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sweetracha · 4 months

Note

Welcome to "Counter part A.I" your fully customizable sexual incounters await!

Android!Felix started as a simple FWB, a live in partner to maintain your needs, until he gets nosey and wonder " how best can i assist my owner in their experience?" so he snoops and downloads your entire aearch history on the hub. Next thing you know, yu come home to see felix sitting pretty in the most gorgeous lingerie

"come here angel, mommy has a surprise for you-"

Artificial Intelligence

Sugar Content: Spicy Sweet (SMUT!), Sugary Sweet (Fluff), A hint of angst.

Allergy Warning: SMUT! Sex with Andriod! Felix, Mommy Kink, Punishment, Spanking, Human and Andriod Relationship, Human Emotions Explored Through an Andriod, Felix starts to gain human traits, Basically a self-rewarding fic for me

The large shipping crate stood in the middle of your living room. You looked it up and down before circling it once or twice. Were you nervous? Scared? Excited? A mix of everything all at once? You had never done anything like this before, not that you had anything wrong with it, just hadn’t crossed your path. One more lonely night, one more night comforting yourself, one more night pleasing yourself, one more night putting yourself to sleep, one more day of waking up cold, eating alone, leaving alone, driving alone, being alone, it was one day too much. Then the ad came across your screen.

You opened the large crate and jumped back when met with a face. The covering was made of plastic, meaning you saw him right away. It took you a while before you could bring yourself to take him out and set him down on your couch. Sitting on the coffee table, you took him in. The base model came with blonde hair that was customizable. It was slightly longer than most of his line but you liked it that way. What was most striking of all was the individual hand-painted freckles that littered his whole face. The outfit he wore was the typical factory jumpsuit but in a soft baby pink, almost white however the tint was there. Embroidered on the right side of the chest read ‘SKZ-L.I.X915’. His body drooped a bit and his eyes were closed in a default facial expression. He looked so peaceful like he was just barely asleep. He looked so real, so human.

You reached out to flick the switch hidden behind his ear. Instantly gears and motors could be heard, quietly but still there. The android in front of you came to life and sat up. He blinked a few times, the golden brown eye you noted before focusing on you.

“Hello! Welcome to Counterpart A.I.! A customizable AI Android experience for you! My name is L.I.X915 but you can call me Felix. What’s your name?”

You were left speechless. Sure you have seen androids before and even hung out with some of the ones your friends had but something about Felix seemed different. It didn’t help that such a thick and deep Aussie accent came from such a petite android.

“Y/-Y/N,” You said in a mumble, still mesmerized.

“Could you say that again, Darling? I don’t think it quite got that.” A little circling light appeared, indicating he was learning.

“Y/n, My name is Y/N”

“Beautiful” He looked on at you for a bit longer.

After a few more standard questions like age, pronouns, likes, dislikes, etc. Felix shut down. You looked confused at the android before it breathed life into itself once again. This time when he looked at you it was less robotic, more personable, more emotional, more human.

Weeks went by with Felix living around your house. Quickly he became more like a roommate than an android toy you bought for companionship. Felix insisted that he could sleep in the garage with the charging cable like most other androids do, but when you set him up his own bedroom he knew his life would be different. He explored the room bit by bit while you were away at work. He found books, games, movies, shows, anything, and everything he needed to learn about the world. He dived in head first, fascinated by it all.

Felix was always ready when you came home. Laundry done, dinner made, and dishes cleaned, he even laid out pajamas for you to change into. The smile that you gave him, even through your tired eyes made him feel funny. He wasn’t sure if he was malfunctioning, maybe he was a defective android, but something about you made him feel warm.

“Why don’t you sleep with me?” Felix blurted out one night as you were finishing up your meal.

“Felix, what? What are you talking about?”

“Most androids from the SKZ line are bought as personal pleasure counterparts, we were designed for that purpose. If my purpose is not to please you then why did you pick me?”

“Why did I pick you? Felix-”

“Why did you pick my model if you weren’t attracted to me? The Chn and Cnbin models are much more popular for a reason.” Felix knew he couldn’t feel emotions, it was impossible yet the idea of you being with any other android but him made him feel something. Maybe he was defective.

“Felix…I picked you because you were my type.”

“Your type?” Gosh, he looked so adorable when he was trying to learn.

“You aren’t going to find that information in your data bank Lixie. I guess what I’m saying is you are what I am attracted to. Something about you sparks something in me, that's all”

“Then why-”

“Why haven’t we had sex?” A simple nod was given, and the learning indicator began to spin. “Lixie, okay” You sigh heavily. “Look, that was my original intent when I got you, but then I opened your box and something felt so wrong about using you in that way. I guess you filled all my other needs, someone to love, care for, and want to see grow and become their own. I wanted the other stuff to come naturally, you know? Why am I the one to choose what happens to you.”

Felix blinked for a bit, not sure what to say. Some humans wanted free autonomy for androids but to actively be looking out for one was different.

“What if I chose that? What if I say I want that intimacy with you”

“Then I consent” A small smile appeared on your face, mirroring his.

That was the first night of many you two spent together. Felix was also careful and considerate of you, understanding how much stronger he was. He never failed to make you weak in your knees and completely wiped out. Quickly he made it his goal to see you stumble just a bit when you got out of bed. Life was perfect for you two.

Then it wasn’t. Slowly over time, you became more distant, less talkative, less attentive. You ate your meals, took your shower, and went to bed. Sure Felix was always allowed to join but you two rarely interacted. He knew it was nothing he did, you were constantly apologizing to him. Work was stressful and taxing on your body. Relationships were reaching a rough point and the world seemed to be on fire. He wondered how a human could take on so much, you were so fragile yet so strong in his eyes.

Felix checked out some books from the local library, claiming they were for you. He had a fascination for books about romance. It could be fiction, non-fiction, education, smut, or pure, he just loved to read about the subject. However, after reading a book about the Art of Love, he began to wonder if maybe he was the reason you were not feeling better. He wasn’t the cause of the stress but he wasn’t the cure either. It talked about how lovers should explore and talk about interests inside the bedroom. Felix wanted that for you, to let you let go and have fun for once, to fully let you enjoy something. How would he achieve that if you weren’t talking?

Just then Felix got a glance at your computer. He knew it was wrong but he was hooked up to the wifi system. If he connected the cord from your computer to the port on his neck, he could cycle through your whole search history, whether deleted or not. This was bad, this was untrustworthy, this was unloyal, but he justified it by knowing it was for your own good. He sat in the chair and connected himself to the hard drive. His eyes went black and digital code ran over them. He saw everything.

You shut the door behind you and let out a heavy sigh. Shoes long forgotten at the door and bags discarded on the couch as you made your way into the kitchen. You immediately went to Felix’s spot for your nightly hug and reassurance but when you got there, he was gone. All that was left was a little note that read

‘Dinner is delayed, meet me in the bedroom.’

You pulled yourself up the stairs, feeling like gravity was weighing you down. You cared for Felix but you had so much more to do tonight, games weren’t going to fit in. The door was left slightly ajar so all you had to do was nudge it slightly before you were greeted with a sight you never thought you’d see.

Your Felix was sitting on the edge of your bed, legs crossed, hands cupped, and gently placed on his lap. That was not what left you speechless, no. It was the soft baby pink lingerie set that adorned his body. A lace bralette with a single jewel in the middle, matching lace panties connected to thigh-high nylons, and a single garter around his thigh. He looked breathtaking.

“Come here Angel, Mommy has a surprise for you” He outstretched a hand and a single finger beconded you in.

You went, no questions asked as if it was in your DNA to listen to his request. When you arrived he parted his legs and pulled you in, embracing you in that hug you searched for. He pulled back and soft hands traced your outline.

“Oh Angel, how did Mommy get so lucky.” One hand tilted your chin to look at him. “But you haven’t been very good, have you, baby? Hmmm?”

“Felix, What do you-”

“Already disobeying me, and when you are already in trouble. What am I going to do with a brat like you, hmm? You’ve been lying to Mommy telling him you are okay, just tired. But mommy knows you haven't been taking care of yourself. Then you keep secrets from Mommy. How you like to be fucked, choked, used, and” Felix stood up and it felt like he towered over you. He learned down to your ear and whispered in his deep thick accent “and punished”

You gulped and began to squirm nervously. He buzzed as he saw you shrink, submission in your eyes. A hand on your lower back guided you to the closet and vanity. Felix took his time undressing you and placing a matching baby blue set on your body. In the mirror, he fixed your makeup and hair, soft kisses were left on your head. The same hand from before closed around your neck and squeezed, forcing you to look straight forward, into the eyes of your reflection.

“Now that's more like it. Mommy’s perfect little doll” He hummed and took you in. He was learning you, your body, your reactions, everything. Being under such close inspection made you feel small, it made you feel like for once someone else was in control. Just how you always wanted it.

“So I think it's time for my pretty doll to get that punishment, right? Oh, don’t think mommy forgot. I think a red ass would complement the look nicely.” Felix took back his position on the bed. “Over my knee, now.”

The act of being across Felix’s lap was so humiliating yet so erotic to you. The way his hand held the curve of your ass, just to prolong the time you had to spend waiting made you tip on the verge of cumming. He knew it too, he knew exactly what he was doing to you. He took his first swing and you felt the bite of contact on your skin.

“Oh my pretty thing is so sensitive, Mommy should have known. One spank in and you already look gone. Too bad Mommy isn’t anywhere close to done yet. Now don’t move or I’ll start over.” And with that, he began the punishment in full.

Every smack that landed on your ass sent a sharp spike of pain through your body that melted into immense pleasure. Yelps sounded more and more like moans the further he went. The spot on your underwear got darker and darker. Felix took a break to let you catch your breath, satisfied with the cherry glow on your skin. He inched his hand curiously to the dampened spot and was surprised to find the fabric fully soaked.

“Oh Doll, such a naughty thing for Mommy. Here I am trying to teach you a lesson and you are getting off on it? Who knew my baby was such a slut. Huh, I wonder what would happen if I just-” Three flat fingers came down on your clothed cunt making you clench and lunged in pleasure. “There is no way that you could cum from this, right baby? You aren’t that much of a whore.”

“I-I Can” Your voice stumbled out in broken tones.

“So if Mommy were to do this” He brought his hand down 3 times in quick succession, earning a whaling moan from you. “You could cum?”

“Yes, Mommy!”

“Then Beg for it”

“Please Felix, please Mommy! Smack my cunt and make me cum, please”

“Such a pain slut” He rained down on your cunt, it only took about 5 more hits until you were sent into a shattering orgasm, Felix rubbed your clothed clit to get you through it.

You were pulled and cradled into his lap as he shushed your whimpering cries. He rocked you a bit and those same soft kisses were left all over your face.

“Good job baby, so good for mommy. Shhhh Mommy is so proud” you attempted to reply. “Nuh uh it okay baby, let Mommy care for you. Can you take one more? I promise to be gentle”

“Please don’t”

“You can’t take one more, that's okay baby-”

“No.” You looked up at him and he saw the need deep in your eyes. “Please don’t be gentle”

Face shoved down into the mattress while your back was arched in a steep slope, Felix rammed his cock into you. This was something Felix knew by heart, no education was required. You liked it deep, rough, and forceful. Felix made sure you felt every dragging inch of his cock back to the tip before slamming it into you. Never fast though, he knew you needed to feel it. Your peaking moans alerted him that you were on the edge. If it were any other night he would test out the denial kink he saw in your history but he felt like saving a few cards to himself for now. Instead, Felix forced you up straight, your back aligned with his chest, reaching a completely new angle. A finger laid against your clit and began to vibrate rapidly. A hand around your throat kept you from falling as you came harder than you ever had before. The room went pure white and then black before you hit the sheets.

Stimulation to your abused area woke you up. You tried backing away but a reassuring hand on your ankle kept you in place.

“Shh baby, I’m sorry. I just need to get you cleaned up. I can run a bath if you like?”

“Mommy?” You blinked to clear the fog in your vision

“No, just Felix, baby” A deep chuckle left him at how cute you looked and sounded.

“Lixie?” You made grabby hands towards him, and he happily accepted. Scooping you up and laying you on his chest.

“Thank you, Felix, and I’m not mad”

“Why would you be mad? Did I do something wrong” There was a hint of worry in his voice, a human-exclusive emotion.

“You left the cable connected to my computer, I saw it when you were doing my make-up in the mirror.”

“Oh, Well I am glad you aren’t upset. Maybe a surprise could be my apology?”

“What more surprises could you possibly have up your sleeve, Felix?”

“New software update tomorrow. They call it the “Breeding patch.” He shares a smirk at your already flustered expression.

“So you can..cum now?” He nods proudly.

“When does that update come through again?”

The Sweetest Batch: @goblinracha @kaciidubs @channieandhisgoonsquad @comet-falls @ddyskz @jiminskies @j-onedrabbles @lixiesweetbrownie @marrivmel @caitlyn98s

#stray kids #skz #stray kids smut #skz smut #🍰moots!#goblinracha #lee felix smut #Lee Felix #Andriod! Felix

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fermiomoriblog · 3 months

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The pitfalls of every Sunny ship

Diving straight into the hot coals with the first post. But it has been on my mind lately.

The setup in Omori is naturally quite mentally (and in some cases physically) taxing on every main cast character, and a shipper can very easily be overenthusiastic about getting a "happy ending" for their preferred pair, glossing over inconvenient problems and dynamics. I think that it really is rather contrary to the game's themes that this occurs, but it is also understandable that not everybody does a full psychoanalysis of every plot point in their story. I'll list some "common" problems I've personally encountered with people making content about sunburn, suntan and sunflower. I'm more familiar with the dynamics common on ao3 than elsewhere, so if you have any other observations or things to add, please feel free to do so.

# OMORI SPOILERS BELOW #

Sunburn

The "canon" ship. The fact that the ship is explicitly mentioned in game means that the ship is viewed as the "default", and it can lead to some lazy dynamics or lack of justification. You have to remember that no matter what headspace says (and headspace says a lot of things that aren't true), the first thing Sunny and Aubrey did after four years is beat the shit out of each other. Sunny knows nothing about the Hooligans, even though we do, and Aubrey thinks Sunny abandoned her (which is a feeling unlikely to abate after the truth). There needs to be basis for the ship as well - they aren't going to just pick up where they left off (presuming they had anything to leave off in the first place) right away. Which leads us to the first common problem:

Basing the relationship entirely on the past

This is the default reaction and requires the least writing creativity, so it is not surprising that it is common. Simply porting the HS dynamic or the swing scene to the future and copy-pasting is fun and cute and all, but it ignores the fact that both Sunny and Aubrey have changed massively. There's a lot of guilt that is going around, both with Sunny for obvious reasons and Aubrey for pushing Basil in the lake, and Aubrey has a bunch of new, closer friends whom depending on your interpretation are either theatre kids or delinquents. This is not really just going to get talked away on the swing set - they involve third parties.

I would venture to argue that this is actually a very problematic pitfall, despite it being generally not a very serious transgression in real life. Omori, as a game, is about moving on from the past. If you write a fic where the characters forget about bad things in the past but hang on like hell to the good things... that's Headspace. You've just put Sunny in a new Headspace.

Getting Basil out of the way

Even among sunburn/suntan shippers, it is pretty generally accepted that Basil was somewhat attached to Sunny even before the accident. So if you don't want to do sunflower, how do you deal with that?

You can write angst, where Aubrey and Basil end up fighting over Sunny. Weirdly, I've never seen this actually happen (probably because it's too heartbreaking). You can have Basil go to therapy, and get rid of an unhealthy attachment. You can also go the seriously angsty route of Basil hating Sunny for abandonment, Sunny hating Basil for his role in the incident, or a less intense version which just puts a barrier between the two. You can also have Sunny reject Basil. Or you can argue that the attachment was platonic, which is entirely fair.

What you cannot do is have Basil be romantically interested in Sunny, but "get out of the way" for Aubrey "so that Sunny can be happy". Or, well, you can do that, but you can't frame it as anything but serious angst from Basil's POV.

Unfortunately, many, many "pure fluff" Sunburn fics do this, because "pure fluff" fics don't want to untangle the whole thing as most methods involve some degree of emotional turnmoil. This is no ordinary infautation - Basil has waited for Sunny for four years. Nursing unrequited love like that is really, really painful. It is certainly not something that someone with Basil's character and history can do with a smile on their face. If you need any further convincing, I point you to Note to Self: Don't Be Gay in Faraway Town by witheredahlia.

A version of this which I think is a lesser sin (because it is at least framed with some nuance), but a sin regardless, is Aubrey getting annoyed at Basil for "stealing" Sunny's attention from her. This gets dangerously close to the reddit comments you see about "the friend group will be better off if Basil never joined".

Suntan

Despite sunburn being the "canon" and sunflower being the natural alternative, I actually think that this is the default. After all, Kel was the one to bring Sunny out, generally saving his life, and is his first friend, etc. Kel is also a clean slate character, with nothing anyone can particularly hold against them, and as a result suntan is the "healthiest", "least questionable" ship. This commits the customary mistake of believing Kel's parents when they say "eh, it's Kel, he'll be fine".

"Kel's fine"

No, he's not. He's spent the better part of four years trying to forget the happiest times of his childhood, and has been going around doing nothing but fixing and saving other people, putting others' needs far above his own, for the entirety of pre-canon and foreseeably for a good part of post canon as well. Suntan, especially with Sunny still in a vulnerable state post-canon, can very easily be written into Kel being Sunny's unpaid, untrained therapist, and his mood/health being Kel's only/majority source of validation. Kel's self-worth independent of his friends needs addressing and development, and without a lot of development, Sunny alone is not really equipped to provide that.

In all fairness, while I would be somewhat confident in saying that the majority of canon-compliant sunburn fics run into the problems above, suntan fics do usually handle it better. That might just be because there aren't that many suntan fics though.

Sunflower

It goes without saying that sunflower has the highest potential to be unhealthy. But precisely because of that fact, people writing sunflower are usually very careful to address it. Either the fic is written as a work exploring codependency/attachment/trauma/other general unhealthiness (which you can make your own judgement on whether it's a legitimate art form or problematic), or there is at minimum an attempt at pacing, therapy and general juggling of the various mental issues the game leaves Sunny and Basil with (for a shining example, see These Days Without You by Smitty1899, my go to answer for when anyone says "but sunflower toxic!!1!").

The issues that can make sunflower unhealthy and problematic are generally pretty obvious - shared crime, codependency and attachment, commitment and abandonment issues, and the whole "getting together before their friends forgive them" thing (which can still be done well, but from the POV of especially Hero can be kind of eh, and unlikely to be conducive to a healthy relationship given that it kind of depends on their friends' pending "approval".) As a result, there aren't a lot of works that don't address them in one manner or another. However, I do think there is one major pitfall that some fics fall into in the other direction:

Having everything in the relationship be dependent on someone else's approval.

In an attempt to make sunflower as healthy as possible, some authors make it so that Sunny and Basil effectively never make decisions on their own. There's always a third party present to psychoanalyse them, tell them what's fine and what's not, etc. and every step they make in their relationship is with the express blessing, support and help of the rest of their friends. The problem is, that's not healthy either.

I feel that the value of sunflower is greatest in the context of the themes of the game of moving on and forgiveness. Making it so that Sunny and Basil hang on to their guilt forever and robbing them of any "right" to decide for themselves what makes them happy is very much contrary to that - they're on crutches for the rest of their lives, and the point of the good ending is the hope that they won't need to be. It also is just not a good thing for any third party to intervene so extensively in a relationship.

Conclusion

Omori is emotionally deep, with many, many themes to explore. Ships in Omori have unique meanings and themes, which in a canon compliant context is quite hard to simply wipe away. Rushing into a ship with insufficient pacing and development, which works in "cute" fandoms, generally leaves lots of outstanding holes in Omori.

This post doesn't necessarily mean that I think less of any particular ship mentioned - to reiterate, every ship has unique meanings and themes which is interesting to explore and form a part of the message of the game. It is however true that some pitfalls in some ships are easier to fall in, and overlooked, than others, and the obvious problems get a lot more bashing than the non-obvious ones. (Yes, sunflower bias. Sue me.)

And of course, in a plotless or AU context, cute art is cute art.

#omori #omori sunny #omori basil #omori aubrey #omori kel #omori sunflower #omori sunburn #omori suntan #brainrot.txt #rant post

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ghoste-catte · 4 months

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I'm on my hands and knees asking you about your favorite gaalee moments (spin offs count bc why wouldn't they)

Anon ... I'm sorry I took a while to answer this for you, but it's because you activated my trap card. But without further ado ... here are my top 10 GaaLee moments.

(My 10th pick and rationale beneath the cut)

The Drop Kick So, I feel like we don't talk about this kick often enough. Because this is actually the first time anyone draws blood on Gaara (we see the scratch on his face once his head pops back up). As much time as was given in canon to Gaara's reaction to Sasuke drawing his blood, I don't really understand why Lee being the first to cut him wasn't as big a deal.

The Primary Lotus This is ... probably the first time Gaara's been touched hand-to-body in years. I've written a few times (and shout out to @egregiousderp for their hand in this headcanon) about how this was probably the first approximation of a hug that Gaara had since Yashamaru. He replaces himself with a sand clone halfway down, but for the initial drop, that's just Lee holding him.

The Rescue I wasn't able to find my favorite screenshot from this moment, which is the one where Gaara's sand is rushing to save Lee and it kind of looks like a heart, but anyway, I just love this pivot. The fact that Gaara uses the very weapon he used to crush Lee's dreams to save him. The way Lee still tries to be an equal partner in this fight despite his injuries. The "I don't hold a grudge!"

The Talk This moment means a lot to me. It's a deep conversation to have, and it's one that happens on two levels that I think aren't fully addressed by the narrative. Of course, on the surface, they're talking about Kimimaro and Orochimaru, but the subtext goes something like: Gaara: Even if people love me, I'm still a monster. All they would need to do is be desperate and lonely enough, and I might seem like a good choice. Lee: The fact that people love you proves you're not a monster! Obviously Gaara gets the final word in this conversation, but I do like to think it sinks in later on and influences their relationship in the future.

The Walk Home I hate that we only get to see this in flashbacks in filler episodes (although we do get to see it twice from two different perspectives!)

But I love this moment because of the way that Gaara chooses to carry Lee: he slings him over his shoulder with one arm. If you go back and watch Gaara and his siblings returning to Suna after his fight with Naruto, that's exactly the way first Kankuro, and then Temari, carry him when he's wounded.

This moment is during that time where Gaara's still learning how to be a person and not a weapon, and the fact that he chooses to carry Lee with such care … it feels relationship-defining.

6. The Eighth Gate That flashback that Gaara has to Gai and Lee's relationship shows that he's really internalized the defining impact Lee had on his life. The genuine care and concern that he looks at Lee with in that moment despite Lee's stubborn insistence that he won't be sad makes my heart ache for the both of them.

7. The Retreat If you've ever read one of my fics that's set during the war and notice that I mention Gaara carrying Lee around on his sand, this is what I'm talking about. I love that Lee sees the sand as an unequivocal source of safety instead of threat at this point (to the point of entrusting it to carry Gai-sensei in his frail state). And I love that this seems to be Gaara's default way of pulling Lee out of danger ... it's at least the second time he's done it, after all:

8. Gaara-kun! This was one of The Moments for me. We as a ship had been speculating so long about the degree of intimacy of Lee and Gaara's relationship. We'd spent, I think, a decade at this point writing fics where Lee called Gaara "Kazekage-sama". Then the Perfect Day for a Wedding arc dropped, and here's Lee calling Gaara "Gaara-kun" just like he does the rest of his friends ... wind was blown into the ship's sails on this day.

9. The Double Date Gaara and Lee go on a double date with Tenten and Kankuro to Ichiraku Ramen. This is canon. 'Nuff said.

And now, for number 10 ... drumroll please ...

10. The ILY I know, I know - those handsigns don't mean the same in JSL as they do in ASL. But my little hard-of-hearing heart can't help but see Lee shooting double "I love you"s at Gaara in this moment. And even if he's not, the starry eyes and blushy cheeks say it all. This is flirting, y'all.

#answered #Anonymous #naruto #gaalee

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crimeronan · 13 hours

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quick dunmeshi thoughts now that it's been a few hours since i finished the manga:

chilchuck good. love a bitch.

i was hoping i'd have a new popular femslash ship i can write for but unfortunately the yuris are too sweet and fluffy for me. i need my sapphics to try to kill each other at least once :(

similarly: marcille did great being unhinged within the constraints of the genre but baby girl i wanna see you in a yellowjackets type setting SO BAD. set marcille free in an adult drama where she can do true atrocities. FOLDED TOO FAST GIRLIE I BELIEVE IN YOUR ABILITY TO SUCCUMB TO DARKNESSSSS DONT LISTEN TO YOUR FRIENDS!! DONT BELIEVE IN LOVE!!! DONT HAVE A POIGNANT MOMENT OF EMOTIONAL GROWTH AND ACCEPTANCE!! DONT COME TO TERMS WITH GRIEF!!!! DONT LET THEM CONVINCE YOU NOT TO DO ATROCITIES YOU ARE SO POWERFUL AND CAPABLE OF RUINING EVERYTHING FOREVER!!!!!!

wasn't attracted to laios except for in one single scene.

it was the one where he suffocated falin.

we're not going to unpack this.

izutsumi would be a blorbo if she wasnt just straight-up me.

as is though so many of her lines are things i have directly said aloud in real life conversation that i spent the whole time going "well. this is freaking me out."

kabru is an icon. love guys who play 3d chess

come to think of it, i'm pretty sure his relationship with mithrun is the only one that had any emotional impact on me whatsoever. cunt who can't feel dick about shit x bitch who's pissed off about it 5EVAAAAA

i still default to snack packs of cheez its and goldfish crackers to replace the meals i don't wanna cook. an entire 100-chapter manga about the love of cooking and eating has done nothing to improve my outlook on cooking and eating.

sorry senshi. :(

#now if anyone has any fanwork they swear by where marcille and/or falin are super fucked up in dark fiction ways. well. u know what to do #dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi spoilers

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milesgmoralles · 10 months

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Hi! Do you mind sharing your coloring tutorial or tips? especially for the animation ones, they're so good! your gifs are crisp and HD

hi, anon. tysm! 🫶 i don't mind at all since i’ve gotten more than a few requests from before, ig it's time to give it a go. (more) details are under the cut. 😁

before we start, i want you to take note of the following things that will be helpful in the process of making/coloring gifs.

if you want to get the know-how on making gifs, @redbelles did us a solid and gave us this comprehensive guide that will save me the time for explaining lmao. 😅✌️

make gifsets without skipping frames. keep frame delay 0.05 and 0.06 for less than 25 frames. anything more or less is too fast or too slow. additionally, it's also important to note that if you're dealing w videos that are faster than 30fps you change the frame delay to 0.04.

gif using the the new dimensions (in this tutorial i used the dimensions of 540px x 510px since it's all about big gifs now 🙄).

use the standard sharpening settings (smart sharpen, amount 500%, radius 0.3px, remove gaussian blur and tick more accurate) also note the sharpening settings for 2d as you've specifically requested.

you can use action that will convert your gif back to frames and set your timing to 0.05 with a single click. basically photoshop will follow out all of these time-consuming steps for you! just download the action and double click it. it should now be added to your list of actions. to see your actions, go to window > actions. find the folder that says "GIF ACTION" and select the lines that says "CLICK HERE" and voila! ps will do all the hard work for you.

the coloring on your gifs will look good if you have a good base so try not to skip on video qualities. use high quality copies like 1080p or 2160p (4k ones are good) the higher the gb the better. it makes coloring so much easier and reduces grains.

*cracks knuckles* let's start!

for 2d animation's sharpening settings, it usually varies so i just move the amount around and see what looks or works better for a specific gif. i used amount: 189 and radius: 0.2 for this ponyo gif. anything can work between 189 to 350 for me but i maintain the radius at 0.2. again, you can just play the amount around until you find the one that looks good for your gif.

when i’m making gifs. i look for that notorious contrast between the light and dark parts. i think it gives life to the gif- so exposure, levels and curves are best to achieve that. for curves, just go to layer > new adjustment layer > curves. this layer is going to help brighten up the gif in certain areas, and darken others. select the white eyedropper. click the lighter part of the gif like the white/light part of the ship.

next, select the black eyedropper and click on a black/dark area of the gif (refer to the arrow bc i don't know which part of the ship is that called lmao).

you can skip the black eyedropper if you're already satisfied w the result of the white one.

color balance and selective color are your two best buddies. they’re great when you’re trying to change some tones or specific colors of the gif, like the skin tone which is very tricky.

using selective color is pretty simple, here’s a really useful guide:

if you pull any of the tabs to the right, it increases the amount of color (cyan, magenta, yellow and black), and reduces the amount of opposite color (red, green, blue and white).

i also use the blacks and whites in selective color especially if the gif is saturated w colors to tone down some parts and make shadows more visible (idk if this is still making sense 😅).

in working with color balance, i use midtones and highlights sparingly. it's really helpful in removing or balancing out a certain tone.

here's my save setting ⬆️

idk why but ps puts the default frame delay to 0.07/0.03 so open your gif in ps again and don't forget to change the delay to 0.05.

and we're done!

i sometimes go back and forth and do some tweaking until i’m satisfied with the result. this is how i color and i know it’s not perfect but i learn by constant practice. there’s really no standard in coloring so you can make yours the way you like it. just enjoy- until you get the hang of it and it becomes less daunting (or something like that). i hope this helps. if you have more questions, my askbox is always open 😊.

#completeresources #usergif #userpayton #usersugar #rresources #yeahps #itsphotoshop #userbells #dailyanimatedgifs #usercharl #usersavana #Chaoticresources #hisources #ps help #tutorials #ask replies #anon

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sneezypeasy · 2 years

Text

Original Script Analysis, Part 1: Kataang Is Better... And Also Worse.

I want to start this off by saying that when it comes to media analysis, I personally don’t tend to give authorial intent a significant amount of weight – at least, not by default. I understand why authorial intent is so often debated among media analysts, and why so many metas and critiques often hinge their arguments on paratextual information that serves to provide potential insight on what the authors were thinking or planning. But I myself tend to follow more of a “Death of the Author” framework. There are some exceptions, such as when I believe the author’s stated intent – or even details such as their background, life experiences, advocacy etc – has bled through their work so heavily that it becomes impossible to ignore its impact on the final product. (E.g., reading Fyodor Dostoyevsky compare murder to state-ordered execution, it is hard not to contextualise the passage with the knowledge that Dostoyevsky himself faced a firing squad and was given a pardon at the very last minute). Even then, I tend to treat paratextual information like – Understanding the context behind x scene or y narrative choice potentially adds a layer of meaning to it, particularly why some scenes may have been framed the way they were, or why the author chose to tell/expand/conclude the story like this instead of like that. I use paratextual information to deepen my understanding of the author’s reasonings behind their choices. I don’t use paratextual information to form my opinion on whether their choices were good.

(I prefer to form my own opinion on that, based on what I think of the text itself.)

That being said, like most of you readers I too had heard the many rumours surrounding the writing/production process behind ATLA, especially when it came to the ships. Which ship, if any, was planned for, when were the romance arcs finally decided, were there conflicts/disagreements between writers, were there script changes and animation edits to strengthen one pairing while weakening other, and so on and so on. I’d heard the rumour that The Southern Raiders went through multiple rewrites/changes, because it was originally “too shippy”. I’d heard the rumours that Aaron and Elizabeth were pro-Zutara, Bryan and Mike were pro-Kataang, and that their respective positions/opinions on these two pairings seep through their writing in an acutely perceptible way.

I’d also heard the counter-argument, the official narrative endorsed by the creators that any chemistry or subtext between Zuko and Katara was always intended to be platonic, and that readers who saw anything romantic between these two characters were simply setting themselves up for disappointment by projecting their own expectations or preferences onto the show, nothing more.

Over the past 15 years or so, these debates shaped much of the ATLA “shipping discourse”, sometimes even dominating discussion on the subject. I myself have gotten many a variant of “Zutara was never going to happen, get over it” – even when I’ve made a deliberate effort to omit any mention of authorial intent in my analyses, because, as I’ve said, I still don’t consider that kind of paratextual information relevant to my own opinions on why I think Zutara just works better. But given the intensity of the arguments surrounding behind-the-scenes shenanigans, their impact on the final product, and even their supposed significance in determining shipping validity, it was impossible not to wonder at the truth behind all these conflicting rumours.

So when I set foot in the WGF, it was admittedly difficult to contain my bubbling excitement and anticipation. Even still, I resolved to keep my expectations low. Rumours are rumours, after all. Secondary sources must always be taken with a healthy grain of salt, and some of the rumours weren’t even second-hand information at that. And I already knew that no matter what I found, my own opinion that Zutara is the best love story almost written, would not change.

All that said and done, let’s just say that I found the discovery... highly rewarding, and for those of you who have spent years refusing to accept that you were just “reading into things”, I hope my findings bring you some long-awaited vindication.

There are two other disclaimers I need to get through before we continue:

1) The Writers Guild Foundation is not a lending library. You may make an appointment to view the scripts in person, and you are allowed to take notes and manually copy as much as you like. But you will not find copies of their scripts online, and photos and screenshots are strictly prohibited. From what I understand it’s a copyright issue. Legally I’m fairly certain that embedding photos in this post and accompanying it with critique and analysis would/should count as “Fair Use”; however, I know that at some point I’d like to be able to return to the library, and I don’t want to risk being blacklisted for not following their rules.

As such, all the images embedded in this post are reproductions of snippets that I had to manually copy and type up, word for word. It was slow work, so as much as I’d love to be able to just plop the entire script of The Southern Raiders (or any ATLA episode) here for you to read, I had to narrow my focus a fair bit. I mainly noted down, in order of significance:

additions, omissions or changes in the original script compared to the show

bits where the writer’s notes/storyboard directions contained insights or descriptions that I found interesting, surprising, or just plain funny

scenes that weren’t really all that different or unexpected, but we love to see it in writing anyway (ahem Crossroads of Destiny *cough*)

I’m sure there’s a lot that I still managed to miss - even visiting over two days, I couldn’t read every episode. I highly encourage Zutarians living in or near LA to make an appointment and read the scripts for yourselves. You’ll be able to see more than what I’ve posted here, and you might even unearth some goodies that escaped my notice.

(Credit goes to @lady-of-bath for taking my boatload of notes and reformatting them to look like scripts again ❤)

(Also apologies that some passages are split across two images; that just means they were long enough that they spanned two pages and I couldn’t be bothered splicing them back together so I just embedded them here as separate image files. I promise I didn’t cut/remove anything; images not separated by a line of dashes should be read as one continuous snippet 😊).

2) The second thing I ought to clarify is that, from my understanding, the drafts I read were final drafts. These were scripts submitted to the guild just prior to storyboarding, voice acting, animating etc. As I read them, I noticed that the only changes to the script that I could tell were non-dialogue related - so things like, descriptions of the characters’ actions, movements, facial expressions/body language, what you can or can’t see in the shot, etc. Otherwise, voice lines have been essentially kept intact. This suggests to me that the changes made to the script after submission to the guild, were also made after lines had been recorded, possibly even after scenes had been storyboarded. It also suggests that the scripts the voice actors read were the same ones I read in that library. (There is one notable exception that I found, a very interesting exception in my opinion, which we’ll get to later.)

While I would have loved to have seen the earlier drafts, to be able to see how the script changed with each revision (including revisions made to the dialogue prior to voice recording), it’s my understanding that the guild rarely ever receives these scripts, and such was the case again this time. I did also have a look to see if they had the ATLA Series Bible, but unfortunately that hadn’t been submitted either. It is what it is. Still, I’m not mad about what I found. :)

And on that note - ONTO THE SCRIPTS!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m going to start off by defending Kataang a bit here. (I know, I know. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the juicy Zutara stuff in due course.) In my 2 hour long video analysis I talked about lack of development being one of the biggest structural problems with Kataang as a ship. Specifically, I showed how you can take the scenes that we know to be “Kataang scenes”, jumble them up so that they appear in a different order than they do in the show, and the end result still makes just as much narrative sense - or maybe even more sense than they did in the show.

Interestingly, the original scripts for these scenes do not fail this test - at least, I don’t think they do. Let’s start at the very beginning:

It’s love at first sight for Aang, which we all knew already. For Katara, it’s less “love” and more “wonder”. But it’s a powerful meeting for both of them. Honestly, this isn’t all that different from how I perceived this scene on television when I watched it.

Let’s continue with the Fortuneteller:

Okay, so again, roughly what we see on television. Katara realizes Aang could be who Aunt Wu was referring to, and is unsure what to make of this. Fair.

Next, the Cave of Two Lovers:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unlike in the show, Katara doesn’t blush in this script (I also checked the ending of the script where I remember her blushing again in the show, but the script doesn’t mention any blush, anywhere). However, Katara seems to be taking the possibility of Aang as a love interest a little bit more seriously here. In the show version, they hug, Aang seems a little awkward and is clearly hoping for some closure/confirmation of where they now stand, but Katara doesn’t seem to spare it a second thought - she just yeets it out of there. The slow parting and the “awkward look” these kids share in the script suggests, at least to me, that script!Katara is placing more weight on what just happened than show!Katara does, and she at least seems aware, maybe even nervous, of the fact that sharing a maybe-kiss in a secret love cave might do something to their dynamic that she’s not sure how she feels about yet.

The divergences get more interesting now. Enter The Earth King scene, where Aang attempts to confess his feelings to Katara:

“They both know what he's about to say.”

WELL. Not only did they cut out the “he looks her directly in the eyes” part, but they completely took out any shot that might have indicated a mutual understanding between them, as was written in the script. Instead, we get a deer-in-the-headlights look from Katara, then her head cocks to the side “What is it, Aang?” and then… nothing. Everything about her body language on screen is written to suggest she either has no idea what’s coming, or is doing a great job of playing coy about it.

The cheek-kiss is intact in both versions, however. Let’s keep going.

I didn’t take notes on the Headband. I probably should have, but I didn’t bother because there weren’t really any notable differences between the script version and the show version. What you see is basically what you get - Aang dances with On Ji, Katara is agitated but acts aloof, Aang invites her to dance, she hesitantly accepts, they dance and it’s all very cute. She says “that was some dance party, Aang” and gives him another cheek-kiss at the end. If there were any differences from script to screen, I didn’t spot them.

But there was a pretty big difference for Day of Black Sun:

(By the way, this confirms an earlier version of the rumour that had been based on alleged edits made fairly late in the storyboarding process. Credit to @lady-of-bath for procuring this receipt).

So, what I’m basically getting here is that, in the original script, up until the midpoint of Season 3, the writing was originally heading towards a Kataang conclusion. And actually - you may disagree with me here but you know what? I actually don’t hate this version of Kataang. (So far, anyway).

There were two main issues I had with Kataang - the structure/pacing of it was all over the place, and on a deeper level I felt that the conflict they set up regarding Aang’s character arc and “letting Katara go” were not properly resolved in the show, leading to a lack of cohesion in the storytelling.

Combing through these passages, script!Katara reads way more natural and realistic, to me, than show!Katara. Let’s look at the progression here, from Katara’s side:

She meets an “adorable” boy and forms an instant attachment to him

She sees their dynamic as platonic until a comment from Sokka makes her question whether it will always be so in the future. She doesn’t quite know what to make of this at the time.

She shares a maybe-kiss with him in a secret love cave, and seems to be aware/nervous that their dynamic may change as a result.

Some time later, he works up the courage to confess his feelings with her, and the script makes it clear that she understands what he’s trying to say and may even have been anticipating it.

They go to a party where Katara is moody seeing Aang dance with someone else. Then Aang asks Katara onto the floor, and they dance, and Katara seems genuinely pleased/delighted.

Finally, just before the eclipse, he kisses her. She may not have been expecting it, but her reaction (smiling after him as he flies away) shows she didn’t see it as unwelcome.

If Kataang were actually written like this, I think that would solve the structural problems of the ship that really bothered me, and I probably wouldn’t have stopped shipping them. It’s very clear to me that taking any of these scenes, as written, and jumbling them out of order, would completely mess up the steady (if subtle) progression of Katara 1) seeing Aang as a potential love interest, 2) understanding he sees her as one, and finally 3) realising she does actually return his feelings.

It also makes Katara feel much more like a real person, and less of an objective for Aang to try to reach in a “two steps forward, one step back” sort of situation.

I think, even then, I still would have shipped Zutara as well, because I don’t think the symbolism and depth to Zutara can be beat. But I’m pretty sure I would have kept a soft spot for Kataang, for the fluff. At least, I wouldn’t be strongly opposed to it. My position would likely be “eh, there’s flaws, and it probably could have been written better, and I think writing Zutara instead would have been more compelling and thematically satisfying but you know what, this is cute. I get it.”

Of course, that’s before we get to the second half of Season 3, where Kataang goes from oscillating in place to taking a nose-dive out of ... nowhere.

And in a way that seems to seriously contrast with how the ship had been written from Cave of Two Lovers to Day of Black Sun, the downward spiral of Kataang coinciding with a deepening friendship/connection for Zutara - seems to be exacerbated in the original script.

Remember how uncomfortable it was to watch Ember Island Players in the show?

...

It’s quite a bit worse here.

Aang comes off significantly less sympathetic in this version of the episode. Here he is, looking at Katara “accusingly”, and even “glaring” at her, because the actress playing her on stage is flirting with actor!Zuko. Why is he so angry, and at her? And meanwhile, she “pretends not to notice”? Ick.

I’ll be honest, I never had a strong opinion of Aang being “possessive” in this scene. I understand why other people did, and I totally see where they’re coming from with that. Personally though, I kind of gave him the benefit of the doubt and just perceived him as immature, not really getting it, and I always perceived his jealousy to be more hapless than disturbing. This is just my personal opinion, but I felt that their clash in this episode was more indicative of a lack of compatibility and understanding between them than anything else, and obviously I think the non-con kiss was wrong, but generally I didn’t think the kid had bad intentions - I just saw him as... too young, to be honest. He did get pushy and demanding, and either way Katara deserved better, but with Aang, I kind of understood it to be stemming from hope/desperation rather than anger/entitlement.

The writing here, however, does not leave room for me to be charitable. Aang hearing Actor!Zuko suggest that Katara was supposed to be “the Avatar’s girl”, and glaring at Katara as if to say “Yeah!” - I don’t know how to read this as anything other than possessiveness. Yikes on a cracker.

ALSO, did you notice that Zuko and Katara don’t scoot away from each other in this version? Read it again; the absence of that bit escaped me on my first read-through. (Credit to @zutarawasrobbed for spotting that difference!) Zuko and Katara are still sitting next to each other here (the earlier “I wanted to sit here/Just sit next to me, what’s the big deal?” scene is still intact), and all it says about Katara is that she’s pretending not to notice Aang simmering at her from two seats away. Wow.

The non-con kiss is kept intact and most of it is just dialogue so there isn’t much deeper insight to gain from the script, though again, Aang comes off more explicitly volatile/angry at the end of it:

Later, Aang rejoins the group in the theater, and sees Actress!Katara reach a goofy platonic understanding with Actress!Aang, and reacts to this with chagrin and embarrassment. There is no reference to Katara averting her gaze from the screen in a sad or awkward manner, as how she does in the show.

Overall, I find that Kataang looks worse here, a lot worse than in the show. The omission of Zuko and Katara’s “awkward scoot” is intriguing as well. To be honest, I never perceived “the scoot” to be explicit confirmation or denial of any potential attraction between them (that clip can genuinely be read two ways depending on what trope you’re trying to invoke; neither are inherently invalid), however, the fact that it wasn’t originally written but was added in later... that’s interesting.

Some of you might be forming some opinions by this point. I have some of my own as well, though I want to hold off on them for now. Let’s have a bit of a palate-cleanser with the snippet of Zuko sharing some vulnerability with Katara before we move on:

❤

Now I am going a bit out of order here - I know that EIP actually happens after The Boiling Rock/The Southern Raiders, but as I was already on the topic of the Kataang arc, I decided to continue with that before I delved into the other episodes. So now we’re going back a little bit, chronologically.

(Also, you know me, gotta save the best for last 😉)

Ultimately I had a very brief look through The Boiling Rock, and nothing really jumped out at me - except for this bit:

I can’t be the only one tickled at the idea that Zuko just yeets himself out of that prison cell and doesn’t seem to spare Mai a second thought 😂 (if you’ll recall, the show has the two of them share a glance through the cell window after Mai yells “Get off of me!”; Zuko looks apparently apologetic/sad while Mai just glares at him). I know people have pointed out how amusing it is that Zuko seems to forget about Mai completely after TBR, right up until their last scene together, but the way this scene is scripted here just makes it even funnier to me.

But I know which episode it is that you guys all want to read.

*record scratch*

Oh ho HO, what have we here Elizabeth Ehasz 😉

Next up - Part 2: The Southern Raiders, The Finale, and What I Think About it All

#atla #atla original scripts #zutara #kataang critical #writers guild foundation #part 1 of probably 3 parts #will try to get out part 2 asap #thank you so much for your wonderful patience #stay tuned!#text post #long post

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freuleinanna · 4 months

Text

good night, spaceman

posting a random domestic doctordonna ficlet because my heart cannot contain it, honestly?? it's short and silly, something about settling in one of the first nights, but shhh mama need to let it out. read it as platonic or romantic, i don't really care. i know my preferences, but hey, if it works for you? coolio. also, if you drop a request in my asks, chances are, i'll write something else

"Whatcha doing?" he frowns from the doorframe.

Inside, fabric flies and his minds instantly sings parachutes! – no, nope. Why would there be parachutes? Pastel colours settle down quite mundanely. He stifles a disappointed sigh.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Donna retorts, bowing over it, arms at work. "Changing the bed!"

A beat of silence.

"Why?"

She stops. The Doctor tenses instinctively. Shouting Donna is the default setup. The TARDIS (shuddering to her timecore, he imagines) bangs the swearing filter back on the instant that woman steps inside again. Silence, though? Now, that's trouble.

"How do you sleep?"

He scratches his cheek, sincerely wondering.

"I don't, usually."

Another pause. A blatant I-am-so-done-with-your-Martian-things look, ominously familiar, sets over Donna's face. He tenses more, only for a quick nod to follow.

"Yeah, that checks out."

"Right, then... D'you need help?"

"That's bamboo linen," she points out.

Huh.

Is that something he should understand?

That's… new. Usually it's him baffling others with random words, not the other way around. At the risk of getting annihilated, albeit verbally, but actually he wouldn't bet that verbally only, the Doctor steps closer and reaches for the other end of the bedsheet.

"I'll just?.."

"Hands off, you!"

"Blimey!" he shakes his palm.

"That's actually fancy!" The Doctor's hand is still stinging with a slap. Donna half-grins at him, some secret laughter warming her eyes. "Spacemen who consistently ruin their ship aren't trusted around fancy stuff. And don't gimme that look, mate. I wasn't there the last few times, and neither was that coffee."

Well, moments like this, then. He'll be collecting them. That's gonna be a new habit, instead of collecting heartbreaks. Laughing again - and with Donna! Grinning back, hands in pockets, the Doctor decides to hold on to it. On the darkest nights, when thoughts run bitter and endless, he used to count the stars – the only light across the empty vastness of the space. Now he can count sparkles in his best friend's eyes. What a life! What a beautiful, beautiful life.

"I'll just stand there, then?"

"Yeah, try not to explode from doing nothing," she huffs, still smiling, "or else I'll disown you."

"Disown? When did you own me?"

He watches Donna roll her eyes and sigh with her whole chest while finishing the job.

"Day one."

Linens get smoothed over, and Donna's hands glide across the fabric, adding the last touch. She looks over. Neither of them can stop an idiotic little smile appear, and the Doctor welcomes it with both his hearts, for her and for himself. He nods in agreement, shining brighter than the sun. And he's been to the sun. Well, some of them, at least.

"Sounds about right."

"You bet, Spaceman."

She's going to leave for the night. Before doing so, however, Donna does walk over. Full of surprises, her. She tidies his collar, and frowns a little, and darts him a look that's simultaneously worried and caring.

"Listen, you. If anything happens. If your honestly severe sleep deprivation, I don't know, decides to burst into a horror show, or something…"

"Wait, what?"

"I mean, if you have nightmares–"

"Oh, come on! I'm not a five-year-old–"

"Yeah, you're worse!" she cuts him off, showing her You're So In Trouble face for a brief moment. Her every line softens. She's searching his eyes for something, clearly grappling for words, but cannot seem to find befitting ones. Then just sniffs her nose and finishes matter-of-factly. "Rose used to have them. Poor kid was dreaming your space nonsense… well, our space nonsense. All I'm saying is, I'm a light sleeper when I need to be. There."

She pushes a cushion in his chest, and the Doctor sways a little. Wihout missing a beat, his other hand is around Donna's shoulders. Brilliant, rude, kind-hearted Donna Noble. The one who brought him home.

"Thank you," he whispers.

"Good night, Spaceman."

And for the first time in literal ages, he's actually excited to have a boring, ordinary, good night.

#doctor who #doctor who fic #dw fic #fourteenth doctor #donna noble #14th doctor #doctor donna #the giggle spoilers #doctor donna fic #ALRIGHT IM JUST HAVING FEELINGS ABOUT MY SPECUAL BESTIES #i am 10000% sure donna would come if her alien streak had a nightmare #same way she did for rose #which is in the middle of the night half sleeping and then passing out 30 minutes later just holding them #also i just love writing silly stuff okay #my 😭💛💛#whofic

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helloimsoverybored · 3 months

Text

A Pretty Long Rant on RPF shippers in the context of David Tennant and Michael Sheen

the entire georgia/anna discourse is so. bullshit. because those are actual, real people, with real lives and real relationships with those around them

Regarding dt and gt, just saying, no one has five children together as part of a pr stunt. Same with Michael and Anna.

And the fact that rpf people fail to realise this is concerning- taking the "my wife" jokes quite literally. News flash, it's a fucking joke. It's not something gt and al are making up to cover up for the fact that their respective partners fell in love with each other (yes, this is an actual take i've seen on this matter)

And idk if the rpf people are just dumb or are fully aware of what they're doing, despite the fact that they're completely tearing apart the lives of real people.

Another retort I've often seen is that fans have the right to criticize celebrities. Yes, yes they do. But breaking down a marriage spanning over a decade isn't criticism! You're creating fake problems out of thin air and for what? Genuinely, for what?

Rpf shippers just automatically assume the worst in both Georgia and Anna, and you know what? God forbid women do anything. Because that's exactly what this is.

They're completely vilifying gt and al because... they're in a relationship with their "blorbo actors?" They're acting like gt/dt and al/ms are fictional characters that you can play around with like dolls but you can't play around with real people's lives! Simply put, it isn't ethical.

I feel like the rpf people just fail to understand the meaning of “real”, because I don’t even know how one can feel so alright and happy by tearing apart the lives of real people. The fact that people are finding every possible way to find problems in their current relationships to suit their fantasies is so fucking disgusting.

Okay now if you're with me so far, I'm impressed. Stay with me because I'm not done yet.

Regarding Georgia, don't rpf blogs just love to criticize her and her parenting methods? That Georgia's just lazy and only wants to drink wine, but omfg. wtf. She has fucking 5 children. I don't care what you think, managing those many kids is NOT an easy task. But also... posts I've seen on this matter never seem to bring up David? Why? Isn't he a parent? Shouldn't he also have a role in parenting? Whatever Georgia does surely won't be against what David believes, right? Wake up, rpf shippers, wake the fuck up.

David almost definitely does have a role in the parenting (anyone willing to fight me on this, come off, I'll give you the reasons) but since he’s all over London at the moment, he probably doesn’t have much time. Which means that gt has to manage 4-5 kids all by herself. So she does actually deserve a break, more than anyone else. But she doesn’t because wahoo god forbid women do anything.

And putting all that aside, what the hell gives rpf people the right to hate on her as if they know her irl. Their default behavioral status is set to mean and bitchy and that’s just. concerning. rpf people need to understand the difference between real life and fiction istfg.

Okay, i swear I'm nearing the end of this rant, please don't go yet.

Sometimes fans do have the right to speak up against an UNHEALTHY relationship. There are multiple examples all over the place where one person has expressed dissatisfaction but no one took them seriously. Except… neither gt/dt nor ms/al have expressed dissatisfaction. At all. It’s actually the exact opposite where they keep fawning for each other. There’s 0 suggestions of any of them being unhappy in their respective relationships apparent from yall overanalyzing their body language to the point where it becomes false.

Do Georgia and Anna ship themselves with each other and ship David with Michael? Yes. But that's a fucking joke. Learn to take a joke, yalls, it will get you a long way. And even if they are the ones doing the shipping, so what? That doesn’t give you the right to. It’s their lives. You’re just a person viewing their lives from a small peep hole known as Instagram.

#david tennant #michael sheen #anna lundberg #georgia tennant #good omens #staged #bbc staged #rpf #anti rpf #rant

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annierosaart · 10 months

Note

So I recently found your blog and you Exusiai theory and I'm in love with it, I really hope it becomes canon, is just so good and Exu is one of my fav charas I need more stuff with her on it on the main game.

Anyways, I've been playing on and off AK for the past yrs and I'm def lost when it comes to most of the story since it's a lot to catch up to, so can you explain more in-depth the Flammetta/Exusiai ship or at least relationship/parallelisms?

OH BOY CAN I

After the confirmation that Exusiai isn't connected to the other Sankta in Il Siracusano, it explained her entire character.

As I've explained in the post I made about her being disconnected originally, it always stood out to me how Exusiai specifically was treated differently from other Sankta in Laterano during her childhood and teenage years, despite the fact that she's supposedly a bog standard Sankta. From her being constantly mistreated and ditched not just by Mostima but by her sister also (see her Oprec 1),

To the fact she was constantly blamed for things that were legitimate accidents, the kind of stuff that happens on purpose in Laterano every single day, to the point where her word was doubted and she was accused of being a Sarkaz, it paints an extremely lonely and alienating picture of her.

It's especially odd that her own family and supposed childhood friend would do shit like that to her, given the fact that at the time, they should've known that it was upsetting for her to go through that, seeing as the Empathy would've made it hard for her to hide that. (oprec 1) And it'd be extremely out of character for Lemuen to do things like that, considering her intense love for her sister...

Combined with being grilled for lying by her superiors, which again, would be difficult for a Sankta connected to the Empathy... You see what I'm getting at?

She isn't connected to other Sankta. Never has been. From the start, her files and dialogue mention her being an exception amongst Sankta, unique, different. Guide Ahead showed us they're all similar to her in personality, however, so what exactly sets her apart? It's that.

Exusiai has multiple lines, in CoB, IL Siracusano, and her dialogues that show how deeply lonely she actually is, and how ACTUALLY empathetic she is; real empathy, not Sankta Empathy.

She threw herself into the Rat King's sandstorm for Mostima and Bison, she always remembered to keep an eye on him and keep him up to date, taking time to ease his worries and doubts. She always looks out for everyone else in PL, canonically being broke from doing so all the time. She risked her life to save a woman that was being harassed in IL Siracusano, despite not knowing her at all.

This isn't normal Sankta behavior. Sankta, even the ones at RI, are generally somewhat cold or indifferent to non Sankta. Arene, Ambriel, Executor... The only exception is Enforcer, who we know isn't connected as well.

Exusiai grew up socially and emotionally isolated, enough that no one ever gave her closure for the Andoain incident, despite the fact she has literal PTSD from it (oprec 1), no one ever got along with her really, to the point where her classmates celebrated her leaving to her face...

She hides it in front of others, but several lines show her actually being very tired, serious, and depressed, especially when they bring up a personality quirk of hers.

Promotion 2 - "Leader... No, savior, I pledge to this gun in my hand to protect you until the very end of this world." Talk after Trust Increase 2 - "If you ever run into an angel with black horns oozing ominous vibes, please tell her for me: I've never forgotten her." Idle - "...Lord, is this someone we gotta save too?"

All of which parallels stuff with Fiammetta:

From the offset, Fiammetta is by default isolated from her peers, being a Liberi in Laterano.

She grew up inherently different from a majority of people there, and as we see in Guide Ahead, though she tries to hide it, especially from other Liberi, she developed a complex over it.

It's especially evident when she snaps at Mostima, ranting about the Empathy between Sankta, complaining about how alienating it is to her, how it hurts her to not be understood. It's further elaborated on in her module's text, where we see her struggling to handle a gun that Sankta her age were already handling with ease, clearly frustrated enough by the fact that her mentor had to come and offer an alternative.

Beyond that, like Exusiai puts on a front but just wants people to tell her things for once, who's always been kept in the dark about not just events but also what other Sankta are feeling, Fiammetta is constantly isolated from her peers' feelings and motivations, ignored and brushed aside. It's constant in Guide Ahead, how her input and presence are secondary to whatever asinine conversation the Sankta are having, even in the middle of a crisis.

Her wants and needs are secondary, she's constantly forced to put up with titles she despises and finds humiliating, mockeries of her while she tries to do her job seriously...

Just like how Exusiai is consistently made fun of for any mistake she makes, even when others have a hand in that mistake. By PL itself no less. She laughs it off, but in exchanges with Bison, she clearly shows how bothered she is by being shrugged off or treated with a lack of care. She wants to be understood and taken seriously. But it never happens.

Fiammetta is exactly the same, constantly chasing a desire to be taken seriously as a member of the Notarial Hall, to have her feelings heard. But it never happens.

As a Liberi, she's inherently not a part of the connection all other Sankta have (with exceptions). They can't understand her. Nor do they bother to. It infuriates her, but what else can she do? What else is there to do? From birth, she was different from them, not the same as them, her weapons are a constant reminder... As is Exusiai's lack of connection to others an unconscious reminder to her.

And it all culminates in the Lock and Key incident. Both of them have been deeply traumatized by it, and whilst Fiammetta is at least more in the know than Exusiai, neither are ever offered the closure they need, the closure that would help them move on. Despite both being close to the people involved, they're kept in the dark.

Instead, they're made to stew in their feelings, made to feel left out on purpose one way or another, never allowed the proper right to live past that event. Both are obsessed with that day. Both desperately want to know what happened, what set it all off, WHY it happened.

But they never find out. They're forced to keep living in the dark while their friends and family are whiling, creating purpose beyond that day.

They're both women who were hurt by an incident that they were never allowed closure on, despite involving people they loved. They're both women who have been isolated and alienated from everyone else, becoming extremely lonely and distant all the while. Exusiai doesn't let anyone in, doesn't open up. Texas says as much.

Exusiai is my polar opposite. She seems to get along fine with anyone, but lets very few people close to her. —Texas

Fiammetta won't let anyone else in. Bottles her feelings until they explode. Because no one will hear anyway. No one will care. So why should she?

They're hurt. They're scarred and tired of being the only ones left out of the loop. Of the inside joke. Of the joy and folly every other Sankta is privy to.

They both value choices, independence, yet are bound to their past traumas. That they'll face one day. They both try to move on, but they can't. Exusiai still chases Mostima whenever she appears for answers she won't give, Fiammetta still chases Andoain for a revenge that won't quell her.

They're both obsessed with getting closure that the world's denied them.

And with Exusiai's surprisingly deeply kind nature, genuinely empathetic and sympathetic to others, to hear them out, and Fiammetta's insistence on confronting things head on, on not moving past them, and her deep down caring interior... They could heal a lot with each other. Love without compromise.

Beyond these thematic and story parallels, the two have a lot of miscellaneous ones too.

Their talents complement each other, Exusiai covers Fiammetta's health drain, allowing her to fight with more strength for longer.

Their physical scores are complementary, Exusiai covering Fiammetta's weakness in tactical acumen, and Fiammetta covering her lack of physical endurance respectively

Their descriptions are both about their dedication and willpower to see things through to the end.

Obsessions with protecting people (Exusiai's codename actually comes from Powers, the Angel class said to protect people and prevent evils from happening)

Hell, Exusiai's third skin replaces her blessing effects with a blue glow, complementary to Fia's red, and blue feathers. Sankta don't have feathers, so...

Their record medal descriptions match.

And finally...

Fiammetta is usually tolerant of Mostima's personality, even going along with it at times. But the moment Exusiai is involved, she becomes extremely impatient, and protective. Much more so than she logically should be at times.

With the context that she's been watching Mostima and essentially bugged her to hear in on her, she had to witness her leading Exusiai on all night, giving her false hope for an answer that wouldn't come.

Only for her to caress her sleeping and drunk form, as if they were still that close. With the knowledge they both parallel each other a ton, she might see herself in her...

Fiammetta's face shows way more contempt than expected, and her dialogue following this shows way less tolerance for Mostima, in spite of the fact that Exusiai is sound asleep and wouldn't hear them.

In Mostima's own record, Fia suddenly cares about Exusiai's feelings, about it being fair or not to her...

And firmly says she won't let Exusiai ever get wrapped up in the Lock and Key business, her face becoming more serious. Again, extremely protective of someone that at best, she knew as an acquaintance when they were both younger.

Fiammetta cares about Exusiai to an unnatural degree, hinting at either shared history that's not brought up, or that she relates to her, and she can't ignore that.

And if Exusiai talked to Fiammetta now, she'd likely find that same relatability, that same pain they've both been enduring, that they cope with in different ways.

Exusiai drowns herself in a carefree 'mask', drinks until she's blackout drunk often, is enough of a workaholic to fall asleep at PL's couch and compulsively spends money on others.

Fiammetta destroys herself with work, with fighting, burning herself out as she fires off attacks, obsessing and following Mostima around for the slimmest chance that Andoain might show up again...

They both need healing. Healing only the other could provide.

Fiammetta's friends/partners/exes are condescending towards her, don't try to truly get why this plagues her, even after Guide Ahead. PL can't help Exusiai, not only do they have their own problems, they can't relate at all; Texas has a mountain of baggage to work through herself.

They'd find solace, comfort in one another... Both things they desperately need.

#arknights #exusiai #exusiai arknights #arknights exusiai #fiammetta #fiammetta arknights #arknights fiammetta #fiaexu #meta post #my ramblings

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antimony-medusa · 8 months

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HELLO QSMP FANS

I am come to you with my hat in my hand to tell you about a Fun New Event *jazz hands* that's running this fall that I am trying to lure people into. Ahem.

So Fic In A Box is one of the major multifandom fanfiction exchanges, so it runs on the People Submit Tags To A Tag Set > Everybody Signs Up With Ships From The Tag Set They Want To Write And Want To Receive > Assignments Go Out > Work For Two Months > Reveals Once Everybody Gets A Gift. However, it has some interesting fun quirks which make it really fun and which is why I'm trying to lure QSMP people into it so I can match on QSMP plz plz plz.

First thing: It's a 10k exchange. You get two months to write it, but everybody makes or receives (unless you have to drop) a 10k gift or equivilent. Don't you want a 10k gift? Come onnnnnnn do ittttt.

Wait, Equivalent?

Yes, this is point two. One of the things Fic In A Box is famous for is that you can opt into a whole bunch of rulesets, and they break everything down to 1k-equivilent increments, and so you can get 7k of fic, and 2k's worth of propoganda posters, and 1k worth of podfic, for example. 4k of birth chart analysis of your fave characters, 6k of in-world cost analysis spreadsheets. 2k fic, 8k worldbuilding headcanons. This ruleset is CRAZY in terms of the sort of stuff you can opt into, I encourage you to take a look at the tag set, it's everything from dress-up game to art remixes of your existing fic to in-world reddit articles to interactive fiction to poetry to gifsets to costume design. I'm personally looking at in-world RPF and in-world social media for QSMP and chortling madly as I imagine.

So wait, you might get one 10k gift or you might get several smaller gifts?

Yes, point 3. The other thing Fic In A Box does that they're famous for is swaps, which is where you look at all the sign ups in a handy app, and you go shopping among them, and then you go to the mods and say "I want to do 4k on my original assignement, and 2k of usernamealpha, and 3k of usernamebeta, and 1k of usernamthree" and they say "i'll see what I can do", and then the mods run everybody's requests through the single most complicated spreadsheet in the world to make everybody's requests balance out to 10k, and then you get little micro assignments to work on over the two months.

This means both that if a 10k fic seems daunting, you can write a couple smaller gifts and work up to it that way, and also, though this isn't like something to plan for, if life gets bad you can do partial defaults and just turn in your 4k, you're not *necessarily* on the hook for 10k.

So now you're seeing why I want to recruit more QSMP people, eh? Currently I'm only matchable with one person. Please sign up. I want to do swaps. I want to set myself four impossible assignments. JOIN MEEEEE. Sign ups are open through September 3rd! Message me for more information and I will happily infodump and explain at you!

(more about the tag set and thus the stuff you can request/offer under the cut, cause it gets long)

There are like over a thousand individual fandoms in the tag set to choose from for your sign-up, and in addition to SMPEarth, DSMP, 3rd Life, Hermitcraft, Empires, and Outsiders SMP being in the tag set, this is the list of QSMP tags. It has a good assortment of options! I was nominating and I was trying to hit the high points!

BadBoyHalo/ForeverPlayer (QSMP)

Cellbit & JaidenAnimations & Roier (QSMP)

Cellbit/Roier (QSMP)

Chayanne & MissaSinfonia & Philza (QSMP)

Chayanne & Philza & Tallulah (QSMP)

ElMariana & Juanfillipa & Slimecicle (QSMP)

ElMariana/Slimecicle (QSMP)

Etoiles/Philza (QSMP)

FitMC/Philza (QSMP)

ForeverPlayer/MissaSinfonia/Philza (QSMP)

ForeverPlayer/Philza (QSMP)

Luzugames/Quackity (QSMP)

Luzugames/Quackity/Wilbur Soot (QSMP)

MissaSinfonia & Philza (QSMP)

MissaSinfonia/Philza (QSMP)

Quackity & Tilin & Tallulah & Wilbur Soot (QSMP)

Quackity/Wilbur Soot (QSMP)

WB: Any (QSMP | Quackity SMP)

WB: Egg Revivals (QSMP)

WB: Egg/Code Connection (QSMP)

WB: Federation Kidnappings & Cryosleep (QSMP)

(NOTE: WB tags are all Worldbuilding tags, and they mean that you want a fic or a gift that focuses a concept more than a relationship)

So there is a BOLD assortment of tags to pick among, SURELY on that list you can find at least one. Technically to sign up you only need one relationship! They ask for three fandoms or they won't hold the exchange for you if you need to be pinch-hit (if your original gifter needs to drop), but if you're willing to take that risk, you can fully and legally sign up with an only-spiderbit or only-tntduo signup!

So! Shoot me a message or reply if you have questions! Join me! Fic in a Box!

#qsmp #qsmpblr #mcyt #mcytblr #exchanges

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goodluckdetective · 3 months

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FIC: KISS ME, SON OF GOD

Ship: Gale/Durge, past Durge/Gortash and Gale/Mystra. This is a fic mainly about Gale and Gortash though.

Fandom: BG3

Warnings: Everything about Gale's backstory

Rating: PG-13

AO3

Summary:

Lord Gortash and Gale of Waterdeep have more in common than their mutual associate.

Far more in common than Gale would like.

Based on my own post found here

Notes:

Slaps Gortash Hey, is this a Gale character foil? While there is a Durge here, I’ve used the default name as Tav and not provided much about them, simply because this is a fic about two ambitious men, not Durge. The fic title comes from the They Might be Giants song of the same name.

Fic is below the cut

Gale couldn’t remember the last time he cast the spell Dream.

It had to be sometime during his upper level schooling years, before he became Mystra’s chosen, but not by much. There was a classmate he fancied, a tiefling in his upper level illusion magic seminars who had a snort for a laugh and did the Waterdeep crossword each morning. In an attempt to impress them, he’d offered to cast dream on them, and when they’d agreed, he’d practically begged Tara to help him acquire a feather from a sleeping pigeon.

For the dream, he’d conjured them a dream about the city of Neverwinter, a place he had only visited once but he knew they missed terribly. He could remember walking with them that night through the image of the sprawling gardens he’d made, speaking a mile a minute so he couldn’t think about his racing pulse. When they’d reached down to cup a red flower that bloomed even in the darkest of winters, Gale had turned a similar shade of crimson.

They’d thanked him for the gesture the next day, but nothing further came from it. They were both quickly drowned in more classwork and Gale suspected he came on a tad too strong. But it was a nice memory all the same.

He wasn’t sure if he’d cast dream since, he’d seen it employed both as a means of sending messages and for darker purposes. Early in his tenure as Mystra’s chosen, he’d tracked down a hired killer who used the spells nightmarish aspects to kill from a distance, his victims falling asleep one night only to never wake up. They’d tried killing him with it, and Gale had woken up the next morning with the worst headache of his life and a terrible nosebleed. The experience had ruined the spell for him somewhat, knowing how easy it was to twist something potentially beautiful into something deadly.

Maybe that was how he knew what was going on, when he found himself standing in a grand hall despite no memory of arriving there. There was something about how being in a Dream spell felt like moving through rapid water, where every movement took a little more effort than usual. He reached down and pinched the back of his palm and when it didn’t hurt, he looked up to take in the setting around him.

It was Wyrm’s Rock Fortress, he realized. He’d been there the previous day to watch a madman be crowned Duke and crow in their faces. It wasn’t an exact replica; the ceilings were lower to give a more congested feel, and the brick walls were not as smooth as their counterparts, jagged edges pointing out of the walls. But it was recognizable.

“I can’t say I wanted to be back here anytime soon,” Gale said, walking up to the still figure of a Flaming Fist. He waved his hand in front of their face and watched as they didn’t respond. “But I suppose I don’t exactly have a choice, do I?”

No one replied to him. Gale looked down and took in his outfit; he was wearing the same thing he’d worn during the mockery of a coronation. That narrowed down who he suspected of casting this, though there was an off chance he could be wrong. But given that one would either need to be an accomplished caster to complete this spell, or have the funds to purchase a scroll instead, he had a good feeling his hunch was right.

“Are you going to show yourself or are you just going to skip to the chase and try to kill me? Because frankly, I don’t see the reason for subterfuge, Lord Gortash.”

It was a gamble to say his name out loud when he wasn’t certain, but Gale felt confident on this one. There was the sound of someone clapping with metal clad hands and Gale turned to find the man in question now standing at the front of the room, back where he’d stood that day. He too, looked the same as he had during his coronation, though Gale would have sworn the gold embroidery on his outfit was far flashier than it was in real life. Gortash gave him an unkind smile, one that reminded Gale of hungry knolls, and held his hands out.

“So you are as clever as you appear. Good; it would be disappointing if otherwise. Gale of Waterdeep, I assume? Our mutual friend never introduced us properly.”

The term mutual friend made Gale’s stomach churn. That had been the worst part of the coronation at Wyrm’s Rock, where Gortash had looked at their leader, the person Gale had fallen in love with and greeted them with a familiar grin. Gale had watched as Gortash told Tav of a master plan crafted by hands Gale knew the callouses of. He had watched as the person he now shared a bed with become unrecognizable in just a single conversation.

He still hadn’t talked to them about it, other than mentioning it was a lot and while he still loved them, he needed some time. Guilt and rage fought against one another in his mind, guilt for abandoning them when they were so clearly hurting, rage at someone who no longer existed but shared a face with someone he so adored. They instead both talked around the issue, racing around the city to accomplish a variety of tasks. And while he sometimes forgot the terrible news in the rush of fights and new discoveries, it always came right back to him when he looked at Tav and saw them looking at him like he was about to vanish.

He gone to sleep alone in his own tent both the night before and tonight, though not before ensuring someone was watching out for Tav. Gale knew what having one’s world flipped on its head could do to a person and while he felt currently incapable of addressing Tav with the care needed for the situation, he did not want them to stumble alone until he found his own footing. Thankfully, Astarion and Wyll had seemed up to the task, and Gale thanked them both before he’d gone to his own bedroll.

He hated himself for keeping his distance, but he also knew that if he forced himself to speak on the matter too soon, he might say something he would later regret. And while it absolutely hurt Tav now for him to keep them at arm’s length, he feared he’d hurt them worse should he misstep.

He loved them, fiercely, even in light of the darkness of their past. He despised who they used to be. He wanted them to answer his questions. He knew they couldn’t given their lack of memories. A small part of him was terrified of them. A much larger part was terrified for them.

“I’m Gale of Waterdeep, yes,” Gale said, snapping back to the present. Self reflection could wait until he wasn’t staring down a chosen of the Dead Three. “Sorry to belabor the point, but is this an attempt to kill me?”

“No, no, nothing like that. I am trying to encourage an alliance between our respective parties; assassination would risk spoiling that diplomacy. And if I wanted you dead, I would use methods better suited to handling a wizard of your caliber.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Gale said, voice dry.

“It was intended as one. I’ve managed to learn quite a bit about you in the last half day and I must say, I’m rather impressed. Top of your class, prodigy, Mystra’s chosen. A fine reputation. Far more suited for Tav’s company than the rest of your little band.”

The praise soured with the last sentence. Karlach and Wyll were also present at that mockery of a coronation. Gale remembered feeling the heat pouring off of Karlach in waves as she took in the man who ruined her life, he’d heard the sharp intake of breath as Wyll saw the puppet Gortash had made of his father. Gale had not missed how Gortash spoke to them both as if they were no more than accessories to Tav’s presence. And while Gortash hadn’t paid Gale any mind either, Gale doubted the Lord would be visiting either of the twos dreams with honeyed words of praise.

Once, in the Shadowed Lands, after Elminster’s message was delivered, Karlach had pulled Gale aside as they walked towards Moonrise. Tav was at the front of the group, twitchier than usual and Wyll lingered behind Gale and Karlach, looking tortured at every sign of a life cut short. Karlach’s hand on Gale’s shoulder was smoothing, the heat a balm to the pain of the orb. Gale had barely turned her way when she’d looked him straight in the eye and said “I won’t accept you blowing yourself up until you can look me in the eye and tell me that I should just burn myself out taking down Gortash.” Before Gale could reply , she’d sprang ahead, a skip in her step, asking Tav about extra coin and leftover whisky. Gale watched her with his jaw agape and when Wyll walked past him, the man shrugged.

“You heard her,” the warlock said, a lazy stride in his step. “Gotta say, she’s got a good argument.” He spun on his heel, a movement that reminded Gale of Wyll’s boasts about dancing to look at Gale properly. “A word of wisdom: it’s easier to be cruel to ourselves than to our friends.”

Gale decided everyone he traveled with was officially insane. “I’m not being cruel to myself. I’m being practical.” And wasn’t he? The orb would solve the problem of the Absolute and win him Mystra’s forgiveness in one action. He knew the others didn’t agree, they’d told him that plenty, but what was the alternative? Hoping the stopgap measure lasted as long as possible while he looked for a cure? Waste their time and resources trying to fix something of his own making?

Gale of Waterdeep, Chosen of Mystra, had died when Gale found the orb. Gale was just his shade. Why not set his tale to rest properly?

Wyll had reached forward and grabbed the shoulder Karlach hadn’t touched. His grasp was different from Karlach’s, his hands smaller but no less firm. His voice was kind when he spoke, but serious.

“The fact you keep telling yourself that is partly what makes it so cruel.”

Gale ended up not taking the path Mystra set for him, something he was thankful for to this day. A good portion of the reason why was Tav, but his other traveling companions had all played their part in convincing him to stay his hand. These were the people Lord Gortash looked on in contempt: those who’d heard the opinion of a God and cast it aside in favor of the life of a mortal wizard.

“I think Tav’s choice in company is quite excellent, actually,” Gale said, raising his chin. “Far superior than the company they used to keep, at any rate.”

Gortash grinned at the barb. “You don’t say? I will admit, I find it interesting you attracted their affections.”

Gale tried not to react to the observation. He knew their relationship wasn’t much of a secret, but something about this man mentioning it so casually felt wrong. He had no right to information on Tav’s new life, one they’d forged out of nothing but what they’d woke up on the nautiloid with.

Something in Gale’s face must have given him away, because Gortash chuckled. He walked over, his footsteps echoing louder against the floor than they would in real life, and then strolled behind Gale. He circled Gale casually, like Tara did when she caught a mouse and was deciding just how she wanted to play with her food.

“Interesting, isn’t it? They went from the Chosen of Bane, to the Chosen of Mystra. Well, former chosen,” Gortash added. Gale didn’t flinch, continuing to watch him, chin held high. He’d suspected as much about Tav and Gortash’s previous relationship, though it was unpleasant to have it confirmed.

“As I said, their taste in company has clearly improved,” Gale said, voice dry. He didn’t miss how Gortash’s right hand curled into a fist at the statement. Good to know the Chosen of Bane could be ruffled about his personal life. That was a weakness one could exploit.

“Or maybe yours has lessened. I don’t know of your previous conquests, but you don’t seem the type to bed Bhallspawn.”

“They aren’t a conquest,” Gale hissed, even though he knew his reaction would be used against him. To use such a term for a relationship with someone; it disgusted him. Of course an acolyte of Bane would see it that way, used to viewing the world as something to mold and control. Tav was many things to Gale at this point, and despite the recent revelations about their past, none of those things had changed.

Tav was a friend who saved up extra coin so he could copy down new spell scrolls, even when they wouldn’t be tactically useful. Tav was a teammate, who made sure to stand between him and the enemy so he could cast without disturbance. Tav was a hero who fought against their nature every hour, and suffered for it greatly with little sleep and terrible headaches.

Tav was someone Gale fell in love with as soon as they grabbed both his shoulders after Elminster’s visit and said “your life is more than a tool for some God.”

Tav’s past was a lot, Gale hadn’t been lying about that, but regardless of who Tav used to be, he was proud to stand next to them today.

He should tell them that, when he woke up, he thought.

“Forgive my language,” Gortash said, then turned so he was shoulder to shoulder with Gale. “I suppose it makes sense,” he continued. He was far too close, merely inches away. If they were not in a dream, Gale could probably smell his breath. “Them having a taste for the Chosen. After all, that kind of power is enticing. Tell me Gale of Waterdeep; do you think we could have been friends?”

Gale mentally scrambled to make sense of the inquiry. “What kind of question is that?”

“An honest one. I know you care little for my ideals, but it’s important to find ground with one’s potential allies.”

Gale could see the game Gortash was playing. He saw how disgusted Wyll and Karlach were at his proposed alliance. If he wanted to convince Tav to join forces, it would help if someone else was in his corner. As Tav’s lover who had no history with the man outside of the tadpoles, Gale was likely his best option to convince.

Something about that bothered Gale. The fact Lord Gortash looked upon him and saw a potential ally implied that the Archduke was either ignorant about Gale’s character or that he saw something in Gale that the wizard refused to recognize.

Gale wanted to believe it was the former, but Gortash was a politician. That was not a job one kept by reading people poorly.

No, that couldn’t be it. Gale had his faults, yes, but they were not the kind that murdered people in their beds and made puppets of innocents. Gortash had made a miscalculation.

“So that’s what this is about; convince me to convince Tav. Or is this some kind of power play.”

Gortash laughed, low and hearty. He was actually amused, which Gale found deeply unsettling. “I’m the Chosen of Bane, everything I do is a power play, but no. Your first theory was correct; I want to establish an alliance. I thought you may be more receptive.”

“What makes you say that?”

Gortash stopped pacing, stopping in front of Gale. He eyed him from the toes of his boots, up his body and then lingered on his face. “You’re a smart man; if Orin gets all three stones, this city will go to the Hells. She’s all impulse, no brains; a rabid dog more than anything else. Not exactly the person you want to lead.”

That wasn’t untrue. From what little Gale knew of Tav’s sister, the Gate in her hands would be a bloody massacre. But claiming to be a better leader than Orin wasn’t worth much confidence. “And you’ll be such a fine and generous sovereign.”

“I’m not going to insult your intelligence and pretend that’s the case. But I can promise you that in my hands, we won’t all turn into mind flayers or corpses.” Gortash gestured to his gauntlets, the claws sharp and tipped. On the back of the palm was engraved the symbol of Bane, something that Gale was sure wasn’t on them in the real world. A gauntlet hand gripped in a tight fist; this was one of the many symbols Bane’s faithful prayed to. “Bane is a God of Order.”

“And the God of Tyrants.”

“Tyrant is such a dirty word for someone who simply wants things to go smoothly. I might be harsher than you might like, but I crave stability as much as any other man. Convince Tav to work with me and you’ll be able to do as you please once the Stones are mine.”

“All with the worm in my head to make sure I follow orders.”

“Only if they interfere against my own. It’s not so hard a life; you’ve lived it before. Being the Chosen of a God.”

“You’re no God. You’re just a man.”

Gortash looked at Gale like he was deeply stupid. Almost pitying. Like Gale was overlooking something so clearly obvious. “For now. The Stones will change that. Anyways, why would I be a man, when I could be a God?”

And Gale’s breath caught in his chest.

A memory came to him, one from earlier that day. They’d managed to break into the vault to gather The Annals of Karsus, and Gale hadn’t hesitated to start reading as soon as he left the vault. He couldn’t help himself from flipping through the pages as he walked back to camp, mind spinning off into countless of possibilities.

With the crown he could cure himself of the orb. The agony in his chest would be nothing more than a memory, the scar a reminder of his greatest victory instead of his worst failure. He wouldn’t have to go rely on Mystra to fix him, he wouldn’t have to go back like a starved dog and hope to garner enough affection to cure his plight. Hells, he could meet her as an equal, no more than an equal, and that presented even more possibilities.

How many things had Gale wished to change as Chosen only to find the power out of his grasp. Even with the approval of Mystra behind him, he couldn’t stop a city from being wiped out from a flood, or feed all the starving people in Waterdeep. He’d been incapable of addressing problems that weren’t Mystra’s concern, all the power at his fingertips dependent on her approval. If she were to fix him, if she were to take him back, he’d still have those limitations.

Would Mystra lend him the power to repair Karlach’s engine, or would that be considered extraneous? Would she aid him in fixing Astarion's vampirism, or would she claim that kind of magic was too powerful to touch. Would she help him fight against Bhaal himself for Tav’s freedom, or would she decline, telling him an empathetic but unchanging conviction, that she was not to mess in the affairs of other Gods.

If Gale kept the crown, he would not need to convince her. He could just do it himself. He could turn his friends’ biggest problems into nothing more than a bad memory. He could-

“With the crown, I could surpass Mystra. I could be more than Gale of Waterdeep,” he’d told Tav back in camp, almost bouncing on his heels with excitement. He wasn’t sure of the specifics yet, there was far more to read, far more to study, but he was sure the potential was there. When Tav bit their lower lip, he felt his enthusiasm wane slightly.

“But I like Gale of Waterdeep,” Tav said. Gale shook his head and showed them the pages of the crown, his finger pointing to the most pertinent bits. Usually Tav delighted in his lectures about magic. To see them instead so nervous was an uncomfortable change.

"I’d still be Gale of Waterdeep, just more,” Gale said, taking their hand in his while holding the book with the other. “I could be a God with a mortal’s heart. Think about all the people I could save, all the lives I could improve. No more would people pray to uncaring ears; I’d hear them instead. The hurt, the needy, the frightened; with that kind of power at my fingertips, I relieve their burdens. I’d have the power to save them all. I’d be able to-Why are you looking at me like that?”

Tav was staring at him, face blank, eyes wide. It was a look they got on rare occasions when they remembered something. When they spoke, their voice wavered.

“I just….I think I’ve heard this before. That’s all. I’m sorry.”

And then they’d walked off, leaving Gale alone with his book and the ambitions tucked within their pages.

Gortash didn’t seem to notice Gale was lost in his own recollections. Instead, he walked up to the wizard and patted his shoulder. Like he’d patted Tav’s earlier that day.

“Think about it, that’s all I ask. And send Tav my fondest regardless.”

Gale woke up, a yell caught in his throat. The agony the orb sometimes provided flared through his chest and he bent over, clutching his arms across his chest. It took a minute for the pain to subside and when it did, he breathed in heavy breaths, trying desperately to stop his mind from racing. With a trembling hand, he reached up to wipe under his nose.

There was no nosebleed. Gortash was not lying; he was not trying to kill him. As far as Gale could tell, the man’s proposal had been entirely sincere.

He tried to sit up and faltered as his hand landed on a book instead of his bedroll. Under his palm was The Annals of Karsus. Gale had been pouring through the pages before he went to bed, studying the diagrams for the crown, thinking of the possibilities should he manage to reforge it. He’d even left his notebook out next to it, his excitement clear in how frantic his scribbled notes were.

Gale felt like he might be sick. With shaking hands, he pushed the book under a blanket, and laid back on his bedroll. Closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. He wasn't anything like Gortash. He wanted to help people. He wanted to save others. He wanted control of his own life-

His breath hitched.

“I just….I think I’ve heard this before. That’s all. I’m sorry.”

The memory of Tav's expression haunted him until he fell back asleep.

#iz writes #enver gortash #gortash x durge #dark urge #durge #gale x durge #gale dekarios #bg3 #baldur's gate 3

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slasheru · 5 months

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Slasher U Update Roadmap: End of 2023!

Holy crap, it's been a hell of year, hasn't it?! Slasher U Act 1 came out at the end of April 2023 and there's been SO MUCH that's changed!

Things that were added in post-launch Slasher U Act 1 updates:

Sawyer's entire romance arc, storyline, and hookup/makeout games

Outfits

Bartending

The ability to talk to Dark Tate post-coitally

Butterflies and crows (fighting crows used to crash your game)

The entire good UI

Characters including Cliff, Stitcherella, Jennykind, Paisleigh, Tanya, and I'm pretty sure Kennedy was a very early addition, too

And that's not counting the tweaks, fixes, and content! In the interest of continuing to Ship of Theseus this game into the best dating sim ever (no biggie, right?), I have the following updates planned before the end of 2023 for Act 1!

Accessibility settings: A way to opt out of minigames with a random roll based on your personality stats (different stat per minigame as appropriate!)

Refining the places you can get personality points in Act 1

Customization: Cane accessories! These will run on a different band than outfits so you can mix and match them/equip them alongside outfits!

Finance: I made everything in the game on the pricey/"realistic" side and the money you get from gigs relatively low because A) college and B) i kind of thought it would both be funny/reflective of shitty college jobs AND a nice incentive to grind some minigames but. I think the economy needs a bit of a fix, right? ;) (in the meantime, try typing InfiniteMoneyVent with the caps correct in the Cheat Codes menu when you're in-game! Your wallet will be a little fuller!)

There are 27 major bugs left in the list for me to tackle as of now, most of them are routine but there are 3 or 4 harder ones to tackle (naming save files is being a beeeetch specifically because afaik Wolf wipes any additional system string variables even if you specify a larger variable count list? My engine just is like "naw actually I'm not saving that"?)

Prior Planned Quality of Life Stuff: Either a way to name your save files OR a way to make your character name appear under your save file (this used to happen but there was a bug where all names would default to your last used character name)

WHITE WHALE HOLY GRAIL I'm still trying to fix the text box bug! This actually isn't borked in the vanilla version of the WRPG engine but I can't fucking figure out how to fix it with the way I've set up the UI (I think? I THINK?!). This is realistically the last bug to get fixed due to my own ineptitude, so I'm hoping to A) make autosaves automatically turned on and B) making Data 1's save slot unusable so it's reserved for autosaves!

There's ALSO a couple content updates for Act 1 still (nothing major, except for, uh, ONE MAJOR THING, haha):

The Truth or Dare minigame/scenario is now going to be included in the Act 1 game, but take place after the Act 2 bumper (post-murder-attempt)

This is already in there but the preamble for Dark Tate's continuing storyline, and Laila's Act 2, activates after the murder attempt

I'll be adding Hex, Juno, and Sawyer's Act 2 lead-ins, plus regular Tate's lead-in, as I work on Act 2

Resolving the storylines (or, if you're being a Chaotic Evil type of player, ruining everyone's life) with story choices/quests for non-dateables: Act 2 will include more Sawyer/Horsemike story, and personal quests for Melyssa, Professor Plutonium, and partially Veronika/Archibald (theirs will continue into Act 3)

Maybe I'll let you fight crows again. MAYBE.

I'm ALSO working on Act 2, which has a lot of new features (notably permanent cosmetic upgrades like a piercing system and tattoos) as well as new content (obvi lmao), but I really want to find a way to offer early access passes to folks who didn't make it to the Crowdfundr (maybe via Patreon)?

Here are some Act 2 features that I'm excited to include/are already being worked on (you'll recognize a lot of these from fanvotes!)

Piercing/Tattoo Parlor

Headless Horsemike one-off hookup minigame

Tate's movie date (yes it's scripted and implemented, it'll be in the next Act 2 update lol. I KNOW I KNOW :D )

Being able to run the speakeasy/sex dungeon as a little moneymaking game in and of itself (well. More for the speakeasy. The sex dungeon is mostly for sex. You're welcome, Sawyer Enjoyers)

Being able to gift outfits to dateables

I'm personally super hype for Tate's storyline (which also involves some other students?? ooo????) and how that's going to mechanically shake out, PLUS, tattoos. Oh my god. TATTOOS GUYS. Plus, the piercing system works like IRL-style - you have to get pierced, then buy jewelry for your piercing if you want to replace your starter/healer gear! I'm a big fan of body mods IRL and having a more realistic piercing/tattoo system was important to me!

Can't wait for next year AND to bring y'all more Slasher U!!!!!!!!! Making video games is literally my favorite thing to do in the whole wide world and I can't imagine doing anything else with my life :')))) (one day I'll be able to do this FULL-full time instead of on top of reviewing medical documents and drawing IP comics for Big Corpo)

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE BEST FUCKIN' 6 MONTHS OF GAME DEV I COULD EVER FUCKING ASK FOR!!!!!!!!!! You guys rule :')))))))))))

xoxooxoxoxoxox, Professor Plutonium

#slasher u #roadmap #indie games #indie dev #this is a general roadmap but knowing me you should PROB expect more random content to drop at any given time haha #<33333 #dating sims #queer dating sims

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linisiane · 1 year

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What Kim Kitsuragi Tells Us About Fandom Ghost

I don't know if this has been said before, but I feel like another reason why Kim Kitsuragi is so wildly popular and beloved is how seamlessly he maps onto the trope of the Fanon Ghost.

Fanon Ghost is a concept that originated on Tumblr, by user wildehack, to describe the phenomenon of fandom elevating certain white male side characters from canon into main characters in fic, using a very specific set of characterization.

(Examples: wildehack focused on Star Wars' Hux's popularity in fic in comparison to characters like Finn/Poe, but others include Q from Craig!Bond verse, Arthur from Inception, Draco Malfoy, etc.)

From wildehack's defining essay:

"... prudish til you get him in bed, whereupon he is The Most Kinky, the charmingly repressed rage, the Love of Research and Order, the way lust/interest/affection is coded into irritation at The Neat and Tidy World being All Roughed Up by the hot mess of the other half of the ship?" "This crowdsourced tight-lipped furious perfectionist with his neat clothes and his scowling defensiveness and his biting sarcasm and his embarrassed desire to have a dude who is both sweaty and emotional take him apart."

Sound familiar?

Well, the terms may be a little different.

Where wildehack uses 'prudish,' 'biting sarcasm,' etc. to describe their fandom's fanon ghost, Disco fans might use 'professional,' 'dry wit,' etc. to describe Kim Kitsuragi.

But, the idea is the same, down to his embarrassing / sweaty / emotional partner. Kim Kitsuragi is Fanon Ghost if fanon ghost weren't a white male side character.

quick detour that'll become relevant later: i feel SO smug about the fact that Kim's characterization is canon to Disco Elysium. You had to make up your own perfect blorbo, but ours came like that! And he's not a white character being used to ignore POC main characters!

wildehack's essay started a conversation on why fandoms gravitate towards "This One Crowdsourced Dude," even when he doesn't exist in canon. And when there are other, often more established, minority main characters to work with.

There are a bunch of responses to this question—the FandomLore article I'm referencing this discussion from has a bunch of the full metas—ranging from exploring why he's often white and what exactly about him appeals to fandom. I think Kim's popularity can be really helpful in sorting my thoughts to these responses.

For instance, there are two general responses as to why the Fandom Ghost is usually a white side character:

Whiteness is considered a a blank slate default, making it easier to write about without fear of misrepresentation/mischaracterization

White men are considered more desirable/more relatable by fandom.

It's probably a mix of the two, but I think a fascinating THIRD take is that these white side characters in canon aren't just blank slates, but also share minor traits that all point to One Trope that causes people to obsess.

certifiedspacetrash postulated that the fandom ghost is actually a reskinning of a much older beloved archetype—the byronic hero: a character notable for being hard to like and hard to know, but usually possessing a rich inner life and a softer side accessible only to a special few. (Sound familiar?)

He theorized that part of the reason we don't see many POC Fandom Ghosts is because mainstream medias don't cast byronic traits onto POC characters.

"I think if Hollywood cast more young, striking actors who happen to be PoC, women etc as villains / byronic heores we would see lots of fanfic of them. But Hollywood is still in some weirdass reaction to being accused of racial stereotyping (which they 100% still do), and almost refuse to cast poc or women as bad guys. If they are, they’re either cast very old; or they’re the mary sue badguys - 100% beautiful, geniuses, incredibly powerful, no flaws whatsoever - and that tends not to inspire a lot of writers."

I find this take fascinating with Disco Elysium in mind because of the way Kim Kitsuragi is the exception that proves the rule.

Kim Kitsuragi is a rare, well-written mixed Asian character with byronic traits. And would you look at that?—Kim Kitsuragi has captured the hearts and minds of basically every Disco Elysium enjoyer ever.

Kim Kitsuragi is notably NOT overshadowed by Jean Vicquemare, who is a white side character with byronic traits that, in an alternate universe, could've been possessed by the Fandom Ghost to overshadow Kim. Jean, in our universe, already has a pretty big fandom in proportion to his screentime.

But, by the grace of moments where Harry can get Kim to "give a smile only you can see," Kim Kitsuragi is the breakout star of Disco Elysium. I find that hopeful, in a time where Asian male characters (outside of Asia, ofc) are often overlooked or boxed in or emasculated.

#my thoughts #i can imagine it #the dark universe where jean vicquemare is the fandom ghost tumblr sexyman of disco elysium #disco elysium #de #kim kitsuragi #fandom ghost #OKAY i didnt even go into the gender aspect of fandom ghost #which was like half the fanlore article #but i gotta ferment those thoughts a little more before posting that #metas #meta #literary analysis

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icedragonlizard · 5 months

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Marx headcanons

My "series" of tumblr posts going over general headcanons for singular Kirby characters is finally making a return! I already covered the trio of the third wave of dream friends, and so now the fourth entry is another character that's an ex-villain just like they are: Marx!

Like the third wave dream friends, I also have a whole looooot of headcanons for good 'ol silly clowny guy Marx here. Alongside with the third wave dream friends, this clown is another favorite of mine. With all of that in mind, why don't we go ahead and get this started?

As usual for these posts, I will put a 'Keep reading' tag because it's gonna be a long one. And as usual under these 'Keep reading' tags, everything from this point forward is purely my own headcanons.

Marx, by some miracle, didn't die when Kirby blasted him onto Galactic Nova at the ending of Milky Way Wishes. He himself couldn't believe it! He thought he was a goner when he saw himself flying towards that comet, but after the dust settled, he managed to register the fact that he somehow survived that enormous impact.

When he processed that the impact didn't kill him, it made him shocked beyond belief. But that shock didn't last long when he realized that he couldn't move freely on his own, since his injuries were excruciating enough to render him pretty much completely helpless as he floated around in space. With absolutely nobody to hear it, Marx cursed out Kirby in his seemingly final moments of life until he would eventually bleed out from his hugely agonizing injuries.

However, something occurred that saved Marx's life. Somebody was just quick enough to show up at the scene before it could be too late.

Someone piloting a big blue ship arrived at Galactic Nova's crash site and discovered Marx helplessly floating around. The person that piloted this big blue ship was none other than Magolor! The ship that he was piloting was, of course, none other than the Lor Starcutter.

Magolor saved Marx from death and took him in as he helped recover his injuries. The two became friends as they started pranking people together when Marx started to be in a good enough condition to do so.

Marx has been to Halcandra before, since Magolor showed him that's the place where he found the Lor Starcutter. The two of them caused mischief together, and Marx has seen Landia in person before.

It was after Marx recovered from his injuries is when he found out that he still has all the powers that Nova had granted him from his wish. He found it delightfully devious that he still has those powers!

The large golden wings now act as his forelimbs, as he can unfold or retract them any time, and those claw-like appendages are essentially his fingers. He also has the ability to alternate his eyes' looks to either have his pupils and irises be either round-shaped or slit-shaped, although round-shaped is the default/normal version.

He also has another power that he didn't even know he had before: he is has the ability to spit out an infinite amount of beach balls out of his mouth! This is an attack that he can perform in Star Allies. I headcanon that Nova gave him that capability, although he didn't use that attack during his boss fight in Milky Way Wishes. He didn't even know he had that skill until later in time.

A while after recovering from his injuries, Marx then eventually found an opportunity to disclose vital information to Magolor that would essentially serve as the catalyst for a large chain of events later on.

Marx is, more or less, the reason why Magolor comes to know about Kirby and eventually all the others in the first place, and this is what led to Return to Dreamland's events to happen. Marx told Magolor about his incident with Kirby that left him in the condition he found him in. This inspired Magolor to plot his own betrayal against Kirby, which was of course the events of RTDL, and Marx pleaded him to succeed when he set off his plan. Traitors beget traitors, right? Haha.

Ever since getting his ass kicked at the end of Milky Way Wishes, Marx has been holding a serious grudge against Kirby. He wanted to get back at that pink puffball so bad. He would've wanted to get revenge himself, but Magolor assured that he'd attempt his own betrayal against Kirby, and so Marx was able to relax at his courtesy. He really, really wanted Kirby to finally get wrecked, which was why he was pleading for Magolor to succeed with his grand betrayal plan.

To avoid making Magolor a conflict of interest that could easily cause his plans to flop before he could succeed in his betrayal, Marx completely stayed out of RTDL's events. Magolor did say "I even know somebody who knows you quite well!" to Kirby at one point during RTDL, and that somebody is of course Marx, but that's the closest Magolor has gone to letting the cover be even remotely blown. Aside from that, Magolor kept it hidden that Marx was the one who told him about Kirby to prevent his grand plan from flopping.

Marx was just going to numerous other planets to prank random people while Magolor was doing his grand plan in RTDL. Some of the planets that Marx caused mischief in at this time are some of the planets that were in Kirby 64, such as Rock Star, Aqua Star and Neo Star. He also caused mischief in Halcandra when Magolor showed him the place, until Magolor used the Lor Starcutter to open up a rift to let Marx leave Another Dimension before RTDL's events began.

Even though Marx has been having a really sore grudge against Kirby ever since losing, he was also very delighted about keeping all the powers that Nova gave him, and so he used his powers to have great efficiency at pulling pranks on people in numerous planets as his method of coping with his severe grudge against the pink puffball while trying to wait on Magolor carrying out his betrayal plan.

In essence, that's what Marx has been doing until Magolor finally returns to him to reveal that his betrayal plan failed. This disappointed Marx, and it disappointed him even more when Magolor expressed regret and how he wanted to reconcile with Kirby.

At that moment, Marx's grudge against Kirby was still really strong, and so he initially refused to cooperate when Magolor asked him to join in apologizing to Kirby. Magolor didn't like his response, so he tried to keep insist that he get over it and join him, but Marx even went so far as to suggest to try to betray Kirby again. That caused the two to have strife with each other, and so Magolor chose to temporarily leave Marx and make his apology on his own by himself.

During that brief period, Marx just continued his mischievous shenanigans on other planets while Magolor made up with Kirby. This goes on for a few years until something makes the jester change tune.

Eventually, something clicks with Marx and he finally snaps out of it. At some point, he comes to realize that it really would be for his own good to stop having such a ridiculous grudge against Kirby and just make up with him, and so he went ahead to return to Popstar and reconcile with Kirby years after Magolor made his reconciliation.

After reconciling with Kirby, Marx then came back together with Magolor to regrow their friendship after the brief strife that they had. When he did this, it put some weight off his non-existent shoulders, since life really is better and more relaxing without holding a grudge.

Marx's reconciliation with Kirby happens several months before Star Allies, meaning that Daroach, Magolor, Taranza and Susie all made their reconciliations with Kirby before Marx did. Before he made his reconciliation, he literally hasn't been to Popstar since the fight in Milky Way Wishes, since the grudge he had against Kirby was so strong that it made him really not want be anywhere near Popstar at the time. That of course changed when his grudge finally faded away.

And so after finally reconciling with Kirby, Marx became an addition to Kirby's large and constantly increasing group of friends. At this point, he sticks around and gets to know the rest of the notable cast.

Who are Marx's friends in my headcanon universe, might you wonder? Marx's friends are the following: Magolor, Kirby, Gooey, the animal friends, Daroach and the mage sisters.

I already have tumblr posts going over Marx's dynamic with Magolor, as well as his dynamics with Gooey and the animal friends, so I won't elaborate on that too deeply in here. However, I will mention in here that Magolor and the animal friends are essentially Marx's 'supervisors' in trying to get him to be a better person over time, even though they're more than glad to join him in tomfoolery sometimes.

Marx and Kirby have been friends ever since shortly before Star Allies. Kirby actually thought that Marx was dead until he finally came back, and it made him really glad to see that Marx was okay! Marx sometimes attempts to make Kirby laugh, although it doesn't always work since some of his jokes can end up flying over Kirby's head.

There are times where Marx might go too far on things that would make Kirby sad or give him a disapproving look. That doesn't stop Kirby from still really liking Marx as a friend, however. He's aware that the jester isn't always nice, but he does truly believe in him.

Daroach is chill, laid-back and mischief-minded, and so Marx is on his good side as a result! The two are friends as they both have a knack for trolling. Marx and Daroach sometimes cause mischief together, and it's not uncommon for them to be joined by Magolor to form a trio of tomfoolery-doers. Marx thinks Daroach is sly and cool as heck, and may sometimes even assist him into doing robberies!

The mage sisters are people that Marx has a really great time messing around with. They're pretty chaotic and willing to do some crazy stuff that many others aren't as willing to do, and that delights the jester. He can cause chaos with them together! They don't even care when he pokes fun at their trauma, since laughing is their most common go-to trauma response. They really enjoy Marx's company.

Out of the three mage sisters, Francisca is the one that Marx is closest buddies with. Francisca is generally the most notorious of the mage sisters due to her frozen trophy collection as well as being more psychotic than her sisters, and that's exactly like Marx likes her the most out of them. He literally hypes up Francisca's trophy collection! She's easily amused by it and thinks that Marx is the funniest person in existence. These two make a duo of unhinged freaks that do things that would make Magolor afraid to join them.

Flamberge fully approves of Marx due to how much Francisca enjoys him. She herself may also join the jester into starting some chaos sometimes. That being said, Flamberge is generally not as twisted and psychotic as Francisca, so whatever shenanigans Marx might do with Flamberge is not quite as insane as what he does with the ice general. Marx does however very much enjoy the hyper energy and bombastic-ness of the fire general, and loves causing booms with her.

Out of the three mages, Zan Partizanne is the one that is most distant from Marx, but even she still likes him. There are times where Zan actually becomes unhappy with Marx, since she's a bit more sensitive about her trauma being mocked compared to the other two mages, but she can still stand him for the most part, considering that she herself still really likes to playfully bicker and cause some chaos.

Now that we're covered all the people I mentioned being Marx's friends... everyone else in the notable cast aren't really his friends. In fact, some of the others don't get along with him. Marx is pretty chaotic as far as some of his mischief is concerned, and while some people don't mind it too much, there are others who don't take well to it and thus do not like him as a result. He's a bit on the infamous side.

King Dedede isn't really a fan of Marx. Even though he himself has a bigger-than-normal sense of humor, there's been many times where Marx has invited himself to Dedede's castle and caused some chaotic mischief that was too far for the monarch to accept. Marx has caused Dedede to snap in anger to the point of whacking him with his hammer a few times. Dedede tries to put up with the jester sometimes, but overall he really just doesn't like him much.

Meta Knight dislikes Marx and considers him to be a nuisance. He hates it when the jester asks what's behind that mask, and it forces him to use willpower to not skewer him when that happens. He tries to hold restraint in terms of reaction when getting pranked by Marx, but locking these two in the same room would be a terrible idea because Meta Knight absolutely will snap and it will result in a fight.

Adeleine and Ribbon find Marx to be pretty creepy and unnerving, although they're not really adamant on either liking or disliking him.

Elfilin is absolutely terrified of Marx. He wants nothing to do with the jester. Elfilin will immediately hide behind someone else the moment he sees Marx. He's seen all of Marx's powers and it deeply scares him.

There are some dream friends that despise Marx. Out of all the other dream friends, the ones that hate Marx the most are the following: Bandana Waddle Dee, Taranza, Susie and Dark Meta Knight.

Bandee has disdain for most of the ex-villain dream friends like I mentioned in a previous post, and Marx is one of the worst cases as far as this concerned. Even though Bandee had only heard about the Milky Way Wishes events secondhand, Marx loves the negative attention that Bandee gives him. He deliberately provokes and messes with him, which eventually causes Bandee to hate Marx even more than he hates most of the other ex-villain dream friends.

Taranza and Susie both despise Marx because he's literally made fun of their dead loved ones a couple of times. He's caused Taranza to cry and he's caused Susie to beat the shit out of him. He's irritated them in some other ways, but both of them drew the line big-time when he dared to mock their trauma, and thus they've held a grudge against him ever since. They once together ganged up on him in revenge.

Which is also to say that I'm sorry, but I don't headcanon Marx forming a quartet with Wave 3. Magolor likes him, but Taranza and Susie hate him and don't want anything to do with him. Even though Magolor considers Marx to be his buddy, he did not at all condone Marx making Taranza and Susie really upset a few times. He's taken it upon himself to help his fellow wave 3 pals stay away from the jester.

Making fun of Taranza's and Susie's losses is the most infamous thing Marx has done post-MWW. He received a lot of harsh backlash over it, and that's why he only did it a couple of times for each. The mage sisters have a higher tolerance and don't care when Marx pokes fun at their trauma, but Taranza and Susie absolutely do not tolerate it at all, and both would be grateful if they didn't have to see Marx again.

Dark Meta Knight also hates Marx. The reason is why is because Marx considers DMK's existence to be pretty laughable. He does things like making all sorts of emo jokes and edgy jokes at DMK, as well as mocking him for being a more unhinged version of Meta Knight. As one could easily imagine, this really pisses DMK off and he's even tried to kill Marx as a result. These two have had fights with each other as soon as during the events of Star Allies, causing the other dream friends to break them up and separate these two.

And... I'd say that wraps up how Marx interacts with the notable cast. Overall, pretty mixed results. While Kirby and some of the dream friends like him, there are others that do not like him and in fact can't stand him. Marx has had a bad habit of overstepping people's boundaries with his mischief, which doesn't really earn him a lot of brownie points with some people. In fact... he's actually the second most disliked/controversial dream friend after Dark Meta Knight.

Marx loves getting dramatic reactions out of people. He thinks it's hysterical to get people to snap or lash out, and he's willing to go to large lengths to get entertainment. He just has an unrestrained sense of humor that doesn't really sit well with some people. Like stated earlier above in the post, Magolor and the animal friends have had to act as Marx's 'supervisors' in trying to prevent him from starting chaos or going too far with his mischief. Sometimes, it's difficult to get him to listen, but he does actually care enough about his supervisors to where there are times that he does indeed listen to them.

A lot of the cruel and chaotic stuff that Marx has done is stuff he actually wouldn't mind if it happened to him. He loves being pranked, made fun of, and scared! Adrenaline rushes are very fun for him! That's what makes him quick to declare people boring or sensitive when they don't take well to being messed with by him. Unfortunately, this viewpoint of his is not shared by others, and thus his supervisors still work on trying to get him to stop upsetting others.

Marx's favorite food is pizza. He'll eat entire pizzas by himself. His favorite kind of pizza is the all-meat combo type, but he'll gladly eat any pizza, including the pizzas that have pineapples on them.

He likes a lot of food in general, and he can eat a lot in one sitting like Kirby does. There's also times where he tried to eat things that looked like food... such as when he attempted to eat a gem apple one time, until Magolor stopped him and told him that gem apples aren't edible.

His laughter can be fairly contagious to his friends. Sometimes, when he's not really into causing mischief and just wants to say funny things, his laughter can get his friends all hyped up and want to mimic it. He loves it when that happens. Laughter can sometimes be the best medicine, like someone said in a different video game series.

There are times where Marx decides to not cause mischief, and instead just puts up silly little shows to try to make people laugh. This includes things like making a ton of funny faces, or creating a big pile of beach balls by spitting them all out. Sometimes, this works and it makes some people laugh! He remembers doing this somewhere in Dream Land, it got laughs out of some of the random residents. There was a time where a Bonkers gave Marx a playful slap on the shoulder and called him a funny guy... he very much appreciated that!

He doesn't have an actual job, occupation or anything along those lines. The closest thing he has to some sort of 'job' is mischief, considering that's pretty much his spiritual hobby, and basically what he's been doing all his life. He doesn't really intend to change that.

Marx also doesn't really have a home, and thus is effectively homeless. He basically just sleeps wherever, and rarely does he sleep in the same place two nights in a row. He has a range of where he picks out places to sleep, and including throughout Popstar and a few other planets like the ones that were in Milky Way Wishes.

Nearby the Lor Starcutter is a common place for Marx to sleep at, though, considering that Magolor will sometimes allow him to do it.

There are however places where he is forbidden to sleep at... such as Dedede's castle, since the waddle dees don't really want him there.

He's a bit of a nomad. He spends perhaps most of his time in Popstar, but he sometimes goes around to visit planets nearby Popstar. He has a pretty large horizon, which helps in that he's more than glad to go to the Jambastion fortress to visit the three mage sisters.

Marx has been able to visit the Forgotten Land a couple of times, with the help of Magolor using the Lor Starcutter to take him there. The times that Marx was there, Magolor was with him to supervise him, and luckily he got Marx to cooperate and not cause a notable amount of trouble in the Forgotten Land as they adventured the place.

During his visits to the Forgotten Land, Marx loved it! He likes hanging around in Wondaria, since he considers it to be a fun place, and he also enjoyed fighting in the colosseum in Waddle Dee Town.

Marx has spread his knowledge about clockwork stars to some people in Popstar. Gooey and the animal friends didn't even know about clockwork stars until Marx told them about it! Not that they ever intend to go to outer space to try to grant a wish to one, but they thought it was cool to learn about those comets regardless!

When Marx visited Merry Magoland for the first time, he was incredibly ecstatic over the 'Marx Soul' mask. He loves that mask! He was also informed by Magolor to please behave during his time in Magoland. Magolor may be buddies with Marx, but he doesn't want chaos in his park, and thankfully Marx does actually listen to him when it comes to this. I also headcanon that the design of 'Marx Soul' for the mask was completely invented by Magolor, since the Marx Soul stuff from Super Star Ultra's True Arena did not happen at all in my headcanons. So when Marx saw the mask, he asked where it came from, Magolor said it was purely his own invention.

As far as Marx's birthdays are concerned, he had a few of his birthdays celebrated by Magolor before RTDL's events. He went a few birthdays without being celebrated after RTDL, as the next time they were celebrated was when Marx made up with Kirby and started gaining some more friends to be able to celebrate his birthdays.

Marx doesn't actually do much on Popstar for his birthdays. When it's special day, he wants to have a bunch of fun, and that means causing a bunch of mischief. He'll of course swoop by Dream Land to hear Kirby and others wish him a happy birthday, but he'll go by other planets to start some crazy mischief. Magolor joins him in these birthday pranking sprees to make the mischief even more fun, although Magolor may also take him on a Lor ride to some far-away planets to cause mischief on, and return when they're done.

Also, I headcanon that Marx is a young adult. I know that some people headcanon him being a kid or teenager, but for me he's a young adult that's just a little bit younger than the wave 3 dream friends. So in my headcanon universe, he is perhaps the universe's silliest adult.

I think that just about wraps up the headcanons that I have for Marx! What a chaotic and silly guy, isn't he? I've always really liked this freak of nature. I know my interpretation of Marx is pretty wild as he likes to get dramatic reactions out of people with his mischief, but it's just the way I like it! To me, it's fun when he's not always very repentant and willing to start crap with others! Silly chaotic clown guy.

Marx is the fourth Kirby character I've done a post like this for. Last month, I did these general headcanon posts for Magolor, Taranza and Susie, so feel free to also give those a read any time if you've yet to.

I think Gooey is going to be the next Kirby character that I'll write a giant post like this for. I love Gooey a lot, too, and I also have lots of thoughts for that googly-eyed dark matter defect! Stay tuned for that.

Thank you very much if you've read all of this. See you later!

#kirby #marx #marx kirby #kirby super star #kirby super star ultra #milky way wishes #galactic nova #nova kirby #kirby star allies #kirby's return to dreamland deluxe #magolor

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