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vampireantihero · 1 year

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I've been forgetting to add my newsletter here.

Hey everyone, happy Juneteenth! If you know what Juneteenth is about, then you know it’s worth celebrating. Before we hop into the Newsletter, let’s take a look at this week’s schedule.

After The Parade

After the Parade is starting to come together! The background is nearly to a point where I feel comfortable adding the story elements to the piece, and once I add those I can start adding more lighting effects and really get the details to pop. I may go back and stylize the clouds a little bit more, instead of leaving them the slightly more realistic take I’ve been doing, but other than that I’m pretty happy with how this piece is starting to slowly come together. I’ve been taking a little longer on it because of how overwhelmed I’ve been, but it’s been nice to work on something that doesn’t have a deadline, on a topic I care about.

When this piece is done, I’ll likely be releasing a small number of limited prints. I’ll make an announcement when that happens.

Theatre

My theatre has finished a successful showing of our show! I was tech, as this was a one actor show, but this show was a good one to share with our community — for those curious, it was called I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright. It’s about a trans woman who survived the Nazis and Communist-occupied surveillance state Berlin. It was honestly amazing to be a part of something that was such an important topic to talk about — LGBTQIA+ and, specifically, trans history — and to see such a positive reaction from our audience. It was also really cool to actually watch and pay attention to my husband as he was acting — he played over 40 characters in this one actor play (and it’s written that way by design, not a casting choice we made.)

Our sound tech put together a curtain call comprised of political discourse around trans people, both good and bad, from the last 3 months, and it was a very powerful way to end the show. I am both fulfilled and exhausted, and I’m happy that it went well but also happy that life is going to slow down for a few weeks. I’m sad the show is over, though. I’d like to do a few more runs of it, so the celebration is bittersweet.

Portfolio Development

I’ve been talking a lot about developing my portfolio lately, and I was thinking about where to start this week. Talking with some friends, I decided that I should actually wait to start developing my portfolio until after my mentorship is over with later on this year. I’m doing a mentorship with a more experienced artist from August 17th until November 2nd — because of that, I don’t want to start making my portfolio before I have the opportunity to learn how to refine my skills. This is strictly a choice I’m making in order to have the most put together portfolio that I can put together, without causing more work and second-guessing myself on whether or not to re-do pieces that aren’t very old.

I’ll still be sharing my portfolio development process, it’s just going to be a bit pushed back! So if this is something you’re interested in, don’t worry — I’ll be talking more about it closer to the end of the year.

Fiverr / Commission Changes

I had a goal to put together a Fiverr profile last week. Unfortunately, the week got away from me and I wound up not having time to put it together. But! I’m working on it this week, and I’m hoping that I can have it done by the end of the week. I’ll have three main things I’ll be offering — illustration, book covers, and concept art. When I have the profile put together, I’ll throw the link up on my links page and also announce it on the newsletter here. Because I’m setting up a Fiverr, I may get rid of the private commission details on my website. I’ll be making a decision on that this week, and I will announce that decision when I publish the Fiverr details.

I’m no longer actively offering Twitch graphics or animations, though if you’d like to order something from me that you don’t see offered, then I’ll have a way put together that you can let me know what you want and we’ll work something out.

Next on Youtube (Free Tutorials)

When After the Parade is finished and the speedpaints are over with, I’m going to go back to making tutorials on how to render certain things. Or, at least, how I render certain things. I may also talk about how to approach breaking things down into simpler shapes, line work, and other such stuff. If you’re a Ko-Fi Fanclub member or paid monthly Discord member, then I’m thinking about running weekly polls for topics for people to answer within the discord. I’ll think on it more over the course of the week.

In Case You Missed It/Closing Thoughts

I announced that I’ll have a Fiverr profile soon, and that I’ll be starting to design book covers.

I shared the 2nd part of After the Parade as a speedpaint on Youtube.

youtube

Last week I did less daily studies because I was a little overwhelmed and also working on the After the Parade painting pretty intensely, as well as some concept stuff for On Broken Wings (I’m re-developing it from the ground up), but here’s the work from last week.

So, that is about all I have to say this week! I hope that you’re all doing alright, and that you had a fantastic week. I’ll check back next week with our next newsletter. Don’t forget — no matter what, you’re loved, you matter, and you’re important. So, make sure you’re taking care of yourself. Drink your water, and do what you can. I love you all.

#my stuff #my art #weekly newsletter #newsletter #digital artist #art newsletter #update #Youtube

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ezimin · 2 years

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Cells At Work

When I was younger and first learning about human biology in school, I was told by my teacher to think of my body as a giant city, full of lots of little people called cells, all running about and doing different jobs. This idea not only helped me to understand what cells did, but was also really interesting. I realised that my teacher was not being literal - my body is not actually full of tiny people - however, I often thought that if it were, what would these people look like and what would their personalities be? So I was thrilled when I came across the anime Cells At Work, which was based on this idea.

Cells at Work is an anime with two main characters - a red blood cell and a white blood cell. All the cells that show up in the anime do not have individual names. They are just called by their cell title. This makes it a little bit confusing when hearing all the characters talking as they all have the same names. It is difficult to tell who they are talking to if there is more than one cell of a particular type involved in the conversation.

Cells at Work is an ‘edutainment’ show. This means that it mixes educational content and elements of entertainment. For example, towards the end of the anime a group of cells come across quite a serious illness that they have to defeat. This takes some elements which we would expect from other anime, such as the notion of good and evil, high stakes resulting from the conflict and even certain characteristics and sound effects, which we would all recognise from anime in general. However, it mixes these together with the educational elements. The ‘bad guy’, the illness, speaks in a soft, deep voice, with a slight reverb after-effect, that has a menacing air. This is similar to the way bad guys speak in other anime, but given that this is an illness, it is slightly unique at the same time as being so similar.

This anime was also very short. It only spanned eight episodes. However, because there was so much information packed into it, between a voice over which gave you helpful information about each cell, and having the likes of the red blood cell delivering oxygen and nutrients to cells as they do in the human body, I think it would have been difficult to understand if the anime had been longer and I’m not sure where it would have gone if more episodes had been added as all the conflict was resolved by the end. I think that sticking to eight episodes was just the right amount of time. If it had been longer, I think my head would have been spinning with so much information.

I really enjoyed Cells at Work. I liked the way it mixed the educational and entertainment sides of the story. I thought this was all done well. I would recommend it and you never know, you might pick up something useful while watching this anime.

#anime recommendation #cells at work

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cap10froggerguy · 3 years

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Tenth Anniversary recap

So, as my little celebration of the Ninjago 10 Year Anniversary, here’s a little recap of every single season, including the pilots and a few bonuses. I also added totally arbitrary scoring based on my own preferences. Ready? Here we go!

The Pilots:

Local man joins gang to save sister, gains awesome powers and dragons along the way. Featuring the Wise Old Mentor(C) and Generic Evil Overlord(C), as well as FIYAH, the main character with a firey temper, AT-AT, blue guy with motor mouth, Frosty, local “real boy” who is super aloof, and Bucket of Rocks, who is the “leader” and has a personality like a rock. Is that a compliment? You decide!

Choppy animation and okay storytelling, but excellent characterization creates a surefire laugh fest!

0/0, they were trying their hardest, so no ranking for you.

Season 1: Rise of the Snakes

Ninja team angers young and bratty boy, who unleashes snake army. Prophecy threatens to tear the team apart at the seams with contests to prove who is better. Winner ends up being FIYAH’s sister, but instead of becoming The Chosen One(C), young and bratty boy (henceforth known as Green Angst) gets the title.

Animation is slightly better, and the storytelling style leads to an okay season.

3/13, Room for improvement.

Season 2: Legacy of the Green Ninja

Green Angst gains superpowers, ages up, and beats up his dad, who has become possessed with evil. Plot of Return of the Jedi ensues, dad is good, and everything wraps up.

Thinking this was going to be the last season, the showrunners pulled out all the stops, and it shows. Good job!

5/13, This makes a good ending.

SIKE

Season 3: Rebooted

Series tries to pick up where they left off. Unnecessary love triangles and robot battles ensue. Frosty dies, totally for realsies.

The whole atmosphere feels a bit rushed, and about half of the story is there for unneeded drama.

1/13, did not age well.

Season 4: Tournament of Elements

In stunning turn of events, Frosty is not dead. Ninja must battle in hunger games in order for Colonel Sanders to release him. FIYAH develops a crush on his daughter.

A fun season with quippy writing and tons of lore, it works really well!

8/13, this season ages wonderfully.

Season 5: Possession

Ghosts are a thing now! Green Angst gets possessed, and so the ninja must learn ghost fighting to fight ghosts. Also, FIYAH’s sister (From now on called Water Girl) gains water powers.

While a neat story concept, the fact that Water Girl has only NOW been told about her powers kinda starts to weaken the story for me.

4/13, could do better.

...

Oh, and Bucket of Rocks is a ghost now. But the writers don’t care, so lets move on.

Season 6: Skybound

AT-AT gets a season, where he had to battle a genie pirate while Water Girl tries to be a Strong Independent Woman(C) despite the love triangle fiasco. Season ends up retconning itself out of existence.

While a good season pre-redesign, some of the story choices cause it to feel a bit drawn out in hindsight.

6/13, a fun season concept.

Day of the Departed:

Bucket of Rocks cant catch enough of a break to get a season, gets Halloween-ish special instead. In it, he becomes No Longer A Ghost. Hooray for... writing?

There’s not much to say about this one, it is what it is, and for a while, this was the only content we got centered around good ol Bucket of Rocks.

0/0, a ranking of this one wouldn’t be fair.

Season 7: Hands of Time

Angst! Drama! Time Travel! Technology jokes! Old Mentor is dying from Too Many Secrets, so Green Angst must lead team. FIYAH and Water Girl find their parents. I bet that’ll be important later!

The story feels choppy, and leaves a lot of threads hanging. It’s still fun, but less so that what came before and what comes after.

2/13: Guys, you had one job.

Season 8: Sons of Garmadon

The ninja get a facelift, and Green Angst gets a girlfriend! Guess which one is permanent. Evil Ex summons Evil Overlord(C) 2.0, causing Green Angst to loose Green and gain Angst.

The animation bump is stellar, the new voice actor for Green Angst really shines, and the story, while not new by any stretch, is filled with plenty of twists and turns.

9/13, Stellar Season.

Season 9: Hunted

The OG 4 in Mad Max on one hand, while Green Angst and Water Girl resist against tyrannical overbearing ruler on the other. Now with even more daddy issues, inspiring speeches, and of course, ANGST.

The storytelling and atmosphere increases in quality, and the show does a good job of balancing angst and hope. Also, then end is really cool.

12/13, Great Atmosphere.

Season 10/March of the Oni

Everyone teams up to stop faceless CGI army! Wait, does that count if everything is CGI?

There’s not much to say on this one either. It feels both too short and too fast, and many of the story beats don’t hit like they should.

(6 1/2) / 13, Pretty OK.

Season 11 pt 1: The Fire Chapter

Local team gets lazy, unleashes witch, FIYAH looses fire, Frosty dies again. OR DOES HE!?

Even better animation, and the voice actors are really having fun for this season onwards. It’s one of the weakest of the newer seasons, but the shorter episode time helps every episode pack a punch.\

7/13, Would recommend as a starter season.

Season 11 pt 2: The Ice Chapter

Frosty becomes Frostbite and commits genocide. Is redeemed by power of friendship and amnesia. Let’s move on.

Character development, great moments, and thought provoking storytelling!? This season has all that AND a good grasp on the aesthetic!

10/13, Please forgive Frosty. He didn’t mean it.

Season 12: Prime Empire

AT-AT gets his own season again, enacts plot of Tron Legacy, but better! Also, Frosty becomes a detective.

The obligitory videogame plot is done really well. Lots of fun is poked at videogame mechanics and it makes for a quippy and fast paced season. Just like AT-AT!

11/13, videogame movie(?) done right.

Season 13: Master of the Mountain

Bucket of Rocks finally gains own season, proves that he is the best character. Gains a best friend and beats her dad in combat.

Beautiful set pieces, awesome character development, lore, jokes, and heartfelt moments, I consider this to be the single best season of the newer ones, and possibly even the whole show.

13/13, amazing season

BONUS!

The Lego Ninjago movie:

Kung Fu High School AU with a dash of Star Wars. Different from the series? Sure. Super fun? Absolutely!

8 out of 10 Meowthras.

Wu’s Teas:

Wise Old Mentor(C) opens teashop. Shenanigans ensue.

10 out of 10, if you don’t laugh at at least one, something is wrong.

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dumdumsun · 3 years

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Ranidaphobia | IT Reader Insert

A/N: Hello, all ❤️ This is a very short sneak peek of my new fic that I’m working on. This particular fic will be different than my other fics in more ways than one. One: It’s gonna come out in full rather than having a publishing schedule. I’m currently 5-6 chapters in out of 13, so it’ll be a little while, but I’m giving you this now because it’s Halloween. Two: I will not be shying away from much. This story will deal with heavy topics such as abuse and homophobia just like the original story does, since I'm also adding in elements from both the book and the 1990 miniseries. So, if you feel you cannot handle that type of material, I wouldn’t advise you read this. Trigger warnings will be up as usual, so nothing to surprise you. If you do end up liking this little snip and want to be notified of the actual chapters, then lmk and I'll have a taglist. Thank you and enjoy ❤️

Warnings: mentions of blood

Word Count: 574

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Sneak Peek

It was October of 1988 and (Y/N) (Y/L/N) had been sitting on her windowsill, watching as the rainfall cascaded down the glass. The moment that the forecast called for a thunderstorm, her stomach dropped and a sinking feeling found its way into her heart. She got that itch she always did. It was never a physical itch, but rather the irritating feeling one would get and they felt as if they had to scratch it, make it go away, end it. That was what she felt. Something was going to happen and she needed to put an end to it.

She didn’t get the feeling often, but when she did, it was always a day or two before a missing person’s flyer would go up on light posts and brick walls or their name would be announced on the news. It made her shiver slightly and she usually sat up with a start, but she never knew what to do. Rarely did she ever voice this to anyone. The first and only time she did, it set her reputation at school and instantly made her a target for the gang that terrorized every child in the town of Derry; The Bowers Gang. So, she usually kept this to herself and ignored the feeling until it went away.

But today, the itch had grown so unbearable that she could no longer sit beside herself. Jumping up from her windowsill, she walked over to her closet and retrieved her rainstorm attire. She stuffed her feet into her blue galoshes and slipped on her same-colored raincoat, descending the staircase two at a time after leaving her bedroom. Her mother, who had been watching some talk show on the television, glanced up at her daughter.

“(Y/N), what are you doing?”

“I’m exploring.”

“Well, don’t,” She turned back to the television. “It’s pouring outside. I don’t want you to get sick or hurt.”

With a sigh, the girl stomped out of the living room, quieting her steps to a tip-toe as she entered the kitchen. Reaching the back, she opened the door and slipped out almost silently, slowly and carefully closing the door behind her. Flicking her hood up, (Y/N) was off. The journey was like a game of Hot and Cold, like a navigator pointing her in the direction she needed to go. If she turned to the right, and her itch began to fade, she’d spin around and take the left, her suspicions proving correct when the itch grew. She stuck with this strategy until she reached the corner where Jackson and Witcham street met.

(Y/N)’s heart dropped at the sight. No one stood or layed before her, but just in front of a sewage drain was bloodied water, slowly making its way into the drain. As if whatever, or whoever, the blood poured from had fallen within. She took a deep breath and told herself it was an animal, roadkill that had gotten swept away by the storm. But no matter how many possibilities she came up with in her head, that sinking feeling only grew deeper and deeper until the newly fallen droplets of rain washed the blood completely away and no trace of whatever tragedy had just occurred was left.

Then the itch was gone. As if nothing had happened. As if it were all in her head.

Her mother was right. She shouldn’t be out here.

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dwollsadventures · 3 years

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The second part of a request from TheLOAD from... a while back. The initial one was the Nix/Nokk/Knucker piece. This one took me a little longer for a few reasons. Mostly school reasons. And writer's block reasons, which is why this is taking the place of the monthly preview. And because, for research, I had to re-read the entirety of Drakon by Daniel Ogden for information. For those not used to my pedantry, this is not an "in-canon" family tree of the Greek dragons, such as you might see in those huge Greek mythology family tree pictures that are on the internet (I've got a few in my favorites from waaaaayyyy back as well). Rather, this is a way of showing how the concept of the dragon came about throughout time and how other beings are related through those branching lines. Of course this is presented as a lot more neat than it probably should be. If it were truly accurate it would have interconnected lines all over the place and obscure the little lizards. Before we talk about what's on the tree let's talk about what's not on it. Though Odgen talks about every (and I mean every) slightly Draconic being in Greek and Roman mythology, I've opted to include a trimmed down version. Because some, like Medusa and Lamia, I personally do not consider dragons proper, and others like the goddess Keto are relatively obscure and probably only exist to explain the existence of a related being (like the ketea). Creatures like Chimera and Typhoeus are included because, while not usually serpentine or draconic, they are in effect dragons; horrible, vaguely reptilian monsters slain by a hero. Not every individual dragon is depicted, only the ones I thought pertinent to include. (warning: LONG)

To start with, a drakon is a snake. The Greeks used the word to refer to both huge monsters and mundane snakes. Drakon itself is derived from the word dérkomai and is believed to literally mean, "the one who sees". The hypnotizing power attributed to snakes is present in drakons, traditionally given the job of the sleepless guardian of treasure. Going back even further, we see that the drakon comes from two disparate cultural perceptions of snake, each of which is still present in its classical form.

Snake Goddess - One of the native precursors of the Greeks were the Minoans. They had more in common with their Egyptian and Near Eastern neighbors than the Italians and Balkans. From what little we can gather of their culture, it appears the snake was a symbol of the goddess. Whether or not it was any goddess in particular is unknown. This theme survives into ancient Greece, however. Athena often uses snakes as agents when acting with mortals, Hera uses them as well (the twin serpents who attempted to strangle Heracles and the Hydra), and Medea had a chariot pulled by snakes. Earth goddesses in particular are heavily associated with them. Python was a direct product of Gaia, and the snake was a divine symbol of Demeter, who also had a rad snake chariot. Even in mortal women, their dynamic with snakes and dragons is nurturing. Several heroines sing to snakes as their masculine counterparts steal the treasure they guard, fulfilling a nurturing role in comparison to the destructive masculine one. Here the snake is a guardian, a creature of the earth and everything beneath it, including gold and the dead. These dragons are usually not slain, but pacified by the presence of a woman. In addition, the beard is an originally Greek symbol associated with snakes, particularly those connected to the gods. This was quite possibly a signifier of their supernatural status above mundane serpents. The goddess depicted above isn't any one in particular, though her dress does pull from a statue of Athena holding a curled python.

Drakaina - One way in which the snake goddess has survived is in the drakaina. This word is simply the feminine form of drakon, but also encompasses the numerous beings characterized by having the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a drakon. Numerous beings in Greek mythology fit this theme, but the one I've focused on is the Scythian drakaina, a woman who intercepts Heracles during one of his labors and kidnaps some cows. She offers to return the cattle in exchange for a night of intercourse. And then Herc is off and we're told the three sons of that union go on to become kings of great renown in Scythia. Some authors interpret this as a Greek adaptation of a Scythian myth, with one of the key pieces of evidence being that the drakaina's name is Hora, meaning "Seasons". Regardless of whether or not this is a goddess, it is a story where the snake-woman is neither killed nor stolen from, instead given the prestige of being the founder of a line of kings.

PIE Chaos Serpent - From the Proto-Indo-Europeans up North, we get the dragon we're all more familiar with. Serpents of this breed, such as Apep, Tiamat, and Jormungand, are all enormous, destructive creatures allied with darkness and the unforgiving seas. They represent the primordial chaos from what order sprang out of, and often have a hand in trying to return the world to that way. One of the primary themes associated with them is the dragon slayer: a god or hero who fights a dragon to save something, be it a land or treasure or an Ethiopian princess.

Typhoeus - This guy, though significantly more humanoid and giant-like than any others, is the clearest example of a PIE chaos serpent in Greece. It does not get more typical than a giant snake (like) monster fighting a storm god. Typhoeus probably sprung from traditions where he was more serpentine, but gradually added other aspects. Such as his own storm god qualities. In Greece, gods associated with the winds are always given wings, save for Zeus. The two's battle is reflective of a battle between the terrible whirlwinds and lightning strikes and the calmer, helpful rain showers that enable humanity to survive.

And then we get to the drakon proper. Taking elements from both sides of the tree, the archetypal Greek drakon is an enormous, often monstrous serpent associated with both the underground and the waters in some way. They are agents of gods, most often goddesses, sent to battle heroes or guard priceless treasures. Sometimes they're killed, sometimes they're merely lulled to sleep by a helpful maiden. Rather than breathing fire (which everything from mechanical bulls to horses to giants do), they possess venoms and rows of sharp teeth. Mention of their terrible gazes is often made. This drakon has both a beard and a casque-like crown, common elements in drakon descriptions from Greece. Its face is much less serpentine, being modeled after a clay illustration of the Colchian dragon. This gives is a suitably monstrous look, as if it were being pealed from layers of mud.

Chimera - Despite its odd appearance, the chimera fits the pattern of a dragon terrorizing a countryside and being slain by a plucky hero. The chimera may in fact be the originator of the classical Saint George imagery, where the saint is depicted as towering over a crawling, pitiful dragon. A 3rd century mosaic from Imperial Rome may have started this trend. What makes her (because despite her mane the Chimera is a female) stand apart from all the rest is the sheer strangeness of her form compared to others. Especially the little goat that comes out of her back, like a rider. Which I had to cut for spacing reasons :(

Hydra - Another classical Greek dragon is the multi-headed hydra, who has given its name to a whole genre of creatures with more heads than they ought to have. In addition to having the attributes of a typical Greek drakon, the Hydra has two traits seen in Mesopotamian monsters as well. The first is the amount of heads. Having many heads is not as common in Greece as it is in the Near East, where the idea of an eleven-headed sea serpent pops up numerous times across several different cultures. The second is that the hydra, in its earliest mentioning by Hesiod, is said to have been raised by Hera specifically to combat Heracles. This same tactic is done by a few Mesopotamian gods. In their realm of influence, monsters are pawns of the gods, who send them out to do their bidding on Earth while they lounge in Heaven. Our Hydra may have been a later influence from Greece's neighbors to the East. Also, had to add in the crab that Hera also sends in to help the hydra. If this were a spec bio piece, I would make it a species of crab that evolved to clean the hydra of parasites.

Cetus - Sea monsters such as these are perhaps the furthest from the traditional Greek drakon, while still remaining core parts of the mythology. In form cetoi range from exaggerations of real whales and sharks to dog-headed serpents with frilly fins and ears. Or even animal-headed fish. Because they live underwater, they almost always function as tools of divine vengeance. Kinda hard to steal treasure underwater. Heavy metal tends to sink. While cetus was originally a word for any sea monster, it would eventually become the root of the scientific term cetacean: whales and dolphins.

But the tree doesn't end there. See, even after the culture we recognize as the Ancient Greeks and Romans faded, their dragons still lived on. Medieval Europe, with its glorification of Greco-Roman texts, derived many of their folk beliefs from their predecessors. Or, the people who they liked to imagine were there predecessors.

Draco - The Romans adopted the Greek drakon whole-clothe, like a lot of stuff. The only noteworthy original dragon to come out of the pre-Fall Roman era was the Dacian Draco. The Dacians used the image of a dragon as a standard during war-time, represented as a serpent with the head of a dog. When conquered, the Romans adopted this, possibly beginning the Western tradition of associating dragons with military power and identity. The dog-headed serpent would also survive to the modern period, showing up in descriptions of Balkan lamya.

Indian Drakon - Here begins a tradition in Greek and Roman literature that claimed that foreign parts were full of large, dangerous, and more interesting fauna than the mundane peninsula they were all stuck on. This is a common theme of humanity in general, where everyone you're not familiar with is teeming with exciting and ancient life. Just look at cryptozoology. India in particular was a favorite of Greek tall tales, being far away for journeys to be rare, but also rich and full of exotic animals. Philostratus populated India with three types of drakons: the lowly marsh, the silver hill, and the dazzling golden mountain drakons. They were typical in every respect, having enormous sizes, red crowns, beards, and guarding treasure beneath the earth. An interesting addition was that they were the mortal enemies of elephants. Being the largest land-animal (in real life), they made perfect prey for these humongous serpents. Feeding on them was fraught with peril, however, as the struggle between reptile and mammal could result in the death of either party, or both. To symbolize the foreignness of the drakon, I drew it as a sort of hybrid between the drakon and the Hindu naga.

Pliny's Drakon - This drakon is otherwise the same as the Indian, but is the start of another theme. As time went on, philosophers began taking more grounded looks at fantastical animals. While also perpetuating even more outrageous falsehoods. None was more popular than Pliny the Elder, hence the name. He believed that, while foreign drakons might be real, they were much more similar to the snakes of Greece than the monsters of legend. He scoffed at the crowns and hair they were adorned with. His Natural History was the first of many instances where the fantastical elements of the dragon were toned down to seem more palatable to a scientifically minded audience. It also introduced an interest into the life history of the dragons, treating them as real animals with lives beyond the myths. Our dragon up top evolved to resemble pythons, rather than the other way around to what probably happened in real life, where pythons were exaggerated to become dragons.

Then, we get two foreign influences, which would come to shape the modern definition of the European dragon. Christianity's influence cannot be understated here. As Jonathan Evans states in Medieval Folklore, the dragon came to be confused with several other desert animals. In Jewish and early Christian belief, desert animals were themselves demonic, living in inhospitable regions devoid of human life. Later, texts like Revelations would specifically denote dragons as heralds of evil, and even harbingers of Armageddon itself. This is in contrast to the morally neutral Leviathan. In the medieval era, dragons were beings of evil, without a doubt. Bestiaries were full of on the nose fables about how the natural lives of dragons. Like how they could not stand the breath of a panther (a symbol of Jesus Christ). Or how they could not catch birds that nested in the Peridexion tree (the tree being the church and the birds being Christians, who are safe from the devil so long as they do not stray from the arms of God). This is represented by a typical medieval devil, being brightly colorful and made in mockery of God's creations, aka a weird hybrid with a snake coming out of his butt. Then, the Germanic dragon. This is seen especially in Northern and Western Europe. The Germanic dragon is otherwise similar to the Greek, except that it began as a character of evil. Lindworms and other serpents are almost always antagonists, and there is no heroine who saves them from their fate of death. They also had a stronger connection to treasure. Greek dragons guarded treasure as a job, but the very existence of Germanic dragons is tied with their golden hoards. In addition, in Greek myths, getting transformed into an animal is usually the end of one's story. With the Germanic dragon, it's merely the beginning. Transformed dragons act as antagonists and moral lessons wrapped in one; a lesson to all to not be greedy. Germanic dragons, represented by the lindworm, reinforced their role as antagonists and agents of selfish evil.

Which finally brings us to the medieval dragon. In a way, this creature is a mix of everything above. The dragon is an animal and demon in one, simultaneously a figure of evil who spoils the land around them and a living being with its own life and needs. The medieval era also introduces the origin of dragons, showing them as having nests and young, not simply coming into existence out of the earth or sea like before. They also developed some less reptilian traits, like wings and hair. This was probably because of artistic traditions among the monks who wrote bestiaries rather than popular legend, which continued to conflate them with snakes and lizards and even crocodiles. This particular line of the tree would develop a life of its own, spreading far and wide across Europe and eventually reaching beyond the seas. Our modern conceptions of dragons are a whole 'nother story.

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girls-scenarios · 3 years

Text

A Little Curiousity

Idol: Heejin (Loona)

Prompt: Guys! Can u do smth like a AU with Heejin where the reader and Heejin are POKEMON TRAINERS!!(im rly hyped about the new pokemon games!!!) Where her pokemon got lost in the woods and the reader helps her find her pokemon and decide to continue their path to the Pokemon League together!

Writer: Admin Kiwi

A/N: I just finished playing Pokémon Shield on my Switch and I’m still super excited about it since it was so fun, so I thought I’d try my hand at this prompt! Please forgive me if my writing isn’t the greatest, it’s been a while since I’ve written anything. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!

Heejin wouldn’t normally consider herself a slow or inattentive person. After all, being a trainer had heightened her senses and made her pay more attention to her surroundings. But she had been in the middle of setting up her tent when it happened, too distracted with her full hands to react fast enough. She hadn’t even noticed Star, her Raboot, curiously approaching the tree as she focused on getting her tent up before the approaching clouds could open their floodgates.

She hadn’t noticed until the sky lit up with lightening, the ground shook with the force of the thunder, and he let out a loud squeak just as something hit the grass. At the squeak, she had turned just in time to see him dash off into the woods after a very large, very startled Skwovet, leaving her and the rest of her team to stare after him.

“Star! Stop!” She’d called after him, but it was too late. By the time she had jumped to her feet, he was gone and the skies opened, pouring a heavy rain down onto the campsite. She had only taken a moment to corral her team into the tent and tell them to stay before she ran after him, but he was already long gone.

Now she was soaked through and gasping for air, her new boots covered in thick mud as she stopped to catch her breath under a huge oak.

“Stupid Skwovet, how did it just jump out of nowhere like that?” Heejin huffed and stomped her foot as she looked around, squinting through the rain. “Star! Come here!” A distant roar answered her call and she shivered, clutching the Pokeball at her side that contained her Mubray Champion, the only companion she’d thought to bring with her in her haste. God, this was so stupid. She was going to catch a cold wandering around out here. Thankfully she’d left her backpack with her clothes at the tent so she could change when she got back.

She went to take a step forward, then froze. Her tent. Where was it again? A bit frantic, she looked around, but all the trees just looked the same, especially under the heavy rain. Gulping, she glanced back at her footprints. Would she be able to follow them back?

Half of her wanted to run back the way she’d come, but she knew that she couldn’t leave Star out there alone. Groaning, she wiped at her face with the back of her hand, swearing to herself that she was going to get a leash the next time they were in town. There was no way she was going to let this happen again. She was miserable as she started forward again, cursing everything. Stupid rain, stupid Skwovet, stupid curious Raboots, stupid woods-.

“Hey, are you okay?” The voice that came from deeper inside the woods made her jump and stop in her tracks again, her head swiveling around to try and find where it came from. “I heard you out here in the rain so I came to see if everything was alright. You’re totally soaked!”

She found herself looking to her right and watching as you stepped out of the darkness, an umbrella over your head and your eyes wide and concerned. For a moment, she was apprehensive, until she noticed that the belt around your waist was full of Pokeballs and you had a Pumpkeboo trailing after you, peeking at her from over your shoulder. Somehow, you seemed a bit familiar as well, but she couldn’t tell why. Not through the rain and the darkness that lingered in the woods at all hours of the day.

A quick glance down at herself had her feeling embarrassed and she let out a soft laugh, pushing her wet hair away from her face. “Well, I don’t know. My Raboot ran off into the woods while I was setting up camp and now I can’t find him in the downpour.”

Your frown was sympathetic as you stepped forward, close enough to cover her with your umbrella. Now that she wasn’t moving, she realized how cold she was, making her shiver again. Your frown only deepened. “You aren’t going to be able to find anything in this downpour. Why don’t you come over to my camp? It’s right back through these trees here. I’ll give you some of our curry and you can warm up by the fire while we try to figure out how to find that Raboot of yours.”

For a moment, she hesitated, before realizing that you were right. She could barely see anything and Star wasn’t going to come out from wherever he was hiding until the rain ended. “You’re right. Thank you,” she said, a grateful smile stretching over her lips as she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to conserve as much body heat as possible. “I owe you one. My name is Heejin, by the way.”

You smiled in return as you started to guide her back the way you came. “I’m (Y/N), and don’t mention it. It’s the least I can do for a fellow trainer. You’re trying to get your gym badges, aren’t you?”

With a raise of her eyebrows, she asked you how you knew, drawing a laugh from your lips.

“I’m a trainer too and I’ve seen you at the past few gyms. You always challenge right before me, so I’ve seen you fight a few times. You’re really good!”

“Oh, thank you.” Her face burnt a bit at the praise, but she was thankful for the warmth so she didn’t turn away. Instead, she studied your face, before her eyebrows raised in recognition. “That’s why you looked a bit familiar to me! I’ve definitely seen you at the gyms before. Although I guess I’ve never seen you fight,” she said sheepishly, making you laugh again.

“That’s okay, like I said, I’ve been after you, so I wasn’t expecting you to stick around and watch every round. Not while there’s still so many of us challengers. It’s nice to officially meet you though.”

“Same to you, although I wish we’d met under slightly less.... Wet conditions.”

“True. Oh, we’re here!” The trees disappeared suddenly, giving way to a small clearing just big enough for a campsite, where your other Pokémon ran over to great you. You had your tent set up and your curry cooking, and she felt her stomach grumble. It had been a long day, and even though she’d given her team berries to tide them over until dinner earlier, she hadn’t eaten in a while.

“Come over here and warm up,” you told her, guiding her under your makeshift shelter by the fire before closing your umbrella and going about filling up a plate. With a happy sigh, she leaned closer to the fire and smiled at your Vulpix as it wandered closer, sharing its warmth. As she let Champion the Mudbray out to run around with your team, you approached her with the plate. “Here, have some of this.”

The curry was spicy, and she let out a hum as she swallowed her first bite. “That’s delicious!”

“Thank you,” you said, a smile stretching over your face as you sat down and let the Vulpix climb into your lap and snuggle close. “I’m glad you like it. Most of my experience is in cooking for Pokémon, so I’m always a little worried that it might not be edible for humans.”

It was her turn to laugh before she took another bite, already feeling warmer. Before she knew it, she had already finished the plate and she felt warm inside and out, most likely thanks to the extra heat Vulpix had added to the fire. The rain had let up as well, and there was a bit of sun peeking through the clouds as the downpour turned into a tiny drizzle.

“I can’t thank you enough,” she said earnestly, “I feel a bit guilty for taking up your time,” but you waved a hand, dismissing her guilt.

“Don’t worry about it, Heejin. I’m glad I was able to help.” You looked out at the woods. “Now that you aren’t going to freeze to death and it’s no longer raining, we should start looking for your Raboot.”

Her stomach dropped and she sighed, placing her plate down and standing up. “I feel terrible for leaving him out there in the rain.”

“It’s not your fault, you couldn’t find him,” you soothed, putting Vulpix down and standing up as well. “I’m sure he was able to find shelter in plenty of time. Pokémon are animals, after all. They’re good at surviving the elements.”

“That’s true. But I still want to find him as quickly as possible.”

“Then let me help.” You whistled, getting the attention of the Pokémon. “Come on guys, let’s go find Heejin’s Raboot!” Turning back to her, you raised your eyebrows. “Does he have a name?”

“Yes, his name is Star. You don’t have to do this, you know. I don’t want to be a bother.”

“But I want to.”

Something in her heart fluttered at your words and she felt her cheeks flushing. “Oh. Well then, thank you again (Y/N). His name is Star. Hopefully he’ll come out now that’s it’s not raining as much anymore.”

The ground was still muddy, but the trickle of sunlight made it easier to say and, without the drumming of the rain, it was easier to hear all the different sounds of the forest. With Champion trotting behind her and you by her side, Heejin made her way back into the woods, calling for Star. She had to admit that having you by her side made her feel a lot better: the various sounds from other wild Pokémon didn’t scare her as much anymore. No matter what was out there, surely the two of you would be able to take it. It gave her more bravery to search, and search she did, looking anywhere she thought Star might hide.

“Star, come here! It’s not raining anymore, you can come out now!” Crouching down, she peered into another den, only to quickly back away at the sight of a sleeping Bunnelby and sigh. “Where is he? Maybe he went back to camp?” She stood and dusted off her still-damp pants, about to suggest that the two of you try to find your way back to her camp before you let out a gasp.

“Heejin, I think I found him!” At your call, she spun around to see you peering up into a short berry tree, your eyes wide. “Hey little guy, how did you get up there?”

Heejin broke into a run, clearing the short distance in no time with her heartbeat spiking in her chest. Sure enough, when she looked up she saw Star shivering and clutching at the branch he sat on, his little ears wet from the rain and his eyes quivering. “Star! Oh my god, you scared me!”

The little Raboot sniffed and glanced away, trying to look cool, but she could see him shaking. With a relieved smile, she reached up to pull him down and clutched him close to her chest. “Don’t ever do that again! I know you’re getting bigger, but what if you had run into a big wild Pokémon? Poor baby, you’re soaked through.” She quickly unzipped her coat to wrap it around him before zipping it back up, and he snuggled closer to her chest, obviously exhausted. With an affectionate, yet long-suffering sigh, she pet his little head. “I’ll cook your favorite curry when we get back, okay? It’ll warm you right back up.”

When she looked up, you were looking at her with a similar affection twinkling in your eyes, your hands in your pockets.

“Thank you so much again for finding him,” she said, shaking her head. “I should have known he’d be up in a tree looking for food.”

“How did he even get up there?” You looked back up at the branch he’d been sitting on, looking a bit incredulous. “I’ve never heard of Raboots climbing trees, that’s for sure. I just happened to look up and see a flash of red and white.”

She laughed, still softly petting his head. “He’s too adventurous for his own good. Add that to his endless energy, his speed and constant growing, and his huge appetite, and you get a Raboot with no problem getting into trees. He doesn’t climb as much as he runs and jumps.”

“Oh, that makes more sense.” Your smile returned and she felt her heart flip as your eyes met hers, the spark of affection still lingering. “I’m glad you found him. I can’t imagine how scary it is to loose a Pokémon.”

“I acted annoyed, but I was really scared,” she admitted. “I don’t know what I’d do without this little guy. He was my first Pokémon ever.”

“I can tell how close you guys are. It’s cute.” You grinned and her cheeks warmed again as she watched the sun slip in through the leaves to light up your face. It was like the universe was asking her to fall for you or something.

“I-I... Thank you?” She let out a nervous giggle, then perked up at the familiar sound of her Liepard’s call. It was somewhere close by, which meant that her camp wasn’t far away! “Champion, can you lead the way back?” He gave her a little nod of his head before she turned to smile brightly at you. “My camp is close by, why don’t I give you some potions as a thank you?”

“Oh, you don’t have to!” Your eyes widened as you waved your hands. “I just wanted to help, I didn’t want anything in return!”

“Still, I want to do something to return your kindness. I’m really glad I ran into you out here.”

Your face immediately softened at her words and you fell into step beside her, a small smile on your lips. “You know, I always wanted to approach you at the gyms, but I was too nervous.”

“Really?” Her mouth dropped open. “Why?”

“You seemed to be so good, so confident, so, um, pretty,” you blushed as you spoke, looking down at your shoes. “I was intimidated by you, honestly. But now I see that I should have approached you sooner.”

“I can’t see myself be intimidating,” she said, still shocked, before her lips turned up into a hopeful smile. “Want to make our way to the next gym together? It would be nice to have some company on the journey, and I want to get to know you better.”

You visibly perked up at her suggestion, just as Champion broke through the woods into her camp, returning to the happy calls of her team. The sun was bright as the two of you stepped into the clearing, and your eyes sparkled in the light as you beamed at her, making her heart skip more than just one beat.

“I’d love that!” You exclaimed, and her smile stretched to match yours, all of the fear, and cold from earlier being replaced by an excitement that lit a fire in her chest, different from the competitive determination she’d felt at the beginning of her journey.

“Great! This is going to be so much fun, I just know it.”

As she placed a sleeping Star into her tent and covered him with a blanket, listening to you coo at her other Pokémon, she couldn’t feel the annoyance she’d felt earlier, forgetting her promises to scold him when she found him. Instead, she pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead before sitting back to admire you, full of anticipation for the future.

“I never thought I’d say this, Star,” she said in a whisper as she stood up to head back out to you, head already spinning with plans of what she wanted to do with you. “But I’m so glad that you’re the curious type. I’ll cook you something nice to thank you for this when you wake up. I have a feeling that this is going to be big!”

#femifics #loona #heejin #loona scenarios #heejin scenarios #girl group scenarios #kpop scenario #girl groups #kpop girl groups

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ohwereusingourmadeupnames · 3 years

Text

Together, We’re Just Better Off

Pairing: Peter Parker/Tony Stark (Starker) Rating: Explicit (E) Notes: This is my “new look” bingo square fill for @starkerfestivals January event - I love the look of Tom in a nice suit & just kind of went from there! Word Count: ~4.7K Warnings: This is strictly NSFW (there be smut ahead, y’all!) Summary:

For this year's Parker Tech silent auction, Peter decides to get a custom suit made - the result is a randy Tony and porn without much plot.

Read on AO3 here.

Tony was in trouble.

There was no other way to describe the feeling in his chest when Peter walked down the stairs after two hours of secretive getting ready for the annual Parker Tech silent auction.

Standing on the last stair, Peter looked – obscenely sexy. The brand new, custom made, charcoal colored suit hugged every line of his husband’s body in a way that shouldn’t be legal. The cut of the pants made his slim legs look miles long, the snug fit of the jacket tapering off just right at the cusp of narrow hips. Adding the slightest dash of color, Peter paired the grey suit with a dark green button up, the top two buttons undone – the slightest flash of smooth chest the penultimate addition to the entire outfit.

The dark color of the shirt brought out Peter’s eyes, and when he looked up, the most confident facial expression sat on blush painted cheeks. It took Tony a second to remember to breath, their eyes meeting with a spark of electricity that felt tangible in the few feet of space between them. The need to eat Peter alive sat low in Tony’s belly, the muscles in his legs loading up in desperate preparation to pounce – the tantalizing idea of Peter under him in that very second almost enough to beat out the rest of his higher brain function.

Shaking his head, a millisecond before he acted on his animal instinct, Tony brought himself back from the cusp of ruining Peter’s tailored made suit – but only just barely. His fist clenched tight at his side, the delicate throb of his half-hard cock against the seam of his own suit pants just enough stimulus to keep him grounded.

Instead of pouncing, Tony took measured steps towards Peter – the space between them narrowing down to inches. When finally within touching distance, Tony reached out to rest his hands on Peter’s hip, the soft fabric of the delicious suit as lovely as the aesthetic it portrayed. Gripping slightly, Tony tugged until they were pressed flush together, Peter’s chest warm and firm against his own.

“If you had any idea what I wanted to do to you right now, Pete.” Tony whispered, his lips pressing against Peter’s ear, breath brushing against the smooth skin there. “It shouldn’t be possible – you looking this fucking good. How am I supposed to focus tonight? Or get anything done?” He peppered kisses down Peter’s jaw and neck as he spoke, goosebumps following in his wake.

“I’ll have Obie following me around all night, desperately attempting to get my attention – but I won’t be able to focus. Not when I’ll be able to look across the room and see your ass so delightfully encased in pants that are so sinful; so fucking distracting, Peter – even now.” Tony drew back then, his lips finally finding Peter’s for a softly teasing kiss – “who do you think you are?”

The chuckle against his lips made the heat in Tony’s belly burn a little hotter – Peter knew the exact effect he was having, the knowledge of being not only attractive, but dangerously so, giving the younger man a sort of fuel that stoked a different kind of fire. Already the smartest person in the room, Peter armed with anything extraneous at all was frighteningly perilous. His aura spoke of curiosity and excitement, a cocktail of things that always proved interesting for Tony – especially in such a public setting.

Peter drew away after a minute, there kisses settling down to just the barest press of lip on lip. “I know exactly who I am, Tony Parker – your husband, the very one who will be teasing you to within an inch of your life while we play nice. The one who, when we can finally sneak away from our own event, will let you strip me down, piece by piece, until there’s bare canvas for you to do whatever you wish with.”

Kissing his forehead, Peter let his lips rest there, each gust of warm air making Tony’s skin tingle. “That’s who I am.”

Tony let a groan fall from his lips, every one of Peter’s words caressing his skin with liquid fire, only to settle in the depths of his belly where the boiling pit of heat was steadily gaining height – the prospect of combustion a real threat.

He grabbed one of Peter’s hands where they took up residence on Tony’s shoulders, his fingers tight on a pale wrist. Bringing it down between them, Tony brushed Peter’s knuckles against the already insistent bulge there – both men sucking in a breath at first contact. “You’re going to kill me. Death by unresolved want.”

Peter wiggled his hand until he could turn it around, his palm all of the sudden pressing hotly against Tony’s cock. “Just be good, Tony. I’ll let you have what we both want.”

Letting their lips touch ever so slightly, Peter gave Tony one more squeeze before pulling away, the space between them once again huge – every inch feeling like a million miles apart.

Tony felt Peter’s eyes roam over him, the rich chocolate of them almost entirely taken over by blown pupils, making his stare dark and inviting. Every inch was taken in, from the fine Italian leather shoes on his feet to the purposefully done bed-head hairdo at the top of his head. The gaze made him stand a little straighter, Tony’s cheeks reddening with a flush he couldn’t push down.

“You look pretty damn good yourself. Love the all black on you.” Peter seemed to want to take a step back into his orbit but thought better of it – his hands slipped into tight pockets, feet shifting, instead. “Getting through the night might be a challenge for us both.”

And it was – if the leering stares and hidden touches were anything to go by. Having gone into business together as equal partners after their first year of marriage, both Tony and Peter were in high demand; everyone wanted to speak with the brains behind the operation. Tony spearheaded the design elements, while Peter manufactured and created all of the brilliance that came from Tony’s ideas – which usually meant both were detained in their own conversations throughout a good majority of every event.

Yet, for some reason, the space between them seemed even bigger than usual. Tony’s fingers ached to press against Peter’s lower back, his skin burning with need. When he couldn’t see Peter in any direction, Tony’s brain wandered to the perfect rendition of Peter’s silhouette in his thoughts – the visual so very distracting. So distracting in fact, Tony found himself unable to really follow any of the conversations he attempted to be immersed in. In all ways, Peter owned him; his entire body so wrapped up it was impossible to focus.

Any time he could, Tony circled back to Peter, their bodies pressing tightly against each other each time he felt the need to approach. Though the encounters were always brief before one of them got swept away by someone else needing to talk to them about some sort of bull shit, Tony felt able to catch his breath and refocus – as if Peter’s touch was his grounding force, a simple moment of contact just enough to refresh him for the minutes to come.

Despite the dynamic tension between them growing with every second, the event went off pretty swimmingly. Most of the things up for auction were donated by people within the crowd (who would unsurprisingly bid on their own junk, just because they could). The alcohol flowed nicely, each guest spending most of the evening with never-ending champagne in their hands and the slightest bit of rose tint on their cheeks from the constant drinking. Items sold, speeches were made, and money was collected – a through and through success.

When neither could stand it any longer, Tony made a couple of excuses before grabbing Peter and making a hasty exit. Warm fingers slid into the gaps of his own, Peter squeezing the digits in an attempt to make the touch a little closer – anything to make the connection between them more solid.

In leaving early, Tony decided to leave the Audi with the parking attendants, the two of them stumbling home hand-in-hand – the crisp, cool night air dulling the fire building between them down just enough to actually get back to the penthouse without any public indecency charges. It pushed the control of their patience, letting their hands and the occasional brush of their sides be the only point of contact until they got into the bedroom; but when Peter started to strip without a word being said, Tony knew it was worth it.

Shrugging out of his suit jacket, Tony sat at the edge of their bed, his fingers distractedly undoing the buttons of his shirt – his hazel eyes laser focused on Peter’s movements. As each piece of gorgeously tailored clothing hit the floor, Tony’s anticipation and want skyrocketed, his cock hard as nails before Peter’s pants were completely undone – the fly just barely down enough to reveal the answering bulge of want.

Tony managed to get his shirt off before attempting to get off the bed and reach for Peter. His husband shut down the move pretty quickly, however, his brows quirking as he spoke. “Mm, I don’t think so. Just sit there, Tones – watch me.”

Unable to do anything other than what was asked of him, Tony quickly shed his shoes and socks, pants following along a few seconds later. Down to just his boxer-briefs, Tony let himself lean back and watch the rest of the reveal – his plan of attack starting to culminate with each new inch of bare skin on display. His fingers itched to touch; the feeling of what Tony knew to be completely smooth skin something he felt starving for.

Before he could fathom it, Tony found himself with a lapful of Peter Parker, his husband now completely naked – the strong thighs straddling him squeezing as calloused hands moved to grip slim hips. Too distracted by pale skin, he wasn’t quite ready for the real thing so suddenly thrust upon him. Tony’s cock throbbed with want as Peter settled firmly on his legs, his cock nestled so nicely against the crease of Peter’s ass.

Wrapping his arms around Peter’s hips, Tony pressed up and forward, his lips seeking out the warm expanse of flesh. He nestled his nose in the slope of Peter’s clavicle, tongue peeking out to trace the sharp bone. As he worked his mouth along traps and up the length of Peter’s neck, Tony let his hands trail along hard planes of muscle, the tips of his fingers tracing the light dusting of hair coating Peter’s pale skin.

Peter worked his hips teasing over Tony’s cock as he let his husband take his fill – the slide of his boxer-briefs against an over-sensitive cock drawing long moans from Tony’s chest each time he let himself come up for air. The motion was hypnotizing, the tease of Peter’s warm hole like a siren calling his name.

Not willing to wait any longer, Tony grabbed under Peter’s thighs, hefting him up enough to turn and switch their positions – Peter’s legs splayed open wide when he hit the bed, the space there quickly occupied by the length of Tony’s body. Before getting comfortable in the warm press of their bodies against each other, Tony wiggled out of his boxer-briefs until they were finally skin to skin, both parties stark naked and eager for what was to come next.

For a while, the only sounds in the room were panted breaths and the slick suction of lip against lip or lip against skin. Tony trailed his tongue from the small divot between Peter’s collar bones, down along rippling six pack abs until he reached his destination – an excited cock pressing against his chin upon arrival. He let the tip of his tongue fall into the crevice of a deep belly button before finally peeking out to lick across the purpling tip of Peter’s already leaking cock. The bitter saltiness of pre-cum made his mouth water, Tony’s lips opening just enough to suck and tongue up the leakage.

Strong fingers found their way into Tony’s hair, Peter’s hips rising in hopes of getting more of his length inside the wet warmth of a talented mouth. Reaching up, Tony gripped Peter’s hand, his fingers signaling the other man to grab on a little tighter. With a sudden burst of energy, Tony opened wide, taking the entire length of Peter’s cock into his mouth, only stopping when the tip hit the back of his throat. After the initial reflex to gag passed, his throat relaxed enough for Tony to comfortably start bobbing his head.

“Fuck, Tony – you always surprise me with that move,” Peter panted out, his fingers loosening and tightening rhythmically in Tony’s hair with every move and bob of his head. “You suck my cock so well, baby.”

As if he were highlighting his words, Peter let his hips come up off the bed, the move pressing his cock even further down Tony’s throat. Giving no sign of resistance, Tony tried to relax further, his hands that were grasping Peter’s hips tightly slipped down until both ass cheeks fit within the palm of his hands – his fingers gripping until Peter caught the drift and started to thrust.

It started out gradually, Peter moving into his mouth with the smallest of thrusts. Tightening his mouth around the rigid length, Tony brought his eyes up, the honey hazel of his stare meeting chocolate brown of Peter’s. The silent conversation that took place spoke volumes, and within minutes, Peter was recklessly pressing his cock in and out of the depth of Tony’s throat – the gags and moans of their push and pull echoing around the otherwise silent room. Hearing it made the heat in Tony’s belly simmer hotter, his cock hard and sticky against his own stomach.

With every intention to get Peter off before the fun really began, Tony redoubled his efforts – the rawness of his throat making it easy to take thrust after thrust. His own hips pressed down against the mattress, the slightest bit of friction just enough to keep Tony from going completely crazy because of the heart rushing arousal continuously pulsing through him. His body felt like it was on fire – the throb and growth of Peter’s cock in his mouth the biggest catalyst to the coursing desire.

By the time Peter’s fingers were tightening in his hair, Tony’s mouth was red and abused, spit dripping down his chin and neck readily – any sort of residual embarrassment gone; Tony’s only thought revolving around making his husband cum as soon as possible. With every second that past, Peter’s huffs of breath got a little quicker, the pitch reaching a new height the closer to orgasm he got.

“Jesus, fuck – I’m going to come, Tony. I can’t – I can’t…” Peter babbled, his hips stuttering in their thrusts, the fingers in Tony’s hair tight, each strand so close to being yanked out by the root. His final gurgle brought a sound from Tony’s chest, the noise spit slick and muddled. With a final thrust, Peter fell apart, his loud shout like the sweetest music.

Letting him settle, Tony kept his mouth around Peter until his husband was pulling away, his spent cock pulsing from the oversensitivity. He shifted away then, Tony sitting up slightly to pull in several deep breaths, his jaw tight and tired from being open and extended for so long. The lactic acid already starting to accumulate there was worth it, Peter’s fucked-out look sending a whole new wave to Tony’s center.

“You should turn over,” Tony mumbled as his hand tapped at Peter’s hip – the man already moving to oblige before all the words were out of his mouth. Peter looked so damn good that way – his weight equally distributed between forearms and knees, pert ass spread and on display. With no hesitation at all, Tony pressed his nose to Peter’s crease, his lungs drawing in a deep breath – the scent and sensation forcing his eyes closed. Here soon, Tony would be buried deep within that delicate heat. His cock would be encased so perfectly, like every inch of Peter was made for him, not just his beautiful brain and intricate personality.

He caught Peter looking back over his shoulder, glazed eyes taking in every one of Tony’s movements. A soft smile graced his lips, the laziness of post-orgasm making him that much more beautiful.

“Hurry, Tones – I can’t wait to feel you inside of me.” Thrusting his hips back, Peter spread his legs a little wider, the soft pink of his hole enticing; the view upping the ante.

Impatient to once again exist within Peter’s tight heat, Tony dragged the bedside table drawer open, his fingers hastily wrapping around the half-used bottle of lube. He settled back between Peter’s legs, the bottle resting against his knee while he used both hands to spread pert cheeks. His tongue darted out, the tip brushing against the furled muscle.

Peter shouted out a moan, the slick heat of Tony’s tongue causing him to press his hips back, the move a desperate attempt to get more of him; tongue, teeth, fingers – whatever Tony wanted to give.

The earlier thought of eating Peter alive came back tenfold, each pass of his tongue bringing the musky taste of his husband’s most private place to the forefront of his attention. It felt good to consume Peter’s very essence. There were so many ways Tony’s couldn’t possess every inch of him that times like this were fucking intoxicating; every inch of Peter’s body called out to him, Tony’s touches an irresistible stimulus that neither wanted to ever give up. If he couldn’t have him all the time, Tony would cherish the hell out of the times he could.

Fumbling blindly for the bottle of lube, Tony lapped at Peter’s hole distractedly, his hands working hard to get the tube open and the slick on his fingers. The lube was cold on his molten skin – runny liquid warming up quickly up contact. It felt absurd to give up his mouth’s position, the tightness of Peter’s hole around his eager tongue delicious but never enough. Yet, the desperate urge to finally be buried inside spurred Tony into action – he shifted slightly then, the tip of his index finger joining Tony’s tongue in deep exploration.

Slowly, like he was trying to remember every ripple and crevice, Tony ran his finger around Peter’s rim, his tongue following in swift pursuit. He did that a couple of times, feeling with a certain kind of awe, as Peter loosen under his ministrations. Little by little, the tip of his finger slipped inside, Tony only stopping when the webbing of his finger hindered his movement.

Intimacy with Peter, despite how many times they came together in that very way, always felt like a brand-new experience. In his rapture, Peter would make a new noise, or tighten in a spot that Tony couldn’t remember being affected by. It shouldn’t have surprised him then, when Peter pressed back into the sensation, the greedy muscle of his ass pulling Tony in further – anatomical limitation be damned. Groaning, Tony finally shifted his face away, his lungs burning from the lack of oxygen consumption – when he was focused on the delicacy that was Peter’s ass, oxygen was the furthest from his mind.

The shift in position gave Tony a little more leverage. Within a few thrusts, Tony found Peter’s prostate, the tip of his finger running teasingly over the spot before withdrawing in hopes of repeating the process all over again. He moved into the teasing rhythm, the flutter of Peter’s hole a few minutes later the only thing reminding him to add another.

Little by little, Tony felt Peter relax around him – his cock was thick and full again, the length hard and dragging against the sheet below them. Each thrust forward or spread of his fingers to the side drew a loud huff from one of them, both men making enough noise to make it hard to decipher where one sound ended and the other began.

Three fingers deep and both reaching incoherency, Peter seemed to be just cognizant enough to push them towards the next step – his hand reached back, gripping on to Tony’s forearm. “That’s enough – I need you in me. I can’t wait, anymore.”

Letting a groan fall from his throat, Tony nodded – the capacity to form words leaving him in an instant. He forced himself to take a couple of deep breaths, his entire body was on fire and every minute shift felt like a sharp tilt to the universe – Tony already so far off his own axis.

Tony sat up on his heels after pulling his fingers from Peter’s heat, his hands shaking slightly as he opened the lube again. He poured the cool slick directly on his cock – the sudden change in stimulus calming him down, bringing him back to Earth’s surface where he could actually focus on finally sliding home.

His hand wrapped around himself, Tony gripping his cock as lightly as he could while spreading the lube around, each touch like a cattle prod to the heat so close to overwhelming him.

“How do you want me?” Tony thought to ask, his hand falling by his side to stop himself from stroking the throbbing length.

Without answering, Peter turned until he was sitting, his hands wrapping around Tony’s chest. In a quick move, Tony was on his back, the wetness of pre-cum and lube collected on the sheets rubbing against his bare skin. The feeling of it made his skin pebble, the rush of arousal getting to be too much.

Peter grinned down at him – his muscled legs bracketed Tony’s hips, a steady hand reaching behind himself to grip Tony tightly. Strong fingers wrapped around his cock, the electric pulse of Peter touching him magnifying the effect of sweet contact to his neglected sex. Another low moan sounded from his chest, the sight of Peter over him and the touch of his husband’s skin driving him up the fucking wall.

“Pete, please – “ Tony started to moan just seconds before Peter gripped him tightly.

Shifting, Peter moved until Tony was lined up perfectly, the loosened heat of Peter’s rim teasing him with little twitches and enticing heat. One small move and Tony would be buried in delicious tightness, Peter’s warm walls welcoming him home like a solider home from battle.

He couldn’t recall who finally made the shift, the initial connection too good to really give two shits about rational thought – all Tony could think about in that moment was the swift slide of his cock into Peter’s depth; the heat and affectionate feeling all consuming. He shouted Peter’s name as they fit together – each inch inside like another step to the most gratuitous pleasure. Gripping Peter’s hips tightly, Tony slammed his eyes shut – his stomach clenching.

“Fuck – don’t move. I-I – I need a minute.” Tony forced a harsh breath from his lungs, the grip of his fingers tightening with every ounce of fight needed to keep from falling over the edge.

Tony tried to keep his breathing level, the heat in his belly cooling down as his heart slowed – though he wasn’t going to last long, he felt in control enough to actually enjoy whatever happened next.

The soft brush of fingers along the length of his face had Tony finally looking up, hazel meeting brown in a soft glance. “You’re beautiful like this. Fighting for control – steps away from your most vulnerable.” Peter started to roll his hips as he spoke, the soft caresses to Tony’s cheek a gorgeous juxtaposition to the delectable grind. “I can’t wait to watch you come undone, Tony. Hear you shout my name and fall apart because of me.”

Tony couldn’t help the slur of fucks dropping from his mouth, Peter in complete control of his pleasure. Wanting to thrust up didn’t matter, not when Peter moved his hips the way he was – each roll and lift calculated – the timing and pressure instigated to tease every ounce of pleasure from Tony that he could.

One particular slam down must’ve felt good – Peter moaned loudly, then doubled his efforts. The slap of skin on skin overtook the entire room; each thrust heard, felt, seen, and remembered – the entire sensory experience latching on to the little shards of control Tony was death-gripping, the small chips turning quickly into large cracks ready to break apart at any minute.

Unable to stop himself any longer, Tony gripped Peter’s hips tighter, his own lifting in time with Peter’s rolling thrusts. Each press up caught Peter’s prostate on the upstroke, Tony completely overwhelmed by the tight squeeze around him as he pulled out, only to wind-up and press back inside impatiently. It was too much – both Peter and Tony babbling mindlessly, the pace now random, completely out of stride to the rhythmic fucking taking place just moments before.

“Cum – please, Pete. I’m so close and want to feel you lose it around me.” Tony was practically begging, his skin gleaming with sweat, the muscles just under the surface burning, exertion and overstimulation a tantalizing pleasure-pain that felt SO good.

The jump over the edge never ceased to be anything short of amazing. Tony felt Peter clamp down around him, his cock pulsing between them untouched – shot after shot of warm, pearly cum landing on Tony’s chest, each pulse like a spot of lightning caressing his skin. The squeeze was too much, all of the stimulus coming together in a glorious culmination of orgasm, and Peter, and heat – a glorious cocktail of little deaths.

When Tony finally came back to, Peter was slumped over on his chest, the evidence of his husband’s orgasm now smeared over Peter’s abs and the hairy expanse of Tony’s belly. The feeling of being marked made the satisfied thrum of happiness in the back of his mind pulse a little harder – his heart beating in time with the contentment coursing through him.

Soft lips pressed against his after a while, Peter’s fingers gripping his cheeks lightly.

“That was amazing.” Peter’s voice was gruff, his throat scratchy from moaning and shouting out his pleasure.

Tony turned his head, leaning his forehead against Peter’s cheek. His own fingers made soft paths up and then back down his husband’s back, the sweaty skin cooling quickly in the aftermath. Soon, they’d need to shift and clean up – the many memories of waking up glued together enough of a reminder that ignoring their mess wasn’t really an option. Until then, he’d soak up the closeness, Peter’s post-sex clinginess one of Tony’s favorite parts of the process.

“You’re amazing,” Tony finally mumbled, the capacity to form sentences and understandable words finally coming back to him. “And that suit, Pete – I’ll have that first look of you in it stuck in my mind for the rest of my days.”

Peter chuckled against his neck, the two of them now separated, Tony lying flat on the bed with his warm bundle of a husband tucked tightly against his side. The bask of afterglow enveloped them both – their jumble of limbs a beautiful thing.

“It had the desired effect, then,” Peter said, his lips moving against their spot on Tony’s neck. “I’m thinking about adopting the look – something new, you know?”

Turning his head, Tony pressed a kiss to Peter’s hair, a soft smile on his face. “I guess I better get used to getting nothing done, then.” He thought about all the distraction coming his way – all the clothes ripping sex they would have. Grin growing, Tony settled further into the mattress, sleepy and content with the newest change of events.

#starker #starkerfestivalsevents #bobbie writes #together we're just better off #Peter Parker/Tony Stark #they take peter's name y'all #i was emotional about that decision

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gcuienveres · 3 years

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BELOW THE THREAD: find tyrin, henry and guinevere’s reaction to the tully succession crisis. @tyrinlan @henryoflannister

truthfully; henry lannister little for the grover king, and even less for the tullys overall, for it seemed as though once again some element of family theatrics were spilling before the world stage. the man, dressed in velvet maroon and gold, was sat to the left of his siblings. he took a deep gulp of the arbor wine in his goblet as the tully prince stood to make a speech, no doubt regarding his limp, dead father. the man was expressionless, his eyes surveying the notable guests in attendance, those who had made their presence known, those who had sent delegates and thoughts and respects. in truth, such a man who would risk such turmoil upon his own lands would not be granted a funeral; but rather be hung, drawn and quartered. if one chose to behave like a thirsty animal in life, they would meet their end like an animal.

though, his eyes looked up as it seemed brynden tully was renouncing his right to the river throne, all for a man called cian to come and take. his gaze fixed upon the other tully male, older than the prince in question, who looked as though the world had just been flipped from beneath his feet. looking sideways at tyrin and guinevere, he simply shook his head. it was not something they should pursue any further, in his own opinion; they needed to ally with an experienced leader. "it no longer benefits this family."

tyrin is a man for surprises, but not this one. this news would mean that the lannisters and the westerlands would have to come up with a plan b, but they only ever needed their plan a's. there was frustration, anger within him. the wine he was to bring to taste, near came pouring out of his mouth. who would give up their regency? and to a bastard? "you speak against your region if you speak for a bastard." a bastard should never be king. clare was better suited for queen than was a bastard and she was a full-blooded daughter when a full-blooded son was born and still breathed. the tullys and riverlands would be another weak link for the lannisters and westerlands. already alaric and his own wife failed them, his wife proving again the queen she is by not attending. "what better is it for a bastard to take the riverlands based off of a dead man's word? a formerly mad dead man's word?" he near wants to laugh. "you favor not an alliance, but a foe when you choose to put a bastard on your already cracking throne to weaken your kingdom and those they align with."

guinevere's head had been leaning in her cousin calla's direction, the girls engaging in some talk regarding the members of noble society that had made themselves present for what they all silently prayed was the final curtain call on the tully matter. the topic of conversation had also fallen onto a certain lord hightower; whom her cousin would soon find herself wed to, should all go smoothly and according to plan. she fell quiet however when she saw a distant head of auburn hair stand upon their feet, setting her cold glass of water down and looking briefly across the faces of the tully chldren; they were to be the next generation of their neighbours, and she truly hoped the two regions would be able to secure a benefit from their close geographical proximity.

the words of brynden tully had caught her attention, the words drying from her throat as she sat and fully contemplated the consequences. her two brothers seemed to move first, as they always did, though she remained in her seat. she didn't look over at the prince, whom she had discussed a deal with; though a trip to the wall had been left out before she approached the matter with the lion king. she bit back her words on the tip of her tongue, words that would no doubt only add to the tension. all the benefits for trade with the riverlands still stood, though their leadership was now firmly under question. was it a risk worth taking? there had to be more, another promise, another bind to the alliance; her eyes fell over to the tully women, one she had never seen before..."can we not strengthen this partnership by adding to it?" she asked, glancing slightly at tyrin, before looking over at harry.

#[ we are the pride of casterly rock ]#c: tyrin #c: henry #[ live: the tully funeral ]

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lemonpeter · 3 years

Text

Blood On His Hands

This is my first prompt for @starkerfestivals Among Us event! I hope everyone enjoys 💙 (actual prompt will be shown at the end)

Warnings: among us elements, murder, some slightly gorey details, nff, oral sex (those warnings really just took a jump wow), guilt

2.2K words

————

The entire ship was bustling with activity as everyone worked to do their part. They were supposed to take off the next day, but first they needed to finish getting the ship itself ready.

And it seemed that everyone was doing their tasks. Things slowly but surely got completed and it seemed like they were on the path to heading out. The excitement electrified the air and everyone could feel it.

Then the first body was found.

Steve’s lifeless body was found in electrical, still warm in a pool of his own blood. The only clue to his death was the knife twisted in his back.

There was an imposter on the ship.

It was impossible to figure out who it was. No one had known each other before the mission, so it was impossible to know who actually belonged. So instead everyone was suspicious and defensive.

Except for Tony and Peter.

As soon as they’d met, they hit it off. A mission romance, as it was. They were instantly attached, trusting each other. There was no way that the other could be the imposter.

Peter was soft and sweet and too innocent for his own good. There was no possible way it was him. He cried when someone yelled near him, he couldn’t commit something so cruel.

Tony was trustworthy and did nothing but help his fellow crewmates. Everyone knew that he was open to helping everyone.

Except…he and Steve had issues as soon as they were on board. Arguing constantly, at each other’s throats. And Steve was the one killed.

No one wanted to suspect Tony. And none of them would admit to keeping a close eye on him. They just worried that sweet little Peter could be next.

But they were so affectionate with each other, it became apparent that it wasn’t possible that Tony would kill Peter.

It just wouldn’t happen.

There wasn’t another kill until almost a full day later. It ended up being Rogers’ fling, Bucky.

The rest of the crew still didn’t want to believe it was Tony. But numbers were dropping and he and Barnes had a strange interaction at the beginning of the mission and things hadn’t sat right since.

And the man was found dead, gruesomely disfigured and almost unrecognizable. No one could tell what kind of weapon was used, just that it was clearly deadly.

Everyone’s paranoia only grew. Small teams of two or three people were formed. They’d hoped to maybe weed out the imposter that way. But everyone had a partner. Peter instantly clinged to Tony, muttering something about the older man keeping him safe. And of course Tony agreed.

But the man had a strange feeling.

He wanted to trust Peter. He did badly. But even his sweet baby boy wasn’t exempt from suspicion and there were things that didn’t feel like they added up.

However he did his best to brush these feelings aside. He felt immensely guilty about the suspicion.

He looked at the man cuddled up against him, smiling a little.

Peter was pressed tightly against the other man’s chest, clearly relaxed in his sleep. His chest rose and fell slowly, his cheeks flushed a soft pink from either the chill of the room or whatever he was dreaming about.

There was no way this Peter could be killing anyone. It just wasn’t possible.

Tony drifted off to sleep, curled gently around the younger man. He promised that he would keep Peter safe. And he intended to keep that by any means necessary.

———

He woke up disoriented, feeling around the rest of the bed when he noticed the warmth of another body was no longer there.

Panic flashed through him as he bolted upright. Peter was gone.

A million horrible scenarios raced through his mind as he began to sit up. He was terrified that the next body was going to be found and it would be his lover. Peter wouldn’t have a chance.

The door to his small room creaked open and-

There was Peter. Perfectly safe and sound.

“Where were you?” Tony asked quickly, heart pounding. He held his arms out and Peter instantly obeyed, moving to the bed and into the other man’s arms.

“I-I thought I heard something,” Peter whispered. “I wanted to make sure nothing had happened. And if it had, maybe I could save….” He trailed off. “I didn’t mean to scare you, Tony. I’m so sorry.”

The older man gently stroked a hand through his curls, soothing himself with the action. Peter was safe. He was okay. Nothing to worry about. “It’s alright,” he said softly. “Just don’t leave again. Something could happen to you and I just wouldn’t be able to forgive myself. We’re a team now. We stick together.”

Peter nodded, sniffling a little as he buried his face against Tony’s neck. “I promise I won’t leave again. I’m so so so so sorry.”

Tony smiled a little. “It’s okay, honey. I forgive you. All I want is for you to be safe.”

If only he knew that Peter wasn’t the one to worry about.

———

The next body was found when everyone woke up.

It was the ship’s prankster, Clint Barton.

No one could figure out if Tony would have a reason to target him. They hadn’t really interacted at all other than in mandatory meetings. Then they remembered that at dinner the night before Clint had tried to make a pass at Peter.

Of course.

Numbers were continuing to dwindle and everyone was antsy. They wanted to see if they could find a way to get Tony off of the ship so that the rest of them could complete the mission and go home.

So a meeting was called. Everyone was present, side eyeing the others at the table.

Natasha started, blunt as ever. “There’s someone among us that we can’t trust. They’re killing off our crew. And that can’t continue.”

“Of course,” everyone agreed, murmuring amongst themselves.

Tony noticed Peter get a little tense and he rubbed his arm gently. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “They’ll find whoever it is.”

“Tony.” Natasha looked at him. “You’re the only one that hasn’t given an alibi for this morning. Where were you?”

The only one. Suddenly he wondered where Peter had said he was. “I was in bed. Asleep.”

“And?”

“And? And I was with Peter. That’s it.” Something curled in his stomach as he mentioned the younger man. Where had he said he was? He’d mentioned hearing something.

Tony had to know where Clint’s body was found.

Natasha hummed softly. “You didn’t get up at all? No wandering?”

“What? No! Why am I the only one being grilled here?” He asked, annoyed.

The woman sighed heavily, but Wanda answered for her. “You’re the only one with motives for all of the deaths. We don’t want to be sharing a ship with a murderer.”

Peter finally seemed to snap to life, rage flitting across his face for a split second. “You don’t know that it’s Tony. You can’t just- just get rid of him! You heartless-“

“Peter,” Natasha said slowly. “I know you like him. But we’re all worried. Everyone but you has agreed that...it has to be Tony.”

The man in question made an offended noise. “First of all, I’m still right here. Second, I’m not a fucking murderer. Maybe you should look in your own cliquey groups!”

Peter cuddled up to Tony, holding onto him protectively. He glared at Wanda, staying silent.

Natasha sighed. “Okay. We’ll just...continue to wait and see, I suppose. But we’ll still be keeping an eye on you.”

“Wonderful. I haven’t done anything!”

No one but he and Peter believed that.

———

Maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone when Natasha and Wanda were the next found.

They had been the ones to accuse Tony. They were the ones that felt like they had the most proof. They had to go.

There were only five people left. And they were all tense.

Tony was nervous as soon as Peter was out of his sight, terrified of something happening to his love. So he seeked him out when he wandered away.

And he found much more than he bargained for.

Peter was caught red handed, eyes wide as he pulled the knife from Bruce’s back. “Tony,” he whispered, tone filling with guilt and sadness. “Oh, you weren’t supposed to find out like this.”

Tony’s heart pounded and he had half a mind to run and hit the emergency button to call their tiny crew that remained.

But he didn’t. Only because it was Peter. His Peter. Even though the thought of the man being his made him feel like there was acid in his stomach.

But he did run. He ran, getting away from the body so that he couldn’t be blamed. He wasn’t going to get left.

Peter ran after him, frantic. He tossed his weapon down, leaving it by the body so it couldn’t be connected back to him.

They ran all the way to Peter’s room, where the younger man locked the door behind them.

Tony started coming to terms with his own death. He knew, so he had to be next. He wondered if that had happened with anyone else. Or if motivations were elsewhere and the targets were chosen before they were killed.

“Peter….” Tony sounded horrified, even just saying the man’s name. “Peter, how could you?”

The younger man watched him. “I just had to, Tones. I can’t talk about it.” He started stepping closer slowly, like one might approach a scared animal.

Tony stepped away. “I trusted you. Fuck, Peter, I loved you. But you’re the one doing all this.”

The past tense on love made Peter’s heart drop. No. No, he couldn’t lose Tony. Tony was supposed to keep loving him.

He got an idea. It probably wasn’t the best one.

Being with Tony gave him an alibi. But he needed a solution that would call Tony down and keep him loving Peter.

Peter recalled the nights they spent together. And he slowly stepped closer, biting his lip gently. “You know me, Tony. You know me….”

Small flecks of blood painted the younger man’s cheeks, but that only slightly took away from his soft expression and wide eyes.

He stepped closer and Tony moved to step away, but his back was against the wall. Nowhere else to go.

The younger man leaned in, quickly kissing his lover.

Peter had the distinct metallic tang of blood on his lips and Tony didn’t want to know how it got there.

He didn’t pull away, no matter how much he knew that he should have. He was kissing the enemy. Someone who had killed people they were supposed to help.

But he was still Peter.

So Tony kept kissing him, one hand gently cupping the younger man’s cheek.

He didn’t fight it when Peter started messing with the bottoms of his suit.

“Please, Tony,” he whispered. “I’m still your Peter...I love you.”

When the older man didn’t say it back, Peter pouted but kept working on partially undressing his lover. When he finally got Tony’s cock free, he sunk down to his knees.

“Peter, stop,” Tony said weakly. There was no real force in his voice. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he couldn’t make Peter stop. He didn’t want him to.

The younger man blinked up at him, burying his nose in the coarse curls at the base of the man’s cock. He took a deep breath, smiling to himself. The smell was so distinctly Tony, musky but clean. It was perfect.

The other man watched him, gently lacing his fingers through his hair. “Gonna suck me, honey?”

Peter nodded, pressing a gentle kiss to the skin there. “I’ll make you feel good, okay?” He was determined to make Tony forget all about what he had found. He would have his love back. “I’ll make you feel so good.”

Gentle kisses were pressed up the length of the cock until he got to the tip. Then he slowly fit the head into his mouth, sucking gently while keeping his eyes on Tony.

The other man had his head thrown back in pleasure, lips parted around a silent moan.

Peter made sure that it didn’t stay silent for long.

———

Tony kept holding Peter’s hair as he came down from his high, breathing shakily. He didn’t say anything, afraid of what would come out if he tried.

He couldn’t believe what he’d done.

Panting, Peter leaned his head against the older man’s thigh. “You’re so incredible….” He kissed at the skin there gently, lips curled into a smirk. He knew that he’d won. And so did the other man.

Tony’s stomach turned as he thought about what he had done. He had doomed the rest of the ship. Clearly Peter was good at what he did and wasn’t going to stop until everyone was dead but him.

Well...everyone but he and Tony.

Tony had secured his own spot to get back home. Even if he didn’t love how he had to do so. He hoped that the rest of the crew could forgive him in the afterlife.

For the rest of life, though, he had his boy. Even if he was an imposter.

————

My prompt was “Tony is in love with Peter. That changes, however, when he finds out Peter is an imposter. Desperate to keep his lover, Peter decides to have sex with Tony.” I hope everyone enjoyed 💙

#starker #peter parker #tony stark #tony x peter #tony stark x peter parker #starkerfestivalsevents #tw murder #tw death #tw knives #among us au #natasha romanoff #wanda maximoff #trying to just tag the ones that talked #and not just mentioned briefly #I think that’s all the tags #someone let me know if i forgot anything #nff starker #SFAmongUs

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ask-artsy-oncie · 3 years

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I’m kind of interested in Talespin now thanks to you and lollytea, where do you think a good place to start would be?

Oh!! Awesome awesome awesome!!! It’s a very good show to be interested in!! Thank you for asking!!

Under the cut cos this is long!!

For starters, let’s talk about where you might want to watch it. Disney+ is a good, legal option, but, from what I’ve heard, the episodes aren’t in order on that service, and I also wouldn’t subscribe to that service just to watch one show. There are... *ahem*, OTHER sites that you can use to watch this show (THIS one works better on mobile devices but you’ll want to use their beta servers (which you can choose once you click on an episode to watch) to be the safest) but I strongly suggest that if you’re going to be watching cartoons in this manner, you’ll need to equip yourself with an adblocker at the very least. I also highly recommend finding a VPN to use (though it’s not completely necessary), and there are many free VPNs you can choose from, or others that offer up to a month of free trial time. Finally, another legal way to enjoy the show is to buy the DVDs, which are very nice quality. I have a few complete series DVD cartoon collections and I honestly think this is up there with the higher-quality ones. Though, realistically, you’ll want to make sure that you actually like the series before dropping something like $30 for a box set.

As for which episodes to watch? The absolute basics that you’ll need to understand the series is the 4-part pilot, Plunder & Lightning. This sets up all the main characters and their relation to one another. Just so you know, there is a scene that’s been cut from Plunder & Lightning that’s absent from pretty much any place you can watch the series. You can watch the isolated scene HERE, but wait until you finish Part 2 to do so.

The rest of the series is episodic (save for a few 2-part episodes here and there) and can technically be watched in any order. However, it’s very important to note that this series has a subtle sense of progression when the episodes are watched in order. Dynamics between characters change slightly, or a character who learns something in one episode (minor spoilers, but, for example, Becky learning how to fly) doesn’t magically lose that knowledge later, so there are just these subtle changes to the status quo that you might notice and potentially be confused by if you don’t watch the show chronologically.

I’ll give you some differently-tailored lists depending on what you’re interested in watching the series for. None of these will include Plunder & Lightning because it’s such a must-watch that all the lists would just have it by default.

If you want my personal recommendation on which episodes to watch:

It Came From Beneath The Sea Duck Time Waits for No Bear I Only Have Ice For You Molly Coddled Stormy Weather Bearly Alive Her Chance to Dream A Bad Reflection on You (Parts 1&2) A Baloo Switcheroo Feminine Air Save the Tiger The Old Man and the Sea Duck War of the Weirds Gruel and Unusual Punishment Jolly Molly Christmas My Fair Baloo Bringing Down Babyface Louie’s Last Stand Sheepskin Deep Your Baloo’s in the Mail The Incredible Shrinking Molly

If you want to watch episodes in preparation for the Ducktales 2017 crossover (Kit and Molly episodes):

It Came From Beneath The Sea Duck Mommy for a Day Molly Coddled Stormy Weather A Bad Reflection on You (Parts 1&2) Flight of the Snow Duck Save the Tiger Jolly Molly Christmas Flight School Confidential The Incredible Shrinking Molly

If you’re interested in Baloo and Rebecca’s relationship:

Time Waits for No Bear I Only Have Ice for You Stormy Weather Bearly Alive Her Chance to Dream A Star is Torn A Touch of Glass The Bigger They Are, the Louder They Oink A Spy in the Ointment The Balooest of the Bluebloods Whistlestop Jackson, Legend Feminine Air Save the Tiger War of the Weirds The Time Bandit Gruel and Unusual Punishment My Fair Baloo Pizza Pie in the Sky Your Baloo’s in the Mail The Incredible Shrinking Molly

And I wouldn’t be adding this list if you hadn’t specified me and Lolly, but since it definitely comes up a lot, here’s a list of episodes you’ll want to watch to understand at least half of what Lolly writes about Shere Khan and Shagheera lmao (Or - the Shere Khan episodes):

From Here to Machinery (minor) A Bad Reflection on You (Parts 1&2) On a Wing and a Bear Whistlestop Jackson, Legend Save the Tiger Citizen Khan Louie’s Last Stand Baloo Thunder (minor) Bullethead Baloo

It’s also worth mentioning that Talespin has a decent number of comics (and a few storybooks) that vary in quality and how believably they fit into canon. The main line of comics (before it got canceled after 7 issues) was going to delve pretty deeply into character backstories, though none of the show’s crew worked on the comics, and a few of these backstories (like Becky’s) were ones series creator Jymn Magon preferred to have left shrouded in mystery. So take of these stories for what you will.

Most of the scans (though they also exist in varying quality, and it might be viable to just buy an issue of the comics if you happen to like it a lot) can be found HERE (mobile friendly). This is a European fansite for Talespin (since fansites used to be the best place to store large archives of both fan and official material) and, though it seems like it isn’t kept up-to-date anymore, it does have a LOT of archives of old merchandise outside of the show, itself. My recommendations for the comics are as follow:

The Gates of Shambhala Danger With Danger Woman A Night on the Town Voodoo Baloo Pirate for a Day Congratulations, You Have Just Won... Flight of the Sky-Raker (Parts 1&2) Idiots Aboard! F’reeze A Jolly Good Fellow The Long Flight Home The Volcano of Gold

There’s also The Legend of the Chaos God, which is on this site, and was a massive Disney Afternoon crossover comic. It’s very long, and if you aren’t really a fan of many Disney Afternoon shows, you may get a little confused/disinterested. It is worth noting, though, that references to this comic have been made in Ducktales 2017.

One final thing I feel like I should mention: Talespin, and other Disney Afternoon properties, are still products of their time. They have themes and aspects that are no longer considered politically correct, and there are, quite frankly, some bad depictions of indigenous peoples present. These can be found both within the shows and within the comics. Some episodes of Talespin have even had enough excessive violence or themes that have rendered them “banned” due to television age-ratings changing heavily after the September 11th attacks. However, all episodes were made available on DVD and every method of watching the shows should have everything. There are references to the Cold War due to the time period the show was set (mid-1930′s) and the time that it was airing (1990, yeah the Cold War lasted a really long time...). There is excessive gun violence in this show and even depictions of attempted public execution.

These aren’t things that ruin the show for me. As someone who grew up watching older animation, you just learn to consume these things critically and still enjoy them despite this, which I highly recommend anyone watching the original Disney Afternoon shows (and any other older pieces of media) do. However, I don’t feel right dropping someone into the show blindly and pretend these things don’t exist. This and other Disney Afternoon shows don’t lose sight of the fact that they are, at the end of the day, cartoons for children, and the tone through which most of these elements are presented aren’t excessively dark. I think that if you can get past Plunder & Lightning just fine, the rest of the series should also be fine for you! If not, well, you probably just wouldn’t be comfortable with the rest of the show, and that’s okay, too! Not every piece of media is for everyone!

And with that, this should be everything you need to get into the series! I hope this has helped, and I hope you have as much fun watching the show as I do! I’m always happy to spread the love for Talespin!

#talespin #faq

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amphtaminedreams · 4 years

Text

The Women of Euphoria and Personal Style: Lookbook no.8

Hi to anyone reading,

I hope you’re well considering everything going on! It feels weird to want to talk about fashion or TV shows or red carpets or whatever when 90% of my Google searches are COVID-19 related but there you go. It’s all about trying to power through as normal (minus the social interaction) and pretend the world isn’t ending, right? Queue nervous laughter.

And as if things aren't shitty enough, production of season 2 of Euphoria has been postponed until further notice.

Okay, in the grand scheme of things, having to wait a bit longer for a TV show isn’t catastrophic but it does just about sum up the transition from 2019 to 2020 thus far that after HBO redeemed itself by broadcasting Euphoria in the summer following an ending to Game of Thrones that has made the whole series unrewatchable, the glimmer of hope in me reignited by the prospect of series 2 this year has been quickly dashed. 2021, I’m rooting for you, because it doesn’t seem like things are getting better any time soon, and in all seriousness, I think everyone needs a break from the collective suffering of the last few months.

For me (and undoubtedly for many others if the hundreds of makeup looks and styling videos are anything to go by), Euphoria’s effect on the world of fashion and beauty is unprecedented. I really can’t recall a TV show in living memory that has had as much of an impact on the way young people dress. I mean, this might partially be because the style of the characters already kind of caters to and draws from the target audience but also, aside from Blair Waldorf did anybody really give THAT much of a fuck about what anybody in Gossip Girl wore?

The draw of the styling on Euphoria is that it has something for everyone. The style of each of the main girls, Rue, Kat, Maddy, Jules and Cassie, all of whom I’ve attempted (emphasis on attempted!) to base (emphasis on base!) outfits around, is varied and distinctive but still so current and realistic at the same time. It’s also consistent; even if you don’t own the specific pieces worn by any of them, similar shapes and details reoccur enough in different looks throughout the series that it’s not hard to create an outfit which matches your favourite character’s overall vibe without buying anything new. That’s kinda what I have attempted to do here and without further ado, I’m gonna get on with it! First up:

Jules (Played by Hunter Schafer)

When it comes to whose style is the most experimental, Jules is the obvious answer. A lot of her outfits are what I imagine a cartoonist in the near-distant future will envision their cool girl protagonist wearing. Whilst her ensembles are generally whimsical and girly for the most part, there’s usually a few slightly punk-ish finishing touches thrown in there too be it through chunky shoes or bold makeup or that incredible mesh trench coat she wears in the series finale with the trans symbol on the back which, honestly, deserves a moment of silence.

There are definitely nods to current fashion trends sprinkled throughout her wardrobe too. I'm not going to lie, despite someone at work seemingly thinking it was an insult to tell me I look like someone who does (I still don’t know but this person has a Rick and Morty keyring so I don’t give it too much weight), I’ve never watched any anime. BUT, that being said, given the abundance of anime screenshots posted by all these aesthetic oriented Instagram and Tumblr moodboard accounts, I have a vague idea of what some of the more iconic characters look like and a lot of Jules’ looks seem to be very much modelled after or at least inspired by them. In a way, I see a lot of her looks as a blend between modern “e-girl”, Y2K skater chick (yes, I’m thinking early Avril Lavigne), and 2013 Tumblr “hipster” a la 2014 Joanna Kutcha and Charlie Barker, and though on paper that sounds like a nightmare combination, it works. I know-if that sentence were a Depop description I would’ve just gained 30 followers.

When it comes to my own interpretation of Jules’ style, it’s definitely something I like to channel when I’m putting together a proper OUTFIT outfit. Meaning an outfit I actually put effort into and thus will most likely want to get a good photo in, lol. The way her character dresses is almost quite Christopher Kane in that it’s fresh and unusual but still understated enough that I wouldn’t walk into a room wearing any of these feeling like I’m doing a Rick Owens runway.

I’m not TOO far out of my comfort zone but still at the same time, I’d be trying something new and maybe a little bit more zany than I'm used to. As for noting where any of these pieces are from, only a few have been bought in the last 6 months, but from left to right clockwise I have marked out those that have in case they’re still available (though be wary of the fact that it seems a lot of online clothes stores are still forcing warehouse employees to work in close confines at the moment and so perhaps aren’t operating the most ethically):

LOOK 1

Corset-Jaded London

Shoes-TK Maxx

LOOK 2

Dress-Motel Rocks

Boots-Koi Vegan Footwear

LOOK 3

Dress-Jaded London

LOOK 4

Dress-Jaded London

Beret-Ebay

LOOK 5

Beret-Ebay

LOOK 6

Mesh Top-Depop

Hair Clips-Urban Outfitters

Kat (Played by Barbie Ferreira)

Eurgh, Kat.

I LOVE THIS BITCH.

If I had to choose my favourite character in the show, it would be a very close toss-up between her and Rue, and though I think Rue might just about nab the top spot for her relatability factor, Kat is the girl I want to be or wish that I had been when I was at school. I mean, there’s definitely an argument to be made in that a lot of what she’s doing with her cam work could be seen as a means of validation (Sam Levinson has basically said everyone on the show has some kind of an unhealthy coping mechanism and I would guess due to the circumstances in which her cam girl career was borne and the fact she’s underage, this would be hers) but I do think in other ways we really see Kat reclaim her power and recognise herself for the smart, capable, gorgeous woman that she is. Honestly, the definition of divine feminine energy, and I would completely let Barbie Ferreira/basically Kat if she was also actually 23 dominate me.

Plus! Her! Style! Is! The! Bomb! Definitely the easiest character to base looks around because if I’m totally honest Kat’s energy is pretty much just what I want to emulate in every day life.

It’s either pieces that are typically feminine, cutesy, and even slightly preppy at times drenched in everything grunge OR vice versa where you have something semi-gothic and then add a colourful, more playful touch in there that harks back to the beginning of the series before Kat had began to explore her identity and sexuality and dressed slightly more Forever 21.

I’d say, not yet with my whole chest, that on a good day the outfits I put together when making an effort aren’t too far off something Kat would wear, minus the more overtly BDSM touches; if wearing a ring choker in London is enough to get me a creepy comment from a gross middle aged shopkeeper (because I apparently forfeited my right not to be perved on when I decided to buy a bottle of Oasis summer fruits), then you can only imagine the kind of looks wearing a full-on harness would get in my conservative OAP dominated hometown. Not the most doable right now, especially considering the only time I get out is to work and to go for a run. The chafing I could deal with but the horrified glares of pensioners whose M&S prawn mayo sandwiches I’ve ruined by simply being in their eyesight not so much.

LOOK 1-

Corset-Urban Outfitters

LOOK 2-

Bodysuit-Depop

Skirt-Zara

Harness-Ebay

LOOK 3-

Co-ord-Depop

Lace-up Corset-Missguided

LOOK 4-

Dress-Vintage

LOOK 5-

Belt-Ebay

LOOK 6-

Coat-Topshop

Dress-Jaded London

LOOK 7-

Fishnet Top-Ebay

Skirt-Urban Outfitters

Maddy (Played by Alexa Demie)

Not gonna lie, I was kind of scared to do Maddy. I’m scared to be posting this, lol! Alexa Demie has played this character for a single season and she’s already one of the most iconic women to grace our screens in years. This is a huge undertaking and I don’t have the bank balance or the body confidence (lmao) to raid IAmGia.

And this is where I want to stress: THESE ARE NOT OUTFIT RECREATIONS. THESE ARE INSPIRED BY. I HAVE ADDED ELEMENTS OF MY OWN STYLE INTO THEM. PLEASE DON’T DRAG ME. I KNOW, I’M NOT ALEXA DEMIE. I WOULD NEVER ASSUME TO BE ALEXA DEMIE. I’M NOT ABOUT TO TAKE THE LORD’S NAME IN VAIN LIKE THAT. So now we’ve got that out the way (wipes bead of sweat off forehead), let’s continue.

Everything about Maddy Perez is extra. She has very much been established as a centre of attention character, and her outfits are a key part of that. They’re daring, they’re hyper-feminine, and they are always glamorous. We’re told that she competed in beauty pageants when she was younger and it’s clear that level of excess and coordination and glitz and all-round-boujeeness wormed its way into her DNA during that time. Even the “depression” outfit she wears to school following Nate becoming violent at the fair is costume-like, a 2019 Bratz doll Off-White street style collaboration.

Do you know how HARD I had to try to be HOT!? For these photos. Alexa Demie is one of those blessed women who doesn’t have to try at all, and that translates into the character completely. At any given moment, Maddy could add or remove one item or clothing and be let straight into the VIP section of a club, and that, honestly, is inspiring to us all in these dark times.

One thing I tried to keep in mind is that she always looks polished and coordinated, I.E the kind of look I would prepare for a night out is something Maddy would wear on an average day. Co-ords and delicate prints seem to be more subtle wardrobe staples along with mesh and PVC and glitter and feathers and fur and basically anything that toes the line between expensive looking and tacky. Yes, I am aware we may toe different sides of that line but please let me stay delusional and believe that’s not the case for 5 minutes. Much appreciated xoxo

LOOK 1-

Bodysuit-Jaded London

LOOK 2-

Bralette-Depop

LOOK 3-

Co-ord Suit-Boohoo

Bodysuit-Boohoo

LOOK 4-

Dress-Motel Rocks

Shoes-Schuh

LOOK 5-

Bodysuit-Zaful

Trousers-Depop

Coat-Topshop

LOOK 6-

Dress-Zaful

Belt-Zaful

LOOK 7-

Top-Jaded London

Hair Clips-H&M

Rue (Played by Zendaya Coleman)

I have a complicated relationship with Rue as a character. When I started season 1 of Euphoria, I was like “Oh my god, this girl is the worst. Jesus, she’s so negative and draining and willingly self-destructive and-”

Then, oh my god is this what it’s like to live with me!?

I will say, to my own credit, that I don’t think I've ever been quite as hard to deal with as Rue (a lot less smashing stuff up and a lot more moping), and to HER credit, by the end of the season we come to realise she’s been through a fucking lot and so it makes sense, but wow. I don’t think I have ever seen a teen show handle drug abuse and mental illness in such a brutal way. It’s quite a talent to be able to show a character cause so much pain to those closest to them and yet do so through a sympathetic lens. And issues aside, whether it’s her occasional social awkwardness or her relationship with her family or watching bloody Love Island (still quite surreal to see Zendaya Coleman witnessing the Amy/Curtis drama unfold), Rue is just my favourite character to follow.

Her style, though. AH. The thing is, I can hardly drag it, because it’s pretty much what I wear when I’m moping about the house-or just any time I can get away with it to be honest-to a T. I want to stay true to character, but that being said, creating a “Seth Rogen”-esque outfit that’s worth posting on here is difficult. So, with the same kind of artistic license that had me wearing berets whilst cosplaying Maddy Perez, here is the best I could do:

I know, I know, it’s probably too much colour and jewellery for Rue but this is as toned down as I could do and I tried to stick with the key silhouettes we see from her throughout the season; I mean, I can’t see her wearing leopard print but the structure of the coat in outfit 1 is very similar to the one seen in Shook Ones pt.II. I think the bottom line when it comes to her character is keeping things effortless and not overly-feminine; you want to mix street style, athleisure and your dad’s wardrobe favourites like your life depends on it. Plus messy hair and smudged makeup, both of which I’ve already got down according to the completely inappropriate number of customers who’ve asked if I'm tired at work so thanks for that guys, and glitter tears. Lots and lots of glitter tears.

OUTFIT 1-

Dungarees-Vintage

OUTFIT 2-

Trousers-Depop

Cardigan-Urban Outfitters

OUTFIT 5-

Beanie-Depop

OUTFIT 6-

Shirt-Boohoo Man

Sports Bra-TK Maxx

Trousers-Urban Outfitters

OUTFIT 7-

Shirt-Jaded London

Cassie (Played by Sydney Sweeney)

Style-wise, Cassie is a hard one. When putting outfits for her character together, I found myself gravitating towards a direction that’s probably a bit too bohemian for her character, under the guidance of loose terms like “girl-next-door”, “floaty”, “delicate”, you get the idea. She definitely feels the least fully-realised in terms of all the main girls and I think it’s fair to say she’s probably got a bit of self-discovery to do. Most of her storylines in the season are dictated by her relationships to other people: McKay, Maddy, Lexie, her parents and so on.

Nevertheless, I tried to stick to the airier, more traditionally “pretty” pieces whilst still channelling the confidence and ease with which Cassie pulls them off. Sydney Sweeney has the most incredible figure and I feel like whilst the clothes the on-set stylists put her in flatter that and don’t hide anything, they’re still the focus. It doesn’t feel like there’s anything more inherently sexual about her character than any of the other main female characters despite the way the men within the narrative view her, and I think it’s a testament to the the wardrobe department that to me she still gives off big modern Disney princess energy and a certain innocence even whilst we hear her being continuously sexualised by her male peers.

If anything, Cassie probably dresses the most like an actual teenage girl, and her style, whilst less distinctive than the other girls, still does a good job of capturing the youth and romanticism of her character.

The colour palette of her wardrobe tends to be quite neutral, with a couple of pastels thrown in there, and if there are any details, they’re usually quite dainty. Similarly, Cassie is probably the least experimental when it comes to her makeup; we don’t really see her wearing the bold eyeshadows or liners or gems like the other girls at any point.

OUTFIT 1-

Bodysuit-Motel Rocks

Hair Clips-Bershka

OUTFIT 2-

Dress-Jaded London

OUTFIT 3-

Trousers-Urban Outfitters

OUTFIT 4-

Top-Urban Outfitters

Hairband-H&M

`OUTFIT 5-

Top-Urban Outfitters

Jeans-Zaful

Headband-Primark

OUTFIT 6-

Top-Urban Outfitters

OUTFIT 7-

Dress-Urban Outfitters

Hair Clips-Boohoo

SO, I guess that’s it for my Euphoria lookbook! As always, let me know what you think (nicely pls, my ego is fragile lol) and I’d love to hear your opinions on the show too! I really haven’t got this excited over a new TV show in ages and I just think that it does everything so excellently-from the writing to the cinematography to the soundtrack, you can tell each element is so carefully and purposefully constructed. It immerses you into the dramatic highs and lows of being a teenager in a way I haven’t seen since UK Skins and I never thought I’d watch a show which held a candle to that.

In terms of what I’m doing next, I’ve got a very delayed fashion week masterpost in the works as well as something to fill the Met Gala shaped hole in our lives, which I hope to get up over the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, if you read to the end, THANK YOU! And I hope you’re staying safe and AT HOME where possible. I know this self-isolation feels never-ending and if I’m honest, it is having a hugely negative effect on my mental health, but NHS staff are doing their very best with the shitty recourses they have and whilst it seems that our government have thrown workers under the bus once again, we can all do our bit to combat that by slowing the spread of the virus. Also thank you to anybody who’s out working now in such a scary and uncertain time! I work at a grocery store and can say from experience that the best way to show this thanks is just through kindness and following employee’s instructions without giving them grief for it. Everyone’s scared right now and the best we can do is pull together and look out for each other, as difficult as that might seem at times.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble, and like I said, stay safe! Thanks once again if you read til the end or even if you’re just here for the photos. Appreciate it more than you know either way!

Lauren x

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personuhh · 4 years

Note

So... would you rather recommend Persona 4 or Persona 4 Golden to someone who's never played it?

This is a difficult question to answer, because if you're starting with the original Persona 4, you might get scared off by its significantly harder combat; it can be very punishing sometimes, and my absolute #1 recommendation if you choose to play it over Golden is PLAY IT ON BEGINNER. You'll be given 10 Moon Tsukubame that allow you to restart a battle if Yu is knocked out (which you'll definitely need), even if you plan on grinding and are confident with your JRPG experience, there are plenty of occasions where I've been 1hko-ed by stupid instant death skills and had to replay hours of a dungeon. The only places to save in P4 dungeons are in the lobby before you enter a dungeon, and just before the boss, and this means that you can lose up to 10 floors if you die. On the other hand, Golden allows you to restart from the beginning of a floor.

There are also some other combat balancing changes like Naoto having other elemental skills aside from mudo/hama that makes them a more viable pick against bosses, some enemies are easier and have elemental weaknesses when they didn't before, shuffle time is (i think) worse and takes a little bit longer after battle to complete as well.

TLDR; the combat in Golden is obviously improved quite a bit, and that's the biggest thing going for it aside from added content.

But I played through the original Persona 4 just fine on beginner, you just have to be a little bit more careful.

Now for the pros to the original Persona 4; you DEFINITELY get a much more satisfyingly paced game, it's far shorter, and you don't have to worry about any extra fanservicey Golden scenes (that you can easily find on YouTube after you're finished OGP4 if you're interested).

I much prefer Chie and Teddie's original voices, and though I didn't mention it much in that Golden Yosuke analysis post, the voice acting and direction seems to be a LOT better in P4 than P4G (it's noticeable when you encounter a Golden-exclusive scene, characters sound... different, particularly Yosuke who's voice seems to raise each time Yuri reprises the role). When I played through P4 I didn't mind Teddie, but something about his new voice acting/direction grates on my nerves and makes him way less likeable – I believe it's because his original voice actor played him as the way he was supposed to originally come across (naïve) instead being more in line with what Golden made him into (a pervert). And maybe it's just me, but I think the initial decision to have him speak in a higher pitched voice was partially because it made him sound a bit like a squeaky toy – at least that's the impression I got, and it works perfectly in the original, something about Dave Wittenberg's voice really makes him sound like what you'd expect of a toy – but Sam Riegel's Golden Teddie sounds like he's trying to hard to imitate the original performance, and is straining his voice (human Teddie is SIGNIFICANTLY better, his voice gets lower when he's out of the suit and sounds more natural).

Similarly, Chie sounds a lot more aggressive, and it can be hard to take her seriously with how over the top Erin can be at times (again, this is likely the fault of voice direction, and not the voice actress) and especially in the earlier parts of the game, it feels like when she speaks to another character, the tones don't... quite match up (likely due to her new lines being recorded 4 years after the rest of the cast). It's most noticeable when she speaks to Yosuke, because Golden Chie seems to REALLY have it out for him, while in the original she had a little bit more of an "oh you" tone to it. I know plenty of people prefer Erin Fitzgerald's Golden Chie voice, and her performance isn't all bad (she's especially great in the anime and spinoffs), but Tracey Rooney's Chie just works better in the original game.

So... Original P4 has less overall content, but the quality of said content is more consistent. Golden has the benefit of being released in 2012 on a portable system (which is very nice if you have a Vita), so if you choose to play P4 over Golden you will inevitably feel that P4 is a little dated without combat improvements, but if you DO finish P4 and decide to go through Golden for the extra content, you get a lot of new things to experience (including 2 new Social Links with Marie and Adachi, the ability to explore the shopping district at night and speak to friends about current events, added cutscenes, several new months to play through near the end of the game, etc.) but you'll also have played through the original and gotten to experience the main story as it was originally written.

Some other small changes: resolution is now up to 720p or 1080i (P4G) from 480p (P4), the UI is slightly different (text boxes), P4G looks much more vibrant and clear than the original's more natural colours, including the sprites which now have a bright, yellowish hue to them to match Golden's colour palette (I prefer OGP4's palette), all voice lines are much less compressed (P4's sound tinny).

You can also take screenshots on Vita and PC versions of Golden; unless you're emulating OGP4 on PC or have a capture card, you obviously can't take screenshots of the original PS2 version of P4.

If you have the patience, I would suggest both (especially since it's easy to emulate the original Persona 4 by this point and I have a full guide to setting up the emulator at the top of my blog, with the rom also included, so you can try it out with relative ease) but don't take my thoughts as definitive, because it all really comes down to personal taste. Many people play through Golden and love it, having no problems with the things I've mentioned (I'm a picky bitch), and you might too. If you're that turned off of what I've said about combat in P4 you can always watch a playthrough and then go through Golden yourself too.

#ask ada #SORRY ITS ANOTHER ESSAY #persona 4 #persona 4 golden

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anime-lover-forever-1127 · 3 years

Text

A Woman With Vision {Arthur Leywin} - 20. Beast Glades

Beast Glades

*****

Disclaimer - (Cause fanfiction is tricky ground and I hope not to offend the creator of the original story and get sued)

I do not own "The Beginning After The End", it belongs to its original creator TurtleMe. This is only a fanfiction that I was inspired to write by the original work. Please support the official release. Most of the media - such as the art and illustrations, gifs, video's, etc. used in this fanfiction - are from the web. Thus, most of them aren't mine (because I really, really can't draw) unless mentioned. To fit the story, images are also edited by various apps and websites. So they aren't mine, just edited. I get much of the text, especially the fight scenes and thought, aside from my oc's, from the original novel, which can be found on Library Novel. Please support the official release.

Also if you own a picture or Video that I found online, and you either want your name added, or me to take it down. Please contact me and we can talk it out. P.s. I also ask that you do not copy my work and publish it onto any other website.

If you're gonna use my idea, please ask me (If you ask nicely, I for sure, will agree). If I don't contact you within a week, then just assume I'm giving you the all clear and go for it. Just remember to credit me.

I will be writing out scenes even if my Oc isn't in them. As long as she's mentioned, or influencing the characters in some way. This may seem a bit annoying. But that's just how I write. I like to embed my characters into the story line. Because of this, most of the dialogue/scenes will come from the original work.

Playlist

For the playlist you can go to my YouTube channel, which is under "Anime-lover-forever-1127" and click on the playlist titled "A Woman With Vision {Arthur Laywin}". Or you can use this link watch?v=GYlAaNM7WS8&list=PLVKYkztH1Zd8bdl2_a1C8F6u8gPPwfa6D&ab_channel=7clouds

Warnings: Spoilers for Chapter 30 and chapter 54 of the comic

*****

Today's Special

No one tells you that the hardest part of MOTHERHOOD is when your kids grow up

~ sitiraihana

*****

{Morgana P.O.V.}

Crossing through the teleportation gate, my senses jolted from the scenery. The City of Xyrus had the most teleportation gates among the cities since they were the only way one could enter it, it being a floating city and all. The one we crossed led us directly to the front entrance of the area known as the Beast Glades.

The chirps of birds, occasional cries and roars of beasts, and the constant sound of water flowing filling the background all created an enticing symphony of nature. The sight of tall trees and numerous hills covered in various plants and shrubs made it hard to believe that this beautiful landscape was filled with magical beasts capable of killing even the strongest mages. However, because of abundances of natural resources on the outskirts, it was mostly only the lower rank beasts that inhabited this deeper an adventurer traversed, the more mysterious and treacherous the landscape turned, filled with the lairs of powerful beasts that have amassed their treasures and power in the solitude's of unexplored regions in the Beast Glades.

I took a sip of the crisp air as Jasmine and Arthur arrived behind me through the teleportation gate when, suddenly, I heard a wish, and from the corner of my eyes I saw Sylvie scurry off.

"Wait, Sylv! Where are you going?" Arthur called after her, dumbfounded.

Sylvie transmitted a vague response; I could feel her emotions of excitement as she sent out thoughts about her plans to train as well.

"Did she just?" I asked, pointing at the direction my baby just ran off to.

"Yep, she just ran away from home." He answered weekly, his tone going a little high.

"Oh, Arthur." I sighed, pulling him close and giving him a shoulder hug. I had only known Sylvie for a couple of months, and I felt as if something was missing without her here.

But she was Arthur's bond, and had never left him since the day she had hatched. I could only imagine how big the hole in his heart must feel.

"Are you gonna be ok?" I asked. "We could take a break."

Arthur shook his head, "We just got here. Plus, I'm only a little…" He struggled, unsure of what world to use, "...uneasy. But… I can sense her whereabouts. So it should be fine."

"You can sense her whereabouts?" I asked, surprised.

He nodded, "Wait! You can't?"

I shook my head.

"Close your eyes, and try searching for her aura."

I did what he had said. I could see the mana floating around me, but no Sylvie. I opened my eyes, "Nothing. No trace of her. Maybe we're not just there yet."

Sylvie had explained to me that the longer me and Arthur were with each other, the stronger our mate bond would become. And the stronger it becomes, the easier it would be for me to create an adopted bond with Sylvie. Of course that would only be possible after spending time with her. And if I ever got a bond, it would be the same with Arthur. He would form a bond, through me, until he had a second, slightly weaker bond, with my own, on his own.

So because of that, until my bond with Sylvie was complete, I would be using Arthur's bond, to support my own developing one with her.

Now it was Arthur's turn to give me a sympathetic and reassuring hug. "It's fine mama bear."

"You're right." I nodded, "Knowing you can still

"She'll be okay. Mana beasts have a natural instinct to grow stronger. She must've felt very suffocated being in a sheltered environment all of her life," Jasmine pips up , walking next to Arthur.

"I know." I nod, "But that honestly doesn't make it hurt any less."

Jasmine lets out a chuckle, "It's like your her mother."

"She is" - "I am"

Arthur and I answer at the same time.

Jasmine stops a bit, staring at us long and hard, before smiling, "I think I get what your parents meant now. Well, to each their own."

Both me and Arthur smile at that. She really is a great woman.

Putting her hand on our shoulder, she signalled for us to start moving. "There's a place I wish to visit first before going to a dungeon. We have to hurry though; it gets a little more dangerous at night."

Willing mana into her body, Jasmine bolted off into the distance, her wind attribute mana propelling her even faster.

I followed after her, forming two gales of wind below my feet as I dashed after her, Arthur doing the same, followed.

Everyone in a while, Arthur would give me an update on Sylvie.

"I just hope that she doesn't go after bigger beasts until she's ready." I sigh.

"Don't worry. She knows she has us if she ever gets in over her head. She knows she can always ask us for help." Arthur says, petting my head.

*****

The journey lasted a few hours and it began to grow dark. The only reason Arthur and I had been able to keep up with Jasmine, even when she was at a dark yellow stage, was Arthur had been using mana rotation throughout the way, and I had controlled mine to only use the bare minimum amount mana needed to create a controlled, constant amount of wind. This skill had become almost second nature to me now as I utilised it unconsciously whenever I exerted mana.

By late evening, we had cleared through a dense forest and arrived at a small clearing. Surrounded by trees, there was a small field of grass with a stream of clear water flowing through it.

"We'll camp out here for a few days," Jasmine announced as she set down her bag and took out a couple of items.

"Weren't we going to a dungeon right away?" Arthur asked, setting down his bag as well.

She simply shook her head, picking up a few branches of wood and gathering them together.

Well Arthur and I went into the forest, finding some decent-sized branches to make a fire with. After a bit, we had a fire crackling and popping in the middle of our camp. Making myself comfortable, I leaned against Arthur who had removed his mask and sat silently by Jasmine, next to the fire.

Trying to break the silence, Arthur asked Jasmine, "What made you want to become an adventurer?"

"…"

Her gaze never left the fire and after a few minutes of more awkward silence, I just stared back at the flame, assuming she didn't want to answer.

"I wanted to get away from my family." I almost missed what she said from how quietly she spoke amidst the wood of the fire snapping fiercely.

"I see… were you on bad terms with your family?" Arthur responded, his eyes focused on the fire.

I choose to just listen to their conversation.

"…"

"The Flamesworth House was a major contributor to the war against the elves. Our house has provided many powerful mages, both conjurers and augmenters. Our lineage in the fire attribute element was second to none. We took great pride in this, because fire is considered to be the most powerful of the elements," she stated monotonously.

Despite her short sentences, this had been the most Jasmine had talked in one sitting.

"But Jasmine, aren't you a…" Arthur asked, looking up at her as she nodded in response.

"Since early on, when I had first awakened and started training, my family tried to test my mana for fire affinity. I went through various tests so they could see how my mana was exerted and how it flowed through my mana channels." She took a pause and poked at the fire before continuing on. "When it was made clear that I had no aptitude for the fire attribute, my family regarded me as lesser."

"…"

Arthur didn't know how to respond to her. For the first time, the always aloof and cold Jasmine seemed…vulnerable.

"I'm sorry for what happened…" was the only response Arthur managed to utter.

But so much for staying silent, I stood up to my knees and crawled over to Jasmine until I was face to face with her. Looking her directly in the eyes, I told her firmly. "Your family is wrong… and crazy." Her eyes went wide at my statement. "Wind magic is probably stronger than fire when you get down to it! All your family is, is a walking matchstick. All they can do is shoot out flames, a pillar if they're really getting creative. But with wind magic… we can create tornadoes, fly, move objects across a room. I mean it was because of wind magic we covered a distance that would have taken us days, in mere hours. Do I really have to say more?"

Jasmine's eyes widened and she shook her head, she gave me a faint smile. "The Twin Horns have treated me well and I don't dislike what I am."

I smiled, "I know that. I can tell it on your face whenever you're with your party, that you're clearly happy. But I'm just letting you know that your family is wrong. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but theirs… is just plain stupid."

I glanced at her palm as Jasmine formed a small swirl of wind, different emotions running through her face as she peered at her hand.

This world was a place of discrimination and classification. The hierarchical roots embedded into this land would never truly disappear. Normal humans were considered second-rate people, while even amongst mages, augmenters were discriminated against by conjurers. It went further than that where, unless one was a deviant or a dual element specialist, some elements were considered "higher class" than others.

Being born from a family of powerful fire attribute mages, she was discarded as inferior because of the elemental attribute she had; something that most mages would kill to acquire. She was a dark yellow augmenter skilled in fighting and mana manipulation at the ripe age of 24. Many would consider her a genius but from the standards she grew up with, she considered herself lesser.

We placed more wood to last through the coldest parts of the night and laid out our sleeping bags a few feet away so we could still feel the heat.

As we got ready to go to sleep, Arthur leaned into my ear and whispered, "I know subtlety isn't really your strong suit. It never has been."

I sent him a glare, "This better be building into a compliment."

He sent me a smile, "Well, more of a request. But I'm not shy to add one in there. Anyway, if we ever meet with nobility… and royalty again - assuming you haven't scared them enough yet. Could you at least try to hold it in. Until we least have a chance at beating them."

I huffed, "Speak for yourself. I already have my network ready. Of course it really isn't anything that great yet, but it has potential. The seeds are planted, and ready to sprout like a butterfly bush at a moment's notice." I winked at him.

He stared at me confused, "Who would-"

I cut him off, "Finishing school is quite boring when you've actually played the high society game. But, when it comes to making connections with little girls eager for your approval, there's nothing like it. As for informats, they're easy to buy. Mom and dad's allowance has always been generous, and I know exactly how to put it to good use." I smirked as I thought of the various amounts of blackmail I had collected for various families.

Arthur stared at me, wide eyed. "Damn, why didn't you say anything?"

I shrugged, "I thought you knew me?"

"I do!" He defended himself. "But I may have accidentally underestimated you. I thought your network may take you another two to three years. Sorry. Never again."

I smiled into the fire, "Well… If I'm being honest. It's nowhere near as good as my old one. But it's better than nothing. Information is the name of the game. And plus, every now and then, I do find a few pieces of gold." I said, remembering the little golden nugget of information I'd collected on a certain elf princess. I don't wanna be mean, but if she pushes my hand...

My eyebrows furrowed as I remembered, "Where's my compliment?" I pouted.

Arthur chuckled, "What you said to Jasmine, was truly amazing."

"Of course it was." I said, smiling and accepting the compliment. I ran my fingers through his hair, and added, "Though, we really do need to work on your elements. You need to do so much more than just creating pillars of fire." I felt a sweat drop roll down the side of his neck as I began making plans. "I've made a lot of progress with my wind, though I definitely need to work on my water. Before we start school, I would like to start working with ice a little bit. Though I'm not sure how much I could exactly get done between practising wind, and working on water, and relearning the sword." I pouted, eyeing the blue blade Arthur wouldn't let me touch unless he knew for a fact I wouldn't drop it on myself.

As much as I hate to admit it, I don't really blame him for it. Considering he never lets me forget it, I know for a fact he remembers how bad my first sword training lesson went. And to be honest, as fun as it would be to swing it around again, I don't wanna know how well it would work out with my current build. It was too big for my current body. So until I grew a bit, I'd have to use a practice sword.

Eyes closed, I waited to drift off when I heard Jasmine mumble something.

"…It's weird. When I talk to you two, it doesn't feel like I'm talking to children."

I didn't respond. Pretending to be asleep, I hoped she wouldn't push further for a reply.

*****

"Good morning." Jasmine was up and cooking something over the fire by the time I had gotten up and out of my sleeping bag.

My stomach rumbled to remind me that I hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon as I looked hungrily at the skewered fishes being grilled on the fire.

"Good morning! You should've woken me up, Jasmine. There's no need for you to do all of the chores on your own."

I turned my head to see Arthur rubbing his eyes.

"…I tried waking both of you up… But you wouldn't budge." Her half-closed eyes that give off an apathetic stare regarded us with concern. "If I didn't hear you breathing, I would've mistaken you for corpses."

"Haha…" Arthur let out an awkward chuckle. "I'm sorry, I really need to fix that."

"You and me both." I nodded. I usually woke up early on my own. But if I didn't, then nobody could wake me up.

After devouring the grilled fish for breakfast, we put out the fire. Using the nearby stream to wash myself and my clothes.

Arthur put on his mask and swords, well I wrapped my cloak around my shoulder, and placed my contents lenses in, assuming we'd go hunting for some mana beasts around the area, when Jasmine stopped me.

"Your opponent for these few days will be me."

"Huh?" I couldn't help but be surprised at the turn of events. We came all the way here to spar?

"This area is close to the dungeon we will be exploring, but for these days, I want you to focus on fighting me. I noticed that your fighting style seems… awkward at times. Like, you know it in your head, but your body doesn't listen to you… or something like that." She told Arthur and then turned to me, "You have your control down. But you need to focus on increasing your mana amount. We can stay in a dungeon for days at a time. So you're going to need to work on that."

Unsheathing her two daggers, she pointed one at me, continuing, "We won't use any kind of mana for these next few days while sparring."

I hadn't expected Jasmine to catch on to what I had been worried about, but it was a good opportunity.

"Good idea," Arthur replied, unsheathing his short sword.

I sat down on the grass, getting ready to meditate.

{Arthur's P.O.V.}

"Use your other sword…" Jasmine's eyes flickered toward Dawn's Ballad.

"How did you know this was a sword?" I wasn't planning on hiding my weapon from her but I was still caught off guard.

"Knowing you, that black stick should be something more than just a cane or a practice stick," she shrugged, walking a few steps closer to me.

Giving her a confirming nod, I tossed the short sword to Morgana, who caught it with her eyes closed. From my position, I could see the mana around us, begin to gather towards her.

As the sword soundlessly glided out from its scabbard, the translucent blade glowed a light teal as it reflected the sun's strong rays.

Holding it out in front me, I positioned myself. "Ready when you are."

"Y-Yeah," Jasmine stuttered as her eyes remained glued to Dawn's Ballad.

We dulled the edges of our weapons using mana before beginning. Without mana strengthening my body, I realised just how much I had been neglecting myself. After a few swings, my arms felt heavy and my legs trembled as they pushed feebly off the ground.

This was my mistake. I knew of the limits that my juvenile body had, but instead of trying to fix my shortcomings, I chose only to mask it using mana.

While magic in this world was capable of many things, it should be only used as a supplement to your abilities, not a replacement to cover them.

I lunged out with a sharp thrust aimed at Jasmine's sternum. Even though our swords were coated to prevent fatal injuries, it would still leave bruises and even broken bones if taken lightly; this made the sparring experience much more intense and real.

Jasmine swung her two daggers down in an outward arc, parrying my lunge and knocking the blade of my sword into the ground.

I brought my rear foot forward to maintain balance as my teal blade sunk into the ground below her. However, by that time, Jasmine had already brought her daggers back into position to follow up with a quick, downward slash.

Prying out my sword, I immediately pivoted my body to the side to avoid the overhead slash. As her daggers grazed harmlessly past my loose shirt, I kicked her arm away and stepped away into a more comfortable distance.

My arms were burning from the quick, consecutive movements as I positioned my sword in a defensive stance.

"It's my win," Jasmine said, sheathing her two daggers deftly into their scabbards attached to her thighs.

"You're right," I laughed as I dropped Dawn's Ballad on the ground. We had sparred for a little less than five minutes but my arms and legs screamed in protest from overuse. Massaging my forearms, I picked my blade back up and slid it back into its black sheath.

The duel had ended with me with the upper hand, but I didn't have the strength to proceed. It was my loss.

"Hey Jasmine, I think I'm going to need more than a couple of days to work this out," I confessed with a chuckle.

Her lips curled up slightly as she nodded in agreement.

I had three years before I'd attend Xyrus Academy. During my time at school, I would have plenty of chances to focus on studying mana.

I knew what my priorities were at this time.

Making a rough calculation in my head, I held up two fingers. "Two years, Jasmine. I'll dedicate two years to getting my body truly adjusted to sword-fighting without relying on mana."

"That's it?" she said, surprised.

"Just watch," I smirked.

*****

A Butterfly bush is a really fast growing plant. I could have used weeds, but referring to an information network as weeds, doesn't sound nearly as nice.

Also, finishing school only takes about 6 weeks. So I didn't have to worry about that.

I get the whole bond system is a little confusing, especially with me throwing in mate bonds and secondary bonds. So if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Because I do have plans to keep using and referencing the bonds - so it would be easier for you guys and less confusing, if you know what's actually happening. (Or if your just here for the romance - I guess you can sort of skip it - though again - their is the mate bond)

I feel like I should give you guys a heads up, that the next chapter is going to likely be on the shorter side (and the two after that as well). But man will it leave a huge impact on you guys. I'm actually willing to bet the title of the next chapter alone would be worth the hype (and the happiness and excitement you would get from four pages - why four you asks, one page for each word in the title.)

In fact, here's a little teaser (Feel free to try and guess what may be happening, and the contents of the paper):

Next Time~

Morgana untied the bright red ribbon and uncurled the scroll.

Her eyes widened as they flew over the contents of the paper, before tears began streaming down her cheeks.

#animeloverforever1127 #tbate #the beginning #the beginning after the end #a woman with vision #A Woman With Vision {Arthur Leywin}#Arthur Leywin #20. Beast Glades #arthur #morgana

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dukeofonions · 4 years

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Puppet vs Video Games (The Gimmicks of Sanders Sides)

If you’ve followed me for awhile (meaning the short amount of time I’ve been running this blog) then you’ll probably be aware of what my opinions are of the “gimmicks” that have been making themselves prevalent in recent Sanders Sides episodes. Now just to make things clear, almost every episode of Sanders Sides uses some kind of gimmick.

Well, besides the first one, which consists entirely of talking with no added effects.

And I, being the faceless entity that sits behind a computer screen judging an online web series, am going to rant about that because this is my blog and I do what I want. So let’s begin…

The Prologue

As season one progresses we see things like location changes, a song, Thomas’ friends making several appearances, simple editing tricks (like putting text or pictures on a screen) minor costume changes (Logan and Patton dressing as Sherlock and Watson) split screen effects, and even an episode featuring an animated segment.

At the end of Season One we were introduced to the concept of “Rooms” which added a whole new layer to the story and got people excited to see what the other rooms would entail. Still, up to this point, the gimmicks remained mostly in the background as small ways to sprinkle in some extra storytelling while the dialogue continued to be the main thing carrying the series.

Then Season Two began with Fitting In, which featured a few more props that served to signify each of the Hogwarts houses. This made sense seeing as that was the focus of the video, and for fans of Harry Potter, it would be fun to see the characters wearing things from the different houses.

After Fitting In, we got Moving On which featured the introduction of Patton’s room. Like with Virgil’s, a lot went into designing his room. There is a lot to look at, who knows how long it took to find all the stuff they showcased in the background? On top of that they also had the filter they used to give the room a dreamlike quality, and my favorite detail, the pictures that continue to change throughout the episode depending on what the characters are talking about.

It remains one of my favorite set pieces from the series just from the amount of detail they put into it, and it felt like a step up from Virgil’s room (which I also love) and it makes me excited for the rest of the rooms that have yet to be revealed.

However! I am not here to discuss the rooms. Even though I already did…

After Moving On, however, is when things start to change with the series.

During the 12 Days of Christmas, the Sides are each given their own custom Christmas sweaters, but that’s only part of the gimmick. The centerpiece for this episode is, of course, the song sung by all four Sides. This moment is pretty significant as it marks the first time all four of them appeared on screen together at the same time.

This was just the tip of the iceberg for what was to come…

Immediately following 12 Days we get Can Lying Be Good? Which featured a new location where the video spent the majority in, using quick cuts with the cameras to give off the illusion of Roman pretending to be Joan (including clever uses of audio) and of course, Deceit himself. The makeup and costume was unlike anything we’d seen in the series yet. Throw in some more split screen to show two Sides on screen together, as well as some clever costume choices for character Thomas, makes this episode (in my opinion) the best at utilizing its effects and filming techniques to tell its story.

And then, things start to shift again….

The next episode we get is Why Do We Get Out Of Bed In The Morning? Which took some time to produce, coming out in April after CLBG? Was released in February. Still, good time considering what was to come.

This episode had some mixed reviews once it finally came out, but I plan on tackling that later. The reason this episode (which was really just a longer, drawn out version of Losing My Motivation but starring Logan and Roman) was the use of animations.

For Logan, his arguments were displayed via “Stop Motion” writings of graphs and charts which he used to explain his points. And from a short behind the scenes video, each of these were drawn by hand and took hours to make. From what I understand, all of Roman’s bits were animated on a computer, though I don’t have much info on how they were made.

Within the episode, these different types of animations were used to help Roman and Logan illustrate their points. And while on their own they’re quite adorable, they aren’t necessary for the telling of this story. One thing this episode was criticised for was how the writing felt off. Everything seemed rushed and none of the characters felt in character, and while I don’t recall anyone outright saying it, it’s likely that perhaps the team felt pressured to get this video out on time, and thus might have skipped out on other elements in order to make up for the time spent working on the animations.

Whether that was writing the script, filming, or editing, we don’t know. All I know is that the general consensus for this episode was that it was just okay. As a Logan and Roman fan though, it was kinda disappointing for their first episode with them taking the spotlight together to just be viewed as “okay” and isn’t a favorite of mine.

Things picked up a little after Crofters: The Musical was released only a few days after WDWGOOBITM (that title is a monster to type no matter how ya do it) and it featured a song as its gimmick. The mood was a bit lighter, we got to see Logan having fun, and hey we even got our first main Roman angst foreshadowing! Good thing that wouldn’t be dragged out for several episodes, right?

All in all, things were definitely looking up for Sanders Sides. From the looks of it, we were going to start getting more frequent updates!

Then the Drought happened and we had to wait almost six months for a new episode.

At least that would be the longest we ever had to wait for something.

Before I get into the beef of this post I wanna bring up three more episodes, Embarrassing Phases, Selfishness vs Selflessness, and Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts.

Like the other episodes throughout Season Two, each of these episodes have different gimmicks. In Embarrassing Phases, it’s the Halloween costumes. In SVS, it’s a location change plus costume change, and in DWIT we get the introduction of Remus along with a musical number and a few props.

I’d say each of these episodes does a good job at incorporating their gimmicks into the story. Embarrassing Phases involves them talking about Halloween and using costumes as metaphors or something like that (This may be one of the few times I say something positive about this episode don’t get used to it)

With SVS, thanks to some clever acting, we can see Janus get the idea of using the courtroom scenario to try and get his point across. He first does this by suggesting that Thomas may not be as innocent as he seems, and after Patton defends him, that’s when Janus switches to the courtroom in order to put Patton to the test and literally defend Thomas as a lawyer.

Then in DWIT, given that Remus is a very outgoing character, it makes sense that he’d use a song to explain who he is and make a dramatic entrance. Plus, the series has used songs before so it’s not surprising to see this here. And seeing as Remus is creativity, it’s only fitting that he’s able to conjure random things throughout the episode. Okay, that was a long prologue, onto the actual reason most of you probably clicked on this post. Part One: The Puppets

Learning New Things About Ourselves also does a good job of handling its gimmick and incorporating it into the story. Like the three I just mentioned, there’s a set up and a pay off. We get an idea of what’s to come with this moment:

“I don’t feel content,”

“With my content.”

Which is obviously a reference to some random children’s educational program (most likely Sesame Street) by showcasing how two words that are spelled the same can have different meanings. Great now I sound like some educational children’s program.

Then later on, we get the actual set up that comes from Thomas becoming frustrated that he can’t figure out what the problem is that’s causing this whole dilemma. He says, “We’ve got an issue. Something that I’m not aware of yet, something that may be unlocked with the right question. This is like... fundamental learning!”

After he says that, he gets an idea and asks the others how he used to learn things and each one responds accordingly:

Logan: Textbooks!

Roman and Virgil: Mistakes.

Patton: Puppets!

And of course, initially, Thomas questions this and no one really understands what Patton means by this. But he explains and makes a case for it, “Thomas used to learn all kinds of new and helpful things from puppets when he was younger! Like how to count and his ABCs. Maybe it’ll be easier to work through issues when puppets are involved.”

We see Thomas consider the idea, and then Logan sets up a joke with him saying Thomas has outgrown that kind of stuff only to have him express his love for the idea.

After that, the Sides (excluding Logan) change into their respective puppets and continue on the episode.

One important thing to note (which I will bring up later) is that this scene takes place around the 15 minute mark. At least by that point, everyone except Logan has changed into a puppet. With the video being 38 minutes long, this is about halfway through the episode, and by the 31 minute mark the Sides begin turning back to normal.

Which means the puppets roughly take up only about 15 minutes of the video, slightly longer if you count Logan’s puppet, but you get the idea.

Also I’m bad at math so if I got this wrong sue me. There’s a reason I’m sitting here writing this instead of doing something with my life.

From then on, the conversation continues with everyone still trying to figure out what the question they need to be asking is. Of course, plenty of references to other educational kid shows are thrown around, but that now makes sense seeing as they’re fully embracing the puppet idea. Patton furthers the conversation along by finally getting Thomas to start asking “Why” and uses another reference to do so, which starts the next part of the conversation and brings us the next major conflict in this episode, Logan.

He gives his opinion, stating that no one takes Thomas seriously and that he should switch careers in order to obtain that status instead of devoting his time to making silly videos.

This of course, causes dissension within the group, and leads to Roman once again insulting Logan before realizing that he’s been going too far. After being prompted to apologize, Roman attempts to express his feelings to Logan and say sorry, but it doesn’t exactly help him feel any better which is when Patton suggests he try a different way.

And, Roman being Roman, decides the best way to do this is through song. A song that’s reminiscent of those one might hear on Sesame Street (there’s probably others but I’m rolling with this one) so it fits with the puppet thing. Again, it’s justified.

The episode ends with Logan finally understanding where the others are coming from and Thomas finding the right question to ask, which he is able to answer and it solves the dilemma.

Logan turns into a puppet, there’s another Sesame Street reference, and Roman is finally gonna start addressing his issues!

Good thing that won’t be brushed under a rug by the other characters for three more episodes right?

All in all, in case you couldn’t tell, I adore this episode and it still remains one of my favorites to this day. It doesn’t beat you over the head with the references, which are used cleverly and in a fun way that also keeps the story moving along. The designs for the puppets are cute and match each of the characters, and the puppetry is amazing!

Plus the song is an absolute bop and it still makes me emotional sometimes.

Which begs the question, was the sixth month wait worth it? Well, after hearing all that went into making this episode and seeing the final result, I’d say it was worth it.

It’s also nice that we got a behind the scenes video where we got to see the full story on how this episode was made and all the difficulties Thomas, Joan, and Talyn faced when trying to make it a reality. Did they need to use puppets? No, but what matters is that they were able to take the idea and incorporate it into a story in a way that was fun and felt justified for existing.

Not saying this episode is perfect, there are a few problems here and there, but overall this remains one of my top Sanders Sides episodes and one I’ve watched repeatedly since it came out.

Now that all that positive stuff is out of the way, let’s get to the fun part….

Part Two: The Video Games

I’m gonna be blunt, Putting Others First does not do as good of a job with incorporating video games into its story like LNTAO does.

However, I can’t exactly talk about this episode without talking about the extremely long wait we had in between episodes. The last official episode (that follows the main storyline, so not Asides) came out on June 25, 2019. POF came out May 1st, 2020.

Almost 10 months, the longest we’ve ever had to wait for an episode. And if you wanna go further, remember that POF was meant to be the follow up to SVS, a part two if you will, SVS came out March 31st 2019, so by the time POF came out, it had already been a year since this set up the conflict for wedding vs callback.

By that point, some people were no longer interested or as excited about the new episode, but that changed briefly when a trailer for the episode dropped after a new Bloopers video was released a few months before POF was finally released.

Keep in mind that up until this point, we weren’t entirely sure what the hold up was for this episode. We’d only gotten the vague answer of “There’s a special sequence for this episode and we’re working with another artist in order to make it, which is why it’s taking so long.”

Okay, fair enough, and the trailer revealed what exactly that sequence was, animation!

Now I’ve already explained in another post why I have problems with how vague Thomas and co. are when it comes to giving information about upcoming videos, so I won’t get into that here.

What I am going to bring up since it relates to some of my points is this, remember when they said it was a “special sequence” they were working on? Well, after the video is released we find that it isn’t one, but 10.

I’m not counting each time a sequence was used (For example, the opening segment which is later followed by Roman imagining a different outcome in the same style or every single one of Logan’s low-down’s, and the two trolley problems are counted as one sequence for this post specifically) because I really don’t wanna go through and count every single time Logan popped up on screen, but tell me, why in the heckity heck did they feel it was necessary to include 10 of these animated segments?

And okay, there’s actually 12 (maybe 13? The Pokemon reference uses two different styles) but why are there so many? How are they necessary and what is their reason for being in this episode?

Remember earlier when I mentioned that the puppet stuff didn’t start until the 15 minute mark? Well, POF literally begins with a video game sequence, and then the game references just keep coming. The intro gets a retro remix along with the rest of the music, and once Thomas enters the picture his curse words are covered by a gold coin and the “mario coin” sound effect.

And then, not even three minutes in, we get yet another video game sequence recapping the last episode, after we already had a recap of the last episode less than a minute ago!

To be fair though Rhythm Redux is a bop and I’m not sure why they felt the need to include a “flashback” after the intro when they were going to include this song anyway since it does a better job at explaining things than the random shots and dialogue from SVS.

With LNTAO, none of the “puppet bits” began until after the Sides changed into puppets, besides that one bit of foreshadowing with the “Content with my content” line. There was no change to the intro’s music, nothing besides that one bit to foreshadow the puppets coming into play.

Another thing LNTAO does that POF doesn’t is establish a set up, and pay off for the video games. Right off the bat, we get the video games, then later we get Patton’s line about how “Life isn’t like one of your video games” just a few minutes before the next video game sequence takes place, which just felt out of place to me the first time I watched it and I felt like that line was put in there just to remind the audience “Oh yeah, this is a video game themed episode!”

Which, okay, there actually was some bit of set up before this back in SVS. Thomas mentions that he planned to spend his time at the wedding playing “Word Crush” on his phone, then as POF begins, that’s exactly what he’s doing.

And there are certain instances where the sequences work.

The beginning sequence ties back into Thomas’ comment from SVS and, in a way, sets up the video game thing (even if it does make me somewhat cringe but that’s mostly Lee and Mary Lee’s characters) and I wouldn’t have as much of a problem with how “Rhythm Redux” was incorporated if they hadn’t included the flash back after the intro. Again, why did they need two different recaps? They only needed one and it did a good job of explaining everything on its own.

I will also say the Trolley Segments work due to the discussions being held, they’re talking about “Morality” so why wouldn’t you bring up one of the oldest moral dilemmas out there? It also ties in with my favorite part of the video, the “Final Boss” fight with Lilypadton vs Janus. I was not expecting it, and adding Janus’ reveal on top of that just made everything even better. It was dramatic, and I loved how the health bars that were used for Patton and Janus changed to represent Thomas’ deteriorating mental health.

All in all, there was potential here with the video game theme, and there were scenes where it was used well. But all the others that I didn’t mention? They just felt forced and out of place to me and honestly, took me out of the moment.

Another episode I want to compare POF to is Logic vs Passion (I am not typing either the title or the acronym out again) where they both incorporate their gimmicks in a similar way.

Logan and Roman both use their respective animations to illustrate their points of view, and throughout POF all the characters use different video games to illustrate their own points.

The issues I have with these episodes is that these conversations could have been had without the use of any of these things. The Sides have had discussions and used examples to elaborate their points in the past without the use of visuals.

Now, can visuals help with storytelling? Yes, and I mentioned several instances where POF does this. But honestly, the whole video game theme seemed out of place for this particular video. Compare it to SVS which only had a location change, the episode focused almost entirely on its dialogue and still manages to be dramatic and engaging. You can easily follow along with the discussion without the need for fancy visuals.

With POF, it seems like they just try to rush from one video game reference to the next, leaving little room to breathe in between before another video game is thrown into your face. What could have been a simple discussion like in SVS (which still managed to balance humor with its more serious themes) we got a rather bloated middle section which, honestly, I don’t remember much about.

I’ve watched the video several times and without fail, I always find myself spacing out throughout a good chunk of the middle until the whole Lilypadton scene takes place. That’s when I became interested, especially when Janus entered the picture to bring in his points and act as a bit of an “anti-hero” in the whole thing.

I simply believe this video could have been a lot simpler, and probably more cohesive if they’d left a lot of the video game stuff out. The last thing I want to be when consuming any type of media is bored, and honestly if it wasn’t for me making all these analysis posts on the episode, I probably wouldn’t have watched it again save for my favorite parts.

Not only that, but we waited 10 months for this episode because of the video game sequences, and again you have to ask yourself, was the wait worth it?

I have to say, unlike with LNTAO, it wasn’t worth it to me. They could take the video game sequences out altogether (even my favorite ones) and I wouldn’t really care. This episode just doesn’t need them, they don’t justify their use in this episode. Whereas in LNTAO, I love the use of puppets and if they were to be taken out, I would miss them.

Now is this to say I hate the episode? No, there’s actually a lot I like about it. Patton’s development, Janus, and the ending with Roman are all amazing on their own. But really, who’s to say Janus couldn’t have confronted Patton in person instead of a video game world?

Logan didn’t need to appear via little “Pop ups” and could have been called upon by Patton for help only to be brushed aside when what he says doesn’t help his case at all. Then when things start getting out of hand, “Logan” comes back to try to fix things but it doesn’t work, which is when he reveals himself only this time everyone, including the audience, fell for it because Janus has stepped up his game when it comes to disguising himself.

Of course, the same could be said about LNTAO, they didn’t need to be puppets, right? Well, considering that the message of the episode was that you can use unconventional methods to express different ideas using different mediums, and Logan spent the whole time seeing the puppets at nothing but silly and childish only to come to this realization himself, it makes sense why puppets were used.

However, you can actually apply that same message to POF, where they used an unconventional method to get their points across.

The only problem, like with Logic vs Passion, was that the gimmicks alone couldn’t carry the episode.

Logic vs Passion wasn’t as good as other episodes (and I may do a full review of this in the future) and in POF, it just felt like there was too much being crammed into this one episode. We went from discussing different types of morality and why people do good things to Janus suddenly beginning his “acceptance arc” with Roman having a breakdown at the end. Honestly, the point where Janus enters the conversation feels like a completely separate episode from what we’ve had thus far. Not only that, I have my own issues with how Janus’ character seemed to suddenly do a 180 (which I already talked about in another post) so while I love the ending scenes on their own, I admit that maybe they should have been handled differently.

Of course, at the end of the day, all of this is just a matter of opinion. Lots of people loved the video game segments, and others didn’t like the puppets. Some people love all the gimmicks used in the videos, others wish for things to go back to the simpler formats of the older episodes and honestly, I agree.

It seems like with every new episode the team is trying to outdo themselves and take things up another level each time, which is something I can admire, but it is something that can be overdone. Just look at Sanders Asides, it was supposed to be this simple little thing, but it might as well just be another episode. There’s nothing to distinguish it from any of the other main episodes, and if the rest of Asides is going to be the same way, then what’s the point of making it a separate series at all?

Now, Thomas and Joan have said that after this episode, they’re going to start using more practical effects and make things simpler, which I take as a sign of them learning to step back from all the gimmicks they use and just let the characters shine on their own for a while. Which, if that is the case, good on them.

We don’t come to this series for the effects and flashy scenes, we come for the characters. They’re what we love and want to see more of. If you want more proof, just look at what people mostly took from POF, they took the character moments. It wasn’t the video game references that resonated the most with people, heck, people outright seemed to ignore the fact that Leslie Odom Jr. made a cameo.

What do you think that says?

Not saying people didn’t love the video game references, because a lot of people did, but it wasn’t the main thing people responded to.

It’s okay to explore different mediums for storytelling. But sometimes, as a creator, you have to stop and ask yourself, “Is this really necessary for the story?” And believe me the hardest thing to do is cut out something that I spent hours working on because, when I viewed the story as a whole, that particular thing just wasn’t necessary for the story. Maybe I enjoyed it, and perhaps others would too, but at the end of the day, I’d be glad that I made the decision for the betterment of the story.

Okay, now this got way longer than I meant for it to be (how ironic) but you’ve all been waiting for this post for awhile and I didn’t want to postpone it further.

I do hope you enjoyed reading this jumbled mess and, as always, feel free to let me know what your opinions were! Regardless of whether you agree or disagree, and I’ll see y’all next time!

#sanders sides #dukeofonions #episode criticism #patton sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #janus sanders #remus sanders

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