we pretty much have the whole rainbow here, which makes picking a unique color for your OC pretty hard, BUT it's completely allowed to use different shades of the same color (see: blue vs light blue), which is why I listed the Japanese color names for you. I did some digging and it turns out that these are the names of some of Japan's traditional colors. Those traditional colors don’t always match up with what my impression of the character's color is, BUT I made this handy little graphic for you:

In case there are any animal-related characters around and for those of you who like describing smells in their fanfic (me too, me too), this might be very useful!

These are all of the Straw Hats' specific colors (top row) according to the overview of Japanese traditional colors I linked for you above, their color names underlined with my perception of what color Oda might actually have been referring to, in modern terms. As for the grey names beneath orange and pink, those are the traditional colors from the overview that I used to replace the romanized English colors, based on what the first translation that popped up was. The columns directly underneath are a selection of different shades of the same color, also with their names. It just goes to show that you have a huge variety of colors to choose from for your OC - Japan's traditional colors alone are about 1,000 different colors and you can definitely play with hex codes some more. So, go wild!

Specific Smells

Luffy: meat

Zoro: steel (and probably blood, let’s be honest)

Nami: mikan (tangerines, essentially) and money

Usopp: gunpowder

I'd say everyone smells of the sea at least a little bit, realistically speaking, since they are pirates.

Sanji: cigarettes and seafood (and I'm willing to bet he wears some type of cologne or aftershave or something)

Favourite Type of Island and Season

Luffy: summer but he also loves snow, basically everywhere with meat

Zoro: autumn on an autumn island

Nami: summer on a spring island

Usopp: summer on an autumn island

Favourite Food

Sanji: a spoilery gag, so get creative!

We either directly see some of these in the live action or can easily guess.

Luffy: any kind of meat

Zoro: white rice (specifically in the shape of onigiri aka rice balls), sea beast meat, any food that compliments sake (though he's also pretty fond of beer, at least in the live action)

Nami: mikans (tangerines) and most other fruits

Usopp: pike from an autumn island and other fish of the season

Sanji: spicy sea food pasta, food that compliments black tea

Others: not really relevant but maybe interesting; cotton candy, chocolate, sweet stuff in general, sandwiches, not-too-sweet cakes, food that compliments coffee, basically anything that you can find at McDonald's, curry, mozoku seaweed with vinegar and fruits

Basically, Sanji gets to juggle around a whole lot of different flavours and cultural influences - and he does it really well and finds a way to make everything special, by the way! He generally favors the ladies in his cooking though.

Least Favourite Food

Even Sanji can't make them like everything. Their reasons for not liking something are very different, so they probably still eat it, especially if it's used in something Sanji prepared because he's their cook

Luffy: Cherry pie

Zoro: Chocolate (yes, chocolate! Adds a lot more depth to the scene of him eating Rika's rice balls, doesn't it?) - it's too sweet

Nami: orangette (candied orange peels) - she prefers actual fruit

Usopp: mushrooms - he got sick once

Sanji: konjac (Japanese konjac gel is usually made by mixing flour from the konjac plant with seaweed; it pretty much tastes like nothing and is used mainly for its texture) - it's not nutritious

Others: anything spicy, chewing gum, marshmallows, lemons, parfait

As a Family

This is part of the reason why Oda said there would be no romances within the crew in canon - but this is fandom, he has no power here. Feel free to ignore any of these roles and substitute canon with your own

Luffy: fourth son

Zoro: first son

Nami: daughter

Usopp: third son

Sanji: second son

Others: another child, parents and grandparents

Real-world Nationalities

Now, this is interesting, because these played a part in how the Straw Hats were cast for the live action!

Luffy: Brazilian (Mexican in the live action)

Zoro: Japanese

Nami: Swedish (her actress is American, but she was kept as white)

Usopp: unspecified African (his actor is Jamaican-American, so it sort of checks out)

Sanji: French (Sanji's actor is very international, but he's not French - I do believe Sanji is still supposed to be at least part French in the live action though, at least he still has an affinity for the language and he may very well have grown up multilingual)

Others: Canadian, Russian, American, Austrian, Indian

Inner Brain

Basically: What are the five words their brain/subconscious circles around?

Luffy: meat, meat, meat, meat, pirate king

Zoro: sword, sword, strength, train, sleep

Nami: money, money, money, money, beauty

Usopp: warrior, lies, lies, run, run

Suited Flower

Sanji: You guessed it, it's a spoiler-y gag. But, to summarize, he thinks about cooking and women

These were actually answered by one of the voice actresses for the anime (except for Luffy and Zoro's alternates) but they're Oda-approved! I know fanfic writers love flower language, so rejoice!

Luffy: cosmos, sunflower

Zoro: thistle, wisteria

Nami: sunflower

Usopp: daisy

Sanji: delphinium

Others: tulip, casablanca, anemone, rose, peony

Blood Type

-> this is a topic for another post since it's more of a life fact than a fun fact, isn't it? Maybe, I'll put the blood types in with the birthdays and make a sort of Straw Hat info post?

How often do they bathe?

Bathe, not shower, I would assume. Zoro showers after training... right?

Luffy: once a week

Zoro: once a week

Nami: every day

Usopp: once every three days

Sanji: every day

Typical Hours of Sleep

The only reference to this we have in the live action is Zoro's habit of napping. An interesting thing to note is that the Straw Hats' sleep schedules largely coincide in just such a way that someone is always awake - except for during one hour. Maybe this really is a coincidence or maybe this is a habit they built while travelling together. They do still have night watches though, I believe. But that means there's usually always someone to keep the night watch company :)

Luffy: no set time, but usually sleeps around 5 hours

Zoro: 4am to 7am (3 hours) + naps

Nami: 11pm to 7am (8 hours)

Usopp: 1am to 8am (7 hours)

Sanji: 12am to 5am (5 hours)

In conclusion, more than half of the crew has no idea what a healthy sleep schedule is. This is a pattern that's gonna continue, by the way...

Suitable Careers

Basically what careers they would have if they weren't pirates. Their actual careers in-universe also don't count.

Luffy: firefighter

Zoro: police officer (I will not accept this slander)

Nami: childcare worker

Usopp: graphic designer

Sanji: beauty salon worker

Others: elementary school teacher, cabin attendant, pilot, detective, train station attendant

Cooking Specialities

What are they best at cooking? According to Usopp in the live action, none of the guys besides Sanji can even boil water, so I'm willing to assume Sanji may have taught them a little. A lot. Not Luffy though. He's still a disaster.

Luffy: raw meat on a plate

Zoro: sashimi - a dish consisting of variously cut raw fish and meat

Nami: roasted duck with mikan sauce

Usopp: fish and chips

Sanji: literally anything, but he prefers seafood

Who would win a 50m sprint?

Only the current Straw Hats count here.

Fifth: Nami

Fourth: Usopp (he's already fairly fast, mind you)

Third: Zoro, slowed down because he got lost (but I still don’t think he could beat the people ranked higher than him, I'm sorry, Oda)

Second: Luffy

First: Sanji

Alcohol Tolerance

Another very useful one for fanfics! Tolerance doesn't equal how much they like drinking, by the way. I'd be willing to bet that the Straw Hats' alcohol tolerances got toned down in the live action, or at least Zoro's, judging by him stating how he woke up under a table once. With his manga-level tolerance, he would have had to drink gallons worth of alcoholic beverages before that happened. Still, I think the ranking holds up.

Fifth: Luffy

Fourth: Usopp

Third: Sanji

Second: Nami

First: Zoro

And finally one last bit that doesn't really fit anywhere else:

Sanji is currently the most qualified to give the crew a haircut. This makes sense if you read about his alternative career choice earlier and due to him generally putting a lot of thought into appearances.

So, that's it! Hope these help you!

#one piece #one piece live action #one piece netflix #one piece oc #opla oc #no spoilers #topic: basics

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rockitmans · 3 months

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Hello, I really enjoy your writing and you seem confident in writing smut. Do you have any tips on how to go about it? I find is so awkward!

Hey thank you 😊 I am just a guy with a laptop but I can try my best to tell you some stuff that helps me.

First of all! My number one tip that everyone should follow IS that you really don't have to write smut if you don't want to. Probably obvious, but there's very few fics that actually require detailed smut and if it makes you uncomfy it may not be worth it. BUT I'm sure you know that already and are here for some actual advice so here we go.

Gonna get a tiny bit nsfw but not graphically. All this is advice only, nothing is ever a hard and fast rule, especially in writing. Take what you like and chuck out the rest. Other writers feel free to add on 💖

What's the point of the smut?

Personally I think smut is always better if it is conveying something about the characters or the story. If the point of it is just to be pwp that is absolutely fine ofc but if it's within a larger story what are you trying to convey? Desire for each other that's finally bubbled over? Connection and trust? Playfulness and fun?

Whatever the angle, try and keep that motivation in your mind. If the sex is about connection, focus on the internal feelings, lots of affectionate words between them, a lot of eye contact etc. If it's about that "I must have you now" passion, maybe it's quicker, choppier, more desperate and less talking.

Smut doesn't have to be hot to be good and valid in the story. Maybe it's sometimes deliberately bad sex. Maybe sometimes it's soft and sweet rather than steamy. Don't get too stressed trying to make it titillating (if I may use that word).

Character first

Following on from that. Think about your characters, especially in the context of the AU you've put them in if that's the case. Who would instigate? Who would take charge? If someone is very playful and jokey out of the bedroom, they'll probably take that energy into it. If they're serious and passionate, likewise.

I'm sure as a writer you've often thought that the characters sometimes just do their own thing without your input because you're in their head so much. Let that energy guide you through sex scenes as well. (I very accidentally set myself up for wall sex in one of my fics once because the characters would not shut up about it.)

Write about what you like

Especially for your first few attempts, write about stuff you enjoy. Whether that be in real life, fantasy or you just have an academic interest in. I've been called out multiple times for liking subby Blaine 😂 And yes! I do! I find it fun to write so that's why I write it.

Think about what specifically you enjoy about your scenario and express that on page. This should in turn lead to an enjoyable reading experience! If you're not sure what you like, read some smut and think about what parts of it appeal to you. Avoid writing kinks that squick you out.

It's about the fantasy

I wouldn't get too bogged down in mechanics. Especially of anal sex. Fanfiction is sort of fantasy and doesn't need to be incredibly realistic to be fun. By all means make sure you're conveying a sense of how your characters are positioned and how they are interacting but don't get into the weeds of minutiae if you don't need to. It's not a how-to guide and being too mechanical can remove the spice.

Invoke the five senses

General writing advice is to get all senses involved but it's just as important for smut. A few examples.

Sight: how their partner looks, their body, especially if it's your POV character's first time seeing them naked AND how that makes them feel. Lighting is a good visual way of setting the mood. Soft, romantic lighting for their first time? Candles for romance. Just in broad daylight in the middle of the kitchen for spontaneity.

Sound: Gasping, sighing, moaning, their partners voice. Are they talking? Laughing? Why? Are things going wrong or are they just giddy and excited? Is there people nearby that they can hear that adds to the thrill? Do they play music?

Smell: smells on the other person they've never noticed because they've never been that close before. I tend to avoid talking about unpleasant smells because it kind of takes you out of the moment. But washing powder, cologne, shampoo, all that stuff is golden.

Taste: I'm sure you can use your imagination on this one! The taste of their partners mouths when kissing, the taste of salt on their skin, the taste of them intimately

Touch: This one is so key! Are touches deliberate or incidental? Gentle or rough? What emotion does a certain touch invoke? Capturing sensation and mood can be more effective than pure description sometimes. And the touch doesn't just have to come from each other. What about the feel of the sheets? Toys? Are they having sex on a surface that is hard or rough?

Write scared

Posting smut is intimidating and a lil scary, especially the first time but probably several times after that as well. As the well known saying goes: Feel the fear and do it anyway. We all start somewhere and we are all constantly improving. If you are very brave you can ask for con crit but otherwise it's just a skill to hone like any other. I believe in you!

#sorry this got long #hope theres something there you can use!#asks #writing tips #i suppose #although i don't feel qualified

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stayarmytinyzenmoa-l · 10 months

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idk if you're still doing it buuut just in case ❛ the gods must be angry. i sense a storm brewing. ❜ with knight!jaemin please!

Yessss anon I'm definitely still doing these!

[Choose a prompt and send me an idol! I'll write a drabble for it]

The sounds of metal clashing against each other filled the training grounds. Knights of all classes and calibers were engrossed in sparring, their minds focused on their battles as if they were real, but none more focused than the captain of the Second Squadron, Na Jaemin. But, suddenly, a chill ran down his spine, something that not even the most ferocious of beasts could cause.

"Hey, what's up? Focus on the match!" Jeno scolded him. Jaemin looked around the arena. "Jaem? Are you okay?" Jeno wiped the sweat from his brow while he watched Jaemin look up at the sky.

"The gods must be angry. I sense a storm brewing," Jaemin replies cryptically and Jeno shudders.

"Don't... don't say prophecies like that, it might come true," Jeno looks up worriedly and, within a second, the gates burst open.

"And there it is," Jaemin smirks.

"The sheer audacity, the reckless confidence, and the idiotic bravado you have, Na Jaemin!" Your voice boomed over the chaos and, immediately, the knights around you ceased their movements and stood at attention.

"Captain, (Sir/Ma'am)!" They all saluted.

"At ease," you broke your tirade to command them. "Every day I have to wonder whether I'm impressed or embarrassed of you, Sir Na!" You continued.

"Hell, what did you do this time, Jaem?" Jeno asks. Jaemin shrugs.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Captain?" Jaemin asks. You thrust the box back towards him.

"I don't need your charity, and to have it delivered in front of the Crown Prince I..." you paused and took a deep breath. "I have my own pride to nurture, I don't have time to be your charity case." Jeno, out of pure curiosity, opened the box and near immediately his eyes shone.

"Damn, Cap! If you won't accept it, then can I?" Jeno held the new broadsword up so that the sunlight could catch it while a few jealous wandering eyes gazed upon it.

"By all means," you waved your hand and Jaemin pulled the sword out of Jeno's hands, replacing it with the box.

"Oh, come on now, Captain, that's no way to treat a thoughtful gift," Jaemin circled you until he stopped in front. He held the sword toward you with the tip of the blade resting on chin. He turns it up slightly. "Especially when you treat his highness' gift so nicely," the simple pendant seemed to glimmer. You pushed the sword away.

"That's different," you shook your head.

"Sure, Captain," Jaemin grins. "But, since you're here, fancy a duel? Perhaps I can finally take your place in the First Squadron."

"Why not? I'd love to use you to set an example toward the new recruits to not mess with me," your hand rested on the blade at your hip. "What's your wager?"

"If I win, you accept my gift."

"And if I win then you leave me alone."

"Okay, okay, I can agree to that," he holds his hand out and you shook it.

"May the best knight win," Jaemin readjusts his grip on the sword.

"Oh, darling, I already have," your confidence was the only one that could rival his.

Tag List:

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If you want to be added to either tag list or removed just send me a reply to this post, and ask, or a DM and I’ll add you as soon as possible!

#asks #anon #nct #nct x reader #nct x you #nct x yn #nct u #nct u x reader #nct u x you #nct u x yn #nct dream #nct dream x reader #nct dream x you #nct dream x yn #jaemin x reader #jaemin x you #jaemin x yn #my writings #drabbles

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spookyspecterino · 2 years

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The Slaughter of a Lamb

Chapter Six: Surrounded by Diesels

Tangerine x F! Reader

Word Count: 5.9K

Series Masterlist

SFW; Fighting, mentions of death, injury, drugging, slow burn, language.

With their available sources of information dwindling, Lemon and Tangerine don't have many people left that they can turn to. So, they schedule a lunch with an unlikely ally.

A/N: I'm so sorry for the gap between updates! I'm moving into a new apartment due to some life stuff and it's turning into a nightmare. Hope you enjoy this chapter, I will try to post the next one soon! Love you all!

----------

It really was a complicated affair trying to tell the head of a criminal family that one of her most important lieutenants was found dead, and in the boss’s own car no less. Lemon did his best to comfort Mother Vati’s assistant while Tangerine went and found someone—anyone that could help them. And while he found someone, that person soon had to go find someone else, because they surely had no clue how to handle the situation.

That continued on for about 30 minutes, all while the priest was leading prayers and giving sermons about the importance of life. By the time other high-ranking members were pulled away to the scene of Piestra’s body, the funeral was almost over. The general consensus was to let it finish before anyone spoke a word to Mother Vati. What wasn’t said aloud, was that no one wanted to be the one to inform her.

Tangerine wished nothing more than to leave, but with 10 or so people standing around him he got the impression that neither he nor Lemon were going anywhere anytime soon.

When Mother Vati was finally informed, she was there within seconds and the throng of people around Tangerine and Lemon parted for her. She marched up to her car to assess the situation, barked a few orders to remove Piestra’s body and to search the grounds for evidence. By the time she called the twins over, she was standing with her hands on her hips, staring at the ground with a barely contained anger. Being near her reminded Tangerine of the electricity in the air right before a nasty storm.

“How is it…,” she spoke slowly, as if she were addressing children, “that not only do you two manage to let Fox get away each time, but also fail to catch her before she kills someone?” Her eyes flicker toward Tangerine’s necklace, and they almost bulge out of their sockets. Seething, she hisses, “You even got your little necklace back, how interesting.”

Lemon moves like he’s about to defend his brother, but Tangerine puts a hand on his chest with a stern face. There really wasn’t an excuse for how poorly they’ve been doing. It’s embarrassing really.

Mother Vati continues on, gesturing wildly. “I am not pleased that I have to be dealing with this in the middle of my Lamb’s funeral. I put you in a position to do your jobs—you fail. I give you space, like you asked—and you still fail!” She throws her arms up. “Did I hire professionals?”

It was hard to meet her eyes, but Tangerine forced himself to hold them as he spoke. “Yes, you did. We’re doing everything we can.”

She points a finger at them, lips pressing together in a thin line. “You’re very lucky that I don’t have many other options. Or I would have you spending the rest of your careers searching for work in chat rooms on the dark web!”

To Tangerine, the woman before them is very different than the woman accepting condolences next to her daughter’s casket, and leagues different than the woman the twins had originally seen in the online meeting. It was like entirely different people. She may have been the best example for the type of person Lemon would label as a Diesel.

Mother Vati straightened to her full height, squaring her shoulders. “You are walking on very thin ice, gentlemen. I do not want to see you or hear from you unless you have made significant progress. Do not let her get away again or there will be consequences.” Without another word, she spun around and marched back toward the procession, a long line of people shuffled behind her.

Lemon mumbled under his breath. “Hm, that could have gone better…”

The ride back to their flat was silent. Each brother caught up in their own thoughts about the day. Mother Vati’s scolding lecture was insulting, but expected. And, quite frankly, they deserved it. Poor marks all around and they knew they could do better—their shoddy performance made them feel like young armatures again.

But that wasn’t what lingered for Tangerine. He felt more affected than he would like to admit from seeing Piestra’s body in the back seat. The idea of Fox being there, right under their noses—perhaps even watching them, made his stomach twist in a sort of giddy excitement. Which made entirely no sense to him.

And his necklace, left precisely where he would find it; in their own car… no big display or fight, nothing. It was almost as if she didn’t want that to be a part of Piestra’s murder. A small thing, just for him to see. It was as intentional as placing Piestra’s body in Mother Vati’s car for her to find. But, for the life of him, Tangerine couldn’t see the act as a taunt. He saw it more as a surrender, an apology. Keeping the necklace would make it a prize; giving it up was an admittance of some kind. Maybe that was just wishful thinking on his part.

He looks up at the sky, deep in thought, to see the faint outline of the moon. And he’s suddenly struck with the idea that Fox is out there, somewhere, looking up and seeing the same thing.

The city falls into a lull as the evening rush dies out and everyone settles down to relax from the day; many decide on what they want to eat, or make plans to go out. All things considered, it’s a beautiful evening. It’s almost a shame when they drive into the private parking garage for their apartment complex. The abrupt change from gentle evening light to stark florescent bulbs puts a bad taste in Tangerine’s mouth as his thoughts are interrupted and he can no longer see the moon.

As they exit and walk inside the building and through the lobby, Lemon notices his brother’s gloomy expression and slumped shoulders, he speaks up in an attempt to get them refocused. “What should we do now?”

Tangerine’s jaw flexes a few times, considering their options carefully. “Now that Piestra is—” He stops, and lowers his voice as they pass by a cleaning lady, she puts bottles of chemicals away on her cart. “Now that Piestra isn’t around anymore… I’m not sure we can trust anyone else from the Family.”

The button for the elevator clicks as Lemon pushes it. Silver doors at the back of the lobby slide open with a ding. Once they close, Lemon resumes the conversation. “Not Tim and Tom?”

“I suppose their trustworthy, but how much do they know?”

“Fair point.”

. . .

“Try calling again.”

“She’s not going to answer just because we keep calling her, mate.”

Tangerine rubs his forehead, lines deepening as he frowns harder. His breakfast sits untouched on the kitchen counter beside him. “Is it because we haven’t paid her yet?”

Lemon shook his head. “We’ve run up worse tabs. If I know Momo, she’d answer just to lecture us about it.”

“You’re right. Bollocks, this isn’t good.”

Lemon pushes his bacon around the plate as he stares down at his phone. “You think somethings happened?”

“I don’t know.” Tangerine pauses, pushing the plate away; appetite lost. “We’ll have to find another source of information.”

Both men are quiet as they considered their options. Lemon made a face and glanced at his brother.

“What? You’ve got a look, what is it?”

“You’re not going to like it.”

“Spit it out Lemon.”

“I know of a particular source, sort-of on the inside, that could help us out. He’s even saved one of our lives.”

“No. You know how much I hate him.”

Lemon leaned on the counter, leveling himself with Tangerine. “We don’t have to do anything more than invite him to have lunch, ask him a few questions, and that’s it.” He brushes his hands together as if they’ve already completed the task. “Then we can go our merry ways.”

When Tangerine’s expression remains sulking, Lemon straightens. “Unless you’ve got a better idea?”

“…I don’t, no.”

“Well then, I’ll give him a call and we can meet for lunch.”

. . .

The little pub they met in was small and out of the way, much like Lemon’s favorite place to eat, except it served hard liquor any time after 12pm. It was your typical sports pub, TVs above the bar showed different matches and highlights from the past week, all muted, and casting blues and greens into the surrounding dimly lit space.

One TV, in the very corner, showed a press conference with the city’s mayor. The cycling text at the bottom read: “Generous donation pushes city council to completely demolish re-development area”. Reading the scrolling text made both men glower; Tangerine scoffed so hard that the bartender looked up from the glass she was cleaning. He took the opportunity to wave her down and order something.

Whiskey was right on time, arriving to the bar dressed casually in a black leather jacket and jeans. His arm had recovered from the fight with Fox, there wasn’t even a sling or anything indicating that he was once hurt. Striding in, he flashed the bartender a bright white smile as he made his way to the twin’s table.

Tangerine grumbled into his pitcher as he caught sight of the man. He’d made an agreement that Lemon would do most of the talking, since this was his blasted idea. The plan was to ask him about his history with the Family and see how involved he really was in this job. Lemon, in particular, wanted to ask some digging questions and see how the man reacted.

Sitting across from the twins, Whiskey flashed them the same bright smile that he gave the waitress. “Fellas.”

Lemon greeted the man with a polite smile that Tangerine did not share. “Your arm looks to be doing much better.”

Whiskey looked down at it with a roll of his shoulder. “It was only dislocated. A day later and I was up and ‘attem again.”

A few seconds later and the bar tender was coming over to take his drink order. After she had gone, Whiskey gave them a curious look; Tangerine wasn’t sure if it was real or not. “You know I don’t think I caught your names the last time we met.”

Lemon gave him a pleasant smile and pointed to himself. “I’m Lemon, this is my brother…”

“Tangerine.”

Whiskey leaned forward a little, a light smile played on his lips. “Those your real names?”

The eyes of both brothers narrowed on instinct, but Lemon was faster to quip back, “Is Whiskey your real name?”

He didn’t respond for a moment, the look in his eyes changed to something unreadable. Before the air became tense, he leaned back with a laugh. “Fair enough.” He folded his hands on the table. “So, what’s our little date about?”

Scooting forward, Lemon glanced at his brother before starting. “We have some questions for you.”

Whiskey gives a knowing smile—just bordering on a smirk, lips twitching upward. “What kind of questions?”

“General things, for curiosity’s sake. We’d also like to know about Fox, and what Mother Vati is currently up to.”

Whiskey’s eyes draw a slow line over the brothers, looking smug. “She cut you off huh? No more special treatment…Well, you know what they say—curiosity killed the cat.” Tangerine opened his mouth to challenge him, the man’s words may not have seemed it, but they implied a threat. A hand raised to cut him off as Whiskey chuckled. “I’m only jokin’. Ask away, boys.”

Tangerine simmers. Whiskey’s smile could drive him to smash his head through a brick wall. Lemon, on the other hand doesn’t seem to mind a bit. “Have you worked with Mother Vati before?”

“Yes and no. Just a few odd jobs here and there, stuff that the lower ranks didn’t want to do. I wouldn’t necessarily say Mother Vati knew about them.” He gave Lemon and Tangerine a wink. “But that can be our little secret.”

Lemon’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he picked up from his last question without hesitation. “You said you were from the next city over, how often do you make the trip here?”

Whiskey’s eyes wander around the room as he thinks. “Pretty often, I’d say.”

“Why?”

“The big city has more work opportunities; you know what I mean?”

“No work for you in your own city? The Locke Family is there, they must give out opportunities.”

There’s a glint in Whiskey’s eyes. “You obviously don’t know Garrett Lanton at all. The man won’t hire anyone that doesn’t match his particular style.”

“What does that mean—his ‘style’?”

“Flashy, self-assured, and good at fighting and killing.”

Tangerine smiled thinly. “That pretty much fits you to a T, doesn’t it? And you were damn close to getting Fox without a problem, even when she had a gun.”

The mention of Fox’s weapon acts as a reminder of the cool metal that’s currently pressed into his back, tucked in his belt. It threatens to distract him with thoughts and memories of her.

Laughing, Whiskey spoke casually. “Heard that Fox is a terrible shot and I took the gamble. And when it comes to fighting,” he grinned, “I’m just better. Assume whatever you want, but the fact that I’m here and not with Lanton pretty much speaks for itself, don’t ya think?”

Lemon taps the table with a finger—thinking, and is about to ask something when the bar tender comes over with Whiskey’s drink. He takes a few sips and holds the pitcher in his hands.

Taking advantage of the break in conversation, Tangerine leans forward and asks his own question. “You ever see Fox before you took this job?”

The man’s eyes seem to light up as he looks at Tangerine. “Few times, but we never had any official business together.”

The way Whiskey said ‘official’ sounded like there was a hidden meaning in the word—implied history, and it pissed Tangerine off. He decided to keep prying. “Ever have a conversation with her?”

“Once or twice. Nothing too in depth. She was always busy, no time to chat. Which is honestly a shame, she’s real prett—”

Lemon cleared his throat to cut him off, he could see the small vein on the side of Tangerine’s head starting to pulse. “Let’s talk about Lamb. You said you were doing the job for her, what’s your reason?”

Whiskey took a long sip, eyes never leaving Tangerine. When he set it down he leaned back and crossed his legs; he looked completely comfortable, even with a testy contract killer less than two feet away from him. “This is starting to feel like an interrogation and not like a fun little lunch date.”

“Nobody said it was going to be fun, mate.” Tangerine grumbled, fingers tracing along the glass of his drink.

“Well, I have to ask—what do I get for all this info?” Before Lemon or Tangerine could answer he held up a finger. “Oh, I know. I get to ask you some questions. That sounds like a fair trade.” His smile was laced with something unreadable, something challenging.

Tangerine was going to say no, but Lemon agreed with the caveat that they don’t know a whole lot. That was good enough for Whiskey whose eyes lit up once again. He ran a hand through his dirty blond hair. “My first question is, why are you two still on this job?”

Lemon answered instinctually, “Money.” But Tangerine kept silent, sipping his drink and letting his brother speak for him.

Whiskey nodded as if he understood while he studied Tangerine closely with a glint in his eye. “Why’s Fox got a crush on you?”

Tangerine sputtered on his drink. Wiping his mustache with a hand he fixed the man with a scorching look. “Beg your fucking pardon?”

That got a laugh out of Whiskey. “Relax, I’m only trying to figure out why she’s been letting you live this long.”

“You came in and stopped her from killing me, mate.”

“Sure, but she could have finished the job at Lamb’s funeral. She didn’t.”

“How do you know about that?”

“Heard about Piestra’s death from a few different folks. Lotta people at that funeral, yet nobody saw Fox at all.” His eyes glanced to Tangerine’s necklace. “She chose to leave you be. Curious isn’t it?”

Tangerine decided to sip on his drink and let Lemon answer for him. “We’re not sure what her motivations are. We thought she’d be too injured to do anything, but she proved us wrong.” He echoed the words of Hagnam with a distant voice. “She’s always five steps ahead.”

“Think she’s following you?”

“Don’t see how she could be, everyone in the city is looking for her.”

Tangerine chimed in gruffly, “And, we’d spot her—we’ve been doing this kind of work for years. We can tell when we’re being followed.”

Whiskey nodded, expression turning contemplative as he fell silent.

Sitting forward, Lemon repeated his question from earlier. “What’s your motivation behind bidding on the contract?”

“That poor little girl. She didn’t deserve to die like that.”

“Who was she to you?”

“No one, but it’s a sad story don’t you think? I often wonder, is there a ‘Mr. Vati’?”

Tangerine huffed dryly. “Didn’t get the impression she needed one.”

“Oh of course, of course. I just think it’s all very interesting.”

Lemon took a deep breath; he was getting the distinct feeling that Whiskey was toying with them now. “What is?”

“How she keeps having all these kids.”

Tangerine opens his mouth to answer that the woman can have children with whoever she wants, but the phrasing makes him pause. “What do you mean?”

“She had another kid, ‘bout 4 ½ years ago. Same name, but it was a little boy. Never did find out what happened to that one. Everybody just…swept it under the rug.”

Lemon’s answer was carefully weighted. “If you know something, say it and spare us the games, mate.”

“Hey, we’re on the same team here. That’s all I know—I’m not in the Vati Family, I don’t get access to all the little gossip circles.” His lips were curling up ever so slightly.

Now he was starting to piss Lemon off, fingers tightening around his drink. “What is it with this city being full of nothing but Diesels…”

Whiskey sat forward as if he didn’t hear him properly. “S’cuse me?”

“Nothing. What is Mother Vati having you do now? Are there any leads on Fox?”

Whiskey shakes his head. “She’s elusive, disappears into thin air. Mother Vati doesn’t want anything from me unless it’s concrete, and I haven’t seen hide nor tail of Fox since that morning on the roof.”

He sits forward like he’s about to ask something, but Lemon is moving to stand. Tangerine is surprised at the abrupt ending, but wastes no time in rising with his brother.

Lemon throws down some money onto the table. “Alright, mate. We appreciate you meeting with us. Don’t worry about your drink, we’ve got it. Enjoy your day.”

The smirk on Whiskey’s face sours only for a fraction of a second before it turns carefully neutral and he leans back to raise his glass to the brothers. “Much appreciated. See ya ‘round.”

The twins don’t offer a response as they leave, pushing open the door and walking into the bright sunlight. Lemon’s foul mood matched Tangerine’s as he sped down the sidewalk, shoving his hands into his pockets. “That was a mistake. Bastard was leading us in circles and smirking the entire time. Fuck me, what a Diesel.”

Tangerine brought out his cigarettes, snapping open the golden case. Lighting one with the clink of his lighter he spoke through pinched lips. “You think he was telling us the truth about anything?”

“No clue. Do me a favor, when we get in the car try giving Momo a ring one more time. If she doesn’t answer we’ll swing by her shop.”

. . .

This time she answered on the very last ring, her voice was raspy and haggard sounding. “Boys! I’ve been meaning to call you! A lot has happened!”

Tangerine was about to ask what was wrong—she sounded quite frantic, but she spoke so fast there was no room to get a word in. “Listen, my shop has been broken into. I wasn’t there when it happened and I’m fine, but the ruffians trashed the place. It was a warning, nothing was taken. Now I—”

Lemon was shouting in an attempt to interrupt her, hands tightening around the steering wheel until his knuckles were white. “Momo! Momo, who did this?! Point us in a direction and we’ll kill ‘em for you!”

Momo’s voice crackled through the phone’s speaker. “No, no! That’s too much fuss over little ol’ me. It was the Vati Family—no doubt about it. It’s just what I get for being careless with an insider source—not that I had any idea she would go and get herself killed.”

Tangerine shot Lemon a look and mouthed ‘Piestra?’. Lemon raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

Momo, unaware, continued on. “What you could do, is forward some money my way. I want to be drinking margaritas on the beach while the city sorts itself out.”

“Of course Momo, I’ll transfer you everything as soon as we hang up. Are you somewhere safe right now?”

“Sure am, but do me a favor and don’t go anywhere near my shop. I don’t want to be worrying over you while I’m on my paid vacation.” She practically cackles the last part then pauses. “Actually, why don’t you boys come with me? We can all wash our hands of this mess.”

Tangerine can see Lemon glance at him in his peripheral vision, but he doesn’t return the look. Speaking for both of them, “Thanks Momo, but I think we’re in a little too deep to be stepping out now.”

Clicking her tongue, she’s obviously disappointed. “How many times do I have to tell you that money isn’t everything.” She gives a huff and Tangerine can imagine her shaking her head at him. “Alright, just watch out for one another. The beehives’ been kicked. And do an old gal a favor—when this is all over, let me know that you’re both ok.”

“Sure thing, Momo. Enjoy the beach.”

“Stay safe you two. Tangerine, watch out for your brother!” There was a beep and she was gone.

Silence filled the car as they neared the parking garage for their apartment. Tangerine wasted no time in sending Momo the money they owed, with a little extra for her shop. Without her around, both brothers felt more vulnerable.

Lemon broke the heavy silence first. “Why didn’t you agree to go with her? We could have left this mess behind.”

Tangerine figured this was coming and he had a response already thought out, he just wasn’t sure if it was the truth. “Like I said, bruv. We’re in too deep. You really think Mother Vati is going to let us walk away from this after everything? If she wanted us gone she would have sent us away ages ago, or worse.”

“Not so sure about that.”

“We could leave, but I don’t fancy watching my back every second while on a beach. Plus, if they came after us, we’d be putting Momo at risk and she’s already been through enough.”

That seemed to hit home for Lemon as he bristled. “Can’t believe those fuckers broke into her shop. All for trading info with Piestra.”

“The Mob takes their personal affairs very seriously. Momo’s not an idiot, she understood the risks of working with someone deep inside the organization. Let’s just be thankful that she wasn’t there when it happened.”

“I swear, they’re going to pay for this.”

As they parked the car and entered their building Tangerine changed the subject. “So, Mother Vati had another kid with the same name. Have any clue as to why?”

“Haven’t figured it out yet. Using the same name over again, that’s got to mean something, right?”

“Definitely. I’m thinking, that when we get to the flat I’m going to do some research into the tourist business here in our city. Maybe I can find a few leads. At the very least we could go and scope out the areas and see if Fox is prowling around.”

As they got into the elevator Lemon groaned. “I hate the tourist district. They take too many pictures and then turn around to complain. ‘The city smells’ or ‘the smog is too thick’, well why’d you choose this fucking city as your vacation spot, you tosser.”

Lemon continues his rambling complaints as they go down the hallway, passing by another cleaning lady who was facing away from them and bent over her cart of supplies. Tangerine eyed her, thinking they must have hired someone new, because this one was taller than the other and, usually, she would have been done cleaning this floor by now.

But the thought was whisked away as they entered into their apartment. Tangerine tossed the keys onto the counter and moved to take off his suit jacket, hanging it neatly in the side closet by the door. Lemon mumbled something about going to the loo and disappeared around the corner.

A few moments later there was a knock on the door. Frowning, Tangerine paused, they don’t usually get visitors. Looking through the peep hole in the door, he saw the cleaning lady outside, facing her cart and shuffling things around.

Tangerine was in the middle of rolling his eyes as he opened the door, sounding quite irritated to be disturbed. “Thank you, but we don’t need cleaning services. And while you’re at it, please take our flat off your list—”

When she turned toward him, she gripped something slim and sharp in her hands. The glint of a needle caught Tangerine’s attention. His head darts up and meets the eyes he’s been seeing in his dreams every night looking back at him.

Fox’s hand whips toward his neck and he’s just fast enough to catch her arm, halting her before a needle makes contact with his neck. She presses forward, pushing him back through the door and into the entryway. He slams into a wall with a grunt. Her eyes flash to meet his as her breathing becomes labored. It must have taken all of her body weight and strength to move him. Tangerine shoves her away, creating some distance, and shouts Lemon’s name as he reaches for the gun in his belt.

Lunging for him again, Fox stops him from pulling out the gun and pins his hand down. She isn’t that strong and Tangerine fights back. He elbows her ribs, hoping it was the same side as her injury, and finds he was right as she sucks in a harsh breath. Fox tries to retreat, but he flips her around and pins her against the wall with his body. Her hand holding the syringe comes up and he grabs it. In a last attempt effort, she tries to knee him in the groin, but he twists and blocks with his thigh. He can tell she’s quickly losing steam, beads of sweat dot her forehead and neck.

Tangerine forgoes trying to pull out his gun as he closes his fist around her throat. She looks back at him with gritted teeth and he can’t help but smirk; he’s not even winded. Taking a moment, he looks over her, she’s not even trying to struggle anymore. There’s a blooming patch of red on her side.

He tuts, edges of his mustache curling. “I’d hate for you to bloody up the walls, but if you think I’m going to go easy on a feisty little thing such as yourself...well, I’m not making that mistake again.”

Fox’s face twists into one of those grins and she makes a few strangled noises that Tangerine can only guess are attempts at laughter.

His eyes find the syringe in her hand, he raises an eyebrow at her. “Hm, and what were you going to do with that, love?”

Something flashes through her eyes and she makes a choking noise as if she wants to say something. This causes Tangerine to move in a little, hot breath fanning across her face as he teases. “Sorry, what was that? You’ll have to speak up.”

There’s a commotion down the hall as Lemon rushes out into the living room to take in the scene. “Holy shit! You alright Tangerine?”

He laughs as he sees Fox blink at him. “Yeah, Lemon. Just fine. Little minx tried to—”

Tangerine was cut off as she successfully kneed him in the groin and he doubled over in pain. Moving as fast as she could, Fox swings the syringe forward and the needle sinks into the base of his neck, right above his collar bone, with a solid thunk.

Lemon shouts as Tangerine stumbles back, hitting the opposite wall, clutching at the syringe and pulling it out. He makes an attempt to grab at something and right himself, but whatever was in his system was dragging him down and making his limbs too heavy to move as he slid to the floor.

Fox whirls around and starts throwing whatever she can reach at Lemon as one hand clutches her side. Vases, pots, pans, anything they left out on the counter from earlier that day. She picks up an iron cast skillet and rushes toward him, but Lemon pulls his gun before she gets close. Glancing at Tangerine he shouts at Fox to stop, and she does, backing away from the gun now pointed at her.

They’re both breathing hard. A few feet away, behind Fox, Tangerine’s eyes are wide as the drugs slowly take effect. He blinks furiously and looks around trying to keep his bearings.

“Stop! Stop right there or I’ll blow your fucking kneecaps out!” Lemon shouts, both hands holding his gun. “What’d you do to my brother?!”

Fox speaks slowly and calmly. “It’s just a sedative.”

After another glance at Tangerine, and judging that she’s telling the truth, Lemon’s mouth works from side to side. “Before I shoot you—don’t worry, it won’t be fatal—I want you to look at something for me.”

He ruffles through his pockets with one hand. Fox shifts her body weight to the other foot. She looks as if she’s going to try and shuffle closer before Lemon brings out the slightly crumpled photo of Lamb. Fox’s expression softens. The hard look in her eyes disappears, turning into something close to adoration—even her stance relaxes.

Lemon watches with a sort of fascination as he asks, “Why’d you kill her?”

Her eyes dart to his and then away, lips thinning into a line as she takes a step back like she’s retreating. Next to her feet, Tangerine sprawls and kicks at her weakly with a numb foot; he’s quickly losing feeling in his limbs. Fox doesn’t even acknowledge it.

Lemon holds out the photograph, pushing it closer, and asks again. “A little girl—an absolute angel, why’d you do it?”

But it seemed that Fox wasn’t going to talk as her eyes darted around the room, ignoring him and looking for an advantage. She gripped the skillet with white knuckles. Lemon changed tactics. “And what about Piestra? Not hours before her death, she called you her friend!”

This time Fox flinched at the mention of her old captain. Her words came out seething as she worked to control herself. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Taking a step forward, Lemon set his jaw. “Piestra told us all about you, Fox. You took her in under your wing, made her into something formidable, just to turn around and kill her. And Lamb? You were close to her too, right? Watched her for Mother Vati—protected her. Did you kill her previous kid too, from 4 ½ years ago?”

Fox, for the first time, looked as if she was suddenly unsure, startled and shaken. Her voice rose with a sudden anger. “How do you know about that? Who told you about that?!”

Lemon took another step closer. “So, it’s true then, you’re a ruthless child killer.” He shakes his head at her. “How do you fucking sleep at night?”

After studying him for a moment, Fox’s face suddenly twists into a sneer. Lemon thought it looked odd, not quite right. Her voice came out with a force behind it. “Yeah, I killed them. And you know what else,” she raised her chin, “if I had my way, I would’ve killed your brother on that roof.”

That really set Lemon off and he tossed Lamb’s photo onto the counter to hold his gun properly, taking another couple of steps forward. Fox grinned, confidence returning as she sensed a nerve had been struck. “What would you have done when you found him? Cry—wail for Victoria to help you? I’d love to see your face when all she did was laugh.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Her grin widened. “It would haunt you for the rest of your life.”

“I said shut the fuck up!”

Lemon was within two paces of her now and he made an attempt to grab at the skillet or push it out of the way as Fox held it up between her and the gun. She inched it to the side, just out of his reach and took a half step back. As Lemon followed, and tried to grab at it again, she pressed into the wall.

She had pressed herself back into the light switch and flicked the lights on and off in a rapid fashion. Lemon’s attention went up for a split second and Fox swung the skillet into the gun, knocking it out of his hand. Flicking the lights off and leaving them in the dark, Fox swung again and Lemon felt iron connect to his temple just before everything went black. There was a slump as his body hit the floor.

Fox flipped the lights back on. Tangerine, who was seeing double and struggling to stay conscious, saw Lemon on the floor and he tried to choke out a few words. That was the only thing he could do as his body shut down; he felt cold—like he was slipping into an ice bath.

Walking over and pulling Tangerine forward, Fox grabbed the gun from his belt. When she saw it was hers, she glanced at him and smiled faintly. He watched as she went up to Lemon and pointed the barrel at him.

Cold panic, colder than he currently felt, set in—buzzing through him. Tangerine’s nostrils flared and he really had to fight as he grunted, attempting to howl and thrash. The world tilted and he felt a wave of nausea. The only thing that moved were his legs, and only for a few spasming, jerking motions, but it was enough to grab Fox’s attention. She looked at him curiously, head tilting to the side as she watched him fight against the drugs with everything he had. Keeping her eyes on him, she slowly lowered the gun and placed it on their coffee table.

Slumping over with a huff and breathing hard, the corners of Tangerine’s vision was going black, creeping in, leaving only a shrinking window of sight. The last thing he saw before falling unconscious was Fox pick up Lamb’s photo and tuck it into her pocket.

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esther-dot · 1 year

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GRRM's treatment of Ratgar is something I go back and forth on a lot and is a prime example why Death of the Author is a thing lol. I saw one fan say that anyone with critical thinking skills (so let's remove Targies from the equation) would see R as a douchebag but she was annoyed because she thinks GRRM himself does not see R that way and I kind of agree lol. I keep seeing some meta writers saying that GRRM "definitely thinks badly of R and R/L is some commentary on grooming", etc., and I'm not saying I totally disagree, but I 100 percent believe when GRRM conceived of R/L he meant for it to be a romantic, completely consensual star crossed lovers situation and R was meant to be a tragic, but Capital R romantic figure. However, that fan also said that because so much time has passed since he wrote the first book (90s to 2023 lmao) a lot of the shit GRRM romanticized is now seen as problematic and would need to be "fixed" or retconned. That being said, I don't think ADOS will see the light of day so we may never get the full R/L backstory or GRRM may choose to have what happened with R/L forever be some amorphous mystery (the more I think of it the more I think this will be the case for various reasons). I also don't think GRRM himself has a lot of what happened worked out in his head as he is not a plotter, but a seat of his pants writer and changes things as they go. He's the type that puts things in his writing that look/sound cool or interesting and then needs to find a way to bring it together which is one of the reasons it's taking him forever to get the second to last book out.

(in reference to this ask)

I agree we need to remember the impact of his style of writing. He made a blog post last year talking about that, how he can reach a dead end or explores and finds something wonderful, how he’s discovering things as he writes, so it’s good to strive to be as open minded to revelations as the author is. Although yes, we should all feel free to dislike and criticize some of those developments!

My hesitancy to believe Martin has changed his perspective on Rhaegar is that in AGOT we get Lyanna’s anti Robert stance (anti unfaithful husbands) which imo is the biggest “Lyanna wouldn’t have wanted to go with Rhaegar” sign we have. And then it is in ACOK I believe, that we get prophecy baby as an additional motivation for Rhaegar to pursue Lyanna, not love. It’s later, ASOS (I think), when we learn she wept while he sang which to me would be where we see the “love story” theory really enters the picture. That’s why I feel like Martin’s version is likely “complex” rather than one thing. As in, to me, he’s adding layers, making us understand the initial story isn’t entirely correct and slowly unraveling the truth, not changing directions.

Agentrouka has talked about parallels between R/L and Jon/Ygritte, with Jon in the “maiden” role being moved by the singer, but Jon believed he loved Ygritte, and Sansa believed she loved Joffrey (another Stark maiden charmed by someone who sang to her), which is why I think Lyanna willingly went even if in the end, she regretted it. But even that...when I read Ned’s memories of her dying while holding the crown of roses...idk. It’s definitely romanticized. Like, holding a lock of hair or a dry flower from a lover as someone dies is something I’ve read before, so perhaps we’re meant to read that and damn Rhaegar for being the cause of her death, but I’m not sure. Whenever/if I ever do a reread, I’ll be open to being swayed in either direction.

I’ve said before that I think Martin has a much more expansive view of people than I do, as in, he truly doesn’t want us to allow one bad thing they do to negate the good, and on the one hand, cool, we’ve all made mistakes so we can appreciate the concept, but on the other, I’m not sure I agree with him on what is or isn’t a forgivable wrong. Based on things he’s said about Dany, I know that we don’t have the same view of teen girls, and that has impacted what I think he’s capable of writing.

I do agree that there will be a lot of things that we have conflicting views on without getting a clear cut answer. It might feel like a cop out, but it’s interesting to deny the reader an emphatic, authorial “here is the truth” and leave them to determine it themselves. For a series utilizing the POV structure, that seems fitting, and I’m sure that will be true for some prophecies as well. What is the truth? We have to determine it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

#dot chat #< tag to filter

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script-a-world · 1 year

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I'm writing many species in my world and yes that does include humans. But there's one thing I'm stumped on is how can I do transgender people in non-human species. It's easy for humans to pass with hormones and clothes. But let's say deer or cow species where males have horns females do not or have them much smaller. So I'm thinking horns would be super important, adding horns might be easier to do artificial ones, but removing them is harder and is completely unhideable if you don't. Sure there might be individuals who don't care about passing and I do know irl trans men who do not bind and you see a massive chest along with a very clear dude face. But that's a choice. There is less of a choice with choosing to display horns or not. How about bird species where males have very colourful plumes and the females do not? That isn't something hormones can change either right? Plucking feathers would be painful, fake feathers would be a big surgery or idk a wig? (not to mention possible difficulty in getting them flight worthy but then again I'm already chucking out some realism in having flight on huge species but extra stuff like this might turns heads - hey what if they needed to fix a broken wing and now have a metal plate in them - trouble flying too? So yeah injuries might be an issue for flight. Doesn't even have to be a bad wing, if they have a bad leg and got artificial legs... That itself will be an issue for species with flight.) Again, gender differences are a difficult thing to choose on your appearance. My species are mostly humanoid animals but there are others closer to human like and some that are definitely alienlike. My world may be a bit high tech but there is certainly no magic. Though there are species that can like shapeshift (werewolf, merfolk, original alien winged species that can completely disappear wings when not in use). Perhaps outward appearances can also be altered with holograms? But they can be faulty, maybe poor people can't afford good ones, etc. But hologram or not it doesn't change what is actually on you.

Tex: Well. This is certainly a politically-convoluted question. What definitions might be had in a human perspective on trans humans might not be an identical overlap for a non-human perspective on non-humans.

To take a well-cited example: seahorses reproduce by the females depositing eggs in the males’ pouches until the eggs hatch (Wikipedia). Does this make a female seahorse cisgender, transgender, something in between or something else entirely? Does the same rhetoric apply to male seahorses? From a human perspective, the female seahorse is female because that’s the one carrying the eggs for reproduction, ergo: cisgender, even if they’re not the ones giving birth (for a given definition of a mode of reproduction).

Deer and cow, to borrow your example, have a form of sexual dimorphism (tw: link has a section on spiders) that is quite visually geared for signalling who is what. They are also not species that are capable of leveraging their genetics to change their reproductive organs at a whim, nor to my knowledge are either a species that has exhibited some observable form of dissatisfaction with their body image (Wikipedia).

Animal characters with anthropoid characteristics are, for the sake of suspending disbelief, likely prone to the same quirks as humans and thus your audience can probably accept human social mores and nuances of physiology being reflected onto these species. As for “more alien-like”, I’m not entirely sure how to interpret that in your current scope. Are these aliens also resembling humans in physiological and social characteristics, or something closer to non-human animals, or a third kind of species that might be more evolutionarily progressed than humans?

How do your shapeshifting species shapeshift? That’s very resource-intensive, and can put a lot of stress on the body to effectively dissolve and reform limbs and entire organs at will. I imagine that it might be easier on them to stick to one form at a time, and only change when there’s some social convention requiring or allowing it (courting behaviours, official functions, etc).

Humans do quite a bit with what are, at the end of the day, scraps of cloth and ground rocks, but this is because most of human gender is cultural signalling rather than a biological function such as feather colour or growing of horns. I suppose non-human species might have adapted with their own interpretation of clothing, jewelry, and make-up, and likely that the according evolution of gender presentation will fall in line with their historical relationship with such objects and how they’re used.

Licorice: You made reference to your various species altering their appearances using surgery or some other, often quite painful, physical means. You’ve also spoken of these species as being animal-like - feathers and antlers are two things you mentioned. So my question is, do the species in your world have the kinds of hands or appendages they would need to carry out such complex and intricate surgery? If they don’t all have hands or something like hands, it seems there would need to be a lot of inter-species trust, cooperation and communication, so that species which lack the hands to operate on themselves can put themselves into the hands of species that do.

Utuabzu: I'm going to repeat what I said in another ask (which may or may not have been posted yet) - peel off the skin and scoop out the reproductive organs, and most of the time you'll have a hard time telling the sex of any given animal. Secondary sexual characteristics are just that, secondary. They develop after birth/hatching/whatever in a process triggered and controlled by hormones. Much like how trans women grow boobs in response to high estrogen levels and trans men get hairier in response to high testosterone levels, lions develop manes in response to high testosterone (there's actually been cases of older female lions growing manes due to a shift in their hormone balance, and neutered male lions losing theirs).

Even primary sexual characteristics develop due to hormonal triggers, evidenced by conditions like Congenital Androgen Insensitivity, which is a condition in which a person's cells are unable to respond to androgens (masculinising hormones), resulting in persons with XY chromosomal sex developing as if they had XX sex chromosomes. Physical form is not reliable evidence of chromosomal sex, nor does it really have anything much to do with gender, which is a social construct that varies between cultures and which non-humans might not even possess.

All the features you mention are secondary sexual characteristics. A species that grows horns in response to masculinising hormones will do so regardless of whether the hormones are endogenous (coming from within) or exogenous (introduced from outside the body). Undoing these changes can be easy or difficult, depending on the structures involved. Small soft tissue changes like fat distribution change easily, while structural changes like bone thickening or large soft tissue structures like breasts won't go away due to hormonal shifts and would require surgical intervention to remove. Something like feathers are likely more like the former than the latter. Horns are likely the latter. But most 'horns' that we are familiar with in the animal kingdom are actually antlers and are deciduous - they fall off in response to a hormonal trigger, usually after the mating season, and regrow in response to another hormonal trigger. In that case, just blocking the hormonal trigger for regrowth would be enough.

Wootzel: I have some good news for you about your feather conundrum--if the feathers work the same way as Earth birds, and molt periodically, they will probably react to hormone changes and grow accordingly. Hormone therapy could very plausibly cause a feathered alien to change plumage pretty dramatically. Since most Earth birds molt every year in order to replace damaged feathers, you could easily apply this to your feathered aliens too.

It’s a pretty well-documented phenomenon that older hens of livestock species occasionally go through hormonal changes and stop laying eggs. This is sometimes colloquially called “henopause.” Usually, when the hormones change and egg production stops, these birds also change to male plumage! Here’s a tumblr post with a bunch of pictures of peafowl going through henopause. Most of them look a bit scruffy, but there’s one picture that looks like a regular peacock! I don’t have experience with this personally, but I would guess that it takes more than one molt for the plumage to change completely.

Just as with humans, the developmental stage at which an individual starts to transition would probably change the outcome. Stopping horn growth (with hormones or via surgical bud removal) before the horns get large would be easier than surgically removing full-sized horns, but it would probably be possible anyway! This might be a big decision for your trans horned character, and the societal impact of having horns vs removing them is up to you.

#google submitted #evolution #species #gender

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firespirited · 1 year

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I just saw your post on incorrect doll “hacks/repairs/reroots.” Thank you so much for sharing all of your dolly knowledge. I did not know that my Ken that I re-haired with black acrylic yarn will stain him….Also, what would you suggest I use to make doll earrings (a simple loop) or piercings out of that will not affect the doll’s vinyl? Thank you again so much.

Hi! The yarn probably won't stain unless you use something that works as a catalyst between the two plastics: something that breaks down one or the other. Glue on the inside of the head will have probably set fast enough to avoid staining to the outside but using a gel or an unstable rubber band to hold it against his neck could cause the yarn to bleed.

I've been doing yarn reroots forever and in this case it was a very vivid colour of purple that reacted to the glue inside the head and stained along the scalp and when I removed the purple I dunked some in soapy water and sure enough the pigment was leeching out more than any yarn i'd used before.

The folks who are doing the wefts straight to the head may be using a glue that holds well AND doesn't cause the pigment to leech but more often than not, they don't say which glue they used. For example: i once switched to a more environmentally friendly UHU glue with fewer solvents in it: it wicked up into the hair and caused mild staining because it didn't set nearly as fast: the solvents evaporated so the glue could work fast and finish bonding faster than the plastics could degrade.

It's more a matter of getting a feel for plastics and remembering that plastics react together especially when there's a solvent like glue involved or it's cheaper materials. It's easy to remember to not have a doll have their plastic headpiece resting against the face but then we forget that acrylic yarn and often ribbons or pearls are plastic. So ribbons alone should probably be fine but ribbon or pearls attached to pale hair with non water based glue or gel could leave their colour in the hair, a ribbon across the forehead of a clone doll is more likely to start leeching etc etc. Are these strongly pigmented plastics against porous vinyl or nylon?

It's about keeping a little mental tally of how many plastics and catalysts, how much time, what kind of storage conditions. There are things that will hold up a year but not ten.

I'm not USA based so I had to experiment with various glues to find what does and doesn't work.

For example: I used a thin layer of acrylic matte sealant over Mint's eyelids before adding the glitter mixed with shiny acrylic sealant just in case the cheap nail art glitter has pigment leeching

For earrings, I haven't had trouble with cheap metal findings but I live somewhere dry and I make ear holes that are larger so there's not full contact with the metal. You're more likely to have issues with the plastic gold coloured stuff that comes with legit dolls than with metal (I've also seen little studs for humans that were plastic rub off against ears).

But I have pulled pin-piercings out of dolls that left grey marks because it wasn't stainless steel but we're talking 5-10 years down the line. I recommend getting some nice stainless steel sewing pins and stainless steel findings for long term piercings, if you've got needle nose pliers and wire cutters you can reshape wire or rings without having to buy smaller.

To add, here's Bratzillaz Yun Jin: she arrived super damaged so I gave her a wig, I figured it would be less likely to leech if I attached it with a pin than glue and hid a hole next to her lip with a beauty spot attached with superglue.

So the wigs had never stained before but the plastic of the ball headed pin reacted with the red plastic of the wig and left a dark pink mark on her scalp. I'd used the nail art from the same assortment for years with no problem but they were all silver backed and this was full black plastic. I had to bleach her stains & I've attached the wig with PVA white glue and I'm thinking of using acrylic sealant with the same black nail art to see if the same reaction happens in a year or two because acrylic + vinyl + cyanoacrylate + time = melt but I don't know if acrylic + vinyl + acrylic sealant + time = the same result.

#dolls #dollblr #tutorials #saf

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midnighteraser · 1 year

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Just curious but what's your writing process? Like how do you come up with an idea and how do you start writing it and such

My writing process is a whirlwind, that's for sure! I'll put it under a read more because it's very long!

Usually, I'd get inspiration for something and instantly go to write the idea down in a Google Keep note I call the "Idea Bank". I'm very forgetful, so these help me brainstorm and add detail to ideas. I have an Idea Bank for all of my main AUs and ones for random stories/AUs I come up with, and at the moment I have 22 of the latter. (Thanks to Keep's word cap.) I often go back and add new ideas/little details if I think of them.

I recommend having wherever you keep ideas easily accessible so you can note ideas down the moment you get them! Google Keep has this cool widget you can access from your phone home page! (The line of Keep applications is because they removed the part of the widget that let you quickly go to the app. :( )

This is where my process changes dependent on my mood.

If I suddenly get inspiration, I tend to write in any important parts out and stick them in the idea bank. If this gets too long, I open a new Keep note and copy and paste it there for me to flesh out later.

If I have no inspiration, I jot down very briefly a description/summary of what the idea is about. It's often a summary then the notes are taken underneath the idea. For example, it could be something as simple as this:

Or a long-ish summary/scene with details underneath, like this:

Now onto the actual writing.

I said, onto the writing.

Why do I have so many empty Keep notes.

As you can see, I have a bad habit of starting a note, adding the title, and then imagining what happens rather than writing it down. It happens! Sometimes I get a cool title and then don't know what to do with it.

Most often than not, I start by opening up an Idea Bank and skimming through the ideas I have. If one sticks out, or if I already knew what I was writing from the start and just needed reference, I start to plan out what happens in my head. (Unless I already have a timeline of events or very vague notes on where the story goes, which makes life 10x easier.)

Sometimes, rarely, if a piece of writing is dialogue-heavy, I write up a script first.

Then, I flesh out some parts.

And I'd go back later to detail it. I often go back and flesh out parts I really like then revert back to script format for the parts later.

However, my main way of writing is what I like to call "Let's goooo". I have a vague idea, I kind of have an image in my head, I can wing this, surely! That's probably why half of my stories get stuck at a point and I don't know how to continue, but sometimes I get a streak of inspiration and write a whole story for me to edit and make sense of later!

I have a few Keep tabs open. These often include:

The Idea Bank for what I'm currently writing

The story I'm writing

The random ideas Idea Bank (in case I get inspo for something else)

Random other thing I'm using to procrastinate (Chatfic, other story, etc.)

Keep tab that isn't on a note, in case I need to use Keep for something and don't what to lose my place in my other tabs

So my window often looks something like this:

The issue with me is that I have a million ideas and can't stick to one for long enough to finish writing a story for it. It's a miracle if I finish one!

Sometimes I'm too lazy to swap tabs and have the description/script of what happens in the story in the same Keep note, separated by a divider of sorts. I may also have what comes next underneath what's already written.

But most often than not, I have random important scenes held together by dividers! When I feel more inspired, I go back to connect the scenes together with whatever happens in between.

This example is a sort of mix between those styles!

If I ever actually end up finishing something, I put it onto a Google Docs note to edit! Because the red lines under words doesn't appear on mobile Google Keep for some reason, if I'm writing on my phone I move to computer.

I'd usually check through with Grammarly to be extra safe (but I often have it off because it annoys me), then reread and add/remove words. Sometimes I end up adding entire paragraphs!

Then, I'd add the "Finished" tag on Google Keep, so I know the story is finished and I don't have to continue writing it. I also have "Ao3 Posted" so I know what I've posted and what I haven't.

Even then, sometimes I go back to finished stories to read and edit them! You can never be too thorough!

That should be everything regarding my writing process! The only other things I can think of mentioning is how I often write with music on! It gives me lots of inspiration, which is why I often write song fics! I also often write crossover and AU fics, but these never go posted because there's so much hidden lore that I can't explain it all with one fic! You see, I start in the MIDDLE of an AU, not the start. I have so many stories that are so far into the AU that they literally don't make sense to anyone else. (Which sucks D:)

I also tend to write at unholy hours of the night. For some reason, my brain decides the best time to come up with ideas is when I'm trying to get some sleep.

Brain please. I want to sleep.

Also sorry for the late answer! I've been thinking about this ask a lot and wanted to get everything about my writing process in!

#and that's my writing process!#i hope im not forgetting anything #sometimes i spend days just adding new ideas to idea banks #like i was doing today!#adding more lore to characters #their motives #what happens #etc etc #sadly i never end up writing half of my ideas #because again #too much lore #eraser lore #answer box

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cutegirlmayra · 2 years

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Hey Mayra, I’ve just been watching Japanese Sonic X, and I’d like to know what you think about Japanese Sonic X’s Episode 52 ending vs. the English one? And what do you suppose happened after that moment? Hehe, I just love them🤩

There is so much to go over... well, for starter's the original Japanese song they choose for that particular episode was described as, "A good song that I felt represented Sonic when it came to Amy." Loosely quoted, not exact lines.

Second, the original audio is cut out. A common theme in Japan, usually for romantic declarations of love.

An example would be when Sora mouths something to Kairi at the ending of the DLC in KH3, and I'm sure you can think of a lot of media that has this trope between couples/younger characters who can't be 'couples' yet XD

It's later revealed in Season 2 what Sonic actually says, (Japanese translation loosely reiterated by my own words) "He said, here, Amy! This flower is for you! And that I knew-" so we are actually told that he was comforting her, showing kindness, but remember that another Season to Sonic X wasn't exactly in stone yet... they were originally going for a 'romantic tone' and I believe they tried that again in the last season's ending arc as well, but made it about 'Amy's undying faith in Sonic' which inspires the Planet Egg to save them cause 'Life Energy triggered--I guess--by love.'

Even in Japanese, I found this a little hard to understand XD

Amy's actions were followed by the original 'Natsu No Hi' song which was directly meant to show Sonic's POV of that scene, that love is fleeting, so while it's here, take my love and don't doubt it for now. I'm speaking my own words, but the Song is reflecting the memories of love that can come and go, but while we're together, let's be in love.

I think that actually does shows Sonic's very 'free-spirited' nature. He lives in the moment, while Amy is looking towards the future.

"Carry my heart", have my affections, "At least, until, the autumn ends~" suggesting spring, which is a representation of 'the season of love', will be over. "And put no one else there." Sonic may not be committal but he still cares about Amy.

The scene represents a Japanese endearing love trait, Loyalty. She was willing to for her beloved hero, like a devoted wife/girlfirend who waits for her returning soldier from war trope, "No matter how long it takes, I would still wait for you... WHAAA but you came back-ah-ack! It took a lot to make that decision!" - Japanese translation loosely reiterated by me.

Sonic's actions were meant to not only comfort Amy, but confirm that he appreciates her loyalty to him. The episode suggests that the first thing Sonic did when he returned home, was fly straight to Amy's house. This indirectly states not only that he was missing her as much as she was, but that he knew she'd be worried about him, and went to check-in on her first and comfort her that he was alright. (MY KOKORO! TAT -japanese for 'heart'-)

... The English version makes it a bit whiny... That Sonic is 'pacifying her' rather anything else. They removed the ENGLISH SIGN POST that said, "House of Amy Rose" cause GOODNESS FORBID WE HINT AT ANY ROMANTIC UNDERTONES IN A CHILDREN'S CENTER MEDIA CARTOON AHHHH!!!!

Okay, Karen.

I think it's wonderful, personally, to teach children young how to treat and respect both little boys and girls, cause I think socially it would help instill good morals and etiquette that maybe modern-day parenting is lacking?

But I digress...

After that moment, I tend to fantasize she made him that big dinner meal she reminisced about beforehand XD She loves to feed and spoil her man, lolol But I'm sure Sonic ended up visiting the others to let them know he was back and alright, too ^^ Amy was just top of the list which--grabs heart--THE WHOLESOME.

The mad respect I have for Sonic being chivalrous about visiting the home girl first XD

That's what I can think of off the top of my head so far ^w^ Thanks for the Ask, Precious Anon!

#sonic x #sonamy x #x!sonamy #sonamy #cutegirlmayra #ask cutegirlmayra #cutegirlmayra ask

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winterlogysblog · 2 years

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FOUR KNIGHTS OF THE APOCALYPSE | HYPOCRITE

Title: Hypocrite

Summary: A Knight of Camelot realizing the wrongs of his King.

Note: This has been in my drafts for so long, it needs to come out at some point. I hope you enjoy.

---

"Sir Thomas, I'm glad to see that you are back." A guard smiled upon my arrival.

"I heard you know the location of the dreadful place where demons reside?" A voice entered but I know that voice all too well.

"Ardbeg, King Arthur will decide if you get to eliminate them or not, so don't get too excited," I said.

"You're right." Ardbeg chuckled.

"You're a father right?" I asked out of nowhere, I don't even know where it came from.

"Yes, but why ask that?"

"The four knights, they're little kids, so full of potential." I started.

"You're talking a lot like Pelgart," Ardbeg commented.

"They have families of their own. Are you actually willing to take a son away from his father?" I removed my helmet and looked at him.

Ardbeg is in silence. I know I touched on a sensitive subject.

"But we're doing this for King Arthur and Humanity so sacrifices have to be made right?" I lied my ass off.

"That’s right." Ardbeg just nodded.

"Now I must go." I bid him farewell and entered the elaborate hall where King Arthur sat at the end of it. A mage by his side. She's Merlin one of the Seven Deadly Sins. I don't think she's even human and I'm pretty sure her eyeball companion, Orlandi is a Vampire.

"Ardbeg will handle things from there." The King spoke. "Give this to him," Merlin said as a crystal and a piece of paper floated above me.

"What's this?" I asked.

"It's a Goddess Amber it can trap hundreds of demons inside. Rather useful for the mission." King Arthur said. "Merlin will explain everything to him later."

"Of course, I'll inform Ardbeg right away." I bowed to our King before leaving.

As I looked for Ardbeg I saw Sir Nanashi training with the other knights. He has told me that he is a Goddess but he doesn't go by that anymore nonetheless he's still a goddess, and he can't escape it. I also saw a glimpse of Melascula, she's one of the Ten Commandments and she's now serving or more likely being controlled by King Arthur.

"Thomas there you are!!" It's Ardbeg.

"It's yours." I gave him the Goddess Amber. "Lady Merlin will explain everything to you later."

------

I watched as Ardbeg leave with his companion, Cernunnos a beast from the underworld.

"He's such a Hypocrite."

A world for humans and humans alone, he claims that humans would reign supreme and yet he uses powers and relics from other races.

Day by day I get this nasty feeling in my gut. Day by day the more I want to leave this place. Everyone has their stories of how the other races destroyed their lives but I'm different, I never talked about it because I know they wouldn't agree.

My daughter is saved by a Demon, an upper-level demon, one of the Ten Commandments.

I can't recall her face but all I can remember is that she's a muscular woman with short blonde hair similar to my daughter's.

I will always be grateful to her.

I got scared when she approached my daughter but what I saw changed me forever. Her soft smile as she patted my daughter's head gently before she flew away.

We may be different but unity can be achieved. The Seven Deadly Sins are a prime example of this.

------

"I know the consequences of my actions, if I were to be punished, please take care of my daughter for me," I asked the young lad in front of me.

"I can't see a reason why I can't get you two out of here without any suspicion." He smirked.

"I don't understand."

"I'll take care of everything, don't worry."

------

"Sir Thomas, I'm glad to finally meet you in person, you've been very helpful." The King of Liones greeted me with a playful smile.

------

"The location of one of the knights is set, prepare to eliminate this monster that will destroy the world."

"Sir Thomas, I heard your daughter went out of the castle walls." A guard said.

"Yes, she wants to explore and have an adventure, she's skilled and smart, I taught her well. I'm not worried, besides she's accompanied by someone I trust." Thomas said.

------

"Sir Thomas was killed in battle, we suspect they're one of the four knights but the descriptions don't match him at all!!!"

"His sacrifice shall not be in vain we'll eliminate them, and stop the prophecy from happening!!!"

------

"I'm back~"

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Let's just say that Sir Thomas of Camelot is no more." The young lad smirked.

"You faked my death, how is that possible?"

"With the help of my siblings." He cackled.

"Will they ever find out the truth?"

"Eventually, but when that day comes, I assure your safety here in Liones." He smiled.

"I don't see why they claim that the four knights will destroy the world." I looked over at him.

"Maybe because they can. They're not the only ones that Camelot should worry about either.

"Thank you, for everything, Sir Galehaut."

"Skip the formalities, I hate it." Galehaut chuckled.

"But you're a prince, Prince of the Fairies and Giants to be specific." I raised a brow.

"So?" Galehaut retorted and we both laughed afterward.

#4kota #four knights of the apocalypse #nnt fanfic #4kota fanfic #nanatsu no taizai #nnt #seven deadly sins #seven deadly sins sequel #mokushiroku no yon kishi #mokushiroku no yonkishi #fanfic #fanfiction

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yrbutchgf · 1 year

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2 6 10 12!

2. What's your top 5 songs at the moment and why?

OOOH okay okay... i think first i'm gonna go white ferarri, been on a bit of a frank ocean kick again lately and i just love that song by him. all the background vocals make it feel so atmospheric and between that and the melancholic lyrics, it feels like being hugged very gently in a cold room. in our lifetime by texas is also up there for sure; i forget what mutual put it on my dash a few weeks ago but i've loved it since. about by another michael bc. well. i envision music videos in my head. unholy ghosts by david keenan is just generally one of my favorite songs and i'm always surprised it hasn't gotten as much play as i think it has. lastly, desert scene by uncle chris, one of my current fave long songs. makes walking home feel like a movie.

6. Describe one of your favourite people.

kinda tall, but it's easy to forget that when you're around him for some reason? he's nearly 6ft but he has 5'6" energy. really funny, great sense of style. has been working on being more earnest w himself lately.

10. Share a recipe you love.

винигрет!! it's a russian beet/root vegetable salad. learned this my sophomore year of college because my professor brought some in for a lesson on food culture. i'm gonna put it below the cut, but it includes beets, white potatoes, carrots, pickles, white onions (optional), and dill (garnish). some people also put peas in it. served cold. i've made this for other people a ton of times and i always love it. it's my go-to meal-for-friend.

12. What's your favourite season and why?

i've said this before, but i think every time a new season comes around, i end up loving it just before it ends. i don't really like summer as a weather pattern, but by the time summer's ending, i realize i'm going to miss it, for example. but i think if i had to pick, i'd go winter. as long as i get snow, at least. i like bundling up, being chilly, coming in from the cold. lovely.

ok recipe time

винигрет - ingredients: beets (whole/raw or canned/boiled, not pickled), carrots (whole), white potatoes, white onions (optional but recommended), dill pickles, fresh dill (optional but recommended, NEVER dried), white vinegar, oil (optional). may add green peas.

wash and clean your veggies. don't bother peeling.

bring a large pot of water to a boil. if you bought your beets raw/whole, boil those first, as they'll take the longest time to do so. otherwise, start with the white potatoes.

while your beets are boiling, take this time to start chopping* your dill pickles and white onions. i personally don't think you can go overboard with pickles in this salad. i've used a whole jar to make a couple tupperwares of this before. as you chop, add your ingredients to a large mixing bowl.

once your beets/potatoes finish boiling, use a set of tongs to transfer them to a large bowl of cold water/icewater. the temperature shock will make the skin of the veggie very easy to remove. this is especially satisfying for the beets lol. canned boiled beets are way more convenient time-wise but i recommend boiling the beets yourself at least once because it's just so satisfying.

in the same pot, begin boiling your potatoes/carrots. meanwhile, chop* your beets/potatoes and combine them with your pickles and onions in the mixing bowl.

do the same for the carrots.

mix everything together. at this point, you can add white vinegar and oil to taste. fair warning, have a light hand with the oil, i've learned from experience that too much oil is WAAAAY way worse than too little, and frankly this salad is delicious with none at all too.

at this point you can add some fresh dill on top for added flavor, throw in some green peas if you'd like, then cover and throw in the fridge for a few hours/overnight. serve cold.

TL;DR, boil & chop up beets, white potatoes, and carrots. chop dill pickles and white onions. combine. add white vinegar and vegetable oil to taste. add green peas, fresh dill if desired. allow to chill.

notes: you can very much just eyeball the proportions, but i will say a few things. 1) you always need less potato than you think but boiling extra potatoes is never a bad thing because potatoes are a lovely little snack. 2) the beets are always going to be the star of the show, this is a beet salad. the end result should be mostly red. 3) you can never have enough pickles in this. like, to me the two non-negotiable ingredients in this are beets and pickles. not for nothing the whole flavor profile is dill. 4) white onions are optional and so is the oil but the white vinegar absolutely is not. trust. it doesn't take much either a tablespoon will bring you so far.

if you're nervous about getting the proportions right, just google винигрет and take the image results as references.

*russians can be very particular about the way you chop things for винигрет. good knife skills are everything if you want to impress with this. the idea essentially is to cube everything (fresh dill and white onions notwithstanding). to be honest, as long as everything is relatively the same size, it'll be just as good.

can be served by itself as a hardy salad, as a side dish, or with rye toast. lovely any time of the day. couldn't tell you how long it lasts in the fridge or whether it stands up to freezing (though i imagine it would) because whenever i make it, it always gets finished too quickly to say.

#asks #obeetlebeetle #HIIII i missed this c:#ask meme

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vanvani-sa · 1 year

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Commission info (OPEN)

Note: I really value my repeat clients and to show my appreciation for you support different prices may apply! Feel free to inquire for eventual discounts or special offers.

The following post has all the information you need to commission me. Make sure you read everything before sending a message.

Prices (in euro's) and examples:

(more examples on my account and other socials!)

Line-art commissions:

Head: 15,-

Half body: 20,-

Full body: 25,-

Base-color commissions:

Head: 25,-

Half body: 30,-

Full body: 35,-

Full render (prices vary based on detail):

Head: 45,-

Half body: 75,-

Full body: 100,-

Adding an extra character will add 70% of the original price. A half body line-art commission of two characters would be 34,- instead of 20,-.

Background prices may vary.

I will draw:

People from photo reference (stylised)

Original characters

DnD characters

Fandom characters

Furries or anthro's

Ponies

Backgrounds and complicated scenes

Nsfw (depending on the subject. Extra charges may apply)

Gore (depending on the subject)

I will not draw:

Anything I don't feel comfortable with

During the commission:

If I get started on a commission, I'll send progress screenshots at the following stages:

Base lay-out, composition and pose on half bodies and full bodies

Rough sketch

Colored base for the full render commission type

Terms and conditions:

The commissioned piece is for private use only and you may not resell your commissioned piece or use it for commercial purposes, unless discussed and agreed upon beforehand.

You may not remove my signature from the commissioned piece.

I own the finished artwork and reserve the right to post and use the commissioned piece on social media for marketing purpses or to expand my portfolio.

You may use line-art commissions to practice your coloring work, as long as I'm given proper credit.

I will only start working on the commission once I've received full payment and any necessary references and information.

If I am unable to complete the commission due to illness or other circumstances out of my control, I will send you what I have already finished and give a full refund.

If you are not satisfied with the commissioned piece I will not give a refund.

I reserve the right to charge extra for any additional changes I may have to make to make up for extra time.

If you cancel the commission yourself you will not receive a full refund. I usually start working on a commission right away and cannot be compensated for that time if the commission is canceled.

I will try to finish smaller commission within a month and larger ones withi two months. However, keep in mind that I'm also working towards getting my law degree and cannot do art full time.

Payment:

After I have agreed to do the commission I will send you my paypal.me link. Once I've received payment I'll get started on your commission!

How to commisssion me:

If you want to commission me you can contact me via e-mail: [email protected].

If you aren't sure what to include in your e-mail you could add the following points:

What type of commission you'd like to order.

Character references, personality desxcriptions, props they could be interacting with, specific poses or facial expressions you have in mind, other examples, etc.

The required filesize (I'll always use a file size large enough to make it suitable for printing. This is mre for, when you want your commission to be square, horizontal or vertical)

If you have something very specific in mind you can also include a simple drawing o stick figures to convey exactly what you want.

Once you've read everything and agree to these terms feel free to send me an e-mail. I look forward to working with you!

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lobsterplush · 2 days

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Day 3-4: Start and finish

There's two common knots used at the ends of projects:

Overhand knots are good for securing both beginnings and ends of projects, but especially the ends to keep them from unraveling. The knot starts to get loose with more than four strings so on more complicated projects I will try to finish them in multiple overhand knots. Make sure to tug on each string after making an overhand knot so all strings are tight and the knot is strong.

Lark's head knots are good for starting wide projects:

^Ten strings, as an example. You can make your project as wide as you like by adding more lark's head knots. I'll show some examples of other wide project starters on a later post.

When I draw diagrams I will show these two knots like so:

The overhands will be colored yellow and the lark's heads orange, for visibility. So that ten string starter would look like this:

/\/\/\/\/\

When starting a project I fold my strings to put useful loops at the top of my projects. (As opposed to cutting four separate strings for a four string project, etc.) I've seen some tutorials where a project is started in the middle and worked outwards, but that means you'll have to trim both sides. Loop starters are less messy imho.

To finish you have to secure the cords. I have to admit, this is my weak spot; I tend to just make a bunch of overhand knots and trim the excess. It's not that clean a finish.

On jewelry I just try to avoid drawing attention to the clasp area but if the project is a bangle, like a keychain, you can trim the leftover string to be longer, like fringe. And on 3D projects I try to find ways to hide the knots from view.

The more strings you cut for a project the more ends to eventually clean up.

/\/\/\/\/\

Starting and finishing with clasps!

A) Magnetic clasps: Easy to put on but also easy to remove. They come in different shapes and some are shaped in a way that makes it harder for them to just get yanked apart. I've found the cord holes on these types of clasps to be on the small side (many can only fit one macrame string) so watch out for that.

B) Lobster clasps: It is with heavy heart I must report that many small lobster clasps have sticky joints and are super difficult to fasten, even if you add a little metal circle that makes the target circle thinner, as pictured. It's better than trying to lobster claw grabbie the cord loops, but you're still going to struggle. Even with a second person's help.

C) Barrel clasps: Great for necklaces because it needs two hands to fasten. A fav.

D) Bead clasp: You start the projects with a loop anyway, may as well use it like a button! You could just use a large knot as a button but big beads look nice! As pictured ^, pony beads are just big enough to be worked over an overhand knot and can be secured with glue. A lot of my bracelets were finished this way because it's one of the easier clasps to fasten one-handed, but they work for necklaces too. Make sure to put the bead over the knot before trimming the cords!

E) No clasp: if a necklace is long, you can tie it and skip clasps altogether.

Don't forget: any clasp bits you want on the beginning loop, add them before you start tying knots. When finishing you can slide a clasp on a few strings and secure it with an overhand knot or add the clasp between two overhand knots.

There's definitely other types of clasps I'm less familiar with; you can poke around the clasp section at an art store and see what hits you.

(Macre-May Prompt list)

#Macre-May #Macre-May 2024 #macrame #art challenge

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itsjustascarecrow · 2 months

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lol just so i'm not adding more tags onto that least fave horror genre poll, i'm gonna throw some more thoughts under a readmore b/c i have a lot of feelings about it for some reason, lmao

initially i was just gonna point out that zombies also wasn't on the list, unless op was categorizing them under something else?? but considering all the others i noticed weren't present (folk, spacial, and creature feature; also anthology if you wanna count that, but it's more of a format), i figure it was merely a case of like the limitations of that kind of post like only having so many options. i've also seen people make the argument that zombies isn't really a genre, just a type of creature; same w/ like all these vampire and frankstein themed films we've been getting this past year or so. so idk if universal monsters would be it's own subgenre separate from something like a standard creature feature (i.e. jaws, the godzilla films, any sort of man vs. beast type movie), vs. like. idk, do people consider the predator and alien films slashers??? i think that may be the case w/ like the leprechaun and puppetmaster series, for example; it's not a singular masked killer, but it's someone/thing(s) killing people off until we're left w/ a final girl of some description. alien is sci-fi horror, sure, but most slasher series tend to have at least the one obligatory "in space" installment, so i guess?? one can argue alien just does that from the start and never leaves. and setting goes back and forth w/ predator, but that's even more so a slasher-type set up, so. idk, some of these definitely start to get too muddled where it may just come down to personal interpretation (like i was just posting about re-animator earlier today and just thought to myself it's technically a sci-fi zombie movie, lmao). some may have an objective answer, but part of me wants to play devil's advocate and leave it open.

speaking of, devil/possession films were also absent from the list; i tend to steer away from them mostly b/c of the religious aspect. partly it's overplayed, partly i just don't care for it. when evil lurks was a fantastic break from form by removing that element, but it may be just about the only example i can think of that does possession through infection as opposed to some kind of demon. in any case, would've been interesting to see where that would've placed; my guess would be either very high or very low. given that gothic was the lowest, my assumption is that maybe people just like the aesthetic?? esp when taking a tumblr audience into account, lol.

body horror being second surprised me; maybe people just think it's gross? which tbf was why i almost picked that, but then i had two thoughts about it: 1) it's another blind spot for me (and what little i have seen i liked) so didn't feel like a good enough reason, and 2) as someone who's gnc, picking it would've felt like some sort of betrayal, lmao. like i've not undergone any surgeries or hrt, anything like that, but still lol, felt almost hypocritical (and again esp given that this is a tumblr audience being polled). of course the works of cronenberg are prob what first come to mind for most people, which sure, he's not for everyone; i'll even admit that the ulterior motives and themes he tries to tackle kind of go over my head at first, but i think i just need to take more time w/ it. b/c at a base level, when i finally watched videdrome for the first time a couple weeks ago, i was enthralled by the actual body horror elements when i was actually seeing them instead of just imagining it based on reputation. same w/ og hellraiser; that shit is gnarly, so yeah, if you're at all squeamish, you're not gonna have a good time. but if you're desensitized and willing to explore the why of what's going on, it can be fascinating. or, if nothing else just enjoying the incredible practical effects (here's looking at you, the shunting scene from society).

and i was a lil surprised fantasy wasn't higher up b/c it seems like people who do watch them end up hating it, but it's prob something not a lot even know about or have seen. or, my other speculation is perhaps people just think it's too campy, too childish, too goofy, somewhere in that vein like too close to comedy where it can be really hit or miss. again, i'll mention the leprechaun series b/c while that has supernatural/slasher elements, it's specifically a fantastical creature (or a version of one) at the helm. but realistically, it really is most likely a case of people not having enough experience/examples of it to give it a vote as compared to anything else.

another i almost went with was psychological; person i rb'ed from said they're boring which i can understand. the only real argument i have can honestly be said for any of these but like if it's done well, then they're plenty fun and interesting. but given nowadays most examples tend to fall into "elevated horror," it seems divisive. personally, i just take it on a case-by-case situation; some i like, some i don't. again, same can be said for all these genres. as a side note, i wonder if op of the poll considers giallo under this umbrella; i tend to like most giallo films but, i'm also a sucker for a lot of 70s horror when those were more popular. i recently watched berberian sound studio which was a 2014 sort of homage to 70s giallo, and yes it was slow, not particularly scary/not a lot of big scares or very bloody, and ended somewhat abruptly w/o explaining much. but i fucking loved it; can't pinpoint why exactly, and i could see why a lot of the reviews said they were so bored w/ it. thrillers/psych horror is a weird one b/c they can end up being predictable and/or drag on a bit, so idk, maybe i'm just more forgiving. plus i can see why it's more appealing to those who hate slashers, etc., and how that same reason is why others don't like it.

ultimately, i figure no matter how many subgenres you throw in there, slashers will always end up the least fave. personally, i've enjoyed most of the ones i've bothered to watch (b/c there's plenty i've just not cared to bother with), but i understand it's considered schlock to casual and hardcore fans alike, esp the older stuff when it was way more abundant. and i guess one can argue it technically hasn't gotten much better at its core, like technically the kills (the how and who) are more diverse, but it's the overall setup/plot that people feel is just way too overdone at this point. which is fair. it feels like a staple of horror as a whole, even tho it's not where the genre got its start, but it's clearly given way to stuff like the torture porn years of the 20-oughts that really turned people away from horror as a whole. my first instinct is to say i'm not too familiar w/ neo-slashers to make the comparison, but that could just be a term for any slasher made after a certain year, idk. if anything, i think as much as some may complain it's just the same thing over and over again, clearly the formula still works.

basically all of this to say i can see the arguments for and against for each subgenre and now i would love to see a more in-depth poll (or perhaps multiple, more specified polls) reach a wider horror audience.

#file under why i'm so frustrated w/ being in college b/c i can write fucking dissertations about how i feel about horror on fuckin tumblr #but can't for the life of me write a fucking graded midterm/final paper on the subject/major i've studied for five years #and that you have to be a fucking grad student if you want to write about the shit you actually care about #Anyway. if any of y'all actually took the time to read All Of That i appreciate you so much lmao #random bullshit

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